XXX.6 On the Goths, the Burgundians, and the Franks
The Gauls were invaded by the Germanic nations. The Visigoths occupied Narbonne and almost all of the south ; the Burgundians established themselves in the part facing east ; and the Franks, over time, conquered the rest.
There can be no doubt that in their conquests these barbarians had preserved the ways, the inclinations, and the practices they had in their country, because a nation does not change its way of thinking and acting overnight. In Germania these peoples did little cultivation of the land. We see from Tacitus and Cæsar that they were much engaged in the pastoral life ; and indeed the provisions of the barbarians’ codes of laws have almost entirely to do with flocks. Roricon, who was writing history among the Franks, was a shepherd.