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258 urged Theodoric and Theodobert to restore to the bishop of Turin the parishes which he had lost during the barbarian invasion and which the Frankish kings were by no means willing should be under the control of a foreign bishop. But with Brunhild he seems always to have held the most cordial relations: she asked his advice and assistance in matters of religion and politics, in regard to a question of marriage law and to the relation of the Franks with the Empire in the East. And throughout his pontificate the attitude of the kings was one of deep respect, that of the Pope that of father by counsel which easily wore the cloak of authority.

It was thus that early in his pontificate Gregory warned Childebert and Brunhild, as he warned Vergilius and the bishops of Childebert's realm, of the need of instant action against the gross simony which was eating away the spiritual life of the Church. Young men, evil livers, laymen snatched from the business or pleasures of the world, were hurriedly ordained or hurriedly promoted and thrust into the high places of the Church. In 599 he addressed the bishops of Arles, Autun, Lyons, and Vienne in vigorous protest, laying to their charge at least the acquiescence which made gross abuses possible. Ready though he was to submit to lawful exercise of the royal power in nomination, he utterly forbade the ordination of laymen in high office, as inexcusable and indefensible. The Church was to be strengthened against the world by total prohibition of marriage to the clergy and by the summoning of yearly councils for the confirmation of faith and morals. In the councils everything was to be condemned which was contrary to the canons; and two prelates should represent him and inform him of what was done. The abbot Cyriacus was sent on a special mission, with letters to bishops, to kings, and to the queen Brunhild, to bring discipline to the Gallican Church. But the murderous uncertainty of dynastic intrigues set every obstacle in the way of a reform which might make the bishops less the creatures of the kings. To Theodoric at one moment thanks were given for his submission to papal commands, and he was directed to summon a council. At another a special envoy was sent to indicate and insist on reform. At another letter after letter in vehement exhortation was addressed to Brunhild, apparently the real ruler of the distracted realm. Bishops were again and again reproved, exhorted, reproached. But it is difficult, perhaps through the scanty nature of the historical materials of the period, to discover cases of definite submission to the papal authority. It was asserted with all the moral fervour and all the sagacious prudence which belonged to the great man who sat in the papal chair. It was not repudiated by Frankish kings and bishops: rather the assertion was received with judicious politeness and respect.

But beyond this the evidence does not carry us. That the policy of the Frankish State was affected, or that the character of the kings, the ministers of the Crown, or even the bishops, was moulded by the influence