Chapter II: The Transition To The Middle Ages. The Foundation Of The (1)

Germanic National Churches

While the doctrinal system of the Church was being wrought out in the disputes and councils of Rome and the East, the foundations of the Germanic national churches were being laid in the West. In the British Isles the faith was extended from Britain to Ireland and thence to Scotland (§ 96). Among the inmates of the monasteries of these countries were many monks who were moved to undertake missionary journeys to various parts of Western Europe, and among them St. Columbanus. But even more important for the future of Western Christendom was the conversion of the Franks from paganism to Catholic Christianity. At a time when the other Germanic rulers were still Arian, Clovis and the Franks became Catholics and, as a consequence, the champions of the Catholic faith. The Franks rapidly became the dominant power in the West, and soon other Germanic races either were conquered or followed the example of the Franks and became Catholics (§ 97). The State churches that thus arose were more under the control of the local royal authority than the Catholic Church had previously been, and the rulers were little disposed to favor outside control of the ecclesiastical affairs of their kingdoms (§ 98). Toward the end of the sixth century the greatest pontiff of the ancient Church, Gregory the Great, more than recovered the prestige and influence which had been lost under Vigilius. By his able administration he did much to unite the West, to heal the schism resulting from the Fifth Council, and to overcome the heresies which divided the Arians and the Catholics. At the same time he advanced the authority of the see of Rome in the East as well as in the West (§ 99). Of the many statesman-like undertakings of Gregory none had more far-reaching consequences than the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons and the establishment in England of a church which would be in close and loyal dependence upon the Roman see, and in consequence of that close connection would be the heir of the best traditions of culture in the West (§ 100).

§ 96. The Celtic Church in the British Isles

Christianity was probably planted in the British Isles during the second century; as to its growth in the ante-Nicene period little is definitely known. Representatives of the British Church were at Arles in 314. The Church was in close connection with the Church on the Continent during the fourth century and in the fifth during the Pelagian controversy. The Christianity thus established was completely overthrown or driven into Wales by the invasion of the pagan Angles, Jutes, and Saxons _circa_ 449-500. (For the conversion of the newcomers, _v. infra_, § 100.) Early in the fifth century the conversion of Ireland took place by missionaries from Britain. In this conversion St. Patrick traditionally plays an important part.

Additional source material: Bede, _Hist. Ec._, Eng. trans. by
Giles, London, 1894; by A. M. Sellar, London, 1907 (for Latin
text, _v. infra_, _a_); Adamnani, _Vita S. Columbæ_, ed. J. T.
Fowler, 1894 (with valuable introduction and translation); St.
Patrick, _Genuine Writings_, ed. G. T. Stokes and C. H. H. Wright,
Dublin, 1887; J. D. Newport White, _The Writings of St. Patrick_,
1904. For bibliography of sources, see Gross, _The Sources and
Literature of English History_, 1900, pp. 221 _f._

(_a_) Bede, _Hist. Ec. Gentis Anglorum_, I, 13. (MSL, 95:40.)

The Venerable Bede (672 or 673-735), monk at Jarrow, the most
learned theologian of the Anglo-Saxon Church, was also the first
historian of England. For the earliest period he used what written
sources were available. His work becomes of independent value with
the account of the coming of Augustine of Canterbury, 597 (I, 23).
The history extends to A. D. 731. The best critical edition is
that of C. Plummer, 1896, which has a valuable introduction,
copious historical and critical notes, and careful discrimination
of the sources. Wm. Bright’s _Chapters on Early English Church
History_ is an elaborate commentary on Bede’s work as far as 709,
the death of Wilfrid. Translation of Bede’s History by J. A.
Giles, may be found in Bohn’s _Antiquarian Library_, and better by
A. M. Sellar, 1907.

In the following passage we have the only reference made by Bede
to the conversion of Ireland, and his failure to mention Patrick
has given rise to much controversy, see J. B. Bury, _The Life of
St. Patrick __ and his Place in History_, 1905. This passage,
referring to Palladius, is a quotation from the _Chronica_ of
Prosper of Aquitaine (403-463) ann. 431 (MSL, 51, critical edition
in MGH, _Auct. antiquiss_, 9:1); from Gildas, _De excidio
Britanniæ liber querulus_ (MSL, 69:327, critical edition in MGH,
_Auct. antiquiss_, 13. A translation by J. A. Giles in _Six Old
English Chronicles_, in Bohn’s _Antiquarian Library_), is the
reference to the letter written to the Romans; from the Chronica
of Marcellinus Comes (MSL, 51:913; critical edition in MGH, _Auct.
antiquiss_, 11) is the reference to Blæda and Attila.

In the year of the Lord’s incarnation, 423, Theodosius the younger received the empire after Honorius and, being the forty-fifth from Augustus, retained it twenty-six years. In the eighth year of his reign, Palladius was sent by Celestinus, the pontiff of the Roman Church, to the Scots(212) that believed in Christ to be their first bishop. In the twenty-third year of his reign (446), Aëtius, the illustrious, who was also patrician, discharged his third consulate with Symmachus as his colleague. To him the wretched remnants of the Britons sent a letter beginning: “To Aëtius, thrice consul, the groans of the Britons.” And in the course of the letter they thus express their calamities: “The barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea drives us back to the barbarians; between them there have arisen two sorts of death; we are either slain or drowned.” Yet neither could all this procure any assistance from him, as he was then engaged in a most dangerous war with Blæda and Attila, kings of the Huns. And though the year next before this, Blæda had been murdered by the treachery of his brother Attila, yet Attila himself remained so intolerable an enemy to the republic that he ravaged almost all Europe, invading and destroying cities and castles.

