Page:History of the Franks.djvu/97

 THE THIRD BOOK 65 singing and unbounded grief, and buried them side by side. One was ten years old, the other seven. But the third, Clodoald, they were unable to seize, since he was freed by the aid of brave men. He gave up his earthly kingdom and passed to the Lord's service, and cutting his hair with his own hand he became a clerk, busied with good works, and as a priest passed from this Hfe. The two kings divided equally between them the kingdom of Chlodomer. And queen Clotilda showed herself such that she was honored by all; she was always dihgent in alms, able to endure the whole night in watching, unstained in chastity and uprightness; with a generous and ready good-will she bestowed estates on churches, monasteries, and holy places wherever she saw there was need, so that she was believed to serve God dihgently, not as a queen but as his own handmaid, and neither her royal sons, nor worldly am- bition, nor wealth, raised her up for destruction, but her humility exalted her to grace. 19. There Hved at that time in the city of Langres the blessed Gregory, a great bishop of God, renowned for his signs and mir- acles. And since we have spoken of this bishop, I think it not unpleasing to insert in this place an account of the site of Dijon, where he was especially active. It is a stronghold with very solid walls, built in the midst of a plain, a very pleasant place, the lands rich and fruitful, so that when the fields are ploughed once the seed is sown and a great wealth of produce comes in due season. On the south it has the Ouche, a river very rich in fish, and from the north comes another little stream, which runs in at the gate and flows under a bridge and again passes out by another gate, flowing around the whole fortified place with its quiet waters, and turning with wonderful speed the mills before the gate. The four gates face the four regions of the universe, and thirty-three towers adorn the whole structure, and the wall is thirty feet high and fifteen feet thick, built of squared stones up to twenty feet, and above of small stone. And why it is not called a city I do not know. It has all around it abundant springs, and on the west are hills, very fertile and full of vineyards, which produce for the inhabitants such a noble Falernian that they disdain wine of Ascalon. The ancients say this place was built by the emperor Aurelian.