HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor

84 JOAQUÍN MARTÍNEZ PIZARROprofile as God-appointed king (probably derived in part from earlypropaganda on his behalf, cf. Wood [1985] and Hen [1993]) withhis systematic elimination of his own relatives and other potentialrivals. Book III covers the disastrous reigns of the sons of Clovis; hisgrandson Theudebert emerges as a model king, courageous, effective,and deferential to the church. His death in 548 marks the end ofthe book. Book IV describes the later reigns of the sons of Clovisand the coming to power of the children of Chlothar: Charibert,Guntram, Sigibert, and Chilperic, the fateful Visigothic marriages ofthe latter two, and the murder of Sigibert in 575, allegedly engineeredby Chilperic’s wife Fredegund.Books V to X relate events from 575 to 591, with a strong concentrationon the affairs of Central and Southern Gaul. Gregory’sinterest rarely extends to the northern Franks or to the lands northand east of the Rhine. On the other hand, there is occasional coverageof Spanish developments (e.g., V,38 and VIII,28: the conversionand rebellion of Hermengild), Byzantine politics (V,30; VI,30:reign of Tiberius), and news from Rome (X,1: plague; Gregory theGreat becomes pope). Books V and VI revolve around the figuresof Chilperic I and Fredegund, portrayed very negatively by Gregory,who refers to the king as “the Nero and Herod of our times” (VI,46).VII to X follow the reigns of Sigibert’s son Childebert II (with theVisigothic Brunhild as queen mother) and of his uncle Guntram andtheir various alliances, betrayals, and reconciliations with each other,culminating in the Treaty of Andelot (November 587). Among theimportant events in these books of contemporary history is the campaignof Gundovald, an alleged son of King Chlothar who had beenliving in Constantinople and was summoned back by a group ofnobles (VI,24). Gregory gives a nuanced and even equivocal accountof this pretender’s claims, which he appears to have considered legitimate,and his dramatic narrative of the betrayal of Gundovald bythe very men who had brought him to Gaul and of his wretcheddeath at Comminges shows genuine compassion (VII,34–38). Gregoryhimself appears as a protagonist in several major episodes, notablyhis own trial at Berny-Riviere for treason and slander against Chilpericand Fredegund (V,47–49) and his appearance before King Guntramon behalf of Childebert II, to reassure Guntram that his nephewwas not breaking the clauses of the Treaty of Andelot (IX,20).Alongside of these political episodes, the Historiae include abundantinformation about ecclesiastical matters, for instance the Vandal