{
  "bookName": "HISTORY OF THE MISSIONS",
  "authorName": "BERNARD DE VAULX",
  "publisherName": "HAWTHORN BOOKS PUBLISHERS",
  "publicationYear": 2026,
  "chapterNumber": 3,
  "chapterName": "The Evangelization of the Barbarians",
  "pageFrom": 30,
  "pageTo": 37,
  "pages": [
    {
      "pageNumber": 30,
      "ocrText": "CHAPTER III\nTHE EVANGELIZATION OF\nTHE BARBARIANS\nThe invasions had brought about the collapse of the Roman\nEmpire but had not disorganized the Church. The firm stand\nmade by the bishops, including the bishop of Rome, as the\nsole defenders of peoples and cities against barbarian violence\nhad, on the contrary, increased her prestige, and this is one of\nthe good aspects of this chaotic time. But new problems faced\nher and of these the most urgent was to discover what political\npower was to succeed the Empire which had supported the\nChurch since the days of Constantine.\nApart from the cities between the Seine and the Loire, \"a\npale reflection of the ruined Empire\", which remained under\nthe control of Syagrius, the whole of the West was occupied\nby the barbarians, Italy by the Ostrogoths (until the arrival\nof the Lombards), the Rhône valley by the Burgundians, Spain\nby the Suevi soon to be joined by the Visigoths who already\ngoverned Aquitania with Toulouse as their capital. Alsace and\nLorraine were in the hands of the Alemanni, Africa in those of\nthe Vandals. Finally, the Franks, who had first settled in the\nTournai region, had advanced as far as the Loire after Clovis'\nvictory over Syagrius at Soissons.\nFrom the point of view of evangelization this barbarian\nworld was divided into two groups. There were the totally\npagan Franks, and the rest of the barbarians who for the most\npart had gone over to Arianism. On the one hand was a com-",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 31,
      "ocrText": "THE EVANGELIZATION OF THE BARBARIANS\n31\nplete ignorance of the faith, on the other, a corrupted know-\nledge which ruined its foundation since Christ's divine nature\nwas denied.\nWhich task would prove the more difficult? To begin again\nfrom the beginning or to rectify a knowledge which was only\npartial? To win the pagan from his gods or to bring the Arian\nto admit that he was distorting the image of Christ? Hesitation\nwas understandable and it is easy to see why the Gallo-Roman\nepiscopate, as far as the pagans were concerned, watched with\nsuch interest the young Frankish chief, an ambitious man who\nhad grasped the fact that Christianity held a preponderant\nplace in Gallic society and constituted a real force which it\nwould be better to win over to one's side rather than to attack.\nIt was in an atmosphere such as this and, on the whole, one\nnot unfavourable to an understanding between Clovis and the\nbishops, that one of the latter, St Avitus, suggested to St Remi\nthat the young chief should marry Clotilda, a Burgundian\nCatholic princess of exemplary piety. He hoped this might lead\nto Clovis' conversion. The marriage, celebrated in 493, did not\nat first change Clovis' inclinations. His first son died shortly\nafter baptism. The second, who was also baptized, in his turn\nwas at the point of death. Clotilda prayed that he might be\ncured. When Clovis saw that her prayer had been answered, he\nceased to be hostile to the God of the Christians. He took the\nfinal step at Tolbiac in 496. It was like a story in a picture\nbook. Seeing that victory was likely to escape him, Clovis\npromised to receive baptism if Clotilda's God should grant\nhim success. His prayer was answered and the victorious chief\nwas baptized at Rheims on Christmas Day, 496, together with\nthree thousand of his soldiers.\nThis event raised great hopes. St Avitus, bishop of Vienne,\ngreeted it as the starting-point of a new era which would gather\nall the peoples of Gaul under Clovis' rule \"to the great advan-\ntage of the authority religion has to exercise\". In the southern\nareas where the Arian chiefs were persecuting the Church, the\nking of the Franks soon came to be considered as a liberator,",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 32,
      "ocrText": "32\nTHE EVANGELIZATION OF THE BARBARIANS\nas the man who would achieve political unity and the triumph\nof Catholicism over Arianism. We cannot doubt that he en-\nthusiastically accepted this splendid assignment when we read\nthe words attributed to him by Gregory of Tours: \"I can no\nlonger accept the fact that the Arians occupy part of Gaul.\nLet us then march against them with God's help, and if our\nenemies are conquered, we shall rule over the whole country.\"\nThis crusade against Arianism, begun at Tolbiac after the\ndefeat of the Alemanni, was continued at Fleury with a crush-\ning defeat of the Burgundians (500) and at Vouillé (507) by that\nof the Visigoths. Clovis thought he would end it in a final\ncampaign against the Ostrogoths, but he died before he could\nlaunch it, in 511. But at least he had had time to prepare for\nthe overthrow of Arianism and the triumph of the true faith\nin the West.