DLH VI.26

English, pp.

Count Guntram Boso went back to Clermont-Ferrand with the treasure about which I have told you, and then paid a visit to King Childebert. When he returned home once more with his wife and daughters, he was seized by King Guntrarn and locked up. 'It was your invitation which brought Gundovald to Gaul,' said the King, 'and it was to arrange this that you went to Constantinople a few years ago.' 'It was your leader Mummolus', answered Guntram Boso, 'who received Gundovald and gave him hospitality in Avignon. Let me go and fetch Mummolus, and bring him to your court. This will clear me of the charges levelled against me.' 'You shall not go', replied the King, 'until you have first paid the penalty for the wrongs which you have done.' Guntram Boso realized that his life was threatened. 'Here is my son,' he said. 'Take him and let him be a surety for this promise which I make to you, my lord and King: if I do not bring Mummolus to you, I shall lose my young son.' The King gave him permission to depart, and held the boy as hostage. Guntram Boso took with him a supporting force from Clermont-Ferrand and Le Velay, and set out for Avignon. By a cunning trick thought out by Mummolus, rickety boats were drawn up on the banks of the River Rhone. Guntram Boso and his men clambered on board, foreseeing no danger; when they were halfway across the river, the boats filled with water and sank. All on board were in great danger: some escaped by swimming, others reached the bank by seizing hold of loose planks from the boats. Quite a few, who had less presence of mind, were drowned in the river. Count Guntram Boso reached Avignon safely. When Mummolus had first entered the town, he had realized that there was a section of the city boundary which was not protected by the River Rhone: he had a channel dug from the main stream, so that the entire circuit of the town should be protected by the river-bed. He had great pits dug deep into the bottom of the river at this spot, and then the water concealed this booby-trap as it flowed in. When Guntram Boso appeared, Mummolus stood on the city-wall and shouted: 'If he comes in good faith, let him advance from one bank and I will move forward from the other, and then he can say what is on his mind.' As soon as they were both in position, with this particular arm of the river flowing between them, Guntram Boso shouted back: 'I will come over, if you don't mind, for there are certain matters which we ought to discuss in private.' 'Come on then,' answered Mummolus. 'There's nothing to be afraid of.' Guntram Boso stepped into the river, with one of his close friends, who was weighed down by a heavy mail shirt. The moment he reached the first of the pits in the river-bed, this friend vanished under the water and was never seen again. Guntram Boso was just being submerged by the swiftly-flowing current when one of his men on the bank stretched out his lance and pulled him back to land once more. Mummolus and Guntram Boso exchanged a few insults, and then each drew back. Guntram Boso laid siege to Avignon with the help of the troops provided by King Guntram, but then Childebert came to hear of what was happening. He was incensed because Guntram Boso was doing all this without his permission, and he sent to the spot Gundulf, whom I have mentioned earlier. The siege was raised and Gundulf took Mummolus to Clermont-Ferrand. A few days later Mummolus returned to Avignon.

Latin, pp.

26. De Guntchramno et Mummolo.

Gunthchramnus quoque dux Arvernum cum supradictis thesauris reversus, ad Childeberthum regem abiit. Cumque exinde regrederetur cum uxore et filiabus, a Gunthchramnum regem conpraehensus retenebatur, dicente sibi regem: 'Tua invitatio Gundovaldum adduxit in Galliis, et ob hoc ante hos annus abisti Constantinopoli'. Cui illi: 'Mummolus', inquid, 'dux tuus ipse suscepit eum et in Avennionem secum retenuit. Nunc autem permitte me, ut adducam ipsum tibi, et tunc inmunis ero ab his quae repotantur mihi'. Cui rex ait: 'Non permittam te abire, nisi dignas luas poenas pro his quae commisisti'. At ille cernens se mortem propinquam, ait: 'Ecce filium meum! Suscipe illum, et sit obses pro his quae promitto domino meo rege; et nisi Mummolum adducam tibi, perdam parvolum meum'. Tunc rex permisit eum abire, retentum secum eius infantulo. At ille, adsumptos secum Arvernis atque Villavis, Avennione abiit. Sed asto Mummoli navis in Rodano infirmae paratae sunt; ascendentesque simpliciter, ut in medio amnis venerunt, impletis navibus mergebantur. Tunc in periculo positi, alii natando evaserunt, nonnulli vero, arreptis ipsarum navium tabulis, attigerunt litus. Plerique autem, quorum minor fuit astutia, in amne dimersi sunt. Gunthchramnus vero dux advenit Avennione. Providerat enim Mummolus, postquam intra murus urbis illius est ingressus, ut quia pars parva resedebat, quae non vallabatur a Rhodano, ut, eductam ex eo partem, locus ille totus ex hoc alluvio muneretur; in quo loco fossas magnae profunditudinis fodit, praeparatusque dolos aqua decurrens operuit. Tunc, adveniente Gunthchramno, ait ex muro Mummolus: 'Si fides est integra, veniat ille ab una parte ripae et ego ex alia, et quod voluerit eloquatur'. Quod cum convenisset, ait Gunthchramnus econtra, - hoc enim brachium fluminis inter utrumque erat positum-: 'Si licit', inquid, 'vadam, quia sunt aliqua quae inter nos secretius conferantur'. Cui ille: 'Veni', ait, 'ne timeas'. Ingressus cum uno amicorum suorum - et erat luricae pondere adgravatus - ilico amicus ille, ut foveam amnis attigit, sub aquis dimersus nusquam conparuit. Gunthchramnus vero cum demergeretur atque portaretur ab unda veloci, unus de adstantibus, porrectam manu eius astam, eum litori reddidit. Et tunc, inlatis sibi convitiis, ipse vel Mummolus discesserunt. Obsedente quoque Gunthchramno ipsam urbem cum exercitu Gunthchramni regis, nuntiata sunt haec Childebertho. At ille ira commotus, cur haec non iussus ageret, Gundulfum superius dictum illuc direxit. Qui, amota obsidione, Mummolum Arvernus adduxit. Sed post paucos dies Avennione regressus est.

Notes:

• Youngest son stays behind. Similar to the Joseph story.