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107-545: The story appeared in several Syriac sources before Gregory of Tours 's lifetime (538–594). The earliest Syriac manuscript copy is in MS Saint-Petersburg No. 4, which dates to the fifth century. The earliest known version of this story is found in the writings of the Syriac bishop Jacob of Serugh ( c.  450 –521), who relies on an earlier Greek source, now lost. Jacob of Serugh, an Edessan poet-theologian, wrote

214-805: A church and a mosque. It was turned into a mosque over time, with the conversion of the local population to Islam. There is a cave near Amman , Jordan, also known as the Cave of Seven Sleepers , which has eight smaller sealed tombs present inside and a ventilation duct coming out of the cave. The account had become proverbial in 16th century Protestant culture. The poet John Donne could ask,         I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I         Did, till we loved? Were we not weaned till then?         But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?         Or snorted we in

321-553: A dog, which Islamic tradition names as Qitmir , who guarded the entrance of the cave (verse 18). Early versions do not all agree on or even specify the number of sleepers. Some Jewish circles and the Christians of Najran believed in only three brothers; the East Syriac , five. Most Syriac accounts have eight, including a nameless watcher which God sets over the sleepers. A 6th-century Latin text titled "Pilgrimage of Theodosius" featured

428-624: A homily in verse on the subject of the Seven Sleepers, which was published in the Acta Sanctorum . Another sixth-century version, in a Syrian manuscript in the British Museum ( Cat. Syr. Mss , p. 1090), gives eight sleepers. Whether the original account was written in Syriac or Greek was a matter of debate, but today a Greek original is generally accepted. The pilgrim account De situ terrae sanctae , written between 518 and 531, records

535-630: A lost illegitimate son of dead Chlothar I. Many of the Frankish nobles and the Byzantine emperor Maurice gave some support to this rebellion; however, it is swiftly crushed by Guntram. "Many evil things were done at this time", as Gregory writes in Book Eight. It begins with the travels of Guntram to Paris and Orleans and describes numerous confrontations between the king and some bishops. Meanwhile, Guntram becomes ill and fears for his life. Gregory comments that

642-511: A man in Christ, and the other rejected the title, based on God being eternal and thus could not be born. Nestorius' compromise, the title Christotokos ("birth-giver of Christ"), was rejected; he was accused of separating Christ's divine and human natures, resulting in "two Christs", in a doctrine later called Nestorianism . Nestorius was strongly opposed by Archbishop Cyril of Alexandria and eventually lost Theodosius's support. At Nestorius's request,

749-518: A nostris fari plerumque miratus sum, quia: "Philosophantem rethorem intellegunt pauci, loquentem rusticum multi". Hearing continually these complaints and others like them I have undertaken to commemorate the past, in order that it may come to the knowledge of the future; and although my speech is rude, I have been unable to be silent as to the struggles between the wicked and the upright; and I have been especially encouraged because, to my surprise, it has often been said by men of our day: "few understand

856-556: A particular individual. Among ancient and medieval writers, Monophysites had a favorable opinion of Theodosius. In 425, Theodosius founded the University of Constantinople with 31 chairs (15 in Latin and 16 in Greek). Among the subjects were law, philosophy, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music and rhetoric. It is likely that his wife Eudocia encouraged him in this matter and was behind

963-601: A second commission that met in Constantinople, assigned to collect all of the general legislations and bring them up to date, was completed; their collection was published as the Codex Theodosianus in 438. The law code of Theodosius II, summarizing edicts promulgated since Constantine, formed a basis for the law code of Emperor Justinian I , the Corpus Juris Civilis , in the following century. Eudocia reached

1070-450: A son; and there could be no son without a father. But as for those who say: "There was a time when he was not", [note: a leading belief of Arian Christology] I reject them with curses, and call men to witness that they are separated from the church. I believe that the word of the Father by which all things were made was Christ. I believe that this word was made flesh and by its suffering the world

1177-504: A specific Christian heresy. Thus, Gregory's creed presents, in the negative, a virtual litany of heresies: I believe, then, in God the Father omnipotent. I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord God, born of the Father, not created. [I believe] that he has always been with the Father, not only since time began but before all time. For the Father could not have been so named unless he had

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1284-706: A trophy of the Abbey of St Victor, Marseille . The Seven Sleepers were included in the Golden Legend compilation, the most popular book of the later Middle Ages, which fixed a precise date for their resurrection, AD 478, in the reign of Theodosius. The story says that during the persecutions by the Roman emperor Decius , around AD 250, seven young men were accused of following Christianity . They were given some time to recant their faith, but they refused to bow to Roman idols. Instead they chose to give their worldly goods to

1391-518: Is Christ; next he will place his statue in the temple at Jerusalem to be worshiped, just as we read that the Lord said: "You shall see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place." But the Lord himself declared that that day is hidden from all men, saying; "But of that day and that hour knoweth no one not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father alone." Moreover we shall here make answer to

1498-405: Is God, equal and always coeternal with the Father and the Son, consubstantial in its nature, equal in omnipotence, equally eternal in its essence, and that it has never existed apart from the Father and the Son and is not inferior to the Father and the Son. I believe that this holy Trinity exists with separation of persons, and one person is that of the Father, another that of the Son, another that of

