Book 6

14. In king Childebert's seventh year, which was the twenty-first of Chilperic and Gunthram, in the month of January there were rains and heavy thunder and lightning; blossoms appeared on the trees. The star which I called above the comet, appeared in such a way that there was a great blackness all around it and it was placed as it were in a hole and gleamed in the darkness, sparkling and scattering rays of light. And a ray of wonderful size extended from it which appeared like the smoke of a great fire a long way off. It appeared in the west in the first hour of the night. At Soissons on the day of holy Easter the heavens were seen to be on fire, and there appeared to be two fires, one greater and the other less. And after the space of two hours they united and formed a great flame and vanished. In the territory of Paris real blood fell from the clouds and dropped on the garments of many men and so defiled them with gore that they shuddered at their own clothes and put them away from them. This prodigy appeared in three places in the territory of that city. In the territory of Senlis a certain man's house when he rose in the morning appeared to have been sprinkled with blood from within. There was a great plague that year among the people. The sickness took various forms and was severe with pimples and tumors which brought death to many. Still many who were careful escaped. We heard that at Narbonne in that year the bubonic plague was very fatal, so that when a man was seized by it he ad no time to live.

15. Felix, bishop of Nantes, was stricken by this plague and began to be seriously sick. Then he called the neighboring bishops to him and begged them to give the influence of their signatures to the choice which he had made of his nephew Burgundio. Then they sent him to me. At that time Burgundio was about twenty-five years old. He came and asked that I would consent to go to Nantes and give him the tonsure and consecrate him bishop in place of his uncle who was still living. This I refused to do since I knew it was not in accordance with the canons. Still I gave him advice saying: "We have it written in the canons, my son, that no one can rise to the office of bishop unless he first passes through the grades of the clergy in regular order. You then, dearly beloved. must return thither and request him who has made choice of you, to give you the tonsure; and when you reach the office of priest. be regular in attendance at church; and when God wills that he pass away, then you will readily attain to the office of bishop." He returned and pretended to take my advice, since the bishop Felix seemed to be recovering from his illness. But after the fever detparted his legs burst out in pimples from the humor. Then he put on too strong a poultice of cantharides and his legs putrefied and he died in the thirty­third year of his episcopate and in the seventieth of his life. And Nonnichius his cousin succeeded him by the king's order.

[16. Felix's niece had been married to Pappolenus but Felix brought about their separation. Pappolenus now recovered his wife from a nunnery.]

17. King Chilperic ordered many Jews to be baptized that year and received a number of them from the sacred font. Some of them however were purified in body only, not in heart, and lying to God they returned to their former perfidy so that they could be seen to observe the Sabbath as well as honor the Lord's day. But Priscus could not be influenced in any way to recognize the truth. The king was angry at him and ordered him to be put into prison, in the idea that if he did not wish to believe of his own accord he would force him to hear and believe. But Priscus offered gifts and asked for time until his son should marry a Hebrew girl at Marseilles; he promised deceitfully that he would then do what the king required. Meantime a quarrel arose between him and Phatir, one of the Jewish converts who was now a godson to the king. And when on the Sabbath Priscus clad in an orary and carrying nothing of iron in his hand, was retiring to a secret place to fulfill the law of Moses, suddenly Phatir came upon him and slew him with the sword together with the companions who accompanied him. When they were slain Phatir fled with his men to the church of St. Julian, which was on a neighboring street. While they were there they heard that the king had granted to the master his life but ordered the men to be dragged like malefactors from the church and put to death. Then, their master being already gone, one of them drew his sword and killed his comrades and then left the church armed with his sword, but the people rushed upon him and he was cruelly killed. Phatir obtained permission and returned to Gunthram's ; kingdom whence he had come. But soon after he was killed by Priscus's kinsmen.

[18. Legates returning from Spain report that king Leuvigild admits that Christ is the equal of God but denies that the Holy Spirit is God at all.

19. Gunthram's men cross the river Orge and do damage in Chilperic's territory.]

20. In that year Chrodinus died, a man of magnificent goodness and piety, a great almsgiver and helper of the poor, a lavish enricher of churches and supporter of the clergy. For he often started at the beginning and cleared estates, laying out vineyards, building houses, making fields. And he would then invite bishops who were poor and give them a feast and generously distribute among them houses with fields and men to till them and silver and bedding and utensils and officers and slaves saying: "Let these properties be given to the church, that when poor men are supported upon them they may obtain pardon for me before God." I have heard many other good things of this man which it would take too long to tell. He died in his seventieth year.

[21. List of prodigies.]

22. King Chilperic, having seized cities belonging to his brother, appointed new counts and ordered that all the tribute of the cities be paid to him. And we know that this was done. In these days two men were seized by Nunnichius, count of Limoges, who were carrying letters in the name of Charterius, bishop of Perigueux, which contained many insults against the king; and among the rest it was put as if the bishop were complaining that he had gone down from paradise to hell, because forsooth he had been transferred from Gunthram's rule to the dominion of Chilperic. The count just named sent these letters and these men to the king under strict guard. The king patiently sent for the bishop to come to his presence to tell whether the charges against him were true or not. The bishop came and the king confronted him with the men and the letters. He asked the bishop if they had been sent by him. He said they had not. The men then were asked from whom they had received them. They said it was Frontonius the deacon. The bishop was asked about the deacon. He replied that he was his greatest enemy and there could be no doubt that this was his wickedness since he had often set wicked plots going against him. The deacon was brought at once and questioned by the king. He testified against the bishop saying: "It was I wrote this letter at the bishop's order." But the bishop cried out and said that this man had often devised clever tricks to cast him out from his office, and the king was moved with pity and commending his cause to God he let them both go, interceding with the bishop for the deacon and begging the bishop to pray for him. And thus the bishop was sent back with honor to the city. But after two months count Nunnichius who started this scandal died from an apoplectic stroke and as he was without children his property was granted to several persons by the king.

[23. An account of the birth of a son king Chilperic releases prisoners and remits taxes.

24. Gundovald, who claims to be a son of of Clothar, returns to Gaul from Constantinople and is received by bishop Theodore of Marseilles who is thereupon seized and held prisoner by king Gunthram.

25. Prodigies.