A Companion to Gregory the Great

Description

The handbook offers an assessment of Gregory's activities and achievements as bishop of Rome (590-604), and considers his legacy of literary works, and their reception from the early Middle Ages to the Reformation. What made Pope Gregory I “great”? If the Middle Ages had no difficulty recognizing Gregory as one of its most authoritative points of reference, modern readers have not always found this question as easy to answer. As with any great figure, however, there are two sides to Gregory – the historical and the universal. The contributors to this handbook look at Gregory’s “greatness” from both of these angles: what made Gregory stand out among his contemporaries; and what is unique about Gregory’s contribution through his many written works to the development of human thought and described human experience. Contributors include: Jane Baun, Philip Booth, Matthew Dal Santo, Scott DeGregorio, George E. Demacopoulos, Bernard Green, Ann Kuzdale, Stephen Lake, Andrew Louth, Constant J. Mews, John Moorhead, Barbara Müller, Bronwen Neil, Richard M. Pollard, Claire Renkin, Cristina Ricci, and Carole Straw. Preliminary Material Pages: i–xxv 1. The Papacy in the Age of Gregory the Great By: Bronwen Neil Pages: 1–27 2. Gregory’s Missions to the Barbarians By: Cristina Ricci Pages: 29–56 3. Gregory the Great, the Empire and the Emperor By: Matthew Dal Santo Pages: 57–81 4. Gregory the Great and Monasticism By: Barbara Müller Pages: 83–108 5. Gregory and the Greek East By: Phil Booth Pages: 109–131 6. The Theology of Gregory the Great: Christ, Salvation and the Church By: Bernard Green Pages: 133–156 7. Gregory’s Eschatology By: Jane Baun Pages: 157–176 8. Gregory’s Moral Theology: Divine Providence and Human Responsibility By: Carole Straw Pages: 177–204 9. Gregory’s Model of Spiritual Direction in the Liber Regulae Pastoralis By: George E. Demacopoulos Pages: 205–224 10. Hagiography and the Cult of Saints By: Stephen Lake Pages: 225–246 11. Gregory’s Literary Inheritance By: John Moorhead Pages: 247–267 12. Gregory’s Exegesis: Old and New Ways of Approaching the Scriptural Text By: Scott DeGregorio Pages: 269–290 13. A Cooperative Correspondence: The Letters of Gregory the Great By: Richard Matthew Pollard Pages: 291–312 14. The Legacy of Gregory the Great in the Latin West By: Constant J. Mews and Claire Renkin Pages: 313–342 15. Gregory the Great in the Byzantine Tradition By: Andrew Louth Pages: 343–358 16. The Reception of Gregory in the Renaissance and Reformation By: Ann Kuzdale Pages: 359–386 Bibliography Pages: 387–418 General Index Pages: 419–427