a second Rome, is worth of having the whole world come together to
help it, if that were possible. Then, after speaking of the apostles,
the emperor said that they had the head of John the Baptist, which
(although it was not true) seemed to be covered with hair and skin,
as though alive today. Now if this were true, one would have to
investigate the head of John the Baptist that is glorified by the
monks at Angers. Now we are certain that two John the Baptists did
not exist, nor did the one man have two heads, which would be impious
to say. In this matter, one should consider the frequent but not
deadly error, which particularly assails the churches of France,
regarding the bodies of saints: two different places claim to have
the same martyr or confessor, but a single entity cannot occupy two
spaces simultaneously. This mistaken contention arises from the fact
that saints are not permitted to enjoy the peace of the permanent
burial they deserve. And I do not doubt that their bodies are
covered with silver and gold out of motives lower than piety; open
and extremely foul avarice drives them to collect money by displaying
bones and dragging around wagons. These things would stop if, as in
the case of the Lord Jesus, their limbs were shut up in locked tombs.

However, setting these things aside, let us go on. The emperor added
that if neither the prevention of such evil, nor the love of the
aforementioned saints inspired them to perform this task, then at
least greed for gold and silver, of which there was a plentiful
supply in his region, might entice them. Finally he offered an
argument that has no power over men with self-control, saying that
they would be drawn by the pleasure of seeing the most beautiful
women, as though the beauty of Greek women were so great that they
would be preferred to the women of Gaul, and for this reason alone,
the Frankish army would march to Thrace. While this foul tyrant was