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
[AI]6. Queen Clotilda spoke to Chlodomer and her other sons, saying:
“Let me not repent, dearest sons, that I have nursed you lovingly;
be angry, I beg you, at the insult to me, and avenge with a wise
zeal the death of my father and mother.” They heeded this; and they
hastened to the Burgundies and marched against Sygismund and his
brother Godomar. Their army was completely routed and Godomar fled.
But Sygismund was taken by Chlodomer when he was endeavoring to make
his escape to the holy St. Maurice, and led away captive with his
wife and sons, and was placed under guard and kept prisoner in the
territory of the city of Orleans. When the kings departed Godomar
recovered his courage and gathered the Burgundians and gained his
kingdom back. And Chlodomer was making preparations to march against
him a second time and determined to kill Sygismund. And the blessed
abbot Avitus, a great priest of that time, said to him: “If,” said
he, “you would look to God and amend your counsel so as not to allow
these men to be killed, God will be with you and you shall go and win
the victory; but if you kill them you shall be surrendered yourself
into the hands of your enemies and shall perish in the same way. And
what you do to Sygismund and his wife and children shall be done
to you and your wife and sons.” But he despised listening to this
counsel, and said: “I think it is foolish advice to leave enemies
at home and march against the rest, and when the former rise up in
the rear and the latter in front I shall fall between two armies.
The victory will be won better and more easily if one is separated
from the other; if one is slain it will be possible to doom the
others to death easily.” He gave orders to slay Sygismund at once,
with his wife and children, by casting them into a well in the
village Columna, of the city Orleans, and hastened to the Burgundies,
summoning to his aid king Theodoric. And the latter promised to go,
not caring to avenge the wrong done to his father-in-law. And when
they met near Visorontia, a place of the city of Vienne, they fought
with Godomar. And when Godomar had fled with his army and Chlodomer
was pursuing and was separated a considerable distance from his men,
the others, imitating his rallying cry, called to him saying: “This
way, come this way, we are your men.” And he believed it and went,
and fell into the midst of his enemies, and cutting off his head and
setting it on a pike they raised it aloft. The Franks saw this and
perceived that Chlodomer was dead, and rallying, they put Godomar
to flight and crushed the Burgundians and reduced their country to
subjection, and Clothar immediately married his brother’s wife,
Guntheuca by name. And queen Clotilda, after the period of mourning
was past, took his sons and kept them; and one of these was called
Theodoald, a second, Gunther, a third, Chlodovald. Godomar recovered
his kingdom a second time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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