In
585, an adventurer named Gundovald (or Gundoald) spent a brief time in the city
of Bordeaux. He was roaming the lands of the Franks, telling the people that he
was a long-lost son of the late King Chlotar I (d. 561). Despite this claim
having been rejected by King Chlotar, himself, as well as by Chlotar’s sons,
Gundovald continued popping up here and there in the Frankish lands, trying to
recruit nobles and clergymen to his cause. As his legitimacy was dubious at
best, Gundovald was designated as a pretender (illegal/unrecognized claimant)
to the throne, and he consequently could not stay in one place for too long.
Yet, in the city of Bordeaux, Gundovald heard a tale that piqued his interest
and convinced him to stay in the city for a time.
A
peculiar rumor was spreading around the Frankish lands in those days. Bishop Gregory
of Tours, who wrote history in his spare time, commented on these enticing
tales. He stated:
“Somebody told him [Gundovald] that a certain
king in Eastern parts had obtained possession of the thumb of Saint Sergius the
martyr, and that he had attached this to his own right arm. Whenever he needed
help to drive back his enemies, he would put his trust in this support; for
when he raised his right arm the enemy troops would immediately turn in flight,
as if they had been vanquished by the martyr’s miraculous power” (History of
the Franks, VII.31).
Gundovald,
hearing of this mysterious item, obviously wanted to get his hands on it. One
of Gundovald’s followers, a bishop named Bertram, claimed to have discovered a
lead on a possible location where one such object of power could be found. According
to Bishop Bertram, there was a Syrian merchant in Bordeaux who had a large
collection of holy relics, including some belonging to the aforementioned Saint
Sergius. To spice up the news, the bishop told Gundovald that the relics in the
merchant’s house had been catalysts for many miracles, including one incident
where the merchant’s home had miraculously survived a fire, while neighboring
houses burned down.
Convinced
by the tales, Gundovald sent his henchmen to the merchant’s house, and they
reportedly broke into the dwelling. The relic collector was home at the time,
so the robbers pulled out their swords and demanded that the merchant bring
them to the relics of Saint Sergius. As the story goes, the relics were hidden
in a casket or container hidden in a high spot on a wall or rafter. After
obtaining a ladder, one of the robbers climbed up the rungs to reach the box of
relics. Either due to the effects of holy power (or hefty weight) the man’s
hand trembled as he hauled the relics from their high perch. Perusing through
the holy remains in the container, the robbers reportedly picked out a
fingerbone of Saint Sergius. In an interesting move, the henchmen allegedly
took a knife and chopped the relic into three pieces, and brought one section
back to Gundovald. According to Bishop Gregory of Tours (the one who reported
this story), the spirit of Saint Sergius did not appreciate the desecration of
the relic—despite his possession of a section of the fingerbone, Gundovald
would be overpowered and killed by his enemies within the year.
Written
by C. Keith Hansley
Picture
Attribution: (Destruction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, illustration from the
1890 Holman Bible, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).
Sources:
- The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours, translated by Lewis Thorpe. New York: Penguin Classics, 1971.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guntram-king-of-Burgundy
- https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-2140
No comments:
Post a Comment