\nIn any case, after his death, his story continued to have\nimmense significance for the barbarian chiefs. Even the Arians\namong them were shaken and asked themselves whether they\nshould remain faithful to Arianism once Clovis had triumphed\nover it in a perfectly regular manner? Why, too, should they\nnot rally to Catholicism which from now onwards would be\nthe conqueror's religion? It would certainly be untrue to urge\nthat generosity and even a certain sense of the divine were\nunknown among the barbarians. The truth is that miracles as\nthe outward sign of a mystery, in particular such a striking\nmiracle as that of Tolbiac, demonstrated the powerlessness\nof their own gods to these men for whom might was every-\nthing. Clovis was the unchallengeable witness to the superiority\nof the Christians' God.\nFor the bishops the story of Clovis was valued as a precedent\nto be extended throughout the West. Following as it did upon\nthat of Constantine, it suggested that it would be wise to\nattempt to convert sovereigns in the first place and that this\ninitial stage would prepare for the conversion of their sub-\njects. Among the Burgundians, the method was a complete\nsuccess. After the baptism of Sigismund by the bishop of",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 33,
      "ocrText": "THE EVANGELIZATION OF THE BARBARIANS\n33\nVienne (500), a considerable section of the aristocracy followed\nhis example. So influential was the bishop who converted him\nthat there was no outbreak of violence against the Arians.\nAn edict placed the old Catholics of Gallo-Roman origin and\nthe new Burgundian converts on an equal footing and the\nfusion of the two races was thus prepared.\nSt Martin of Braga obtained similar results among the Suevi,\nas did also St Leander among the Visigoths. But the latter's\nconversion was as violent in its circumstances as that of the\nformer was easy and peaceful. Arianism had by no means\noverrun the whole of Spain, although Leovigild, king of the\nVisigoths, had given strong support to the heresy. Of his two\nsons, one, Reccared, was of the same opinion as himself. The\nother, Hermenigild, had renounced Arianism under the in-\nfluence of St Leander, bishop of Seville. The antagonism\nbetween the two men led to civil war. At first, Hermenigild\nentered wholeheartedly into the struggle and even went so far\nas to send St Leander to Constantinople to ask for the\nemperor's support against his father's party. But then, out of\nfilial piety, although fully believing in the justice of his own\ncause, he accepted the offer of negotiation sent to him by\nReccared and gave himself up to his father, who pretended to\npardon him, yet immediately afterwards had him cast into\nprison. He wanted his son to return to Arianism and to re-\nnounce the true faith. He failed to persuade him and handed\nhim over to the executioners who cut his throat. Heresy gained\nnothing by this. On the contrary, Reccared who had succeeded\nhis father, took up a more conciliatory attitude under the\ninfluence of St Leander and became better disposed. He agreed\nto call a council at Toledo in 589. The delegates of the clergy\nand of the people made a profession of orthodoxy, so that\nhere again, unity of religion brought about peaceful racial\nfusion.\nApart from the warm congratulations addressed to St Remi\nby Pope Hormisdas after the conversion of Clovis, the share",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 34,
      "ocrText": "34\nTHE EVANGELIZATION OF THE BARBARIANS\nof the papacy in the missions during this period seems to have\nbeen very limited. It could not have been otherwise at a time\nwhen the barbarians were piling ruin upon ruin and had to be\nresisted unless all was to be lost in both the temporal and the\nspiritual orders, at a time, too, when this resistance confined\nthe ecclesiastical authorities within the territory over which\nthey exercised their jurisdiction. Rome, like the other bishop-\nrics, could not avoid this isolation nor these necessities.\nSt Leo himself, active and apostolic though he was, had to\nendure this state of affairs. Resistance to the barbarians kept\nhim fully occupied. Attila was threatening Mantua and it was\nonly by going out to meet him at the head of a deputation that\nSt Leo persuaded him to withdraw. In less than three years\nlater, he had to face Genseric, the king of the Vandals. In\naddition to material ruin, there were the dangers with which\nthe heresies were threatening the true faith, Pelagianism,\nEutychianism, Nestorianism, etc. St Leo's glory lies in having\ntriumphed over all these difficulties and in having given\ndecisions sufficiently authoritative to be accepted after his\ndeath.\nUnder succeeding pontificates, the invasions of the Lom-\nbards had made the prevalent disorder even worse. When the\nsystem of an elected monarchy had divided the Lombard king-\ndom into some thirty duchies while a large number of the cities\nstill depended on Byzantium, anarchy reached its zenith.\nIt was at this moment that a great pope came onto the scene.\nHe was able to make use of the situation in order to restore all\nits prestige to the papacy. Of patrician stock, he had been\nprefect of Rome. Yet honours had no attraction for him. He\nhad heeded the Gospel counsel and, in his search for perfection,\nhad sold all his immense property in order to provide endow-\nment for monasteries. He himself had then withdrawn to one\nof these, on the Coelian hill. The conclave came to fetch him\nfrom it as the successor of Pelagius II (590). His name was\nGregory.\nLike St Leo, he resisted the anarchy and violence of the",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 35,