1605-655: Is assumed that his sister continued to exert an influence on him until his marriage. In June 421, Theodosius married Aelia Eudocia , a woman of Athenian origin. The two had a daughter named Licinia Eudoxia , another named Flaccilla, and possibly a son called Arcadius. In 423, the Western Emperor Honorius , Theodosius's uncle, died and the primicerius notariorum Joannes was proclaimed emperor. Honorius's sister Galla Placidia and her young son Valentinian , who had earlier fled to Constantinople to escape Honorius's hostility, sought Eastern assistance to claim

1712-460: Is assumed to be inconclusive, Antiochus , a eunuch of Persian origin, became a tutor and an influence on Theodosius. He also became praepositus sacri cubiculi later but Theodosius dismissed him when he reached his adulthood. In 414, Theodosius's older sister Pulcheria vowed perpetual virginity along with her sisters. She was proclaimed augusta , and acted as a guardian of her brother. The guardianship ended when he reached his majority, but it

1819-749: Is considered a primary source for the study of Merovingian history and chronicles the accounts of the Franks during the period. Gregory is also known for documenting accounts of religious figures, notably that of Martin of Tours . Gregory was born in Clermont , in the Auvergne region of central Gaul. He was born into the upper stratum of Gallo-Roman society as the son of Florentius, Senator of Clermont, by his wife Armentaria II, niece of Bishop Nicetius of Lyon and granddaughter of both Florentinus, Senator of Geneva, and Saint Gregory of Langres . Relatives of Gregory held

1926-439: Is maintained until after the death of Charibert I in 567. Clothar's remaining sons fight for the supremacy, with Sigibert showing the strongest military force. Book Four ends with the killing of Sigbert in 575, leaving Chilperic as the dominant king. Gregory of Tours blames Fredegund , the wife of Chilperic, for the assassination. Fredegund, he says, had long held a grudge against Sigibert and his wife Brunhilda . Book Five begins

2033-444: Is murdered under mysterious circumstances. In Book Seven, Fredegund assumes regency for her young son Clothar II . In the future, he will be king of all Franks until his death in 629 – beyond Gregory's narrative, which ends in roughly 593. Fredegund and her son are under the protection of Gunthram. She remains in power until her death in 597. Also in this book is the rebellion of Gundovald and its failure. Gundovald claimed to be

2140-553: Is near the antique Roman city of Arabissus , to which the East Roman Emperor Justinian paid a visit. The site was a Hittite temple, used as a Roman temple and later as a church in Roman and Byzantine times. The Emperor brought marble niches from Western Anatolia as gifts for it, which are preserved inside the Eshab-ı Kehf Kulliye mosque to this day. The Seljuks continued to use the place of worship as

2247-518: Is paid to the local as opposed to universal Christian experience. Within these grandiloquent lives are tales and anecdotes which tie miracles, saints, and their relics to a great diversity of local areas, furnishing his audience with greater knowledge of their local shrine, and providing them with evidence of the work of God in their immediate vicinity, thus greatly expanding their connection with and understanding of their faith. Attacks on heresy also appear throughout his hagiographies; Arianism he took to be

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2354-566: Is particular has many liturgical references relating to music. The following represent key modern texts on Gregory of Tours, including the most recent translations of his work. While Lewis Thorpe 's translation of The History of the Franks is more accessible than Brehaut's, his introduction and commentary are not well regarded by contemporary historians (see "Secondary sources", below). Theodosius II Theodosius II ( Ancient Greek : Θεοδόσιος Theodosios ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450)

2461-594: Is praying in his church. Guntram orders his army to march against Arian-controlled Septimania and Spain without success and blames his army commanders for having allowed atrocities and random destruction. In Book Nine, the Treaty of Andelot is signed in 587 between Guntram, Brunhilda, and Childebert II. It is a close pact of alliance, wherein Childebert is formally adopted as Guntram's heir. Brunhilda also formally allies with Guntram and comes under his protection. The last book

2568-483: Is set around 589. Basina, the daughter of Chilperic I and Clotilda (daughter of Charibert) leads a brief revolt from a nunnery. The 18 bishops of Tours are named and described. The book ends with a summary of Gregory's previous written works. The Historia Francorum is made up of ten books. Books I to IV initially recount the world's history from the Creation (as was traditional for such works); but move quickly on to

2675-404: Is the life of St. Nicetius of Trier , though, which dominates this book; his great authority and sense of episcopal responsibility which is the focus of Gregory's account as his figure, predestined to be great, bestrode the lives of the others. It is told that he felt a weight on his head, but was unable to see what it was when turning around, though upon smelling its sweet scent he realised that it

2782-477: The Historia is the closing chapter of Book VI, in which Chilperic's character is summed up unsympathetically through the use of an invective: Herod and Nero are among the comparisons employed. The third part, comprising Books VII to X, takes his increasingly personal account to the year 591, and concludes with a plea for further chroniclers to preserve his work in entirety (as indeed would be done). An epilogue

