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“‘What a poor period this is!’ they have been heard to say. ‘If among all our people there is not one man to be found who can write a book about what is happening today, the pursuit of letters really is dead in us!’”
Here, Gregory of Tours remarks upon the state of education in his time, which was an era where a comprehensive education was increasingly only reserved for the clergy. Likewise, he gives a motive for why he wrote his History of the Franks: to provide the sort of book lacking in his own day.
“Proposing as I do to describe the wars waged by kings against hostile peoples, by martyrs against the heathen and by Churches against the heretics, I wish first of all to explain my own faith, so that whoever reads me may not doubt that I am a Catholic.”
As a devout Catholic Christian, religion was important in shaping Gregory’s outlook. He wanted to argue against the rival sect of Arian Christianity (See: Background) and prove that history itself was not on the Arians’ side. More generally, Gregory adopts a providential view of history in his writing, regarding God as directly intervening in human affairs and reflecting The Intersection Between Christianity and Politics in his own day.
“In my opinion this captivity is a symbol of the enslavement into which the soul of a sinner is led, and indeed such a soul will be carried off into fearful exile unless some Zerubbabel, that is Christ Himself, can rescue it.”
This is one example of Gregory of Tours’ providential view of history. Here, he examines ancient Hebrew history as an allegory for the emergence of Christianity. In other words, this history is used for the purpose of explaining and validating Christianity.
“The men of Poitiers planned to carry off the body [of Saint Martin] as soon as morning came, but Almighty God would not allow the town of Tours to be deprived of its patron.”
One of the elements that makes History of the Franks unique is that Gregory is not only interested in recounting national history, but also the local history he knew and that was relevant to his own position as bishop of Tours. Such local incidents offer insight into Daily Life in Early Medieval Europe.
“At this period the churches of God were assailed with a long series of heresies, and quite a few of them were visited with divine vengeance.”
Gregory makes clear here his view that God is active in history. In particular, God sooner or later punishes heretical movements while rewarding the defenders of Christian orthodoxy, reflecting the intersection between Christianity and politics.
“King Clovis asked that he might be baptized first by the Bishop. Like some new Constantine he stepped forward to the baptismal pool, ready to wash away the sores of his old leprosy and to be cleansed in flowing water from the sordid stains which he had borne so long.”
The baptism of King Clovis is a pivotal moment in Gregory’s narrative. His baptism represented not only the conversion of a pagan king to Christianity, but a Germanic king converting to Catholic Christianity at a time when most of the Germanic kings of western Europe were Arian.
“I would like to make a brief comparison between the happy outcome of the Christians who have believed in the Holy Trinity and the disasters which have befallen those who have sought to destroy it. I shall leave out how Abraham worshipped the Trinity at the oak-tree, how Jacob proclaimed it in his blessing, how Moses saw it in the bush and how the children of Israel followed it in the cloud and trembled before it on the mountain.”
Gregory argues again that God has been active in directing history. At the same time, he makes the explicit point that belief in the Trinity—the key point in the dispute between Arian and Catholic Christians (See: Background)—can be found among the patriarchs of the ancient Hebrews.
“Once he was firmly established on the throne, Theudebert proved himself to be a great king, distinguished by every virtue. He ruled his kingdom justly, respected his bishops, was liberal to the churches, relieved the wants of the poor and distributed many benefits with piety and friendly goodwill.”
Gregory reveals here his views of what makes a great king. For him, a virtuous king respects the church and is generous toward the poor, while a bad king is one who rules without justice and with indiscriminate violence.
“King Sigibert observed that his brothers were taking wives who were completely unworthy of them and were so far degrading themselves as to marry their own servants.”
The Merovingians typically practiced polygamy and took a number of concubines and wives who were commoners. However, the idea of instead marrying a woman of equal rank was embraced by Sigibert, who believed that marrying a woman of lower rank was “degrading.” The importance of marriage alliances in cementing and perpetuating royal dynasties reflects The Role of Women in Religion and Politics.