(_b_) Patrick, _Confessio_, chs. 1, 10. (MSL, 53:801.)

The call of St. Patrick to be a missionary.

There is much dispute and uncertainty about the life and work of
St. Patrick. Of the works of Patrick, two appear to be genuine,
his _Confessio_ and his _Epistola ad Coroticum_. The other works
attributed to him are very probably spurious. The genuine works
may be found in Haddan and Stubbs, _Councils and Ecclesiastical
Documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland_, vol. II, pt. ii,
296 _ff._

I, Patrick, a sinner, the most ignorant and least of all the faithful, and the most contemptible among many, had for my father Calpornius the deacon, son of the presbyter Potitus, the son of Odissus, who was of the village of Bannavis Tabernia; he had near by a little estate where I was taken captive. I was then nearly sixteen years old. But I was ignorant of the true God(213) and I was taken into captivity unto Ireland, with so many thousand men, according to our deserts, because we had forsaken God and not kept His commandments and had not been obedient to our priests who warned us of our salvation. And the Lord brought upon us the fury of His wrath and scattered us among many nations, even to the end of the earth, where now my meanness appears to be among strangers. And there the Lord opened the senses of my unbelief, that I might remember my sin, and that I might be converted with my whole heart to my Lord God, who looked upon my humbleness and had mercy upon my youth and ignorance, and guarded me before I knew Him, and before I knew and distinguished between good and evil, and protected me and comforted me as a father a son.

… And again after a few years(214) I was with my relatives in Britain, who received me as a son, and earnestly besought me that I should never leave them after having endured so many great tribulations. And there I saw in a vision by night a man coming to me as from Ireland, and his name was Victorinus, and he had innumerable epistles; and he gave me one of them and I read the beginning of the epistle as follows: “The voice of the Irish.” And while I was reading the epistle, I think that it was at the very moment, I heard the voice of those who were near the wood of Fochlad,(215) which is near the Western Sea. And thus they cried out with one voice: We beseech thee, holy youth, to come here and dwell among us. And I was greatly smitten in heart, and could read no further and so I awoke. Thanks be to God, because after many years the Lord granted them according to their cry.

(_c_) Bede, _Hist. Ec._, III, 4. (MSL, 95:121.)

St. Ninian and St. Columba in Scotland.

In the year of our Lord 565, when Justin the younger, the successor of Justinian, took the government of the Roman Empire, there came into Britain a priest and abbot, distinguished in habit and monastic life, Columba by name, to preach the word of God to the provinces of the northern Picts, that is, to those who are separated from the southern parts by steep and rugged mountains. For the southern Picts, who had their homes within those mountains, had long before, as is reported, forsaken the error of idolatry, and embraced the true faith, by the preaching of the word to them by Ninian,(216) a most reverend bishop and holy man of the British nation, who had been regularly instructed at Rome in the faith and mysteries of the truth, whose episcopal see was named after St. Martin, the bishop, and was famous for its church, wherein he and many other saints rest in the body, and which the English nation still possesses. The place belongs to the province of Bernicia, and is commonly called Candida Casa,(217) because he there built a church of stone, which was not usual among the Britons.

Columba came to Britain in the ninth year of the reign of Bridius, the son of Meilochon, the very powerful king of the Picts, and he converted by work and example that nation to the faith of Christ; whereupon he also received the aforesaid island [Iona] for a monastery. It is not large, but contains about five families, according to English reckoning. His successors hold it to this day, and there also he was buried, when he was seventy-seven, about thirty-two years after he came into Britain to preach. Before he came into Britain he had built a noble monastery in Ireland, which from the great number of oaks is called in the Scottish tongue(218) Dearmach, that is, the Field of Oaks. From both of these monasteries many others had their origin through his disciples both in Britain and Ireland; but the island monastery where his body lies holds the rule.

That island always has for its ruler an abbot, who is a priest, to whose direction all the province and even bishops themselves are subject by an unusual form of organization, according to the example of their first teacher, who was not a bishop, but a priest and monk; of whose life and discourses some writings are said to have been preserved by his disciples. But whatever he was himself, this we regard as certain concerning him, that he left successors renowned for their great continency, their love of God, and their monastic rules. However, they followed uncertain cycles(219) in their observance of the great festival [Easter], for no one brought them the synodal decrees for the observance of Easter, because they were placed so far away from the rest of the world; they only practised such works of piety and chastity as they could learn from the prophetical, evangelical, and apostolical writings. This manner of keeping Easter continued among them for a long time, that is, for the space of one hundred and fifty years, or until the year of our Lord’s incarnation 715.