2889-557: The Christianization of Gaul , the life and times of Saint Martin of Tours , the conversion of the Franks and the conquest of Gaul under Clovis I , and the more detailed history of the Frankish kings down to the death of Sigebert I in 575. At this date, Gregory had been bishop of Tours for two years. With his fifth book, Gregory embarks (with some relief) on contemporary history, opening: "Here, I am glad to say, begins Book V". This,

2996-653: The Huns . Early in Theodosius II's reign Romans used internal Hun discord to overcome Uldin 's invasion of the Balkans. The Romans strengthened their fortifications and in 424 agreed to pay 350 pounds of gold to encourage the Huns to remain at peace with the Romans. In 433 with the rise of Attila and Bleda to unify the Huns, the payment was doubled to 700 pounds. Theodosius became engaged with

3103-659: The Nicene Creed and abhors heresy like those of the "wicked" Arian sect among other heresies. The narrative history begins with a brief epitome of the biblical Old Testament and New Testament , and the subsequent spread of the Christian religion into Gaul. Next, Gregory covers the history of Christianity in Gaul and some of the major events in Roman-Gallo relations. It ends with the death of Saint Martin of Tours in 397. Book Two covers

3210-604: The praetorian prefect Anthemius , under whose supervision the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople were constructed. According to Theophanes the Confessor and Procopius , the Sasanian king Yazdegerd I (399–420) was appointed by Arcadius as the guardian of Theodosius, whom Yazdegerd treated as his own child, sending a tutor to raise him and warning that enmity toward him would be taken as enmity toward Persia. Though this story

3317-448: The "Cave of the Seven Sleepers", but none could empirically convince to be the original site associated with the legend. As the earliest versions of the legend spread out from Ephesus , an early Christian catacomb in that area came to be associated with it, attracting scores of pilgrims. On the slopes of Mount Pion (Mount Coelian) near Ephesus (near modern Selçuk in Turkey), the grotto of

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3424-598: The Bishoprics of Tours, Lyon, and Langres at the time of his birth and he claimed that he was related to 13 of the 18 bishops of Tours who preceded him. Gregory's paternal grandmother, Leocadia III, descended from Vettius Epagathus, the illustrious martyr of Lyon. His father died while Gregory was young and his widowed mother moved to Burgundy , where she had property. Gregory went to live with his paternal uncle St. Gallus, bishop of Clermont , under whom, and his successor St. Avitus, Gregory had his education. Gregory also received

3531-649: The Book , tested Muhammad by asking him three questions, and Surah Al-Kahf was sent down in answer to them. The mushriks inquired about the identity of the Sleepers of the Cave, the real story of Khidr , and about Dhu al-Qarnayn . The story of the Companions of the Cave ( Arabic : أصحاب الکهف , romanized :  'aṣḥāb al-kahf ) is referred to in Quran 18:9-26 . The precise number of

3638-467: The Christian legend are found in at least nine medieval languages and preserved in over 200 manuscripts, mainly dating to between the 9th and 13th centuries. These include 104 Latin manuscripts, 40 Greek , 33 Arabic , 17 Syriac , six Ethiopic , five Coptic , two Armenian , one Middle Irish , and one Old English . Byzantine writer Symeon the Metaphrast  (died c. 1000) alluded to it. It

3745-603: The Frankish influences of the north and the Gallo-Roman influences of the south had their chief contact (see map) . As the center for the popular cult of St Martin, Tours was a pilgrimage site, hospital, and a political sanctuary to which important leaders fled during periods of violence and turmoil in Merovingian politics. Gregory struggled through personal relations with four Frankish kings, Sigebert I , Chilperic I , Guntram , and Childebert II , and he personally knew most of

3852-508: The Frankish realm. Despite their disputes, they occasionally work together against an outside threat, such as their attack of the Burgundians in 523. Eventually, Chlothar becomes the most powerful king in the Frankish realm. After the death of Theuderic I in 534, Book Three ends with the death of his son and successor Theudebert I in 548. Theudebert's kingdom is inherited by Theudebald until his own death in 555. Book Four continues from when

3959-490: The Franks in one kingdom. Gregory has often been compared to Herodotus , and (with his detailed interest in, and accounts of, ecclesiastical history and maneuverings) to a bloodier Anthony Trollope . According to Robert Win's analysis: There can be no argument that Gregory deliberately structured his narrative to protect himself from any political attacks and that it was the political circumstances around him that governed what he could and could not write. Gregory's Latin

4066-611: The Holy Spirit. And in this Trinity confess that there is one Deity, one power, one essence. I believe that the blessed Mary was a virgin after the birth as she was a virgin before. I believe that the soul is immortal but that nevertheless it has no part in deity. And I faithfully believe all things that were established at Nicæa by the three hundred and eighteen bishops. But as to the end of the world I hold beliefs which I learned from our forefathers, that Antichrist will come first. An Antichrist will first propose circumcision, asserting that he

