Book 9

1.. Richared and his legates.

2. The blessed Radegunda's death.

3. The man who came to king Gunthram with a knife.

4 . Another son is born to Childebert.

5. Prodigies.

6. They who lead astray and soothsayers.

7. Removal from office of duke Ennodius; the Gascons.

8. The appearance at court of Gunthram Boso.

9. Rauching's death.

10. Gunthram Boso's death.

11. Meeting of the kings.

12. Death of Ursio and of Bertefred.

13. Baddo who had been kept prisoner when on an embassy and long after was set free; dysentery.

14. Reconciliation between bishop Egidius and duke Lupus.

15. Richared's conversion.

16. His embassy to our kings.

17. A hard year.

18. The Bretons and the death of bishop Namatius.

19. Killing of Sichar a citizen of Tours.

20. I am sent to king Gunthram on an embassy to maintain the peace.

21. The charities and goodness of the king.

22. The plague at Marseilles.

23. Death of bishop Ageric and his successor.

24. Episcopate of Fronimius.

25. Childebert's army goes into Italy.

26. Death of queen Ingoberga.

27. Amalo's death.

28. The beautiful things which queen Brunhilda sent.

29. The Lombards ask peace of king Childebert.

30. Assessors at Poitiers and Tours.

31. King Gunthram sends an army to Septimania.

32. Enmity between Childebert and Gunthram.

33. The nun Ingytrude goes to Childebert to make charges against her daughter.

34. Quarrels between Fredegunda and her daughter.

35. Killing of Waddo.

36. King Childebert sends Theodobert his son to Soissons.

37. Bishop Droctigisil.

38. What some wished to do to queen Brunhilda.

39. The scandal which arose in the convent of Poitiers through Chrodechild and Basina.

40. The first beginning of the scandal.

41. The fight in St. Hilarius's church.

42. Copy of the letter which the holy Radegunda sent to the bishops.

43. The priest Theuther comes to end this scandal.

44. The weather.

[1. Richared, the new king of Spain, sends legates to Gunthram and Childebert; they are not received by Gunthram. 2. Death of Radegunda.]

3.

Meantime the festival of Saint Marcellus came, which is celebrated in the seventh month in the city of Chalon, and king Gunthram was present. And when the ceremony was over and he had approached the holy altar for the communion, a certain man came as if to say something. And as he hastened to the king a knife fell from his hand; he was seized at once and they found another knife unsheathed in his hand. He was immediately led from the holy church and put in fetters and subjected to torture, and he confessed that he had been sent to kill the king, saying, "This was the purpose of the man who sent me. " Since the king knew that the hatred of many men was united on him and he feared that he would be stabbed, he had given orders to his men to guard him well and no opportunity could be found to get at him with swords unless he was attacked in the church, where he was known to stand without care or fear. Now the men who had been named were seized and many were executed, but he let this man go alive though severely beaten, because he thought it a crime that a man should be led out of church and beheaded

[4. A second son, Theodoric, is born to Childebert. 5. Prodigies. Among others a village with cottages and men disappeared suddenly.]

6.