§ 97. The Conversion of the Franks. The Establishment of Catholicism in the Germanic Kingdoms

Chlodowech (Clovis, 481-511) was originally a king of the Salian Franks, near Tournay. By his energy he became king of all the Franks, and, overthrowing Syagrius in 486, pushed his frontier to the Loire. In 496 he conquered a portion of the Alemanni. About this time he became a Catholic. He had for some time favored the Catholic religion, and with his conversion his rule was associated with that cause in the kingdoms subject to Arian rulers. In this way his support of Catholicism was in line with his policy of conquest. By constant warfare Chlodowech was able to push his frontier, in 507, to the Garonne. His death, in 511, at less than fifty years of age, cut short only for a time the extension of the Frankish kingdom. Under his sons, Burgundy, Thuringia, and Bavaria were conquered. The kingdom, which had been divided on the death of Chlodowech, was united under the youngest son, Chlotar I (sole ruler 558-561), again divided on his death, to be united under Chlotar II (sole ruler 613-628). In Spain the Suevi, in the northwest, became Catholic under Carrarich in 550. They were conquered in 585 by the Visigoths, who in turn became Catholic in 589.

(_a_) Gregory of Tours, _Historia Francorum_, II, 30. 31. (MSL, 71:225.)

Gregory of Tours (538-593) became bishop of Tours in 573. Placed
in this way in the most important see of France, he was constantly
thrown in contact with the Merovingian royal family and had
abundant opportunity to become acquainted with the course of
events at first hand. His most important work, the _History of the
Franks_, is especially valuable from the fifth book on, as here he
is on ground with which he was personally familiar. In Book II,
from which the selection is taken, Gregory depends upon others,
and must be used with caution.

The baptism of Chlodowech was probably the result of a long
process of deliberation, beginning probably before his marriage
with Chrotechildis, a Burgundian princess, who was a Catholic.
While still a pagan he was favorably disposed toward the Catholic
Church. About 496 he was baptized, probably on Christmas Day, at
Rheims, by St. Remigius. The place and date have been much
disputed of late. The earliest references to the conversion are by
Nicetus of Trier (_ob. circa_ 566), _Epistula ad Chlodosvindam
reginam Longobardorum_ (MSL, 5:375); and Avitus, _Epistula_ 41,
addressed to Chlodowech himself. (MSL, 59:257). A careful
examination of all the evidence may be found in A. Hauck,
_Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands_, fourth ed., I, 595 _ff._ Hauck
concludes that “the date, December 25, 496, may be regarded as
almost certainly the date of the baptism of Chlodowech. The
connection as to time between the first war with the Alemanni and
the baptism may have given occasion to seek for some actual
connection between the two events.” The selection is therefore
given as the traditional version and is not to be relied upon as
correct in detail. It represents what was probably the current
belief within a few decades of the event.

Ch. 30. The queen (Chrotechildis) ceased not to warn Chlodowech that he should acknowledge the true God and forsake idols. But in no way could he be brought to believe these things. Finally war broke out with the Alemanni. Then by necessity was he compelled to acknowledge what before he had denied with his will. The two armies met and there was a fearful slaughter, and the army of Chlodowech was on the point of being annihilated. When the king perceived that, he raised his eyes to heaven, his heart was smitten and he was moved to tears, and he said: “Jesus Christ, whom Chrotechildis declares to be the Son of the living God, who says that Thou wilt help those in need and give victory to those who hope in Thee, humbly I flee to Thee for Thy mighty aid, that Thou wilt give me victory over these my enemies, and I will in this way experience Thy power, which the people called by Thy name claim that they have proved to be in Thee. Then will I believe on Thee and be baptized in Thy name. For I have called upon my gods but, as I have seen, they are far from my help. Therefore, I believe that they have no power who do not hasten to aid those obedient to them. I now call upon Thee and I desire to believe on Thee. Only save me from the hand of my adversaries.” As he thus spoke, the Alemanni turned their backs and began to take flight. But when they saw that their king was dead, they submitted to Chlodowech and said: “Let not, we pray thee, a nation perish; now we are thine.” Thereupon he put an end to the war, exhorted the people, and returned home in peace. He told the queen how by calling upon the name of Christ he had obtained victory. This happened in the fifteenth year of his reign (496).

Ch. 31. Thereupon the queen commanded that the holy Remigius, bishop of Rheims, be brought secretly to teach the king the word of salvation. The priest was brought to him secretly and began to lay before him that he should believe in the true God, the creator of heaven and earth, and forsake idols, who could neither help him nor others. But he replied: “Gladly do I listen to thee, most holy Father, but one thing remains, for the people who follow me suffer me not to forsake their gods. But I will go and speak to them according to thy words.” When he met his men, and before he began to speak, all the people cried out together, for the divine power had anticipated him: “We reject the mortal gods, pious king, and we are ready to follow the immortal God whom Remigius preaches.” These things were reported to the bishop, who rejoiced greatly and commanded the font to be prepared.… The king first asked to be baptized by the pontiff. He went, a new Constantine, into the font to be washed clean from the old leprosy, and to purify himself in fresh water from the stains which he had long had. But as he stepped into the baptismal water, the saint of God began in moving tone: “Bend softly thy head, Sicamber, reverence what thou hast burnt, and burn what thou hast reverenced.”…

Therefore the king confessed Almighty God in Trinity, and was baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and was anointed with the holy chrism with the sign of the cross. Of his army more than three thousand were baptized. Also his sister Albofledis was baptized.… And another sister of the king, Lanthechildis by name, who had fallen into the heresy of the Arians, was converted, and when she had confessed that the Son and the Holy Ghost were of the same substance with the Father, she was given the chrism.

(_b_) Gregory of Tours, _Hist. Francorum_, II, 35-38. (MSL, 71:232.)