4173-429: The Huns. Anatolius negotiated a peace agreement; the Huns withdrew in exchange for humiliating concessions, including an annual tribute of 2,100 Roman pounds (c. 687 kg) of gold. In 447 the Huns went through the Balkans, destroying among others the city of Serdica ( Sofia ) and reaching Athyra ( Büyükçekmece ) on the outskirts of Constantinople. In 449, an Eastern Roman attempt to assassinate Attila failed, however

4280-597: The Martyrs) . Gregory claimed to have gotten the story from "a certain Syrian interpreter" ( Syro quidam interpretante ), but this could refer to either a Syriac- or Greek-speaker from the Levant. During the period of the Crusades , bones from the sepulchres near Ephesus, identified as relics of the Seven Sleepers, were transported to Marseille , France, in a large stone coffin, which remained

4387-556: The Persian persecution of Christians, and the Eastern empire declared war against the Sassanids (421–422); the war ended in an indecisive stalemate, when the Romans were forced to accept peace as the Huns menaced Constantinople . Peace was arranged in 422 without changes to the status quo . The later wars of Theodosius were generally less successful. The Eastern Empire was plagued by raids by

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4494-488: The Seven Sleepers with ruins of the religious site built over it was excavated in 1926–1928. The excavation brought to light several hundred graves dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found on the walls and in the graves. This grotto is still shown to tourists. Other possible sites of the cave of the Seven Sleepers are in Damascus, Syria and Afşin and Tarsus , Turkey. Afşin

4601-554: The Seven Sleepers' den?—John Donne, " The Good-Morrow ". In John Heywood 's Play called the Four PP (1530s), the Pardoner, a Renaissance update of the protagonist in Chaucer 's " The Pardoner's Tale ", offers his companions the opportunity to kiss "a slipper / Of one of the Seven Sleepers", but the relic is presented as absurdly as the Pardoner's other offerings, which include "the great-toe of

4708-541: The Sleepers", from his book The Encyclopedia of the Dead . The Italian author Andrea Camilleri incorporates the story in his novel The Terracotta Dog in which the protagonist is led to a cave containing the titular watchdog (as described in the Qur'an and called "Kytmyr" in Sicilian folklore) and the saucer of silver coins with which one of the sleepers is to buy "pure food" from

4815-565: The Tree , they ride in the last battle against the Dark. The Seven Sleepers series by Gilbert Morris takes a modern approach to the story in which seven teenagers must be awakened to fight evil in a post-nuclear-apocalypse world. John Buchan refers to the Seven Sleepers in The Three Hostages in which Richard Hannay surmises that his wife Mary, who is a sound sleeper, is descended from one of

4922-617: The Trinity" and "a buttock-bone of Pentecost." Little is heard of the Seven Sleepers during the Enlightenment , but the account revived with the coming of Romanticism . The Golden Legend may have been the source for retellings of the Seven Sleepers in Thomas de Quincey 's Confessions of an English Opium-Eater , in a poem by Goethe , Washington Irving 's " Rip van Winkle ", H. G. Wells 's The Sleeper Awakes . It also might have an influence on

5029-621: The affairs of the West after installing Valentinian III as his Western counterpart. When Roman Africa fell to the Vandals in 439, both Eastern and Western Emperors sent forces to Sicily , intending to launch an attack on the Vandals at Carthage, but this project failed. Seeing the borders without significant forces, the Huns and Sassanid Persia both attacked and the expeditionary force had to be recalled. During 443 two Roman armies were defeated and destroyed by

5136-410: The angels in heaven nor the Son," showing that he spoke these words not of the only-begotten but of the people of adoption. But our end is Christ himself, who will graciously bestow eternal life on us if we turn to him. Gregory's writings make ample references to wine and vineyards . He argued in his writings that wine drinking was defensible when consumed with proper gratitude towards God, but that it

5243-510: The authority of the bishopric with the congregation and in the context of the Frankish church. Gregory's hagiography was an essential component of this. However, this should not be seen as a selfish grab for power on behalf of the bishops who emerge so triumphantly from the Life of the Fathers , but rather as a bid for hegemony of doctrine and control over the practice of worship, which they believed to be in

5350-619: The bazaar in Ephesus ( Qur'an 18.19). The Seven Sleepers are symbolically replaced by lovers Lisetta Moscato and Mario Cunich , who were killed in their nuptial bed by an assassin hired by Lisseta's incestuous father and later laid to rest in a cave in the Sicilian countryside. In Susan Cooper 's The Dark Is Rising series, Will Stanton awakens the Seven Sleepers in The Grey King , and in Silver on

5457-436: The beginnings of the Merovingian dynasty, including King Clovis I 's conversion to Christianity by his wife Clotilde , and ending with his death in 511, after his conquest of large tracts of land in modern-day France. Book Three follows the four sons of Clovis who equally divide his realms after his death in 511. These four kings, Theuderic I , Chlothar I , Childebert I , and Chlodomer , quarrel and fight for supremacy over

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5564-465: The best interests of their congregation and the wider church. As an example of Gregory's zeal in his fight against heresy, the Historia Francorum includes a declaration of faith with which Gregory aimed to prove his orthodoxy with respect to the heresies of his time ("so that my reader may have no doubt that I am Catholic for they are"). The confession is in many phrases, each of which refutes

