of Clovis was susceptible of transient fervour: he was exasperated by the pathetic tale of the passion and death of Christ; and, instead of weighing the salutary consequences of that mysterious sacrifice, he exclaimed, with indiscreet fury," Had I been present at "the head of my valiant Franks, I would have revenged his in"juries (31)." But the savage conqueror of Gaul was incapable of examining the proofs of a religion, which depends on the laborious investigation of historic evidence, and speculative theology. He was still more incapable of feeling the mild influence of the Gospel, which persuades and purifies the heart of a genuine convert. His ambitious reign was a perpetual violation of moral and Christian duties: his hands were stained with blood, in peace as well as in war; and, as soon as Clovis had dismissed a synod of the Gallican church, he calmly assassinated all the princes of the Merovingian race (32). Yet the king of the Franks might sincerely worship the Christian God, as a Being more excellent and powerful than his national deities; and the signal deliverance and victory of Tolbiac encouraged Clovis to confide in the future protection of the Lord of Hosts. Martin, the most popular of the saints, had filled the Western world with the fame of those miracles, which were incessantly performed at his holy sepulchre of Tours. His visible or invisible aid promoted the cause of a liberal and orthodox prince; and the profane remark of Clovis himself, that St. Martin was an expensive friend (33), need not be interpreted as the symptom of any permanent or rational scepticism. But earth, as well as heaven, rejoiced in the conversion of the Franks. On the memorable day, when Clovis ascended from the baptismal font, he alone, in the Christian world, deserved the name and prerogatives of a Catholic king. The emperor Anastasius entertained some danger→ ous errors concerning the nature of the divine incarnation; and the Barbarians of Italy, Africa, Spain, and Gaul, were involved in the Arian heresy. The eldest, or rather the only, son of the church, was acknowledged by the clergy as their lawful sovereign, or glorious deliverer; and the arms of Clovis were strenuously supported by the zeal and favour of the Catholic faction (34).

This rash expression,

(31) Si ego ibidem cum Francis meis fuissem injurias ejus vindicassem which Gregory has prudently concealed, is celebrated by Fredegarius (Epitom. c. 21. in tom ii. p. 400.), Aimoin (1. i. c. 16. in tom. iii. p. 40. ), and the Chroniques de St. Denys (1. i. c. 20. in tom. iii. p. 171.), as an admirable effusion of Christian zeal.

(32) Gregory (l. ii. c. 40-43. in tom. ii. p. 183-185.), after coolly relating the repeated crimes, and affected remorse, of Clovis, concludes, perhaps undesignedly, with a lesson, which ambition will never hear; His ita transactis... obiit."

(33) After the Gothic victory, Clovis made rich offerings to St. Martin of Tours. He wished to redeem his war-horse by the gift of one hundred pieces of gold, but the enchanted steed could not move from the stable till the price of his redemption had been doubled. This miracle provoked the king to exclaim, Vere B. Martinus est bonus in auxilio, sed carus in negotio (Gesta Francorum, in tom. ii. p. 554, 555.).

(34) See the epistle from pope Anastasius to the royal convert (in tom. iv. p. 50. 51.) Avitus, bishop of Vienna, addressed Clovis on the same subject (p. 49.); and many of the Latin bishops would assure him of their joy and attachment.

of the

aud the

Roman

troops, A. D. 497,

&c.

Under the Roman empire, the wealth and jurisdiction of the bi- Submission shops, their sacred character, and perpetual office, their numerous Armoricans dependents, popular eloquence, and provincial assemblies, had rendered them always respectable, and sometimes dangerous. Their influence was augmented with the progress of superstition; and the establishment of the French monarchy may, in some degree, be ascribed to the firm alliance of an hundred prelates, who reigned in the discontented, or independent, cities of Gaul. The slight foundations of the Armorican republic had been repeatedly shaken, or overthrown; but the same people still guarded their domestic freedom; asserted the dignity of the Roman name; and bravely resisted the predatory inroads, and regular attacks, of Clovis, who laboured to extend his conquests from the Seine to the Loire. Their successful opposition introduced an equal and honourable union. The Franks esteemed the valour of the Armoricans (35); and the Armoricans were reconciled by the religion of the Franks. The military force, which had been stationed for the defence of Gaul, consisted of one hundred different bands of cavalry or infantry; and these troops, while they assumed the title and privileges of Roman soldiers, were renewed by an incessant supply of the Barbarian youth. The extreme fortifications, and scattered fragments, of the empire, were still defended by their hopeless courage. But their retreat was intercepted, and their communication was impracticable: they were abandoned by the Greek princes of Constantinople, and they piously disclaimed all connection with the Arian usurpers of Gaul. They accepted, without shame or reluctance, the generous capitulation, which was proposed by a Catholic hero; and this spurious, or legitimate, progeny of the Roman legions, was distinguished in the succeeding age by their arms, their ensigns, and their peculiar dress and institutions. But the national strength was increased by these powerful and voluntary accessions; and the neighbouring kingdoms dreaded the numbers, as well as the spirit, of the Franks. The reduction of the Northern provinces of Gaul, instead of being decided by the chance of a single battle, appears to have been slowly effected by the gradual operation of war and treaty; and Clovis acquired each object of his ambition, by such efforts, or such concessions, as were adequate to its real value. His savage character, and the virtues of Henry IV., suggest the most opposite ideas of human nature; yet some resemblance may be found in the situation