Clovis at the head of the anti-Arian party in Gaul.

Ch. 35. When Alarich, the king of the Goths, saw that King Chlodowech continually conquered the nations, he sent messengers to him saying: “If my brother wishes, it is also in my heart that we see each other, if God will.” Chlodowech was not opposed to this and came to him. They met on an island in the Loire, in the neighborhood of Amboise, in the territory of Tours, and spake and ate and drank together, promised mutual friendship, and parted in peace.

Ch. 36. But already many Gauls wished with all their heart to have the Franks for their masters. It therefore happened that Quintianus, bishop of Rhodez, was driven out of his city on account of this. For they said to him: “You wish that the rule of the Franks possessed this land.” And a few days after, when a dispute had arisen between him and the citizens, the rumor reached the Goths who dwelt in the city, for the citizens asserted that he wished to be subject to the rule of the Franks; and they took counsel and planned how they might kill him with the sword. When this was reported to the man of God, he rose by night, and with the most faithful of his servants left Rhodez and came to Arverne.…

Ch. 37. Thereupon King Chlodowech said to his men: “It is a great grief to me that these Arians possess a part of Gaul. Let us go forth with God’s aid, conquer them, and bring this land into our power.” And since this speech pleased all, he marched with his army toward Poitiers, for there dwelt Alarich at that time.… King Chlodowech met the king of the Goths, Alarich, in the Campus Vocladensis [Vouillé or Voulon-sur-Clain] ten miles from Poitiers; and while the latter fought from afar, the former withstood in hand to hand combat. But since the Goths, in their fashion, took to flight, King Chlodowech at length with God’s aid won the victory. He had on his side a son of Sigbert the Lame, whose name was Chloderich. The same Sigbert, ever since he fought with the Alemanni near Zulpich [in 496], had been wounded in the knee and limped. The king killed King Alarich and put the Goths to flight.… From this battle Amalrich, Alarich’s son, fled to Spain, and by his ability obtained his father’s kingdom. Chlodowech, however, sent his son Theuderic to Albi, Rhodez, and Arverne, and departing he subjugated those cities, from the borders of the Goths to the borders of the Burgundians, to the rule of his father. But Alarich reigned twenty-two years.

Chlodowech spent the winter in Bourdeaux, and carried away the entire treasure of Alarich from Toulouse, and he went to Angoulême. Such favor did the Lord show him that, when he looked on the walls, they fell of themselves. Thereupon when the Goths had been driven from the city he brought it under his rule. After the accomplishment of these victories he returned to Tours and dedicated many gifts to the holy Church of St. Martin.

Ch. 38. At that time he received from the Emperor Anastasius the title of consul, and in the Church of St. Martin he assumed the purple cloak and put on his head a diadem. He then mounted a horse and with his own hand scattered among the people who were present gold and silver in the greatest profusion, all the way from the door of the porch of the Church of St. Martin to the city gate. And from this day forward he was addressed as consul, or Augustus. From Tours Chlodowech went to Paris and made that the seat of his authority.(220)

(_c_) Third Council of Toledo, A. D. 589, _Acts_. Mansi, IX, 992.

This council is the most important event in the history of the
Visigothic Church of Spain, marking the abandonment of Arianism by
the ruling race of Spain and the formal acceptance of the doctrine
of the Trinity or the Catholic faith and unity. The Suevi had
accepted Catholicism more than thirty-five years before; see Synod
of Braga, A. D. 563, in Hefele, § 285 (_cf._ also Hahn, § 176, who
gives the text of the anathematisms in which, after a statement of
the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity, the balance of the
anathematisms are concerned with Priscillianism). Reccared, the
Visigothic king (586-601), became a Catholic in 587, and held the
council of 589 to effect the conversion of the nation to his new
faith. For a letter of Gregory the Great on the conversion of
Reccared, see PNF, ser. II, vol. XII, pt. 2. p. 87, and two from
Gregory to Reccared himself (_ibid._, vol. XIII, pp. 16, 35). The
creed, as professed at Toledo, is the first instance of the
authorized use of the term "and the Son" in a creed in connection
with the doctrine of the “procession of the Holy Spirit,” the form
in which the so-called Nicene creed came to be used in the West,
and the source of much dispute between the East and the West in
the ninth century and ever since.

I. From the Speech of Reccared at the Opening of the Council.

I judge that you are not ignorant, most reverend priests [_i.e._, bishops] that I have called you into our presence for the restoration of ecclesiastical discipline; and because in time past the existence of heresy prevented throughout the entire Catholic Church the transaction of synodical business. God, who has been pleased by our action to remove the obstacle of the same heresy, warns us to set in order the ecclesiastical laws concerning church matters. Therefore let it be a matter of joy and gladness to you that the canonical order is being brought back to the lines of the times of our fathers, in the sight of God and to our glory.

