Gregory of Tours: Glory of the Martyrs PDF
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Translated Texts for Historians Thisseriesisdesigned tomeettheneedsofstudentsofancientandmedieval history and others who wish to broaden their study by reading source material, but whose knowledge of Latin or Greek is not sufficient to allow them to do so in the original language. Many important Late Imperial and DarkAge texts are currently unavailable in translation and it is hoped that TTHwillhelp tofill thisgapandtocomplementthesecondary literature in English which already exists. The series relates principally to the period 300-800ADandincludes LateImperial,Greek, Byzantine andSyriac texts as well as source books illustrating a particular period or theme. Each volume is a self-contained scholarly translation with an introductory essay onthetextanditsauthor andnotesonthetextindicating major problems of interpretation, including textual difficulties. EditorialCommittee Sebastian Brock, Oriental Institute, University ofOxford AverilCameron, KebleCollege, Oxford Henry Chadwick, Oxford John Davies, University of Liverpool CarlottaDionisotti, King's College, London Peter Heather, University College, London William E. Klingshirn, The Catholic University ofAmerica Michael Lapidge, Clare College, Cambridge Robert Markus, University of Nottingham John Matthews, YaleUniversity Claudia Rapp, University ofCalifornia, LosAngeles Raymond VanDam, University of Michigan Michael Whitby, University ofWarwick IanWood, University of Leeds General Editors Gillian Clark, University of Bristol Mark Humphries, National University of Ireland, Maynooth Mary Whitby, University of Liverpool Coverillustration:ProcessionofMartyrs mosaic. San!'ApollinareNuevo, Ravenna. Afull listofpublishedtitlesintheTranslatedTextsforHistorians series is available on request. The most recently published are shown below. 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Translated Texts for Historians Volume 4 Gregory of Tours Glory of the Martyrs Translated with an introduction and notes by RAYMOND VAN DAM Liverpool University Press First published 1988by Liverpool UniversityPress 4CambridgeStreet Liverpool,L69 7ZU Reprintedwith corrections2004 Copyright© 1988,2004 RaymondVanDam The right ofRaymondVanDam tobeidentifiedas theauthorofthis work has been assertedbyhim inaccordance with theCopyright,Designsand Patents Act, 1988 All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may bereproduced storedinaretrieval system,or transmitted,inanyform or byany means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying,recording, orotherwise,withoutthepriorwritten permissionofthe publisher. British LibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData ABritishLibraryCIPRecordisavailable. ISBN 0-85323-236-9 Set inTimesby Koinonia,Manchester Printedand bound inthe European Union by AntonyRowe Ltd, Chippenham,Wiltshire CONTENTS Preface vii Abbreviations viii INTRODUCTION IX TRANSLATION Bibliography 103 Index 111 PREFACE Gregory ofTourswasalwaysthankful fortheassistanceofhispatron saints; modern scholars are equally grateful for the supportof institutions and the advice of friends and colleagues. A Fellowship from the National Endow ment fortheHumanitiesmade itpossible formefirsttoconsidertranslating both Gregory's Glory ofthe martyrs (in this volume) and his Glory ofthe confessors(in acompanionvolume). The National HumanitiesCenterthen provided me with an unrivaled atmosphereof serenity and encouragement. The University of Michigan now offers access to a computer and laser printer. Gillian Clark, ChristaMee, and Ian Woodhave commented on the translationandnotesand ontheirpresentationintheseriesTranslatedTexts for Historians.Gregory would have understoodhowmuch appreciationlies behind even ashort list ofcapitula such as thisone. University of Michigan May 1988 ABBREVIATIONS ACW AncientChristianWriters(Westminster). BAR BritishArchaeologicalReports (Oxford). CChrL Corpus Christianorum,series latina (Turnhout). CSEL Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorumlatinorum (Vienna). GCS Diegrieschischen christlichen Schriftstellerder ersten Jahrhunderte (Berlin). LCL Loeb ClassicalLibrary (Cambridge,Massachusetts,and London). MGH Monumenta Germaniae historica (Berlin, Hannover, and Leipzig). AA Auctoresantiquissimi. SRM Scriptoresrerum merovingicarum. NPNF A select libraryof Nicene and Post-NiceneFathersofthe ChristianChurch, 2nd series (reprintedGrandRapids). PL Patrologialatina (Paris); and Supplementa,ed.A. Hamman (Paris, 1958-1974). PLRE Theprosopography ofthe laterRoman empire. Vol.2,ed. J. R. Martindale(Cambridge, 1980). WritingsofGregoryofTours GC Glory oftheconfessors GM Gloryofthemartyrs HF Histories ['Historyof the Franks'] VJ Suffering andmiracles ofthemartyrStJulian VM Miracles ofthebishopStMartin VP Life ofthefathers INTRODUCTION In 573 Gregory became bishop of Tours. This promotion was not unexpected, because since the early sixth century several of his ancestors had served as bishops throughout central and southern Gaul. Gregory himselfwasborninthelate530sandgrewupinClermont, whereGallus, his father's brother,wasbishop.Duringhisepiscopacy Gallusenhanced thecult ofStJulianbyinstitutinganannualpilgrimagetothesaint'sshrineatBrioude, another town in the Auvergne. Gregory's entire family was specially attached tothecultofStJulian, andGregory eventually consideredhimself a 'foster son' of the saint whom he thought of as his 'special patron'. Gregory'sfamily also haddistinctive connections withToursand itscultof StMartin. In563Gregory completed adifficultpilgrimage tothetombofSt Martin in his church outside Tours, where the saint cured him of a severe fever.BythenTourshadbecome virtually afamily see.The current bishop was a cousin of Gregory's mother, and, after Gregory succeeded him, he could boast that all but five of his predecessors had been members of his family. During the last twenty yearsof his life until hisdeath (probably) in 594,Gregory wastherefore maintainingboththefamily'sprominence inthe ecclesiasticalhierarchyanditsconsequentiallinkswithToursandthecultof StMartin.I Service in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, however, only added to the family'slocalinfluence. OneofGregory'sgrandfathers hadstillclaimed the rankofsenator,aprestigious titlethatrevivedmemories offivecenturies of Roman rule in Gaul. But by the later fifth century the Roman empire had already vanished from most of Gaul as various barbarian leaders had graduallyestablishedsmallkingdoms.ThemostsuccessfulhadbeenClovis, who had first ruthlessly made himself king of all the Franks in northern Gaul. Hismostsignificant military success hadbeenhisvictory in507over the Visigoths, who consequently abandoned most of their possessions in southern and central Gaul and moved into Spain. At some point during his reign, Clovis also astutely converted to orthodox Catholic Christianity. I L.Pietri(1983) 247-64,andVanDam(1985) 202-17,providedetailsaboutGregoryand hisfamily: important introductory surveystoGregory andhiswritings include Krusch(1951), Buchner(1955) andVollmann(1983).
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