From Queens to Slaves : Pope Gregory's Special Concern for Women [1 ed.] 9781443834346, 9781443833868

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From Queens to Slaves

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory’s Special Concern for Women

By

John R. C. Martyn

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory’s Special Concern for Women, by John R. C. Martyn This book first published 2011 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2011 by John R. C. Martyn All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-3386-X, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-3386-8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ....................................................................................................... vii Historical Setting ......................................................................................... 1 Chapter One............................................................................................... 29 Gregory’s Female Relatives Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 33 Royal Women Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 79 Aristocratic Women Chapter Four ............................................................................................ 113 Abbesses Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 133 Nuns Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 169 Widows Chapter Seven.......................................................................................... 175 Marriage Chapter Eight........................................................................................... 181 Women Cohabiting with Clerics Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 191 Female Slaves Bibliography ............................................................................................ 201 Index........................................................................................................ 211

PREFACE

Some of the material for this book was taken from my recent work on Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ,1 that is, the abbesses and the nuns (with several new additions)2 and much of the introduction, which provides the historical setting for this work. It appears with a few changes, as the background did not require major alterations during the reworking. Most of the book, however, is totally new and has never been discussed before by any scholar, whether male or female.3 It will cover the many women of all sorts, rich and poor, aristocratic and plebeian, intellectual and simple, who appear once or several times in the fourteen books of the Pope's letters. Unlike in my work on the nuns, for this work I shall not be including the original Latin text for the letters that are used, as it has appeared in the recent and reasonably accessible edition of the Latin letters by Dag Norberg.4 The English version of all of these letters used in this book can be seen in my recent translation of the complete Registrum.5 Although many books have been written in recent years on the monks and on their monasteries at the time of Pope Gregory, who certainly did all he could to provide them with reliable abbots and suitable accommodation and long-term provision of food and water and farms for upkeep, yet only three of his letters concerning abbesses, nuns or convents have ever been 1

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2009. 2 There are ten new references to nuns, and three to abbesses. 3 That is, scholars who have worked or are working on the nuns or women in general or on Pope Gregory. 4 Dag Norberg S. Gregorii Magni Registrum Epistularum Libri XIV, Turnhout, Brepols, 1982. The Latin would make the book unnecessarily lengthy. 5 John R. C. Martyn The Letters of Gregory the Great, 3 volumes, PIMS, Toronto, 2004. This work should be on the shelf of every mediaeval scholar, according to an expert on this period (Prof. Constant Mews, review of Letters of Pope Gregory, in Parergon, 23, 2006, pp 157-159). A copy of this work was sent to the present Pope, and is being kept in his private library, he informed its author. In mediaeval times, the works of Pope Gregory the Great were far more popular than any of the earlier works in Anglo-Saxon and French libraries, to judge from the libraries of Fleury-sur-Loire and of Worcester Cathedral.

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discussed by the many scholars who have worked on nuns, or on Pope Gregory, or on women in general, until my work on the nuns appeared in print in 2009. It revealed another thirty-three letters concerning nuns, abbesses and convents, some extremely significant, and yet they had never been discussed before.6 Pope Gregory also sent some really important and most interesting letters to his eminent female acquaintances. For example, in a very long letter to the Emperor's erudite sister, Theoctista,7 he included a full-page discussion of marriage, and after it another full-page on baptism, two important topics at that time, as they are now. Some of these aristocratic women had become close friends over many years, especially those who were living in Constantinople and in Italy and Gaul. A few of these letters have been looked at by scholars, but never as a whole, never compared with each other, or as part of a totality. And likewise the aristocratic women of Italy and the Eastern Empire, some of whom have been of interest to historians, have never been discussed and compared as a group. By contrast, a few misbehaving women and unacceptable marriages and many widows who are over-demanding, will provide a very different picture, and will show the extraordinary patience of the Pope, as he sorts out legal problems and conflicting evidence, and tactfully deals with awkward petitions and very demanding petitioners, and on one occasion, with a very rude letter from an aristocratic ex-nun. For readers who know little about the greatest of all Popes, or about the very interesting mediaeval period when he was active, I am including a brief and updated biography, and likewise an historical background for the period of history when Pope Gregory lived and played such a major part, based on the background which I included in my recent book on the nuns. For this work, however, an index has been added, to help scholars to track down various personalities and activities, and there is a bibliography for those scholars and students who want to read more widely in these fields. It might interest some readers to learn that the son of the great Boethius, Flavius, was the father of the Pope's very dear friend, Lady Rusticiana, whose wealthy family lived in Constantinople, and was very close to Pope 6

A few references to abbesses and nuns were missed by me, admittedly, from my first analysis of the Registrum, and are included in this book, one of them a nun who greatly offended the Pope. 7 Letter 11.23. See below.

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Gregory's heart. One of his last letters urged the family to cross over to Rome, for survival in their Italian property, but they left it too late, and as leading courtiers they were soon butchered, it seems, by the unsavoury usurper to the throne, Phocas, once he had butchered the Emperor and his family.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The historical period that covers the surprisingly fast spread of convents and monasteries both in Europe and the East is almost commensurate with the life of Pope Gregory the Great, from about 540 to about 620, especially during the last fourteen years when he was the Pope (590-604). His adult life was spent almost entirely in Rome, but during the later part of the pontificate of his predecessor, Pope Pelagius II, he acted as the Pope's emissary in the royal court of the Emperor in the golden city of Constantinople. During this period, there were no fewer than five Emperors in the East, Justinian (527-565), Justin II (565-578), Tiberius (578-582), Maurice (582-Nov. 22nd, 602), and the military thug and usurper, Phocas, who murdered Maurice and Queen Constantina and their large and pious family, soon after his troops had taken over in 602. After a disastrous reign, he was belatedly overthrown by his successor, Heraclius, in 610. The official links between Rome and Constantinople were becoming increasingly important, whether military or religious, and it was fortunate that the new Pope had been accepted as a member of the royal family, as godfather of young Theodosius, the eldest son and heir to the throne. In his last year as papal legate, he stayed at the palace in Constantinople, as an accepted member of Maurice's family.1 This helped greatly in the cooperation between Rome and the Emperor on virtually every major matter. Scholars have wrongly seen acrimony in their exchanges of letters, where in fact irony and humour disarm possibly different views, as over a ban on soldiers becoming monks, and even over the title 'ecumenical' patriarch, adopted by the patriarch John 'the Faster', that did not seem at all important to Maurice, facing wars in Persia and in the North. There is a big difference between two family members having a disagreement, and a bitter dispute between two powerful men, fighting for supremacy. Unfortunately, because the Emperor had to face well-equipped 1

See letter 11.27 below to Theoctista, the Emperor's sister, where he says: 'You know that when I was staying in the royal city at your Lordship's palace, many people used to come and see me.' There was only one royal palace in Constantinople.

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Historical Background

invaders both over the Danube and in Persia, he was unable to answer the Pope's appeals for troops and generals to resist the growing threat of the brutal 'swords' of the Lombards, a recurring nightmare for the Pope. But the Emperor's wife, Constantina, and her sister, Theoctista, both sent large amounts of gold to help the Pope repair the damage caused by the lack of trained troops, as he paid ever larger sums to ransom the Lombards' Italian victims and to bribe them not to sack Rome, and it was left to him to patch up belated peace terms in 598, without signing them, so as to stay neutral. He never showed pleasure in sorting out his mercenary troops or in dealing with the military embassies from Gaul or from the Lombards. He was a man of peace. The other victims of the relative freedom allowed to the Lombards were the monks and the nuns in towns quite near to Rome, and the priests, who had to watch their chapels and cloisters engulfed in flames, as they were being dragged off to be ransomed or to be killed. By then how many female survivors had not been beaten or raped? Many of the citizens, rich and poor, were also sold off, with their slaves, whom the Pope welcomed as future monks or nuns. The final problem that was caused by the Lombards' occupation of their lands, Campania especially, was the food shortage in Rome, and its high cost, especially when refugees flooded in, as will be shown in chapter 5 below. Luckily Sicily continued to supply most of the corn grown there for Rome's hungry poor. One import, however, that was certainly very far from welcome was the virulent plague, which wiped out well over a third of Rome's citizens in 589, including Gregory's predecessor, Pope Pelagius II. Even if it was not the result of rotting snakes that had been washed up by the flooding Tiber that caused polluted air, the flooded river would have destroyed much of the sewage, and that could have helped the disease to spread so widely. As the acting Pope, Gregory had to lead a procession of penitents, and although many died in its progress, he escaped and the plague soon ended. Gregory was fortunate to have been born in a still secure Rome, in about 540, and to have had parents who were rich aristocrats. His father Gordianus was a senator, and by then was serving, it seems, as a high official in the Church of Rome. They lived in a mansion with a garden in an exclusive part of the city, on the Caelian Hill, opposite the Circus Maximus, and his father owned other properties around Rome, and large estates in fertile Sicily, which young Gregory seems to have toured with

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his father.2 Their wealth enabled him and his brothers to get a sound education in Classical literature and Greco-Roman law and in GrecoRoman rhetoric.3 His mother, Sylvia, seems to have had a strong influence on him, with her husband's three devout sisters Tarsilla, Aemilia and Gordiana who appear below, although Gordiana joined ordinary society when her sisters had become nuns. With his mother's sister, Pateria, and no uncles, this suggests that four or five close female relatives were usually around him as he grew up. Scholars have failed to note the effect of a busy and mostly absent father, with important Church duties and properties to look after in Italy and Sicily, leaving so many female carers to look after young Gregory. It may well explain Gregory's special interest in the nuns and their convents, and women in general, and his own surprising decision to become a monk rather than pursue a military or political career, once his father had died. Before then he had in fact achieved high office in what was left of the old Roman Senate, soon to be dissolved. After filling minor offices, in about 573 he honed his legal skills as chief legal officer of Rome (praetor urbanus), and he was then elected as the city prefect (praefectus urbis Romanae), the most important position in the city, mainly for the ceremonial parades and senatorial debates, but in charge of the city's defence. More important for his future was his work with Pope Pelagius II, who persuaded him to write letters to bishops of Istria over the 'Three Chapters' dispute, later a wide-spread heresy despite the Pope's regular attacks on it. By 578 he was a deacon, after two very happy years as a monk, but then he was sent overseas to Constantinople, as papal emissary. Gregory left in about 579 for six years there, acquiring the art of diplomacy as he got to know Tiberius, and later became a close friend of the new Emperor, Maurice, and of his family and his Court officials. He also became friendly with an exile from Seville, a fellow spirit who soon became his closest friend, Leander. For his last four years, as godfather of Maurice's eldest son, Theodosius, Gregory became part of his royal family, even staying in the palace, joining them in their daily prayers and 2

See my The Letters of Gregory the Great, PIMS, Toronto, 2004, vol 1, pp 1-2. One brother was Palatinus, a patrician, who stayed in Rome to help his brother. The other, unnamed, seems to have lived in Otranto, where Gregory stole his excellent cook. See my article 'Six Notes on Gregory the Great' in Med. et Human. 29, 2003, 1-25. For his continued study of rhetoric, see letter 5.53a. 3

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bible readings. His own research was a new elucidation of the book of Job, based on feedback from the monks who had accompanied him to the Court, and from the very bright Leander. But his main purpose as emissary was to get troops and leaders to deal with the aggression of the destructive Lombards. But there were just too many other calls on the Emperor's armies for any help to be given in Italy, except for ransoms.4 Finally, in about 585, Gregory returned to his monastery in Rome, converted from the family's large mansion after his father's death, and soon renewed the life that suited his religious zeal and love of biblical research, without any desire, it seems, to take over as its abbot. But when the plague struck Rome in 589, and Pope Pelagius became a victim of it in February 590, the surviving clergy showed no hesitation in electing Gregory as his successor. Besides his political and diplomatic experience, he had shown a passion for a religious life and abstinence, almost starving himself to death, and he had established important links with the throne and with the Eastern Court. He was elected in time to arrange the procession for the plague, and the necessary approval arrived late in August, and he was then consecrated as Pope on September 3rd, 590. Although an ideal candidate, in his early letters he repeatedly claimed his unsuitability and his aversion to the position, although he was filling it with great success right from the start. Barely two months later the dynamic Agilulf became the new King of the Lombards, ruling from Pavia, and in 591 Duke Ariulf took over as the Duke of Spoleto, a town only a hundred kilometers north of Rome, thus controlling traffic on the Via Flaminia. The Pope had to organize troops and their supplies to remove this threat, with some success, making peace with the Duke in July 592. But a year later, Agilulf was besieging Rome, and the Pope is said to have met him for a parley on the steps of Saint Peter's, and persuaded him to depart. But smaller towns were easier pickings, and it was a great relief when a peace treaty was finally signed by the King and by the Pope's representatives in 598. But the eight long years had done great damage to what was left of the Italian towns, and to the morale of their occupants, and the churches and monasteries had been targeted most of all. For the Pope especially it meant no more dreams of the Lombards' swords, no more queues of captured men and women, and no more expenditure on those almost useless mercenaries. 4

For Maurice's military demands, and some successes, see Michael Whitby The Emperor Maurice and his Historian, Oxford University Press, 1988.

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Among the areas to which the Pope sent most of his letters about nuns and other women, the island of Sardinia off the west coast of Italy stands out, with eleven letters, and its background is of special interest. But his first contact with the island was on a very small scale, with his mission to convert the Barbarini. In May, 594, this indigenous clan of 'gentiles,' according to the Pope, concluded a pact with the Empire. Their clan had been driven out of Africa by the Vandals, and had settled in the mountains near Cagliari. To convert them, he sent over Bishop Felix and the very capable monk, Cyriacus (letter 4.23), with some other monks, the Pope's militia Christi, to spread the good word. The missionaries were ordered to destroy the clan's idols and lead them to the worship of Christ. After twelve months, Gregory sent a report, in June, 595, to the Empress Constantina in the golden city, telling her that the mission had been successful (letter 5.38), although some tribesmen continued to worship idols by paying a fee to a judge, who continued to give them a licence to do so, which shocked the Pope, but reinforced his complaint about the over-heavy taxation, even for the errant judge. In dealing with the imperial authorities, the Pope expected them to look after the spiritual welfare of their subjects, women especially, and in a series of letters (letters 4.23, 25, 26, 27) he strongly urged two dukes, Zabardas and Hospiton, and other noblemen and wealthy landowners of Sardinia, to show this very necessary responsibility. The key figure behind the letters to Sardinia was Januarius, the long-lived bishop and later archbishop of the island's capital city, Cagliari. He was already bishop of the town when Gregory became Pope in 590, and he outlived the Pope, dying soon after the year 604. The first mention of him is in letter 1.47, when he was the metropolitan bishop of Cagliari, and had crossed over to Rome to ask the Pope to deal with the Byzantine military commander, Theodore, who had assumed the dukedom of Sardinia and was reinstating tax burdens that had been lightened by the Emperor. He had sent over an earlier duke of Sardinia, Edantius, who had ordered the troublesome burdens to be removed, as requested by the Emperor. The Pope complained to the Emperor about Theodore's violent treatment of clergy and civilians, and followed it up with a strong letter to the patrician, Gennadius, the governor of Africa, complaining again about the molestation and bodily injuries inflicted on the clergy of Januarius' church (letter 1.59). Sardinia was part of the province of Africa. At the same time the Pope wrote to Theodore himself, and we shall see this very conciliatory letter, in chapter 4 (a) below. At this stage Januarius was being quite cooperative, and was ready even to travel over to Rome to sort things out with the

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Historical Background

Pope, who did all he could to help him. His letters to the Duke's commanders in Africa and Constantinople, who were personal friends, were sure to bear fruit, underlining the importance of his years as papal emissary, making long-term friends in Constantinople. The landholdings of the Roman See on the island meant that the Pope was well able to watch affairs in Sardinia very closely. In fact, he sent twentyone letters to the bishop, and mentioned him in five others,5 and as we shall see, many of these (14 letters) were concerned with Januarius' relationships with various foundations of nuns, and of monks also. Others involved the proper means of administering the holy sacraments (in 6), and the Pope accused the bishop of infringing on Canon Law (in 4). In 592, after receiving numerous complaints about Januarius, Gregory sent his notary John to make sure he would cooperate, and instructed his 'defender' Sabinus to persuade the difficult old bishop to come to Rome to sort things out (letters 2.41 and 3.36). The Pope flattered him and praised him for his pastoral zeal and always gave him the fullest title possible ('most reverend brother and fellow-bishop'), but delivered some stinging criticisms as well, especially when his nuns were at risk, as we shall see below. But neither his flattery nor his criticisms were effective, and fresh complaints reached the Pope's ears at regular intervals. Finally, in 598, from what he had heard through his close friend and talented trouble-shooter, Abbot Cyriacus, the Pope went so far as to excommunicate for a month two of the archbishop's advisers (letter 9.1). He told the archbishop that he too should have suffered that punishment, despite his advanced years, for corrupting the young. For on the Lord's Day, before solemn Mass, he had ploughed up the crop belonging to the defender Redemptus, then he celebrated Mass, and then he dug out the boundary stones of the complainant, who owned an estate near Cagliari where their boundaries were at issue. The timing had shocked the Pope. When he wrote to his defender Vitalis, in letter 14.2, he admitted that he would have severely rebuked Januarius, for neglect over the hostelries, but for his advanced age and simple-mindedness and illness, as described by Vitalis. He then discussed the archbishop's long and stressful intervals at Mass, as he forgot the text, which made many doubt whether to receive communion from him. But the Pope defended him, saying that his illness 5

See letters 1.60, 61, 62 ,81; 2.41; 4.8, 9, 10, 24, 26, 29; 5.2; 8,10,35; 9.1,2, 11,196, 198,205; 10.17; 11.13; 13.4 and 14.2.

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did not pollute the blessing of the Holy Mystery, although he should be asked secretly to retire, if he felt an attack coming on, to avoid any embarrassment. We shall see this long, interesting letter below. Three 'defenders' have been mentioned above, Cyriacus, Sabinus and Vitalis, and a few words are needed on the status of a 'defender' and on his special purpose in life, especially as they were used most of all during this historical period. For a much fuller coverage, see my article on 'Six Notes on Gregory the Great.'6 A few 'defenders' had been appointed by Pope Gregory's predecessors, like Ocleatinus (letters 1.55-56) and Constantius (1.63) and a retired Gaudiosus (9.110), given a pension of six gold coins a year through a newer defender, Romanus. But it was very much Gregory's creation, and over forty appear in his surviving letters, appointed by him. Most came from the Roman Church, some of them personal friends of the Pope, like sub-deacon Peter in Sicily, and they all had legal powers and papal authority. When selected, they had to take a solemn oath at the tomb of Saint Peter, swearing to support the Church and the welfare of the poor. An account book was handed over, with a list of property and income. The defender was expected to keep strict accounts of payments and receipts, submitted to Rome for an audit at the end of each financial period. A good understanding of finances and bookkeeping was essential. In letter 2.50, the Pope actually awarded Cyriacus a higher rank among the defenders, due to his impressive account book. The Pope also gave each defender a list of special instructions, which covered local circumstances, detailing important issues and the Church's policies. The two long letters to Peter (1.42 and 2.50) show that he was instructed on a wide range of issues, property disputes, sale of cattle, management of hostelries, payments to the poor, building convents and monasteries, helping in legal cases and in making wills, supporting local bishops and imperial officers and providing suitable horses for the papal entourage. Many smaller details appeared also, from a Pope who clearly knew a great deal about the fruitful island of Sicily. Another very successful defender was Boniface, highly trusted and talented, who became the Pope's 'first' defender, managing Gregory's farranging clerical and secular affairs. He also looked after the Church's 6

In Med. et Hum. 29, 2003, 1-7.

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assets, and revealed great diplomacy, when posted to Corsica, Corinth and the chaos of Constantinople after Phocas had usurped the throne. Boniface finally became Pope in 608, and preserved good relations with Constantinople established by his mentor, Gregory, and later he became a Saint. But he was one of seven 'first' defenders, who, if the bishop was absent or ill, had the privilege of sitting anywhere in an assembly of clergy, obtaining the privileges of their honour in all things (letter 8.16). With their usual clerical background, the defenders cooperated well with the local bishops and were ready to assist those being badly treated by the authorities, whether they were a cleric or layman, male or female, rich or poor, and especially the poor. An ambitious priest might benefit from a letter from the Pope, and from special training to become a defender, clearly a very prestigious office, as we see with Vitus, in letters 9.98 and 9.119. After being told by the Pope to act without corruption, with due diligence and with careful consideration, he was handed a list of instructions and an official letter signed by the Pope. For the next two months he served as a priest, impressing the Pope with his true faith and bright mind, who then sent him to a 'school for defenders', with a formal letter of entry. There he was trained in law, finance and religion, ready to appear in courts, with the standing of a judge, dealing with taxes, inheritances and bottomry. The Pope told Romanus that Vitus was incapable of fraud or deceit, and asked him to welcome him with Christian love as an official defender. These well-trained defenders played a significant part in the Pope's wellorchestrated administration of the many very different and widely spread patrimonies of the Roman Church. Gregory addresses letters or makes references to over forty different defenders, all of whom were enlarging, strengthening and uniting the Church, despite attacks by Lombards, Slavs and Persians and by many schisms. As we shall see, they gave their full support to the Pope's efforts to build convents and protect nuns and other women, acting fearlessly on the Pope's behalf, often without much support from local dukes or bishops or priests. To collect their evidence and record conversations, they had lesser officials to help them, legal clerks and notaries, private secretaries, record keepers, administrative assistants and various other agents. And they seemed to work together harmoniously, often operating in pairs, especially when they were sent to settle a distant provincial mess, or to encourage elderly bishops or legalistic ladies to sort out their problems back in Rome. Despite the comparatively short length of Gregory's papacy, just thirteen and a half years, he achieved great

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success in his aim to unite, extend and purify the Catholic Church, mostly due to his talented and hard-working defenders, many of them brilliant men who had been thoroughly trained and were inspired to serve him. This was especially important when he was really sick, as he was for much of his papacy, not allowing him to visit bishops in person. Scholars fail to appreciate the seriousness and length of the illnesses that plagued him, and how his suffering body still managed to achieve so much in so short a time. When he became a monk he embraced the new life of contemplation, prayer and self-denial, and although he was healthy when he entered his cell,7 he followed the lead of many hermits and Saints, and subjected his body to strict fasting. Unfortunately it seems that he went just far too far, his fasts so rigorous and so prolonged that they injured his health, and weakened his stomach's resistance, for the rest of his life.8 His main diet consisted of raw vegetables and fruit, sent to him by his loving mother from Cella Nova on a silver dish, a relic of the family's mansion, and a legend soon grew up, not surprisingly, about that silver dish, gladly given to a beggar who turned out to be an angel.9 It was in his letter to his old friend Eulogius, patriarch of Alexandria (letter 10.14, sent in July 600) that Gregory admitted to his very poor state of health. He explains why he could not reply to some charming letters from the patriarch: 'That was due to the extreme nature of my sickness. For look, the second year has now almost ended while I have been confined to my lousy bed,10 suffering from such painful gout that I can barely get up for the three hours to celebrate solemn Mass on feast days. Soon I am forced by my severe pain to lie down again, so that I may tolerate my torment while shaken by groans. My pain is at times moderate and at times extreme, but neither moderate enough to recede nor extreme enough to kill me. ... I have long been kept shut in a prison of bodily decay.' This suggests that he had been virtually confined to bed with the very painful disease of gout, with stomach upsets, since July 598, which covers all of the 240 letters in book 9. Incidentally, some scholars have argued that 7

This was in the mansion where he had grown up as a boy, now the monastery of St Andrew. 8 See F. Homes Dudden Gregory the Great: His Place in History and Thought New York, Russell & Russell, 19672, vol 1, pp 118-119. His pious friends Eleutherius and Merulus were not much help, despite their miracles (Dial. iv.47). 9 See John the Deacon Vita Gregorii, I, 10. 10 The lectulo in the text could mean 'small bed' but in Latin a diminutive carries emotion, good ('darling') or bad ('lousy'); a Pope would not be in a 'small bed'.

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several hundred of the Pope's letters have been lost, proving it with book 9, the only full-length one, with its 240 letters. In fact his illness meant that all the letters in that book, except for the very last few, were barely half a page long, and were clearly dictated - that was one thing he could do from his painful sickbed. In August 599, he endorsed this summary of his past two years. It was sent to the wealthy patricians, Lady Italica and Lord Venantius, the latter an old friend and once a fellow monk when they were young. The Pope was extremely sad to hear about their illnesses, and added that 'it is now eleven months since I have only been able to rise from my bed on very rare occasions, just now and then. For I am so afflicted by such great pains from gout and from other terrible trouble, that my life is grievous punishment for me. Every day I faint from pain, and I sigh, hoping for the remedy of death. Among the clergy and people of this city there has been such an invasion of feverous sickness that almost no person, free or servant, has remained suitable for any office or ministry.' The gloomy Pope continues with a jaundiced picture of the blighted world. In July 595, four years earlier, the gout had not fully developed, a disease that struck Leander in his early sixties and struck the Emperor Maurice, shortly before his murder. But the Pope's stomach was already playing up. That year marked his first really long and autobiographical letter, sent to Leander, in which he tells him: 'Because my troubles weaken my body, even my studies of rhetoric are languishing, as my mind is impaired. For many years have run their course, as frequent pains torment me in my innards, and every moment for hours I grow weary, as the strength of my stomach is broken entirely, and I pant with fevers.' This was mid-summer, a time of great heat and fevers in Rome, where drains and sewers were still in bad repair following the Tiber's flooding in 589. Although no hypochondriac, Gregory came to fear July and August each year, when a fever attacked his weakened stomach and the gout in his legs, but he stayed in Rome. He had continual attacks of fever and gout from September 598 to July 599, and as we have seen, he rarely left his bed thereafter. He saw it as God's plan that while he was suffering, he could understand the suffering of Job, whose book he doggedly interpreted, and finally published as his greatest work of biblical scholarship, his Moralia. This excursus on the Pope's poor health serves to fill in the background to the many letters he wrote about nuns, abbesses and other women, while feeling progressively less and less well. In fact it did not seem to affect his

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mind at all, razor sharp right to the end, but it does explain why he could not leave the city of Rome during the last fifteen years or so of his papacy. The second largest number of letters on this book's topic were sent to Sicily, six in all, four to defenders (1.42 and 2.50 to sub-deacon Peter, 4.6 to Cyprian and 9.54 to Romanus) and two to bishops (4.34 to Leo of Catana and 9.233 to Decius of Lilybaeum). The high proportion sent to defenders shows how important this province was for Pope Gregory, who encouraged his most talented agents to look after it, men who were so well trained and were expected to report back to Rome regularly, rather than rely either on the imperial administration, or on local and often divided bishops, abbots and abbesses. The province's administration was in fact controlled by a praetor, who was answerable to Constantinople, rather than by the usual exarch. But a considerable number of estates belonged to the Church, cultivated by tenant farmers, almost a state within a state. Beside his family's estates in Sicily, used by Gregory to create six monasteries, and his probable experience with the island when a young man on holiday with his father, the Pope was keen to keep watch and protect its allimportant corn supply for Rome. The imperial rulers were a disaster. The first, Justin, was appointed in Sept. 590, and accused of corruption, and was soon replaced by Libertinus in July 593, who was dismissed between April 597 and October 598, and succeeded by ex-consul Leontius, who had been sent over by Maurice to conduct an inquiry into the administration of the island. As a result, the ex-consul publicly flogged Libertinus, but was strongly advised by the Pope to temper justice with mercy. In October 600, Alexander took over. Gregory sent letters to Justin (1.2; 2.29), Libertinus (3.37; 5.53; 9.28), Leontius (11.4) and Alexander (11.8), but he made little impact on these unfortunate Byzantine appointments. At least they did not have to fight a war there, and had little power over the Church's wide domains. From the language point-of-view, although it was in the Latin West and its administrators and lawyers spoke Latin, the remaining people spoke and wrote Greek, as did most of the clergy. In the catacombs of Syracuse, there are 461 inscriptions in Greek and only 44 in Latin.11 A further advantage for Sicily was that, unlike its neighbour Italy, it remained free of control by the Lombards, enabling it to become a refuge 11

See Gerhard Rohlfs Scavi linguistici nella Magna Graecia, Roma, 1933, quoted by Jeffrey Richards Consul of God: The Life and Times of Gregory the Great, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980, p. 160, n. 64.

12

Historical Background

for those fleeing from Italian towns sacked by the invaders. We shall see the effect of this refuge below. It also meant that the major source of Rome's bread, the cornfields of Sicily, were not under alien control, although the grain supply was under constant scrutiny by the Byzantine administrators, like Cyridanus in 598-599 (in letters 9.31 and 9.116), who seemed all too keen to fill the imperial granaries with grain from the Church's granary, which would severely damage the poor in particular, the Pope pointed out. The Emperor had authorized this action, probably without knowing about the Pope's objection. The most valuable contribution that can be gained from studying Pope Gregory's letters to Sicily is the information therein on the system of agriculture used during the later Roman Empire. The lands controlled by the Church provide the best picture of the system. His letters show extensive landholdings (or patrimony) belonging to the Roman Church, but note that the churches of Milan and of Ravenna also possessed estates on the island, as did the North African Church, it seems. The Roman Church's property was divided into two areas, centred on Syracuse and Palermo, to which two of the Pope's letters were sent. His very first letter was sent to circulate among all of the bishops throughout Sicily, and his second was to praetor Justin, while his very last two letters went to the bishop of Catana and to the notary of Sicily (about monks sharing their beds with women.) To him Sicily was all-important and a close look at Peter's two long letters shows the Pope's great interest in, and detailed knowledge of, that prosperous island. Nearly a quarter of his letters were sent there. The only other contemporary information comes from the life of Saint Gregory, bishop of Agrigento.12 The papal patrimony was divided into large landholdings, subdivided into estates, about four hundred in all, their stability shown by their names, often from an owner who had died long before. The estate was then divided into a home farm where a contractor lived, looking after several tenancies, where the tenant farmers were little better off than the slaves who worked the land. The contractors were well off, collecting rents and passing them on to the local defender, for the Pope. The papacy had regulated the short-term contracts with licences, but much of the produce and tax was creamed off by the imperial administration. This could be a heavy burden, and the Pope wrote several letters to ease the pain, while 12

See Abbot Leontius' Life of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigento, translated from the Greek original with introduction and notes by John R. C. Martyn, Mellen Press, Lampeter, 2004.

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accepting that some taxes had to be paid. A lot of his letters contained instructions to his defender and to his vicar on the Episcopal bench, as to how they should treat the imperial officers, since he was keen to work in harmony with the Emperor, maintaining the cordial relationship between Church and State. However, if the Church administrators saw evidence of oppression, they were obliged to intervene, with the Pope's blessing. During his early years as Pope, Gregory interfered in the affairs of the bishops in Sicily more than anywhere else, many of whom had grown fat and slack with the comfort of the island's peace and prosperity. Major reform was necessary. His first step was the appointment of his trusted friend Peter, as his vicar and defender, and in 592 four suspect bishops were sent to Rome to account for their stewardship.13 There were already several empty Sees, and the replacements came from a group of clergy who enjoyed the Pope's patronage. The most important position was the archbishopric of Syracuse, head of the Sicilian bench of bishops, and in October 591 the Pope selected a close friend from his monastery in Rome, Lord Maximian, to occupy this position, taking over Peter's powers as vicar, and supervising the reforms. Success seemed imminent, but sadly Maximian died, in November 594 (5.20), and the reforms were at risk. But Gregory acted fast, as usual, and in the following February he promoted John, a talented archdeacon from Catana, as the new archbishop, and under his guidance the final reforms, built on those by Peter and Maximian, achieved the quality of permanence. In January 603, near the end of his papacy, Gregory could list the bishops filling so very ably the principal Sees in Sicily, Gregory of Agrigento, Leo of Catana, Secundinus of Taormina, John of Syracuse, Donus of Messina, Lucidus of Leontini and Trajan of Malta. He could have added the dioceses of Lipari, Triocala and Palermo. The once decaying Church of Sicily could at last operate as a well-organized and recognizable unit within the wider Christian Church. This was a major achievement, managed by the Pope with skill, determination and the ability to pick and inspire really talented representatives, as we shall find with his choice of abbesses and his organization of the growing network of convents, especially in the countryside of Sicily.

13

See letter 1.70. Some were found guilty and others were imprisoned and finally cleared. Gregory of Agrigento was in prison for two years, then tried and only accepted as innocent when the young woman found in bed with him told the Pope she was paid to frame the bishop by a jealous priest, Sabinus.

14

Historical Background

To Campania, Naples, Luni14 and Rome the Pope sent twelve letters on the topic of nuns and convents, that is, to the Italians. Unlike Sicily, they had the unenviable task of dealing with the Lombards, a German race with little or no respect for the Italian towns that they had so easily overcome, and for the nuns and monks, who made no resistance. A summary of the Lombard threat and final peace terms have already appeared above, but their special victims in the churches and monasteries justify a fuller analysis of the historical background to Italy during the last thirty years of the sixth century. In fact the Lombards were the last of the German peoples to invade and settle the western and southern lands of Europe, and their main thrust coincided with Pope Gregory's life. They came through the Predil Pass in the spring of 568, while John III was still Pope. Large in number, well equipped and well led, they cut through all that lay before them, hardly worried by the imperial army, insufficient in numbers, barely trained and badly led mercenaries, and their pay was in arrears. Country dwellers quickly moved behind city walls and fortresses, but Milan fell to the Lombards in 569, and most of Aquileia and Venice fell soon afterwards. By July 579 they had spread right down to Rome, and were besieging the city by November when Pelagius II was being elected as the new Pope. Desperate to obtain relief from looting and pillaging, he sent the Deacon Gregory to Constantinople to obtain troops and an experienced leader to counter the German invaders, but he was finally recalled, almost emptyhanded. The Emperor did create the post of Exarch of Italy, and gave the Pope a few troops, but the main armies were needed nearer home. As we have seen, gold was sent to soften the occupations, and overt bribery was effective, plus some strategic diversions, but it was left to the Pope to do what he could to stop their butchery and enslavements, and to repair the damage, especially to churches and monasteries and convents. In June 595, he wrote to his friend Maurice, in letter 5.36, complaining bitterly over the breakdown in his first peace treaty with the Lombards, which left Rome wide open, when he saw 'Roman citizens with ropes round their necks, just like dogs, as they were led off to Gaul to be sold.' He was blamed, because those inside had escaped and the corn had run out.

14

Luni (Luna originally) is on the North-western coast of Italy, just north of Pisa.

