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Saint Gregory of Tours and Classical Literary Culture

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Saint Gregory of Tours and Classical Literary Culture Durham E-Theses Saint gregory of tours and classical literary culture Keeton, B How to cite: Keeton, B (1977) Saint gregory of tours and classical literary culture, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9703/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk I • I RATWT RREGQfg OF TOURS AMD CLASSICAL LITERARY CULTURE A THTgilS KIR THE DESREE OF MASTER OF LETTERS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM r>TBPanTMKTOT OF CLASSICS - 1977 TOTT. BCTBREWD BARRY KEETON M.A.. B.D.. A.K.C. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Contents Page 1 s Declaration and Copyri^t 2 : Acknovrledgements 5 : Dedication 4 : Abstract of the Thesis 5 ! Abbreviations 6 ;Chapter It Scope of the thesis; Emergence of the Pranks; linguistic situation in Gaul in the sixth century A.D. (Gaulish, Prankish, Greek, 'Syrian', Hebrew and Latin). :Chapter 2; Brief outline of the Roman system of education; 32 Roman schools in Gaul and their decline. ;Chapter 5: Monasteries in Gaul in the sixth century, number and location; ideals governing monastic education; attitudes of Martinian and L^rins-RhSne Valley monasticism to classi• cal letters. 77 ; Chapter 4: Other opportunities for education: Gallo-Roman households episcopal schools, parish schools, learned individuals. 93 ;Chapter 5: The Christian Dilemma vis-a-vis pagan letters; Tertullian Jerome, Augustine, Sulpicius Severus, Paulinus of Nola, Sidonius Apollinaris, Avitus of Vienne and others. ;Chapter 6t Gregory of Tours: his education, works and their literary genres; his knowledge of Christian writers. •132 :Chapter 7: Gregory's knowledge of classical authors: Virgil, Sallust, 'Pliny the Elder', Aulus Gellius, Philostratus, Martianus Capella ani the Seven Liberal Arts; the Theodosian Code. 151 :Chapter 8; Gregory's attitude to his grammatical weakness; his motives for writing; his attitudes to classical letters compared with those of St> Benedict, Cassiodore and St. Gregory the Great. -172 ; Chapter 9: Varia Gregoriana: some striking grammatical phenomena; his use of place-names compared with that of the authors of the Vita Caesarii, Marius of Avenche and John of Biclar; some interesting christianisms. 186 ^Chapter 10; Conclusions. 189 jBibliography. 1. Declaration s None of the material in this thesis has previously ~" been submitted for a degree in the University of Durham or any other university. Copyright : The Copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 2. Acknowledgements I would like to thank a number of people for their help in the compilation of this thesis: Professor G.B. Townend for kindly super• vising the work; Mr. &. Bonner of the Theology department for his helpful suggestions regarding patristic reading; Mr. B. Barr, the Assistant Librarian of York Minster Librazy, for the extended loan of essential books; the Abbot and Librarian of Ampleforth Abbey for the invaluable use of their librazy; the Abbots and Honks of Nashdom, Liguge and Monte Cassino for their hospitality and for the use of their libraries; Mrs. Marjorie Addyman for undertaking the onerous and tedious task of -typing the thesis; and a number of other people, friends and colleagues, who have advised and encouraged me. Bany Kseton, Mpleforth Vicarage, York. June 1977. CHRISTOEHORO DAVIDI KEETON PILIO FRATRIS MEI ROGERI CONIUGISQUE ANNAE DILECTISSIMO DICATUM 4. Abstract of the Thesis Chapters 1 to 5 examine the background against which Gregory of Tours lived and idiich formed his attitudes. We observe the conquest of Gaul by the Franks and the end.ing of Roman authority and look at the linguis• tic situation in Gaul in the sixth century. After examining the Roman system of education (\iihich Gregory did not enjoy), we see the decline of Roman educational facilities in Gaul and the Church providing educa• tion of some sort. The number and location of Gallic monasteries is discussed, also the ideas framing life in 'Martinian' and 'Lerins-Rhone Valley' monasteries. Opportunities for classical education in Gallo- Roman households, episcopal and parish schools, and from learned individ• uals, are considered. The Christian dilemma with regard to pagan letters is discussed with consideration of a number of writers. • Chapters 6 to 10 consider Gregory in the setting described, his works, their literary genres, knowledge of Christian writers. His