Gregory of Tours Clovis and Childebert: Frankish kings who allowed the Britons to live there by treaty, 490-500s (we think) Sources (ecclesiastical and narrative history) are from a Frankish perspective Franks: Germanic-speaking (!) came into France after the collapse of Rome. Strongest in the north of France; rival south-eastern kingdom Burgundians; Visigoths in the south Merovingian dynasty: started by Chilmeric, his son Clovis builds the kingdom. Clovis' sons get Burgandy & partition the realm into Neustria, Austrasia and Aquitaine Gregory of Tours: hagiographer. Gallo-Roman family in central France. Wrote 10 religious and secular histories. In Tours, so technically in command of Breton bishops => detailed knowledge of Breton borderlands but not further West suggesting limited interaction. 4. A Breton Count called Chanao killed three of his brothers. He seized the fourth brother Macliaw and kept him chained up in prison while he was summoning up courage to kill him, too. Felix, Bishop of Nantes, saved him from certain death. Macliaw swore to his brother Chanao that he would be faithful to him. For some reason or other he decided to break his oath. Chanao heard of this and pursued him a second time. When Macliaw realized that he could not escape he took refuge with another Breton Count called Chonomor. When Chonomor dis- covered that Macliaw's enemies were approaching, he hid him in a hole in the ground. He constructed a barrow on top, as their habit is in Brittany, but he left a little air-hole, so that Macliaw could breathe. Those who were pursuing Macliaw duly arrived. 'Macliaw is dead,' they were told. 'We buried him here.' They were so delighted at the news that they sat down on the tumulus and had a drink. When they returned home they told Chanao that his brother was dead. As soon as he heard it, he took over the entire kingdom; for from the death of King Clovis onwards the Bretons remained under the domination of the Franks and their rulers were called counts and not kings. Macliaw emerged from his hole in the ground and fled to Vannes. There he had himself tonsured and was consecrated as Bishop. When Chanao died, Macliaw renounced his vows, grew his hair again and took charge of both the wife whom he had deserted when he became a religious and his brother's kingdom. For this he was excom- municated by the other bishops. I shall describe his violent end in a later chapter.ĀŖ a eivth year of his episcopate. 16. The following events occurred in Brittany. Macliaw and Bodic, two Breton chieftains, swore an oath to each other that whichever outlived the other would take care of the dead man's sons as if they were his own. Bodic died first, leaving a son called Theuderic. Macliaw broke his oath, drove Theuderic out of his patrimony and occupied the land which had been Bodic's. For a long time Theuderic wandered as an exile. Then God took compassion on him: for Theuderic gathered a band of