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15

Early in 591, the Pope had ironically informed John, ex-consul, patrician and quaestor, that he, Pope Gregory, had been elected bishop not of the Romans but of the Lombards, 'whose treaties are two-edged swords and whose gratitude is revenge' (1.30). Later, in 594, he told deacon Sabinian to inform the Emperor that if he had wanted to bring about the destruction of the Lombards, that nation would have been led to utter confusion, but being held back by the fear of God, he was not willing to join in the destruction of anyone (5.6). Rather than destroy them, the Pope worked tirelessly to civilize them and to achieve a lasting peace, between the Lombards and the Empire, as we shall see with his letters to Brunhilde and Theodelinda, so that the battered country might have a chance to recover. But this pacifism was unpopular with some, and the exarch Romanus even accused him of treason before the Emperor (5.36), while Gregory claimed to Bishop Sebastian of Resini in June 594 that the exarch's attack had done more damage to his cause than the Lombards' swords had done (5.40). But Gregory persisted in his longing for peace. In September 593 he had enlisted Constantius, archbishop of Milan, as a go-between (4.2), but with no success, yet in October 598, he finally managed to persuade Abbot Probus to join Theodore, the curator of Ravenna, and the Lombard dukes, in concluding a quite acceptable peace treaty (9.11, 44, 68). Gregory refused to sign their treaty, so as to avoid compromising his diplomatic stance of bi-partisanship. But it was clearly the Pope's peace treaty. It lasted for just two years, when hostilities resumed, but not for long, as a new treaty was soon drawn up, in 603. From an initial position of weakness, the Pope had managed to achieve an honourable peace between the two parties. The rights of the Lombards to most of the lands that they had conquered were recognized, while the imperial territories in Italy had gained a breathing space. At the same time, Gregory tried to achieve a religious settlement in the Italian peninsular. He first reorganized what remained of the Church in the Lombard territory and then entered into a series of diplomatic exchanges with the Lombard court, especially the two queens, as will be shown below. Within the life of the Church, Gregory tried to prevent any more setbacks, salvaging what was still viable. How far the Pope succeeded may never be known, but we can glean a lot from his letters to the bishops of two active Sees, Spoleto and Milan. In both cases common features reveal themselves. Where churches had been devastated and lacked pastoral care, he re-established places of worship (9.58), and provided a basis for reorganization (4.22, 37; 9.167). Any wayward monks or clergy who had

16

Historical Background

fled to Lombard territory, and places where ecclesiastical discipline had become lax, were returned to a new, vigorous state of true observance, as the embers of religious belief were kept burning, and spread widely once there was no persecution. In his diplomatic dealings with the Lombard court, Gregory started once again at a disadvantage. Their King, Autharit, had forbidden the baptism of Lombard children into the Catholic faith (1.17), but several of the Lombards were Catholics, a few of them occupying influential positions (Dialogi 3.19.1). The most powerful of these Christians was the wife of Autharit, Theodelinda, the daughter of Garibaldi, Duke of the Bavarians. When Autharit died, she played a major part in having Agilulf chosen as his successor as King of the Lombards, marrying him in November 590.15 Unfortunately, she was attracted to the arguments of the Three Chapters heresy. The Pope sent her three letters trying to convince her to reject these schismatics, and encouraging her to support the new orthodox archbishop of Milan. Then during the peace negotiations, he urged her to embrace the orthodox faith and persuade her husband to sign the peace treaty (9.68). But then, late in 603, Theodelinda finally committed herself to Gregory's orthodoxy, having their dear son and heir, Adaloald, baptized according to the Roman observance. In these dealings with the Lombards, despite almost no help from Constantinople, the Pope proved to be surprisingly successful. He had strengthened what was left of the Roman Church in Lombard lands, and had obtained a truce between the Lombards and the Empire, and he had seen the heir to the Lombard throne baptized, not into the Arian faith, nor that of the Three Chapters faction, but into the true Catholic faith as professed at Rome. Any one of these achievements would have been noteworthy, but for Gregory to have achieved all three, when he was feeling far from well, is quite remarkable.16 Only four letters on the topic of nuns were sent to Gaul, but for their background, a brief survey of what was going on there at this time should be included. Three of the letters were sent to Autun, the first (9.225) to Syagrius, its bishop then, over the rape of Syagria (no relative), the second (13.5), to Brunhilde, the Queen of Gaul, who had had a convent built 15

See Thomas Hodgkin Italy and Her Invaders, Oxford, 1880-99, Bk 5: 236, 239, 283, and Paul the Deacon Historia Langobardorum 3.30, 35. 16 Quite a lot of this background has been selected and adapted from the 116 pp long introduction to my The Letters of Gregory the Great, PIMS, Toronto, 2004.

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there, and the third (13.10), an important letter to its first abbess, the very talented Talasia. The only other letter was sent to Respecta, abbess of a convent in the port of Marseilles. Clearly the Pope wanted to control and reform the errant Church in Gaul, after a successful dry run with the renewal of the true faith in Sardinia. The third such mission was probably also in his head by now, remote and misty England, but Gaul would have to be sorted out first, since it covered the very large landmass lying between Italy and England. And at that time, crossing Gaul without the protection of soldiers, when bearing valuable items for worship, would have been very dangerous, unless the various bishops along the route followed by the monks looked after them with their own retainers in a positive manner. Compared with Sardinia, Gaul was of course a far more expansive country and the reform of the Frankish Church was a far more complex operation. After the conversion to Christianity and the very successful campaigns of the Merovingian King Clovis, up to his death in 511, it seemed that most of Gaul was Christian, and until recently historians have argued that it had in fact been widely converted, like Henri Muller in 1945, Henry Beck in 1950 and Edward James in 1982.17 But a very different picture appears in the contemporary history of Gregory of Tours, in the Chronicle of Fredegar and in Pope Gregory's letters. About sixty-eight of his letters refer to Gaul, nearly fifty of them on the necessary reformation of its Church.18 The general picture is of a state intent on feuds within the ruling dynasty, with a corrupted church in decay. As Jeffrey Richards put it: 'Gregory of Tours paints a lurid picture of the Gallic bishops, many of whom seem to have been habitually drunk or wantonly cruel, appallingly lecherous or deeply embroiled in politics and intrigue. The lesser clergy seem to have been little better, and dereliction of duty was rife.'19 This ties in well with the picture given by Pope Gregory, who shows people over large areas persisting in pre-Christian beliefs, and others with only a 17 See H. F. Muller L'époque merovingienne: Essai de synthèse de philologie et d'histoire, New York, 1945, p. 8, Henry G. J. Beck The Pastoral Care of Souls in South-Eastern France during the Sixth Century, Rome, 1950, pp 40-41 and Edward James The Origins of France: From Clovis to the Capetians, 500-1000, London, 1982, p. 55. 18 See Luce Pietri 'Grégoire le Grand et la Gaule: Le projet pour la réforme de l'Église gauloise,' in Gregorio Magno e suo il tempo, Institutum Patristicum, Roma, 1991, 1: 109-128. 19 See Jeffrey Richards Consul of God: The Life and Times of Gregory the Great, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and Boston, 1980, p. 212.

18

Historical Background

veneer of Christianity (letter 8.4), and among their clergy, simony was rampant (letters 5.58; 9.219; 11.38 and 13.9, 10, 11). When Laurence and Mellitus led the second party of monks to convert the English, one of their tasks was to arrange a synod to stamp out this simony (letter 11.51). For the Pope, the Frankish Church was badly in need of reform. But when elected Pope, Gregory would not have known much about Gaul, although he had met the Frankish delegation in Constantinople when papal emissary there. One of them, a patrician Dynamius, received letters 3.33 and 7.33, having administered a small patrimony in Gaul for the Roman Church. But when he became Pope, Gregory had had no direct contact with the rulers or bishops. In the first three years of his letters, only five were sent that referred to Gaul. Two sounded out the Archbishop of Milan, Constantius, about the deviant bishops and the Frankish kings (4,2 and 37), and three were sent to recipients in Provence, but to nowhere else in Gaul (1.45; 3.33; 5.31). But in June 591, he received complaints from the Jewish communities of Arles and Marseilles that the Catholic bishops were using force to have their children baptized. Gregory called for an end to the practice (1.45), damaging for the faith.20 This was followed by several other accounts of corrupt practices, as Austrasia and Burgundy struggled for the control of Provençe. The archbishop of Arles, Caesarius, had long acted as the papal vicar in Provençe (just as Maximian did in Sicily), and he was succeeded by Sapaudus (died 586), but after him neither Licerius (bishop 586-8) nor Virgil (588 onwards), had received official letters from Rome appointing them. Gregory sent letter 1.45 to rectify this omission in June 591, and not long afterwards Dynamius presented him (in April 593) with four hundred gold coins, collected from his small patrimony of Provence. Unfortunately all of this Frankish gold was worth far less than that used in Rome, which presented a tricky problem for the Pope. But by August 595, Gregory had discovered enough about Gaul to enter very actively into Frankish affairs. He sent the priest John and a deacon Sabinian with the 'pallium' for Archbishop Virgil of Arles, a symbol of great honour normally restricted to archbishops and a few favoured bishops. It was in fact in response to a request by King Childebert (5.58). It confirmed that Virgil was the papal vicar, apparently thanks to royal 20

For Gregory's unusual consideration for the Jews and their faith, see his letter to Abbess Domina (j).

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19

patronage. The Pope also removed the administration of the papal patrimony of Gaul from the Frankish official, the patrician Arigius (addressed in 5.31; 6.59; 9.212), who had succeeded Dynamius in that key position, and appointed Candidus, a close friend and a totally reliable Roman priest, not a subdeacon or abbot for a change. Working closely with Candidus, as he had done with Peter in Sicily, the Pope had an ideal agent to play his part in reforming the Church and royal family of Gaul. Both Queen Brunhilde and King Childebert were asked to give their support to this new development (6.,5, 6). Candidus was soon at work, using the diplomacy and tact that he had learnt from his brilliant master, Pope Gregory. But unfortunately Virgil lacked the enthusiasm, or the charisma, or the ability that was needed to carry out the Pope's programme. Also, the archbishop of Arles was held in high esteem, but the real power had moved further north to the See of Lyon, and to bishops who enjoyed royal patronage, like Syagrius of Autun. To succeed, Gregory would have to acknowledge both of these developments, building on the changing circumstances. To do so, in September 595, he told Candidus to use some of the income collected by him from the Gallic patrimony to purchase young male slaves from England (6.10), who were then trained as monks in Latin and theology, in Rome, most probably in Gregory's old monastery of Saint Andrew. A year later some were no doubt ready to join the first group of monks leaving with the timorous Augustine to convert the English. Since Queen Bertha was a Christian, and worshipped with a Christian chaplain, the task was not too difficult, but few of the locals knew Latin, and interpreters from Gaul were of little use (6.51), showing the Pope's foresight in sending monks who had grown up speaking English, a fact ignored by the venerable Bede. Before Augustine had reached England, the Pope had written to persons of influence in Gaul, both from the Church and the State, requesting them to assist his monks on their long journey across their country. He was tactful as usual, and his contacts fully supported the mission that he had set in motion, and soon afterwards his old friend, Augustine, had reported on their continuous help. At the same time, Pope Gregory had recommended his agent Candidus to each of his addressees, urging them to help him in raising proper revenue from the Christians in Gaul, to help their poor and destitute in their various domains. In letter 6.10, he had told Candidus to

20

Historical Background

spend any gold coins he received in Gaul, rather than send them to Rome, which was the normal practice. The unexpected success of the English mission encouraged him to send another group of monks, led by two excellent agents, the abbot, Mellitus, and the priest, Laurence. As in 596, their crossing of Gaul, both western and northern, was fully supported by an industrious Pope. He wrote persuasive letters to Bishops Menas of Toulouse, Lupus of Châlons-surSaône, Agiulf of Metz, Simplicius of Paris, Melantius of Rouen, Aregius of Gap, Virgil of Arles and Licinius (his See is unknown). He also wrote to a patrician of Gaul, Asclepiodatus, to Queen Brunhilde, to young King Theoderic, to Theodebert, King of Austrasia and to Clothar, King of Neustria. By now Gregory was well aware of the changing centres of power in Gaul. For the second group, protective assistance was even more important, as they were carrying priceless bibles, antiphonaries, relics and holy vessels and clothing. As they circulated among the heathen in England, they would have been displaying a small bible that contained multiple little pictures of Christ's life and miracles, and had short and clearly written Latin passages from the gospels, in large uncials, with which the monks could unlock this exciting new message, using their own interpreters to translate it to large numbers of locals.21 Although the Gallic bishops refused to give up their independence, and made no effort to satisfy the Pope's persistent demands for a synod to wipe out the curse of simony, they had twice cooperated with his monks, and in 614 a synod was held in Paris where two key decisions were derived from Gregory, but not simony. He also worked well with the Gallic royalty, especially Brunhilde, and would have grieved over her cruel death in 613. For so much of her life she had been so powerful and so successful. Brunhilde was the daughter of the Visigothic King, Athanagild, and after his death in about 567, she married Sigibert I, the Frankish King of Austrasia, converting from the Arianism of the Visigoths to the Chalcedonian Christianity of the Franks. When Sigibert died, she took over as ruler of Austrasia, and continued to do so through her son, Childebert II, and then through her playboy grandson, Theoderic. With the death of the King of Burgundy, Guntrum, in 592, she took over his lands 21

The 'Canterbury' bible has survived, miraculously, but not the antiphonary. For these miniatures, see Francis Wormald The Miniatures in the Gospels of St. Augustine, Cambridge, 1954, and Christopher de Hamel A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, London, 19942 p. 15.

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to become virtual Queen of Gaul. Despite the Pope's flattery, she was no Saint, even conniving to destroy the Saintly Desiderius, bishop of Vienne, and rounding on the Irish missionary, Columban, when he had refused to bless her grandson's illegitimate offspring. She had also pursued a very cruel vendetta against Fredegonde, the mistress of the Frankish King of Neustria. In 613, the old Queen fell into the hands of Fredegonde's son, Clothar II of Neustria, and after three days of torture she suffered a ghastly, ignominious death, first forced to ride a camel to the jeers of the local citizens, and then tied to the tail of an unbroken horse, that cut her to bits with its hooves.22 Below we shall see several letters sent to a forceful Brunhilde, still at the peak of her power, and keen, it seems, to bring the Pope into her network (or net).

Pope Gregory's Attitude to Nuns, and Women in general One would have thought that Pope Gregory's stalwart support for the abbesses, nuns and their convents, as seen in the letters mentioned below, and the most likely reason for his unparalleled understanding of women (his upbringing by his mother and four aunts), would have been discussed in detail well before now. But it seems that while the Pope's many comments on monks and on their monasteries and on a wide range of men have been treated quite fully, the nuns have been virtually ignored, and nobody has realised the impact on a boy being brought up almost entirely by his mother and four aunts. Even Carole Straw, who wrote so well on Perfection in Imperfection in Pope Gregory, only mentioned the nuns in Saint Benedict's life, albeit written by Pope Gregory, and neither Jo Ann McNamara in her Sisters in Arms nor Janet Schulenburg in her Forgetful of their Sex, two outstanding works on nuns in recent years, made any real use of this large body of material about nuns to be found in Pope Gregory's letters, including some very significant ones.23 22

See J, M. Wallace-Hadrill The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar, Nelson, 1960, p. 35, and my King Sisebut and the Culture of Visigothic Spain, Edwin Mellen, Lewiston and New York, 2008, p. 45. Theoderic had just had a fatal attack of dysentery, acquiring 'an eternal death as his mistress,' p. 43. 23 Jo Ann Kay McNamara Sisters in Arms: Catholic Nuns through two Millennia, Cambridge, Mass, and London, Harvard Univ. Press, 1996 and Janet T. Schulenburg Forgetful of their Sex: Female Sanctity and Society ca 500-1100. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1998. McNamara noted 14 references to Gregory, but only two about nuns, 9.225 (where the Pope did not

22

Historical Background

Jeffrey Richards, in his important work Consul of God, did not make a single reference to nuns, and R. A. Markus, in his more recent work on Gregory the Great and his World, mentioned 'clergy, monks and nuns' en passant on p. 170, and on p. 69 admitted that he does not distinguish between monasteries and nunneries, but failed to discuss the nunneries as such or the nuns at all.24 Even more surprising was the almost total omission of nuns by Homes Dudden, in his two dated but impressive volumes on Gregory the Great, despite his accurate study of the monks of Pope Gregory's time.25 Gillian R. Evans, in her interesting book on The Thought of Gregory the Great, devoted ten pages to the monks and monasteries, yet failed to mention the nuns at all,26 nor were they mentioned at all in the work by Jean Décarreaux, Moines et Monastères à l'époque de Charlemagne.27 Finally, John Moorhead's work on Gregory the Great that appeared in 2005 still made no reference at all to the nuns in the Pope's letters.28 Perhaps the lack of an English version of all of the letters of Pope Gregory 'punish the bishop of Autun' but criticized the negligence of Bishops Virgil of Arles and Syagrius of Autun), and 4.9 (where Januarius had failed to give nuns proper pastoral care). Schulenburg's nuns were restricted just to Tarsilla and Scholastica in the Dialogues. 24 Carole Straw Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988; Jeffrey Richards Consul of God: The Life and Times of Gregory the Great, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and Boston, 1980; R. A. Markus Gregory the Great and his World, C. U. P., Cambridge, 1997. In his From Augustus to Gregory the Great, Variorum Reprints, London, 1983, there is still no mention of a nun or convent, nor in the major work by Jean Décarreaux on Les Moines et la Civilisation, nor in Père Maur Cocheril's Le Monachisme en Espagne et au Portugal, Port-du-Salut, 1964. 25 F. Homes Dudden Gregory the Great 19672. He used the Pope's Dialogues to give a full picture of the monasteries in Italy, but ignored the convents. In volume 2, pp. 175-176, he covered letter 4.9 sent to Januarius, but nothing else. This letter was also treated very briefly by Jo Ann McNamara in her Sisters in Arms, p.111. 26 Her book was printed by C.U. P., in 1986. 27 Paris, 1980. 28 John Moorhead Gregory the Great, Routledge, London & N.T., 2005. He does include the story of the three holy women in nuns' attire, from the Pope's homily at Laurence's basilica, Homiliae 40.11-12, with the miraculous ascension of the paralysed Romula (pp 84-87), and he very briefly describes the 3,000 nuns 'resident in Rome' on page 7. Neither nuns nor monks appear in his index, and rightly so, although on p. 35 he suggests that in Gregory's time power in the West 'moved away from the charismatic figures of unordained monks and nuns towards the ordained clergy.' In fact it was the quite the opposite.

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23

until that year dissuaded these authors from tracking down the varied treatments of the brides of Christ and their convents. Or it may have been a not unusual readiness to depend far too much on earlier scholarship, where even Dudden had virtually ignored them. Anyway, from the examples in this book, covering a wide range of places and of actions by all sorts of women, let us accept that Gregory, more than any other Pope, was interested in helping women just as much as men. Obviously it was impossible then for a woman, even an abbess, to be his representative in Constantinople or to become a priest or to carry out the Pope's missions overseas, led by monks and priests. But for the most part Pope Gregory encouraged a far more humane and independent rôle for the abbesses and the nuns in their care, and repeatedly saw women in general in need of assistance as the victims of sexual aggression or illegal theft or unjust control by men. Besides the abbesses and nuns previously discussed in my book on Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ, some other nuns will be included from ten more letters, and there are three more abbesses, and a large number of other women, familial, royal, aristocratic, married, single, sleeping with priests or monks, and escaping slavery. In several cases these women faced the difficulties and the very real risk of physical attack in travelling to Rome, where the Pope received them and heard their complaints. Despite his debilitating illness and his involvement in the ever-growing and time-consuming Christian empire, Gregory was ready to help the women brought before him, whether rich or poor, on very many occasions. My English versions of the relevant letters or sections therefrom will be included and discussed, but the Latin originals will not be included. For scholars interested, the original Latin can be read in the unfortunately error-filled edition by Dag Norberg.29

Pope Gregory's Rules In the 'rules' provided by Donatus at the request of his Abbess Gauthsruda, the errant nuns were treated savagely. For a nun who had made an artefact for her own use, it was a hundred blows, for giggling while singing psalms, six blows, for eating without asking for a blessing, six blows and for talking at meals, six blows. Even the older nuns, no doubt hard of hearing, were to receive fifty blows (or a 'silent supposition', whatever that 29

S. Gregorii Magni Registrum Epistularum Libri XIV, Turnhout, Brepols, 1982.

24

Historical Background

is) if their voices should disturb the younger nuns worshipping nearby. Their prison-like claustration and their draconian punishments for any misdemeanour may have been needed more at that time of civil disturbance, but would never have been acceptable to the far more humane Pope Gregory. Although the fairer rules set out by Saint Benedict were for monks, and may not have been available in Rome, it is more than likely that his very close friend in Seville, Leander, would have sent him a copy of similarly milder 'rules' written by him to encourage his beloved sister Florentine to become a nun.30 Leander's 'rules' were published by about 590, and I am sure that a copy must have reached the Pope. His friend and key agent, Abbot Cyriacus, was in Spain by early 599, and would certainly have met their mutual friend, Leander, and would have received a copy of his 'rules', but by the time he got back to Rome early in 600, Leander was dead, and sadly, Gregory could no longer write to him. Gregory was naturally sympathetic towards women, the most common victims of rules like those of Donatus. In fact, he had a special affinity with women, both aristocratic and religious, as will appear in the chapters below. Besides a close friendship with Theoctista and Gordia, sisters of the Emperor, and with his wife Constantina,31 he shared a special bond with the admirable Rusticiana, a descendant of Boethius,32 and with her daughters Gregoria and Eusebia. As we shall see, his nicely written letter to Bertha, the queen of the English (11.35, sent on June 22nd, 601), also shows his empathy and warm feelings towards a fellow Christian Queen.33 As we shall see below, 30

See my Saint Leander, Archbishop of Seville: A Book on the Teaching of Nuns and a Homily in Praise of the Church, Lexington Books, Lanham, 2009. For Cyriacus' stay in Spain, see letter 9.230. 31 As the godfather of Maurice's eldest son and heir, Theodosius, he stayed at the palace while the papal legate in Constantinople, as a member of the royal family. This helped greatly in the cooperation between Rome and the Emperor on all major matters. Scholars have wrongly seen acrimony in their letters, where in fact irony and humour disarm possible division, as over a ban on soldiers becoming monks, and over the 'ecumenical' patriarch, John 'the Faster'. The Emperor teased him over his pretended indignation. 32 See my 'A New Family tree for Boethius' in Parergon, 23.1, 2006, 1-9.. A new stemma is included. 33 This letter was given a very full treatment by Janet Schulenburg in her Forgetful of their Sex, pp 192-195, but it has nothing to do with nuns.

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory’s Special Concern for Women

25

in the building of monasteries, convents and oratories, the Pope cooperated successfully with many women, mostly wealthy and influential. Again, one would have thought that Pope Gregory's stalwart support for the nuns and their nunneries, as seen in these letters, would have been discussed in detail well before now. The Pope appeared to be allergic to the violence of war and of soldiers, and of unscrupulous men, being naturally sympathetic towards women, their most common victims. All through his letters on nuns and convents he stressed the very real dangers to nuns from monks, priests, relatives, soldiers, ex-husbands and even from a bishop's son. He ensured that nunneries were not sited too close to monks, and that they all had private gardens where they could not be molested, and when Masses were heard in their chapels, he insisted that the priest or bishop must remove himself and his accoutrements at once, as soon as the Mass was over. In fact, as we have seen, the Pope seems to have had a special affinity with women, especially the aristocratic and religious ones. In the building of monasteries, convents and oratories, he cooperated successfully with many women, most of them very wealthy, like Themotea in Rimini, Alexandria and Januaria in Naples, Lavinia in Corsica, Capitulana in Syracuse, Juliana in Sardinia and Adeodata in Lilybaeum. They will appear below with other wealthy women. The Pope also got on well with several abbesses, like Desideria and Theodosia of Cagliari, and Respecta of Marseilles, Talasia of Autun, Thecla of Naples and Bona of Rome, several of them visiting him in person in Rome, or corresponding with him. He even managed to get on well with prickly ladies like Queen Brunhilde, and the litigious Pomponiana and the rich nun Theodosia. He was also quite ready to welcome the two teenage daughters of his close friend and fellow monk from early days in Rome, Venantius, Barbara and Antonina, who risked losing their father's fortune which they had inherited, until the Pope stepped in and managed to uphold his friend's will, with some very persuasive letters, which included their stay with him and their education in Rome.34 Finally, he got on well with the recent converts and generous donors, like Aurelia, and with any manumitted female slaves who were keen to join convents, like Montana, Alisa, Folloniaca and Catella. 34

See letter 11.59, sent in August 601 to the two young women hurrying to Rome, who had sent the Pope two embroidered cloaks, very welcome for his sickly body.

26

Historical Background

At the time when Pope Gregory was writing, the key positions in society were not totally controlled by men, as they were in Victorian times (with the obvious exception of Queen Victoria). As we shall see, the royal families in Gaul, England and Constantinople provided queens who were very active and influential, like the formidable Brunhilde in Gaul, who dominated her sons and grandsons, who were but puppet kings being manipulated by her majesty, and she could handle the subtle charm and brilliant literary skills of Pope Gregory himself without giving him an inch. Then there were the women around the Emperor Maurice who were quick to claim their rights and to exert their authority in the imperial provinces, as we shell see with Constantina, who had a special oversight of Sardinia's government, in particular in its taxation, and in the appointment of its judges.35 Maurice's sister, Theoctista, is thanked sincerely by her old friend Pope Gregory for taking the initiative with the State's funds, and for sending him thirty pounds of gold, to help him to ransom the victims of the Lombards, including many nuns (letter 7.23). Troops would have been better, but gold was a great help in freeing captives and for bribing some of the Lombard leaders, like Droctulf (9.9) and probably Ariulf (9.44). Finally there was Queen Bertha in England, who could rule as a true Catholic with a Catholic chaplain in the as yet unconverted England, and who played a major part in bringing her husband over to the true faith, together with many hundreds of her own people, with some help from the Roman monks sent over by Pope Gregory, initially led by Augustine. In letter 11.37, sent to Ethelbert, king of the English, or of Kent, he had flattered Bertha's husband, sending some presents to accompany his letter. Many influential abbesses have been mentioned, who will strut the stage as principal actors in the section on abbesses below. Within their convents they had considerable power, and it was extremely difficult for a bishop to remove one, as we shall see with Talasia, the clearly brilliant abbess of a newly built convent in Autun. In the Pope's charter for Autun, it would take agreement by six Gallic bishops before Talasia or a successor could be removed (see below). As it was rare for any two Gallic bishops to agree over anything, she seemed to have been installed there for life. At no stage does he recommend the sacking of an abbess. Within the local 35

See letter 5.38. The Pope complained that taxes were forcing parents to sell their children, and judges to sell rights to attend pagan worship.

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory’s Special Concern for Women

27

communities, the abbess would be a figure of authority, playing a key part in improving the health and education of the local citizens, especially the poor. For the abbots it was very different, as they regularly left for higher positions in the Church, often after ten years or so in a monastery. At the monastery of Bec, for example, first Lanfranc (1070), then Anselm (1093) and then Theobald (1138) went over to England to serve as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the last after just two years as abbot of Bec.36 By contrast, the nuns had fixed rules, and their abbesses were virtually permanent, giving them far greater scope for long-term influence in their city or country town. In many cases, the Pope's authority gave his full support, greatly adding to their feeling of security. His letter to an abbess would have been pinned up for all to see. On only two occasions was an abbess injudicious, in letter 9.198, Gavinia, the new abbess of the convent of Saints Gavin and Luxorius in Sardinia, asserted that her predecessor, the abbess Sirica, had made bequests to people outside the convent, and wore wrong clothing in the convent. The Pope consulted experts in Rome before giving his verdict on the illegal clothing. Another abbess to shock the Pope was Agnella, in letter 9.208, who said that she had allowed soldiers to stay in her convent and eat their evening meals there. The Pope did not trust the soldiers at all, and told Agnella to have them removed immediately. The welfare of all women, but especially nuns, was an abiding interest for the Pope, from his inauguration until close to his death. As shown, no scholar working on Gregory or nuns and nunneries has made any real use of these letters. His few letters about holy women (rather than nuns) used by later scholars are not relevant, and only one of the very few stories about nuns in the Pope's Dialogues will be included, describing the death of one of the Pope's relatives. In this work I shall again cover a final list of 58 letters sent by the Pope to show how keen he was to do whatever he could to help the nuns, abbesses and convents, in a wide range of situations, some of them extremely tricky.

36 See Giles Constable Three Treatises from Bec on the Nature of Monastic Life, translated by Bernard S. Smith, University of Toronto Press, Canada, 2008.

28

Historical Background

These letters appear in every one of the fourteen books of his letters. This shows his permanent concern for women, nuns especially, which is extended throughout all of his papacy, 591-603; it was not just a shortterm, one off interest. The letters were sent37 to nuns and abbesses and other women in Sardinia, Sicily, Rome, Campania, Naples, Palermo, Gaul, Luni. Constantinople, Ravenna, Calabria and Marseilles, in fact all over Italy, and to its north, west, south and east, as far as Constantinople. Despite the fact that excessive fasting as a monk had left Gregory an invalid for most of those years (591-603), and he rightly complained how busy and overworked he always was, he still had sufficient time and sufficient energy to found convents and help nuns and other women in need, sending a letter or letters to those wanting his help or advice from all over the Mediterranean area, many of them through personal discussions in Rome, and he especially ensured the protection of women and children against the many ruthless men who were determined to corrupt or rob them. With no official system of postage, the Pope had to rely on his monks and sub-deacons and other agents, including his defenders, to take his letters back to the cities of Italy and to the provinces. Otherwise those visiting him would frequently act as his letter carriers, often with a papal decision in their hands to settle their dispute. From a quick survey of such visitors, each of them given some of the Pope's precious time to discuss his or her problems, about fifty-five of them were men, and as many as thirty were women, and there were also several unnamed letter bearers and some groups of visitors, who had come from Sicily or Istria, for example.38

37

The English version of the Pope's letters came from my edited version, in The Letters of Gregory the Great, PIMS, Toronto, 2004, 3 vols. The Latin was adapted from Dag Norberg's edition, in his S. Gregorii Magni Registrum Epistularum Libri XIV, Tournhout, Brepols, MCMLXXXII, printed in two volumes in the Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, CXL and CXLI. 38 The surprisingly large number of visitors who came to discuss their cases in person with the Pope, some of whom stayed there for several days, has never been commented on by scholars, and I plan to write an article about this aspect of the Pope's abiding interest in any of his flock who could benefit from his theological and legal expertise, and from his reasonably healthy budget.

CHAPTER ONE GREGORY’S FEMALE RELATIVES

(a) The death of Pope Gregory's aunt, the nun Tarsilla “Sometimes, however, in the consolation of a departing soul, the author himself and the restorer of life, appears regularly. From this I shall unfold what I recall having said about my aunt Tarsilla in my Homilies on the evangelist.1 Living with her two other sisters, she had reached the highest peak of sanctity, through the virtue of continuous prayers, the gravity of her way of life and singularity of her abstinence.2 My ancestor Felix, bishop of this Church of Rome,3 appeared to her in a vision, and showed her a Heaven of perpetual brightness, saying to her: 'Come, as I lift you up in this Heavenly light.' And she was soon seized by a subsequent fever and reached her final day. And just as when female and male nobles are dying, many people come together to console their relatives, at the very hour of her death many men and women were standing around her deathbed, when suddenly she looked up and saw Jesus coming towards her, and loudly reproaching them she began to cry out to those standing around her: 'Retire, retire, Jesus is coming.' And as she turned to Him whom she saw, her holy soul left her body. And so great a fragrance with a wonderful aroma was spread around that the sweetness itself also showed to all there that the creator of sweetness had come to her. And when her body had been stripped of its clothing to be washed, as was the custom with dead bodies, through her long use of prayer the skin on her elbows and knees was found to be very thick, like that of camels. And her flesh showed when dead, what her spirit had always done while still alive."

1

The Homilies of Pope Gregory on the evangelists included Tarsilla's death. Prayers, avoiding laughter, and fasting were key elements of a nun's ideal life. 3 Pope Felix III (526-530) was the great-great-grandfather of Pope Gregory. 2

30

Chapter One

His aunt's thick skin shows how many hours she had spent kneeling in prayer.4 To the Pope, this served to prove his aunt's great piety. But he showed little sympathy for those long and painful hours she must have spent on her very old knees. And yet, as we shall see, perhaps because of his aunt's experience and his own experience as a novice in the monastery of Saint Andrew, which he had founded in his very wealthy family's mansion in central Rome before becoming Pope, he was surprisingly keen to provide independence, security and sound housing and management for a rapidly growing number of nuns. All three of Pope Gregory's aunts on his father's side became nuns after their brother's death, living in a house of their own, with a strict regime of prayers and worship, as we have seen, but only Tarsilla and Aemilia continued in this vocation until their deaths, as their younger sister, Gordiana, had soon rejected their solitary life and had joined the normal society of Rome, marrying the steward of her estate, much to the Pope's annoyance. Gregory's other aunt, Pateria, was the sister of his mother, Sylvia.5 It was these aunts who brought him up as a young man, and gave him a life-long interest in protecting and helping women like them, especially widows, and victims of male aggression.

(b) Pope Gregory's letter (1.37) to his financial agent, Anthelm As you were leaving, I gave orders (and I remember reminding you afterwards with instructions that went back and forth), that you should take care of the poor, and if you knew anyone there who was in need, you should indicate that to me in a letter of reply. And so far you have taken care to do so for barely any of them. But as for my mother's sister, Lady Pateria, as soon as you receive my present order, I want you to offer her forty gold coins as ready-money for her children, plus twenty gold coins and three hundred measures of wheat for Lady Pateria herself, and for Lady Viviana, the widow of Felix, twenty gold coins and three hundred measures of wheat. All eighty of these gold coins are charged together to

4 See Dudden Gregory the Great vol. 1, pp. 344-348. He used the Dialogues to give a picture of the monks' monasteries in Italy at this time, but unfortunately he ignored the nuns. Tarsilla was the other nun in Pope Gregory's works who appeared in Schulenberg's Forgetful of their Sex, p. 387. 5 See letter 1.37 below.

Gregory’s Female Relatives

31

your account. But hurry here with all speed, with the sum to be paid, even by Easter Day, with God's help. Easter Sunday in 591 was on April 15th, which allowed five weeks or so for the letter to arrive and for Anthelm to return to Rome. It seems that both of these aristocratic ladies lived in Rome, although they may have possibly owned properties in Campania. The sixty gold coins were worth a very great deal of money, with forty for her husband and their children, and twenty for herself. The Felix and his aristocratic but apparently rather hard-up widow, Lady Viviana, cannot be tracked down. Felix was a very common name, with twenty-one different characters called Felix in the Pope's letters, but unfortunately not one of them was dead by 591, when this letter was sent. But it seems quite likely that Lady Viviana was a relative of Pope Gregory's family, which would explain the equally large gifts of gold coins and of wheat to be bestowed on both of the two ladies. Felix may have been the name of a male relative, if the name Felix had come down for the eighty years or so from the time when an ancestor was Pope Felix III (526-530). Gregory may have been very reluctant to become Pope, as appears in several of the letters in Book 1, but a Pope was in the family, and his aunts were becoming nuns (Tarsilla, Gordiana and Aemilia), and his father was employed in Church administration, so that Gregory's choice between continuing his political career, and living his life as a monk, was to serve the Church, and his aversion to violence led him to sweeping floors as a monk in the mansion where he had grown up as a boy. Anthelm controlled the Pope's patrimony of Campania, and allocated plenty of gold coins, in this case 80 gold coins and six hundred measures of wheat, and in the first letter sent to him in February, 591, letter 1.23, he was expected to hand over forty gold coins to the destitute nuns in Nola, plus twenty a year, to be charged to his account, as the Pope adds.

CHAPTER TWO ROYAL WOMEN

In the opening to letter 7.23 to Theoctista, the sister of the Empress and governess for her children, Queen Constantina is studiously reading Holy Writ, 'made contrite by her religious texts and always recalled to her love of the Heavenly kingdom.' For the extremely religious life of the Emperor Maurice and of his wife, see Michael Whitby's excellent work on Maurice,1 where he shows the Emperor spending three hours a day in prayer, and eight hours celebrating the holy liturgy and reciting the psalms. While he was the papal emissary in Constantinople, Gregory would have joined him in his prayers, as a member of his family from 585, becoming godfather of Theodosius, eldest son and heir. These very close familial and religious links between the Emperor and Pope need to be stressed. In this period, to be a godfather meant becoming a member of the family, just like adoption in early Roman times.

