THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES: 500-1000
Sources in Western Civilization
Chapter 8
Gregory of Tours: His Faith and the World Around Him
These passages from the beginning of The History of the Franks and from its record of events for the years 584 to 587 show what a man might say when he tried to define his faith and what he might see when he looked out on the world around him in the late sixth century, in Frankland. Something of the connection between men's religious beliefs and their view of history is here apparent. Here the poor, in famine, sell their freedom, the merchant goes towards Orleans to buy wine, the witch Bees to the wicked queen Fredegundis, and punishment follows crime. Sichar and Chramnesind (in a passage recently made more famous by its use in Erich Auerbach's Mimesis) act out the drama of blood-feud and wergeld. In his record of event Gregory exposes himself more personally than in his enunciation of Orthodox belief -his passion for peace, his curious, observing writer's eye, his appreciation of a queer sort of humor in Sichar's drunken talk of the value of wergeld, which like Clovis's gilded armlets reveals the rare tone that mocks Germanic society's pious and important cliches.
The History of the Franks1
VII,44] At this time there was a woman possessed with a spirit of prophecy who brought much gain to her masters by divination; she won their favour that they set her free, and she now lived as she desired. If any one was fobbed or suffered misfortune, she at once proclaimed whither the thief had fled, to whom he handed over the spoil or what he had done with it. Every day she was amassing gold and silver, and went abroad bejewelled and bedizened till the people held her a kind of goddess. These things came to the ears of Ageric, the bishop of Verdun, who sent to have her arrested. She was seized and brought before him; when, according as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, he perceived that she had an unclean spirit that prophesied through her. When he had recited over her a formula of exorcism and anointed her brow with holy oil, the demon cried aloud, and revealed to the bishop what he was. But he could not be driven forth from the woman, who was therefore suffered to depart. But when she saw that she could no longer live in that place, she departed to Queen Fredegund, and there remained concealed.
45] In this year almost all Gaul was oppressed by famine. Multitudes were reduced to making a kind of bread by drying and pounding grape-seeds or hazel blossom, and adding a little flour, while others did the same with fern roots. There were many who cut the green corn-stalks and treated them in like manner; many others, who had no flour at all, plucked and ate various kinds of grass, whereupon their bodies swelled and they died. Great numbers languished and were starved to death. Then the merchants grievously robbed the people, so that a bushel of corn or half a measure of wine was hardly sold for a triens. The poor sold themselves into slavery for the sake of a morsel of food.
46] In those days a merchant, Christopher by name, journeyed to Orleans, having heard that a large quantity of wine had been brought there. He went, bought the wine, and had it transported in boats; he himself with two Saxon servants travelled on horseback; he had on him a large sum of money received from his father-in-law. These servants had long loathed their master, and many times had run away from him, because he often had them cruelly flogged. After they had entered into a certain wood, one of them hurled his lance with all his force, and pierced his master, who was riding ahead. He fell to earth, and the other servant cut him about the head with spear-thrusts; so, hacked to pieces by them both, he was left lying dead, while they made off in flight with the money. The brother of Christopher buried the body, and sent his men after the servants. The younger was caught and bound; the elder, who had the money, got away. On their way back the captive, whose bonds had been left too loose, seized a spear and killed one of his guards. But the others brought him into Tours, where he underwent divers tortures and mutilation. When he was already dead, he was hanged upon a gibbet.