      "ocrText": "THE EVANGELIZATION OF THE BARBARIANS\n35\nbarbarians and succeeded in containing them. He then fol-\nlowed the policy which St Remi and other bishops had found\nso successful and arranged a marriage between Agilulf, Duke\nof Turin, and Theodelinda, a Catholic princess whose spiritual\ndirector he was. Theodelinda did not become Italy's Clotilda,\nas he had hoped she would, but she did at least have her\nchildren baptized, and built churches, among them that of\nMonza where her memory is preserved. If St Columbanus\n(c. 530-615) was able towards the end of his life to found a\nmonastery at Bobbio, it was because the surrounding regions\nhad been christianized by this princess.\nIn Gaul, Gregory (590-604), an indefatigable letter-writer,\ngave spiritual direction to Childebert II, son of Brunehaut,\nwhom he recommended to support efforts to evangelize the\ncountryside, and as we have just seen, he had given the full\nforce of his own support to St Leander in Spain against the\npartisans of Arianism.\nEngland above all was the object of his apostolic zeal. After\nits entry into the framework of the Empire, the south of the\nisland had had its missionaries. So well did they establish\nChristianity that the young Church of Britain could boast\nof its martyrs under Diocletian and of its three bishops at\nthe Council of Arles in 314. The Saxon invasion of the fifth\ncentury had ravaged it but without disorganizing its hierarchy\nand its clergy or emptying its monasteries. But later the resent-\nment felt by the invaded Britons against the invading Saxons\nremained for a long time so bitter that the former could not\nbe asked, even when they were ordained priests, to share the\nwork of evangelization of the latter.\nGregory the Great therefore decided to send them a mission\nwhose members he recruited from among the monks on the\nCoelian. Forty of them set out under the leadership of Augus-\ntine their prior. It was the largest apostolic expedition that had\never been undertaken. It immediately succeeded in converting\nking Ethelbert whose initiation into the new faith had been\nthe work of the queen, Bertha, a Parisian and a woman of the",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 36,
      "ocrText": "36\nTHE EVANGELIZATION OF THE BARBARIANS\nsame type as St Clotilda. Several monasteries were founded\nand Augustine became bishop of Canterbury.\nGregory the Great had thought out bold methods of placing\nthe new church on solid foundations. As he wrote to Melitus,\nthe monk founder of the see of London:\nTell Augustine that after giving much consideration to the\naffairs of the English, I have decided it would be unwise to\ndestroy the temples. Destroy the idols only, then sprinkle the\nbuildings with holy water, erect altars and put relics in them.\nIf these temples are well built, they can be transferred from\nthe worship of demons to that of the true God. Thus the nation,\nseeing that its sanctuaries are left standing, will abandon its\nerrors and acknowledge and worship the Lord. People will find\nit easier to come to the places which they have previously\nfrequented.\n[He uses the same tactics in regard to sacrifices:] Here again\nthe previous custom must be transformed into the celebration\nof a Christian feast. Thus, on the day of the dedication, on the\nanniversary of the holy martyrs whose relics are venerated in\nthe place, let the people put up their tents of leaves round the\ntemples which have thus been transformed into churches and\nlet them celebrate the feast with religious festivities. They are\nno longer to immolate animals to the devil but to kill them in\nGod's honour and then eat them. And when they have had\nenough, let them give thanks to the author of all gifts.\nimpossible to change barbarian minds completely. This is most\ncertainly true, for the top of a mountain can indeed be reached\nbut only step by step not by leaps and bounds. It was in this\nway that God made himself known to the people of Israel.\nIt is\nGregory the Great granted the pallium, the distinguishing\nmark of archbishops, to Augustine and announced that he had\ncreated two metropolitan sees, at Canterbury and at York.\nEach of these was to have twelve bishoprics under its direc-\ntion. Neither he himself (he died in 604) nor Augustine, who\ndied shortly after, was granted the privilege of working out\nthis great plan in practice, but they had opened the way.\nThe Church of England met with many and considerable",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 37,
      "ocrText": "THE EVANGELIZATION OF THE BARBARIANS\n37\ndifficulties. Fierce rivalry existed between princes who had\nremained pagan gan and their converted neighbours. Hostility\npersisted between the Britons belonging to the earlier Christian\ncommunities and the Saxon invaders. It was only when another\nband of missionaries arrived (c. 657) under the leadership of\nTheodore of Tarsus that charity triumphed and both parties\nwere persuaded to submit to Rome.\nThe monasteries developed considerably. The most cele-\nbrated were Croyland and Wearmouth. From this time forward\nit was possible to speak of a Church of Britain, the Church\nwhich harboured the life of prayer and work of St Bede the\nVenerable.",
      "status": "completed"
    }
  ]
}