Violence and crime were endemic in Barbarian Gaul. Gregory of Tours' Historiae include many episodes in which the powerful benefited from forceful, illicit activities. For example, in 584 after Count Innocentius of Javols failed to indict Abbot Lupentius for treason against Queen Brunhild, the count attacked as the abbot returned home and lopped off his head. Despite this callous action, Innocentius suffered no punishment; to the contrary, Brunhild helped him secure the bishopric of Rodez. It seems Innocentius presumed that because he was in good stead with the queen he needed not fear any reprisal such as imprisonment. Indeed, aristocrats likely assumed they would not be cast into prison, for sources suggest that lockups were reserved not for them but for the sociallydisadvantaged. In a society that already was sufficiently hostile, the downtrodden suffered one of the most horrid of possible environments in the carcer. The misery that traditionally accompanied imprisonment came to the attention of early Christian leaders, and so tending to inmates became an early hallmark of the religion.