II. From the Statement of Faith.

There is present here all the famous nation of the Goths, esteemed for their real bravery by nearly all nations, who, however, by the error of their teachers have been separated from the faith and unity of the Catholic Church; but now, agreeing as a whole with me in my assent to the faith, participate in the communion of that Church which receives in its maternal bosom a multitude of different nations and nourishes them with the breasts of charity. Concerning her the prophet foretelling said: “My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations.” For not only does the conversion of the Goths add to the amount of our reward, but also an infinite multitude of the people of the Suevi, whom under the protection of Heaven we have subjected to our kingdom, led away into heresy by the fault of an alien,(221) we have endeavored to recall to the source of truth. Therefore, most holy Fathers, I offer as by your hands to the eternal God, as a holy and pleasing offering, these most noble nations, who have been attached by us to the Lord’s possessions. For it will be to me in the day of the retribution of the just an unfading crown and joy if these peoples, who now by our planning have returned to the unity of the Church, remain founded and established in the same. For as by the divine determination it has been a matter of our care to bring these peoples to the unity of the Church of Christ, so it is a matter of your teaching to instruct them in the Catholic dogmas, by which they may be instructed in the full knowledge of the truth, that they may know how to reject totally the errors of pernicious heresy, to remain in charity in the ways of the true faith, and to embrace with fervent desire the communion of the Catholic Church.… As it is of benefit to us to profess with the mouth what we believe in the heart … therefore I anathematize Arius with all his doctrines … so I hold in honor, to the praise and honor and glory of God, the faith of the holy Council of Nicæa.… I embrace and hold the faith of the one hundred and fifty Fathers assembled at Constantinople.… I believe the faith of the first Council of Ephesus … likewise with all the Catholic Church I reverently receive the faith of the Council of Chalcedon.… To this my confession I have added the holy constitutions [_i.e._, confessions of faith] of the above-mentioned councils, and I have subscribed with complete singleness of heart to the divine testimony.

Here follows the faith of Nicæa, the so-called creed of
Constantinople, with the words relating to the Holy Ghost, _ex
Patre et Filio procedentem_ (proceeding from the Father and the
Son); the actual form _filioque_ does not here occur.

III. From the _Anathemas_, Hahn, § 178.

3. Whosoever does not believe in the Holy Ghost and will not believe that He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and will not say that He is co-essential with the Father and the Son, let him be anathema.

IV. From the _Canons_, Bruns, I, 212.

Canon 1. After the damnation of the heresy of Arius and the exposition of the Catholic faith, this holy council ordered that, because in the midst of many heretics and heathen throughout the churches of Spain, the canonical order has been necessarily neglected (for while liberty of transgressing abounded, and the desirable discipline was denied, and every one fostered excesses of heresy in the protection and continuation of evil times, a strict discipline was far off, but now the peace of the Church has been restored by the mercy of Christ), everything which by the authority of early canons may be forbidden is forbidden, discipline arising again, and everything is required which they order done. Let the constitutions of all the councils remain in their force, likewise all the synodical letters of the holy Roman prelates. Henceforth let no one aspire unworthily to ecclesiastical promotions and honors against the canons. Let nothing be done which the holy Fathers, filled with the Spirit of God, decreed should not be done. And let those who presume to violate the laws be restrained by the severity of the earlier canons.

Canon 2. Out of reverence for the most holy faith and to strengthen the weak minds of men, acting upon the advice of the most pious and glorious King Reccared(222) the synod has ordered that throughout the churches of Spain, Gaul, and Gallicia, the symbol of the faith be recited according to the form of the Oriental churches, the symbol of the Council of Constantinople, that is, of the one hundred and fifty bishops; and before the Lord’s prayer is said, let it be pronounced to the people in a clear voice, by which also the true faith may have a manifest testimony, and the hearts of the people may approach to the reception of the body and blood of Christ with hearts purified by faith.

§ 98. The State Church in the Germanic Kingdoms

So long as the Germanic rulers remained Arian, the Catholic Church in their kingdoms was left for the most part alone or hindered in its synodical activity. But as the kingdoms became Catholic on the conversion of their kings, the rulers were necessarily brought into close official relations with the Church and its administration; and they exercised a strict control over the ecclesiastical councils and the episcopal elections. The Merovingians, on their conversion from paganism, at once became Catholics, and they consequently assumed this control immediately. With the extension of the Frankish kingdom, the authority of the king in ecclesiastical affairs was likewise extended. In Spain the Visigoths were Arians until 589. On the conversion of the nation at that date, the king at once assumed an extensive ecclesiastical authority (for Reccared’s confirmation of the Third Synod of Toledo, 589, see Bruns, I, 393), and in the development of the system the councils of Toledo became at once the parliaments of the entire nation, now united through its common faith, and the synods of the Church. This system was cut short by the Moslem invasion of 711, and the development of the Church and its relation to the State is to be studied in the Frankish kingdom in which from this time the ecclesiastical development of Western Europe is to be traced. The best evidence for the legal state of the Church under the Germanic rulers is chiefly in the acts of councils.

But there was also in the Catholic Church in the Germanic kingdoms a strong monastic spirit which was by no means willing to see the Church become an “establishment.” This fitted in poorly with the condition of the State Church. It is illustrated by the career of St. Columbanus.

(_a_) Council of Orleans, A. D. 511, _Synodical Letter_. Bruns, II, 160.

The king summons the council and approves its findings. Extract
from the synodical letter in which the canons are sent to
Chlodowech.

To their Lord, the Son of the Catholic Church, Chlodowech, the most glorious king, all the priests(223) whom you have commanded to come to the council.

Because your great care for the glorious faith so moves you to reverence for the Catholic religion that from love of the priesthood you have commanded the bishops to be gathered together into one that they might treat of necessary things, according to the proposals of your will and the titles [_i.e._, topics] which you have given, we reply by determining those things which seem good to us; so that if those things which we have decreed prove to be right in your judgment, the approval of so great a king and lord might by a greater authority cause the determinations of so many bishops to be observed more strictly.

