Gregory of Tours, in his Histories (2.43 and 4.1), records the pious life led by Queen *Clotild (queen and widow of Clovis, S01186) at the basilica of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050) in Tours, after the death of Clovis [in 511]; her death in Tours [in c. 545]; and her burial in Paris in the church of *Peter (the Apostle, S00036), which she had built; Gregory mentions that *Genovefa/Geneviève (ascetic of Paris, ob. 502/512, S01156), had earlier been buried there. Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 575/594.
Evidence ID
E02069
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Major author/Major anonymous work
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours, Histories (Historiae) 2.43 and 4.1
(2.43) Chrodechildis autem regina post mortem viri sui Toronus venit, ibique ad basilica beati Martini deserviens, cum summa pudititia atque benignitate in hoc loco commorata est omnibus diebus vitae suae, raro Parisius visitans.
'Queen Clotild, after the death of her husband [in 511], came to Tours and, devoting herself there to the basilica of the blessed Martin, with the greatest modesty and goodness she remained in this place all the days of her life, visiting Paris but rarely.'
(4.1) Igitur Chrodigildis regina, plena dierum bonisque operibus praedita, apud urbem Toronicam obiit tempore Iniuriosi episcopi. Quae Parisius cum magno psallentio deportata, in sacrario basilicae sancti Petri ad latus Chlodovechi regis sepulta est a filiis suis, Childebertho atque Chlothachario regibus. Nam basilicam illam ipsa construxerat; in qua et Genuveifa beatissima est sepulta.
'Queen Clotild died, full of days and rich in good works, in the city of Tours, in the time of Bishop Injuriosus. With a great singing of psalms her body was carried to Paris and her two royal sons, Childebert and Chlothar, buried her in the sacrarium of Saint Peter's church at the side of her husband, King Clovis. She herself had this church built. The most blessed Geneviève is also buried there.'
Text: Krusch and Levison 1951, 135.
Translation: Thorpe 1974, 197, modified.
Liturgical ActivitiesConstruction of cult buildings
RelicsWomen
Chant and religious singing
Cult PlacesCult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityConstruction of cult buildings
Ceremonies at burial of a saint
Burial ad sanctos
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Monarchs and their family
Source
Gregory of Tours wrote the Histories (Historiae) during his episcopate in Tours (573–594). They constitute the longest and most detailed historical work of the post-Roman West. Gregory's focus is Gaul under its Frankish kings, above all the territories of Tours and (to a lesser extent) Clermont, where he had been born and brought up. Much of his work tells of the years when, as bishop of an important see, he was himself centrally involved in Frankish politics. The Histories are often wrongly referred to as a History of the Franks. Although the work does contain a history of the rulers of Francia, it also includes much hagiographical material, and Gregory himself gave it the simple title the 'ten books of Histories' (decem libri historiarum), when he produced a list of his own writings (Histories 10.31).The Histories consist of ten books whose scope and contents differ considerably. Book 1 skims rapidly through world history, with biblical and secular material from the Creation to the death in AD 397 of Martin of Tours (Gregory’s hero and predecessor as bishop). It covers 5596 years. In Book 2, which covers 114 years, the focus moves firmly into Gaul, covering the years up to the death of Clovis in 511. Books 3 and 4, which cover 37 and 27 years respectively, then move fairly swiftly on, closing with the death of king Sigibert in 575. With Book 5, through to the final Book 10, the pace slows markedly, and the detail swells, with only between two and four years covered in each of the last six books, breaking off in 591. These books are organised in annual form, based on the regnal years of Childebert II (r. 575-595/6).
There continues to be much discussion over when precisely Gregory wrote specific parts of the Histories, though there is general agreement that none of it was written before 575 and, of course, none of it after Gregory's death, which is believed to have occurred in 594. Essentially, scholars are divided over whether Gregory wrote the Histories sequentially as the years from 575 unfolded, with little or no revision thereafter, or whether he composed the whole work over the space of a few years shortly before his death and after 585 (see Murray 2015 for the arguments on both sides). For an understanding of the political history of the time, and Gregory's attitude to it, precisely when the various books were written is of great importance; but for what he wrote about the saints, the precise date of composition is of little significance, because Gregory's attitude to saints, their relics and their miracles did not change significantly during his writing-life. We have therefore chosen to date Gregory's writing of our entries only within the broadest possible parameters: with a terminus post quem of 575 for the early books of the Histories, and thereafter the year of the events described, and a terminus ante quem of 594, set by Gregory's death.
(Bryan Ward-Perkins, David Lambert)
For general discussions of the Histories see:
Goffart, W., The Narrators of Barbarian History (A.D. 550–800): Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, Bede, and Paul the Deacon (Princeton, 1988), 119–127.
Murray, A.C., "The Composition of the Histories of Gregory of Tours and Its Bearing on the Political Narrative," in: A.C. Murray (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden and Boston, 2015), 63–101.
Pizarro, J.M., "Gregory of Tours and the Literary Imagination: Genre, Narrative Style, Sources, and Models in the Histories," in: Murray, A Companion to Gregory of Tours, 337–374.
Discussion
The church of Saint Peter in Paris, in which Clotild and Clovis were buried, is earlier described by Gregory, when recounting the burial of Clovis in 511 (Histories 2.43, see E02031), as a church of the Apostles, not one exclusively of Peter. The church was built by Clovis and Clotild and much later (in the 9th century) became the church of *Genovefa/Geneviève (ascetic in Paris, ob. 502/512, S01156), who was buried there (E02747) (Vieillard-Troiekouroff 1976, 206-208; Duval et al. 1992, 116-119).Clotild, who was later to achieve veneration as a saint, was never presented as such by Gregory, though he was keen to stress her goodness, living out a pious life in Tours and dying, like Job, 'full of days' (plena dierum) (cf. Job 42:17).
Bibliography
Edition:Krusch, B., and Levison, W., Gregorii episcopi Turonensis Libri historiarum X (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum I.1; 2nd ed.; Hannover, 1951).
Translation:
Thorpe, L., Gregory of Tours, The History of the Franks (Penguin Classics; London, 1974).
Further reading:
Duval, N. et al., "Paris," in: N. Gauthier and J.-Ch. Picard (eds.), Topographie chrétienne des cités de la Gaule des origines au milieu du VIIIe siècle, vol. 8: Province ecclésiastique de Sens (Lungdunensis Senonia), (Paris, 1992), 97-129.
Murray, A.C., "The Composition of the Histories of Gregory of Tours and Its Bearing on the Political Narrative", in: A.C. Murray (ed.), A Companion to Gregory of Tours (Leiden-Boston 2015), 63-101.
Vieillard-Troiekouroff, M., Les monuments religieux de la Gaule d'après les œuvres de Grégoire de Tours (Paris, 1976).
Record Created By
Katarzyna Wojtalik
Date of Entry
14/12/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain | S01156 | Genovefa/Geneviève, ascetic of Paris, ob. c. 502 | Genuveifa | Certain | S01186 | Clotild, queen and widow of Clovis, ob. 545 | Chrodigildis | Certain |
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