Gregory of Tours

influence noble men and subjects towards Christianity while overseeing the construction of religious buildings. Gregory of Tours writes a descriptive narrative of the lives of nobility in his book History of the Franks. Any women mentioned in this narrative were of noble status. Merovingians, the leaders where Gregory of Tours resided often attributed their powers to the aristocrats. Gregory himself was a Bishop and therefore from a higher class as well. Since he was a Bishop it comes to no surprise

From the time, the Franks arrived in the Holy Land the native inhabitants started making many generalizations about them. Usama and his countryman believed many of these generalizations about the Franks. These generalizations came from stereotypes already held about the Christians. Usama and his countryman were able to build on to these generalizations from their own observations and interactions. “Usama generally indulged in the stereotypes about Franks that were already commonplace in his

Bart Brown Strate HIS 120-02 3 October 2011 The Book of Contemplation / Islam and the Crusades From reading The Book of Contemplation I feel that the Franks are Inferior to the Muslims, in the eyes of Usama Ibn Munqidh. Throughout the literature when Usama refers to the Franks, a “may God curse them” usually follows. Usama rarely sheds a positive light on the Franks’ beliefs, actions, or practice of medicine. The first instance of Usama referencing the Franks was in the story “In the service

Despite this lack of freedom, aristocratic women, as has been previously stated, gained power through their family connections. Gregory of Tours provides an example of this. Berthegund was denied, by her husband, the opportunity to join her mother at a religious community in Tours. She turned to her brother, Bertram, the Bishop of Bordeaux for assistance: “The husband followed Berthegund to Bordeaux, but the Bishop said to him: ‘You married her without her parents’ consent, and therefore she is

As with any historical writing, one must consider the source and the perspective used by the source. Gregory of Tours was first and foremost a Catholic bishop, therefore any writings of Germanic, or barbarian, tribes moving into areas like Gaul were perceived by Gregory as destructive and invasive. In Gregory’s History of the Franks, the Second Book, section 2, he refers to, “the Vandals left their own country and burst into the Gauls under King Gunderic.” The feeling invoked by using the word burst

Gregory of Tours’ Clovis' Conversion to Orthodox Christianity In The History of the Franks, Gregory of Tours portrayed Clovis as a leader who, although his conversion to Christianity appeared to be genuine, nonetheless, used his conversion to realize his political aspirations. By converting to Christianity, Clovis, according to Gregory of Tours’ narrative, was able to garner the support of Christian leaders such as Saint Remigius and, consequently, gain powerful political allies. Moreover

during the Council of Nicaea in 325. This led to widespread conversion among the Frankish people of Gaul. Although labelled a model for Christian kingship by Gregory of Tours, Clovis’ conversion had less to do with newfound Christian devotion and more to do with the potential political advantages of being part of the Church. Gregory of Tours writes in his History of the Franks that Clovis had a change of heart following the defeat of the Alamanni at the Battle of Tolbiac in 496. Supposedly pagan

During the period of Gregory of Tours what was considered to be the difference between the magical and the miraculous? In order to attempt to answer this question this essay will examine two works from Gregory of Tours, the first from his book The History of the Franks which examines the case of Mummolus and his witches and the second from his book Glory of the Confessor which examines the case of the tomb of Criscentia. The first book gives an example of what was seen as sorcery and the second

unique only to Christians, and the result of immorality. The Life of Martin of Tours by Sulspicius Severus and The Miracles of the Bishop St. Martin by Bishop Gregory of Tours both document suffering within these contexts. Severus’s text focuses on the redemptive suffering within Saint Martin’s life and how his perseverance grants him the power from God to alleviate the common suffering of those around him. Gregory of Tours’s text focuses on the suffering that is common to all and its role in bringing

With the Roman Empire succeeding for many years in the Mediterranean world, that included Europe and other Middle East territories. Only caused for it to hit a decline, which resulted in the fall of the Roman Empire in the Western part of history. With two civilizations emerging as new successors to the Romans in the Mediterranean, European and Middle Eastern world, they took on dominant parts and built civilization that they sought was fit to stand. With the Byzantine Empire and the Franks, these