One legend is associated with the Soisson bowl , told by Gregory of Tours in History of the Francs. It is believed that it took place shortly after the Battle of Soissons in 486 , in which Clovis I defeated the Gallo-Roman governor Siagrius , who declared himself "king of the Romans." According to Gregory of Tours, events unfolded on March 1, 487 .
Legend
“Once the Franks took away from some church, along with other precious things necessary for church service, a large cup of amazing beauty. But the bishop of that church sent ambassadors to the king with a request that if the church does not deserve the return of anything else from her sacred utensils, then at least let her return at least this cup. The king, after listening to the ambassadors, said to them: “Follow us to Soissons , because all military booty should be shared there. And if this vessel, which the bishop asks for, will be given to me by lot, I will fulfill his request. " Upon arrival at Soissons, when they piled the whole pile of booty in the middle, the king said: “Brave warriors, I ask you to give me, in addition to my share, this vessel.” Of course, he talked about the bowl. In response to these words of the king, those who were more intelligent said: “Glorious king! Everything that we see here is yours, and we ourselves are in your power. Do whatever you want now. After all, no one dares to resist you! ". As soon as they uttered these words, one quick-tempered warrior, envious and stupid, picked up the ax and with a loud exclamation: “From here you will get only what you are supposed to by lot,” he lowered it to the bowl. Everyone was struck by this act, but the king endured this insult with patience and meekness. He took the chalice and handed it to the episcopal ambassador, holding a "deep resentment" in his soul.
A year later, Clovis ordered all the soldiers to come with all the military equipment to show on the Field of Mars how well they keep their weapons. And when he went around the ranks of the warriors, he went up to the one who hit the bowl and said: “No one contains weapons in such a poor condition as you. After all, neither your spear, nor the sword, nor the ax is worthless. " And, tearing the ax away from him, he threw it to the ground. When he bent a little behind the ax, Clovis lifted up his ax and chopped his head, saying: “That's what you did with that cup in Soissons.” When he died, he ordered the others to disperse, bringing great fear to them with his deed. ”
( The History of the Franks, Book 2, Chapter 27 ).
This legend traces some interesting historical moments. Why did the “obstinate” warrior cut the cup without fulfilling the wishes of Clovis I? Firstly, in this way, he reminded his leader of the existence of the Frankish tradition, according to which no special rights were assigned to the leader , she demanded that the production be divided by lot. Secondly, the pagan warrior thus showed his contempt for the objects of the Christian cult (the Franks had not yet accepted Catholic religion at that time).
Literature
- Gregory of Tours
- Arzakanyan M. Ts., Revyakin A.V., Uvarov P. Yu. History of France. M., Bustard, 2005.
- Starostin D.N. Between the Mediterranean and the barbarian borderland: Genesis and the transformation of ideas about power in the kingdom of the Franks. - M .: St. Petersburg: Center for Humanitarian Initiatives, 2017 .-- 223 p. - (Mediaevalia. Series minor). - ISBN 978-5-98712-771-1