47] A cruel feud now arose between citizens of Tours. While Sichar, the son of one John, deceased, was celebrating the feast of Christmas in the village of Manthelan, with Austregisel and other people of the district, the local priest sent a servant to invite several persons to drink wine with him at his house. When the servant came, one of the invited drew his sword and was brutal enough to strike, so that the man fell dead upon the spot. Sichar was bound by ties of friendship to the priest; and as soon as he heard of the servant's murder he seized his weapons and went to the church to wait for Austregisel. He in his turn, hearing of this, took up his arms and equipment and went out against him. There was an encounter between the two parties; in the general confusion Sichar was brought safely away by some clerics, and escaped to his country estate, leaving behind in the priest's house money and raiment, with four wounded servants. After his flight, Austregisel burst into the house, slew the servants, and carried off the gold and silver and other property. The two parties afterwards appeared before a tribunal of citizens, who found Austregisel guilty as a homicide who had murdered the servants, and without any right or sanction seized the property. A few days after the case had been before the court, Sichar heard that the stolen effects were in the hands of Auno, his son, and his brother Eberulf. He set the tribunal at naught, and taking Audinus with him, lawlessly attacked these men by night with an armed party. The house where they were sleeping was forced open, the father, brother, and son were slain, the slaves murdered, and the movable property and herds carried off. The matter coming to my ears, I was sore troubled, and acting in conjunction with the judge, sent messengers bidding them come before us to see if the matter could be reasonably settled so that the parties might separate in amity and the quarrel go no farther. They came, and the citizens assembled, whereupon I said: 'Desist, 0 men, from further crime, lest the evil spread more widely. We have already lost sons of the Church, and now we fear that by this same feud we may be reft of others. Be ye peacemakers, I beseech you; let him who did the wrong make composition for the sake of brotherly love, that ye be children of peace, and worthy, by the Lord's grace, to possess the kingdom of heaven. For He Himself hath said:"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." And behold, now, if he who is liable to the penalty have not the means of paying, the Church shall redeem the debt from her own moneys; meanwhile let no man's soul perish. Saying thus, I offered money belonging to the Church. But the party of Chramnesind, who demanded justice for the death of his father and his uncle, refused to accept it. When they were gone, Sichar made preparations for a journey, intending to proceed to the king, and with this in mind set out for Poitiers to see his wife first. But while he was there admonishing a slave to work, he struck him several times with a rod, whereupon the man drew the sword from his master's baldric and did not fear to wound him with it. He fell to the ground; but friends ran up and caught the slave, whom they first beat cruelly; then they cut off his hands and feet and condemned him to the gibbet. Meanwhile the rumour reached Tours that Sichar was dead. As soon as Chramnesind heard it, he warned his relations and friends, and went with all speed to Sichar's house. He plundered it and slew some of the slaves, burned down all the houses, not only that of Sichar, but also those belonging to other landholders on the estate. He then took off with him the cattle, and all the movable effects. The parties were now summoned by the count to the city, and pleaded their own causes. The judges decided that he who had already refused a composition and then burned houses down should forfeit half of the sum formerly awarded to him, wherein they acted illegally, to ensure the restoration of peace; they further ordered that Sichar should pay the other moiety of the composition. The Church then provided the sum named in the judgement; the parties gave security, and the composition was paid, both sides promising each other upon oath that they would never make further trouble against each other. So the feud came to an end.
IX, 19] The feud between the citizens of Tours, which I above described as ended, broke out afresh with revived fury. After the murder of the kinsfolk of Chramnesind, Sichar formed a great friendship with him; so fond of one another did they grow that often they shared each other's meals and slept in the same bed. One evening Chramnesind made ready a supper, and invited Sichar. His friend, came, and they sat down together to the feast. But Sichar, letting the, wine go to his head, kept making boastful remarks against Chramnesind, and is reported at last to have said: 'Sweet brother, thou owest, me great thanks for the slaying of thy relations; for the composition made to thee for their death hath caused gold and sliver to abound in thy house. But for this cause, which established thee not a little, thou, wert this day poor and destitute.' Chramnesind heard these words with bitterness of heart, and said within himself: 'If I avenge not the death of my kinsmen, I deserve to lose the name of man, and to be called weak woman.' And straightway he put out the lights and cleft the head of Sichar with his dagger. The man fell and died, uttering but a faint sound as the last breath left him. The servants who had accompanied him fled away. Chramnesind stripped the body of its garments, and hung it from a post of his fence; he then rode away to the king.
1. From Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks, trans. by 0. M. Dalton (2 vols.; Oxford.- Clarendon Press, 1927, VOI- ii, PP- 5-7, 320-323, 387. Reprinted by permission of the Clarendon Press, Oxford.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
The Early Middle Ages 500-1000. ed Robert Brentano. The Free Press: University of California, Berkeley, 1964. pp. 123-7.