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Gregorius Turonensis
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55 GREGORIUS TURONENSIS JOHN J. CONTRENI (Purdue University) Fortuna. 55 Bibliography. 63 Editions to 1699. 67 Translations to 1699. 69 Manuscripts with excerpts. 69 called to the bishopric of Tours in 573, where he succeeded his second cousin, Bishop Euphronius (556–73), he began to use the name Gregory (Gregorius ), apparently to recall his sainted relative, Bishop Gregory of Langres (506–39). Gregory thus assumed his position among the rising ecclesiastical aristocracy of the new Germanic kingdoms.1 The see of Tours was no sinecure. Tours was an important city, significant enough to have been fought over and pillaged several times during Gregory’s pontificate. Gregory traveled both frequently and in high circles in his stalwart defense of the people and property of Tours. His participation in these events alone would have earned him sufficient credentials as an observer of the major events of his lifetime. Gregory’s experiences and consequently his writings were influenced by a second stream. In addition to its strategic political importance, Tours, as the location of the tomb of St. Martin of Tours (315?– 97), was renowned as one of the most celebrated sites of the Christian cult in Francia. Gregory’s fourth-century predecessor as bishop was a noted miracle worker both during his life and afFORTUNA * Gregory of Tours was born Georgius Florentius on 30 November in 538 or 539 in Arvernus (Clermont-Ferrand) in the kingdom of the Franks. He was appointed bishop of Tours in 573, a position he held until his death on 17 November 594. Gregory belonged to both the old and new aristocracy of Francia. His family was an ancient GalloRoman one, which, on his father’s side, could trace its roots to Vectius Epagatus, a Christian who was martyred at Lyons in 177. The family did not rest on its senatorial laurels during the tumultuous sixth century when rival Frankish factions fought for control of Gaul. Six of its members served during this period as bishops in Clermont, Langres, Lyons, and Tours. When Georgius Florentius was *I wish to thank the custodians of the incipit files at the following manuscript research centers for granting me access to their holdings: the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes in Paris; the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn.; the Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library at St. Louis University , St. Louis, Mo.; and the Ambrosiana Microfilm Collection at The Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind. A National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend supported an early stage of research in Paris. Portions of the following appeared in slightly different form as J.J.Contreni, “Reading Gregory of Tours in the Middle Ages,” in The World of Gregory of Tours, ed. K.Mitchell and I.Wood (Leiden, 2002), 419–34. 1. See R.W.Mathisen, “The Family of Georgius Florentius Gregorius and the Bishops of Tours,” Medievalia et Humanistica , N.S., 12 (1984) 83–95, and M.Heinzelmann, Gregory of Tours: History and Society in the Sixth Century, trans. C.Carroll (Cambridge, 2001), 7–35. 56 Gregorius Turonensis ter his death, and his tomb continued to serve as the locus for miraculous cures even in Gregory’s day. The afflicted who came to Tours for relief offered continual proof of the validity of Gregory’s deeply held Christian beliefs. Encouraged by his mother, Armentaria, Gregory recorded the lives and, primarily, the miracles not only of Martin of Tours, but also of many other Gallic holy men and women. Seven works are known to have been composed or commissioned by Gregory: 1. Decem libri historiarum (cited hereafter as Hist.);2 2. Libri octo miraculorum (book 1: Liber in gloria martyrum; book 2: Liber de passione et virtutibus sancti Iuliani martyris [B.H.L.4541]; books 3–6: Libri I–IV de virtutibus sancti Martini episcopi [B.H.L.5618]; book 7: Liber vitae patrum [B.H.L.6541]; book 8: Liber in gloria confessorum); 3. In psalterii tractatum commentarius (fragments ); 4. De cursu stellarum ratio (Gregory’s title for this work is De cursibus ecclesiasticis; see Hist. 10.31); 5. Liber de miraculis beati Andreae apostoli (B.H.L.430, translation commissioned by Gregory ); 6. Passio sanctorum martyrum septem dor mientium apud Ephesum (B.H.L.2313, translation commissioned by Gregory);3 7. Collection of the Masses of Sidonius Apollinaris (lost; mentioned in Hist. 2.22 [ed. 67.29–30]: “Quod in praefatione libri, quem de missis ab eo conpositis coniunximus, plenius...