(A 1) Letter 1.5 to Theoctista, sister of Queen Constantina2 The fifth letter that Gregory wrote after becoming Pope was sent in October, 590, to Theoctista, the sister of the wife of the Emperor, Maurice. This delightful letter was well adjusted to his very erudite female recipient, with its unusually high incidence of biblical quotations (as in Abelard's letters to Heloise), its references to Rachel, Leah, Mary and Martha, and its often humorous and emotive rhetorical style. It includes five cases of parataxis, three of word-play, three of anaphora (extra..extra, nil..nil, leo 1

Whitby The Emperor Maurice and His Historian, p. 3. See n. 11 above. This letter was probably sent in the same batch as letter 1.4, to John, the Patriarch of Constantinople. It is likely that letter 1.6, to the courtier Narses, was written before this one. In this letter, Gregory responds to being called a lion by Narses. Theoctista, the Emperor's sister, helped young Gregory while he was still in Constantinople, where he stayed in the imperial palace (see letter 7.27). She does not appear at all in the Byzantine histories. The letter's tone reveals the depth of their friendship. See the final note to this letter. 2

34

Chapter Two

potest..leo non potest) and several striking antitheses (more easily appreciated in the original Latin text). "I cannot fully express in words with what devotion my mind submits to your Veneration, nor do I take pains to speak out, because even if I keep quiet, you read in your heart what you sense about my devotion. But I am surprised that you have withdrawn from this present objection to my pastoral office the objections made against me before. Yet in this way, I have been brought back to the world in the guise of a bishop, in which I am as much a slave to earthly cares, as I remember being a slave to them in my life as a layman. For I have lost the profound joys of my peace and quiet, and I seem to have risen externally, while falling internally. Wherefore, I deplore my expulsion far from the face of my Creator.3 For I was trying every day to move outside the world, outside the flesh, to drive all corporeal images from my mind's eye and to regard the joys of Heaven in an incorporeal way. Not only with my words but also with the innermost parts of my heart I kept saying, panting before a vision of God: ‘My heart said unto you, I have sought your face, your face, Lord, shall I seek'.4 But desiring nothing in this world, fearing nothing, I thought I was standing on some high pinnacle, in such a way that I could believe that what I had learnt from the prophet promised by God was almost fulfilled in me: 'I will raise you above the heights of the earth'.5 For a man is 'raised above the heights of the earth' who contemptuously spurns even the very things that appear noble and glorious in the present world. But suddenly driven by a tornado from the pinnacle of this temptation, I have fallen headlong into fears and trepidations, because, although I am afraid of nothing for myself, yet I greatly fear for those who have been entrusted to me. From all sides I am shaken by the waves and weighed down by the tempests of affairs, so that I may rightly say: 'I have reached the depths of the sea; and a tempest has overwhelmed me'.6 After all my affairs, I long to return to my heart’s desire, but I cannot return, being excluded from it by the vain tumults of my thoughts. For this reason, therefore, what is within me has become distant from me, so that I cannot obey the voice of

3

Like Adam and Eve, driven far from Paradise. From Ps 26(27),8. Gregory adds ‘I have sought your face.’ He normally quotes from memory, and with great accuracy, but often adds or adapts a phrase. 5 Isiah 58.14. 6 Ps 68(69),2. 4

Royal Women

35

the prophet saying: 'Bring it again to mind, O you transgressors'.7 But oppressed by foolish thoughts, I am compelled to exclaim only this: 'My heart has failed me'.8 I have loved the beauty of the contemplative life, as I might love Rachel, sterile, but seeing and beautiful.9 She sees the light more clearly, although she is less fertile through her quietness. I know not for what reason, but it is Leah who has been joined with me at night, that is to say an active life, fruitful but bleary-eyed, seeing less, although giving birth to more children. I hastened to sit at the feet of the Lord with Mary, to hear the words of his mouth, and behold I am forced with Martha to minister in external matters, to be busy with many pursuits.10 When the legion of evil spirits had been expelled from me, as I believed, I wanted to forget those that I had known, to find rest at the feet of our Saviour. And behold, as I proved unwilling and was under compulsion, it was said to me: 'Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord has done for you'.11 But who could proclaim the miracles of God among so many worldly affairs, when it is already difficult for me even to recollect them? For I see that I have been oppressed in this office by a tumult of secular affairs, like those about whom it was written: 'You cast them down while they were being raised up'.12 For he did not say 'you cast them down after they had been raised up', but 'while they were being raised up', because the wicked and those who seem to rise up from outside, while propped up by a temporal office, collapse on the inside. And so their being raised up is itself their ruin, because while they are propped up by false glory, they are empty of true glory. From this he again says: ‘failing, like smoke they shall fail.'13 For indeed smoke fails by rising up and vanishes as it spreads. This of course is what happens when present good fortune accompanies the life of a sinner, because the reason for his having risen so high also brings it about that he is brought low. On this again it 7

Is 46.8. Ps 39(40),13. 9 See Gn 29.16ff. Jacob wished to marry the beautiful young Rachel, but her father Laban gave him Leah, the first-born. After a week Rachel became his wife also, but she was barren, while the unlovable, 'bleary-eyed' Leah soon conceived, and bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. 10 See Lk 10.38-42. 11 Mk 5.19. The reference is to the gospel episode of the Gerasene demoniac, from whom Jesus cast a 'legion' of devils. These entered a herd of pigs, which rushed headlong into the sea and was drowned. The former demoniac then wished to join the band of Jesus' close disciples, but received this command instead. 12 Ps 72(73),18. 13 Ps 36(37).20. 8

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Chapter Two

was written: 'O my God, make them like a wheel'.14 For the rear part of a wheel rises as the front part descends. But for us, those in the rear are the good things of the present world which we leave behind us, but those in the front are eternal and everlasting, to which we are called, as Saint Paul attests when he says: he is 'forgetting what lies behind, straining forward to what lies ahead'.15 Thus the sinner, though he may have profited in his present life, is made like a wheel, as he falls at the front and is raised up at the rear. For when he obtains a glory in this life he cannot keep, he loses that glory which comes after this life. Indeed there are many who know how to control external successes in such a way that they in no way collapse internally because of them. So it is written: 'God does not despise the powerful; since he is powerful also.’16 And in Solomon it is said: 'And an intelligent man will possess sound guidance'.17 But for me these duties are difficult, because they are most onerous also, and what my mind does not accept, it does not arrange suitably. Behold, my most serene Lordship and Emperor has ordered an ape to become a lion.18 At his command, an ape can certainly be called a lion, a lion he cannot become. Therefore, it is necessary that he should blame all my faults and negligence not on me, but on his own piety, as he has entrusted the ministry of virtue to a man of straw.”

(A 2) To Theoctista, letter 7.23 Two years later another, far larger influx of war victims tested the Pope's organisational skills. In letter 7.23, sent in June 597, the Pope thanked Theoctista for her very opportune gift of thirty pounds of gold, sent to ransom prisoners and help the poor, and tells her that he has kept half the sum to buy bed-coverings for 3,000 nuns, who had been ransomed, and were now in Rome receiving eighty pounds per year from Saint Peter's. This suggests that sixty or so convents in central and coastal Italy were now under Lombard control. The Pope admits tactfully that their lives, "so strict with tears and abstinence," helped the citizens of Rome to 14

Ps 82(83).13. Phil 3.13. 16 Jb 36.5. 17 Prv 1.5. 18 The 'lordship' is the Emperor Maurice. Gregory's friend Narses (letter 1.6) compared him with a lion, but his response is lost, possibly based on Phaedrus' all too fragmentary fable De leone regnante et simia. See Gregory Eu 17 per leones tenor severitatis figuratur. 15

Royal Women

37

survive the swords of the belligerent Lombards. The Pope comments also on the cold weather in Rome, for which the blankets were needed. Where all the nuns went is not explained, but some may have joined existing convents. When Benedict's monastery on Monte Cassino was sacked in 577, followed by those at Subiaco and Terracina, the monks were scattered, but many joined the monastery of San Pancrazio in Rome. But accommodation was anything but easy for the unfortunate nuns.19

(A 3) To Theoctista, Letter 11.27, sent in February, 601 ‘We should offer great thanks to almighty God that our most pious and benign Emperor has such kinsmen from his own family beside him, over whose way of life we should all feel great joy. Therefore we should also pray for the same Lordship continually, asking that his life and those of all his family may be preserved by the protection of Heavenly grace for a long and peaceful time.20 But I inform you that I have learnt from certain people’s reports that a storm of slander has arisen against you, due to men’s fickleness. I hear that your Excellency has been greatly distressed over this matter. But if it is so, I am most amazed as to why the words of men disturb you, as you have fixed your heart in Heaven. For indeed the blessed Job, when his friends who had come to console him broke out in abuse, said to them: ‘For behold, my witness is in Heaven, and my conscience is on high.’21 For he who has the witness to his life in Heaven should not fear the judgements of men on earth. Paul also, the leader of good men, said: ‘Our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience.’22 And he again says: ‘Let every man prove his own work, and then he shall have glory in himself alone, and not in another.’23 For if we are delighted by praises and are shattered by insults, we have placed our glory not in ourselves but in the mouths of others. And ‘the foolish virgins took no oil in their vessels, but

19

See letter 9.85 to his agent Anthelm (Jan. 599), in which Stephen has an ex-nun as his wife, ransomed from the enemy by Accellus for eight gold coins, but he is too hard up to pay him back. Gregory asks Anthelm to pay it and he will reimburse him. This is the Pope's last letter to Theoctista. 20 Less than two years later Phocas murdered Theoctista’s brother, Maurice, and all his sons, and soon afterwards his wife and daughters. 21 Jb 16.19. 22 2 Cor 1.12. 23 Gal 6.4.

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the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.’24 For indeed our lamps are good works. About which it has been written: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in Heaven.’25 And we take oil in vessels for our lamps not when we are seeking the bright glow of glory for our good deeds from our neighbours’ praises, but when we are preserving it as the witness of our conscience. And in everything that is said about us externally, we ought to return to the inner secrets of the mind. Although all might insult him, yet a man is free who is not accused by his conscience, because even if all might praise him, he cannot be free if he is accused by his conscience. Truth says about John: ‘What went you out into the wilderness to see, a reed shaken by the wind’?26 Of course this is said through negation, not through confirmation, when he added: ‘But what went you out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.’ For although according to the truth of the Gospel, John was clothed in rough clothing, yet it signifies that those who are clothed in soft raiment are delighted by adulations and praises. It is not said that John was 'a reed shaken by the wind', since no breath from a human mouth could bend the fortitude of his mind. For if we are lifted up by praises and humiliated by insults, we are like a reed, shaken by the wind. But may Heaven prevent this, and keep it away from the heart of your Excellency! I know that you are reading earnestly the teacher of the gentiles, who says: ‘If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.’27 But if some sadness, even a little, should arise in your mind over this matter, I believe that almighty God allowed this to happen in his kindness. For not even to his elect has he promised delightful joys in this life, but rather the bitterness of tribulation, so that, as if taking medicine, they may return to the sweetness of eternal salvation through a bitter cup.28 What does he say? ‘The world shall rejoice and you will be sorrowful.’29 With what hope and with what promise is there added a little afterwards: ‘I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take

24

See Mt 25.3-4. Mt 5.16. 26 Mt 11.7, and for the quote’s continuation, see below, Mt 11.8. Norberg points to Evang 6.2; 38.7 for Gregory’s comments on this passage. 27 Gal 1.10. 28 Like the cup that Jesus wanted his Father to let pass, in Mt 26.39, Mk 14.26, Lk 22.42. 29 Jn 16.20, and for the quote below, Jn 16.22. 25

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from you’! Hence he again said to his disciples: ‘In your patience shall you possess your souls.’30 Consider, I beg you, where will patience be, if there is nothing that should be endured? I suspect that there is no Abel who will not have a Cain.31 For if the good were without the bad, they could not be perfectly good, as they would not be purified at all. And their very association with the evil acts as a purification for the good. There were three sons in the ark and one of them ridiculed his father. He received an abusive verdict from his son, though he was blessed in himself. Abraham had two sons before he took Cethura as his wife, and yet his carnal son persecuted the son of the covenant. The great teacher explains this saying: ‘As he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Isaac had two sons, but one who was spiritual, fled before the threats of his carnal brother. Jacob had twelve sons, but ten of them sold one, who was living more righteously, into Egypt. In the case of the prophet David, because he had what should have been purified, it was brought about that he endured his son’s persecution. The blessed Job says about the society of the false: ‘I was a brother to dragons and a companion to owls.’ To Ezekiel the Lord says: ‘Son of man, unbelievers and destroyers are with you, and you are dwelling among scorpions.’ Among the twelve Apostles there was one who was false, so that there might be one by whose persecution the other eleven might be tried. The prince of the Apostles speaks to the disciples saying:‘[God] delivered just Lot, when oppressed by the injury and conversation of the wicked. For in seeing and hearing, he was just, dwelling among them, who from day to day vexed the soul of the just man with their unlawful deeds.’ Paul the Apostle also writes ‘In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life.’ Since, therefore, we learn through the witness of Scripture that in this life the good cannot exist without the bad, your Excellency should in no way be disturbed by the words of fools, especially because our trust in almighty God is certain when for doing good, some adversity is received in this world, so that a full reward may be had in eternal retribution. On which Truth says in the Holy Gospel: ‘Blessed are you when men shall say all 30

Lk 21.19. See Gn 4.1-16. The remaining biblical references on this page come from Gn 9.22, Gn 25.1. Gn 16.12, Gal 4.29, Gn 35.22; 37.1-36, 2 Sm 15-18, Jb 30.29. The text refers to the rescue of Lot in doomed Sodom in Gn 19.15-26, adapted from Ez 2.6, 2 Pt 2.7-8. Other pages with many references will be recorded thus. 31

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manner of evil against you falsely, for my name’s sake.’32 And for our consolation, He deigned to bring in abuse against him as an example, saying: ‘If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call those of their household?’33 But there are very many who praise the life of the good perhaps more than they ought to, and so that pride does not creep in from praise, almighty God allows evil people to break out into slander and abuse, so that if some fault is created in our heart from the words of those praising us, it may be smothered by the words of those insulting us. It is for this that the teacher of the gentiles gives witness that he hastens in preaching ‘by evil report and good report.’ And he also says: ‘As deceivers and yet true’. If then there were those who would impose an evil report on Paul and would call him a deceiver, what Christian, I ask you, should think it unworthy to hear injurious words for the sake of Christ? And we know what great virtue the precursor of our Redeemer had, who in Holy Writ is not just called greater than a prophet, but also an angel. And yet, as the history of his death testifies, after his death his persecutors burnt his body.34 But why do we say these things about holy men? Let us talk about the Holy of the Holies, who is God, who was made man for our sakes. Before His death, he heard the unjust charge that he had a Devil, and after his death his persecutors called him a deceiver, when they said: ‘We know that that deceiver said, “after three days I will rise again”.’35 And so, how much must we sinners endure from the tongues and hands of wicked men, we who should be judged at the coming of the eternal Judge, if even he himself who comes as the Judge endured so much even after his death? I have kept these comments brief, most charming and most excellent daughter, so that whenever you know that foolish people are being derogatory about you, you are not even affected by a tiny amount of sadness. But since this grumbling itself by foolish people can be settled through calm reasoning, I believe it sinful if one neglects doing the good that can be done. For when we can placate sick minds and can bring then back to good health, we certainly should not offend them at all. For there are some offences that should be totally despised, but some should not be despised, as they can be avoided without blame, in case they are preserved 32

Mt 5.11. Mt 10.25, 2 Cor 6.8. 34 For the death of John the Baptist, see Theodoret Eccl Hist combustis). See also Cassiodorus Tripartite Hist. 6.15. 35 Mt 27.63. 33

3.3 (ossibus

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with sin. We know this from the preaching of the Holy Gospel. For when Truth was saying: ‘Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man, but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man,’ and the disciples replied saying ’Do you know that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying?’ and then he replied at once: ‘Every plant which my Heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone; for they are the blind leading the blind.’36 And yet when tribute was being sought, He first gave a reason whereby he should not pay tribute, and at once added: ‘But lest we should offend them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up, and when you have opened his mouth, you will find a piece of money. Take that, and give unto them for me and you.’37 But why is it, what is said about others who were offended: ’Let them alone, they are the blind leading the blind’? And so that others should not be offended, why does the Lord pay tribute, even what is not owed? Why is it that He allows one offence to exist, but prohibits another from being done, unless it is to teach us to despise those offences that implicate us in sinning and to mitigate totally those that we can placate without sin? And so with the Lord’s protection your Excellency can avoid the offences of wicked men with real peace of mind. For you should secretly summon the leaders of the rabble38 and you should give them your reason, and some wrong points of doctrine that they think are supported should be anathematized by you in their presence. But if they suspect also that the anathema is being imposed falsely, as is said, you must confirm with an oath as well that you do not support the same points of doctrine and had never supported them. And do not think it unworthy for you to satisfy them in this manner, nor let there be any disdain in your mind towards them, due to your imperial birth. For indeed we are all brethren, created by the power of one Lord and redeemed by His blood, and for that reason we should in no way despise our brethren, however poor and abject they may be. For indeed Peter had certainly received the power of the Heavenly kingdom so that whatever he might bind and loose on earth would be bound and loosed in Heaven, and he walked on the sea, healed the sick with his shadow, killed sinners with his word and raised the dead with his 36

Mt 15.11, 15.12, 15.13-14. Mt 17.27. 38 N reads spodeorum, in Pa,b, suggesting ıʌȠįȚȠȞ, its pejorative sense, the ‘dust’ or ‘dregs’ of society. 37

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prayer. And through the admonition of the Spirit, he had entered into the house of the gentile Cornelius. And so, the faithful questioned him as to why he had entered among the gentiles and had eaten with them, and why he had accepted them in baptism. And yet this first of the Apostles was filled with such gifts of grace and supported by such powerful miracles that he replied to the complaint of the faithful not by exerting power but by his use of reason. For he argued his case in an orderly way, how he had seen a sort of vessel, as if linen, let down from Heaven, and in it there were four-footed animals and beasts of the earth, reptiles and birds of the air. And how he had heard a voice: ‘Arise, Peter, slay and eat’ and how three men came to him calling him to Cornelius, how the Holy Spirit ordered him to go with them, and how the same Holy Spirit, which had been accustomed to descend on those baptized in Judaea, after baptism, came to the gentiles before baptism.39 For if, when blamed by his faithful, he had given heed to the authority that he had received in the Holy Church, he could have replied that the sheep who had been entrusted to him should not dare to find fault in their shepherd. But if with the complaint of the faithful he were to say anything about his own power, he would certainly not have been a teacher of kindness. And so he placated them with humble reasoning, and in the case of his being blamed, he even produced witnesses, saying: ‘Moreover these six brethren accompanied me.’ If, therefore, the pastor of the Church and prince of the Apostles did signs and miracles in a remarkable way, but did not disdain to give a humble account in the case of his being blamed, how much more should we sinners placate our critics with humble reasoning, when we are being blamed over some matter? For indeed in my case, you know that when I was staying in the royal city at your Lordships’ palace,40 many of those people used to come to me who were being accused of those same points of doctrine. But with my conscience as my witness, I admit that I never found any sign of error or wickedness in them, or of any of those charges being brought against them. Thus I took care to receive them in a friendly way, despite public opinion, and to defend them all the more against their accusers."

39

For the Cornelius episode, see Acts 10.19-11.18. The quotes are in 11.7 and 12. This is one of the very few places where Gregory refers to his early life. It points to his long stay in the palace, where he was part of the royal family as godfather to Theodosius, aged 17 and the anointed successor to Maurice. It seems that Theoctista was facing zealots like those who had plagued him, proving their own heresies as they accused others of heresy.

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Note that the next full page of this very long letter is a discussion about marriage, and it will be included in Chapter 7 below, which deals with that topic. The next topic is on baptism, and it follows below. "But if there are those who suggest that sins are removed by baptism just superficially, what is more lacking in faith than this claim? For in it they are in a hurry to destroy the very sacrament of faith, in which the soul is chiefly bound to the mystery of Heavenly purity, so that when completely absolved from all sins, it may cling to Him alone, about whom the prophet says: ‘But it is good for me to draw near to God.’ For certainly the crossing of the Red Sea was a form of holy baptism, in which the enemy were dead in the rear but the others were found opposite them in the wilderness. For just so, the past sins of all those who are bathed in holy baptism are all remitted, since they die behind them like the Egyptian enemy. But in the wilderness we find other enemies, because, while we live this life, before we reach the promised land, many temptations wear us out and hasten to close our way there, as we travel through the land of the living. Therefore, anyone who says that sins are not removed completely by baptism should say that the Egyptians were not truly dead in the Red Sea. But if he admits that the Egyptians were truly dead, he has to admit that sins are totally dead through baptism, because of course in our absolution, truth has more strength that a shadow of truth. In the gospel the Lord says: ‘He that is washed does not need to wash, but is totally clean.’ And so, if sins are not totally removed by baptism, how is he that is washed totally clean? For he could not be called totally clean if something remained from his sins. But no one resists the voice of Truth: ‘He that is washed is totally clean.' Therefore nothing remains in him from the contagion of his sin, when He who redeemed him admits that he is totally clean. But if there are some who say that penance for a sin should be done for any three-year period, and after the three years, one should live a life of pleasure, those types have not yet learnt the messages of true faith nor the precepts of Holy Scripture. Against these the excellent preacher Paul says: ‘He that sows in his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption.’41 He again says against them: ‘They that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ There he adds for his disciples: ‘But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.’ For indeed those who live in carnal pleasures are in the flesh. Against them it 41

Gal 6.8, Rom 8.8-9, 1 Cor 15.50, 2 Pt 2.22, Mt 10.22; 24.13. Sir 34.30; in Hebrew text 34.25, 2 Pt 2.22.

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is said: ‘Neither shall corruption inherit incorruption.’ But if they say that penance for a short time should suffice against sin, so that they can again return to sinning, the comment of the first pastor rightly warns them, as he says: ‘It happened to them according to the true proverb: the dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.’ For great is the virtue of penitence against sin, but only if one perseveres in that penitence. For it is written, ‘he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’ On this it has been written: ‘If a man is baptized from a dead body and again touches it, what does his washing profit him?’ For a dead body is something totally corrupt, as it draws a man to death, because he does not live a life of justice. And so a man is baptized from his dead body and again touches it, if he deplores the wicked deeds that he remembers having done, but after his tears involves himself again in the same wickedness. Thus any soul gains nothing by a washing of the same dead body, which by doing again what it has lamented, does not rise to the rectitude of justice, through its laments of penitence. For to show true penitence is to lament one’s sins, and to avoid those sins that have to be lamented once again. But if there are those who say that anyone who has been anathematized, when forced by necessity, is not held by the bond of anathema, then they are their own witnesses that they are not Christians. For with their vain attempts they think that they are breaking the bindings of the Holy Church, and through this they do not think that the absolution of the Holy Church that it offers to the faithful is true, if they think its bindings have no power. One should not argue with them any longer, as they should be totally despised and anathematized, so that, where they believe that the truth deceives them, there they may be truly bound in their sins.42 Therefore, if there are any who under the name of Christ either dare to preach these points of false doctrine that we have described or support them silently among themselves, we have certainly anathematized them and continue to do so. But as for those who used to visit me in the royal city,43 from all those points of doctrine I did recognize no error at all under any of the aforesaid points in any of them, and I do not believe there were any. For if there had been any I should have recognized them. But since there are many of the faithful who are burning with ignorant zeal, and are 42

The Pope regularly attacks heresies and those supporting them. During his attempts as papal emissary to obtain troops to counter the Lombard attacks in Italy 99 Rom. 10.2. 98

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often guilty of heresies themselves as they attack the imagined heresies of others, their weakness should be considered and, as I have already said, they should be placated with reasoning and kindness. For they are similar to those about whom it is written: ‘I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.’99 So, as your Excellency spends your life incessantly in reading the Bible,44 in weeping and in acts of charity, you ought to placate the ignorance of those men, as I have asked, with exhortations and refutations, so that you may find the glory of eternal rewards not only from your own acts but also from those men. So much love has persuaded me to say this to you, because I think that your joy is my gain and your sadness is my loss. May almighty God protect you with his Heavenly grace and keep our pious Lordship safe and his most pious Ladyship at peace, and may He prolong your life for bringing up their dear little Lordships.” After his prayer for the Maurice and Constantina, he links Theoctista with the education of their young children, using an emotive diminutive parvulorum, Paul, Justinian, Theoctiste and Cleopatra. This is Gregory’s longest letter to an individual (317 lines of English), the only longer one the Pope’s encyclical to the patriarchs in letter 1.24. This letter could well have been written to a leading theologian, with its biblical quotations. Like Gregory, Theoctista may well have known most of the Bible off by heart, suggested certainly by Gregory's comment: 'Your Excellency reads the bible incessantly.' The quotation above from Romans is the last of the forty-two quotations from the Bible in this long letter, which underlines the strong Catholic faith held by Theoctista, just like that of her very devout brother, the Emperor Maurice. There are sixteen quotes from the Old Testament, especially Genesis (8) and Job (2), and thirty-one quotes from the New Testament, from Matthew (12), Galatians (4), John (3), Acts (3) Romans (2), 1 and 2 Corinthians (2 each) and 2 Peter (2). For the very pious character of this mostly misjudged Emperor, who was suffering great pain from gout when murdered by Phocas' troops, see Michael Whitby’s biography The Emperor Maurice, O.U.P., 1988, pp 3-27.

44

See below for the piety of Theoctista, shown by the Pope's 42 biblical quotations.

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The Pope wrote a letter to the other sister of the Emperor, Gordia, but unfortunately it has not survived. But he did mention her in the following letter, 7.27:

(B 1) Letter 7.27, sent to his pious friend Narses in June, 597 "But your most charming Beloved has written to me, suggesting that I should write something to the monasteries founded through your prayers and instruction by our son and Lordship, Paul, to give them some advice. But if they are on the true path of God, I know that through the grace of contrition, they have a fountain of wisdom within them, and do not need to receive the poor little drops of my dryness. And your perfect wisdom recollects that in Paradise there was no rain, but a fountain ascended from the middle of Paradise to water the face of the earth.45 Thus, those souls that have a fountain within through the gift of contrition need no rain from another person's tongue. In your letter you notified me of the crossing over there of her Ladyship Hesychia, and I rejoiced with great exultation hearing that her good soul has reached her own country successfully, after laboring in a foreign land. And greet on my behalf my glorious daughters, her Ladyship Dominica and Ladyship Eudochia.46 But because it is now a long time since I heard that the aforesaid Ladyship Dominica was made prioress,47 let your Beloved watch over her in this regard. As she is no longer compelled to serve and labour in an earthly palace, she should flee completely from all the bustle of this world, and devote herself totally to God, leaving nothing of herself outside her. She should also collect all the souls she can to serve her Creator, so that their minds may receive the grace of contrition through her word, and she herself may be absolved from all her sins all the more quickly, as through her way of life and tongue, the souls of other women may also break the bonds of sin that bind them. But since no human being in this world is without sin (and what is sin other than to flee from God?), I say with confidence that even that same daughter of mine has some sins. And so, for her to completely satisfy her mistress, eternal wisdom, for fleeing alone let her return with many. For the fault of 45

See Rv 21.6; 22.1-2. Gregory had also mentioned Hesychia, Dominica and Eudochia seven years earlier, in letter 1.6 to Narses. Hesychia had only recently returned to Constantinople, after travelling overseas. 47 It seems that Dominica had long been the prioress of some convent in or close to the Golden City. 46

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turning aside will be blamed on no woman who brings back a profit as she returns. I pray you also to greet his Lordship Alexander and Lordship Theodore on my behalf. But as for your writing that I should send letters to my most excellent daughter, her Ladyship Gordia48 and to her most holy daughter and Ladyship Theoctista, and to their husbands, his Lordship Marinus and Lordship Christodorus, and to give them some advice about their souls, your most charming Greatness well knows that these days there is nobody in the city of Constantinople who can give a good translation of dictated Latin into Greek. For, while they stick to the words and pay no attention to the sense, they do not make the words intelligible and they destroy the sense.49 Therefore I have written briefly to my aforesaid daughter, her Ladyship Gordia,50 saying nothing to the others. I have sent over to you two linen shirts and four napkins,51 and I beg you to offer them humbly to the aforesaid husbands, with the blessing of Saint Peter. Furthermore, someone who died left me a little slave-boy. Thinking about his soul, I have sent him over to your Sweetness, so that in this world he may live in servitude to a man through whom he can reach his freedom in Heaven.”52

48

From this letter, Gordia was a sister of Maurice, and married to Marinus. They had a daughter, Theoctista, married to a Christodorus. So the emperor had two sisters, as letters 1.5, 7.23 show Theoctista was his sister, married to Philippicus (tonsured under Phocas, 605). See Theoph a.6098, Th Sim 1.13. 49 Gregory makes a very interesting, but ironical comment, on the problems in translating his dictated letters into Greek. Official ones were placed on noticeboards in the city, which would have worried him. 50 Presumably she was the sister of Maurice (see above). The letter has not survived. 51 The lined shirts and napkins may have been sanctified through Saint Peter’s tomb (‘blessed’), as the quality of such material would probably have been higher in the shops in Constantinople than in Rome, but the Italian cloth trade may have survived. 52 It did not occur to Gregory that he could easily free the slave-boy, and give him freedom on earth too. One needs to remember that slavery was very much the assumed background of Gregory’s world, just as much as it was in ancient Rome. See chapter 9 below.

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Byzantine Empresses Pope Gregory wrote totally different letters to the wife of his pious old friend, Maurice, the pious Empress Constantina, daughter of the Emperor Tiberius (letters 4.30, 5.38 and 5.39), and to the usurper Phocas' wife, the Empress Leontia. (letter 13.40).

(C 1) Letter 4.30, sent to Empress Constantina, in June, 594 "The serenity of your Piety, conspicuous with a passion for religion and a love of holiness, has asked from me that I should send over to you in answer to your commands the head of Saint Paul the Apostle or something else from the Saint's body, because of that church which is being built in the palace, in honour of the same Saint Paul. Although I would long to receive such commands, as I could have very easily shown my obedience through them, and could have provoked your gratitude towards me more fully, yet a far greater sadness has overcome me, because you order what I neither can nor dare to do. For the bodies of the Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, gleam with such great miracles and terrors in their own churches that one cannot even enter there for prayer without great fear. In fact when my predecessor of blessed memory wanted to change the silver above the most sacred body of Saint Peter the Apostle, but was standing about fifteen feet from that same body, a really terrifying sign appeared to him.53 Yet I too wanted similarly to improve something near the most sacred body of Saint Paul the Apostle and, as it was necessary that deeper digging should be done beside the tomb of the same Saint, the man in charge of that place found some bones, not in fact connected with the same sepulchre. But since he presumed to lift them and bury them in another place, some sinister signs appeared, and he died a sudden death. Besides this, however, my predecessor of sacred memory54 desired to make some improvement likewise near the body of Saint Laurence the martyr. As it was not known where the venerable body was located, there 53

Pope Pelagius II (578-590). In his vita in the Lib pont, he investivit corpus beati Petri apostoli tabulis argenteis deauratis ('covered the body of Saint Peter the Apostle with silver tablets overlaid with gold'). There is no mention of this startling event in the lives of the Pope, or in the Lib pont. See MG 264. 54 With the participle in the MSS and N, desiderans, it would be Pelagius who is dug up. A main verb is essential, followed by two dramatic passages, without connectives.

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were diggings in search of it. When the martyr's tomb was suddenly opened, unintentionally, those monks and sacristans55 who were present and were working, because they saw the body of the same martyr, although they did not presume to touch it at all, were all dead within ten days. Thus no one could stay alive who had seen the half-burned body of that martyr. But my most serene Empress must know that it is not a custom for the Romans, when they give away the relics of Saints, to presume to touch anything from the body.56 Rather, a silk cloth is simply put in a small box,57 which is placed near the very holy bodies of the Saints. When lifted out, the box is deposited with due reverence in the church which is to be dedicated, and through it miracles occur, as great as if the Saints' bodies were specially brought there. From this it happened that in the time of Pope Leo of blessed memory, as is handed down by our ancestors, when some Greeks were in doubt about such relics, the above-mentioned Pope brought in scissors and cut into this cloth, and blood flowed from the actual incision. For, in Roman areas and in all the Western parts, it is totally intolerable and sacrilegious if anyone should perhaps want to touch the bodies of the Saints. If he presumes to do so, it is certain that this temerity will in no way remain unpunished. For this reason we are greatly amazed at the custom of the Greeks, who say that they dig up the bones of Saints, and we scarcely believe it. For some Greek monks came here two years ago, and in the silence of the night, near the church of Saint Paul they dug up the bodies of the dead lying in the open field. Then they hid their bones, preserving them for themselves until they returned home. And when they had been held and had been carefully examined as to why they were doing this, they confessed that they were about to carry those bones to Greece, as if the 55

The most likely meaning of mansionarii is 'sacristans' in this religious context, but normally they are 'managers' looking after a mansum (12 acres). 56 This statement seems suspect, as Gregory gave away many relics, but they came from Peter's chains and Laurence's grid-iron etc, rather than from their actual bodies. MG quotes a papal letter in which Justinian sought relics of Saint Laurence for his new church, a Greek custom not acceptable to the Roman Pope, but he was granted pieces of their holy chain and grid-iron in silver boxes. 57 The word for a 'small box' (buxis) comes from the Greek ʌȣȟȠȢ’ It only appears in the letters (9 times). The 'silk cloth' is a specialized sense of brandeum, used only here by Gregory with a saint's body( twice). Its later meaning was a 'belt' or 'girdle'.

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relics of Saints. And from their example, as has been said above, quite a large doubt is raised for us, as to whether it is true that bones of Saints are truly said to be dug up. But what shall I say about the bodies of the blessed Apostles, when it is certain that at the time of their martyrdom, believers came from the East to recover their bodies, as if they were their own citizens? The bodies were taken as far as the second milestone of Rome, and were deposited in a place that is called the Catacombs.58 But when their whole multitude came together and tried to remove them from there, the violence of the thunder and the lightning so terrified them and put them to flight through excessive fear, that they did not presume on any account to try such a thing again. But then the Romans went out there and raised the bodies of those who deserved it, by their piety towards the Lord, and put them in the places where they are now buried. Who therefore, most serene empress, could have such temerity that knowing this, he would even presume to inspect their bodies for a while, not to mention touching them? And so when you gave me commands of this sort, which I could in no way obey, as far as I can see, it is not true to you. But rather, certain people wanted to stir up your Piety against me, so as to withdraw the support of your goodwill from me (may Heaven forbid it!). For that reason they looked for a point over which I would be found to be disobedient to you, as it were. But I trust in the almighty Lord that your most favourable goodwill is in no way being stolen from me, and that you will always enjoy the power of the holy Apostles, whom you love with all your heart and mind, not from their bodily presence but from their protection. But the shroud,59 which you have likewise ordered to be sent over, rests with his body, and it cannot be touched, just as one cannot even approach his body. But, because such a religious desire ought not to be unfulfilled for my most serene empress, I shall hasten to send across to you a portion from the chains which the holy Apostle Paul himself bore on his neck and 58 The Roman Catacombs on the Appian Way, today the 'Catacombs of San Sebastiano'. The church there was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, known as the ‘Basilica Apostolorum'. Legend has it that the Saints' bodies were temporarily moved there during the persecution of Valerian (258). 59 The word sudarium was normally used for 'sweat rag' or 'napkin', but stands for a 'shroud' here, a more impressive (but impossible) request from the queen. It is used for 'shroud' in Jn 11.44 (for Lazarus) and Jn 20.7 (Christ's burial cloth).

