History of the FranksGregory, Bishop of Tours, Saint
History
History of the Franks
Gregory, Bishop of Tours, Saint
France -- Church history -- To 987; France -- History -- To 987; Franks -- History -- To 768
30. The queen did not cease to urge him to recognize the true God
and cease worshiping idols. But he could not be influenced in any
way to this belief, until at last a war arose with the Alamanni, in
which he was driven by necessity to confess what before he had of his
free will denied. It came about that as the two armies were fighting
fiercely, there was much slaughter, and Clovis’s army began to be
in danger of destruction. He saw it and raised his eyes to heaven,
and with remorse in his heart he burst into tears and cried: “Jesus
Christ, whom Clotilda asserts to be the son of the living God, who
art said to give aid to those in distress, and to bestow victory on
those who hope in thee, I beseech the glory of thy aid, with the vow
that if thou wilt grant me victory over these enemies, and I shall
know that power which she says that people dedicated in thy name have
had from thee, I will believe in thee and be baptized in thy name.
For I have invoked my own gods, but, as I find, they have withdrawn
from aiding me; and therefore I believe that they possess no power,
since they do not help those who obey them. I now call upon thee, I
desire to believe thee, only let me be rescued from my adversaries.”
And when he said this, the Alamanni turned their backs, and began to
disperse in flight. And when they saw that their king was killed,
they submitted to the dominion of Clovis, saying: “Let not the people
perish further, we pray; we are yours now.” And he stopped the
fighting, and after encouraging his men, retired in peace and told
the queen how he had had merit to win the victory by calling on the
name of Christ. This happened in the fifteenth year of his reign.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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