own works are widely cited. His knowledge of Virgil, Sallust, the Liberal Arts, and other classical writers is examined. Did Gregory know Riilostratus's Life of Apollonius of Tyana? We look at Gregory's attitude to his literary shortcomings and at his motives for writing. We compare his attitude to pagan literature with that of St. Benedict, Cassiodore and it. Gregory the Great, noting the Christian refusal to be bound by the dic• tates of the Liberal Arts. We consider some grammatical phenomena, compare his use of place-names with the use made by Marius of Avenches and John of Biclar; we note three interesting christianisms, •inergumeni', 'contestatio' and 'virtus'. Abbreviations and Mode of Reference 1) All references to the works of St. Gregory of Tours are taken from Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH), Scriptores Rerum Merovingioartun, Vol.1. I have adopted the following scheme of reference to this volume: Abbreviations of Gregory's works: Historia Prancorum HP In Gloria Confessorum GP In Gloria Martyrum GM De Miraculis Sancti Andreae SA De Virtutibus S. luliani SJ Passio Septem Dormientium SD De Virtutibus S. Martini SM De Cursu Stellarum CS Vita Patrum VP I do not quote from the In Psalterii Tractatum Commentarius. 2) The Historia Prancorum and the De Virtutibus S. Martini are divided into books. The mode of reference to them is thus: HP.III.p,114.7.20 = Historia Prancorum, Book III, page 114, paragraph 7 (whether it begins on that page or not), line 20. SM.III.p.633.5.24 = De Virtutibus S. Martini, Book III, page 633, paragraph 5, line 24. 3) The Vita Patrum is divided within itself into twenty chapters or Lives. The scheme of reference is thus: VP.XIV.p.717.3.2. = Vita Patrum, Life XIV, page 717, paragraph 3, line 2« 4) The remaining works are divided into paragraphs. The reference is as follows: SJ.p.581.45.39 = De Virtutibus S. luliani, page 581 paragraph 45, line 59* SA.p.827.1.30 = De Miraculis B. Andreae Apostoli, page 827, paragraph 1, line 30. GM.p.537.73«1 = In Gloria Martyrum, page 537, paragraph 73, line 1. etc. 6. Chapter 1 - Historical and Linguistic Introduction The Scope and Intention of the Thesis In his monumental work 'Le Latin de Gregoire de Tours' (1) Max Bonnet made a definitive survey of the morphology, syntax and s1yle of the works of Gregory of Tours (c.539 - 594). Other scholars, e.g. Kurth (2), have also made acute analyses of Gregory's language. It is my intention to approach Gregory's works from a different angle, namely, to consider what his attitude was to the vast and sophisticated literature of pagan Rome and the Roman world, urtiich preceded him, and to attempt to understand his mind by seeing him in the setting which produced him, a setting whose nature has been determined by a number of factors, among them, the conquest of Gaul by the barbarian, but Catholic, Franks; the end of the Roman cultural amenities in Gaul; the effect upon him of the varying Christian attitudes to pagan literature. We shall contrast his reaction to pagan literature with the reactions of comparable contemporary, or nearly contemporary, figures. In order to obtain something of the feel of his language we shall note certain phenomena. The Emergence of the Franks One of the most decisive factors in framing the world in which Gregory lived was the conquest of Gaul by the Franks in the fifth and sixth centuries. It was about the Franks that Gregory wrote his great• est work, the Historia Francorum (3)» and we must now consider how the Franks obtained Gaul by conquest. Tacitus in his 'De Moribus Germanorum' does not mention any tribe of Germanic people called 'Pranci'. He populated western Germany with three main tribal groups: the Istaevones dwelling along the banks of the Rhinie; the Ingaevones on the North Sea and Baltic coasts of North Germany and in modern Denmark; the Herminones living on the banks of the Elbe and the Danube (4). These groups were composed of many smaller tribes such as the Cherusci, the Chauci and the Chatti. The earliest reference to the Pranks occurs in Vopiscus's "Vita Aureliani' (cap.7) when, in 240, Aurelian, then only a military tribune, defeated some Pranks in the neighbourhood of Mainz and his marching soldiers chanted, "Mille Sarmatas, mille Francos serael et semel occidimus; Mille Persas quaerimus". It is clear that the Pranks were a loose confederation of tribes, "They did not constitute a single state but groups of states without federal connexion or common organisation.
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