(_b_) Council of Orleans, A. D. 549, _Canons_. Bruns, II, 211.

Canons regarding Episcopal elections. The first instance in
canonical legislation in the West recognizing the necessity of
royal consent to the election of a bishop. For the relation of the
Pope to metropolitans, see in § 99 the Epistle of Gregory the
Great to Vigilius of Arles.

Canon 10. That it shall be lawful for no one to obtain the episcopate by payment or bargaining, but with the permission of the king, according to the choice of the clergy and the people, as it is written in the ancient canons, let him be consecrated by the metropolitan or by him whom he sends in his place, together with the bishops of the province. That if any one violates by purchase the rule of this holy constitution, we decree that he, who shall have been ordained for money, shall be deposed.

Canon 11. Likewise as the ancient canons decree, no one shall be made bishop of those who are unwilling to receive him, and neither by the force of powerful persons are the citizens and clergy to be induced to give a testimonial of election.(224) For this is to be regarded as a crime; that if this should be done, let him, who rather by violence than by legitimate decree has been ordained bishop, be deposed forever from the honor of the episcopate which he has obtained.

(_c_) Council of Paris, A. D. 557, _Canon_. Bruns, II, 221.

Canon 8. No bishop shall be ordained for people against their will, but only he whom the people and clergy in full election shall have freely chosen; neither by the command of the prince nor by any condition whatever against the will of the metropolitan and the bishops of the province shall he be forced in. That if any one with so great rashness presumes by royal appointment(225) to reach the height of this honor, let him not deserve to be received as a bishop by the bishops of the province in which the place is located, for they know that he was ordained improperly. If any of the fellow bishops of the province presume to receive him against this prohibition, let him be separated from all his brethren and be deprived of the charity of all.

(_d_) Gregory of Tours, _Hist. Francorum_, IV, 15. (MSL, 71:280.)

The difficulty of the Church in living under the Merovingian
monarchs with their despotism and violence is illustrated by the
following passage. The date of the event is 556.

When the clergy of Tours heard that King Chlothar [511-561; 558-561, as surviving son of Chlodowech, sole ruler of the Franks] had returned from the slaughter of the Saxons, they prepared the consensus(226) that they had chosen the priest Eufronius bishop and went to the king. When they had presented the matter, the king answered: “I had indeed commanded that the priest Cato should be ordained there, and why has our command been disregarded?” They answered him: “We have indeed asked him, but he would not come.” And as they said this suddenly the priest Cato appeared and besought the king to command that Cautinus be removed and himself be appointed bishop of Arverne.(227) But when the king laughed at this, he besought him again, that he might be ordained for Tours, which he had before rejected. Then the king said to him: “I have already commanded that you should be consecrated bishop of Tours, but, as I hear, you have despised that church; therefore you shall be withheld from the government of it.” Thereupon he departed ashamed. But when the king asked concerning the holy Eufronius, they said that he was a nephew of the holy Gregory, whom we have mentioned above.(228) The king answered: “That is a distinguished and very great family. Let the will of God and of the holy Martin(229) be done; let the election be confirmed.” And after he had given a decree for the ordination, the holy Eufronius was ordained as the eighth bishop after St. Martin.(230)

(_e_) Gregory of Tours, _Hist. Franc._, VIII, 22, (MSL, 71:464.)

Royal interference in episcopal elections was not infrequent under
the Merovingians. Confused as the following account is, it is
clear from it that the kings were accustomed to violate the canons
and to exercise a free hand in episcopal appointments. See also
the preceding selection. The date of the event is 585. For the
Synod of Maçon, A. D. 585, see Hefele, § 286.

Laban, Bishop of Eauze,(231) died that year. Desiderius, a layman, succeeded him, although the king had promised with an oath that he would never again ordain a bishop from the laity. But to what will not the accursed hunger for gold drive human hearts? Bertchramnus(232) had returned from the synod,(233) and on the way was seized with a fever. The deacon Waldo was summoned, who in baptism had also been called Bertchramnus, and he committed to him the whole of his episcopal office, as he also committed to him the provisions regarding his testament, as well as those who merited well by him. As he departed the bishop breathed out his spirit. The deacon returned and with presents and the consensus(234) of the people, went to the king(235) but he obtained nothing. Then the king, having issued a mandate, commanded Gundegisilus, count of Saintes, surnamed Dodo, to be consecrated bishop; and so it was done. And because many of the clergy of Saintes before the synod had, in agreement with Bishop Bertchramnus, written various things against their Bishop Palladius to humiliate him, after his(236) death they were arrested by the bishop, severely tortured, and stripped of their property.

(_f_) Chlotar II, Capitulary, A. D. 614. MGH, Leges, II. _Capitularia Regum Francorum_, ed. Boretius, I, 20, MGH, Leges, 1883.

Not only did the councils admit the right of the king to approve
the candidate for consecration as bishop, but the kings laid down
the principle that their approval was necessary. They also
legislated on the affairs of the Church, _e.g._, on the election
of bishops. The text may also be found in Altmann und Bernheim,
_Ausgewählte Urkunden_. Berlin, 1904, p. 1.

