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E02142: Gregory of Tours, in his Histories (5.24), tells of how, in 577, Guntram Boso took his daughters from the church in Tours, almost certainly that of Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050), and later left them in the church of Hilary (bishop of Poitiers, ob. 367, S00183) in Poitiers (all in western Gaul); in both cases almost certainly for the protection of sanctuary. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 577/594.

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posted on 2016-12-18, 00:00 authored by kwojtalik

Gregory of Tours, Histories (Historiae) 5.24

Guntchramnus Boso Toronus cum paucis armatis veniens, filias suas, quas in basilica sancta reliquerat, vim abstulit et eas Pectavus civitatem, qui erat Childeberthi regis, perduxit. Chilpericus quoque rex Pectavum pervasit, atque nepotis sui hominis ab eius sunt hominibus effugati. Ennodium ex comitatu ad regis praesentiam perduxerunt. Quem exilio damnatum, facultates eius fisco subdiderunt. Sed post annum et patriae et facultatibus redditus est. Gunthchramnus Boso, relictis filiabus suis in basilica beati Hilari, ad Childebertum regem transiit.

'Guntram Boso came to Tours with a small band of armed followers and carried off by force his daughters, whom he had left in the holy church there. He took them to the city of Poitiers, which belonged to King Childebert. King Chilperic attacked Poitiers and his troops put his nephew [Childebert]’s forces to flight. These same troops deposed Ennodius from his countship and took him off to appear before the King. He was banished and his goods were confiscated. A year later he was allowed to return home and his property was restored to him. Guntram Boso left his daughters in the church of the blessed Hilary, and joined King Childebert.'

Text: Krusch and Levison 1951, 230. Translation: Thorpe 1974, 289, lightly modified.

History

Evidence ID

E02142

Saint Name

Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, ob. 368 : S00183

Saint Name in Source

Hilarius

Related Saint Records

https://oxford.figshare.com/articles/Hilarius_Hilary_bishop_of_Poitiers_ob_367/13729618

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

577

Evidence not after

594

Activity not before

577

Activity not after

577

Place of Evidence - Region

Gaul and Frankish kingdoms

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Tours

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Tours Tours Tours Toronica urbs Prisciniacensim vicus Pressigny Turonorum civitas Ceratensis vicus Céré

Major author/Major anonymous work

Gregory of Tours

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Seeking asylum at church/shrine

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Women Aristocrats Officials

Source

Gregory of Tours wrote the Histories (Historiae) during his episcopate in Tours (573–594). They constitute the longest and most detailed historical work of the post-Roman West. Gregory's focus is Gaul under its Frankish kings, above all the territories of Tours and (to a lesser extent) Clermont, where he had been born and brought up. Much of his work tells of the years when, as bishop of an important see, he was himself centrally involved in Frankish politics. The Histories are often wrongly referred to as a History of the Franks. Although the work does contain a history of the rulers of Francia, it also includes much hagiographical material, and Gregory himself gave it the simple title the 'ten books of Histories' (decem libri historiarum), when he produced a list of his own writings (Histories 10.31). The Histories consist of ten books whose scope and contents differ considerably. Book 1 skims rapidly through world history, with biblical and secular material from the Creation to the death in AD 397 of Martin of Tours (Gregory’s hero and predecessor as bishop). It covers 5596 years. In Book 2, which covers 114 years, the focus moves firmly into Gaul, covering the years up to the death of Clovis in 511. Books 3 and 4, which cover 37 and 27 years respectively, then move fairly swiftly on, closing with the death of king Sigibert in 575. With Book 5, through to the final Book 10, the pace slows markedly, and the detail swells, with only between two and four years covered in each of the last six books, breaking off in 591. These books are organised in annual form, based on the regnal years of Childebert II (r. 575-595/6). There continues to be much discussion over when precisely Gregory wrote specific parts of the Histories, though there is general agreement that none of it was written before 575 and, of course, none of it after Gregory's death, which is believed to have occurred in 594. Essentially, scholars are divided over whether Gregory wrote the Histories sequentially as the years from 575 unfolded, with little or no revision thereafter, or whether he composed the whole work over the space of a few years shortly before his death and after 585 (see Murray 2015 for the arguments on both sides). For an understanding of the political history of the time, and Gregory's attitude to it, precisely when the various books were written is of great importance; but for what he wrote about the saints, the precise date of composition is of little significance, because Gregory's attitude to saints, their relics and their miracles did not change significantly during his writing-life. We have therefore chosen to date Gregory's writing of our entries only within the broadest possible parameters: with a terminus post quem of 575 for the early books of the Histories, and thereafter the year of the events described, and a terminus ante quem of 594, set by Gregory's death. (Bryan Ward-Perkins, David Lambert) For general discussions of the Histories see: Goffart, W., The Narrators of Barbarian History (A.D. 550–800): Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, Bede, and Paul the Deacon (Princeton, 1988), 119–127. Murray, A.C., "The Composition of the Histories of Gregory of Tours and Its Bearing on the Political Narrative," in: A.C. Murray (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden and Boston, 2015), 63–101. Pizarro, J.M., "Gregory of Tours and the Literary Imagination: Genre, Narrative Style, Sources, and Models in the Histories," in: Murray, A Companion to Gregory of Tours, 337–374.

Discussion

Gregory does not name the church in Tours, from which Guntram Boso took his daughters, but it was almost certainly that of Martin, where Guntram himself had previously enjoyed the privilege of sanctuary (Histories 5.14, see E02136). Taken together, Histories 5.14 and 24 give a good indication of the demands that sanctuary could bring to a popular shrine: Martin's in Tours at one point was sheltering the rebellious Merovingian prince Merovech, his ally Guntram Boso, and the latter's daughters – all presumably with entourages suitable for highborn Franks.

Bibliography

Edition: Krusch, B., and Levison, W., Gregorii episcopi Turonensis Libri historiarum X (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum I.1; 2nd ed.; Hannover, 1951). Translation: Thorpe, L., Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks (Penguin Classics; London, 1974). Further reading: Murray, A.C., "The Composition of the Histories of Gregory of Tours and Its Bearing on the Political Narrative", in: A.C. Murray (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden-Boston 2015), 63-101. Vieillard-Troiekouroff, M., Les monuments religieux de la Gaule d'après les œuvres de Grégoire de Tours (Paris, 1976).

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Keywords

S00183 History

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