History of the FranksGregory, Bishop of Tours, Saint
History
History of the Franks
Gregory, Bishop of Tours, Saint
France -- Church history -- To 987; France -- History -- To 987; Franks -- History -- To 768
[CS] P. =128=, l. 11. The term translated “acre” (_arapennis_) is in
reality only five-sixteenths of an acre. This part of Chilperic’s
decree must refer only to vineyard land.
[CT] P. =129=, l. 33 f. The reference may be to children of Gregory’s
niece who lived at Tours. Cf. p. 115.
[CU] P. =131=, l. 16. Gregory’s comment has provoked discussion. It
should be borne in mind that to Gregory the keeping of an oath was
an essential, that his attitude toward practitioners of medicine was
hostile, and that Gunthram was a favorite.
[CV] P. =132=, l. 24. Hilarius of Poitiers and Eusebius of Vercellae
(_Liber in Gloria Confessorum_, 2, 3), two champions of orthodoxy.
[CW] P. =133=, l. 8. Sedulius (first half of the fifth century), a
Christian poet who composed a metrical account of Biblical history.
[CX] P. =133=, l. 12. This passage may be taken for evidence that
Gregory did not know the Greek alphabet.
[CY] P. =133=, l. 28. The mayor of the palace was regularly tutor
(_nutricius_) of a king under age. Pfister in _Cambridge Medieval
History_, vol. II, p. 136.
[CZ] P. =135=, l. 8. See note on p. 106.
[DA] P. =138=, l. 11. The church of St. Medard at Soissons. Braine is
a short distance away.
[DB] P. =138=, l. 35. Perhaps Riguntha, daughter of Chilperic and
Fredegunda, sympathized with Gregory out of enmity for her mother.
Cf. p. 221.
[DC] P. =140=, l. 6. We hear of this local jealousy between Clermont
and Tours also at p. 137; another more serious inter-city feud is
described on p. 172.
[DD] P. =148=, l. 4. The recluse Hospicius had had himself immured in
a tower. He had a window in it, but the only way to gain access to
him was to take off the roof. For other recluses see pp. 151, 158,
199.
[DE] P. =150=, l. 11 f. The interpretation of this passage is that
the worms were demons or sent by demons to plague the holy man.
[DF] P. =152=, l. 11. =Inter senatores sophisticos ac judices
philosophicos.= This passage illustrates the difference in culture at
this time between Paris and southern Gaul.
[DG] P. =152=, l. 22. The earliest mention of the office. In
Gregory’s time the _major domo_ was of domestic rather than of
political importance. Brunner, _Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte_ (1892),
vol. II, p. 104.
[DH] P. =154=, l. 2. For another observation of a comet, see p. 92.
[DI] P. =158=, l. 8. Gundulf is a great-uncle of Gregory on his
mother’s side. _Hist. Franc._ VI, 11. It is worth while remarking
that he has a barbarian name. Gregory had found it convenient to
discard his own name for one more closely associated with the
episcopal office, and Gundulf on his side may have had a similar
motive.
[DJ] P. =158=, c. 27. This agreement is referred to on p. 173 also.
It was made by Chilperic, Gunthrum, and Sigibert in dividing the
kingdom of Charibert in 567. Longnon, pp. 348-353.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account