For 1400 years Gregory's Histories--the principal work of Merovingian history--have been understood as a "history of the Franks" and as an objective portrayal of history, albeit told by a naive narrator. This completely new interpretation of the Histories reveals connections between apparently unconnected, adjacent chapters, and also begins to make out their real function. Gregory (538-594) can be seen as focusing on the development of a socio-political concept of society, which anticipates the leadership of the Christian state entrusted to the joint government of bishops and king.

Political life in the middle ages was influenced heavily by the bonds people had to one another. Among these, the bonds of kinship, friendship and lordship were by far the most important. Ritual was also often used to create and strengthen these bonds, and conduct and behaviour within social groups was shaped by unwritten rules. People bound in these ways had a right to expect help and support from one another. Such bonds were both a fact and a necessity of life in the middle ages. Over time, however, these bonds and relationships changed, as did the rules and norms which governed them. The aim of this book is to document and describe the history of these crucial bonds, and the ways in which they shaped political life in Europe in the early and high middle ages.

After Sister Spring awakes “with the first daffodil on the very last breath of frost,” she colors the sunrise with a kiss, provides thunder for the hills, and invites the reader to gambol in the meadow and “dream the seeds of the morrow.”

A poetic personification of the winter season, Mother Winter goes walking "on the longest cold night," inviting the reader along to experience chill winds, icy ponds, white snowdrifts, and other quiet wonders.

A girl who responds to the song that calls to her serves as an example to those who have forgotten how to listen to their lives, how to discern music from noise, how to follow the path of mystery and adventure set before them.

For over 1400 years the Histories of Gregory of Tours (538-594) - the principal work of Merovingian history - have been understood as a 'history of the Franks' and as an objective portrayal of history, albeit told by a naive narrator succeeding only in chronological organization. A new interpretation of the Histories is put forward in this 2001 book, in which the bishop of Tours can be seen to be giving each of his 'Ten Books' a self-contained topic, and also making use of the patristic method of typological biblical exegesis. By appreciating these elements, we can see clear connections between apparently unconnected, adjacent chapters, and to make out their real function. Gregory's historiographical interests can be seen as focusing on the development of a socio-political concept of society, which wishes to see the leadership of the Christian state entrusted to the joint government of bishops and king (christianus princeps).

Political life in the middle ages was influenced heavily by the bonds people had to one another. Among these, the bonds of kinship, friendship and lordship were by far the most important. Ritual was also often used to create and strengthen these bonds, and conduct and behaviour within social groups was shaped by unwritten rules. People bound in these ways had a right to expect help and support from one another. Such bonds were both a fact and a necessity of life in the middle ages. Over time, however, these bonds and relationships changed, as did the rules and norms which governed them. The aim of this book is to document and describe the history of these crucial bonds, and the ways in which they shaped political life in Europe in the early and high middle ages.

THE CONSPERICY BEGINS. Zazoo was just your average exotic dancer trying to make a living when one night all hell broke loose in her bar. Bullets flew and blood splattered the floor. When it was all over, before the smoke had even settled, Zazoo found she had become a hostage. Gate was a down on his luck bounty hunter just trying to capture a FTA (Failure to appear) who just so happened to be in one of his favorite strip joints one evening. Only problem was someone else wanted the guy dead. What else could Gate do but try to preserve the life of his cash cow? A stripper, a group of bounty hunters, a lawless assassin, a insane drug leader and a police detective are about to find their lives crossing each others' paths. The fate of Mars and the people who dwell on it's harsh landscape depend on their decision, both good and bad.