Around
584, a man named Lupentius, the abbot of the church of Saint Privatus in Javols,
was accused of slandering Queen Brunhild. As the queen was the wife of the
Frankish King Sigebert (r. 561-575) and mother of King Childebert II (c.
575-595), an allegation of slander against Brunhild was a serious charge. In
response to the rumors of slander, Abbot Lupentius was summoned to appear
before Queen Brunhild in order to answer for the allegations. Lupentius was put
to question, but the interrogators apparently could not produce proof or a
confession that pinpointed Lupentius as the originator of the slanders. The
only concrete fact interrogators ferreted out during Lupentius’ time in
Brunhild’s custody was the revelation that a certain Count Innocentius was the
one who had lodged the allegations of slander against Lupentius. Unfortunately
for the abbot, Count Innocentius was in the good graces of Queen Brunhild, and
therefore no punitive action was taken against the count and little protection
was given to the abbot to fend off further harassment. In this precarious
situation, the abbot was released and sent on his way.
Count
Innocentius apparently did not like that his name was mentioned or that the
abbot was released. According to bishop and historian, Gregory of Tours (c.
539-594), the count sent troops to intercept Abbot Lupentius on the road. The
abbot was captured and brought to a manor owned by Count Innocentius. At this
estate, located somewhere near the River Aisne in France, Lupentius was said to
have been “grievously maltreated” at the hands of the count’s henchmen (History
of the Franks, VI.37). After some time, Count Innocentius decided to set
Lupentius free, and, once again, the beleaguered abbot resumed his travels back
toward his church at Javols.
Gregory
of Tours, in his account of this story, did not go into detail on the cause of
the feud between Count Innocentius and the abbot, but the count was evidently out
to get poor Lupentius. Innocentius apparently soon regretted letting his enemy
go and decided to gather a posse and again pursue the abbot. As the story goes,
the count’s troops found Abbot Lupentius camping beside the River Aisne and the
abbot was yet again arrested. This time, however, the arrest ended in the
abbot’s execution. Count Innocentius, it was alleged, not only led the posse
that killed the abbot, but he was also said to have personally killed Lupentius.
Gregory of Tours described the murder of the abbot and the subsequent disposal
of the body, saying “Innocentius cut off his head, put it in a sack weighted
with stones and threw it in the river. He tied the body to a rock and threw
that, too, into the water” (History of the Franks, VI.37).
Although
the count had tried to make sure the remains would stay at the bottom of the
river, Lupentius’ head and body eventually washed up on the bank of the Aisne. Upon
this discovery, locals gave the late abbot a proper burial, and rumors quickly
spread that it was Count Innocentius who was responsible for the murder. Despite
the allegations, the count faced no known repercussions and he continued his
career unimpeded. Ironically, Count Innocentius would later decide to join the
church, and, with the backing of Queen Brunhild, he became Bishop of Rodez.
Written
by C. Keith Hansley
Picture
Attribution: (scene depicting the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket of Canterbury,
from a manuscript (dated to 1200) in the National Library of the Netherlands,
[Public Domain] via picryl.com and Creative Commons).
- The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours, translated by Lewis Thorpe. New York: Penguin Classics, 1971.
No comments:
Post a Comment