(35) Instead of the Apбópuxor, an unknown people, who now appear in the text of Procopius, Hadrian de Valois has restored the proper name of the Appópuxot; and this easy correction has been almost universally approved. Yet an unprejudiced reader would naturally suppose, that Procopius means to describe a tribe of Germans in the alliance of Rome; and not a confederacy of Gallic cities, which had revolted from the empire.*

*Compare Hallam's Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. i. p. 2, and Daru, Hist. de Bretagne, vol. i. p. 129.-Y.

The Burgundian

war,

A. D. 499.

of two princes, who conquered France by their valour, their policy, and the merits of a seasonable conversion (36).

The kingdom of the Burgundians, which was defined by the course of two Gallic rivers, the Saone and the Rhône, extended from the forest of Vosges to the Alps and the sea of Marseilles (37). The sceptre was in the hands of Gundobald. That valiant and ambitious prince had reduced the number of royal candidates by the death of two brothers, one of whom was the father of Clotilda (38); but his imperfect prudence still permitted Godegesil, the youngest of his brothers, to possess the dependent principality of Geneva. The Arian monarch was justly alarmed by the satisfaction, and the hopes, which seemed to animate his clergy and people after the conversion of Clovis; and Gundobald convened at Lyons an assembly of his bishops, to reconcile, if it were possible, their religious and political discontents. A vain conference was agitated between the two factions. The Arians upbraided the Catholics with the worship of three Gods: the Catholics defended their cause by theological distinctions; and the usual arguments, objections, and replies, were reverberated with obstinate clamour; till the king revealed his secret apprehensions, by an abrupt but decisive question, which he addressed to the orthodox bishops. "If you truly "profess the Christian religion, why do you not restrain the king "of the Franks? He has declared war against me, and forms al"liances with my enemies for my destruction. A sanguinary "and covetous mind is not the symptom of a sincere conversion: "let him show his faith by his works." The answer of Avitus, bishop of Vienna, who spoke in the name of his brethren, was delivered with the voice and countenance of an angel. "We are "ignorant of the motives and intentions of the king of the Franks: "but we are taught by Scripture, that the kingdoms which aban"don the divine law are frequently subverted; and that enemies "will arise on every side against those who have made God their enemy. Return, with thy people, to the law of God, and he "will give peace and security to thy dominions." The king of Burgundy, who was not prepared to accept the condition which the. Catholics considered as essential to the treaty, delayed and dis

66

(36) This important digression of Procopius (de Bell. Gothic. 1. i. c. 12. in tom. ii. p. 29-36.] illustrates the origin of the French monarchy. Yet I must observe, 1. That the Greek historian betrays an inexcusable ignorance of the geography of the West. 2. That these treaties and privileges, which should leave some lasting traces, are totally invisible in Gregory of Tours, the Salic laws, &c. (37) Regnum circa Rhodanum aut Ararim cum provincia Massiliensi retinebant. Greg. Turon. 1. ii. c. 32. in tom. ii. p. 178. The province of Marseille, as far as the Durance, was afterwards ceded to the Ostrogoths; and the signatures of twenty-five bishops are supposed to represent the kingdom of Burgundy, A. D. 519. (Concil. Epaon. in tom. iv. p. 104, 105.). Yet I would except Vindonissa. The bishop, who lived under the Pagan Alemanni, would naturally resort to the synods of the next Christian kingdom. Mascou (in his four first annotations) has explained many circumstances relative to the Burgundian monarchy.

(38) Mascou (Hist. of the Germans, x1. 10.), who very reasonably distrusts the testimony of Gregory of Tours, has produced a passage from Avitus (epist. v.), to prove that Gundobald affected to deplore the tragic event, which his subjects affected to applaud.

missed the ecclesiastical conference; after reproaching his bishops, that Clovis, their friend and proselyte, had privately tempted the allegiance of his brother (39).

