The Martyrdom Of Priscus And The Relentless Revenge Against His Killer

Among the courtiers of King Chilperic of the Franks (r. 561-584) was an interesting figure named Priscus. This man walked a dangerous line during his life. On the one hand, he was a leader among the oppressed and maltreated Jewish community in France, while on the other, he actively joined the inner circles of the Frankish kings and bishops, the very people who had the power to oppress his people. Priscus was able to keep up this precarious balance for decades. He became something of a procurement agent for King Chilperic, skillfully acquiring and transporting to the king whatever items the monarch might need. Impressed by such work, King Chilperic began to show affection for Priscus, and encouraged his continued interaction with the realm’s courtiers and bishops. One of the men that Chilperic introduced to Priscus was Bishop (and historian) Gregory of Tours (c. 539-594), who commented in his History of the Franks that Priscus and King Chilperic were “on familiar terms” and that the king treated Priscus “kindly” (Book VI, chapter 5). Yet, the whims and opinions of monarchs can easily change with time.

Around 580, when King Chilperic lost two sons during a dysentery epidemic, the king became more concerned and interested about theology and the church. His new wave of religious zeal began benignly with lavish donations of wealth to Christian religious institutions. Soon, however, he was not only giving money, but orders—he pressured his bishops to amend church theology and, by 582, he ordered Priscus and the Jewish community in Frankish lands to convert to Christianity. Gregory of Tours and his fellow bishops were able to successfully fend off King Chilperic’s proposed amendments to Christian theology, but Priscus and the Jewish community found it much more difficult to resist the king.

Priscus, for his part, refused the king’s command to convert. With this refusal, the warmth, familiarity and kindly spirit of the relationship between King Chilperic and Priscus was shattered. Gregory of Tours, who kept informed on these events, wrote, “Priscus in particular could not by any persuasion be induced to accept the truth. The King was furious and ordered him to be locked up, saying that if he would not believe of his own free will he should be compelled to listen and to believe despite himself” (History of the Franks, VI.17). Priscus was eventually released from the prison, still not having converted, and he tried to resume his life. Unfortunately, his tribulations were not over.

Once free, Priscus continued to resist King Chilperic’s demands for conversion and instead kept up his regular attendance at the local synagogue, doing so unthreateningly and unarmed. Despite the peaceful nature of his protest, Priscus’ resolve infuriated many of King Chilperic’s courtiers, if not the king, himself. Such friction, sadly, led to a tragic outcome. According to Gregory of Tours, Priscus and his friends were one day walking to their synagogue when a gang led by an associate of King Chilperic ambushed them in the street. As Priscus and his companions were unarmed, they were quickly massacred by the assailants. The killers, however, misjudged the response of the community to the attack. Such bloodshed in the street shocked the city, and Priscus, despite his recent tension with the king, was well-liked in the community. Outraged by what happened, the city folk reportedly formed a mob and attacked the assassins. Of the gang that attacked Priscus, only its leader was able to escape with his life, fleeing to a neighboring Frankish kingdom ruled by Chilperic’s brother, King Guntram (r. 561-593). Even though he fled the city, the murderer was not ultimately able to escape Priscus’ family, friends and supporters. Gregory of Tours wrote, “A few days later he was killed in his turn by some of the relations of Priscus” (History of the Franks, VI.17).

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: ("The Banishment of the Jews", from Portuguese history, illustrated by Roque Gameiro c. 1917, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours, translated by Lewis Thorpe. New York: Penguin Classics, 1971.

The Peculiar Life Of The Chained Recluse, Saint Hospicius

Hospicius was an obscure holy man who spent his final years in the vicinity of Nice, France. His age and land of origin are unknown, but details of his later life and saintly deeds were recorded by Hospicius’ contemporary, Bishop Gregory of Tours (c. 539-594), who wrote the influential History of the Franks. By the time Bishop Gregory took notice of Hospicius, the latter clergyman had become a complete recluse, living in a walled-off tower in Nice. The tower apparently had no entrances or exits except windows, through which supplies and supplicants could reach the holy man.

Hospicius was an ascetic in both dress and diet. For sustenance, he reportedly lived off only bread, boiled roots, dates and water. As for his clothing, he allegedly wore an uncomfortable combination of metal chains wrapped around his body, over which was worn an additionally aggravating hair shirt. It is uncertain exactly when Hospicius adopted this punishing diet and wardrobe, but once he did commit himself to such an excruciating existence, he reportedly did not relent until he was on his deathbed.

With his spiritual mind and monkish appearance, Hospicius gained a great reputation for saintly acts and holy power. People seeking divine remedies to their problem would wander to the recluse’s tower, hoping that Hospicius could perform a miracle through a window of his walled-off abode. According to the list presented by Gregory of Tours, Hospicius was credited with exorcising multiple demons from various people, as well as healing one man who had been blind since birth and curing another who had been struck deaf and dumb by a terrible fever. In another lauded episode from the saint’s life, Lombard raiders reportedly found Hospicius’ tower and, as there were no doors, they climbed up the structure and broke through the roof or a window. Upon glimpsing at the chained-up, emaciated man in a hair-shirt, the Lombards first assumed that he was a prisoner. Yet, when Hospicius began preaching to them and healing their ailments, the raiders quickly deduced the saint’s occupation. The raiders were reportedly so impressed by the holy man, that they left him in peace, and a few of the Lombards even converted from their Arian Christian beliefs to Hospicius’ own Roman Catholicism.

The death of Hospicius came around the year 581. His lifestyle of self-punishment, with the minimalist diet, as well as the daily wardrobe of chains and a hair shirt, had a devastating effect on the saint’s body. Due to years of constant chaffing, irritation and sores caused by the chain, Hospicius’ body was said to have been visibly “alive with worms” (Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, VI. 6). As the day of the sickly saint’s death was approaching, Hospicius reportedly had a precise prophecy about his own demise, which convinced him to make arrangements so that his body would be discovered quickly after his time had come. Through his window, the recluse signaled a messenger and sent the person off to inform Bishop Austadius of Nice to arrive at the tower with a crowbar (to break into the structure) after three days, for at that time Hospicius would be dead. On the day of his death, Hospicius was said to have finally removed his chain and died while laying peacefully on a bench. As instructed, the bishop soon broke into the tower, recovered the body, and gave the saint an honorable burial.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (15th-century painting of Simeon Stylites, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours, translated by Lewis Thorpe. New York: Penguin Classics, 1971.
• https://www.bartleby.com/210/10/153.html 
• http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07489a.htm  

The Unlikely Man Who Popularized The Stories Of King Arthur—Geoffrey of Monmouth

(Painting of King Arthur by N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945), from Sir Thomas Mallory, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons

In 12th-century Britain, a peculiar churchman, historian and teacher named Geoffrey of Monmouth launched the mystical tale of King Arthur and the magician Merlin on its path to world acclaim with the debut of his book, The History of the Kings of Britain. Though the adventures of King Arthur and his chivalrous knights were eventually accepted and admired in Britain, the road to acceptance was rough. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s writing was initially widely criticized in the British scholarly world, but it found quick admirers in medieval French literature and poetry. Later, the tales of King Arthur sluggishly crept back to Britain, only becoming truly mainstream after the 16th century with the help of literary masters such as Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Tennyson.