Ch. 1. It is our decree that the statutes of the canons be observed in all things, and those of them which have been neglected in the past because of the circumstances of the times shall hereafter be observed perpetually; so that when a bishop dies one shall be chosen for his place by the clergy and people, who is to be ordained by the metropolitan and his provincials; if the person be worthy let him be ordained by the order of the prince; but if he be chosen from the palace(237) let him be ordained on account of the merit of his person and his learning.

Ch. 2. That no bishop while living shall choose a successor, but another shall be substituted for him when he become so indisposed that he cannot rule his church and clergy. Likewise, that while a bishop is living no one shall presume to take his place, and if one should seek it, it is on no account to be given him.

(_g_) Fredegarius Scholasticus, _Chronicon_, 75_f._ (MSL, 71:653.)

The Chronicon of Fredegarius is important, as it continues in its
last book the _History of the Franks_ by Gregory of Tours. The
best edition is in the MGH, _Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum_ II,
ed. Krusch. An account of the work may be found in DCB, art.
“Fredegarius Scholasticus.” In the Frankish kingdom the higher
clergy, especially the bishops, assembled with the great men of
the realm in councils under the king to discuss affairs of State.
These councils have been called _concilia mixta_. They are,
however, to be distinguished from the strictly ecclesiastical
assemblies in which the clergy alone acted. A change was
introduced by Charles the Great. The following passage shows the
king consulting with the bishops, along with the other nobles.

§ 75. In the eleventh year of his reign Dagobert came to the city of Metz, because the Wends at the command of Samo still manifested their savage fury and often made inroads from their territory to lay waste the Frankish kingdom, Thuringia, and other provinces. Dagobert, coming to Metz, with the counsel of the bishops and nobles, and the consent of all the great men of his kingdom, made his son, Sigibert, king of Austrasia, and assigned him Metz as his seat. To Chunibert, bishop of Cologne, and the Duke Adalgisel, he committed the conduct of his palace and kingdom.(238) Also he gave to his son sufficient treasure and fitted him out with all that was appropriate to his high dignity; and whatsoever he had given him he confirmed by charters specially made out. Since then the Frankish land was sufficiently defended by the zeal of the Austrasians against the Wends.

§ 76. When in the twelfth year of his reign a son named Chlodoveus was born by Queen Nantechilde to Dagobert, he made, with the counsel and advice of the Neustrians, an agreement with his Sigibert. All the great men and the bishops of Austrasia and the other people of Sigibert, holding up their hands, confirmed it with an oath, that after the death of Dagobert, Neustria and Burgundy, by an established ordinance, should fall to Chlodoveus; but Austrasia, because in population and extent it was equal to those lands, should belong in its entire extent to Sigibert.

(_h_) Jonas, _Vita Columbani_, chs. 9, 12, 17, 32, 33, 59, 60. (MSL, 87:1016.)

Columbanus (543-615) was the most active and successful of the
Irish missionary monks laboring on the continent of Europe. In 585
Columbanus left Ireland to preach in the wilder parts of Gaul, and
in 590 or 591 founded Luxeuil, which became the parent monastery
of a considerable group of monastic houses. He came into conflict
with the Frankish clergy on account of the Celtic mode of fixing
the date of Easter [see Epistle of Columbanus among the Epistles
of Gregory the Great, to whom it is addressed, Bk. IX, Ep. 127,
PNF, ser. II, vol. XIII, p. 38; two other epistles on the subject
in MSL, vol. 80], his monastic rule [MSL, 80:209], and his
condemnatory attitude toward the dissoluteness of life prevalent
in Gaul among the clergy, as well as in the court. Banished from
Burgundy in 610 partly for political reasons, he worked for a time
in the vicinity of Lake Constance. In 612, leaving his disciple
Gallus [see _Vita S. Galli_, by Walafrid Strabo, MSL, 114; English
translation by C. W. Bispham, Philadelphia, 1908], he went to
Italy and, having founded Bobbio, died in 615. Gallus (_ob. circa_
640) subsequently founded the great monastery of St. Gall in
Switzerland, near Lake Constance. The Celtic monks on the
continent abandoned their Celtic peculiarities in the ninth
century and adopted the Benedictine rule.

Jonas, the author of the life of Columbanus, was a monk at Bobbio.
His life of Columbanus was written about 640; see DCB, “Jonas
(6).” In the following, the divisions and numbering of paragraphs
follow Migne’s edition. There is an excellent new edition in the
MGH, _Script. rerum Merovin._, ed. Krusch, 8vo, 1905.

Columbanus sets forth.

Ch. 9. Columbanus gathered such treasures of divine knowledge that even in his youth he could expound the Psalter in polished discourse and could make many other discourses, worthy of being sung and useful to teach. Thereupon he took pains to be received into the company of monks, and sought the monastery of Benechor [in Ulster] the head of which, the blessed Commogellus, was famous for his many virtues. He was an excellent father of his monks and highly regarded because of his zeal in religion and the maintenance of discipline according to the rule. And here he began to give himself entirely to prayer and fasting and to bear the yoke of Christ, easy to those who bear it, by denying himself and taking up his cross and following Christ, that he, who was to be the teacher of others, might himself learn by teaching, and by mortification to endure in his own body what he should abundantly show forth; and he who should teach what by others ought to be fulfilled, himself first fulfilled. When many years had passed for him in the cloister, he began to desire to wander forth, mindful of the command which the Lord gave Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house unto a land that I will show thee” [Gen. 12:1]. He confessed to Commogellus, the venerable Father, the warm desire of his heart, the desire enkindled by the fire of the Lord [Luke 12:49]; but he received no such answer as he wished. For it was a grief to Commogellus to bear the loss of a man so full of comfort. Finally Commogellus began to take courage and place it before his heart that he ought to seek more to advance the benefit of others than to pursue his own needs. It happened not without the will of the Almighty, who had trained His pupil for future wars, that from his victories he might obtain glorious triumphs and gain joyful victories over the phalanxes of slain enemies. The abbot called Columbanus unto him and said that though it was a grief to him yet he had come to a decision useful to others, that he would remain in peace with him, would strengthen him with consolation, and give him companions for his journey men who were known for their religion.…

