Death and Afterlife in the Pages of Gregory of Tours

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

"This well-written volume provides a detailed overview of particular and significant aspects of Gregory’s thought on saints and their relationship to death, judgment, heaven, and hell within the context of the thought of his contemporaries during a time when many of these ideas were in developing stages. [...] This book will be a welcome addition to the flourishing fields of late antique studies and of Merovingian Gaul, as well as to the library of new work on a most interesting figure, Gregory of Tours."- Eileen Gardiner, The Medieval Review, 21.11.36 (2021) "Allen E. Jones’s recent study tackles a subject that is hardly studied: the theological views of the sixth-century Merovingian bishop, Gregory of Tours. [...] His study offers a fresh new perspective on Gregory of Tours and his works, and it paves the path for further studies on the theology of Gregory of Tours. [...] Jones does an excellent service for the ‘Gregorian’ scholarship by looking into the theology of Gregory of Tours, and his study opens new ways to discuss Gregory and his works."- Tamar Rotman, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 12, 39 (2021) "Death and Afterlife in the Pages of Gregory of Tours is a self-proclaimed intellectual biography (17) of the author of ten books of history and seven books of miracles, which refreshingly makes use of the bishop’s entire corpus and broader historical context in order to get inside his head. [...] This book will remain an excellent resource for death in Gregory of Tours. Its expansive index makes it easy to use and ensures scholars of Gregory and sixth-century Gaul will return to it after reading."- A. E. T. McLaughlin, Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, 90, 3 (2021) "In a book that combines impressive scholarship with some genuinely funny lines, Jones’s book takes on this challenge with illuminating results. It is essential and gripping reading for anyone interested in Gregory of Tours and his ideas about death and salvation." - Isabel Moreira, Early Medieval Europe, Vol. 31, Iss. 1 "Overall, the book reflects an engaging attempt at constructing an intellectual biography of Gregory of Tours, and has much to commend it. [...] Jones is an astute reader, able both to articulate cohesive arguments and to trace them effectively across a variety of textual events." - Kavya Bhat & Maria E. Doerfler, Journal of Early Christian Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3

• 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