Historical Tales, Vol. 6 | Page 8

of baptism of
the king and his followers, and on that day, with impressive ceremonies,
Clovis the king and about three thousand of his warriors were made
Christians, and the maker of the French nation was received into the
fold of the Church. From that time forward Clovis won victory after
victory over his surrounding enemies. He had been born leader of a
tribe. He died king of a nation.
As regards Gundebaud, the result proved as Aridius predicted, whether
or not through the personal influence of Clotilde upon her husband.
Clovis broke his truce with Gondebaud, and entered Burgundy with an
army. Gondebaud was met and defeated at Dijon, partly through the
treachery of his brother, whom Clovis had won over. He fled to
Avignon and shut himself up in that stronghold. Clovis pursued and
besieged him. Gondebaud, filled with alarm, asked counsel of Aridius,
who told him that he had brought this upon himself.
"I will save you, though," he said. "I will feign to fly and go over to
Clovis. Trust me to act so that he shall ruin neither you nor your land.
But you must do what I ask."
"I will do whatever you bid," said Gondebaud.
Aridius thereupon sought Clovis, in the guise of a deserter from

Gondebaud. But such was his intelligence, the charm of his
conversation, the wisdom and good judgment of his counsel, that
Clovis was greatly taken with him, and yielded to his advice.
"You gain nothing by ravaging the fields, cutting down the vines, and
destroying the harvests of your adversary," he said, "while he defies
you in his stronghold. Rather send him deputies, and lay on him a
tribute to be paid you every year. Thus the land will be preserved, and
you be lord forever over him who owes you tribute. If he refuse, then
do what pleases you."
Clovis deemed the advice good, did as requested, and found
Gondebaud more than willing to become his tributary vassal. And thus
ended the contest between them, Burgundy becoming a tributary
province of France.

THE RIVAL QUEENS.
From the days of Clovis to the days of Charles Martel and
Charlemagne the history of the Frankish realm, so far as its kingship is
concerned, is almost a blank. It was an era of several centuries of
incompetent and sluggish monarchs, of whom we can say little more
than that they were born and died; they can scarcely be said to have
reigned. But from the midst of this dull interregnum of Merovingian
sluggards comes to us the story of two queens, women of force and
power, whose biography is full of the elements of romance. As a
picture of the manners and customs of the Merovingian epoch we
cannot do better than to tell the stories of these queens, Fredegonde and
Brunehild by name, whose rivalry and enmity, with their consequences,
throw a striking light on the history of those obscure times.
What is now France was at that time divided into three kingdoms,
Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy, King Chilperic reigning over
Austrasia; King Sigebert over Neustria. But the power behind the
throne lay in the wives of these kings, with whom alone we have to do.
Contrasted characters they were,--Fredegonde wicked, faithless,

self-seeking; Brunehild patriotic and devoted to the good of her country;
yet in the end wickedness triumphed, and honesty died a violent and
frightful death. With this preliminary we may proceed with our tale.
Fredegonde was the daughter of poor peasants, who dwelt in the
vicinity of Montdidier in Picardy. But so striking and notable was her
beauty that at an early age she was made, under circumstances of which
we are not informed, one of the ladies in waiting on Queen Andovere,
the first wife of King Chilperic. The poor queen was destined to suffer
from the artfulness of her maid. The beauty of Fredegonde quickly
attracted the attention of the king, and her skilful and unscrupulous arts
soon made her a power in the court. The queen was in her way; but no
long time passed before, on the pretext of a spiritual relationship with
her husband which rendered the marriage illegal, the hapless Andovere
was repudiated and banished to a convent.
But Chilperic was not yet ready to marry a peasant. He chose for his
second wife Galsuinthe, daughter of the king of the Visigoths. This
marriage lasted a still shorter time than the other. Galsuinthe was found
strangled in her bed; and now, no longer able to restrain his passion for
the beautiful and artful maid of honor, Chilperic married Fredegonde,
and raised the peasant maiden to the throne for which she had so deeply
and darkly wrought.
The marriage of Galsuinthe had been preceded by that of her younger
sister, Brunehild, who became