Page:History of the Franks.djvu/243

THE NINTH BOOK 211 Holy Ghost inferior to the Father nor the Son, but they were equal and alike all-powerful, and in this Trinity they confessed the true God. Then Richared perceived the truth and ending the argu- ment he placed himself under the CathoHc law, and receiving the sign of the blessed cross together with baptism he believed in Jesus Christ son of God, equal to the Father and the Holy Ghost, reigning for ages of ages. Amen. Then he sent messengers to the province of Narbonne to tell what he had done and bring the people to a like belief. The bishop of the Arian sect there at the time was Athalo- cus who caused such trouble to God's churches by his vain doc- trines and false interpretations of the Scriptures that he was be- lieved to be the very Arius who, as the historian Eusebius relates, lost his entrails in a privy. But when he did not allow the people of his sect to believe these things and only a few flattered him by agreeing with him he was transported with spite and went to his cell and laid his head on the bed and breathed out his worthless soul. And thus the heretics in the province confessed the insepa- rable Trinity and departed from error. [16. King Richared sends an embassy to Gunthram and Childe- bert. It is not received by Gunthram. 17. An unusually cold spring. 18. The Bretons ravage the territory of Nantes.] 19. The feud among the citizens of Tours which, as we have stated above, was ended, burst out again with renewed fury. After slaying Chramsind's kinsmen Sichar had become very friendly with him, and they loved one another so dearly that they often ate together and slept together in one bed. Once Chramsind made ready a dinner towards night and invited Sichar. He came and they sat down together to dinner. And Sichar became drunk with wine and made many boasts to Chramsind, and he is reported to have said at last: Dearest brother, you owe me great gratitude for killing your kinsmen since you got payment for them and you have much gold and silver in your house, and if that payment had not given you a start you would now be naked and in need." But Chramsind heard Sichar's word with a bitter heart and said within himself : "Unless I avenge my kinsmen's death I ought to lose the name of man and be called a weak woman." And at once he ex- tinguished the lights and plunged his dagger into Sichar's head. Sichar made a little cry and immediately fell and died. The attend-