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hands, from which many miracles are shown in public.60 That is, if I shall succeed in removing it with a file. For many often come and seek a blessing from the same chains, so a priest stands by with a file to receive a small portion from the filings. For some of those seeking them, something is cut from the very chains so rapidly that there is no delay. But for others seeking them, the file is drawn over those chains for a long time, and yet there is no chance of anything coming off them."

(C 2) Letter sent to Constantina, Augusta, on June 1st, 595 "Since I know how my most serene Ladyship thinks about the Heavenly realm and the life of her soul, I am quite sure that I am committing a sin if I keep silence over those things that should be suggested to you, for fear of our almighty Lord. When I learned that in the island of Sardinia there were many heathen, and that they were still offering sacrifices to idols in the manner of debased heathenism, and that the priests of the same island were sluggish in preaching our Redeemer, I sent one of the bishops of Italy there,61 who has led many of the pagans to have faith, with the Lord's help. But he has reported something sacrilegious to me, that those on the island who sacrifice to idols, pay a fee to a judge for license to do so. Even after some of them had been baptized, and had now given up sacrificing to idols, the fee is still demanded by the same judge on the island, even after they have been baptized, which they had been accustomed to pay before for sacrificing to idols. And when the aforesaid bishop rebuked him, he replied that he had promised such a large sum for his appointment that he could not pay all of it without cases even of that sort.62 The island of Corsica is also oppressed by such an excessive number of exacting payments, and by such heavy taxes, that those living there are scarcely able to pay the taxes imposed on them, even if they sell their children. Consequently, the owners of the same island have abandoned their holy republic, and are defecting to the most evil race of Lombards. For what could they suffer from the barbarians more grievous, what more

60

Filings come from Saint Peter's chains, except in this case of Saint Paul's. This was Bishop Felix, sent with the abbot, Cyriacus, in May 594 (Ep 4.23). 62 The fee he paid to the imperial government for his appointment to the bench. See also letter 3.3. 61

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cruel, than that they should be compelled to sell their own children under duress?63 On the island of Sicily, a certain Stephen,64 an official in charge of marine charters, is also said to be carrying out illegal trials and violent acts, by invading the places of individuals, and by placing sale notices over their properties and homes without legal authority. As a result, if I should want to describe all the actions he has committed that have come to my attention, I could not accomplish it even in a large volume. Would my most serene Ladyship please look wisely at all of these matters, and curb the groans of those oppressed? For I suspect that these doings have not reached your most pious ears. For if they could have reached them, they would not have continued until now. And our most pious Lordship should be informed, at an appropriate moment, that he ought to remove this great weight of sinfulness from his soul, from his empire and from his children. I know that he will say that whatever is collected from the abovementioned islands is sent over to us for the expenses of Italy. But I suggest that even if less is contributed to expenditure in Italy, yet he should free his empire from the tears of the oppressed. For that reason also, perhaps, all that expenditure in this land contributes less to its goodness, because the taxes are collected with some admixture of sin.65 And so let our most serene Lordship order that nothing should be collected through sin. And I know that even if less may be contributed for the republic's uses, the republic is greatly helped by that avoidance of sin. Although perhaps it may turn out to be less assisted with less expenditure, it is better that we do not live for the present time, than that you should find some obstacle to eternal life. For consider what thoughts, what deep feelings parents must have when they drag away their children to prevent them from being tortured. But those who have children of their own know well how one should feel for the children of others. Wherefore, let it be enough for me to have made this brief suggestion, in case, if your Piety should be unaware of what is being done in these parts, the guilt of my silence might punish me before the strict Judge."

63

For the legal basis of this practice, see Cod Theod 3.3; 5.8.1 and Cod Iust 4.43.

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(C 3) Letter 5.39, sent to the Empress Constantina on June 1st, 595 "Almighty God, who holds the heart of your Piety in the right hand of his majesty, both gives us protection through you, and provides you with rewards of eternal recompense, in return for your actions here on earth. For from my emissary, Deacon Sabinian, who has written to me, I have learnt that your Serenity has applied yourself with great justice against certain men, who are arrogantly humble and falsely charming, in the cases of Saint Peter, the prince of the Apostles.66 And I trust that through the bounty of our Redeemer you may receive this goodness of your most serene Lordship and most pious children, together with the reward of our Heavenly Father. Nor is there any doubt that when you release the sinners' chains, you receive eternal goodness, for in the causes of His Church, you have put in debt Him who has been given the power of binding and loosing. And so, I still ask that you allow nobody's hypocrisy to prevail against the truth, because there are some who, in accordance with the words of the egregious preacher, 'by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple'.67 They have certainly been despised for their clothing, but they are proud in their hearts, and they seem to despise everything in this world, and yet at the same time seek to obtain all those worldly things. They confess to all men they are unworthy, but cannot be content with private titles, because they seek out ways to appear more worthy than all others. And so, as almighty God has established you as ruler of the universal world, together with your most serene Lordship, may your Piety through the favour of justice render your service to Him, from whom you received the right of such great power. Thus, the more truly you serve the Creator of all things in the execution of the truth, the more securely you would control the world entrusted to you. Furthermore, I inform you that I have received advice from my most pious Lordship that I ought to be at peace with my fellow-priest John. And indeed, it was proper for a religious lord to instruct priests in this way. But since my brother, with unaccustomed presumption and pride calls himself a ‘universal’ bishop, and in fact during the time of my predecessor of holy memory, he had himself enrolled in the synod with this arrogant title, although all the acts of that synod were dissolved when spoken against by the apostolic see, my most serene Lordship intimated something 66 67

That is, John the Faster, patriarch of Constantinople. Rom 16.18.

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which upset me, because he did not correct that arrogant priest. Rather, he was keen to turn me away from what I intended to do. For in this case, I am defending the statutes of the gospels and canons of the Church, and the truth of humility and rectitude. In this matter my brother and fellowpriest, whom I mentioned above, is taking action contrary to evangelical opinion, contrary also to Saint Peter the Apostle and contrary to all the churches and statutes of canon law. But it is almighty God, in whose hands are all things, about whom it is written 'there is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against God'.68 Indeed my most holy brother, often mentioned by me above, is trying to persuade my most serene Lordship in many ways. But I am well aware that those fine orations of his and those tears do not let him purloin anything from anyone, contrary to his judgement or feelings. But it is extremely sad that one should despise all others, and yet patiently tolerate the aforesaid brother and fellow-bishop of mine, who is trying to be called the one and only bishop. In his arrogance, what is revealed other than that the time of the Antichrist is already near? For he is imitating him who spurned the legions of angels,” united in my throne above the stars of Heaven, I will sit upon the mount of the testament, in the recesses of the North, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High'.69 Wherefore, I ask by the almighty Lord that you do not allow the reign of your Piety to be defiled by the pride of just one man, and do not give any assent in any way to such a perverse title. And in this case, your Piety must not despise me at all. For, although the sins of Gregory are so great that he ought to put up with such things, yet Peter the Apostle is not guilty of any sins that he might deserve to suffer such things in your reign. Wherefore, I ask again and again through the almighty Lord that, just as your parent, the previous Emperor,70sought the grace of Saint Peter the Apostle, you too should take care to seek and preserve this grace. His honour should in no way be lessened before you, because of the sins of us who serve him unworthily, since he can both be your helper now in all things, and afterwards can forgive your sins. But we have already spent twenty-seven years living in the city of Rome, surrounded by the swords of the Lombards. How much they have cost this Church day after day, just so that we can go on living among them, cannot be estimated. But I briefly indicate that just as in parts of Ravenna, the 68

Prv 21.30. Is 14.13-14. 70 Tiberius II.. 69

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piety of his Lordship has a treasurer among the first army of Italy, who pays the daily expenses as emergencies arise, even so in this city I am his treasurer in such emergencies. And yet consider that this Church, which at one and the same time spends so much incessantly on the clergy, the monasteries, the poor, the people and on top of that on the Lombards, it is still under pressure from the affliction of all churches, which suffer greatly over this arrogance of one man, although they do not presume to say anything. But the bishop of the city of Salona has been consecrated without the knowledge of my emissary, and of me, something that has been done which happened under no previous Emperors. Hearing of this, I at once sent word to that upstart, who was consecrated inordinately, that he should in no way presume at all to celebrate solemn Mass, unless I should learn from my most serene Lordship that he had himself ordered this to be done. I sent this to him with the ban of excommunication. And after showing contempt and disrespect for me, he is said to have denuded his church to pay the audacious bribes demanded by certain secular individuals, and now even presumes to say Masses, and has been unwilling to come to me, as ordered by your Majesty. But in obedience to the command of his Piety, for the same Maximus, who was consecrated without my knowledge, due to the fact that in his consecration he presumed to overlook my emissary and me, I have been good enough to relax the strictness of priority and consider him as if he was consecrated at my suggestion. As for the other perversions of that man, namely the bodily sins about which I have been informed, and the fact that he was elected with bribes, and presumed to say Masses when excommunicated, I cannot overlook such undesirable sins, because of God. But I pray and beseech the Lord that none of these allegations can be found in him, and that the case of the man himself may be terminated without danger to my soul. But before this can be known, my most serene Lordship has ordered me with a lengthy command to accept him with honour when he comes. Yet it is extremely serious that a man about whom such heinous sins are being reported should be honoured, when he ought to be questioned and discussed beforehand. And if the cases of bishops entrusted to me are settled before my most pious Emperor through the patronage of other men, poor me, what am I left to do in that Church? But I blame it on my sins that my bishops despise me and seek refuge against me before secular judges, for which I thank almighty God. But there is one other thing. I

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expect just a tiny bit of respect,71 and if he puts off coming to me for a long time, I shall in no way stop from exercising the strictness of canon law in his case. But I trust that our almighty Lord will attribute a long life to your most pious Lordships, and place us under your hand not according to our sins but according to the grace of the Lord. And so I suggest this to my most tranquil Ladyship, because I am well aware of how much the most blameless conscience of your Serenity is moved by a passion for rectitude and justice."

(D 1) Letter 13.40 sent to Empress Leontia in July, 603 "What tongue can speak, what mind can think enough of the greatness of the thanks we owe to almighty God for the serenity of your rule? For such harsh, long-term burdens have been removed from our necks, and the light yoke of an imperial crown has returned, which your subjects are happy to support. Therefore, let glory in Heaven be rendered unto the Creator of all things, by choruses of angels singing hymns, let an offering of thanks be made by humans on earth, because the universal republic, which has born many grievous wounds, now at last finds your comforting mitigation. And so we must beseech the mercy of almighty God more earnestly to hold the heart of your Piety in his own right hand always, and to dispense your thoughts with the help of Heavenly grace, so that your Tranquillity can rule those serving you all the more rightly, as you know how to serve the Lord of all things all the more truly. Let Him create his defenders in the love of the Catholic faith, whom he has made our commanders out of kindness. Let Him pour into your minds zeal and mercy too, so that with pious ardour you may never leave any transgressions against God unpunished, and if there is any transgression against yourself, you may endure it by sparing the transgressor. But in your piety, please grant us clemency for the Empress Pulcheria,72 who has been called a second

71

The diminutive aliquantulum is used for ironical self-depreciation ('just a very little'), a very common usage with this type of diminutive to add modesty to his request. 72 Saint Pulcheria (399-453), the daughter of the Emperor Arcadius (395-405) was Empress from 450-53, after the death of her brother, Theodosius II. A woman of deep piety, she ran the palace of Constantinople on ascetic Christian principles. She opposed Nestorism and Monophysitism, and arranged the ‘holy synod’ at Chalcedon in 451.

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Helena73 in a holy synod, because of her zeal for the Catholic faith. May the mercy of almighty God grant you a greater length of life with your most pious Lordship, so that the longer your life lasts, the more certainly may comfort be assured for all your subjects. Perhaps I should have asked your Tranquillity especially to recommend the Church of Saint Peter the Apostle, which until now has laboured under heavy deceits. But as I know that you love almighty God, I should not seek from you what you offer spontaneously from the kindness of your Piety. For the more you fear the Creator of all things, the more fully can you love the Church of him to whom it is said: 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it',74 and to whom it is said: 'I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven'. Therefore, we have no doubt how strong the love is with which you bind yourself to him, through whom you desire to be loosed from all the bonds of sin. And so let God himself be the guardian of your empire, let him be your protector on earth and let him intercede for you in Heaven, so that through the fact that you make the subjects of your rule rejoice by relieving their harsh burdens, you may yourself rejoice in the Heavenly kingdom after many periods of years."75 This is the Pope’s only letter to the new Empress, Leontia, and it is extremely eulogistic, clearly ironical sycophancy.76 The Pope had to write to her, although she was the wife of the man who had just murdered Maurice and all of his sons. The Pope's flattery and obsequiousness are in striking contrast to the humorous criticisms and genuine sympathy in his letters to the once powerful and very pious Theoctista and Constantina. The false exclamation of the opening sentence, and the choruses of angels, reach their climax with clemency requested from 'your Piety' for the pious Empress Pulcheria, and for Helena, the pious mother of Constantine, both 73

Saint Helena (c. 248-328), the wife of Constantine Chlorus and the mother of Constantine I, was not baptized until 312, but tradition has it that she discovered the site of the Holy Sepulchre and True Cross while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 74 Mt 16.18 and below, Mt 16.19. 75 Gregory’s final plea is for the Church of Saint Peter, although here he leaves out the swords of the Lombards. His flattery of Leontia’s holiness seems excessive, even in the context of such a formal letter. Like his letter to Phocas, it was very carefully composed. 76 For her background, see Theophylact Simocatta 8.10.

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of them splendid rulers and both of them Saints. Like his ironical letter to Phocas, the new Emperor, this letter seems to be praising her piety and applauding the new empire, its citizens free of burdens, beneath its light yoke of imperial command. Totally different from the reality of the bloodbath and its disastrous sequel for many of Gregory's dear friends!

(E) Both Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards, and Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks, two very powerful women, regularly exchanged letters with Pope Gregory, the first six, from September, 593 to September, 603, the latter seven, from September, 593 to June, 601.

(E 1) Letter 4.2 to Constantius, bishop of Milan, sent in September, 593 After discussing the schism of the Three Chapters, the Pope reports on the Queen: "But it is being said that our daughter, Queen Theodelinda, after hearing this report, has withdrawn herself from communion with you. It is quite evident that, although she has been seduced to some small degree by the words of wicked men, yet when Hippolitus the notary and Abbot John arrive there,77 she will be seeking communion with your Fraternity in every way. I have also sent a letter of mine to her, which your Fraternity should transmit to her without delay. With regard to the bishops, however, who seem to have suspended themselves from you, I have written another letter. When you have had it shown to them, I am quite certain that they will offer penitence before your Fraternity for the superstition of their arrogance. You have told me accurately and briefly what has been done concerning both King Agilulf78 and the Frankish kings. I beg your Fraternity to notify me in detail what you have learnt so far. But if you see that Agilulf, king of the Lombards, is doing nothing with the patrician, promise him on my behalf that I am ready to devote myself to his cause, if he himself wants to make some profitable arrangement with our republic." In the archdiocese of Milan, there was discontent over the election of Gregory's nominee, Constantius. The Pope informed Romanus of the election in April 593 (letter 3.31), but by September it appeared that 77

For Hippolitus, see letter 4.4. John was an abbot in a monastery in Milan, it seems. Again, see letter 4.4. 78 Abbreviated to Ago in the text. The patrician was the exarch, Romanus.

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dissension was being sown among Constantius' suffragan bishops (letter 4.3), and it had reached the ears of the Lombard queen, Theodelinda. In diplomatic exchanges with the Lombard court, Gregory began from a disadvantageous position. At the start of his pontificate, the 'most impious' Autharit had forbidden the baptism of Lombard children into the Catholic faith (letter 1.17). Nevertheless, some of the Lombards were Catholics, of whom some occupied influential positions (see Dial 3.19.1). The most powerful of them was none other than Queen Theodelinda, Autharit's wife and daughter of Garibaldi, duke of the Bavarians. When Autharit died, she was influential in choosing Agilulf, duke of Turin, as his successor, marrying him in November, 590. Her loyalty to the Roman Church was suspect, as she was susceptible to arguments used by the Three Chapters schismatics. In his letters, Gregory tried to win her over to his orthodox belief, exhorting her to support Constantius as archbishop of Milan. During the peace negotiations late in 598, he urged her, as proof of her Christian faith, to prevail upon her husband Agilulf to conclude a peace treaty with the Empire (letter 9.68). In late 603, the Queen finally committed herself decisively to Gregory's cause, by having her son Adaloald baptized in the Roman observance (letter 14.12).

(E 2) Letter 4.4, sent in Sept. 593 to Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards It has come to our notice from a report by certain people that some bishops led your Glory astray into such a temptation to sin against the Holy Church, that you suspended yourself from communion with the united Catholic Church. The more sincerely we love you, the more strongly we grieve over you, because you entrust yourself to ignorant and foolish people, who not only fail to realize what they are saying, but what they have heard they are scarcely able to understand. For they say that at the time of Justinian of pious memory, some things were decided contrary to the synod of Chalcedon. But while they neither read themselves nor believe those who do so, they remain in that very error with which they falsely charge us. For we confess, with our conscience as our witness, that nothing has been removed from the faith of that same holy council of Chalcedon, nor anything violated. However, whatever was done at the time of Justinian, was done in such a way that the faith of the council of Chalcedon might be disturbed in no way. However, if anyone presumes to say or to know anything contrary to the faith of the same synod, we condemn his view under the imposition of anathema.

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Therefore, since you understand our integrity from the testimony of our conscience, it remains for you never to separate yourself from communion with the Catholic Church. Otherwise so many tears of yours and such great and good works may be wasted, if found alien to the true faith. It is proper therefore that your Glory should send over a message with all speed to my most reverend brother and fellow-bishop Constantius, whose faith and life have long been highly valued by me. You should indicate to him with letters sent there how favourably you have accepted his ordination, and that you are in no way separated from communion with his church. However, I think that I am saying this to you needlessly, because although there was some doubt in your mind, I think that it has been removed from your heart, with the arrival by now of my son, Abbot John, and of Hippolitus the notary."

(E 4) Letter 5.52 sent in July 595 to Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards79 "It has come to our attention through the report of certain people that some bishops have misled your Glory over this offence against the Holy Church, so as to suspend yourself from communion with the united Catholic Church.80 For the more sincerely we love you, the more greatly we are upset about you, because you believe ignorant and foolish people, who not only do not know what they are saying, but can scarcely understand what they hear. While they never read nor trust in those who are reading, they remain in the same error that they have created for themselves, with regard to us. For we venerate the four holy synods: the Nicene, in which Arius was condemned, the one at Constantinople, in which Macedonius was found guilty, the first one in Ephesus, in which Nestorius and Dioscorus were found guilty and the Chalcedonian, in which Eutyches was condemned. And we also declare that anyone who disagrees with these four synods is an enemy of the true faith. And we condemn whomsoever they condemn, and whomsoever they absolve, we too absolve. We strike down under the imposition of anathema anyone who presumes to add or subtract from the 79

This letter is almost exactly the same as the one sent a year before, letter 4.33, which has not been included here. The Pope must have heard that it had never reached her. 80 The cause of the Queen's spiritual disquiet was the still the Three Chapters schism.

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faith of those same four synods, but especially the Chalcedonian, over which some doubt has arisen in the minds of ignorant people. Therefore, since you know this from my open declaration, it is right that you should no longer have any scrap of doubt about the Church of Saint Peter, the prince of the Apostles. But persist in the true faith, and build your life firmly on the rock of the Church, that is on the confession of Saint Peter, the prince of the Apostles. Otherwise, all your tears and great deeds may go to waste, if they are found hostile to the true faith. For just as branches whither without strong roots, even so works also, however good they might seem, are as nothing if they are separated from the foundation of faith. And so, your Glory should write to my most reverend brother and fellow-bishop, Constantius, whose faith and way of life have long received my high approval.81 Inform him, by sending him a letter, with what pleasure you received the news of his consecration, and tell him that you will in no way be separated from the communion of his church. Thus we might thank God with shared exultation, over you as a truly good and faithful daughter. And know that in this, you and your good works are pleasing to God, if before He judges them, they are approved of by the judgement of his priests." After his three very similar letters to the Queen, in which he emphasized his strong support for all four synods, while listing the heretics, including Arius, he expressed his sorrow over her break with the orthodox Church. The next letter is more positive.

(E 5) Letter 9.68 sent in Nov. 598 to Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards "We have learnt from a report made by our son and abbot, Probus, that your Excellency has devoted yourself with great eagerness and kindness to making peace, as is your custom. For one would certainly not have expected that your Christianity would display anything but hard work and goodness in all ways in the cause of peace. Therefore, we offer thanks to almighty God, who so rules your heart with his own piety that, as he has bestowed true faith on you, so too he grants that you should always work on things pleasing to him. For, most excellent daughter, you should believe that you have acquired no small reward for the blood that had to be poured from each side. On this matter, we offer thanks to your willingness, 81

Constantius was Gregory's choice as the new bishop of Milan.

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and we pray to the compassion of our God that here and in the future he will compensate you in body and soul in return for your good deeds. Furthermore, greeting you with paternal love, we exhort you to do what is necessary before your most excellent husband, to prevent him from rejecting the delightfulness of the Christian state. For as we believe you also know, it is advantageous in many ways if he were willing to join in its friendships. And so, be attentive always to those things that relate to both your offices, and when a case of reward presents itself, work hard, so that you may commend your goodness more fully before the eyes of almighty God."

(E 6) Letter 14.12 sent to Theodelinda, Queen, in December 603 "The letter that you sent over to us a little while ago from the territory of Genoa made us share in your joy, because we learnt that a son has been given to you by the grace of almighty God and has been joined to the Catholic faith, for which your Excellency deserves very great praise. For nothing else should have been believed about your Christianity other than that you would be keen to protect the child you received as a Heavenly gift with the help of Catholic rectitude, so that our Redeemer would know you as his fitting servant and would successfully bring up a new king for the Lombard race in fear of Him. And so we pray almighty God to guard you in the path of his commandments and to make that most excellent son of ours, Adaloald, advance in His love, so that, just as he is already great among men, he maybe glorious likewise in his good deeds also before the eyes of our God. As for what your Excellency wrote about us having to reply in more detail to our most beloved son and abbot, Secundus,82 over what he wrote, who would think of putting off his request or your desires, which he knows would benefit many people, if sickness were not preventing him? But such great weakness due to gout has gripped us that we are not only unable to dictate but cannot even get up to speak, as your ambassadors bearing this letter discovered. For they found us sickly on arrival and at their departure left us in extreme danger with our life at risk.83 But if I get 82

This abbot, Secundus, may perhaps be the Secundinus in Ep 9.148. By December 603, the Pope’s gout and stomach pains were keeping him in bed for much of the time, it seems, but only a few months were left before he could

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better through the disposition of almighty God, I shall reply in detail to all that he wrote to me. But through the bearers of this letter, I have sent over details of that synod that was held at the time of Justinian of pious memory84 so that my aforesaid most beloved son may reread the text and acknowledge the falsity of all the things that he had heard against the apostolic see and Catholic Church. God forbid that we should accept the interpretation of any sort of heretic, or should deviate at all from the tome of our predecessor Leo, of holy memory!85 But we accept whatever was decided by the four holy synods, and we condemn whatever was rejected.86 We have taken care also to send over amulets87 to our most excellent son, King Adaloald, that is a crucifix with wood from the holy cross of our Lord, and a text from a holy evangelist, enclosed in a Persian case. I have also sent over three rings to my daughter, his sister, two with sapphires and one with a pearl.88 I ask these to be given to them through you, so that our love towards them may be preserved through your Excellency. Furthermore, while carrying out the duty of greeting you with fatherly love, we request that you return thanks on our behalf to your husband, our most excellent son and king, for having made peace, and please call his mind to peace, as you have been accustomed to do, for the future and everywhere, so that among your many good deeds, you may find a reward in the sight of God for an innocent people, who might perish through inducement to sin." Both Brunhilde and Theodelinda were clearly very bright and very intelligent women, and both were experts at manipulating men, including escape from all of his bodily torments. Yet his mind remained very sharp to the very end. 84 The Acts of Constantinople II, held in 553, which condemned the Three Chapters. 85 The tome of Pope Leo the Great formed the basis for the ‘two-natures Christology’ of the Council of Chalcedon in 451. 86 Those of Nicaea, Constantinople I, Ephesus and Chalcedon. Gregory had held faithfully to this position throughout his pontificate. See his first synodical letter, 1.24., and the two letters to Theodelinda. 87 The filacteria (from the Greek ijuȜĮțIJȘȡȚĮ) in e3c is preferable to the adjectival filacta in the other MSS and N. The ‘phylacteries’ were worn by Jews (‘safeguards’ or ‘amulets’). 88 Two rings have hyacinths on them (our sapphires or amethysts) and one has a whitish jewel, suggesting a pearl. For royalty, valuable jewels would be likely. According to MG, Adaloard’s amulet was preserved at Monza until at least the end of the 18th century.

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the Pope at times. But while Theodelinda was embroiled with the Three Chapters heresy and with religious and political problems, Brunhilde was involved more in Church administration, reacting to Gregory's moves in Gaul and England, and reluctant to give up her Arian beliefs, but finally helping the Pope to obtain peace.

(F 1) Letter 6.5, sent in September, 595, to Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks "The goodness of your Excellency, both praiseworthy and pleasing to God, is made clear by the government of your kingdom and by the education of your son. For with provident care, you have not only preserved intact for him the glory of things temporal, but you have also provided the rewards of eternal life, as you grafted his mind on to a root of true faith with a fittingly maternal and laudable education. Therefore, it has come about not undeservedly that he surpasses all the kingdoms of other nations, in that he worships the Creator of those nations purely and confesses Him truthfully. But so that faith may shine in him more laudably through his works, let the words of your encouragement inspire him. Thus, just as royal power may reveal him as sublime among men, even so the goodness of his actions may make him great before God. But because our experience in many matters recommends that we trust the Christian values of your Excellency, for that reason we greet you with the affection of a father and ask on behalf of the love of Saint Peter, the prince of the Apostles, whom we know you love with all your heart, that you support with the aid of your patronage our most beloved son, the priest Candidus. He bears this letter, and with it a minuscule patrimony.89 We sent him over there to look after it. Thus, strengthened by the grace of your power, he can control that minuscule patrimony, which will certainly help the expenses of the poor, and if anything has been removed from it, he can bring it back under the control of that minuscule patrimony in a reasonable way. For it adds to your credit that a man belonging to the Church has not been sent over to control that little patrimony until now. 89

The rare diminutive patrimoniolum, was used by Jerome (letter 45), and here seems to be aimed at the Gallic Queen's patronage, suggesting a small role for the Church, without her help. Its fourfold repetition emphasizes the Pope's ironical appeal to the queen. As we shall see, it was used repeatedly in Gregory’s other letters to Gallic priests and nobles. The Pope made careful and quite rare use of the diminutive,

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And so, let your Excellency agree to apply yourself willingly to these demands of ours, in such a way that Saint Peter, the prince of the Apostles, to whom the power of binding and releasing was granted by our Lord Jesus Christ, may allow your Excellency to rejoice here over your offspring, and after many years have run their course, may have you found guiltless of any evil before the sight of the eternal Judge."

(F 2) Letter 6.58 sent in July, 596, to Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks "The theme of your letters, which contained a religious mind and the zeal of pious thoughts, not only made us applaud the proposal of your wish, but also invited us to grant your demands freely. For it was not proper for us to deny that your Christian devotion and the desire of a righteous heart were demanding it, especially when we know that those things were demanded and embraced with your whole mind, which will be very able to protect the faith of believers, and to honour and preserve the salvation of their souls. And for that reason, we greet your Excellency with suitable honour, and we inform Leuparic, bearer of this letter, who is a priest as you tell us,90 through whom we have received your very eloquent letters, that we have provided you with relics of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in accordance with the request of your Excellency, with that veneration which they deserve.91 But so that the devotion in you can shine forth more and more laudable and religious, you must take care that the relics of the Saints are put in place with due honour, and those entrusted with their care are not afflicted by any burdens or troubles, in case perhaps, with the threat of external necessity, they may be rendered useless and idle in the service of God, and the relics of the Saints brought there may sustain damage (Heaven forbid!) and neglect. Therefore, let your Excellency ensure their security, so that, when they are protected with your support, free from all disturbance, they may offer praises to our God with secure minds, and a reward may increase for you in eternal life." 90 Leuparic was a priest in the service of Palladius, bishop of Saintes, in Gaul. In letter 6.50, he reported to the Pope that his bishop had consecrated thirteen altars in a church he had built, in honour of saints Peter and Paul, and for the martyrs Laurence and Pancras. 91 Relics were very much in demand at the time of Gregory, and as we have seen, he was well equipped to supply them, like these relics of Saints sent to Brunhilde. He reminds her of possible damage from neglect, suggesting a display case.

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(F 3) Letter 6.60, sent in July 596 to Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks "The Christianity of your Excellency was known to us long ago, so truly that we are in no doubt at all about your goodness, but consider it more certain altogether that, where faith is concerned, you agree with us in both devotion and earnestness, and supply us most copiously with the comfort of your religious purity. And so, for this reason, being really confident, we greet you with a father's love and inform you that it has come to our attention that the people of England want to become Christians, with God's blessing, but the priests who are in the neighbourhood have no pastoral care towards them. And so that their souls should not perish in eternal damnation, we have taken care to send there the bearer of this letter, Augustine, a monk, whose zeal and earnestness is well known to us, together with other monks, so that through them we might learn the wishes of the people themselves and consider their conversion, as far as is possible, with your support also. We have also warned them that they should take priests with them from nearby to carry out these things. Therefore, as your Excellency has been accustomed to being generous in good works, as much for the sake of our request as out of consideration for the fear of God, you should deign to accept his commendation entirely, and bestow on him eagerly the grace of your protection, and give his labour the help of your patronage, and so that he might have a reward in full, provide him with a safe journey to the above-mentioned people of England, under your protection, so that our God, who has adorned you in this world with good qualities pleasing to him, may even so make you give thanks with his Saints in eternal rest. Furthermore, we recommend to your Christianity our most beloved son and priest, Candidus, and the tiny patrimony of our Church situated there, and we ask that he may obtain the grace of your protection in all ways."92 92

Candidus was appointed by Pope Gregory as his key agent in Gaul, where he soon proved to be very successful. Normally the Pope would have sent an abbot or a sub-deacon to represent him, underlining the talent of Candidus, recognized by the very perceptive Pope. The party of monks led by a friend from his monastery, Augustine, had to cross a very dangerous country, but the Pope's letters and Candidus' vigilance led to an incident-free crossing, although when they reached the coast, Augustine was afraid and returned quickly to Rome. See the introduction to my Letters of St Gregory, pp 66-72, showing how wrong Gregory was to pick Augustine as leader of that group of monks.

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(F 4) Letter 8.4 sent in Sept., 597, to Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks "You show in a praiseworthy manner with what great solidarity the mind of your Excellency has been strengthened by your fear of almighty God, among other good deeds that you do, most of all in your love of his priests. And we receive great joy over your Christianity, because you are keen to increase with honours those whom you truly love, venerating them as servants of Christ. For it is proper for you, most excellent daughter, it is proper for you to be such a person that you could be subject to the Ruler. For in him, you confirm the rule of your power also over subject peoples, whereby you subject the neck of your mind to the fear of our almighty Lord, and in the way in which you submit yourself to the service of our Creator, in that way you bind your subjects to you in more devoted servitude. Receiving your letters, therefore, we signify that the devotion of your Excellency pleased us immensely, and in answer to your request, we were willing to arrange a pallium for our brother and fellow-bishop, Syagrius.93 This is because our deacon, who sends replies to the Church at the Emperor's palace, has notified us that this is the wish of our most serene Lordship, and he fully desires it to be granted.94 And many good things about our brother Syagrius have been reported to us, from your witness and that of others, and we have learnt a great deal about his way of life, since John, our regional manager,95 returned to us. Hearing what he did in the case of our brother Augustine,96 we thanked our Redeemer, because we felt that he was fulfilling the title of priest with good works also.

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For Syagrius, Bishop of Autun and trusted friend of the Queen, see letter 6.55. He was one of the most influential bishops in Gaul, and Gregory was keen to win him over. With the Emperor’s permission (letter 8.4), he granted Syagrius the pallium, although he was not even a metropolitan, and was suffragan to the archbishop of Lyon, denied the pallium. 94 See above, for the Emperor’s part in granting a pallium, a very great honour. The deacon was his trusted agent, Sabinian (see letters 3.51,52,65;5.6,37,39,43-5;7.235,29,31). 95 The Latin regionarius was used for a senior Church manager, in charge of the school of notaries and sub-deacons. He had several honours, including chairing the council of clergy in the Pope’s absence. Gregory’s father, Gordianus, had had this title. 96 See letter 6.55.