5671-557: The border between the Frankish culture of the Merovingians to the north and the Gallo-Roman culture of the south of Gaul . At Tours, Gregory was well placed to hear and meet people of influence in Merovingian culture. Tours was situated on the Loire , five Roman roads radiated from it, and it was on the main route between the Frankish north and Aquitania , with Spain beyond. At Tours,

5778-413: The cave for 300 years and nine added", resolves that "God knows best how long they remained [there]." According to the 25th verse of Al-Kahf, the Companions of the Cave have slept for 300 years in the solar calendar and slept 309 in the lunar calendar since the lunar calendar is 11 days shorter than the solar, which explains the inclusion of the additional nine years. The Quran says that the sleepers included

5885-410: The clerical tonsure from Gallus. Having contracted a serious illness, Gregory made a visit of devotion to the tomb of St. Martin at Tours. Upon his recovery, he began to pursue a clerical career and was ordained deacon by Avitus. Upon the death of St. Euphronius , he was chosen as bishop by the clergy and people, who had been charmed with his piety, learning, and humility. Their deputies overtook him at

5992-536: The common face of heresy across Europe, exposed to great ridicule. Often, the scenes which expose the weaknesses of heresy focused on images of fire and burning, whilst the Catholics were proved right by the protection lavished on them by God, in Gregory's view. This was of great relevance to Gregory himself as he presided over the important see of Tours, where extensive use was made of the cult of St. Martin in establishing

6099-455: The council the "robber synod". Theodosius supported the outcome, but it was reversed by the Council of Chalcedon after his death in 450. Theodosius died on 28 July 450 as the result of falling off his horse. On 25 November, his sister Pulcheria married the newly elected emperor Marcian , a domesticus under the influential general Aspar . The eunuch Chrysaphius was executed shortly after by

6206-510: The court of King Sigebert of Austrasia , and being compelled to acquiesce, though much against his will, Gregory was consecrated by Giles, bishop of Rheims, on 22 August 573, at the age of 34. He spent most of his career at Tours, although he assisted at the council of Paris in 577. The world in which he lived in was on the cusp between the Western culture of late antiquity and the sweeping changes of early-medieval Europe. Gregory lived also on

6313-451: The emperor convened the First Council of Ephesus in 431 to allow Nestorius to contest Cyril's accusations of heresy. The council was divided between the Cyrillians and the Nestorians, with Theodosius ultimately favoring the Cyrillians. The council affirmed the title Theotokos and condemned Nestorius, who returned to his monastery in Syria and was eventually exiled to a remote monastery in Egypt. Constantinopolitan abbot Eutyches reignited

6420-427: The enormous apple. The emperor was enraged and suspected an affair between Eudocia and Paulinus; he had his lifelong friend Paulinus executed, and Eudocia asked to be exiled to Jerusalem. A separation ultimately occurred between the imperial couple around 443, with Eudocia's establishment in Jerusalem where she favored monastic Monophysitism . The situation between the Romans and the Sassanids deteriorated in 420 due to

6527-405: The establishment of the university; she had been born in Athens, where the Neoplatonic School of Athens was the last great center for pagan, classical learning. Eudocia was known for her great intellect. In 429, Theodosius appointed a commission to collect all of the laws since the reign of Constantine I , and create a fully formalized system of law. This plan was left unfinished, but the work of

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6634-478: The events up to 642. Likewise, the fourth Book of Fredegar and its continuations is [ sic ] the only source of any significance for much of the period it covers. Gregory's hagiographies are also a valuable source of anecdotes and stories which enrich modern understanding of life and belief in Merovingian Gaul. The motivation behind his works was to show readers the importance and strength of Christianity, and this bias should always be remembered. Alongside

6741-442: The existence of a church dedicated to the sleepers in Ephesus. An outline of this tale appears in the 6th-century writings of Gregory of Tours and in History of the Lombards of Paul the Deacon (720–799). The best-known Western version of the story appears in Jacobus de Voragine 's Golden Legend (1259–1266). It also appears in BHO ( Pueri septem ), BHG ( Pueri VII ) and BHL Dormientes (Septem) Ephesi . Accounts of

6848-445: The height of her influence with the emperor from 439 to 441, a period in which the emperor's sister Pulcheria was sidelined in favor of his wife. Eudocia's power was undone by a certain Phrygian apple in a story conveyed by the sixth-century historian John Malalas of Antioch. Malalas wrote that one day, the emperor was on his way to church when a man presented the emperor with an "apple huge beyond any exaggeration." The emperor thanked

6955-433: The heretics [note: the Arians] who attack us, asserting that the Son is inferior to the Father since he is ignorant of this day. Let them learn then that Son here is the name applied to the Christian people, of whom God says: "I shall be to them a father and they shall be to me for sons." For if he had spoken these words of the only begotten Son he would never have given the angels first place. For he uses these words: "Not even

7062-404: The king's illness is a just punishment since he is planning to send a great number of bishops into exile. Fredegund gives two poisoned daggers to two clerics and sends them away with the order to assassinate Childebert and Brunehild. However, the two clerics are arrested by Childebert, tortured, and executed. Meanwhile, Fredegund is also behind the assassination of bishop Praetextus of Rouen while he