“To this day one is still amazed and astonished at the disasters which befell these people. We can only contrast how their forefathers used to behave with how they themselves are behaving today.”
This passage exposes Gregory’s perspective as a Gallo-Roman on the Frankish people. He implies here that the actions of a Frankish army in looting churches can be blamed on their recent Christian past.
“While all these folk continued to find sanctuary in Saint Martin’s church, Queen Fredegund, who supported Guntram Boso in secret because it was he who had killed Theudebert, sent a message to him. ‘If you can persuade Merovich to leave the church,’ she said, ‘so that he can be killed, you will receive from me a handsome gift.’”
Fredegund’s plan here ultimately fails and Merovich survives her assassination attempt. However, this passage represents the usual allegation Gregory makes about Fredegund, that she would send assassins against people who were political threats. Fredegund’s active role in the politics of her day makes her one of Gregory’s most important examples of the role of women in religion and politics.
“The meteors which country folk call suns and which were seen before the plague in Clermont-Ferrand, as I have told you in an earlier book, also appeared round the sun. I was told that the sea rose higher than usual, and there were many other signs and wonders.”
Frequently throughout History of the Franks, Gregory describes omens. These always precede important events like the deaths of kings or the outbreak of a disease. This may reflect Gregory’s own belief that history is guided by God, but it was also a common belief in ancient and medieval times that signs from nature precede great events, reflecting an important aspect of daily life in early medieval Europe.
“In this same year the Christians in Spain suffered sad persecution. Many of them were driven into exile, deprived of their possessions, weakened by hunger, thrown into prison, beaten with sticks and tortured to death. The chief instigator of this horror was Goiswinth, the widow of King Athanagild, whom Leuvigild later married.”
The Arians in the Visigothic kingdom are often criticized by Gregory for their persecution of Catholic Christians. This is also an instance of the negative influence of women over politics, with a queen in Gregory’s narrative carrying the blame for the persecution. Gregory often presents the role of women in religion and politics in a critical light, with strong-minded women sometimes receiving his censure.
“When Queen Brunhild learned of this, she was greatly incensed at the wrongs being done to her faithful supporter. With a vigour which would have become a man she rose in her wrath and took her stand between the two enemy forces.”
Brunhild is the one example of a good queen, very much in contrast to Fredegund, who, in Gregory’s view, presents a more positive example of the role of women in religion and politics While Fredegund resorts to underhanded methods of murder, Brunhild directly confronts her opponents. Tellingly, Gregory also praises her by describing her behavior in masculine terms.
Duke Berulf learned that the men of Bourges were planning to invade the district round Tours. He marched his army in that direction and occupied the area. The territory round Yzeures and Barrou, which are near the city of Tours, was completely devastated.”
A danger for most people in early medieval Europe was the risk of pillaging by an army. As shown here, soldiers would not hesitate to loot even their own country during civil strife, reflecting one of the hardships that was part of daily life in early medieval Europe. The civil strife that could trigger such violence also invokes The Dynamics of Royal Succession and Conflict, as the Merovingian practice of creating multiple claimants to a throne and equally dividing up inheritances between sons frequently led to interfamilial conflict.
“The Queen now collected together anything that had belonged to her dead son and burned it, all his clothes, some of them silk and others of fur, and all his other possessions, whatever she could find.”
“[Chilperic] himself cared for no one, unless he had some ulterior motive for doing so; and in return he was loved by none. When his time came to die, he died deserted by all.”
Gregory regards Chilperic as a model of a bad king. Essentially, a bad king in Gregory’s eyes is selfish, heavily taxes the poor, and is not generous or pious. Gregory’s belief in the importance of moral conduct alongside political acumen in a ruler reflects the intersection between Christianity and politics.
“As I set down these words, I am afraid that my story may seem quite incredible to certain of my readers; and I am mindful of what the historian Sallust wrote: ‘When we record the virtue or glory of famous men, the reader will readily accept whatever he considers that he might have done himself; anything which exceeds these bounds of possibility he will look upon as untrue.’”
