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History of the Franks

St Gregory of Tours, tr. Dalton, 1927

Book 9, 9. Of the Death of Rauching

Rauching leagued¹ himself with the chief men in the kingdom of Lothar, son of Chilperic, under the pretext that he acted on behalf of peace, and wished to prevent quarrels and raids across the frontiers of the two kingdoms. It was really a conspiracy to slay Childebert. Rauching was then to rule in Champagne, with control over Theudebert, the king’s elder son; Ursio and Berthefred were to get into their hands Theuderic, the younger son born not long since,² and hold the rest of the kingdom, excluding King Guntram from power. They murmured against Queen Brunhild, and longed once more to humiliate her, as they had done before in her early widowhood.³

Rauching, elated at his great power, and, so to speak, vaunting a regal state to come, now made ready for his journey; it was his purpose to have audience of King Childebert, and then carry out the design which he had planned. But the goodness of God brought the plot first to the ears of King Guntram, who sent envoys in secret to King Childebert to warn him of the conspiracy, and then to say: ‘Make speed that we may meet together, for there are urgent matters to be discussed. Childebert made inquiry as to that which was told him, and finding it to be true, sent for Rauching. As soon as he had arrived, and before he had been admitted to the presence, the king issued orders, and dispatched some of his servants with authority to travel in the king’s name and take possession of all Rauching’s property wherever it might be found. He then ordered the duke to be admitted to his chamber; and after a talk on various subjects, dismissed him. As he came out, two doorkeepers seized him by the legs, so that he fell upon the threshold, one part of his body lying within, the other without the chamber. Then men appointed for the work fell upon him with swords, and hacked his head so fine that the whole of it looked like a mass of brain; his death was instantaneous. The body was stripped, flung from a window, and consigned to burial. This man was of a light character, beyond all human measure rapacious and greedy after the goods of others. Moreover, his very riches made him so haughty that at the time of his death he was giving himself out as the son of King Lothar. Much gold was found upon him. As soon as he was slain, one of his servants dashed away at full speed, and told the dead man’s wife⁴ what had happened. At the time she was riding through a street of Soissons, with an escort of servants before and behind, pranked with fine jewels and precious stones, and covered with flashing gold, bound for the church of the saints Crispin and Crispinianus to hear Mass, for it was the day of the passion of these blessed martyrs.⁵ When she saw the messenger, she turned back by another street, cast her jewels to the ground, and took refuge in the church of the holy Médard, trusting to find safety there under the protection of that blessed confessor. The servants sent by the king to sequester the property of Rauching discovered so many precious things among his possessions that their match might not be found even in the royal treasury; all of them were brought and shown to the king. The day of Rauching’s death there were a number of citizens of Tours and Poitiers with the king, of whom the conspirators had intended to make use. If the plot had succeeded, these men were to have been seized and tortured, and the charge would have been brought against them: ‘It was one of you who caused the death of our king;’ thereafter they would have been again tortured and put to a violent death. The conspirators would then have proclaimed themselves the avengers of the king’s murder. But Almighty God confounded their designs by reason of their iniquity, and fulfilled that which is written: ‘The pit which thou preparest for thy brother, thyself shalt fall therein.’⁶ Magnovald was sent as duke in place of Rauching.

Ursio and Berthefred, sure that Rauching would be able to carry out the plan which they had plotted together, had meanwhile collected an army and were on the march. But on learning of his death and the manner of it, they added more partisans to their force and, conscious of their guilt, fortified themselves in a strong place, in the Woëvre, near the estate of Ursio, with all their movable effects, determined to defend themselves with valiance against Childebert’s army if he should think fit to take any action against them. Ursio was the head and fount of all the mischief. Queen Brunhild sent a message to Berthefred to this effect: ‘Separate thyself from this our enemy, and thou shalt have thy life; if not, thou shalt perish with him.’ For the queen had received his daughter from the water of baptism, and for this reason was fain to have compassion on him. But he replied: ‘I will never forsake him, until death rend us asunder.’

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