7169-429: The leading Franks. Gregory wrote in Late Latin , which frequently departed from Classical usage in both syntax and spelling, although with relatively few changes in inflection. Gregory of Tours' history is densely written, with numerous narratives and characters. It contains Christian tales of miracles, descriptions of omens and natural events, stories of Christian martyrs, dialogues of church debates, discussions of

7276-472: The lengthy and complex Vulgate Bible, as well as numerous religious works and historical treatises, which he frequently quoted, particularly in the earlier books of the Historia . The main impression that historians once retained from the Historia focused on Gregory's anecdotes about violence; until recently, historians tended to conclude that Merovingian Gaul was a chaotic, brutal place. Recent scholarship have concluded that Gregory's underlying purpose

7383-413: The lives of holy men, nobility, and eccentric peasants, frequent Bible verses and references, and explorations of the complex international relations between numerous tribes and nations including the Lombards , Visigoths , Ostrogoths and Huns , also Gregory's biography and interpretation of events. Book One begins with a pronouncement by the author that he is a Frankish Catholic clergyman who follows

7490-505: The man with 150 solidi , and promptly sent the apple to his wife as a present. Eudocia decided to give the apple to Paulinus, a friend of both her and the emperor. Paulinus, unknowing of where Eudocia had gotten the apple, thought it was fit for only the emperor, and gave it to him. Theodosius was suspicious, and asked Eudocia what she had done with the apple. "I ate it," she replied, and then Theodosius asked her to confirm her answer with an oath, which she did. Theodosius then presented her with

7597-486: The most outstanding poet Venantius Fortunatus in his lifetime, Gregory of Tours is the unique historian from the 6th-century Merovingian world; and his extensive literary output is itself a testimony to the preservation of learning and to the lingering continuity of Gallo-Roman civic culture through the early Middle Ages . Gregory's writings have also provided valuable evidence for music scholars studying Gallican liturgy and Gallican chant . His Decem Libri Historiarum

7704-613: The motif of the " King asleep in mountain ". Mark Twain did a burlesque of the story of the Seven Sleepers in Chapter ;13 of Volume 2 of The Innocents Abroad . Edward Gibbon gives different accounts of the story in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire . The Serbian writer Danilo Kiš retells the story of the Seven Sleepers in a short story, "The Legend of

7811-475: The nature of Christ. In addition, his ridiculing of pagans and Jews reflected how his works were used to spread the Christian faith . For example, in book 2, chapters 28–31, he described the pagans as incestuous and weak and then described the process by which newly converted King Clovis led a much better life than that of a pagan and was healed of all the conundrums he experienced as a pagan. Gregory's education

7918-570: The pagan classics, but rather progressed to mastery of the Vulgate Bible . It is said that he constantly complained about his use of grammar. He did not understand how to correctly write masculine and feminine phrases, reflecting either a lack of ability or changes in the Latin language. Though he had read Virgil , considered the greatest Latin stylist, he cautioned: "We ought not to relate their lying fables, lest we fall under sentence of eternal death." By contrast, he seems to have thoroughly studied

8025-467: The part where the author has much personal knowledge about the events in the Frankish kingdom. This book and the ones after are considerably longer and more detailed than the previous, while covering a shorter amount of time. This book also contains Gregory's impressions of ecclesiastical issues he witnessed and had some bearing on. It describes a possible debate that Gregory had with a rival Arian church leader. Moreover, Book 5 also introduces Childebert II ,

8132-565: The poor and retire to a mountain cave to pray, where they fell asleep. The Emperor, seeing that their attitude towards paganism had not improved, ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed. Decius died in 251, and many years passed during which Christianity went from being persecuted to being the state religion of the Roman Empire . At some later time—usually given as during the reign of Theodosius II (408–450)—in AD 447 when heated discussions were taking place between various schools of Christianity about

8239-636: The power of God flowing through them in the way that it did for the fathers. More immediate concerns were at the forefront of his mind as he sought to create a further layer of religious commitment, not only to the Church at Rome, but also to local churches and cathedrals throughout Gaul. Along with his other books (notably the Glory of the Confessors , the Glory of the Martyrs , and the Life of St. Martin ), meticulous attention

8346-416: The preceding generation, taking in a wide range the spiritual community of early medieval Gaul, including lives of bishops, clerics, monks, abbots, holy men, and hermits. He praised St. Illidius for purity of heart, St. Brachio the abbot for discipline and determination in study of the scriptures, St Patroclus for unwavering faith in the face of weakness, and St. Nicetius bishop of Lyon for justice. It

8453-538: The relations between the two did not deteriorate further. Theodosius frequently attempted to resolve doctrinal controversies regarding the nature of Christ . During a visit to Syria , Theodosius met the monk Nestorius , a renowned preacher. Nestorius was appointed as archbishop of Constantinople in 428 and became involved in a Christology dispute between two groups. One group called the Virgin Mary Theotokos ("birth-giver of God"), based on God being born

