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History of the Franks

St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927

Book 8, How the Bishops Were Presented to Him, and How He Made Ready a Banquet

In the morning the king went to visit the holy places of the saints, there to offer his prayers, and came also to my lodging. It was hard by the church of the holy abbot Avitus, of whom I have made mention in the book of Miracles.¹ I, of course, rose with delight to greet him, and after offering prayer, begged his condescension to receive within the walls bread of oblation from the church of the blessed Martin.² He did not decline, but entered in a friendly spirit, drained a cup, invited me to his table, and departed in a happy mood.

At this time Bertram, bishop of Bordeaux, and Palladius of Saintes had aroused the king’s deep wrath for having received Gundovald, as I have told above.³ But most of the two Palladius had incurred the king’s anger, because he had often dealt deceitfully with him on other occasions. They had both been examined a short time before by their brother bishops and the notables of the kingdom as to their conduct, first of all in receiving Gundovald, and then in consecrating Faustianus as bishop of Dax, at the frivolous order of this pretender. The blame of this consecration Palladius sought to transfer from his metropolitan Bertram to himself, saying: ‘The eyes of my metropolitan were almost closed with suffering, and I, derided and despoiled, was dragged to the place against my will. I could not but obey the command of one who declared himself the acknowledged ruler of all Gaul.’ When these words were repeated to the king, he was enraged, and hardly might be brought to invite them to his table, especially as he had not yet received either of them. And so, as Bertram came in, the king asked: ‘Who is this man?’ for it was very long since he had last seen him. They told him: ‘It is Bertram, bishop of Bordeaux.’ ‘We thank thee’, he then said, ‘for the loyalty to thy house which thou hast so well observed. Thou shouldst have remembered, very dear father, that thou wert my kinsman by my mother’s side; thou shouldst not, therefore, have brought a foreign pest upon thy family.’ Bertram had to listen to much more of this kind; then the king turned to Palladius with the words: ‘Small thanks I owe thee either, Bishop Palladius. For thrice, by sending me statements full of deceit, thou wert forsworn against me, an evil thing to be said of a bishop; thou didst write letters of excuse to me, while with other letters thou wert calling in my brother.⁴ But God hath judged my cause. It was ever my care to advance you, as fathers of the Church, but ye have dealt craftily with me always.’ To the bishops Nicasius⁵ and Antidius⁶ he said: ‘Tell me now, most holy fathers, what have ye done for the benefit of your country or for the safety of my kingdom?’ When they held their peace, the king washed his hands, received a benediction from the bishops, and sat down to the board with a smiling face and merry look, as if he had never said a word about the indignities which he had suffered.

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