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History of the Franks

St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927

Book 9, 24. Of the Episcopate of Fromius (Pronimius)

Deutherius, bishop of Vence, also died, to whose place Pronimius was appointed. This Pronimius had lived in Bourges, but for some reason or other migrated to Septimania, where, after the death of King Athanagild, he was magnificently received by the new king Leuva,¹ and appointed bishop of Agde. But after the death of Leuva, when Leuvigild raged violently in that false and wicked heresy of the Arians, and Ingund, daughter of King Sigibert, of whom I have above written, was escorted to Spain to be married,² it was told the king that the bishop had counselled her ever to keep herself from the poison of this heresy. On account of this he ever bore ill will, and sought to ensnare Pronimius by unjust usage in order to cast him out of his bishopric. But as no trap which he devised could take him, at last he sent an assassin to attempt his life with the sword. But Pronimius was warned by informants from Gaul,³ and quitting Agde, returned to that country, where he was received and presented with gifts by many bishops, and made his way to King Childebert. It thus befell that when the place was vacant, he received the bishopric of Vence through the king’s favour in the ninth year after he had been driven from Agde.

In this year the Bretons widely ravaged the territory of Nantes and Rennes, taking the vintage, devastating the cultivated land, and carrying off captive the labourers on the country estates. They kept none of their former promises;⁴ not only did they disregard their pledges, but they even took away property belonging to our kings.

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