So Columbanus in the twentieth(239) year of his life set forth, and with twelve companions under the leadership of Christ went down to the shore of the sea. Here they waited the grace of Almighty God that he would prosper their undertaking, if it took place with His consent; and they perceived that the will of the merciful Judge was with them. They embarked and began the dangerous journey through the straits, and crossed a smooth sea with a favorable wind, and after a quick passage reached the coasts of Brittany.…

Columbanus founds monasteries in Gaul.

Ch. 12. At that time there was a wide desert called Vosagus [the Vosges] in which there lay a castle long since in ruins. And ancient tradition called it Anagrates [Anegray]. When the holy man reached this place, in spite of its wild isolation, its rudeness, and the rocks, he settled there with his companions, content with meagre support, mindful of the saying that man lives not by bread alone, but, satisfied with the Word of Life, he would have abundance and never hunger again unto eternity.

Ch. 17. When the number of the monks had increased rapidly, he began to think of seeking in the same desert for a better place, where he might found a monastery. And he found a place, which had formerly been strongly fortified, at a distance from the first place about eight miles, and which was called in ancient times Luxovium.(240) Here there were warm baths erected with special art. A multitude of stone idols stood here in the near-by forest, which in the old heathen times had been honored with execrable practices and profane rites. Residing here, therefore, the excellent man began to found a cloister. On hearing of this the people came to him from all sides in order to dedicate themselves to the practice of religion, so that the great crowd of monks gathered together could hardly be contained in the company of one monastery. Here the children of nobles pressed to come, that, despising the scorned adornments of the world and the pomp of present wealth, they might receive eternal rewards. When Columbanus perceived this and that from all sides the people came together for the medicines of penance, and that the walls of one monastery could not without difficulty hold so great a body of converts to the religious life, and although they were of one mind and one heart, yet it was ill fitted to the intercourse of so great a multitude, he sought out another place, which was excellent on account of its abundance of water, and founded a second monastery, which he named Fontanæ,(241) and placed rulers over it, of whose piety none doubted. As he now settled companies of monks in this place, he dwelt alternately in each and, filled with the Holy Ghost, he established a rule which they should observe that the prudent reader or hearer of it might know by what sort of discipline a man might become holy.

The quarrel of Columbanus with the Court.

Ch. 32. It happened one day that the holy Columbanus came to Brunichildis, who was at that time in Brocariaca.(242) When she saw him coming to the court she led to the man of God the sons of Theuderich, whom he had begotten in adultery. He asked as he saw them what they wanted of him, and Brunichildis said: “They are the king’s sons; strengthen them with thy blessing.” But he answered: “Know then that these will never hold the royal sceptre, for they have sprung from unchastity.” In furious anger she commanded the boys to depart. The man of God thereupon left the royal court, and when he had crossed the threshold there arose a loud roar so that the whole house shook, and all shuddered for fear; yet the rage of the miserable woman could not be restrained. Thereupon she began to plot against the neighboring monasteries, and she caused a decree to be issued that the monks should not be allowed to move freely outside the land of the monastery, and that no one should give them any support or otherwise assist them with offerings.

Ch. 33. Against Columbanus Brunichildis excited the mind of the king and endeavored to disturb him; and she encouraged the minds of his princes, his courtiers, and great men to set the mind of the king against the man of God, and she began to urge the bishops that by vilifying the religion of Columbanus they might dishonor the rule he had given his monks to observe.…

Columbanus founds Bobbio.

§ 59. When the blessed Columbanus learned that Theudebert had been conquered by Theuderich, he left Gaul and Germany,(243) which were under Theuderich, and entered Italy where he was honorably received by Agilulf the Lombard king, who gave him permission to dwell where he wished in Italy. It happened by the will of God that, while he was in Milan, Columbanus wishing to attack and root out by the use of the Scripture the errors of the heretics, that is, the false doctrine of the Arians, lingered and composed an excellent work against them.(244)

§ 60. While things were thus going on, a man named Jocundus came before the king and reported to him that he knew of a church of the blessed Peter, prince of the Apostles, in a desert region of the Apennines, in which he learned that there were many advantages, being uncommonly fruitful and supplied with water full of fish. It was called in old time Bobium(245) on account of the brook which flowed by it; another river in the neighborhood was called Trebia, on which Hannibal, spending a winter, suffered great losses of men, horses, and elephants. Thither Columbanus removed and restored with all possible diligence the already half-ruined church in all its former beauty. The roof and the top of the temple and the ruins of the walls he repaired and set to work to construct other things necessary for a monastery.

§ 99. Gregory the Great and the Roman Church in the Second Half of the Sixth Century