Page:History of the Franks.djvu/270

238 HISTORY OF THE FRANKS again into friendly relations as before. Afterward many feuds arose between these factions ; ^ and who could ever set forth in words such wounds, such killings, and such wrong-doings, where scarcely a day passed without a murder, or an hour without a quarrel, or a moment without tears. King Childebert heard of this, and sent an embassy to king Gunthram to propose that bishops of both kingdoms should meet and punish these actions in accord- ance with the canons. And king Childebert ordered my humble self ^ to sit on this case, together with Eberegisel of Cologne and Maroveus himself, bishop of Poitiers ; and king Gunthram sent Gundigisil of Bordeaux with his provincials, since he was the metro- politan of this city. But I began to object, saying: *'I will not go to this place unless the rebellion which has arisen because of Chrodield, is forcibly put down by the judge." ^ For this reason a command was sent to Macco, who was then count, in which he was ordered to put the rebellion down by force if they should resist. Chrodield heard of this and ordered her assassins to stand armed before the door of the oratory, thinking they would fight against the judge, and if he wished to use force, they would resist with equal force. So it was necessary for this count to go there with armed men and to beat some with clubs and pierce others with spears, and when they resisted fiercely he had to attack and over- whelm them with the sword. When Chrodield saw this, she took the Lord's cross, the miraculous power of which she had before despised, and came out to meet them saying : "Do no violence to me, I beg of you, for I am a queen, daughter of one king and cousin of another ; don't do it, lest a time may come for me to take ven- geance on you." But the throng paid little heed to what she said but rushed, as I have said, upon those who were resisting and bound them and dragged them from the monastery and tied them to stakes and beat them fiercely and cut off the hair of some, the hands of others, and in a good many cases the ears and nose, and the rebellion was crushed and there was peace. Then the bishops who were present sat on the tribunal of the church, and Chrodield appeared and gave vent to much abuse of the abbess and many charges, asserting that she had a man in the monastery who wore woman's clothes and was treated as a woman although he had ^ Scolas. ^ Mediocritatis nostra personam. ^ The count is meant.