8560-452: The resurrection of the body in the day of judgement and life after death, a landowner decided to open up the sealed mouth of the cave, thinking to use it as a cattle pen. He opened it and found the sleepers inside. They awoke, imagining that they had slept but one day, and sent one of their number to Ephesus to buy food, with instructions to be careful. Upon arriving in the city, this person was astounded to find buildings with crosses attached;

8667-453: The rhetorician but many the rustic speaker". Win further observed: The Historia Francorum is the only source of that period covering the beginning of the Franks in the decaying Roman Empire from around 397 (the death of Martin of Tours) to 590 (the early reign of king Chlothar II). Gregory's chronology of the Franks is continued with the Fourth Book of Fredegar and its continuations for

8774-418: The second part of his history, Books V and VI, closes with Chilperic I 's death in 584. During the years that Chilperic held Tours, relations between him and Gregory were tense. After hearing rumours that the bishop of Tours had slandered his wife, Fredegund , Chilperic had Gregory arrested and tried for treason – a charge which threatened both Gregory's bishopric and his life. The most eloquent passage in

8881-813: The seven who has married one of the Foolish Virgins . The Seven Sleepers are mentioned in the song "Les Invisibles" on the 1988 Blue Öyster Cult album Imaginos . Several languages have idioms related to the Seven Sleepers, including: The most recent edition of the Roman Martyrology commemorates the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus under the date of 27 July. The Byzantine calendar commemorates them with feasts on 4 August and 22 October. Syriac Orthodox calendars gives various dates: 21 April, 2 August, 13 August, 23 October and 24 October. Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born Georgius Florentius ; 30 November c.  538 – 17 November 594 AD)

8988-475: The sleepers as seven people in number, with a dog named Viricanus. Bartłomiej Grysa lists at least seven different sets of names for the sleepers: In Islam no specific number is mentioned. Qur'an 18:22 discusses the disputes regarding their numbers. The verse says: Some will say, "They were three, their dog was the fourth," while others will say, "They were five, their dog was the sixth," only guessing blindly. And others will say, "They were seven and their dog

9095-469: The sleepers is not stated. The Quran furthermore points to the fact that people, shortly after the incident emerged, started to make "idle guesses" as to how many people were in the cave. To this the Quran asserts that: "My Sustainer knows best how many they were". Similarly, regarding the exact period of time the people stayed in the cave, the Quran, after asserting the guesswork of the people that "they remained in

9202-525: The son of recently slain Sigibert and of the still-living Brunhilda. Childebert is taken along with Brunhilda under the protection of Gunthram, brother and sometime rival of Chilperic. In Book Six, the young Childebert betrays his alliance with his adoptive uncle Gunthram, who had protected Childebert and his mother after his father Sigibert's death. Now Childebert forms an alliance with his uncle, Chilperic, who had often been an enemy of Sigibert. In 584, Chilperic

9309-536: The spiritual worlds, firmly placing the accounts of the lives in a world which was understandable and recognisable; or, seen from the other angle, confirming the presence of miracles in the temporal world. In 587, Gregory began writing the Book of the Glories of the Martyrs ( Liber in gloria martyrum ), which deals "almost exclusively with the miracles wrought in Gaul by the martyrs of the Roman persecutions". But it also tells

9416-516: The story of one Theodore who made a pilgrimage to India and reported the existence of a large monastery where the body of Thomas the Apostle was first interred and where miracles took place. Gregory's avowed aim in writing this book was to "fire others with that enthusiasm by which the saints deservedly climbed to heaven", though this was not his sole purpose, and he most surely did not expect his entire audience to show promise of such piety as to witness

9523-472: The theological dispute almost twenty years later by asserting the Monophysite view that Christ's divine and human nature were one. Eutyches was condemned by Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople but supported by the powerful Dioscurus of Alexandria , Cyril's successor. The Second Council of Ephesus in 449 restored Eutyches and deposed Flavian. The Chalcedonians opposed the decision, with Pope Leo I calling

9630-487: The throne for Valentinian, and after some deliberation in 424 Theodosius opened the war against Joannes. On 23 October 425, Valentinian III was installed as emperor of the West with the assistance of the magister officiorum Helion , with his mother taking an influential role. To strengthen the ties between the two parts of the empire, Theodosius's daughter Licinia Eudoxia was betrothed to Valentinian. She married Valentinian III later on 29 October 437, and became empress of

9737-457: The townspeople for their part were astounded to find a man trying to spend old coins from the reign of Decius. The bishop was summoned to interview the sleepers; they told him their miracle story, and died praising God. The various lives of the Seven Sleepers in Greek and in other non-Latin languages are listed at BHO . The polytheists ( mushriks ) of Mecca , after consulting with the people of

9844-407: The two remaining sons of Clovis die: Childebert in 558 and Clothar in 561. The last years of Clothar's life see the entire realm of the Franks ruled by him. At the time of his demise in 561 (as under Clovis before him), the kingdom is divided equally between four sons of Clothar: Charibert I , Sigebert I , Guntram , and Chilperic I ; they quarrel for control of the entire realm. A truce between them