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But very many things remained, which have not allowed us to do this at all in the mean time. First of all, indeed, because the one who had come to accept that pallium is known to be implicated in the error of the schismatics.97 Secondly, because you wanted it to be understood that it was sent not due to your request, but from us. Thirdly, because he who desires to use it, did not request that it be bestowed on him through a special petition sent to us, and in no way should we have presented such a great case without his request, especially because the old custom also applied, that the honour of the pallium ought only to be given to someone making a strong request for it, as the merits of the case might demand.98 But, so that it does not seem perhaps that we want to put off the request of your Excellency under the pretext of some excuse, we have arranged for the pallium to be sent by our most beloved son and priest, Candidus, adding for him that he should bestow it on our behalf, with suitable respect.99 As a result of this procedure, it is necessary that our abovementioned brother and fellow-bishop, Syagrius, should request it together with several of his fellow bishops, and he should hope for it to be granted and make his request to that priest, so that he can with God's grace obtain the use of the same pallium in a worthy manner. Therefore, so that this care may be fruitful for you before the eyes of our Creator, let the concern of your Christianity diligently keep watch, and do not allow anyone who is under your rule to be promoted to Holy Orders through gifts of money, or through the patronage of any persons, or through the right of a near relationship.100 Rather, a man should only be elected to the rank of bishop or to any other Holy Order, if he has been shown worthy of it by his way of life and morality. Otherwise, if the honour of the priesthood is for sale, which we hope is not so, then simoniacal heresy, which first appeared in the Church and was condemned by the vote of the Fathers, may rise up in those districts, and weaken the strength (Heaven forbid!) of your kingdom, because it is an extremely 97

In the context, it must refer to the Three Chapters schismatics. During the fifth and sixth centuries, it was customary for the Church to confer the pallium on the bishops of Arles, as vicars of the Apostolic See. Conferring it on Bishop Syagrius was a significant change in policy. Compare letter 5.58. 99 For Candidus, administrator of the Pope's patrimony in Gaul, see letters 5.31;6.5,10,51-2,54-6,59,60;7.21. 100 In diplomatic negotiations, Gregory gave away nothing without expecting a return. Here, in return for the pallium for her favourite bishop, he tries to secure the Queen’s support in his persistent campaign against simony in the Church of Gaul, without success, it seems. 98

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serious crime, indescribably so, to sell the Holy Spirit who redeemed the world.101 But take note of this also. Because the outstanding preacher totally forbids a novice from being appointed to the office of priesthood,102 as you know, do not allow anyone from the laity to be consecrated as a bishop. For what sort of master will he be, who has never been a pupil? Or what sort of leader for the Lord's flock, who has not been subject before to the discipline of the shepherd? If, therefore, someone's way of life was of such that he deserved to be promoted to this rank, first he ought to serve as a minister of the Church, so that, through the practice of long experience, he may see what he should imitate and learn what he should teach, in case the newness of his conversion might perhaps bear the burden of rule, and a chance of ruin might arise from his premature promotion. We have learnt through the reports of various Christians how your Excellency behaved towards our brother and fellow-bishop, Augustine, and how much love you devoted to him, with God's blessing. For this, we offer thanks to the divine power, and pray for His mercy, so that he may guard you with his protection. Also, as is usual between humans, may he allow you to reign, after a period of many years, in eternal life. Furthermore, be keen to recall those whom the error of the schismatics dissociates from the unity of the Church to a harmonious unity, which will be added to your reward. For so far they have been wrapped up in the blindness of their ignorance for no other reason than to escape the discipline of the Church, and to have the freedom to live sinfully, as they want to do. For they do not know what they should defend nor what they should follow. But we venerate in every way and follow the synod of Chalcedon, about which those men claim clouds of pestiferous excuses for themselves, and if anyone should presume to diminish or add anything over the true faith, we anathematize him. But ruinous error swallows them up in such a way that they trust in their ignorance, and flee from the universal Church and all four patriarchs, not with reason, but simply from a malicious mind. Thus, when I asked the man whom your Excellency sent to us, why he was separated from the universal Church, he admitted that he did not know he was. But he could not know either what he was saying or what he was hearing. 101

This and the next paragraph provide a very clear and succinct definition of what the sin of simony entailed. 102 See 1 Tm 3.6.

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We also exhort you equally to restrain the rest of your subjects also, beneath a moderating discipline, so that they might not offer sacrifices to idols, or continue to worship trees or to make sacrilegious offerings over the heads of animals.103 For we have learnt that many of the Christians flock to the churches, but, terrible to relate, they do not give up the worship of demons. But since these things are thoroughly displeasing to our God, and because he does not own minds that are divided, ensure that they should be banned profitably from these unlawful practices, in case (Heaven forbid!) the sacrament of holy baptism might not save them, but punish them. And so, if you learn that some are violent, some adulterous, and some are thieves, or they practise other wicked acts, hasten to please God over their correction,104 so that through you he may not bring in the scourge of faithless races, that has been aroused to punish many nations, as we see. This is in case, if the anger of divine punishment should be aroused by the actions of criminals, which we do not believe could happen, the plague of war might destroy them, since the precepts of God do not recall them from their sin to the path of righteousness. And so it is necessary that we should hasten with all endeavour and with continuous prayers to be converted to the compassion of our Redeemer, where there is a place for all, really safe and secure. For there, neither danger wears down nor fear disturbs anyone who persists firmly. .

But as for the manuscript,105 that you wrote about, we have sent it to be offered to you by that most beloved son of ours, the priest Candidus, as we are in a hurry to participate in your splendid studies. May almighty God look after you with his protection, and may he defend your kingdom from perfidious nations with his outstretched arm, and lead you to eternal joys after long cycles of years on earth. 103 The persistence of such practices among people described as ‘rustics’ today seems very widespread. Gregory describes it on the Italian mainland (Dial, letter 8.19), and in the islands (see letters to Sardinia, Corsica and even Sicily), while the Sermons of Caesarius of Arles show that such practices survived in Gaul too. Later, in letter 8.29, Gregory uses similar terms to describe the religion of the Anglo-Saxons before his missionaries went there. All this suggests a literary topos, rather than reality. 104 Gregory’s suggestion that the imposition of a rule of law and eradication of injustice is pleasing to God should not go unnoticed. It underlies his approach to the world in which he lived, and his Christian chauvinism. To the Pope, Roman law was the means to the establishment of a rule of law, which would be pleasing to God. 105 In the legal context, the codex may have contained the Theodosian or Justinian code, but an illuminated copy of the New Testament may have been sent.

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(F 5) Letter 9.214 sent in July, 599, to Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks While the royal concern of your Excellency is worthy of praise in every place you rule, you ought to show yourself more vigilant for an increase in your glory, and provident, so as not to allow those whom you rule externally with your advice to perish internally. And so, after the summit of this temporal kingdom ruled by you, may you with God’s authority reach kingdoms of eternal joy, through the fruit of your pious concern, Indeed, we trust that this can happen to you in this manner, if amongst other good deeds you take care over the ordination of priests.106 For we have learnt that their office is handled there with such great presumption that priests are suddenly ordained from laymen, which is all too serious. But what are those men going to do, what will they show the people, who aspire to being made bishops not to benefit them, but for their own honour? As these men have not yet learnt what they ought to teach, what else is achieved, except that the illegal promotion of a few men may become fatal for many, and the observance of Church government may be brought into confusion, because no regular order is being preserved there? For if someone comes to his rule unexpectedly107 and hurriedly, with what admonition will he edify his subjects, when his example taught no reason, but a sin? It is certainly shameful, it is really shameful to command others to obey what he himself does not know how to preserve. We certainly do not overlook that other matter that needs correction in the same way, but we detest it as being totally execrable and most grievous that sacred orders there are conferred through simoniacal heresy,108 that was the first thing to appear against the Church and has been condemned with a strict malediction. Therefore, it arises from this that the dignity of the priesthood is in disrespect and its holy honour is condemned. Certainly reverence perishes and discipline is removed, because the person who 106 Gregory’s concern in this matter was ongoing, and was not confined to the Gallic Church (see letters 5.58; 9.216). For this concern, see the affair over Maximus of Salona (letters 4.20; 5.6, 39; 6.3, 25; 8.34; 9.150, 155-6, 178-9) and his instructions over the ordination of bishops to vacant Italian Sees (see letters 9.100-1, 185-6). 107 The MSS are divided, but Norberg prints the unique form improbitus (A,C). If improbatus, the sense ‘blamed’ is inappropriate. But the inprovisus in e1,e2 makes excellent sense (‘unexpected’) and improvitus in R1 supports it. 108 Here Gregory expresses once more his great concern over simony. See letters 4.13, 20; 5.6, 16, 58; 8.4; 9.136, 216.

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ought to have corrected faults is committing them, and through wicked ambition, the judgement of an honourable priesthood is led into corruption. For who would venerate once more what is for sale, or who would not think that what is bought is worthless? From this I am extremely distressed and I weep over that land. For while they despise having the Holy Spirit by the gift of God, which almighty God deigns to bestow on mankind through the laying on of hands, but obtain it through bribery, I do not expect the priesthood to survive for long in that place. For where the gifts of Heavenly grace are judged to be for sale, a life is not sought for God’s service, rather, money is venerated contrary to God. And so, because such a great wickedness is not only a danger to them, but also quite noxious for your kingdom, we greet your Excellency with fatherly affection, and ask that you appease God through your correction of this depravity. And so that it cannot be committed hereafter for any reason, let your command arrange for a synod to take place.109 And there, in the presence of our most beloved son, the abbot Cyriacus,110 it should be forbidden under strict insertion of anathema for anyone to dare to rise suddenly to the rank of bishop from a lay status, or for anyone at all to dare to pay or receive anything for ecclesiastic ranks, so that our Lord and Redeemer may so treat what are yours as he shall see your Excellency concerned with pious devotion about these things that are his. But we have taken special care to delegate the management and responsibility for the same synod that we have decreed must take place, to our brother and fellow-bishop, Syagrius, and we know that he is close to you. We ask that you deign to listen readily to his supplication and to support him with your aid, so that, with the contagion of this evil removed in all the lands subject to your jurisdiction, a pious ordination of priests may proceed, pleasing to God, and resulting in a reward for you. We have sent a pallium to this brother of ours, for the reason that he showed himself ardently devoted to that preaching which has been done among the English people, with God’s authority. It must be used for the celebration of solemn Mass, so that, as he has been keen to help spiritual 109 Gregory’s attempt to have a synod convened for the bishops of Gaul to condemn simony was another ongoing concern. He tried without success when Augustine passed through Gaul in 595, raised it again with the queen in Ep 8.4 (597) but his persuasive efforts in July 599 proved no more successful (see letters 9.216, 219-20, 223). 110 For his most reliable agent, the abbot Cyriacus, see letters 4.23, 25-7; 5.2; 9.1, 11, 209.

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matters, he may be found to have increased in spiritual order also, by the support itself of the Prince of the Apostles. Furthermore, we have been most surprised that you allow Jews in your kingdom to possess Christian slaves.111 For what are all Christians if not the members of Christ? We all know that you faithfully honour the head of these members. But let your Excellency consider how different it is to honour the head and to allow the limbs to be trampled on by its enemy. And for that reason we ask that a regulation of your Excellency may remove the evils of this wickedness from your kingdom, so that in this you may prove yourself more fully to be a worthy worshipper of our almighty Lord, as you have freed his faithful from God’s enemies."

(F 6) Letter 11.46, sent on 22nd June, 601 to Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks "When ‘righteousness exalts a nation, but sinfulness makes any people wretched,’ is written, a kingdom is believed to be stable when a fault that is known, is very quickly corrected. And so it has come to our attention through the reports of many people (and we cannot mention it without extreme affliction in our heart), that some priests in those districts are being converted so shamelessly and wickedly that it is scandalous for us to hear and lamentable for us to relate. And so, after a report of this wickedness had spread even as far as here, so that no alien depravity should strike either our soul or your kingdom with the thrust of its sin, we ought to rise up ardently to punish these acts, in case the sin of a few might cause the destruction of many. For evil priests cause ruin for the people. For who would expose himself as intercessor for the sins of the people, if the priest who should have prayed for forgiveness commits more serious sins? But since those whose task it is to attack these sins are aroused neither by concern to inquire into them, nor by zeal to punish them, see that you send us a letter of yours, and we shall send over a person with the assent of your authority, if you give the order, who together with other priests should inquire into these acts with great care, and correct them according to God’s will. And what we are saying should not be overlooked, because anyone who can correct a sin and fails to do so has certainly made himself a participant 111

For the Pope’s approach to the question of Jews holding Christian slaves, see letters 6.55; 8.4; 9.214. See also under (j) Domina abbess below. The priests seem to up to their necks in simony.

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in the sin. Therefore, look after your soul, look after your grandsons, whom you want to reign happily, look after your provinces and, before our Creator raises his hand to strike, think most earnestly about correcting this sin, in case he strikes all the more keenly later on, the longer and more mercifully he is waiting now. Know you are offering a great sacrifice of appeasement, if you quickly cut out the infection of so great a sin from your territories.

(F 7) Letter 11.48 sent on June 22, 601, to Brunhilde, Queen of the Franks, "We offer thanks to almighty God, who among the other gifts of his holiness that he has bestowed on your Excellency, has filled you with such love for the Christian religion that, whatever you know concerns the winning of souls, whatever concerns the propagation of the faith, you would not cease to work for with a devoted mind and with pious enthusiasm. And we know with what great favour and with what great assistance your Excellency helped our most reverend brother and fellow-bishop, Augustine, as he set out for the people of England. For rumour did not pass over this in silence beforehand, and afterwards some monks returning from Augustine, brought us a detailed account of his. And indeed, let others be surprised at these proofs of your Christianity, who until now were less aware of your benefits. For in our case, as we knew them already from experience, there should be no surprise. Rather, we should rejoice, because through this, you are supporting your generosity to others. Your Excellency already knows the nature and greatness of the miracles that our Redeemer has produced in the conversion of the English race. And from this, you should feel great happiness, because the support of your excellent agents can claim a greater share in this matter, with whose help the word of preaching there became known, after God. For anyone who helps a good deed of another, makes it his own. But so that the fruit of your reward may be more and more bountiful, we ask that you provide the support of your patronage more generously for the monks who are carrying this letter, and who were sent over by us together with our most beloved sons, the priest, Laurence, and the abbot, Mellitus, to our

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aforesaid most reverend brother,112 due to the fact that he says those with him cannot be sufficient for him. And we ask you, deign to give them full assistance in this way, in such a way that, while better results may follow the good beginnings of your Excellency, and no delays nor any difficulties may be found there, you may arouse the compassion of our God towards you and your grandsons, both so very dear to us, as much as you show yourself compassionate in cases of this sort, because of your love for Him."

(G) Queen Bertha, wife of King Ethelbert of Kent, was a Frankish princess by birth, and a Christian, with a Christian chaplain. See Bede H.E. 1.26, and Gregory of Tours Hist Franc 9.26. After persuading her husband to join her as a Christian, she played a key part in the introduction of Christianity amongst her Anglo-Saxon people. The letter is important in determining the terminus post quem for Ethelbert’s baptism.

(G 1) Letter 11.35 sent on June 22nd, 601, to Bertha, Queen of the English "Anyone who desires the glory of a Heavenly kingdom after earthly dominion ought to work more strenuously to produce a profit for his Creator, so that he can ascend by the steps of his works to what he desires, and we rejoice that you have done just this. And so, with the return of my most beloved son and priest, Laurence, and my monk, Peter, I heard from them how your Glory behaved towards our most reverend brother and our fellow-bishop, Augustine, and what great support and special love you bestowed on him. And we praise almighty God, as he has deigned most graciously to reserve the conversion of the English race for your reward. For just as He enflamed the hearts of Romans with the Christian faith through Helena, of well-recorded memory, the mother of the most pious Emperor, Constantine, even so, through the enthusiasm of your Glory, we are sure that His mercy is at work for the people of England.

112 This is Augustine, soon to be reinforced by the party of monks and precious Church goods under the care of the far more capable leaders, the priest Laurence and Abbott Mellitus. See letters 11.34, 41. The account in Bede leaves out several key letters, thereby misleading his readers, although his overt jingoism might be pleasing for the English.

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And indeed, by now you should have already turned the thoughts of your husband, our glorious son, through the goodness of your prudence, which is truly Christian, so that he might follow the faith which you worship, for the salvation of his kingdom and of his soul. Thus, a worthy reward would be produced for you in the joys of Heaven, from him and through him, over the conversion of the whole race. For once your Glory, as we have said, was both fortified by the true faith and was trained in Holy Writ, this should not have been either tardy or difficult for you. And since with God’s will it is now an appropriate time, bring it about that you can repair with increase what has been hitherto neglected, through the cooperation of Heavenly grace. Therefore, with assiduous encouragement, strengthen the mind of your glorious husband in his love of the Christian faith. Let your Solicitude pour into him an increase in his love of God, and inflame his thoughts also for the most complete conversion of the race subject to him, so that you may offer a great sacrifice to our almighty Lord with the zeal of your devotion. May what has been related about you both increase and be proved to be true in every way. For your good deeds are not only known now among those who are living in Rome, who prayed for your life most earnestly, but they have spread through diverse places and have even reached Constantinople and our most serene Emperor. Therefore, just as we have been delighted by the consolation of your Christianity, even so may the angels also rejoice in Heaven over the completion of your great works. Thus, show yourself with devotion and all your strength in assisting that most reverend brother and fellow-bishop of ours, and the monks we sent there, in the conversion of your race, so that you might reign happily with your husband, our glorious son, and after a long stretch of years, obtain the joys of a future life also, that know no end. We pray almighty God to kindle the heart of your Glory with the fire of his grace, to carry out what we spoke of, and also to allow you the fruit of an eternal reward for an achievement that pleases him." The Emperor was still the very pious Maurice, very much Gregory's personal friend and confidant, although they had some disagreements. Both of them were extremely busy men, and both suffered severely from gout, but in earlier times, as they lived together in Constantinople, while Gregory was a deacon and the papal legate there, they formed a strong bond, no doubt worshipping together.

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In a long letter to Eulogius, the patriarch of Alexandria (8.29), the Pope informed his old friend, who had boasted of the many converts in his Eastern domain, that he had sent over a 'monk' to England (unnamed) and that thousands of locals had been converted by the monks sent there. The Pope had supplied Eulogius, surprisingly enough, with regular shiploads of long poles, carted to the Tiber from the papal forests in southern Italy, to be used for the masts of the ships being built in the docks of Alexandria. Their final letters were more about their bodily aches and pains,

CHAPTER THREE ARISTOCRATIC WOMEN

(i) Letter 1.6. Sent to Narses1 in Constantinople, October 590 "However, concerning the case of our brethren,2 I consider that it will turn out just as you have written, with God's assistance, although I ought not to have written about it at all just now to our most serene Lordship of all things.3 For one should not begin with complaints at the very beginning. But I have written to my most beloved son, the deacon Honoratus,4 asking him to make a suggestion suited to this matter at an opportune moment, and to send me a reply with all speed. I ask you to greet on my behalf Lord Alexander, Lord Theodore, my son Marinus, Lady Hesychia, Lady Eudochia, and Lady Dominica." These are Gregory's aristocratic friends in the imperial household. Alexander held the post of ex-prefect, and Theodore was the Emperor's physician. In letter 7.27, Marinus is the husband of Gordia, the Emperor's sister, and Gregory notes the return of Hesychia, while again greeting Eudochia and Dominica, all three very influential women.

1 Count Narses was a close friend of Gregory's (see also letters 3.63;5.46;7.27). He was a pious nobleman at Maurice's court, studying the Holy Writ, not to be confused with the eunuch Narses, in command of Justinian's armies during the Gothic war. Theophanes Anni Mundi 6096-6097 indicates that when Phocas overthrew Maurice in 602, Narses revolted and started negotiations with the Persians. In 605 he went to Constantinople under a safe-conduct, but Phocas broke it, predictably, and had him burned alive. 2 Probably to do with Anastasius, ex-patriarch of Antioch, removed from his See (with many friends) by the Emperor Justin II in 570 (see Evag v.5-6). 3 Maurice was the Emperor of Constantinople (royal plural, as usual). 4 He filled the office in Constantinople of papal emissary, from before the time of Gregory's elevation. Several letters give him commissions on behalf of the Pope.

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The opening paragraph, in which the Pope discusses religious issues with Narses, has not been included.

(ii) Letter 7.22, sent to Gregoria, lady-in-waiting, in June, 597 "I have received the letters I wanted from your Sweetness, in which you have been keen to accuse yourself in every way over a multitude of sins. But I know that you love almighty God fervently, and I trust in his mercy that this sentence proceeding from the mouth of Truth, and originally said about a certain holy woman, also applies to you: 'Her many sins have been forgiven, because she has shown great love.'5 And how they were forgiven was also shown in what follows next. She was sitting at the feet of the Lord, listening to the word of his mouth.6 For elevated by the contemplative life, she had already transcended the active life, which her sister Martha was still following. She also searched earnestly for her buried Lord,7 and bending over his sepulchre, she did not find his body. But even when his disciples were retiring, she kept standing before the door of the sepulchre, mourning, and was counted worthy to see Him alive for whom she was weeping when he was dead, and she announced to the disciples that he had risen from the dead. It was by the amazing dispensation of God's loving-kindness that the mouth of a woman should announce his life, because by a woman's mouth death was first offered in Paradise.8 At another time too, she saw the Lord after his resurrection, with the other Mary, and approached him and held his feet.9 Just put before your eyes, I beg you, what hands held whose feet. That woman who had been a sinner in the city, those hands which had been polluted with iniquity, touched the feet of him who sits at the right hand of his Father, above the heads of the angels. Let us consider, if we can, those bowels of Heavenly loving-kindness, that a woman who had been sunk in the depths of a whirlpool through her sin should be lifted so high on the wings of love through His grace. It has been fulfilled, sweet daughter, it has been fulfilled as was promised at about this time to us, the holy 5

Lk 7.47. Gregoria is linked both here with Mary Magdalene, and with Mary (and Martha), in Lk 10.39. 6 See Lk 10.39. The practical Martha appears in Lk 10.40. 7 For this and what follows, see Jn 20.11-18. 8 The text of Gn 3.4-5, to which Gregory refers, places the words of death in the serpent’s mouth, but here they appear in the mouth of the first woman, persuading Adam to eat of the fruit, condemning all women. 9 See Mt 28.9.

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Church, by a prophetic voice: 'And on that day there shall be open to the house of David a fountain, to purify from sin and menstruation.10 For the house of David is a fountain for us sinners, open for our ablution, as we are washed free of the filth of our iniquities by the mercifulness now revealed to us, through the son of David, our Saviour. But as for what your Sweetness has added to your letters, that you are going to pester me, until I write that it has been revealed to me that your sins have been forgiven, you have demanded something both difficult and also fruitless. Difficult, indeed, because I am not worthy of having anything revealed to me, but useless, because you should not become secure about your sins, except when, in the very last day of your life, when you will no longer have any power at all to bewail those same sins. Until that day comes, ever suspicious and ever fearful, you ought to be afraid of your sins, and wash them daily with your tears. Certainly Paul the Apostle had already ascended to the third Heaven, and had even been led into Paradise, and had heard secret words which no human would be allowed to speak,11 and yet he was still fearful as he said: 'I punish my body and bring it in to subjection, for fear that, while preaching to others, I myself should prove false.'12 Is he still afraid as he is already being led up to Heaven, while one who is still living on earth is no longer willing to be afraid? Consider, sweetest of daughters, that security is normally the mother of negligence. And so, you ought not to have hope in this life through which you may be rendered negligent. It is written: 'Blessed is the man who is always on his guard.'13 And again it is written: 'Serve the Lord with fear; with trembling bow down before him in homage. Thus, in the brief time of this life, fear must hold your mind, so it may rejoice afterwards without end, through the joy of security. May almighty God fill your mind with the grace of his Holy Spirit, and after the tears shed daily in your prayers, lead you to eternal joys." This Gregoria was either the daughter-in-law of Gregory’s old friend, Rusticiana, or else a close relative of hers. As the 'sweetest of daughters' he clearly feels great affection for her. The letter gives us an interesting 10 Zec 13.1. The menstruatae in Vulg and Gregory’s text was altered by the NAB, Jerusalem bible, Vulg and Nova Vulgata to immunditia (‘uncleanness’). In 1.24, NAB turned ‘fornication’ into ‘immorality’! 11 See 2 Cor 12.2-5. 12 1 Cor 9.27. The Latin castigo and servituti subicio is far stronger than the NAB version ('I castigate my body and subject it to slavery'). 13 Prv 28.14, Ps 2.11.

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insight into Gregory acting as a spiritual director of souls. His choice of biblical quotes is very apt. In this letter, Gordia is a sister of the Emperor Maurice, and is married to Marinus. They have a grown-up daughter, called Theoctista, who is married to a Christodorus. If so, the Emperor has two sisters, since letters 1.5 and 7.23 show that a Theoctista was his sister, and was married to Philippicus, who was tonsured under Phocas, in 606 or 607. As in previous letter to Narses, the opening paragraphs in this letter, where the Pope discusses religious issues with that very pious nobleman, have not been included. At this point, the letter 7.27 set out and discussed on pages 46-47 above is worth re-reading, involving ‘his glorious daughters,’ the aristocratic ladies Dominica (newly appointed to a convent as prioress), and his close friend Eudochia, ending with his best wishes to the Lords Alexander and Theodore. Unfortunately the Pope’s letter to Gordia, the Emperor’s sister,, and her reply, have not survived.

(iv) Letter 1.11, sent to the patrician Clementina in December, 590 "Receiving the letter from your Glory, which discussed the death of Eutherius late of magnificent memory, we assure you that our minds were no less upset by such grief than yours was, for the reason that we see men of proven reputation being gradually removed from this world, the ruin of which is proved in the effects themselves now of the causes. But it is fitting for us to withdraw from it with the shrewd precaution of a new way of life, so that it does not entwine us equally with itself in its ruin. And indeed our sadness at the loss of our friends ought to be easier to tolerate, in as far as the condition of mortality demands that we lose them. And yet He is a powerful consolation for the lost support of mortal life, who in allowing himself to be removed from us, has granted that even he himself take the place which has been left empty, as our comforter. But as for the deacon Anatole, whom you have asked to be sent to you, this makes us unable to do this, more because of the manner of the case than due to rigorous austerity. For we have appointed him major-domo,

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and have entrusted the administration of our episcopal palace to his control." The Pope's letter to the widowed Clementina is a perfect example of his sympathy for women, as in this case the death of Eutherius 'of magnificent memory' has distressed Gregory as much as her, and the loss of her husband is part of the grievous loss of so many great men, removed from the world, but Christ lost his mortal life, but rose again to comfort her in her husband's place. Two years later the Pope saw her in a rather different light, as we shall see in the next letter. His letters to Clementina cover a period of over ten years, from December 590 to March 600, the the Pope never quite sure how to handle the aristocratic, and clearly very influential lady.

(iv) Clementina, who lived in Naples, appears again in letter 3.1, sent in September to sub-deacon Peter, the Pope's representative in Campania: "A report sent to us has made it quite clear what sort of crime has been committed against Paul,14 our brother and fellow-bishop, in the Castle of Lucullus.15 And because at this time that magnificent man Scholasticus, governor of Campania,16 was found to have been present there, we advised him specifically that he should have corrected the insanity of such great perversity with a severe punishment. But because the bearer of that report has now warned us to send someone, we have therefore sent our subdeacon Epiphanius there,17 to join the governor in investigating who instigated the sedition, and who took part in it, and to find them out and requite them with a worthy punishment. And so your Experience must find quick relief in this case, with all your courage, so that the truth can be found out, and so that punishments can proceed against the culprits. So since they say that the slaves of the glorious Clementina took part in this same crime, and made statements to 14

For Paul, visitor to the church of Naples, see letter 2.9. Clementina plays a very different part in 3.1. 15 For the Castle, see letter 1.23. 201 Scholasticus clearly enjoyed the Pope's confidence; see also letter 3.15. 17 Epiphanius appears here and in letter 3.2. He also was a sub-deacon of the Church of Rome. The 'there' means 'to there', illuc, as read by r; other mss and editors read illic, a common error, often justified in Norberg's text.

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stir up the sedition, if that is so, threaten them with submission to severe punishment. Do not let your severity be too lenient towards any person of that woman, because they need to be chastised all the more fully as being the servants of a noble woman, who have committed a crime due to nothing but arrogance. But you must also inquire into the following with a careful examination, as to whether the aforesaid woman participated in such a monstrous crime, or if it was perpetrated with her knowledge, so that all might learn from our defence, how dangerous it is to assault a priest not only with one's hands but with words also. For if anything is delayed or omitted in this case, you must realize that your fault threatens all the more to endanger you, and you will not find any chance of an excuse before us. For the more that affair may commend you to us, if it has been investigated and corrected most severely, the more you can be sure that our indignation is inflamed against you, if it has been treated lightly. But if some slaves from the rest have taken refuge from the city in the monastery of Saint Severinus or in another church in the same castle,18 as soon as it comes to your notice, in no way allow them to stay there, but let them be recalled into a church inside the city. And if they have a just complaint against their masters then they must come out of the churches in due order. But if they have committed a pardonable sin, they are to be restored to their masters without any delay, after receiving an oath of forgiveness."

(v) Letter 9.86 was sent to Clementina in January, 599 "From the report of an abbot, we have learnt that it has been announced to your Glory by some slanderous people that we have some grudge (Heaven forbid!) against you. If that is so, whoever they were who concocted this falsehood, were two-faced while appearing to be honest to you, so as to show themselves as though trustworthy, and to make us think badly about you. But I, glorious daughter, have known your goodness for a long time, especially your chastity that was your companion from your childhood, and I always held you in great veneration and love. But so that your Glory does not suspect that my heart is different even now, I make it known that 203

The guilt of the slaves is uncertain, but by taking sanctuary they forced their masters to swear not to punish them, if their faults were minor and pardoned by the Church. For a slave's right to escape punishment by taking refuge, going back to Saint Gelasius I, see Thiel Epist Rom Pont genuinae 505-6.

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there is no scrap of hatred in me, nor ounce of anger against you, but realize that I show you the love of a father. But I ought not to keep quiet over one matter brought to my attention, in case the love between us might be less, if what needs to be said for correction is passed over in silence. For indeed, it has been reported to me that if ever someone offends you, you hang on to the pain without forgiving him. Because the more I love you, the more I am distressed, I ask that if this is true, you should banish this vice from yourself, and should not allow the seed of an evil crop to grow, following a crop of good produce. Remember the words of the Lord’s Prayer and do not let a fault have more influence on you than a pardon. Let the goodness of your Glory overcome your faults, and put you on trial more profitably by pardoning, as persistent bitterness can make you impious. See that you can keep a way of feeling shame, and not preserve what may cause you pain. For often discrete forgiveness has more power to punish than strictly exacted revenge, since sometimes the former may make him a more faithful subject, but the latter an obstinate rival. For we do not say this to remove you from an ardent love of rectitude, but so that you do not behave the same in small matters as you ought to in great ones. For if ever the nature of a fault demands severity, one should take action so that punishment corrects the sin and afterwards grace is not denied to those corrected. And so, as we give you this warning with the persuasion of fatherly love, for your soul’s sake, accept it with the love with which the words are said." In this letter, the Pope has to be very tactful after suggesting that Clementina's slaves might have been guilty of stirring up sedition. He strongly objects to the slander that had suggested he held a grudge against her, arising from two-faced people pretending to be trustworthy. He stresses his increased affection for her, and tells of his distress at the concocted falsehood of those troublemakers. It had also been reported to the Pope that if ever someone should offend the proud Clementina, she would hang on to the pain without ever forgiving that person. He reminds her of God's forgiveness and the need for pity, and for the acceptance of warnings, when given with a father's love.

(vi) Letter 10.6, sent in March, 600, to the patrician, Clementina Glorious daughter, you should know that the priest Amand has been elected as bishop of Sorrento. And because we wrote that he ought to be

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sent here, you should not be upset over his absence, as you cannot believe that one who is in your thoughts has really left you. And since the man who pleased you some time ago is now welcome to those seeking a bishop, bless almighty God and rejoice all the more over this with Christian devotion. Joyfully take care that he may quickly come to us, to benefit others, as it is a sign of sincere love to be joyful when he who is loved is called for this purpose, that he may grow.

(vii) Letter 10.7 to Anthelm, sub-deacon of Campania "After the priest elected to the bishopric of the city of Sorrento appeared unsuitable to us, they elected Amand,19 who was a priest of the oratory of Saint Severinus, situated in the castle of Lucullus. For that reason we advise your Experience to be keen to send over that priest to us with all speed and without making any excuse, so that the desires of those seeking him may be fulfilled with Christ’s help, if there is nothing to stop him. But first take care to make a diligent inquiry about him, together with Fortunatus,20 our brother and fellow-bishop, since the way of life and actions of Amand can be known better there, where he has lived for a long time. And if there is nothing that might prevent him from reaching that holy rank, he should be sent over to us without any delay. And so that our glorious daughter, Clementina, does not take offence, your Experience must go to her and carry this out with her support. But if she is perhaps unwilling to support the move, then let your Experience send him over here, as we have said, without delay. For the minds of our children should be placated in such a way that the benefit for souls should not be prevented." Clementina clearly had considerable influence in Church appointments, in this case over the promotion of an old friend of hers to the See. As the next letter shows, the sub-deacon is to inquire into his character, helped by Fortunatus, bishop of Naples, and if he is suitable, Clementina must be visited and informed, but Amand is to be sent anyway. Sorrento long remained a basis for Byzantine power in the Campanian region.

19

See the previous letter for this candidate and his friend, the aristocratic Clementina. There may be word-play on Amand[us] (‘beloved’), with ‘pleased you,’ ‘sincere love’ and ‘who is loved’ above, and ‘desires’ here - an innocent ‘love’ of course.

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(viii) One of Gregory's longest letters, 1.42, to his friend Peter, in May 591. "Concerning the silver of Rustica, look into the case with great care and do whatever seems just to you. Advise that magnificent gentleman, Alexander, that he ought to settle his case with the Holy Church. If by chance he fails to do so, then pursue the same case as best you can with the fear of God, while preserving his honour. In this matter, we want you even to give some gifts, and if it is possible, let what is to be given to others be allowed to him also, provided he gives up the case which he has brought against us." This is one of a wide range of matters arising from Sicily's need for reform. The manuscripts ascribed the silver to a man (Rusticiani). But in letter 3.58, a monastery has been built with money from Rustica's will.205 She was described as 'once an illustrious woman' in letter 9.165, where her son-in-law was called Alexander, and was her heir. Her husband, Felix, was a scholastic who lived in Naples (see letter 9.54). The silver is not specified elsewhere, but it supports the suggestion that she was a wealthy lady. The Pope proposes a very careful, tactful approach to the aristocratic lady and her son-in-law, Alexander. The giving of presents must have been a regular means of persuading those who received them to cooperate with the Pope's requests.

(ix) Letter 1.50, sent to defender Symmachus, June, 591 "My son, the Deacon Boniface21 has said to me that your Experience had written that the monastery once founded by Lavinia, a religious woman, exists fully prepared and that monks ought to be ordained therein. I have certainly applauded your forethought. But I wish that another place should be provided, besides that place which has already been freed for this 205

The Pope is as tactful as usual. Elsewhere, wealthy widows nearly always built convents. 21 This letter was sent to Symmachus in Corsica, via abbot Orosius, who had been entrusted with the task of enforcing monastic discipline in various island monasteries. In letter 1.49, he was in Montecristo, near Elba, and now he appears in a similar capacity in Corsica. His very useful and much loved deacon reports elsewhere to Gregory on Milan (letter 4.2), Ravenna (letter 6.31), and Sicily (letter 9.73), and later he became Pope Boniface IV (608-615). In this case, he tours Corsica and Gorgona with the local magistrate, Symmachus. The small island of Gorgona lies in the Ligurian Sea, about 20 miles southeast of Livorno.

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purpose. However, I want this to be done in such a way that a place should be sought over the sea, considering the uncertainty of the time, a site which is either protected by the disposition of the place, or could certainly be fortified without any great labour. Thus we can send monks there, whereby the island itself, which has not had a monastery until now, ought to be improved even in the following of this Christian way of life. To implement and provide for this establishment, we have sent abbot Orosius, bearer of the present order, with whom your Experience may go around the coast of Corsica. And of whatever private person such a place can be found, we are ready to pay a just price for it, so that we can make some lasting establishment." Lavinia, possibly a nun, must have been a wealthy woman to provide and equip the first monastery to be built on the remote island of Corsica. Orosius, the Pope's choice as its abbot, bears the Pope's letter, and his agreement to pay for an extension, looking over the sea, in case Lombard ships might approach it. A wealthy Capitulana had likewise founded a monastery in Syracuse, with her last will and testament, at the end of letter 10.1, arranging for its abbot to receive an annual request. Neither Capitulana nor Lavinia appears again in the Pope's letters or elsewhere.

(x) Letter 1.63, sent to sub-deacon Anthelm, July 591 "Just as we ought not to lose possessions rightly belonging to the Church, even so we judge it no less unjust to covet the possessions of others. And since we have been informed that some time ago the house of Petronius, a secretary of the holy Roman Church, over which we preside with God’s authority, was claimed unreasonably by Constantius, a defender at that time, so we demand your Experience, by this letter's order, to avoid any excuse or delay and to lay aside the title, and without delay to restore the same house to the bearer of this letter, Theodora, widow of the aforesaid Petronius, in case disadvantage should arise for widows (God forbid!)22 from where they ought to find the comfort of consolation." Again the Pope is concerned about the widow of the Church secretary, Petronius, robbed of her house by a defender, Constantius, who should have protected her. In his position it would have been hard for her to prevent him from doing so. And yet the Pope's representative at that time throughout Campania, the sub-deacon Anthelm, had an overriding power 22

For widows, see chapter 6 below. Several were letter-bearers.

