cally summed up. The third part comprises books VII-X. It comes down to the year 591 and the epilogue was written in 594, the year of Gregory's death. The earlier part of the work does not stand as it was first written; Gregory revised it and added a number of chapters. It will be noticed that from the middle of the third book on, Gregory was writing of events within his own lifetime, and in the last six books, which are of especial value, of those that took place after he became bishop. For the earlier part of the work he depended on various chronicles, histories and local annals,[1] and also on oral tradition.
For the task undertaken by Gregory in the History of the Franks no one else was so well qualified. His family connections were such as to afford him every opportunity of knowing the occurrences of central Gaul, while his position as bishop of Tours with all that it entailed brought him into touch with almost every person and matter of interest throughout the country. His frequent journeys and wide acquaintance, his leadership among the bishops, and his personal relations with four kings, Sigibert, Chilperic, Gunthram, and Childebert and also with most of the leading Franks, gave him unsurpassed opportunities for learning what was going on. Perhaps his most realistic notions of the working of Frankish society were obtained in dealing with the political refugees who sought refuge in St. Martin's church. Though these people must have always been interesting to talk with, they were the cause of some of Gregory's most harrowing and at the same time informing experiences. This varied contact with the world about him made Gregory what every reader feels him to be, a vivid and faithful delineator of his time.
The History of the Franks must not be looked upon as a secular history. The old title, Ecclesiastical History of the Franks, is a better one descriptively. It is written not from the point of view of the Gallo-Roman or the Frank, but solely from that of the churchman, almost that of the bishop. Gregory does not take a tone of
- ↑ The list as given by Manitius is as follows: Chronicles of Jerome, Victor, Sulpicius Severus; history of Orosius; church history of Eusebius-Rufinus; life of St. Martin by Sulpicius Severus; letters of Sidonius Apollinaris and Ferreolus; writings of Avitus; histories of Renatus Profuturus Frigeridus and Sulpicius Alexander (not elsewhere known); annals of Aries, Angers, Burgundy. Geschichte der Lateinischen Litteratur des Mittelalters, p. 220.
