Death and Afterlife in the Pages of Gregory of Tours

Gregory of Tours was a bishop of late antiquity who was famously devoted to promoting the efficacy of saintly powers. In his writings, both historical and hagiographical, Gregory depicted the saints and reprobates of his age. This book analyses Gregory's writings about death and the afterlife, thereby illuminating the bishop's pastoral imperative to save souls and revealing his opinions about the fates of Merovingian royals, among many others he mentions in his voluminous text. The study provides insight into Gallic peoples living at the dawning of the Middle Ages and their hopes and fears about the otherworld. It affords an original, nuanced interpretation of Gregory's motives for penning his works, particularly the Historiae, which remained unfinished upon the author's death.

Allen Jones is Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy at Troy University.

Introduction, Part I Death, Chapter One Peering into the Invisible World, Death and the Little Boy, Becoming Gregory I, Conclusion, Chapter Two Maturing Spiritually in a Perilous World, Death and the Aspiring Cleric, Becoming Gregory II, Studium ad ecclesiasticae scriptae, Conclusion, Chapter Three Pastoring from the Pulpit and the Page, Death and the Bishop, Death and the Historian? Bishop, Author, Pastor, -Writings and Sermons, -Sin, Penance, Grace, -Living Holy People, -Sinners, Conclusion, Part II Afterlife, Chapter Four Discerning the Denizens of Heaven and Hell, The Saved, Visionaries and Heaven, Communicating Salvation: Migrare and Transire, Hellmates, Signs of Condemnation, Communicating Damnation: Interire, Iudicium Dei, Ultio Divina, Lessons and Warnings for Contemporaries, Conclusion, Chapter Five Fathoming the Fates of the Merovingians, Merovingians in Heaven, -King Clovis and Queen Clotild, -King Theudebert, Merovingians in Hell, -King Chlodomer et al., -A Mixed Bag: Kings Theuderic, Theudebald, Childebert I, Chlothar I and Prince Chramn, Kings Charibert and Sigibert, Kings Chilperic and Guntram, Conclusion,, Conclusion, Killer Queen(s), King Guntram and Gregory's Unfinished Project, Afterword, Bibliography, Index.