Book 4

       41. Albin, king of the Lombards, who had married Chlotsinda, daughter of king Clothar, abandoned his country and set out for t Italy with all the Lombard people. They put their army in motion and went with their wives and children, purposing to remain t there. They entered the country and spent seven years chiefly in wandering through it, despoiling the churches, killing the bishops, and bringing the land under their control. When his wife Chlotsinda died, Albin married another wife whose father he had killed :. a short time before. For this reason the woman always hated her husband and awaited an opportunity to avenge the wrong done her father, and so it happened that she fell in love with one of the household slaves and poisoned her husband. When he died she went off with the slave but they were overtaken and put to death together. Then the Lombards chose another king over them.
       42. Eunius, who was also named Mummulus, was made patrician by king Gunthram. I think that certain details should be given as to the beginning of his military service. He was a son of Peonius and native of the city of Auxerre. Peonius governed this town as count. And when he had sent gifts to the king by his son to secure reappointment, the son gave his father's presents and asked for his father's office, and took his place when he should have helped him. From this start he gradually rose and attained a greater prominence. And upon the invasion of the Gauls by the Lombards the patrician Amatus, who had lately succeeded Celsus, went against them and engaged in battle, but was defeated and slain. And it is said that the slaughter of the Burgundians by the Lombards was so great on that occasion that the slain could not be counted. And the Lombards loaded with plunder departed again for Italy. And upon their departure Eunius, also named Murmmulus, was summoned by the king and raised to the high office of patrician. When the Lombards made a second inroad into the Gauls and came as far as Mustiœ Calmes near the city of Embrun, Mummulus set his army in motion and came to that place with the Burgundians. He surrounded the Lombards with his army and made an abattis and attacked them in pathless woods, and killing many took a number of captives whom he sent to the king. The king ordered them to be kept under guard in various places through the country, but a few in one way or another escaped and took the news to their native land. There were present in this battle Salonius and Sagittarius, brothers and.bishops, who armed themselves-not 'with the cross of heaven but with the worldly helmet and what is worse, are reported to have killed many with their own hands. This was Mummulus' first victory. Then the Saxons, who had entered Italy with the Lombards, made a second expedition into the Gauls, and pitched camp in the territory of Riez, that is, near the village of Estoublon, scattering from there among the villages belonging to neighboring cities, taking booty, leading off captives and laying all waste. When Mummolus learned of this he set his army in motion and attacked them, killing many thousands, and he did not cease to cut them down until evening when night made an end. For he had taken them off their guard when they expected nothing of what happened. In the morning the Saxons marshaled their army and made ready for battle, but messengers passed from one army to the other and they made peace. They gave presents to Mummolus, and surrendered all the plunder of the region with the captives, and departed after taking oath that they would return to the Gauls in obedience to the kings and as allies to the Franks. And so the Saxons returned to Italy, and taking their wives and little ones and all their possessions undertook the return journey into the Gauls with the intention of presenting themselves to king Sigibert and establishing themselves again in the district which they had left. They formed two wedges [cunios] as they call them; and one came by way of Nice and the other by Embrun, keeping in fact to the road they had come the previous year, and the two divisions united the territory of Avignon. It was then harvest time, and that country had its crops chiefly in the open fields and the inhabitants had not stored any of them. When the Saxons came they divided the crops among them and gathered and threshed the grain and used it, leaving nothing to those who had done the work. But after the harvest had been used up and they came to the shore of the river Rhone in order to cross the torrent and present themselves in the kingdom of king Sigibrt, Mummolus met them and said: "You shall not cross this torrent. Behold, you have devastated the land of my lord the king, you have gathered the crops, plundered the herds, burned the houses, cut down the olive groves and vineyards. You shall not go up unless you first satisfy those whom you have left in want; otherwise you shall not escape my hands, but I shall draw my sword against you and your wives and little ones and avenge the wrong done to my lord king Gunthram." Then they were very much afraid and gave many thousand pieces of coined gold as a ransom, and were allowed to cross, and thus they came to Clermont. It was then springtime. They brought there pieces of bronze engraved like gold, and any one seeing them would have no doubt that it was gold tested and weighed for it was colored by some device or other. And a good many were deceived by the false appearance and gave gold and received bronze and became poor. And they went on to king Sigibert and ere settled in the land they had left.