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to remedy any such injustice. Theodora was carrying the letter, given to her after she had discussed her situation with Pope Gregory. Note that the word for a letter-carrier, latrix, was for a lady bearing a letter, for a man it was lator.

(xi) Letter 3.43 to Boniface, bishop of Reggio23 sent in June, 593 "Just as a church ought not to lose its own property, so it should not usurp the property of others with an ardent love of robbery. Indeed Stephania, who bears this letter, complains that some of her property was seized by force in the time of your predecessor and one-time bishop, Lucius, by his agents. And because she has requested that this should be restored to her, with justice on her side, for that reason your Fraternity should, with the fear of God, take care accordingly to learn accurately what she asserts. And if you find that it is as the aforesaid woman says, arrange for whatever has been wrongly taken from her to be restored, without any loss or delay. For it is very wrong to keep the property of others contrary to Church policy. Therefore be quick to satisfy the aforesaid woman's complaint beneficially, so that hereafter we suffer no trouble again, nor does this case show you to be avaricious or indolent." The Pope sees Stephania's loss as robbery right from the start. Again she is bearing the letter to Bishop Boniface, after a consultation with the Pope, who seems to have been ready to hear a complaint from any woman who was sure that she had been wronged. The previous bishop, Lucius, and his agents had seized her property, illegally according to the Pope, who ends with his last words demanding that Boniface is neither greedy nor idle. It seems that Stephania had stated her case most effectively, as it was the Church that had taken over her property. Stephania's problems continue, with her prayers and tears, as appears in the next letter, sent by the Pope to his defender, Romanus, over five years later, in a final attempt to solve the concerns of the widow Stephania and of her young son.

23

For Bishop Boniface, see letter 3.4.

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(xii) Letter 9.48, sent to Romanus, defender, in October/November, 598 "The rule of Law may not permit those things that come under Church control to be alienated,24 and yet the severity of a strict decision should at times be tempered, when a respect for pity asks for it. This is especially so when the sum involved is of such a size that it does not burden the giver, but is large enough to alleviate the poverty of the recipient to a fair degree. Thus Stephania, the lady bearing this letter, and her dear little son, Callixenus, whom she asserts is her child by Peter, her late husband, asserts that she is suffering from excessive poverty. She came here and demanded from us, with constant prayers and tears, a house owned by her in the city of Catana. Now Mammonia, her former mother-in-law, and grandmother of young Callixenus, had offered the house to our Church under the title of a donation. Stephania wanted us to have it restored to that Callixenus, asserting that the above-mentioned Mammonia did not have the right to alienate the house, but that it belonged entirely to her son, the aforesaid Callixenus. Our most beloved son, the deacon Cyprian,25 is acquainted with her case, but refuses her request. He says that the plea of the aforesaid woman is unjustified, and that she cannot reasonably claim this house under her son's name, or request its return. Nevertheless, so that we do not seem to allow the above-mentioned woman to weep in vain, and do not follow a path of rigour rather than embrace examples of piety, with this advice we order that you should return the house just mentioned to young Callixenus, and at the same time add damages to be paid by Mammonia, produced from the house itself. She is known to be there in Sicily. For, as we have said, it is better in doubtful matters not to pursue strictness, but rather to be turned to kindness, especially when from the return of a small property, the Church is not burdened, and merciful help is given to a poor orphan." Stephania has again travelled to Rome to make her case before the Pope, and takes his letter back to his defender, Romanus. Despite his legal verdict in the Church’s favour, Gregory as usual prefers kindness to strictness, and allows the house to be returned to Stephania’s son, with a

24

See Cod Iust 1.2.21 and Nov Iust 7.46.65.120. For the deacon Cyprian, the Pope’s close friend, who received 19 letters from the Pope, see letter 3.55. He was the defender of the patrimony of Sicily.

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donation from his wealthy grandmother, as a long-term support for the fatherless boy.

(xiii) Letter 6.37 was sent to his agent Anthelm,26 in June, 596 "The more widows living modestly are destitute of the comfort of their husbands, the more earnestly should ecclesiastic protection be provided for the ladies. For that reason, with the page of this command to you, we consider that you should hasten to provide protection for Alexandria, a magnificent woman, and widow of the one-time Vincomalus. Do so with all urgency and with all concern, where necessary, while preserving justice, of course. You should earnestly supply what she needs, and not allow her to be pestered by anyone or suffer any trouble. But, as we have said above, when a reason demands it, let her obtain the help of your Solicitude, in such a way that no one might try to take advantage at all of her affliction and oppression while you are placed there in her presence." Alexandria's husband had been taken on recently by the Pope as a wellpaid defender. Vincomalus had appeared over a year before, in letter 5.26, sent to him by the Pope in February, 595. In this short but interesting letter he defined the legal requirements for a defender of the Church. "If you are not held liable on any condition or to any person, and have not been a cleric in another city, and the statutes of canon law do not go against you, you may receive the office of defender of the Church, and whatever we have imposed on you for the benefit of the poor, you should carry it out without corruption and with diligence, so as to use this privilege which we have conferred on you with careful deliberation. You should faithfully work hard to complete all that we have charged you to do, as being about to render an account of your actions before the judgement of our Lord."

26

For Anthelm, administrator of the Pope's Campanian patrimony, see letter 6.32.

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(xiv) Letter 7.8, sent to Bishop Stephen27in October 596 "The heart-felt letters of your Holiness have spoken words of love to me, so that through your pen, your mind has crossed over in the letters, just as if your mind itself was talking to me on its own. Wherefore I offer thanks to almighty God, because although we are divided in body, residing far from each other, yet the love between us remains undivided. And indeed you have shown great favour to me, and more than I ought to hear, for I am unworthy. And it is written: 'Call no man happy as long as he lives.'28 But, although I was unworthy to hear such things, I ask that I may be made worthy through your prayers, so that, if you have said good things about me because they are not so, let them be so because you have said them. As for the glorious patrician, Mary, I am highly delighted that she has been added to the holy fold of God, and I do not doubt that this was achieved by your continual preaching, as you show from the fruit itself how hard you are working on behalf of the Catholic faith. I suspect also that many people are joining the Church through that woman, and this is totally beneficial to your reputation, for it is written: ‘where the crops are large, there the strength of the oxen is manifest.'29 For the virtue of those in charge is made obvious when a crop of souls grows high. As for our joint son and most excellent gentleman, Lord Constantine, the more you love him, the more you should continually exhort him always to have the Judgement of almighty God before the eyes of his heart in the cases in which he is involved, and be keen to please God only, who can both protect him in his present life and grant him the reward of a Heavenly abode." The patrician Mary has joined the Catholic Church, thanks to the preaching of Bishop Stephen, who appears to be an old friend of the Pope. She is now bringing many others into the Church, which adds to the credit of the Bishop.

27

This bishop’s see remains unknown. Gregory had addressed letter 1.36 to a Bishop Stephen of the Illyrian town of Scutari, but nothing links him with this bishop, except that the Pope says he had corresponded with him before. 28 Sir 11.28. The Latin is: 'Do not praise a man, as long as he is alive'. 29 Prv 14.4.

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(xv) Letter 7.34 was sent to Dominica, John's wife, in July, 597 "Your letters made us feel all too joyful, as we learnt that you were joined to the unity of the Church, with God's protection. And indeed, as you yourself write, you should have done this before, as it was very improper for the wife of such a man to be separated from the unity of communion. For you should have considered, glorious daughter, how great a multitude of the faithful exists in the bosom of mother Church, and with what great virtues the priests shine who have died in that faith, and for how many bodies they make their miracles, and you ought not to have judged them, but you should have trusted such great men and priests more than yourself. For all that, we give thanks to almighty God, as he has poured the light of his truth into your heart, so that, driving away the darkness of his sin, he may show you the path of righteousness, which you should follow and stick to. But we are unwilling to send away from us your glorious husband, as long as we are alive. And for that reason do not expect him to return to you somehow. And indeed he himself wants to go to you, but after coming to the city of Rome, he cannot, he is not allowed to, because he is held bound completely by the chains of our love. And so, it is better that you should hasten in every way to come to him, because limbs should rather follow their head, and accompany it wherever it might be." The Pope is very persuasive in his appeal to Dominica to join her husband, but he failed to persuade her and it was nearly two years later when she finally succumbed, and set out from Ravenna to join him. He held the high office of Prefect of Rome. For her return to Rome, the Pope did all he could to help her to avoid any trouble on the way. He first wrote to an important contact in Ravenna, Theodore, who had arranged peace terms on his behalf with the Lombards, asking him to provide an armed escort for Dominica as far as Perugia (letter 9.117), and then he wrote to the bishop of Ravenna, Marinianus (letter 9.118), requesting his support for the wife's return, to join the two again, for the sake of John's peace of mind. But why she had stayed so long in Ravenna remains unexplained. Perhaps her family lived near Ravenna, and she was free to return when her mother, or father, had died.

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(xvi) Letter 8.34 was sent to the illustrious Adeodata in August, 598 "The letter of your Glory has brought great joy to us, because it signified that you have a desire for eternal life. But because the fleeting glory of the world usually obstructs enthusiasm of this sort, we exhort you not to let some transitory matter revoke that most salutary determination of your mind, or turn it aside from the path it has embarked on. Rather, let the love of a Heavenly homeland inspire your mind, let rewards which will last stimulate it, and at the promise of the coming Judge, let it always aspire for what is certain, and earn what is eternal from temporal things, so that from this, you can be in true glory and be numbered among the Heavenly matrons. Recall to your mind the good fortunes of the times, the multitude of people, the processions of dignities, the glory of matrons and the abundance of riches. Consider when and how all of these were created, and from this, think how they are as nothing, and that the man who loves such things, is dreaming while awake. Thus, this recollection should be a great lesson for you, for whatever is finally brought to an end, ought not to be valued highly. And so, those things should be sought, those things should be loved most of all, which are neither transient when they are discovered, nor fail when they are acquired. But because nobody can pursue his desire for them without the grace of Heavenly compassion, we pray our almighty Lord that he grants you both the wish to choose these things and the power to obtain them, so that he both allows you to live here in fear of him, and afterwards receives you in the ranks of holy martyrs.30 Greeting your Glory, therefore, with fatherly love, with regard to the case of our brother and fellow-bishop, Decius,31 we indicate that we have decided on this, that we should entrust our brother and fellow-bishop, John, to hear his case, together with Leontius, a glorious man, as he is said to be a good and just man. We are without care most of all because, where 30

The two paragraphs above remind one of the processions of male and female martyrs on the walls of early churches, as in the church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, from the mid sixth century. The image may have been a common one in Gregory’s day. 31 Decius, bishop of Lilybaeum, succeeded Theodore in the See after the death of Theodore in 595; (see letter 5.23.

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we are concerned in the trial of our brother and fellow-bishop, he should not be cheated, and a part of the Church should not suffer damage." Besides the 'illustrious' in the address, the Pope twice refers to Adeodata as 'Your Glory' to emphasise her high nobility. In this letter she seems to be acting as an adviser to the Pope concerning the new bishop, Decius, who as a priest had been chosen as bishop by the clergy of Lilybaeum, and was to be put on trial by a Bishop John and a noble ex-consul, Leontius. It seems that the bishop was exonerated, and in August 599, just a year later, the Pope wrote to Bishop Decius to tell him to support the convent that was being established by the glorious Adeodata in her mansion in Lilybaeum. The letter to her above suggests that she was certain to make a major commitment to the Church, in the form of a new convent with all its contents.32

(xvii) Letter 3.67 to the patrician Italica, sent in August, 593 "We received your letter filled with charm, and the news of your Excellency's safety has delighted us. So great is the sincerity of our mind about this, that paternal affection permits us to suspect no hidden animosity in its tranquillity. But let almighty God bring it about that, just as we have good feelings about you, so your mind may give a good response to us, and you may exhibit in your works the sweetness that you expend on your words. For the most glorious health and beauty on the surface of a body is worth nothing if there is a wound deep within. And that discord is all the more to be avoided, for which external peace provides a cover up. But in that letter, your Excellency tried earnestly to recall to our memory that this had been written to you. That in cases concerning the poor, we wanted to make no decisions with you causing offence, or that ring with the din of a public court.33 We remember writing this, and know that, with God's help, we restrain ourselves from quarrelsome cases with ecclesiastical moderation. And in accordance with apostolic good sense, we happily put up with the plundering of our goods. But we believe that you know this, that our 32

See chapter 5(d) below. Despite his early training and practice in law, Gregory was very reluctant as Pope to get involved in a public trial (see letter 3.3. See 9.187 for the Pope's other letter to her.

33

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silence and patience will not create a legal precedent for future popes after me in matters of the poor. Wherefore, we carry out our promise mentioned above, and have determined that we should now be silent about these same cases. We do not desire to involve ourselves in those affairs in which we feel that there is not enough benevolence. But in case you conjecture from this, glorious daughter, that we entirely reject what still concerns concord, we have indicated to our son and deacon, Cyprian, while visiting parts of Sicily, that if you determine to arrange something about these matters beneficially and without a fault of your soul, he should determine it with you on our authority. Thus we may no longer be worried by that business, its execution having been arranged with clemency. May almighty God, who well knows how to make possible what is entirely impossible, inspire you both to settle your cases with a peaceful intent, and to take care for the poor of this church regarding those things due to them, for the good of your soul."

(xviii) Letter 9.193 was sent to sub-deacon Anthelm in July, 599 "Our glorious daughter, Irene, has indicated to us through her men that agents of our Church are retaining some of her servants, without good reason. And because she is seeking to have them restored to her, we therefore order you, with this authority, to be keen to investigate the truth with all diligence. But if this is the case, and they cannot be claimed in the name of our Church, then put aside all delay and restore them to her. If perchance they have become slaves of our Church,34 then repay their loss by giving substitutes for them. But if perhaps some are said to belong to our Church, make a decision without any delay, and let your Experience bring into effect what has been decided, without any fuss, so much so that it is not necessary for us to send anyone over to our daughter Irene again over this matter." For a change, it seems that the 'glorious' Irene has not visited the Pope in Rome in person, but has sent her agents to sort out the problem. Whether they are servants or slaves, they need to be returned to her at once, if free servants, in person, if slaves, as an appropriate sum of money. Again the Pope puts the lady's interests before the Church's, and again he wants a quick settlement. It is the only mention of Irene. 34

See chapter 9 below.

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(xix) Letter 11.11, sent to the clerics of Milan, in October, 600 "The bearer of this letter, Arethusa, a most famous lady, has stayed with us for a long time, as you recollect, due to the legacy that your Bishop Laurence of reverend memory35 had left to her, her husband and their children. For that reason we had sent a letter of ours to our brother and our fellow-bishop, Constantius,36 of reverend memory, saying that he should have settled that case with her with priestly zeal, putting an end to noisy quarrels. He had replied that he had then wanted to do this long ago and still wanted to do so. But because the lady bearing this letter stayed in this city for a long time and put off returning there, so far no decision could be made. And so we exhort your Beloved selves with this letter to show your love to the aforesaid woman when she arrives there, as is fitting for sons of the Church, and when your church has been given a bishop, with God’s authority, make sure that this case, that has been put off for a very long time, may be terminated without any delay, while preserving justice, so that the aforesaid woman is not worn out any more and you do not appear to be denying what is just to those seeking it, contrary to the Church’s way of life." Note that Arethusa, who had inherited property from Bishop Laurence, had stayed with her family in Rome for a long time, before setting out with the Pope's letter, to have the case of the bishop's bequest settled once the new bishop had taken over from the deceased one, Constantius, who had in fact agreed to settle her case before his death. Rusticiana, a very aristocratic lady, appears to have been the closest of all to the Pope, and her family was directly descended from Anicius Severinus Manlius Boethius, the famous statesman, philosopher and polymath, who was falsely accused of treason and finally executed by his misled friend, King Theodoric, after having completed his De Consolatione Philosophiae in prison. His son Flavius, consul in 522, and praetorian prefect in North Africa, was the father of Lady Rusticiana and Lord Symmachus, primate of Byzacenum in North Africa, 550-552. She appears to have had two 35

For this one-time bishop of Milan, see letter 1.80. See letter 11.6 for the death of this bishop of Milan, sent to the same recipients. Gregory had sent fifteen letters to Constantius in books 4-9, over seven years, from letter 4.1 where he granted him the pallium in Sept 593, to his blindness in letter 9.235 and his death in September 600. There is no other mention of Arethusa in the letters to and about Constantius. 36

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daughters, Gregoria, a lady-in-waiting in the palace, married to Lord Eudoxius, and Eusebia, married to the Egyptian nobleman Appio, with daughters, and a young son, Strategios, who may well have been the Pope's godson. First Anicius Boethius, and later Lady Rusticiana and all of her family, were wiped out by two ill-educated tyrants, the first by Theoderic, and the second by the military thug and usurper, Phocas. The Pope wrote as many as seven letters to Lady Rusticiana, 2.24, 4.44, 8.22, 9.84, 11.25, 11.26 and the chilling last letter, 13.24. Lady Eusebia received just one, most significant letter from Gregory, 13.33, encouraging her to bring her family to Rome for safety, but she had appeared in all of her mother's letters, as had Strategios in three. Gregoria also received just one long letter, a very religious one, 7.22. The nine letters will follow their chronological sequence, starting with 2.24, which covers nearly eleven years, the letters having been composed and copied from April 592 to February 603, not long before the Pope's escape from severe pain on March 12th, 604.

(xx) Letter 2.24, sent to Rusticiana in April 592 "In receiving your Excellency's letter, I was relieved by the report of your good health, for I had prayed that the Lord in his mercy would both protect and determine your life and actions. But I was very surprised as to why you have put off your intention of making the journey you planned, to the Holy Lands,37 as well as your vow of a good deed, when it is necessary to complete an act of devotion quickly, if ever a good deed is conceived in one's heart as a gift to the Creator. Otherwise, while the cunning entrapper strives to ensnare a soul, he at once suggests various obstacles by which one's mind is debilitated, and does not let one's desires reach fulfilment.38 For this reason it is necessary for your Excellency to anticipate all the obstacles obstructing the path of holy causes, and to aspire to the rewards of a good deed with every effort of one's heart, so that one may both live with tranquillity in the present age, and may in the future possess a Heavenly kingdom.

37

She was planning a pilgrimage ('her good deed') to Mount Sinai, strongly endorsed by Gregory, and it was carried out as described by her in her next letter. 38 This is a typical expression of Gregory's, who often uses the same ideas to explain the Devil's activity in tempting souls to sin. It was the Pope who 'opposed men of this world so that they did not do as much harm (to women) as they would like to do.'

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But as for your report that Passivus39 has concocted some calumnies against you, and that our most pious Emperor40 has not only been unhappy to hear them, but has also received them with bitterness, think carefully whose gift this was,41 and turn all the hope of your mind to Him who with his power opposes men of this world, so that they do not do as much harm as they would like to do, and who with the opposition of his arm can rebuff men's depraved desires, and himself shatter their attempts with pity, as is his custom. I pray you to greet on my behalf your glorious Lord Appio and Lady Eusebia and Lord Eudoxius and Lady Gregoria."

(xxi) Letter 4.44 sent to Rusticiana, patrician, in August, 594 "On receiving your Excellency's letter, I was glad to hear how you had reached Mount Sinai.42 Believe me, I too would have liked to have joined you, but by no means to have returned with you. And yet, it is extremely difficult for me to believe that you have visited holy places, and have seen many Fathers. For, I believe that if you had seen them, you could not have returned to the city of Constantinople so quickly. Rather, as the love of such a fine city by no means left your heart, I suspect that your Excellency paid little attention in your heart to the sacred things that you experienced with your body. But may almighty God illuminate your mind with the grace of his piety, and grant you wisdom, and let you know how transient all temporal things are. For, while we are saying this, time flies and the Judge is approaching. And behold, the time is already nigh for us to depart unwillingly from this world, which we do not want to leave of our own accord.

39

Nothing else is known about this most offensive character. Gregory uses the plural, as usual, for the very pious Emperor Maurice, an old friend, applauded by him. 41 The Devil's, in contrast to the repeated 'him' (God) which follows. 42 She started her tour after April in 592. For the monastery built on Mt Sinai, and its abbot, John, see Epp 11.1,2. A pilgrimage to this mountain was a frequent event in this period, Sinai being one of the holiest places for the faithful. 40

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I ask that the Lord Appio and the Lady Eusebia and their daughters be greeted on my behalf. But as for that lady43 who was my nurse, and whom you recommend to me in your letter, I am totally devoted to her, and do not want her to suffer in any way. But we are oppressed by such great shortages, that at present we cannot even excuse ourselves from imposts and burdens." The Pope was too ill to travel with her, despite his 'I would have liked to go with you.' He shared his own interests in Constantinople and in the Holy Land, and in the Fathers of the Church, with his dear friend, Rusticiana, as is well brought out by the letter. Its ironical beginning reveals their intimate relationship, backed up by the Pope's old and sickly nurse and his rather lame excuse.

(xxii) Letter 8.22, sent to Rusticiana in May, 598 "I remember having written to your Excellency some time ago, and I repeatedly encouraged you to revisit soon the threshold of Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles. I do not know what your great delight is in the city of Constantinople, and what your oblivion is of the city of Rome.44 So far, I have been thought unworthy of obtaining anything from you, on this matter. For how much it could benefit your soul, for collecting the rewards of eternal life, and how much it would also totally suit your glorious daughter, her Ladyship, Eusebia, we attend to with great care, and you also can consider with greater care. But if you require my son, Peter, your servant, whom I have found to be wise beyond his years and keen to grow up, you will find how much love there is among all who live here, towards your Excellency, and how great the longing to be worthy of seeing you again. If we are warned in Holy Writ, as taught by our Lord, that we should love even our enemies,45 we 43 The dominam, 'lady' seems strange for his old nurse, but may conceal her name Dominica. Gregory sends his best wishes to a 'Dominica' in letter 3.63, but she was a domina also. However, such a nurse may have looked after him in the royal palace, where he had become part of the family during his stay in Constantinople. 44 The family of Rusticiana had properties in Sicily, as the next letter will show, and they had lived there and in Rome earlier on, but had now settled in Consatantinople. The Pope is keen to see them back in Italy or Sicily, sensing the dangers in the East. See Mt 5.44; Lk 6.27,35. 230 See Mt 5.44; Lk 6,27,35.

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should consider how great a fault it is not to love even those who love us. And if, perhaps, they are said to be loved, we know most certainly that nobody can love those whom he does not want to see.46 But if, in fact, you are afraid of the swords and wars of Italy, you should observe most carefully what great protection is given to this city by Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles. For we have been preserved for so many years, unharmed amid swords, with God's support, without a large population of people, and without the support of soldiers. We say this, because we love you. But may almighty God grant whatever he sees as benefiting your soul for evermore, and whatever he sees as benefiting the reputation of your home at the present time. As for the ten pounds of gold47 that your Excellency sent over for the redemption of captives, I have received it, brought by my aforesaid son. But I ask that the Heavenly grace, which allowed you to give the gold as a reward for your soul, may allow me to distribute it without any contagion of sin, so that we are not stained by what you use to wipe away your sins. May almighty God, who sees your bodily weakness and pilgrimage, comfort you always with his grace, and by the life and health of my most charming son, his Lordship Strategios, so that He may nurture him both for your sake, for a long time, and for his own sake, for eternity. May He both fill you and all of your family with present good things, and allow you to have Heavenly grace. But we ask that the glorious Lord Eudoxius be greeted on our behalf." The family of Rusticiana owned properties in Sicily, as the next letter will show, and they had lived there and in Rome earlier on, but sadly had now settled in Constantinople. The Pope is keen to see them back in Italy or Sicily, sensing the dangers in the East and the threats to their properties in Sicily and Italy. His special prayer for the life and health of his charming son, Strategios, does point to him being the Pope's godson, in those days, as in Roman times, equivalent to a naturally born son.

46

There may be echoes here of 1 Jn 14.12,20. The equivalent to about 720 gold coins. fortunately.

47

The Lombards were very venal,

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(xxiii) Letter 9.84, sent to John, bishop of Syracuse, in January, 599 "Peter, a most famous gentleman and major domo to our glorious daughter, the patrician Rusticiana, has made the following complaint to us in his letters. He asserts that after your Fraternity had returned from the city of Rome, some members of your church had forcibly invaded the boundaries of a property owned by that patrician lady. On this matter, he pointed out that he had quite often registered a complaint with you, and finally appointed his notary, Marcian, to plead the case before you. He asserts that you put him off with various delays, so that until now the parties had not been able at all to come together for the pleading of the case. And as much as we love you with brotherly love, we are equally distressed to hear something that makes you unpopular. For that reason, we exhort you with the present letter to cease from any delays and excuses, and make your people go to court with the other party over the boundaries that are said to have been invaded. Thus the inquiry into the invasion of the property and the dispute over its ownership, if there is one, may both be finalized. Therefore, let your Fraternity ensure that this is done without delay, so that the quarrel might not affect you with odium or disturb us again about it." Rusticiana's major domo, Peter, seems to be very active in protecting her property in the fertile island of Sicily. The invasion of its boundaries by some church members of John, bishop of Syracuse, made it difficult for Gregory, who was unwilling to antagonize either such an important bishop, or his old friend Rusticiana. He suggests that there may be no dispute, but an inquiry still needs to be made, as soon as possible. The result of the inquiry is unknown.

(xxiv) Letter11.25, sent to John, bishop of Syracuse in February 60148 "I have received your Fraternity’s letter that told me about the sickness of my most charming son, his Lordship Venantius, and described how everything around him has progressed. But when I heard at one and the same time that he was desperately and gravely ill, and that evil men were 48

Gregory sent 42 letters to his key agent in Sicily, John, the bishop of Syracuse and of Sicily. He and Romanus acted as the Pope’s key agents in clearing up the many problems in Sicily.

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claiming the property of his orphans, grief could scarcely contain itself within my heart. But there was some consolation in the fact that it burst out through my groans. Your Holiness, therefore, should not neglect what should be your first care, that you ought to think about his soul, by exhorting him, by begging him, by putting before him God’s terrible Judgement and by promising His ineffable mercy, so that even in his final hours he might return to his monastic habit,49 so that the guilt of such great sin is not held against him in the eternal Judgement. Next it is up to you to consider what arrangements should be made for his daughters, their Ladyships Barbara and Antonina, so that no opportunity is provided for evil people. For after their father had sworn to make me take care of their concerns, adding that I should look after their arrangements, he followed some other line in his letter, and I am quite sure that it might prevent my proposal. For he said that he should make them often pray as suppliants to our most serene Lordship, the Emperor, as he would provide for them. You realize how different this is from his previous wish. And for that reason I doubt that an apt opportunity should be given for men located in Sicily, who seek a chance to deal with his goods. For know this, what are those men going to do who without any good reason were already trying to imprint a seal on his property, from what they say?50 Would reason not seem to support them on the surface, and provide them with just material of a sort for this? If they should say: ‘The girls have been recommended to his Lordship the Emperor, and we cannot ignore it, or it involves us in danger. We are securing their property until his Lordship the Emperor orders them to be taken to Constantinople. Tell me, I beg you, what action shall I take about this, when a father’s recommendation seems to be agreeable to a person of great power? For he swears to me that I should look after their arrangements, so that they either live in the city of Rome or are not removed from Sicily, and he brings it 49

In letter 1.33, the Pope saw Venantius’ departure from a monastic life as a sin. It may have been due to his marriage. The two men probably worked together as friends for several years, before becoming monks, permanently for Gregory, but only briefly for the rich aristocrat Venantius, who at his death tried to please both the Pope and the Emperor for his daughters’ sake. It was too late to become a monk again. 50 The seal suggests that Venantius may have had a government job, and his estate was liable to seizure by its officials, especially once his daughters, Barbara and Antonina, had become wards of the Emperor. Gregory suggests that according to the primary intent of the will he was their guardian without liability.

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about that there is no reason for bringing them here nor for retaining them there. But would you resist those evil men as best you can. Defend the daughters’ property for the sake of almighty God, as if it were your own, and if it is still allowed, consider how every opportunity for violence may be removed from the will of the aforesaid gentleman, his Lordship Venantius. But if it proves right that the girls should be recommended to the palace, he should not impose a heavy weight on me, wanting the care of the girls’ arrangements to impinge on my soul. Let it suffice that almighty God knows what I think about their arrangements. Therefore I have taken care to write immediately to my most beloved son and deacon, Anatole, saying that he should be keen to have a talk with the glorious lady and patrician Rusticiana, and how he ought to inquire and decide about the persons whose names have been sent over to me, so that he may inform us quickly about everything, and what needs to be done may be settled as ordained by God. Furthermore, in the letter that you sent us we found your Fraternity very upset because we had not wanted you to come here, due to some ingratitude. In fact, we did not do so for any other purpose except for the sole reason of expediency, knowing that your presence there was extremely necessary, because of certain persons located there. But in case you should perhaps believe from this that our mind is ungrateful towards you (Heaven forbid!), if you wish to come here, present yourself at the doors of the Apostles at an appropriate time. For as far as we are concerned, we love your Beloved so much so that we desire to see you much more often." Presumably the agents were keen to steal Venantius’ goods and to send the girls to the palace, which would take over their inheritance. Fortunately in letter 11.59, we find the girls about to set out for Rome, six months later, despite Gregory’s earlier fears. This is his final tussle with Maurice, and as usual he handles it tactfully through his emissary Anatole and his old friend Rusticiana, both of whom had access to the Emperor. Pope Gregory is delighted to hear that the girls are hurrying to Rome, and in a letter to them (11.59) he plans their futures like any grandfather, with friends to look after them if he should die, ending his letter as follows:

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"When you say you are hurrying to the threshold of Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, I greatly long for this, and I await with burning desire to see you married to worthy husbands in his church, so that you may acquire just a little comfort from me and I may acquire a great deal of joy from your presence. And I have taken care to recommend your cases to my very reverent brother, Bishop John, and to my defender, Romanus, asking that they should complete what they have begun with God's authority. And I gladly received your gift of two cloaks, which you informed me were your own work. But realize that I did not believe what you told me. For you are seeking praise for someone else's work, as perhaps you have never yet put your hands to a spindle. But that claim does not upset me, because I hope that you may love to read Holy Scripture, so that whenever almighty God shall unite you with husbands, you may know how to live, and how each of you should manage your home." The Pope teases the young ladies, daughters of a very dear friend, Venantius, probably teenagers by then and close to a marriageable age. Embroidery would be a normal occupation for wealthy young ladies, but he flatters them with his disbelief. The thought of weddings in Saint Peter's might have excited them, but they may have thought it rather premature. It is an unusual letter, with the Pope no doubt smiling as he wrote it. Their father, Venantius, had been one of Gregory/s closest friends, as we have seen.

(xxv) Letter 11.26 sent to Rusticiana, a patrician, in February, 601 "I received your Excellency’s letters that would totally relieve me, due to your devotion and your charm, when I was subject to the gravest of illness. But there was one thing that upset me, that in those letters you kept on saying to me all too often ‘your handmaid’ and ‘your handmaid’ that could be said just once. For why does she call herself my handmaid, when I was made the servant of all servants through the burdens of my episcopacy, and had been accepted as her personal servant before my episcopacy? And for that reason I ask through almighty God that I should never again find this word in your letters to me. But those presents that you sent over with your most pure and sincere heart to Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, were received in the presence of all the clergy and were duly hung up there.

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My son the magnificent gentleman, Lord Symmachus, found me sick with painful gout and almost in despair, so he put off giving me your letters and handed them to me a long time after the tapestries had been received.51 But afterwards we found in your Excellency’s letters that they should have been carried to the church of Saint Peter with a litany. And as I have just said, this was not done at all because we received the tapestries before the letters. But the aforesaid lord carried out with all the servants of your household what you wanted us to do with the clergy. And although peoples’ voices were missing, that offering of yours has its own voice before our almighty Lord. For I trust in His piety that the intercession of him whose body you have covered on earth protects you from all sins for Heaven, and rules your home with his foresight, guarding it with his watchfulness. As for your trouble with gout, that you signified had struck you, I was both bitterly upset and delighted. Delighted, because the noxious humour sought your lower body and deserted your upper body completely, but bitterly upset, because I am afraid that you are suffering excessive pain in such a very slender body. For where flesh is lacking, what strength will be able to resist the pains? For I am sure that you know what I used to be like,52 but now I am affected by such bitterness of mind and persistent exasperation, and due to this, by such troublesome gout, that my body has been dried up as if it were ready for burial, so that it rarely happens now that I can rise from my bed. So if the pain of gout reduces the mass of my body to such extreme dryness, what should I feel about your body, that was too dry before your pains began?53

51

It seems that these were special tapestries, woven from Byzantine cloth or silk, and no doubt colourful with gold and silver, and they were sent to Rome to ‘cover Saint Peter’s body.’ A special litany was to mark this priceless gift. Lord Symmachus, a friend of Rusticiana, brought letters over from Constantinople, revealing revealing how much she was suffering from attacks of gout on her very thin body. 52 When he was a fit young monk in Constantinople, warmly welcomed by Rusticiana’s family, first known in Sicily, it seems. 53 This comment on physical, bodily well-being so as to commiserate with her attacks of painful gout, is rare in Gregory’s writings, where he normally concentrates on spiritual and interior well-being, setting the physical human condition to one side, as being of little consequence. It is comforting to find the ascetic Pope able to appreciate physical changes like this.

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But need I say anything about the alms that you have bestowed on the monastery of the Apostle Saint Andrew,54 when it has been written: ‘Hide your alms in the bosom of a poor man, and it will pray for you’? If therefore a report on that good deed can reach the secret ears of the Lord, whether we proclaim it or keep silent, this good deed of yours cries out by itself. And I declare that in that monastery of the same Apostle there are such great miracles, such great care for monks and protection for them, just as if the Apostle himself were the special abbot of the monastery. For to speak of a few of the many stories that I have learnt from the abbot and prior of the monastery, one day two brethren were sent from there who were supposed to buy something for the use of the monastery, one younger one who seemed more prudent and the other senior monk who would be the junior’s guardian. They both went out and from the money that they had received, the one who was sent as the guardian stole something from that price without the other monk knowing. And as soon as they had returned to the monastery, and came before the threshold of the oratory, the one who had committed theft was seized by a demon and fell down and began to be tormented. But when the demon let him go, the monks came together and asked him whether he had stolen something from what he had received. He denied it and was again tormented. He was released and asked again, and denied it again, and was tormented once more. And he denied it eight times and was tormented eight times. But after the eighth denial, he confessed how many coins he had stolen. And showing penitence, he prostrated himself and confessed that he had sinned. Indeed, the demon never came to him thereafter.55 At another time also, while the brethren were already resting during the midday hours, on the birthday of the same Apostle, a certain brother suddenly turned blind with his eyes open and began to tremble and utter loud cries with which he testified that he could not bear what he was suffering. The brethren surrounded him, and saw him blind with open eyes and trembling and crying out and a stranger to those present, sensing 54

Gregory’s monastery on Rome’s Clivus Scauri, set up in his family’s mansion after his father's death. The quote is from Sir 29.8-20. The miraculous stories that follow are all from the monastery of Saint Andrew. 55 This story, and those that follow, are unique in the letters, and more like those to be found in his Dialogues than in his other works. Their inclusion here shows that he was quite capable of recording such tales, and refutes those who question Gregory’s authorship of the Dialogues. He must have expected the elderly Rusticiana to enjoy them also, as light relief.

