Saints and Their Miracles in Late Antique Gaul

Description

Saints' cults, with their focus on miraculous healings and pilgrimages, were not only a distinctive feature of Christian religion in fifth-and sixth-century Gaul but also a vital force in political and social life. Here Raymond Van Dam uses accounts of miracles performed by SS. Martin, Julian, and Hilary to provide a vivid and comprehensive depiction of some of the most influential saints' cults. Viewed within the context of ongoing tensions between paganism and Christianity and between Frankish kings and bishops, these cults tell much about the struggle for authority, the forming of communities, and the concept of sin and redemption in late Roman Gaul. Van Dam begins by describing the origins of the three cults, and discusses the career of Bishop Gregory of Tours, who benefited from the support of various patron saints and in turn promoted their cults. He then treats the political and religious dimensions of healing miracles--including their relation to Catholic theology and their use by bishops to challenge royal authority--and of pilgrimages to saints' shrines. The miracle stories, collected mainly by Gregory of Tours, appear in their first complete English translations. CONTENTS PREFACE ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION Part I. CHAPTER ONE. Different Saints, Different Cults CHAPTER TWO. Gregory of Tours and His Patron Saints CHAPTER THREE. Bodily Miracles CHAPTER FOUR. Pilgrimages and Miracle Stories EPILOGUE Part II: Translations Fortunatus Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY MAP INDEX