The History of the Franks

Gregory begins by claiming that even the ancient Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and even King David of Israel believed in the Trinity. Next, he compares the fate of people who deny the existence of the Trinity with those who have faith in it. Arius, the founder of the sect that argued against the Trinity, “lost his entrails in the lavatory and so was hurried off to hell-fire” (161), but a proponent of the Trinity, Saint Hilary, got to return to his homeland and went to Heaven after dying. Likewise, after believing in the Trinity, King Clovis conquered all of Gaul while King Alaric lost his kingdom and his life. Gregory adds that, even if orthodox Christians “lose many things […] the Lord restores them a hundredfold” while “heretics […] have not much advantage to show, and even that which they have is taken away from them” (162).

Returning to his narrative, Gregory describes how Clovis’s kingdom was divided between his four sons: his eldest son Theuderic who was born by a concubine, and his sons by Clotild, who were Chlodomer, Childebert, and Lothar. When the Danish king Chlochilaich attacked Gaul, he was defeated by Theuderic’s son, Theudebert.