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that nothing could be done externally. So they lifted him up on their hands and threw him down before the altar of Saint Andrew the Apostle, and prostrated themselves in prayer on his behalf. And he at once returned to himself and confessed what he had suffered, namely that some old man had appeared to him and had set a black dog on to him to tear him apart, saying ‘Why did you want to flee from this monastery?’ And the monk said: ‘When I could in no way escape from the bites of the dog, some monks came and asked that old man on my behalf. He at once ordered the dog to depart and I returned to myself.’ He also confessed that ‘on that day on which I suffered those things I had planned to flee from that monastery.’ Another monk also wanted to depart secretly from that monastery. And when he had turned this over in his mind, he started to enter the oratory. And at once he was handed over to a demon and was most severely tormented. But he was left by the demon, and provided he had stopped outside the oratory, he suffered nothing unpleasant. But if he had tried to enter it, he was at once handed over to the evil spirit and tormented. And when this happened several times, he confessed his fault, namely that he was planning to leave the monastery. Then the brethren assembled for his sake and bound themselves to pray for three days, and he was so cured that the evil spirit never came to him afterwards. But he used to say that he had seen that blessed Apostle while he was being tormented, and had been rebuked by him for wanting to depart from the monastery. Two other brethren also fled from the same monastery, and they gave their brethren some clues while talking with them beforehand, saying that they were going down the Appian Way and on to Jerusalem. But as they departed, they detoured from their itinerary and found some hidden crypts next to the Flaminian Gate56 and hid themselves in them, so that those following could not find them at all. And during the evening hours they were looked for and no one could find them anywhere in the community, so some brethren mounted horses and followed them, and they left by the Metrovian Gate to pursue them along the Latin or Appian way. But suddenly a plan came to them that they should look for them on the Salarian Way, so as they rode outside the city they turned aside down the 56

The presence of these crypts by the Flaminian Gate is attested to later during the Middle Ages. The two monks were lucky not to be punished, or even exiled, after the long chase they caused for those pursuing them. The cautionary tales suggest that runaway monks were a major problem, even in as fine a monastery as Saint Andrew’s. The intelligent horses saved the day!

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Salarian Way. But not finding them, they decided to return through the Flaminian Gate. And when they were returning, as soon as their horses came in front of those crypts in which the two monks had hidden, they came to a halt and were unwilling to move a step, although they were beaten and urged on. The monks considered that such a thing would have to involve a mystery, so they had a good look at the crypts, and saw that their entrances were blocked with fallen masonry. But their horses would go nowhere, so they dismounted. They pulled aside the stones placed in the mouth of the crypts and entered, and there in those dark hiding-places under the ground they found the two monks in a state of terror. They were brought back to the monastery and were so improved by that miracle that they profited greatly from their short flight from the monastery. I have told you these stories so that your Excellency may know on whose oratory you have bestowed your charity. May almighty God watch over you for your soul and body and all your family with his Heavenly protection, and let you to live a long time as a comfort to us. I ask that my most charming son, his Lordship Strategios, may be greeted on my behalf, together with his glorious parents, your children."

(xxvi) Letter 13.24 sent to the patrician Rusticiana in February, 603 "Whenever someone comes to us from the Royal City, we take care to ask about the health of your body. But thanks to my sins, I also always hear what I am sorry to hear, as with its great emaciation and infirmity, they report that your painful gout is still increasing for you. But I pray almighty God, who directs everything that happens to your body for the health of your soul, that the temporary torments prepare eternal peace for you, and through those pains that have an end, he may allow you joys without end. But I myself live amid such immense grief and trivial duties, that I am ashamed to have reached my present age, and the expectation of death is my only consolation. And so, I ask that you should pray on my behalf, that I may be freed from this bodily prison more quickly, and not be tortured any longer by such great distress. Furthermore I must point out that a certain man, called Beator, a selfstyled Count, as it were, of the Emperor’s private purse, has come here and

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is doing a lot of things against all of you, but most of all against the servants of your Excellency and of your most noble grand-daughters, pretending to search for public goods.57 And we certainly do not permit him to act improperly, but we cannot act against the public interest either. You take action, therefore, before the most pious Emperor, as best you can, so that he stops this man from acting in a depraved manner. For with all the confusion, the public good is not being done, nor is there anything of great value here worth taking back, anyway. I ask that my very sweet son, Lord Strategios, is greeted on my behalf, and may almighty God nurture him for himself and for you, and may he console you always with his grace and life. But about your return, what should I write, when you know how much I desire it? But as I consider the obligations of my causes, I am feeling desperate, and for that reason I beseech the Creator of all things that wherever you are, wherever you shall be, he may protect you with the shield of his right hand, and preserve you from all evils."

(xxvii) Letter 13.33, sent to Eusebia, patrician, in June, 603 "Your mind may have been worried about your wealth, or perhaps about the tumultuous entanglements of the royal city, and you have put off visiting us in your letters. Yet it is up to us to pursue with sweet affection the hearts even of those children who have turned away from us, and by warnings and prayers to recall them to a friendly state of mind. Therefore, paying my debt to you now of a welcoming greeting, I encourage Your Excellency to turn your mind away from the overflowing tumults of that city, and think more about those things that belong to the soul than what belongs to the body. You should consider them all as transitory. You would then every day consider ceaselessly with fear and tears the terrifying trial of the Judge soon to come, and you should fearfully think again about that day on 57 The sinister Beator was certainly not Maurice’s appointment. His ‘self-styled’ is pejorative, as is the picture of his assault on the unprotected servants and granddaughters of Maurice’s old friend, the sickly Rusticiana, an obvious target for Phocas. Gregory’s urgent prayer for death suggests how horrifying the unexpected news brought by Beator must have been for him. The threats were all too real. Her family must return at once. Beator had reached Italy in February, a dangerous time for sailing over the Mediterranean, no doubt on Phocas’ command.

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which all things are to be thrown into confusion, so that you no longer fear the anger of the Judge on the day itself. But may almighty God pour these words into your thoughts with the breath of his spirit, and make you live here in tranquillity with your most noble husband, and rejoice over the good health of Lord Strategios, and allow you to come to eternal rewards after a long life." For the patrician Eusebia, the daughter of Rusticiana and wife of the Egyptian nobleman, Appio, this was a final warning, but it was given in vain. Her fortunes and her survival were very much dependent on the survival of the Court of the Emperor Maurice. The word hic ('here') suggests that any friends of Maurice are strongly advised to leave the threats and the increasing turmoil in Constantinople for the peace of Rome. With their great wealth, their families were especially at risk under the greedy, murderous Phocas, as the ‘wealth’ and 'chaos' at the start suggest. Unfortunately the sick old Pope was not able to persuade the family to leave their mansions in Constantinople, and it soon suffered the fate of its ancestor, Boethius.

CHAPTER FOUR ABBESSES

(a) Juliana, abbess in Sardinia [letter 1.46] In some cases, abbesses helped in the completion of a convent. In letter 1.46, sent in June 591, a lawsuit gives plenty of grist to the Pope's legal mill. The letter to Theodore, duke of Sardinia, is again full of interest, and involves the rich nun Pomponiana (see chapter 5(k) below). "The justice that you bear in your mind you should demonstrate before people with the light of your works. For Juliana, abbess of the convent of Saint Vitus, which Vitula, of worthy memory, once constructed, has suggested to us that the legal document proving possession of the aforesaid convent is being held by Donatus, a relative of yours. While this gentleman sees that he is fully protected by your Excellency, he does not deign to submit to being examined in court. But now your Glorious self must order this same official to appear before a court of arbitration with the aforesaid abbess, so that whatever is decided by the verdict of the judges over such a dispute as theirs, may be put into effect. Thus he will see himself either losing control of it or retaining it, in accordance with the justice of law and not due to an act of man. Likewise Pomponiana also, a religious lady, who is known to have founded a convent in her own house, has complained that a mother wanted to make the will of her deceased son-in-law null and void, so that the final bequest to his son may be reduced to nothing. On this matter, we have thought it necessary to exhort your Glorious self with paternal love to accommodate yourself freely to pious causes, safeguarding justice, and whatever the decision of the law grants them, we ask you to preserve it. We pray to the Lord that he may direct the path of your life favourably, and may dispose with prosperity the dignity of the administration that you have undertaken.”

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The Pope appeals as best he can on behalf of the Abbess Juliana and the nun Pomponiana, to Theodore, the military commander of Sardinia, using all the flattery he can, and careful appeals to law. His chances of success, however, were not good. Theodore showed such injustice and violence towards the clergy and people of Sardinia that the Pope complained strongly and successfully to the Emperor (1.47) and to the governor of Africa (1.59), whose province included Sardinia.

(b) An Abbess for Luni [9.115] The Pope was determined to provide this convent with the best possible abbess. In letter 9.115 below, sent in about March 599 to the same Venantius, the Pope tells him that he has sent over a nun, as requested by the bishop, who will be well able to manage the strenuous regime of the convent, with the help of Heavenly mercy, and he asks the bishop to take good care of the new abbess and of her convent. "We have written in reply that the concern of your Fraternity pleased us so much that we were keen to complete what you in fact desired. And so, as you have written to say that we ought to send over a person fit to hold the office of abbess in the convent situated in your city, we have decided that a nun should be sent there for you to install as abbess, under God's protection. We think that, with the help of Heavenly mercy, she can manage the strenuous regime of the same convent. For in this we have come to Him alone in prayer. And so, since we have sent over the nun mentioned above, as you requested, with our letter for your good will, we suggest that you should take care of her and her convent, and with the goodness of your encouragement, you should strengthen the community living there, in its servitude to Jesus, our God and Redeemer. And wherever it proves necessary, you should offer your help even for the abbess' exterior requirements, so that the nuns in her company might find great support in you, as is fitting. Need should not deprive the nuns of anything, so that when all necessity has been removed from them through your concern, they can persist in their continuous prayers and praises of God with secure minds. For indeed providence has arranged for the nuns that their chosen way of life may lead to salvation, and may lead to a reward for you. For greater grace is certainly acquired if the shepherd's concern should offer his Lord a profit from the sheep committed to him." The Pope does all he can to persuade Bishop Venantius to look after all the financial and managerial matters for his convent, an important rôle for a

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bishop or a pious and elderly citizen. He persuades the bishop with his promise of a reward for helping the nuns and greater grace thereafter. If the nuns were left on their own to look after the management of their convent, it would mean that they would spend time dealing with trade, building, business and taxation, and have less time free for prayer and worship. In all probability Gregory sent over several other suitable nuns like this from Rome, when a new abbess was needed, to avoid possible dissension in the local community. For another example, see the new abbess Talasia chosen by him in (m) below. However, he also expected some convents to select one of their own nuns to succeed an abbess who had died, as can be seen in (c) below.

(c) Abbess Respecta's Convent in Marseilles [7.12] In letter 7.12, sent in October 596 to Respecta, abbess of a new convent founded in Marseilles in Gaul, the Pope discusses its foundation and its management. A very wealthy couple, Dynamius and Aurelia, newly converted to the Catholic faith, had shown such religious devotion that they had united a new convent they had had built, with their own large home, joining the two buildings together. This would provide plenty of room for the nuns' choir, meals, prayers and cells, and the couple's own home would no doubt have a well established garden, ideal for the mainly vegetarian diet of the nuns. The local bishop, Serenus, had only recently been appointed (6.52), and may have been reluctant to finance the new convent with the Pope's reduction in his usual powers. But this is not mentioned in Gregory's letter to the couple in the following letter in June (letter 7.33), that shows their great enthusiasm for Holy Writ. "The demand of a pious wish should be fulfilled by an appropriate outcome, so that the sincerity of one's devotion may shine forth laudably, and the benefit demanded may be put into effect without any delay. Therefore we have provided for certain privileges to be granted to that convent, consecrated in honour of Saint Cassian,1 and you will be known as its prioress. This is in accordance with the petition of our children, Dynamius and Aurelia,2 who with their religious devotion are shown to 1

Founded in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the convent was later consecrated in honour of Saint Cassian, as in this letter, but it was destroyed in the ninth century. 2 Dynamius was a patrician and for a while was administrator of the Pope's patrimony in Gaul (see letter 3.33). He and his wife, Aurelia, were among aristocrats the Pope encouraged to endow convents.

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have united it with the house under their control, joining the two buildings together. It is our decision that if the abbess of that convent should die, no stranger should be ordained, but a nun chosen by the community for itself, from its own members. Provided she is judged worthy of this ministry, the local bishop should thus appoint and install her. But with regard to the property and management of this convent, we decree that neither the bishop nor any other ecclesiastic should have any jurisdiction over them. We have decided that these matters are in every way entrusted to the care of your Solicitude, or to that of the woman who becomes its abbess after you. If the bishop should come there to celebrate solemn Mass, on its Saint's birthday or at its dedication, he must still carry out his office in such a way that his throne is not celebrating Mass.3 Furthermore, with regard to the lives and activities of the nuns and abbess there, we have decided that the bishop, in the fear of God, should take good care of them, and if any nun living there has committed some fault and must be subjected to punishment, he should punish her in accordance with the strictness of the sacred canons. And so, since these things have been ordained and allowed by us, be keen to show yourself in earnest to be all the more concerned over the management and protection of your community, so that the malice of the evil enemy may find nothing there which could be defiled. Therefore, we consider that everything detailed in the text of this injunction should be preserved by your convent in all ways and by all in perpetuity, with Christ's protection, so that the benefits of the privileges bestowed on it may always remain inviolate in their firmness." The Pope's legal training is evident throughout this letter, as he carefully defines the powers of the bishop and of the abbess and nuns. The bishop had some administrative power, with control of punishments, yet this letter gives the abbess virtually full authority inside the convent, especially over the election of her successor. To show the Christian zeal of the generous donors to the nuns, Dynamius and Aurelia, an extract from the Pope's considerate reply to their passionate letter (7.33) is of interest. "Reading through a page of your writings has given great joy to us with its proof of your zeal. For in announcing that you were seeking the sustenance of Holy Writ and desired 3

This privilege was bestowed on most convents and monasteries by Pope Gregory, which exempted them from local Episcopal control, although subject directly to the Holy See.

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the joys of our Heavenly Father, you have shown that your beloved selves have clearly maintained your religious conversion not only in name, but in your way of life also. And since we are confident that you can reach what you desire, our heart rejoices with you, with great exaltation. For Truth itself informs us that God's grace does not desert a desire of this sort, as He says: 'Everyone who seeks, finds, and he who asks, receives, and to the one who knocks, it shall be opened.'4 And so, supported by this certitude, we ought to have no uncertainty about the compassion of the same Redeemer of ours, but should be confident with hope, free of doubt. For he who agrees to want it will not be frustrated by the size of His gift, but certainly needs the strength to uphold it. For seeking this now with desire is a gift." After a dozen more lines of warnings against the Devil's poison, he ends with an interesting personal note: "As for the book of the sort to instruct you, as requested by you, we did not have a spare one ready, but we shall send one over in the near future." When a very sickly and extraordinarily busy Pope sends a full page with the promise of one of his books to follow, it shows how very highly he must have valued both this couple's donation of a convent, and their recent, enthusiastic conversion to the true faith. Unfortunately we do not know anything more about this interesting couple, highlighted temporarily by two of the Pope's six hundred and fifty-eight surviving letters.

(d) Abbess of the Convent of Saints Gavin and Luxorius [9.115] The Pope writes to the elderly Januarius, the recalcitrant bishop of Cagliari,5 in Sardinia, reminding him of the statute that banned nuns in a convent from making wills, as the previous abbess, Sirica, had done. The unusual clothing worn by Sirica while abbess had also greatly disturbed him. He seeks advice, surprisingly, from lawyers and from learned men in Rome, before replying to the abbess Gavinia. It seems that the Pope, who was very well trained in law, was unaware of a precedent, but was wise enough to leave the decisions for the local bishop to sort out.

4 5

This well-known quotation comes from both Matthew 7.8 and Luke 11.10. For Januarius, see letter 9.196.

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"A well-known statute has decreed that those nuns entering a convent for the sake of conversion should have no right to make a will, but their property should come under the control of the convent. Although known by almost everyone, a report by Gavinia, abbess of the convent of Saints Gavin and Luxorius, has caused us great astonishment. For she asserted that after the previous abbess of her convent, Sirica, had taken over the control of the convent, she had made a will and had left legacies to various people. And while we enquired about the concern of your Holiness, and why you allowed property belonging to the convent to be held by others, our common son, Epiphanius, your archpriest, came to visit us.6 He told us that the previous abbess up to the day of her death had been unwilling to wear the monastic habit, but had continued to wear the sort of dresses used by elderly widows in that place.7 To this Gavinia replied that this had almost been allowed through custom, so much so that she alleged that the abbess who had served before Sirica had worn the same sort of clothes. We had begun to feel uneasy about the nature of the clothing, and to no small degree either, and we thought it necessary to seek a legal opinion both from our financial advisers and from other learned men in Rome. Dealing with it, they replied that after an abbess had been installed by a bishop with the usual solemnity, and had been in charge of the management of a convent for very many years, right up to the end of her life, the nature of her clothing might perhaps fall to the responsibility of the bishop, who allowed her to be dressed like that, but this could not have caused damage to the convent. Rather, the property she owned clearly belonged by law to that place, from the time when she entered it and was appointed abbess. And so, since Gavinia asserts that a hostelry wrongly retains possession of the illegally bequeathed goods, we suggest with these words that, because both the convent and that hostelry are situated in your city, you should deal with the case with all care and diligence, so that if the property does not derive from an existing contract, but from the legacy

6

For Epiphanius, see letters 3.36 and 4.24, where he is a priest in the church of Cagliari, and this letter and 14.2, where he had been promoted to archpriest. His visit to Rome was very helpful for the Pope, while resolving a very tricky situation. Gregory was loathe to offend the abbess. Presumably the financial advice was on the will. The Pope and his advisers neatly passed the buck for the local bishop to sort it out. 7 The noun presbytera was used for a 'priest's wife', or an 'elderly widow', which is the likely sense here. This is the only place where Gregory discusses nuns' clothing.

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of Sirica, it must be returned to the convent without any complaints or excuses. But if it is said to have come from another contract, then either your Fraternity should learn the truth and decide between the parties what the order of law suggests, or they should select judges for themselves with mutual consent, to decide who is telling the truth. Whatever they decide, you should observe it carefully, so that no quarrel remains between those venerable places, which should support each other with mutual concord and peace. And so, with regard to all the other items retained from the will of Sirica, seeing that none of them are permitted by legal sanction, your Fraternity must apply your concern and priestly zeal to insure that they are returned entirely to the control of the convent, through your Fraternity's concern. For it has been clearly sanctioned by the imperial constitution8 that what is done contrary to the laws is not only without legal standing but should also be considered as having never been done."

(e) Abbess Agnella of Naples [9.208] Writing a short letter to Fortunatus, the bishop of Naples, in July, 599, Pope Gregory shows his annoyance over the bishop's failure to look after the moral risks of a convent in his city, following a surprisingly revealing comment from its abbess, who had visited Rome for a talk with the Pope.9 "The bearer of this letter, the abbess Agnella, mentioned to us that soldiers are staying as guests in her convent. And we are totally amazed at the lack of concern by your Fraternity. Why did you put up with this patiently and not have it remedied with all speed? We exhort you, therefore, that even now you should be eager to threaten those involved urgently, so that they are removed from there without any excuse. Ensure that none of them receives his daily allowance10 any more, and that the cunning enemy cannot find an opening and rejoice greatly over the deceitfulness of the religious habit." 8

Codex Justinianus 1.14.5.1. Her trip to Rome is shown by the fact that the abbess is carrying a letter back from the Pope to her bishop in Naples. From a quick look at all of the 'letterbearers' in the Registrum, about twenty of them were women, including some abbesses and nuns, and fifty were men. The busy Pope seemed ready to greet every them, even two unpaid farm workers. I hope to publish an article on them. 10 It seems that they were joining the nuns for their meals, and the Pope suggests that some were spending the night together.. 9

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(f) Abbess Thecla of Naples [letter 9.54, sent to Romanus in Nov., 598] In some cases the Pope acted like a terrier, hanging on to keep pressure on an abbess in Naples who was involved in a protracted lawsuit (9.54), and on a Felix, whom he had asked to complete a convent in Sicily promised in his rich wife's will over twenty years earlier (9.165). A Felix appears in both letters, but it cannot be the same man, or the same convent, having been built long ago in Naples, with a resident abbess, in the first letter, and having not yet been started in the second letter, in Sicily, sent about seven months afterwards. Norberg wrongly linked the two letters, which was very tempting. In letter 9.54, sent in Nov. 598, the Pope asked his 'defender', Romanus,11 to sort out a legal case between on one side Thecla, abbess of the convent of the Holy Mary, which had been founded by a scholastic Felix in his own home in Naples, and on the other side, the sonin-law of the abbess, the eminent Alexander. The Pope ends expecting his agent to settle the dispute, or send him full details. His major concern is for the convent, and as usual, he is willing to spend hours sorting out the abbess' problem. "Thecla, abbess of the convent of the Holy Mary, founded some time ago in Naples, in the home of the scholastic Felix, is known to have a law suit against Alexander, a magnificent gentleman and her son-in-law. She has sent over the bearer of this letter for the purpose of deciding the case with him there peacefully, if it can be done. And so we order your Experience with this authority not to fail to comfort and support her, as far as is reasonable. But you should be keen also to encourage the magnificent gentleman mentioned above to cease from all contention, and by examining the matter, to come to a peaceful resolution of this case. Otherwise, if he thinks that it should be neglected, he would be forced afterwards with lots of noise and expense to achieve what he put off implementing with good will. For we have been informed that he has already promised the aforesaid abbess frequently through his letters that he would decide this case, but so far he has failed to do so. And so let your Experience act in such a way that either that case is decided, as we have said, or indeed, if he wants you to put it off and you see that he is 11

As we have seen, the 'defender' was a special agent of the Pope, acting with his authority and on his behalf in a province. On his use of these 'defenders,' invented by him, see the full account of their rôles in my 'Six Notes on Gregory the Great', Mediaevalia et Humanistica, 29, 2003, 1-7.

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unwilling to do what gives peace, report those matters to us in detail, so that we may know what should be done for the benefit of the convent mentioned above."

(g) Abbess Gratiosa of Naples [letter 3.58] The Pope's legal expertise appears again in letter 3.58, sent to the bishop of Naples, Fortunatus, in August 593. He describes how the Abbess Gratiosa has readily joined her community in presenting a petition, claiming that the patrician Rustica had built a convent for nuns in Naples through the final decision of her will, in a village called Lampas near Herculaneum, where she had arranged for Gratiosa to be the abbess, and had built an oratory. She suggested that a third of her fortune should be withdrawn, and be consecrated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Pope asks his bishop to inspect the will, and if lawful, to ensure that a third has been spent on the convent, and to dedicate it at a special Mass inside the convent. He warns the bishop not to let his priests cause any trouble there, the Pope being keen as usual to keep the monks and clergy out of the convents, except for special Masses. This appears several times in his letters, and shows how reluctant he was to allow even a local bishop to take over a convent in any way, as he tried to keep the convent's control very much in the hands of its abbess. If a nun or abbess faced a serious charge for misconduct, the bishop would have to try the case and inflict any punishment arising from it, but even the choice of an abbess' successor might be decided by the nuns, except when a Queen had founded the convent. "It is right to fulfil religious desires when it is not difficult. And this is so in the case of Abbess Gratiosa, who has joined her community of nuns in presenting a petition, which is contained in her appendix. In it she has claimed that Rustica, recorded as a patrician, is known to have built a convent for nuns, through the final decision of her will, in the city of Naples. It is in her own home, in the region of Herculaneum, in a village called Lampas. Here she has arranged that the aforesaid Gratiosa should be the abbess in charge. She has also built an oratory, and to carry out her vow, Gratiosa has suggested that she should withdraw a third of her entire fortune, and she wants it to be consecrated in honour of the blessed Mary, ever virgin and mother of out Lord Jesus Christ.

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And for that reason, my very dear brother,12 we thought that your Beloved should be encouraged with the present injunction to inspect the final will, first of all, and if it remains lawful, to make certain that the same third has truly been spent on the same convent. Please approach the aforesaid place not unwillingly when they ask you to do so, using the solemn rites of a venerable dedication. Thus the venerable sacrifices of Mass may be celebrated by the priests of the church serving in the above-mentioned place, whenever necessary. Act in such a way that neither your Fraternity nor the priests cause any trouble in this same convent, observing careful discipline. And if you should derive some advantage through the devotion of various people, you should judge that you deserve punishment.13 For whatever might happen to be offered should benefit the nuns who are serving in that place."

(h) Abbess Flora of Rome [letter 3.17] Another abbess, Flora, appears in letter 3.17, sent in January, 593, to the sub-deacon Gratiosus, who was serving as the administrator of the Church's patrimony in Rome. The Pope gives sound advice, as he again sorts out a tricky problem with his direct orders. "For those choosing a religious vocation we should take care, with suitable consideration, that the occurrence of some hardship neither makes them inactive nor undermines the strength of their holy way of life (Heaven forbid!). For that reason, with the authority of this letter we order you to hand over the following property to the abbess Flora, giving her an indubitable right of possession. The house is located in this city in the fourth region, next to a place called the 'White Hens,' the property of the Church of Rome, over which we preside with God's authority, and in which a patrician lady, Campana, is known to have once lived. Thus with God's help the abbess can construct a convent in this house and live there with her community, so that she, and her successor also in status and position, can possess that house and garden and all things belonging to them, with a peaceful and inalienable right, due to our respect for her piety."

12

Fortunatus had been bishop of Naples since September 591, and worked there until his death in about June 600 (letter 10.9), succeeded by Pascasius (letter11.22). 13 The Pope warns again about priests' misbehaviour in the nunnery, and adds that special offerings in its chapel from the devout should go to nuns, not the bishop.

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(i) Abbess Bona of Rome [letter 9.138] The Pope was also quick to solve cases of convents that were at risk of collapsing, in Rome especially. As in letter 9.138, sent in April 599 to Bona, an abbess. He told her that her convent was uninhabitable, like many churches and other buildings in Rome that were badly in need of repairs after the Tiber had flooded and the Lombard's soldiers had looted and burnt much of the old city. The Pope told her that she should transfer her community to an oratory near the baths of Agrippa. A house there with a garden and invested income had been left by the priest John, for monks to inhabit, but this had not been possible, and the Pope had decided to dedicate it to the nuns, which would accord with the wishes of the deceased and free them from the threat of danger. "Ecclesiastical benefit does not suffer a loss if it can restore appropriate property to others, once the truth is known. And so, we have learnt that John, a deceased priest of the holy Roman Church that we serve, constructed an oratory with God's authority, in a house owned by him and situated in this city of Rome, beside the Baths of Agrippa, and he left some income there under the title of his legacy. He also established a community of monks in this oratory, and committed a page of his will to our predecessor of holy memory, Pelagius, to ensure that all of these things might be implemented. But he was prevented by his death, and did not manage to implement this project, and agents of our Church are looking after the house itself and its garden. And so, reasonable justice strongly encourages us to fulfil the decision of such a holy disposition. But a new community of monks could not be summoned there because of the difficulties of the time, and so we have decided that a community of nuns should be established there anyhow. For that reason we have decided, with God's support. to dedicate that place solemnly, and since your convent, where you were before, was agreed to be at risk of collapsing, we have decided to establish you there with your community, so that your community should establish a convent in the house mentioned above, in accordance with the wishes of the deceased, while serving our Lord and Redeemer, and you would avoid the risk of danger. Furthermore, in consideration of the wishes of the aforesaid priest, we have decided that a convent should be established there permanently, and that the same house in its entirety, together with its garden and the items designated below, as left by the testator, should belong to the convent with the right of possession. And so we grant and arrange these matters in this

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way: let your Beloved diligently take care that the praises of God are celebrated there most devoutly with salutary zeal, as is usual, and ensure that the items written down that rightfully belong to it do not perish for any reason through your negligence. For we have decided that this concern must be shown not only by you, but also by those abbesses who will succeed you in that convent, and the properties as itemized above." Although there were many refugee monks in Rome as yet without cells in a monastery, especially Benedictines, whom the Pope might have brought together to occupy this very well endowed oratory, he showed his special interest in the nuns, and persuaded Bona to occupy it, leaving her convent for it to be rebuilt, it seems. Besides the garden for their vegetables and fruit, probably with a cow or two for milk and cheese, there were other buildings, possibly attached, or nearby, which would provide a regular income for the convent from rents, high in Rome. Unfortunately a copy of the various items listed by the Pope has not survived. Both of these letters are to abbesses in Rome, where no bishop had to be relied on by the Pope, who could send one of the monks in his palace to check on anything needed by the two abbesses, and a priest would be arranged for the Sunday Mass, and for special occasions.

(j) Convent of Abbess Euprepia in Rome [letter 2.46] Another convent in Rome appears in letter 2.46, sent early in 592 to Sabinus, a sub-deacon in charge of a region of Rome, and later a trusty 'defender' in Bruttium. The Pope shows his special concern for the convents and monasteries in Rome, wanting to ensure their continuance, serving God with secure minds. The provision of a garden for any convent in Rome was clearly very difficult, but the Pope solves the problem quite neatly in this case. Sabinus (or Savinus - v and b are interchangeable in early manuscripts) was a very reliable friend and agent of the Pope, early on a sub-deacon in charge of a region of Rome. By September, 592, he was out of Rome, and for the next twelve years he was a defender of the Church in Calabria (Reggio and Bruttium). He received as many as fourteen more letters from the Pope (3.10; 9.89, 90, 111, 121,123, 125-8, 130, 135; 10.2 and 14.9), an unusually large number. "We are compelled by our duty of piety to make a decision for the convents and monasteries with prudent consideration, so that those who

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are known to have allotted themselves to the service of God, may not endure any need. For that reason, we order your Experience to use our authority to hand over quickly and without uncertainty the garden of the dead priest, Felicianus. It lies in the first region before the steps of Saint Sabina.14 Leaving aside any excuse, give it to the convent of Euprepia, in which a community of nuns are known to live, for them to possess with a proprietary right15 so that aided by the benefit of our generosity, they may persevere in serving God with secure minds, with his support also.

(k) Domina, Abbess of the convent of St Stephen; problems with Jews [8.23] Gregory sent letter 8.23 to one of his defenders, Fantinus, in May, 598, after receiving a report from its abbess of a new convent in Agrigento, called Domina, concerning the number of Jews there who wanted to be converted to Christianity, and also, it seems, concerning the provisions for her convent. The letter is an important one, as it represents a change in the observance of the Church's practice of the rites of Christian initiation. Until then, the normal practice had been that neophytes should embark on a long, drawn-out process, over several years, the 'catechumanate.' The candidates were finally baptized at the end of this lengthy process and admitted to the eucharist. Here Gregory indicates that circumstances could justify a radical shortening of the process, with a neophyte being allowed to receive the sacrament after a period of only forty days. He suggests the local bishop should call in on those interested and explain the Christian message. The Jews appear regularly in Pope Gregory's letters, and the solutions that he adopted in response to specific cases that came to his attention were used by his papal successors as an authoritative guide in determining their own policies, where Jews were concerned. A detailed treatment of twenty-four letters referring to Jews by Solomon Katz appeared in print in 1934.16 14

The garden was near the steps of Saint Sabina, at the foot of the Aventine. It almost certainly had water available through pipes. 15 Once again the lawyer in Pope Gregory is keen to authorize and ensure the provision of permanent legal possession for any convent or oratory built or converted on his behalf. The 'convent of Euprepia' suggests that she was its abbess, but it is possibly just a name from an early occupier of the property. 16 Solomom Katz, 'Pope Gregory the Great and the Jews,' Jewish Quarterly Review, 24, 1934, 113-136, See also Ernst Bammel, 'Gregorder Grosse und der

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"From a report by Domina, the abbess of the convent of Saint Stephen that was established in Agrigento, we find that many of the Jews want to be converted to the Christian faith, inspired by divine grace. But it is necessary, we hear, that someone should set out for that place, at our command. Therefore, holding this authority, we order you to give up every excuse and to go to the aforesaid place, and quickly assist their desire with your encouragement and with the favour of God. But if it seems a long time or gloomy for them to wait until the solemnity of Easter, and you know that they are in a hurry to be baptized now, in case after a long delay (Heaven forbid!), they are likely to change their minds again, speak with our brother, the bishop of Agrigento.17 And so, when penitence and abstinence have been prescribed for forty days, they should be baptized, protected by the compassion of almighty God, either on a Sunday or if a much celebrated festival should perhaps occur.18 For the nature of these times also, because of the destruction that is rampant, forces us not to put off their desires with any delay. However, if you find that any of them are poor, and cannot afford to purchase a vestment for themselves, we want you to purchase and provide a vestment, for them to wear at their baptism. You will know that the price you pay for them should be charged to your accounts. But if they should have chosen to wait until the holiness of Easter, speak with the bishop again, suggesting that some of them could become catechumens now, and he might visit them frequently and show concern for them, inspiring their minds with encouraging advice. Furthermore, let it be your concern to examine with all zeal and diligence as to whether the convent mentioned above, over which the aforesaid Domina is in charge, has sufficient means, or suffers some shortage. Be quick to inform us in detail whatever you find out to be the truth, and what has been done about those who want to be baptized."

Juden,' in Gregorio Magno e il suo tempo, vol 1, 283-291, and the introduction to the Letters of Gregory the Great, pp 87-88. 17 For the Gregory who had just returned as bishop of Agrigento, after being imprisoned in Rome until exonerated by the Pope, see my Abbot Leontios' Life of St Gregory. 18 The May or June approach to the Jews would mean waiting for about ten months for the next Easter.

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Gregory's attitude towards the Jews is far from typical of his day and of the Church. Letter 9.39 shows the difficulty faced by him in getting local bishops and Church officials to agree to his accommodating approach to their Jewish communities. He rules that Palermo’s Jews are to be fully compensated for the loss of their synagogue and other properties, and the amount to be paid should be decided by the patrician Venantius and abbot Urbicus, both of them close friends of the Pope. The letter is as follows: "Some of the Jews in the city of Palermo had given us a petition, in which they complained that the bishop had occupied their synagogues, together with their hostelries, quite unreasonably. We told him that until it could be duly established whether this had been done justly, he should refrain from consecrating them, in case their wishes might have been tainted with prejudice. Indeed, respect for his priesthood did not allow us to believe easily that our brother had done anything inappropriate. Subsequently we discovered that our notary, Salerius, had been there, and we found in his report to us that no reasonable excuse existed for their occupation of the synagogue, and they had been consecrated rashly and without due consideration. But what has once been consecrated cannot be restored to the Jews. And so we command your Experience to make sure that our brother and fellow-bishop pays the price equal to the valuation by our sons, the glorious patrician Venantius and the abbot Urbicus,19 for these synagogues together with these guest-houses, that are under their walls or attached to them, together with the adjoining gardens. Thus, what he had occupied might belong to the Church itself, and the Jews might not appear to be oppressed or to suffer injustice in any way. The manuscripts and ornaments removed at the same time are also being sought. If they have clearly been stolen, we want them to be restored without any argument. For just as they should not be allowed to do anything in their synagogues, beyond what has been decreed by law, even so neither prejudice nor any other loss ought to be inflicted on them, contrary to justice and true fairness." Letter 9.40 is another example of Gregory’s desire for Jews to be treated fairly and according to the laws: "Nostamnus, a Jew who bears this letter, has informed us that his ship and other goods have been seized by our defender, Candidus, and by other creditors, and have been sold for the 19

For the trustworthy abbot, see letters 2.50; 5.4; 6.42, 49; 9.20, 21.