       [43. Albinus, governor of Provence, seizes archdeacon Virgilius on Christmas day in the church for failing to punish his men; Albinus is fined. 44. Three Lombard chiefs invade Gaul but are defeated and driven back into Italy by Mummolus. 45. Mummolus recovers Tours and Poitiers for Sigibert from Chilperic.]
       46. As I am about to speak of the death of Andarchius, it seems best to tell first of his birth and native place. He was a slave of the senator Felix as they say, and being assigned to attend is young master he entered with him upon the study of letters and became distinguished for his learning. For he was fully instructed in the works of Virgil, the books of the Theodosian law, and the art of calculation. Being puffed up with such knowledge he began to hold his masters in contempt, and devoted himself to the service of duke Lupus when he went to the city of Marseille by order of king Sigibert. When Lupus left Marseilles he told Andarchius to go with him and secured for him the favor of king Sigibert and put him at his service. And Sigibert sent him to various places and gave him an opportunity for military service Being held in a sort of honor because of this he came to Clermont and there entered into friendship with Ursus, a citizen of the city Then being of an ambitious temper he wished to be betrothed to Ursus' daughter, and concealed a coat of mail, as they tell, in a chest in which documents used to be kept, and said to Ursus' wife: "I give in your care a multitude of gold pieces, more than sixteen thousand, which I have placed in this chest, and it shall be yours if you will cause your daughter to be betrothed to me." "To what do you not drive the hearts of men, accursed greed for gold? The woman believed him without reserve and in her husband's absence agreed to betroth the girl to him. He went back to the king and brought an order to the judge of the place commanding him to marry this girl, saying: "I paid the earnest money at the betrothal." But Ursus denied it saying: "I do not know who you are and I have none of your property." When the quarrel continued and grew hotter Andarchius had Ursus summoned to the presence of the king. And coming to the village of Braine he found another man named Ursus whom he caused to be taken secretly to the altar and to swear and say: "By this holy place and the relics of the blessed martyrs I will not delay in paying you the sixteen thousand solidi, since I am not to give my daughter in marriage to you." Now witnesses were standing in the sanctuary listening secretly to what was said but not seeing the person who spoke. Then Andarchius soothed Ursus with gentle words and caused him to return to his native place without seeing the king After this he made an oath and when Ursus went away he produced before the king a document containing the oath and said: ''Such and such is the writing I have from Ursus, and therefore I request an order from your glory that he give his daughter to me in marriage. Otherwise let me have authority to take his possessions until I receive sixteen thousand solidi and am satisfied in this case " Then he received the order and returned to Clermont and showed the judge the king's order. Ursus retired into the territory of Velay. And when his property was turned over to Andarchius he also went to Velay, and going into one of Ursus' houses he bade them prepare supper for him and heat water for bathing. And when the slaves of the household did not obey their new master, he beat some with clubs, others with switches, and struck some on head, drawing blood. The whole household was in confusion but the supper was prepared; he bathed in hot water, became drunk with wine and stretched himself on his couch. He had only seven slaves with him. And when they were sound asleep, weighed down by drowsiness not less than by wine, the household was gathered together, and Ursus closed the doors of the house which were made of wooden boards. He took the keys and tore down the stacks of grain near by and heaped piles of the grain which was then in the sheaf around and above the house until it was seen that the house was entirely covered. Then he set fire to in different places and when the burning timbers of the building were falling on the luckless ones they awoke and began to shout but there was no one to listen to them and the whole house was burned and the fire consumed all alike. Ursus fled in fear to the church of St. Julian, and after making presents to the king he received again a good title to his property.