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56 HISTORY OF THE FRANKS will be possible to doom the others to death easily." He gave orders to slay Sygismund at once, with his wife and children, by casting them into a well in the village Columna, of the city Orleans, and hastened to the Burgundies, summoning to his aid king The- odoric. And the latter promised to go, not caring to avenge the wrong done to his father-in-law. And when they met near Viso- rontia, a place of the city of Vienne, they fought with Godomar. And when Godomar had fled with his army and Chlodomer was pursuing and was separated a considerable distance from his men, the others, imitating his rallying cry, called to him saying: /'This way, come this way, we are your men." And he believed it and went, and fell into the midst of his enemies, and cutting off his head and setting it on a pike they raised it aloft. The Franks saw this and perceived that Chlodomer was dead, and rallying, they put Godomar to flight and crushed the Burgundians and reduced their coimtry to subjection, and Clothar immediately married his brother's wife, Guntheuca by name. And queen Clotilda, after the period of mourning was past, took his sons and kept them; and one of these was called Theodoald, a second, Gunther, a third, Chlodovald. Godomar recovered his kingdom a second time. 7. Afterward Theodoric, remembering the wrongs done by Hermenfred, king of the Thuringi, called his brother Clothar to his aid and prepared to march against him, promising that a share of the plunder should be given to king Clothar, if by God's help the gift of victory should come to them. So he called the Franks together and said to them : "Be angry, I beg of you, both because of my wrong and because of the death of your kinsmen, and recol- lect that the Thuringi once made a violent attack upon our kins- men and inflicted much harm on them. And they gave hostages and were wilHng to conclude peace with them, but the Thuringi slew the hostages with various tortures, and made an attack upon our kinsmen, took away all their property, and hung youths by the sinews of their thighs to trees, and cruelly killed more than two hundred maidens, tying them by their arms to the necks of horses, which were then headed in opposite directions, and being started by a very sharp goad tore the maidens to pieces. And others were stretched out upon the city streets and stakes were planted in the ground, and they caused loaded wagons to pass