The allegiance of his brother was already seduced; and the obedience of Godegesil, who joined the royal standard with the troops of Geneva, more effectually promoted the success of the conspiracy. While the Franks and Burgundians contended with equal valour, his seasonable desertion decided the event of the battle; and as Gundobald was faintly supported by the disaffected Gauls, he yielded to the arms of Clovis, and hastily retreated from the field, which appears to have been situate between Langres and Dijon. He distrusted the strength of Dijon, a quadrangular fortress, encompassed by two rivers, and by a wall thirty feet high, and fifteen thick, with four gates, and thirty-three towers (40): he abandoned to the pursuit of Clovis the important cities of Lyons and Vienna; and Gundobald still fled with precipitation, till he had reached Avignon, at the distance of two hundred and fifty miles from the field of battle. A long siege, and an artful negotiation, admonished the king of the Franks of the danger and difficulty of his enterprise. He imposed a tribute on the Burgundian prince, compelled him to pardon and reward his brother's treachery, and proudly returned to his own dominions, with the spoils and captives of the southern provinces. This splendid triumph was soon clouded by the intelligence, that Gundobald had violated his recent obligations, and that the unfortunate Godegesil, who was left at Vienna with a garrison of five thousand Franks (41), had been besieged, surprised, and massacred by his inhuman brother. Such an outrage might have exasperated the patience of the most peaceful sovereign; yet the conqueror of Gaul dissembled the injury, released the tribute, and accepted the alliance, and military service, of the king of Burgundy. Clovis no longer possessed those advantages which had assured the success of the preceding war; and his rival, instructed by adversity, had found new resources in the affections of his people. The Gauls or Romans applauded the mild and impartial laws of Gundobald, which almost raised them to the same level with their conquerors. The bishops were reconciled, and flattered, by the hopes, which he artfully suggested, of his approaching conversion; and though he eluded their accomplishment to the last moment of

(39) See the original conference (in tom. iv. p. 99-102.). Avitus, the principal actor, and probably the secretary of the meeting, was bishop of Vienna. A short account of his person and works may be found in Dupin (Bibliothèque Ecclésiastique, tom. v. p. 5-10.).

(40) Gregory of Tours (l. iii. c. 19. in tom. ii. p. 197.) indulges his genius, or rather transcribes some more eloquent writer, in the description of Dijon; a castle, which already deserved the title of a city. It depended on the bishops of Langres till the twelfth century, and afterwards became the capital of the dukes of Burgundy. Longuerue, Description de la France, part i. p. 280.

(41) The Epitomiser of Gregory of Tours (in tom. ii. p. 401.) has supplied this number of Franks; but he rashly supposes that they were cut in pieces by Gundobald. The prudent Burgundian spared the soldiers of Clovis, and sent these captives to the king of the Visigoths, who settled them in the territory of Toulouse.

Final

conquest of

A. D. 532.

his life, his moderation secured the peace, and suspended the ruin, of the kingdom of Burgundy (42).

I am impatient to pursue the final ruin of that kingdom, which Burgundy by was accomplished under the reign of Sigismond, the son of Gundothe Franks, bald. The Catholic Sigismond has acquired the honours of a saint and martyr (43); but the hands of the royal saint were stained with the blood of his innocent son, whom he inhumanly sacrificed to the pride and resentment of a stepmother. He soon discovered his error, and bewailed the irreparable loss. While Sigismond embraced the corpse of the unfortunate youth, he received a severe admonition from one of his attendants: "It is not his situation, "O king! it is thine which deserves pity and lamentation." The reproaches of a guilty conscience were alleviated, however, by his liberal donation to the monastery of Agaunum, or St. Maurice, in Vallais; which he himself had founded in honour of the imaginary martyrs of the Thebaan legion (44). A full chorus of perpetual psalmody was instituted by the pious king; he assiduously practised the austere devotion of the monks; and it was his humble prayer, that Heaven would inflict in this world the punishment of his sins. His prayer was heard: the avengers were at hand; and the provinces of Burgundy were overwhelmed by an army of victorious Franks. After the event of an unsuccessful battle, Sigismond, who wished to protract his life that he might prolong his penance, concealed himself in the desert in a religious habit, till he was discovered and betrayed by his subjects, who solicited the favour of their new masters. The captive monarch, with his wife and two children, was transported to Orleans, and. buried alive in a deep well, by the stern command of the sons of Clovis ; whose cruelty might derive some excuse from the maxims and examples of their barbarous age. Their ambition, which urged them to achieve the conquest of Burgundy, was inflamed, or disguised, by filial piety: and Clotilda, whose sanctity did not consist in the forgiveness of injuries, pressed them to revenge her father's death on the family of his assassin. The rebellious Burgundians, for they attempted to break their chains, were still permitted to enjoy their national laws under the obligation of tribute and military service; and the Merovingian princes

(42) In this Burgundian war I have followed Gregory of Tours (l. ii. c, 32, 33. în tom. ii. p. 178. 179.), whose narrative appears so incompatible with that of Procopius (de Bell. Goth. 1. i. c. 12. in tom. ii. p. 31, 32.), that some critics have supposed two different wars. The Abbé Dubos (Hist. Critique, &c. tom. ii. p. 126-162.) has distinctly represented the causes and the events.

(43) See his life or legend (in tom. iii. p. 402.). A martyr! how strangely has that word been distorted from its original sense of a common witness. St. Sigismond was remarkable for the cure

of fevers.

(44) Before the end of the fifth century, the church of St. Maurice, and his Thebaan legion, had rendered Agaunum a place of devout pilgrimage. A promiscuous community of both sexes had introduced some deeds of darkness, which were abolished (A. D. 515) by the regular monastery of Sigismond. Within fifty years, his angels of light made a nocturnal sally to murder their bishop, and his clergy. See in the Bibliothèque raisonnée (tom. xxxvi. p. 435-438.) the curious remarks of a learned librarian of Geneva.