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History of the Franks

St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927

Book 7, Of the Church of the Holy Vincent the Martyr, Plundered by Men of Agen

By this time news had reached King Guntram’s dukes that Gundovald was on the farther bank of the Garonne with a great multitude of their enemies, and that he had possession of the treasures which Rigunth had taken with her. They pressed forward, and their cavalry swam the Garonne, some being drowned in the river. The rest, on reaching the far bank, went in search of Gundovald, and found camels laden with a great weight of gold and silver, and exhausted horses which he had left behind along the roads. Hearing later that Gundovald and his men were now within the walls of Convenae, they left behind their wagons and baggage with the less able-bodied, and dispatched the more active men, as they were already across the river, to follow up the enemy. Moving forward with all speed, they came to the church of the holy Vincent near the boundary of the city of Agen, where the martyr is said to have finished his fight for the name of Christ. They found it filled with all manner of treasure belonging to the inhabitants of the place, who hoped that the church of so great a martyr would never be violated by Christian men. The doors were most carefully fastened. But when the approaching troops were unable to break them open, they lit a fire and burned them down, whereupon they carried off all the property and gear that they found, and all the church plate as well. But the divine vengeance then and there filled many of them with affright. For the hands of some were supernaturally burned, and sent forth a great smoke, like that which rises above a fire. Others were seized by an evil spirit; thus possessed, they shouted in their frenzy the martyr’s name. A great number began brawling and wounded each other with their own spears. The remainder of their body proceeded on their march, not without great alarm. To cut the story short, they all came together again at Convenae¹ (that, as I have written, was the name of the place); the whole force now pitched tents in the country about the city, and there remained encamped. They ravaged all the surrounding region; some of the soldiers, goaded more deeply than the rest by avarice, strayed too far from their comrades and were put to death by the peasants.

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