There was in that year in the city of Tours a man named Desiderius who claimed to be great and said he could do many miracles. He boasted too that messengers were kept busy going to and fro between him and the apostles Peter and Paul. And as I was not at home, the common folk thronged to him bringing the blind and lame but he did not attempt to cure them by holiness but to fool them with the delusion of necromancy. For he ordered paralytics and other cripples to be vigorously stretched as if he were going to cure by taking pains those whose limbs he could not straighten. by the blessing of the divine virtue. And so his attend ants would lay hold of a man's hands and others his feet, and pull in opposite directions so that one would think their sinews would be broken, and when they were not cured they would be sent off half­dead. And the result was that many died under this torture. And the wretch was so presumptuous that he said he was blessed Martin the younger and put himself on a par with the apostles. And it is no wonder that he compared himself with the apostles when that author of wickedness from whom such things proceed is going to assert toward the end of the world that he is Christ. Now it was known from the following fact that he was versed in the wicked art of necromancy as we have said above, because, as they say who observed him, when any one said any evil of him far away and secretly he would rebuke them publicly and say: "You said so and so about me and it was not right to say such things of a holy man like me." Now how else could he have learned of it ­ except that demons were his messengers? He wore a hood and a goat's­hair shirt and in public he was abstemious in eating and drinking, but in secret when he had come to his lodgings he would stuff his mouth so that his servant could not carry food to him as fast as he asked for it. But his trickery was exposed and stopped by our people and he was cast out from the territory of the city. We did not know then where he went, but he said he was a citizen of Bordeaux. Now seven years before there had been another great impostor who deceived many by his tricks. He wore a sleeveless shirt and over it a robe of fine stuff and carried a cross from which hung little bottles which contained as he said holy oil. He said that he came from the Spains and was bringing relics of the blessed martyrs Vincent the deacon and Felix. He arrived at Tours at the church of Saint Martin in the evening when we were sitting at dinner, and sent an order saying: "Let them come to see the holy relics." As the hour was late I replied: "Let the blessed relics rest on the altar and we will go to see them in the morning." But he arose at the first break of day and without waiting for me came with his cross and appeared in my cell. I was amazed and wondered at his hardihood and asked what this meant. He answered in a proud and haughty voice: "You should have given me a better welcome; I'll carry this to the ears of king Chilperic; he will avenge this contemptuous treatment of me." He paid no more attention to me but went into the oratory and said a verse, then a second and a third, began the prayer and finished it, all by himself, then took up his cross again and went off. He had a rude style of speech and was free with disgusting and obscene terms and not a sensible word came from him. He went on to Paris. In those days the public prayers were being held that are usually held before the holy day of the Lord's ascension. And as bishop Ragnemod was walking in procession with his people and making the round of the holy places, this person came with his cross and appearing among the people with his unusual clothing, he gathered the prostitutes and women of the lower class and formed band of his own and made an attempt to walk in procession to the holy places with his multitude. The bishop saw this and sent his archdeacon to say: "If you have relics of the saints to show, place them for a little in the church and celebrate the holydays with us, and when the rites are finished you shall go on your way." But he paid little attention to what the archdeacon said but began to abuse and revile the bishop. The bishop saw that he was an impostor and ordered him shut up in a cell. And examining all he had, he found a great bag full of roots of different herbs and also there were moles' teeth, the bones of mice, the claws and fat of bears. He knew that these were the means of sorcery and ordered them all thrown into the river; he took his cross away and ordered him to be driven from the territory of Paris. But be made himself a second cross and began to do what he had done before, but was captured and put in chains by the archdeacon and kept in custody. In these days I had corne to Paris and had my lodging at the church of the blessed martyr Julian. The following night the wretch broke out of prison and hastened to Saint Julian's Church just mentioned, wearing the chains with which he was bound, and fell on the pavement where I had been accustomed to stand and, overwhelmed with drowsiness and wine, he fell asleep. Unaware of this I rose at midnight to return thanks to God and found him sleeping. And such a stench came from him that that stench surpassed the stenches of all sewers and privies. I was unable to go into the church because of the stench. And one of the clergy came holding his nose and tried to wake him but could not; for the wretch was so intoxicated. Then four of the clergy came and lifted him and threw him into one corner of the church, and they brought water and washed the pavement and scattered sweet-smelling herbs on it and so I went in to offer the regular prayers. But he could not be wakened even when we sang the psalms until with the coming of day the sun's torch climbed higher. There, I surrendered him to the bishop with a request for his pardon. When the bishops assembled at Paris I told this at dinner and bade him be brought to receive correction. And when he stood by, Amelius, bishop of Tarbes, looked at him and recognized him as his slave who had run away. He secured his pardon and so took him back to his native place. There are many who practise these impostures and continually lead the common people into error. It is of these I think that the Lord says in the Gospel that in the latest times false Christs and false prophets shall arise who shall do signs and wonders and lead the very elect into error. Let this suffice for this subject; let us rather return to our task.