DLH II.5

English, pp.114-5

A rumour spread that the Huns were proposing to invade Gaul. At that time in the fortified township of Tongres there lived an extremely saintly Bishop called Aravatius, who spent his time in vigils and fasting. Constantly bathed in a flood of tears, he prayed that God in bis pity should not permit this unworthy and unbelieving race to enter Gaul. Because of the sins of the people, he felt in his heart that bis prayer had not been granted to him: be therefore decided to journey to Rome, so that he might add the power of intercession of the Apostle to his own and be considered worthy of being granted what he was asking of God's compassion with such humility. He made his way to the tomb of the Apostle; and there in great abstinence he continued to pray for the support of his loving kindness, wearing himself out with long fasts and indeed often going two or three days without food or drink, in order to avoid having to interrupt his prayer and so that there need be no interval of silence. When he had remained there in such mortification for many days, he is said to have received the following answer from the blessed Apostle: 'Why, holy man, do you keep on praying to me? It is decreed most clearly by God in His wisdom that the Huns will invade Gaul and that they will devastate that country like some great tornado. You must take my advice. Go home quickly and put your domestic affairs in order, prepare your place of burial and have ready a clean shroud. You are about to leave this earthly life, and your eyes will not see the devastation which the Huns will cause in Gaul, for that is the decision announced by our Lord God.'

As soon as the Bishop had received this answer from the holy Apostle, he made ready for his journey in all haste and then he travelled back to Gaul. When be reached the town of Tongres, be quickly made all the preparations necessary for his own burial. He said goodbye to his clergy and all the other citizens of the town, and then with tears and lamentation he told them that they would never see bis face again. They wept and groaned as they walked behind him, and they addressed the following humble supplication to him: 'Do not leave us, holy father! Good shepherd, do not forget us!' He gave them his blessing and the kiss of peace, and then they went back home, for with all their tears they could not tum him back. He made his way to the town of Maestricht and there he fell ill of a mild fever. As soon as his soul had left his body he was washed by the faithful and buried beside the public highroad. How, after the lapse of many years, bis holy body was moved elsewhere I have described in my Book of Miracles.

Latein, pp.72, 74

Igitur rumor erat, Chunos in Galliis velle prorumpere. Erat autem tunc temporis apud Tungrus oppidum Aravatius eximiae sanctitatis episcopus, qui vigiliis ac ieiuniis vacans, crebro lacrimarum imbre perfusus, Domini misericordiam praecabatur, ne umquam gentem hanc incredulam sibique semper indignam in Galliis venire permitterit. Sed sentiens per spiritum, pro dilictis populi sibi hoc non fuisse concessum, consilium habuit expetendi urbem Romanam, scilicet ut, adiunctam sibi apostolicae virtutis patrocinia, quae humiliter ad Domini misericordiam flagitabat, mereretur facilius obtinere. Accedens ergo ad beati apostoli tumolum, depraecabatur auxilium bonitatis eius, in multa abstinentia, maximae inaedia se consumens, ita ut bidui triduique sine ullo cibo putuque maneret, nec esset intervallum aliquod, in quo ab oratione cessaret. Cumque ibidem per multorum dierum spatia in tali adflictione moraretur, fertur hoc a beato apostolo accepisse responsum: 'Quid me, vii sanctissime, inquietas? Ecce! enim apud Domini deliberationem prursus sanccitum est, Chunos in Gallias advenire easque maxima tempestate debere depopulari. Nunc igitur sume consilium, accelera velociter, ordena domum tuam, sepulturam conpone, require lentiamina munda! Ecce! enim migraberis a corpore, nec videbunt oculi tui mala, quae facturi sunt Chuni in Galliis, sicut locutus est dominus Deus noster'. Hoc a sancto apostolo pontifex responso suscepto, iter accelerat Galliasque velociter repetit, veniensque ad urbem Tungrorum, quae erant necessaria sepulturae secum citius levat, valedicensque clericis ac reliquis civibus urbis, denuntiat cum fletu et lamentatione, quia non visuri essent ultra faciem illius. At ille cum heiulato magno et lacrimis prosequentes supplecabant humili praece, dicentes: 'Ne derelinquas nos, pater sanctae, ne obliviscaris nostri, pastor bonae!' Sed cum eum fletibus revocare non possent, accepta benedictione cum osculis, redierunt. Hic vero ad Treiectinsem urbem accedens, modica pulsatus febre, recessit a corpore, ablutusque a fidelibus, iuxta ipsum agerem publicum est sepultus. Cuius beatum corpus qualiter post multorum temporum spatia sit translatum, in libro Miraculorum scripsimus.

Notes:

So here we are looking at Book 2.5.

• Gregory’s story:

  • The huns were coming to invade Gaul.

  • There was a faithful bishop in Gaul at this time who spent his time praying for this not to happen but when that did not work he went to the tomb of an apostle. After much time praying, the apostle appeared to him asking why are you here, because you have been faithful, go back and put your affairs in order, you aren’t going to see this devastation because you are going to die in peace before it even gets here.

  • Here we get to our phrase:

    • “Ecce! enim migraberis a corpore, nec videbunt oculi tui mala, quae facturi sunt Chuni in Galliis, sicut locatus est dominus Deus noster”.

    • Behold! Indeed you will depart from your body, and your eyes, they will not see, the destruction which the Huns are going to cause in Gaul, just as it is declared by the Lord our God

  • And also, the peaceful/early death of a person was considered a good thing because it meant you were closer to heaven and had shed this mortal coil.

• This specific phrasing is found in both iterations of the story found in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles:

  • Josiah is the newest King of Judah. When he was in the eighteenth year of his reign, his secretary found the Book of Law that outlined the consequences of disobeying God and worshiping other idols and gods in the temples.

  • When he heard this, Josiah told the priest to start praying to the God of David because he knew that his predecessors had disobeyed God.

  • The priest prayed and God’s response was that he was going to bring disaster on the land because of the people, however because Josiah was faithful and humbled himself as soon as he found out about it, he will die in peace before it happens.

  • non videant oculi tui omnia mala quae inducturus sum super locum istum dicit Dominus Deus Israhel

  • “your eyes will not see all of the disaster which I am going to induce upon that territory” declares the Lord God.

While the aspects of the two stories are different there are similarities, especially if you look at the chapters prior to number 5 in Gregory’s history. In chapter 4 he mentions that the churches were full of heresies at this time - much like the kingdom of Judah. Important to note is that Gregory often used outsiders (such as the Goths or the Huns) to enact God’s destruction, similar to Babylon’s role in the Bible. While there is a difference that the Biblical character was a heretical king who renounced his past and Gregory’s character was a pious intercessor for the people’s, the situation is comparable and due to their faithfulness, they were both saved from God’s divine destruction - connotations that Gregory was able to invoke through the use of this patterned phrasing.