9951-400: The western portion of the empire. Theodosius is often seen by both ancient and modern historians as being constantly pushed around by his sister, wife, and eunuchs, particularly Chrysaphius among them. In the later decades of his life, Chrysaphius rose to prominence as one of the emperor's favorites. He favored the pro-Monophysite policy, influenced the foreign policy towards the Huns , and

10058-616: The year 252 until 448). Other calculations suggest 195. The Qu'ran in regard to the duration of the sleep only mentions the conflicting numbers that people assigned, in Surah 18:25-26, which states, "They remained in the Cave for three hundred years; and others added nine more years. / Say: 'Allah knows best how long they remained in it, for only He knows all that is hidden in the heavens and the earth. How well He sees; how well He hears! The creatures have no other guardian than Him; He allows none to share His authority.'" Several sites are attributed as

10165-554: Was Roman emperor from 408 to 450. He was proclaimed Augustus as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire 's sole emperor after the death of his father, Arcadius , in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code and the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople . He also presided over the outbreak of two great Christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism . Theodosius

10272-525: Was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encompassing Gaul 's historic region. Gregory's most notable work is the Decem Libri Historiarum ('Ten Books of Histories'), also known as the Historia Francorum ('History of the Franks'). Decem Libri Historiarum

10379-477: Was also translated into Sogdian . In the 13th century, the poet Chardri composed an Old French version. The ninth-century Irish calendar Félire Óengusso commemorates the Seven Sleepers on 7 August. It was also translated into Persian , Kyrgyz , and Tatar . The story rapidly attained a wide diffusion throughout Christendom. It was popularized in the West by Gregory of Tours, in his late 6th-century collection of miracles, De gloria martyrum ( Glory of

10486-417: Was born on 10 April 401 as the only son of Emperor Arcadius and his wife Aelia Eudoxia . On 10 January 402, at the age of 9 months, he was proclaimed co-a ugustus by his father, thus becoming the youngest to bear the imperial title up to that point . On 1 May 408, his father died and the seven-year-old boy became emperor of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire. The government was at first administered by

10593-425: Was problematic when consumed solely for pleasure. The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours is an historical record of great importance. It is a central source for early Frankish history, representing the period of transition from late Roman antiquity to early Medieval times in a nascent Europe. It is believed to be the only reliable source of information to describe the emerging military and political power of

10700-408: Was redeemed, and I believe that humanity, not deity, was subject to the suffering. I believe that he rose again on the third day, that he freed sinful man, that he ascended to heaven, that he sits on the right hand of the Father, that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe that the holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son, that it is not inferior and is not of later origin, but

10807-482: Was relatively poor in comparison with earlier centuries when writers were educated at secular Roman grammar and rhetoric schools. He was self-aware of this and apologized for his poor Latin in his introduction: Ista etenim atque et his similia iugiter intuens dici, pro commemoratione praeteritorum, ut notitiam adtingerint venientum, etsi incultu effatu, nequivi tamen obtegere vel certamena flagitiosorum vel vitam recte viventium; et praesertim his inlicitus stimulis, quod

10914-444: Was resented by Pulcheria, general Zeno , and ancient writers. According to Theodorus Lector , Theodosius was so unmindful of his surroundings that he accidentally signed his sister's note selling his wife, Eudocia, into slavery. However, some scholars argue that contrary to hostile ancient sources, Theodosius was more in control of his government. Others view that the government was controlled mostly by civilian officials, and not by

11021-413: Was the eighth." Say, O Prophet, "My Lord knows best their exact number. Only a few people know as well." So do not argue about them except with sure knowledge, nor consult any of those who debate about them. The number of years the sleepers slept also varies between accounts. The highest number, given by Gregory of Tours, was 373 years. Some accounts have 372. Jacobus de Voragine calculated it at 196 (from

11128-399: Was the standard Latin one of Late Antiquity , focusing on Virgil 's Aeneid and Martianus Capella 's Liber de Nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae , but also other key texts such as Orosius 's Chronicles , which his Historia continues, and Sallust ; he referred to all these works in his own. His education, as was typical for the time, did not extend to a broad acquaintance with

11235-415: Was the weight of episcopal responsibility. He surmounted the others in the glory of his miracles and was chosen by God to have the entire succession of past and future Frankish kings revealed to him. A further aspect of this work is the appearance of Gregory himself in certain sections, notably in the life of St. Leobardus. This is for two reasons: Firstly, it created a distinct link between the temporal and

11342-416: Was to highlight the vanity of secular life and contrast it with the miracles of the saints. Though Gregory conveys political and other messages through the Historia , and these are studied very closely, historians now generally agree that this contrast itself is the central and ever-present narrative device. His Life of the Fathers comprises twenty hagiographies of the most prominent religious men of

11449-488: Was written in 594, the year of Gregory's death. Readers of the Historia Francorum may find that one royal Frankish house is more generously treated than others. Gregory was also a Catholic bishop, and his writing reveals views typical of someone in his position. His views on perceived dangers of Arianism , still strong among the Visigoths , led him to preface the Historia with a detailed expression of his orthodoxy on

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