Gregory begins this book by reflecting on the recent death of Saint Silvius, who went from being a “layman” (385), to an abbot of a monastery, to a hermit. He had a detailed vision of his own death and ascending to heaven. Gregory notes that his account of Silvius’s vision will “seem quite incredible” (388) to his readers, but he swears that he heard the story from Silvius himself.

Following her husband Chilperic’s assassination, Fredegund fled to Paris. Her officials stole most of the royal treasury and defected to King Childebert. Fredegund had a son who could succeed Chilperic, Lothar, but he was still a small child. She wrote to King Guntram, asking for his protection against Childebert. While in Paris, Childebert tried to capture Fredegund, whom he believed had killed numerous members of his family, but the people of Paris stopped him and Fredegund, who was pregnant again, left for Guntram’s court. Later, she left there and managed to get the nobles of Chilperic’s kingdom to recognize her son as King Lothar II.

After he learned about Chilperic’s death, the nobleman Desiderius detained Rigunth, who was still traveling to Spain for her marriage, and took the wealth she had with her.