Although Gregory has shared a number of incredible stories involving supernatural or divine events, he believes his readers will not believe this account of Saint Salvius’s afterlife vision. Regardless, Gregory shows an awareness of how to present evidence as a historian, specifically by assuring readers that he heard this incredible account firsthand.
“A vast crowd of citizens came out to meet [King Guntram], carrying flags and banners, and singing songs in his praise. The speech of the Syrians contrasted sharply with that of those using Gallo-Roman and again with that of the Jews, as they each sang his praises in their own tongue.”
The early medieval era is often seen as one where societies became closed off and insular. Nonetheless, this passage shows how early medieval city could be home to different communities, providing a glimpse into some of the more vibrant aspects of daily life in early medieval Europe.
“As the boat filled with men it also filled with water. God in His omnipotence performed a miracle, for, though the boat had water up to its gunwale, it could not sink. With me I had some relics of Saint Martin, and of other Saints, too.”
Relics were important objects in the Catholic Church. Not only were they believed to possibly help facilitate people’s prayers, but for a church they were objects of prestige. Gregory here attributes his own survival in a moment of danger to the presence of the relics he carried with him.
“That same year there appeared in Tours a man called Desiderius, who gave it out that he was a very important person, pretending that he was able to work miracles. He boasted that messengers journeyed to and fro between himself and the Apostles Peter and Paul. I myself was not there, so the country folk flocked to him in crowds, bringing with them the blind and the infirm.”
“Unauthorized” religious leaders and charlatans often appeared in Gaul, with the disapproval of church leaders like Gregory of Tours. Movements such as that of Desiderius does give a glimpse into the lives of peasants, who turned to such figures for healing and comfort.
“Rigunth was stretching her arm into the chest to take out some more things, when her mother suddenly seized the lid and slammed it down on her neck. She leant on it with all her might and the edge of the chest pressed so hard against the girl’s throat that her eyes were soon standing out of her head.”
This is one of the most famous episodes involving Fredegund. Whether or not the anecdote Gregory shares has any historical basis, his depiction of both Rigunth and Fredegund here is illustrative of what he considers “bad women”: violent, cruel to even their own family, and eager to exercise their own power. Such powerful women speak to the role of women in religion and politics despite their legal and social limitations.
“A great scandal arose in the convent in Poitiers. Clotild, who used to be pretend that she was Charibert’s daughter, gave in to the blandishments of the Devil. Relying upon the ties which she claimed with the royal family, she bound the nuns by oath to bring charges against Leubovera the Abbess, to expel her from the convent and then to choose herself, Clotild, as Mother Superior.”
Gregory writes extensively about the revolt of the nuns at Poitiers, likely because he was actually involved in the events. Although Gregory focuses on the princesses Clotild and Basina, the episode does suggest that people outside kings, queens, and bishops, even nuns, had ways of trying to assert themselves in the early medieval world.
“[Clotild] showered abuse on her Abbess and made a number of accusations against her. She maintained that the Abess kept a man in the nunnery, dressed in women’s clothing and looking like a woman, although in effect there was no doubt that he was a man […] Thereupon a man stepped forward, dressed in woman’s clothing as a I have told you […] He said that he was impotent and that that was the reason why he dressed himself up in this way.”
One of the things that makes History of the Franks valuable is the rare glimpse Gregory occasionally offers into daily life in early medieval Europe . One of the most mysterious examples is that of the man dressed as a nun, something that raises interesting questions about gender in medieval Gaul.
“Nevertheless I conjure you all, you Bishops of the Lord who will have charge of Tours cathedral after my unworthy self […] that you never permit these books to be destroyed, or be rewritten, or to be reproduced in part only with sections omitted, for otherwise when you emerge in confusion from this Judgment Day you will be condemned with the Devil.”
Gregory shows here that one of the reasons he wrote History of the Franks was to leave a record for his successors. He took his work very seriously, demanding that it be left intact for posterity. In this way, Gregory echoes his earlier intention to combat the declining literary culture of his own day by leaving behind an account of the famous deeds of his time.
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