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money that they had given him on credit. He claimed that they had all restored the warranties for debt, but only the aforesaid defender had kept a signed bond with him, and although the Jew often begged him to return it, he had spurned him. And because, as he says, the obligation of the debt has been satisfied, we bid your Experience to take care to learn more about it in every detail. If you find that this is the case, urge him with strict compulsion to restore the warranty of the aforesaid letter-bearer. Let Your Solicitude ensure that a complaint over this does not return to us again." The fact that an individual like the Jewish businessman should have access to the Pope shows that he was sympathetic with their pleas and was seen by them as a protector against unjust oppressors. He sorts out the details of each case most effectively, and ensures that what has been illegally acquired must be returned without delay.

(l) Queen Brunhilde's Convent in Autun [letter 13.5] Last but not least of these abbesses in his letters was Talasia, chosen by Pope Gregory from the nuns in Rome, to take change of a new convent in Autun, the home of the Arian royalty, under the control of Queen Brunhilde. Before including the Pope's letter to Talasia after she had taken over the convent, I shall show parts of the Pope's long and flattering letter to the Queen that deals with the newly built convent in Autun. "Furthermore, we have sent ahead words of greeting with fatherly love, informing you that we provided a private session for our illustrious sons and your Excellency's servants and legates, Burgowald and Warmaricar, in line with what you had written. And they are known to have disclosed to us all that they said they were told to say, with a very precise explanation. Concerning them, we shall take care in the future to indicate to your Excellency what has been done. For we are keen that whatever is possible, whatever is useful and whatever concerns peace being arranged between you and the republic, should be completed with the utmost devotion, with the blessing of God." The Pope then flatters the Queen and her kingdom: "Among other things, your kingdom is kept ahead of all others due to the fact that in the midst of the waves of this world that usually confound the thoughts of a ruler with annoying disturbance, you bring your heart back to the love of divine worship, and to providing the peacefulness of venerable places, as if no other care was worrying you. So, because action of this sort by those in

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power is usually a great bulwark for their subjects, we declare the race of Franks more fortunate than the other nations, as it has earned the right to have a queen so endowed with all goodness. We learnt from what your letters indicated that you have built a church of Saint Martin in the suburbs of Autun, and a convent for nuns, and a hostelry also, in the same city. For this we were extremely happy and gave thanks to almighty God, who goaded the sincerity of your heart to do these works. Over this matter, so that we might also be thought to participate in some way in your good deeds, we granted privileges to those places for the peace and protection of those living there, as you requested, and we have not allowed ourselves even a short delay in embracing the desires of your Excellency." The hostelry may well have provided extra income for the convent and the church, unless the wealthy queen covered their main expenses from the start. He ends his letter: "We recognize the concern of your Glory, showing how much you are thinking about the life of the soul and about the stability of your kingdom. For fearing our Redeemer and observing his commandments in all things, you are taking action here so that the rule of your kingdom should last for a long time, and after lengthy cycles of years you may also pass from an earthly kingdom to a Heavenly kingdom. At an appropriate moment we shall take care to implement the desires of your Excellency. We have been very keen to sanctify everything as you wished, so as to protect the holy places about which your Excellency wrote to us. In case those in charge of those places suppress those decrees of ours at some stage, on the grounds that certain things are known to have been forbidden by them, this same regulation must be inserted among the public acts, so that, as it is held in our archives, it may be held likewise in your royal archives also. May almighty God always protect your Excellency in fear of him, and may He so answer your prayers in the lives of our sons, those most excellent kings and grandsons of yours, through the intercession of Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, to whom you recommend them, so that he may allow you to have unwavering joy over their permanent safety, as is your desire."

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(m) To Talasia, Abbess of the new Convent in Autun [letter 13.10] The Pope clearly saw these three foundations as a major development, especially the convent of Saint Mary, and proof of the Queen's acceptance of the orthodox faith, or so he hoped. This letter was backed up by the letter below, sent at the same time to Talasia, the first abbess of the new convent in Autun. In it the Pope puts on his legal mantle, as he carefully considers every sort of threat to the abbess and to her convent, and he ends attacking those seeking high office in a convent through simony. The letter starts with neatly balanced correlatives and then a highly complex period follows, with eighteen lines of unbroken legal Latin using about 150 words. This shows that Talasia was very well trained in Latin rhetoric, and was a very worthy recipient of the Pope's long and highly literate and legalistic epistle. At the same time Gregory flatters the corrupt Queen and her sex-mad grandson Theoderic, even praising her one-time lackey, Bishop Syagrius.20 This interesting letter provides a full, legal document, designed by the Pope to give long-term protection to the new convent in Autun and to its erudite abbess, with no diminution of her or their privileges. The letter provides a unique legal document for the establishment of any convent in the seventh to eighth century, and it should have been included in the major works on mediaeval nuns and nunneries. "When the hearts of Catholic kings, first blessed with Heavenly grace, are then so enflamed with burning desire that they spontaneously demand those things to which they should be provoked by pontifical warnings, what they desire should be granted as much with a ready and joyful mind as these things should have been sought if they were unwilling to do them. And so, in accordance with the letters of our children, those most excellent of rulers, Brunhilde and her grandson, Theoderic, by the decree of our authority in this letter we grant privileges of this sort to the convent of Saint Mary, where a community of nuns has been established, constructed 20

For their falsehoods and the conniving Bishop Syagrius that destroyed the saintly Bishop Desiderius of Vienne, and for the sexual wantonness of the young king, that so shocked the Irish missionary Columban, see my book on King Sisebut and the Culture of Visigothic Spain (Mellen, New York, 2008), pp. 14-44. The gruesome death of the elderly Queen Brunhilde on the back of a camel appears on page 45, that of Theoderic on page 43.

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in the city of Autun by Bishop Syagrius, of reverend memory, and by our aforesaid most excellent daughter and queen, over which you are known to preside. We grant and confirm this, decreeing that no king, no bishop nor anyone endowed with high office, nor anyone else, should, under the pretext of any sort of reason or excuse, diminish or remove from what has already been given to that convent by our aforesaid most excellent children and kings, or whatever in future shall be legally conferred by any other persons from their own property, either applying it to his own purposes or granting it to other so called pious causes, as an excuse for his avarice. But we want everything that has been or shall be offered there, to be in its possession for all time, unimpaired and undisturbed, provided they benefit in every way the needs of those for whose sustenance and maintenance they have been granted." The Pope next deals with the arrangements needed at the death of the abbess over her replacement, avoiding avarice or deception. It suggests that in this context, the replacement was based on the will of the young king, or elderly Queen. Even so, the position of abbess was much sought after, and yet it was open to envy and to simony, so that the law was again laid down carefully by the Pope to protect whoever was abbess, provided she was innocent of sin. The nature of the jury is surprising. It must consist of the local bishop and six of his fellow-bishops, and all seven must agree over her guilt or innocence. With the hazardous distances for travel on horseback or in a carriage between Sees, and the busy schedules Gallic bishops would have had to fulfil, as well as Gallic bishops rarely agreeing with neighbouring ones, it suggests that charging any abbess of Autun would be an extremely rare event. This may well apply more widely, with abbesses being appointed for life and hard to get rid of, without very clear-cut sinfulness, like the bishops supported by Pope Gregory even when they were too sick to take Mass. "We have decided likewise that on the death of the abbess of the convent mentioned above, no other woman should be ordained there, through any underhand cunning, other than one whom the king of the same province has chosen, with the nuns' agreement and in fear of God, and has decided should be ordained. We also add this to the present topic, to close any opening for avarice. No one from the royal family, no one from the priests and no one else should dare to accept anything in gold or with any other sort of payment, through either themselves or a person in their place, over the ordination of that abbess, or over whatever cases involve that convent. That abbess must not presume to provide money for the sake of her

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ordination, so that what is being or has been offered by the faithful in holy places, should not be used for this reason. And since many opportunities are sought there by wicked people, as is said, in the deception of religious women, we consider that the abbess of that convent should in no way be deprived of it and deposed, unless a criminal case demands it specially. Therefore it is necessary that, if some complaint of this sort arises against her, not only should the bishop of Autun examine the case, but with six other fellow-bishops assisting, he should inquire into this with a careful investigation, so that with all of them judging it without dissent, a strict canonical verdict may either strike down the guilty party, or absolve her if innocent." The Pope ends on a positive note, promising the punishments of expulsion from Mass and eternal condemnation, for anyone breaking the contract, whether king or queen or potentate, but for those who observe its conditions, he promises eternal peace and a clear conscience before the final Judge. The page that sets out the legal rights for the convent, with threats to anyone trying to circumvent them, would be pinned up in the convent's entry hall, giving the abbess the comfort of papal protection. "And so we decree that all of these matters that are contained in the page of this order and decree of ours must be observed perpetually, as much by you as by all who succeed you in the rank and place that you hold, and by those who might be concerned. But suppose any of the kings or priests or judges or secular persons should recognise this page of our arrangement, yet try to contravene it, he should be stripped of the dignity of his power and rank, and should realize that he is on trial before the Heavenly Judge over the wicked act that he has committed. Unless he either restores what he has wrongly removed, or weeps over his illegal actions with due penitence, he must be excluded from Mass, and subjected to a strict punishment from the eternal examiner. But let all who observe what is just for the convent have the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so as to receive the fruit of good deeds here, and find the rewards of eternal peace at the court of the strict Judge." The Pope's prayer for the convent's survival shows how passionate he was over its future, while protecting the nun sent as its abbess, and how keen he was to win over the Queen to his true religion. It also shows how highly he respected Talasia, clearly a most intelligent woman. But if Talasia wrote a masterpiece, it has not survived, the usual fate for a woman in the male world of the Catholic Church.

CHAPTER FIVE NUNS

(a) The 3,000 Nuns [letters 5.30 and 7.23] The number of nuns under the new Pope's care grew most quickly of all during the Lombards' regular attacks on southern Italy. In March 595, the Pope sent letter 5.30 to Maurice in Constantinople,1 telling him that some of the gold sent by him to help the poor and the sick in Rome would have to be used to help some nuns who were leaving the provinces, after being ransomed.2 Several had been placed in separate quarters of Rome's convents, but many others were left without proper accommodation, impoverished and destitute. For Theoctista's financial support, see (A 2) above. "Your Lordship's3 piety which has normally preserved your servants with mercifulness, has been resplendent here with such a kind subvention that the indigence of all the infirm has been relieved by the consolation of your generosity. For this reason we all ask with tearful prayers that almighty God, who has stung your Clemency's heart to do this, should preserve your Lordship's empire safely, in the constancy of His love, and extend his victories in all nations with his majesty's help. Thus, Scribo has paid out honestly the thirty pounds of gold that my fellow servant Busa brought here, for priests and for those in need, and for others.

1 See letter 5.30 in my translation with notes in The Letters of Gregory the Great (PIMS, Toronto, 3 vols, 2004), The Letters of Gregory hereafter. 2 See letter 7.23. 3 For the very religious life of the Emperor Maurice, again see Michael Whitby The Emperor Maurice and his Historian, O. U. P., 1988, p. 3, where he spends three hours a day at prayer, and eight hours celebrating the holy liturgy and reciting the psalms.

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Some nuns have come to this city from various provinces, fleeing after having been captured, and several of them were placed in convents,4 as far as the places could possibly allow, but those among them who could not be housed at all are living singularly destitute lives of poverty. Because of this it has been decided that what could be spared from the blind and maimed and other invalids, should be paid to them, provided that not only indigent locals but also strangers arriving here should receive the mercy of your Lordship, that almighty God might grant you a long and peaceful life, and allow the most fortunate offspring of your Piety to flourish for a long time in the Roman republic.5 Payments have also been made to the soldiers through my aforesaid fellow-servant Scribo, in the presence of the chief of the household guard, the glorious Castus6 in such a way that they all received the presents of their Lordship, under due discipline, while giving thanks, and they abstained entirely from then on." Scribo seems to be the name of the Pope's trusted servant, who looks after the gold and pays the disaffected soldiers (mostly mercenaries)7 Beside the mercenaries, who were unreliable troops, the Pope used bribes to persuade the Lombards to keep out of Rome.

(b) Refugees nuns from Nola8 [letters 1.23 and 6.32] For a very similar situation, letter 1.23 is also of interest. Sent to the Pope's governor of Campania, sub-deacon Anthelm, early in February 591, it says that he has heard that some nuns in Nola "have endured an excessive deprivation of food and clothing, ... and it is fitting that we help them and relieve their want as far as we can, with the Lord's giving." He orders his rector to give them forty gold coins from the present date, and thereafter to provide twenty gold coins annually, which could be charged to his account. This seems a very generous stipend. 4

The Latin monasteriis could refer to monasteries or convents (for which there is no special word). In the context it is inconceivable that the Pope would allow nuns to share with monks. In 7.12 monasterii abbatssa makes it clear. The Pope strongly opposed even adjacent buildings for female and male communities, and he would never have accepted the later use of a doppelkloster. 5 This must refer especially to the Pope' godson, heir to the throne, Theodosius. 6 Castus, commander of the Guard, has a rank once held by Pope Gregory; he appears nowhere else. 7 In letter 2.50, the Latin word scribo is used for a 'recruiting officer,' which would tie in with his service here as a paymaster. 8 Nola is in Campania, about ten miles North-East of Mount Vesuvius.

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"It has been suggested to us that some nuns in the city of Nola while staying in the Aborida, endured an excessive deprivation of food and clothing. From God's precept, it is fitting that we help them and relieve their want as far as we can, with the Lord's giving. For that reason we charge your Experience9 with the present order. From this present ninth indiction10 you must give them forty gold coins, and thereafter at subsequent indictions, provide twenty gold coins each year, which you may charge to your accounts. Furthermore, we order you to give at present just two gold coins each to Paulinus,11 the priest at the monastery of Saint Erasmus, situated on the side of mount Repperi,12 and to two monks serving in the oratory of Saint Archangel, which is known to be in the Castle of Lucullus beside the church of Saint Peter, again charging the cost to your accounts. Do this, therefore, in such a way that you participate also in a future reward." For the Pope's attitude to ransoms, letter 6.32, sent in April 596, again to his defender Anthelm13 in Naples is of interest, although the nuns are not mentioned explicitly in it. However, the Pope is keen to have the freeborn and slave women ransomed, both probably involving nuns, active but captured, or yet to be converted. "We cannot express how much grief and how much affliction there is in our heart over what is happening in Campania.14 But from the magnitude of that calamity, you are well able to imagine it yourself. Concerning that matter, for the relief of those who have been taken captive we are sending over gold coins to your Experience, through the bearer of this letter, Stephan, a magnificent man. We warn you that you should be extremely 9

For a defender or rector (controller of papal territory) the Pope normally used the honorific title 'Your Experience,' for a bishop, 'Your Fraternity' normally, although 'Your Beloved' also appeared, at times used ironically, as with Januarius. For royalty, he used 'Your Excellency' or 'Your Majesty.' 10 As seen above, the 'indiction' was a fifteen-year period, established by Constantine in 313. 11 Neither Paulinus nor his monastery can be located. 12 The mountain cannot be located with certainty today. The Castle of Lucullus appears in letter 3.1, and possibly is the Castello dell' Oro today, a small island off Naples. 13 Sub-deacon Anthelm was one of the Pope's key agents, playing a major part is ransoming captives. 14 Most of Campania was soon controlled by the Lombards, which restricted Rome’s food supplies, leading to inflation.

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concerned and should carry things out strenuously, and make haste yourself to ransom those free citizens who cannot afford their own ransoms, as you know. But as for those who were slaves, if you find that their masters are too poor to come forward to ransom them, do not hesitate to purchase them also.15 In the same way you will also take care to recover the Church's slaves, who have been lost through your negligence. But whomsoever you redeem, be keen in every way to make a list with great care, containing their names, who they are, where they are staying, what they are doing and from where they come. You could bring this list with you when you come here. But in this matter, be quick to show such enthusiasm on your part that those who need to be ransomed incur no danger though your negligence,16 or else, later on you would begin to be extremely culpable in our view. Do the following also as well as you can. If it is possible, see if you can ransom those captives at a more reasonable price. At some stage list the total expenditure honestly and carefully, and quickly send over a written account of it all."

(c) A Convent endowed in Luni [letters 8.5, 9.72] The Pope is ready to invest a lot of the Church's gold and a lot of his own valuable time to assist the nuns, and to provide them with security, suitable accommodation and an oratory for prayers, and a stable supply of food and of water, as can be seen in letter 8.5, sent to Venantius, bishop of Luni, in October 597. Gregory had heard that the bishop had founded a convent in his own home inside Luni, and as usual, asked him first to ensure that no human body had been buried there, and then ordered him to give the donation required by law, and lists all of its key components. This detailed account of a convent's equipment could well be applied to many other convents that were founded by the Pope or by his bishops, or by wealthy clerics or patrons with the Pope's encouragement, as are described in this book.

15

Although no nuns are specified, no doubt some were among the free citizens and some of the female slaves of the Church or emancipated ones were quite likely to join a convent, with the Pope's encouragement. 16 Possibly 'Your Negligence' with a play on the title, otherwise te negligente would be usual. They are very close friends, and the Pope hammers home his message of concern and urgency with plenty of wit and plenty of imperatives.

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"We have learnt from your Fraternity's report that appears in the appendix to your letter that you have founded a convent within the city of Luni, in your own house, for the nuns, as a mark of your devotion, and you want to have it consecrated in honour of Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, and of the holy martyrs John, Paul, Hermes and Sebastian. For that reason, my very dear brother, if it is certain that no human body has been buried there, your Fraternity should first of all give the donation fixed by law. That is a silver chalice of six ounces, a silver plate of two ounces, two rolls of muslin [for veils],, a single altar-cloth, ten beds with blankets, twenty items in bronze pots and thirty items in iron utensils. Then, starting with public Masses, you will solemnly consecrate the oratory of the aforesaid convent, established in untilled land on a field at the farm of Faborian and Lumbrica, a mile or so from the same city of Luni, beside the river called Macra, as well as two slaves, that is Maurus and John, and just two oxen likewise, contributed by a municipal act. The rest will be done in the normal way." This very interesting letter shows the legal requirements for any founder of a convent, and what is expected from the local municipality also. Presumably the slaves and oxen would be well prepared for their new service, from the works they were already doing for the state. Complete self-sufficiency, including the water supply, was clearly the Pope's aim for every new convent, with long-term legal protection. The nun's daily life can be worked out from the items provided. Saint Leander's 'rule' for his sister's convent also describes their life, and although based on monks, the 'Mediaeval Monastic Claustrum' at the end of Meyvaert's Benedict, Gregory, Bede and others17 is well worth looking at. The legally binding formula used by Gregory for the equipping of a convent or monastery or oratory can be seen in other contexts, as in letter 9.72, where the Count of the Castle of Teramo “has informed us in a petition of recommendation, included as an appendix, that he has founded an oratory in that castle, at his own expense, and wants it to be consecrated in honour of Saint Peter. And so, dear brother, if the construction is situated in the jurisdiction of your diocese, in which you fulfil the office of visitor, and it is certain that no human body has been buried there, after first receiving the donation set by law, you will solemnly consecrate the aforementioned oratory.”

17

Paul Meyvaert, Gregory, Bede and others, London, Variorum Reprints, 1977.

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The donation is as follows: "farms and small estates, with one manor house, one pair of tamed oxen, two cows, four pounds of silver, one bed with bedding, fifteen head of livestock, two copper vessels, five iron implement, six gold coins, of good quality and free from imperial tax, all of them listed in municipal records." The six gold coins, four pounds of silver and the cattle provide considerable material security, and the masses and relics provide its religious sanctity. The tax exemption and the municipal listing are of interest. The single bed suggests a permanent monk or priest or nun in occupation, ready for regular prayers and services.

(d) Adeodata's Convent in Lilybaeum [letter 9.233] Another noble (and superstitious) lady, Adeodata, founded a convent in a house of hers plus land in Lilybaeum (Sicily) and in letter 9.233, Gregory orders Decius, the local bishop, to follow the same process as he prescribed for Bishop Venantius above. Again there is the proviso that no human body had been buried there, and then the animal and material necessities are listed, comparable with those above. "Adeodata, a most glorious woman,18 has suggested to us with the notification of a declaration, held in the appendix, that she has founded a convent in a house, in fact owned by her in the city of Lilybaeum, together with its land,19 as a proof of her devotion. And she wants it to be consecrated in honour of Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, and of Saints Laurence, Hermes, Pancras, Sebastian and Agnes, martyrs of Christ. And for that reason, my very dear brother, do so. For the building just mentioned is subject to your city's control. Provided it is certain that no human body has been buried there, first of all, receive the whole donation as set out by law, that is, for income, ten top quality gold coins, free from tax; plus three slave-boys, three oxen of the same age, five other servants 18

For the very pious and wealthy Adeodata, see letters 8.34 and 11.5. In the first he informs her, surprisingly, that the legal case of her local bishop, Decius, is to be heard by John, archbishop of Syracuse, and the ex-consul Leontius. He was found innocent, it seems. In the second, she has asked for some relics, but the Pope puts her off, and tells her to use the miracles that she has witnessed, observing God's commandments, whose priests she cherishes. The letters show that the two of them were fellow-spirits. 19 The Latin a solo might mean 'from the ground up' but here 'with its soil' is far more appropriate.

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to serve in that convent, ten mares, ten cows, four vine plantations, forty sheep and the rest according to what is usual." Again, the convent is very well set up to be self-sufficient, with invested gold, four vineyards and a well-stocked farm. The land would no doubt have a stream running through or near it, and the municipality would provide farm workers from its workforce, as was usual. Again, the farm suggests a country setting, just outside the small town of Lilybaeum, on the west coast of Sicily. Wine was normally banned in convents, except as a tonic for an invalid, but they may well have pressed the grapes and augmented their income by selling the wine; with four vineyards it suggests a very helpful revenue.

(e) Themotea's foundation of an Oratory [letter 2.11] "Themotea, an illustrious lady, has informed us with the notification of a petition (which is appended hereto) that she has founded an oratory within the city of Rimini in a place owned by her, for the sake of her own devotion, and she desires it to be consecrated in honour of the Holy Cross. For that reason, dearest brethren, if the aforesaid construction is consistent with your city's regulations, and it is certain that no corpse has been buried there, you will solemnly consecrate the aforesaid oratory, without public Masses. But first receive the legal donation, that is eight twelfths of her whole property, all goods movable and fixed and self-moving (slaves excepted), 20 their usufruct retained by her for all the days of her life, as registered with the municipal administration. Let it be done in such a way that no baptistery is built in the same place, at some future date, and you do not incardinate a priest there. And if by chance she should prefer Masses to be held for her, let her know that she must seek a priest from your Beloved, so that no other priest takes on something like this, in any way at all. But you will take up her sacred relics and place them within with due reverence." Gregory sent this letter to Castor, bishop of Rimini, in January 592 (see letter 1.56). Again, it sets out in legal terms the procedure for equipping an oratory, which would be used for services as well as for prayers and hymns. A full-time nun or monk would look after the oratory and its 20

The usual Latin division was out of twelve. Property consisted of movables, immovables and self-moving (slaves). The last third was excluded from her donation,

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contents, especially the precious relics. In later years it became the monastery of the Holy Cross of Saints Cosmas and Damian. For leaving the major part of Themotea's fortune, she can have masses said for her in the oratory, by a priest chosen by Bishop Castor, a very tactful proviso.

(f) Rustica's Convent in Sicily [letter 9.165] Letter 9.165, sent in June 599, again encouraged his 'defender' Romanus to act much more decisively.21 The Pope comments on a will that had been made about twenty-one years earlier by the late Rustica, a noblewoman, in which she had appointed her husband Felix as her heir, delegating to him the construction of a new convent in Sicily. Rustica had left an important condition for her husband to observe. If he failed to build this convent, then the Church should claim outright what she owned in the Comas estate so as to finance the building. The Pope asks his agent Romanus to follow this up carefully, as a report had reached him showing that her property had still not been sold to provide funds for the construction of the convent. The Pope insists that the pious wish of the testatrix must be fulfilled, and the convent must be built as soon as possible. "Our son Theodosius, abbot of the monastery founded by Liberius, the late patrician,22 in a district of Campania, is known to have reported to us that the late Rustica, an illustrious lady, in a will made about twenty-one years ago, appointed her husband Felix as her heir and delegated to him the construction of a convent23 over there in Sicily. But she added this condition: If he had not paid all the legacies bequeathed to her freedmen within the space of a year, or had failed to establish the aforesaid convent that she wanted at all, then the Holy Roman Church should claim outright the portion that she owned in the Comas estate, apparently, and should support this in paying her legacies and in constructing that convent. And so, since it has been reported that the property she had left has not been used up so far for that convent, and part of her possessions is still retained 21

The 'defender' Romanus appears again, but for a very different Felix. The patrician Liberius was a praetorian prefect of the Gauls in Cassiodorus Variae 2.15,16 and 11.1. 23 As shown above, the Latin monasterium was the only word used either for a 'convent' or for a monk's 'monastery'. Here the donation by Felix' wife Rustica suggests a convent, although its occupants are not defined in the letter. For monks, a donation by Felix himself would have been more natural. 22

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by her heirs, your Experience must inquire into the case with all care, and sort it out. First, indeed, if in the conditions of her will, an heir is named and our Church might have a plea thereby, we want you to investigate it and to get a clear picture of the facts, and to look after benefits due to the poor, as the order demands. I want you then to see to the setting up of that convent, or to the restoration of the estate left by her, so that the pious wish of the testatrix may be fulfilled either way, and those who have kept her property unjustly may learn the guilt of their unlawful retention, losing their property as justice demands. And so we want you to look into this case most energetically and to bring it to a conclusion with the Lord's help, so that the pious devotion of the testatrix may finally achieve its aim.24 But we also want you to support that convent in every way as is just, so that any laymen who ought to have supported it with their assistance, as if in the name of our Creator, should not have the power of doing it any harm, as is asserted." Yet again the Pope is shown to have a special interest in law, and expertise therein, from early training in Greco-Roman law and work as praetor in charge of Rome's legal department, and as emissary in Constantinople. Even when Pope with little free time, he was still studying Greek rhetorical works to maintain his skill in marshalling arguments so persuasively.25

(g) Theodosia's Convent in Cagliari [letter 4.8] At least Queen Brunhilde had built a convent and had encouraged the nuns in Autun, unlike Januarius, the uncooperative old bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, who received two letters from the Pope in September 593. His first letter is neutral (4.8), and it shows the Pope looking after what was really his bishop's job. 24

Guiseppe Damazia in 'Il Registrum epistolarum di S. Gregorio Magno ed il Corpus Iuris Civilis,' Benedictina 2 (1949), 195-226, especially 220-2, identified twelve extracts from the Corpus Iuris Civilis in the Pope's letters, together with about 74 explicit and 54 implicit references to Roman Law. I am sure there are many more. 25 As we have seen, he was studying rhetoric in 595, five years after becoming Pope, as he revealed in his most autobiographical letter, 5.53a, sent to his old friend and fellow-spirit, Leander of Seville. The 'persuasio' was handled most skilfully by Gregory, a key lesson in Quintilian's De Instutione Oratorica.

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"Theodosia, a nun, desires to carry out the wishes of her late husband, Stephen, in building a convent. She has asked us to send a letter to your Fraternity to obtain your help, with our recommendation. She asserts that her husband had decided that a convent should be constructed on a farm called Piscenas, recently under the control of the hostelry of the late Bishop Thomas. Although the tenant of the property would permit her to found this convent on another person's land, yet the owner seems reluctant. We have agreed therefore that she should construct a convent in a house belonging to her, which she claims to own in Cagliari. But as some guests and casual visitors are overrunning her home, we exhort your Fraternity to assist her in all these matters, participating in the reward for her late husband and for her sense of duty. But we want your Fraternity to place the relics that she asks to be gathered in that house with due veneration." The many guests suggest a hostelry. The geography is confusing, but it points to quite a large residence, certainly suitable for a convent. Relics were a basic part of any well-established convent. The farm would provide food and water, but a new building would hold things up, and the large town house would have advantages too, especially if an oratory could be added, perhaps on part of the farm.

(h) Nun's trials in Cagliari [letter 4.9] In his second letter to Januarius, 4.9, the Pope is highly critical, first suggesting that pastoral zeal should have inspired the archbishop to protect his flock from its cunning and deceptive enemies. The nuns' time should be spent in their convent serving God, not in town sorting out its taxes and other financial affairs. As he argues: "Pastoral zeal certainly should have inspired you sufficiently by itself to protect the flock which you have taken on, profitably and providently, even without our assistance, and to preserve that flock with diligent circumspection from the cunning deceptions of its enemies. But because we have found that your Beloved also needs a letter with our authority to augment your firmness, it was necessary for us to strengthen your hesitant mind with an exhortation of fraternal love, for the exertion of your religious vigour. For indeed it has come to our attention that you are taking inadequate care over the convents in Sardinia. Your predecessors prudently arranged that certain approved men from the clergy should attend to their needs, but this has now been totally neglected, so that women dedicated to God are forced to go on their own to public officials

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for their land taxes and other dues, and are forced to run through villages and farms on men's business to supplement their income." The Pope then told him to select one man whose age and rank left him open to no suspicion of evil. With the fear of God, this man could attend to the convents, so that the nuns no longer wandered outside their venerable abodes, contrary to their Rule, confining themselves to their convents, with no suspicion of evil in the minds of the faithful. See Dialogues 2.23 for just the same solution for two wealthy nuns. "Yet if any of these nuns, through their earlier freedom, or through an evil custom of impunity, has either been seduced in the past or will be dragged down into the abyss of adultery in the future, we want her to suffer the severity of appropriate punishment, and then be consigned to another stricter convent of virgins, to do penance. There let her improve herself with prayers and fasting and penitence, and let her provide a fearful example to others of a stricter discipline. But the man who is found in some wicked act with women of this sort must be deprived of Communion, if he is a layman. If he is a cleric, he must also be removed from his office and be confined to a monastery, to bewail his failures in self-control for evermore." The Pope then briefly discusses councils for bishops in Sardinia, twice a year, as was demanded by custom and the canons, to check on any bishop's immorality, and follows this with an attack on Jews who were thwarting attempts by their male and female slaves to take refuge in the Church, and should be defended by the bishop. Gregory ends with an interesting discussion with Bishop Januarius on the founding of monasteries, with an example that could well be a convent. "Also, with regard to the founding of monasteries, which various people have ordered to be constructed, if you see that some on whom these works have been imposed are putting them off with unjust excuses, we want you to put subtle pressure on them, according to the legal instructions. Otherwise the pious wishes of the dead may come to nothing (Heaven forbid!), through your idleness. However, as for the monastery that Peter is said to have ordered to be built in his house, some time ago, we have made provision that your Fraternity should inquire carefully into the

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amount of income left there.26 And if in fact a sufficient amount of money is being held, when you have recovered all that has been removed from those goods, or is said to have been spent, this monastery must be founded with all enthusiasm and without any delay. But if the supply of funds is either not quite enough or has suffered a big loss, we want you to conduct a careful inquiry into everything that has been said, reporting back to us. In this way we may know what we should determine about its construction, with the Lord's assistance."

(i) Problems with Pomponiana [letters 3.36 and 11.13] Pomponiana was clearly a very litigious and formidable lady, and the Pope finally invited her to Rome in May, 593, together with the aristocratic lady Theodosia, who had become a nun and had tried to found a convent, as we have seen. The Pope's notary, John, had investigated complaints against Bishop Januarius, and the bishop, the notary and the current defender of Sardinia, Sabinus, were also summoned. A brilliant scholar called Isidore was also invited to Rome.27 It is a great pity that a transcript of the very lively discussions amongst these powerful figures, male and female, has not survived, although their invitation is of interest. The letter inviting Pomponiana and Theodora (and the four men) to Rome is 3.36, and it was sent in May, 593. "Some serious matters have come to our ears, and since they are awaiting a canonical emendation, we instruct you, therefore, your Experience, together with our notary, John,28 to put aside any excuse and not fail to present our brother and fellow-bishop Januarius before us here, in Rome, with the greatest urgency. In this way, when he has been brought before our presence, those matters that have been brought to us can be inquired into with a careful examination. But if the religious women, Pomponiana and Theodosia, should wish to come here together with their claims, provide them with your support in every way, so that they can satisfy their 26

The 'monastery' was quite possibly to be built for nuns, but again with no mention of monks or nuns one cannot be certain. Gregory is ready as usual to force the bishop to take action after years of inactivity, despite Peter's bequest. Unfortunately, with thirty-seven different Peters in the letters, we cannot know whether this bequest was ever fulfilled. 27 In case of confusion, this Isidore from Sardinia is not to be confused with Leander's young brother, who succeeded him as bishop of Seville in 601, and became a major influence on the late Mediaeval period with his extensive writings, 28 Sent to Cagliari in August to Januarius (see letter 2.41).

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desires through your cooperation. But let it be your special aim to bring with you above all that most eloquent Isidore, as he has demanded, so that the nature of the case that he is known to have against the church of Cagliari can achieve a legal conclusion, from a judgement kept within the Church.29 Furthermore, since some wrongdoings have been reported to us concerning the character of the priest Epiphanius,30 it is necessary that you should examine all of these quite diligently. Hurry also to bring here either the women with whom he is said to have erred, or others whom you think know something about this same case, so that the truth can be clearly revealed for an ecclesiastical sentence. But you must take care to carry out all of this with such efficiency for both parties, that no guilt over being neglectful applies to you, as we know that it spells danger for you in every way, if this command of ours should be delayed at all." In letter 11.13, sent to Bishop Januarius in October, 600, the Pope managed to solve a problem involving both Pomponiana and Epiphanius, over a new monastery being built next to a convent. Both the Pope and Bishop Januarius were worried about errant monks. The Pope applauds the bishop, for a change, for his protection of souls with pastoral vigilance, by forbidding a monastery for monks from being built in the house of Epiphanius, a one-time reader in the church, in accordance with his will, because it was next-door to a house of nuns. "Realize that your Fraternity's concern has been very welcome to us, as you have shown yourself protecting souls with pastoral vigilance, as was proper. For indeed it has been reported to us that you forbad a monastery from being built in line with his will in the house of Epiphanius, a onetime reader of your church. This was done so that the seduction of souls should not develop thereby, the house being next-door to a convent. We praised you highly for taking precautions against the snares of the old enemy with suitable foresight, as was fitting. But we have been told that the pious lady Pomponiana wants to remove the nuns from that convent and return them to their own convents from where they had been taken, 29

Thus avoiding the scandal of litigation in the public courts. Isidore, n most eloquent lawyer, lived on Sardinia. 30 Epiphanius was in fact found innocent, and later he became archpriest in Cagliari (see letters 9.198, 14.2). Framing a priest or bishop for sexual sins was not uncommon, a prostitute being used by his rivals to charge the saintly Gregory, bishop of Agrigento, who was finally found innocent by Pope Gregory when the young lady confessed she had been paid to frame him. See my book on his interesting life.

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and to establish a community of monks in their place. So it is necessary that if this has been completed, then the disposition of the deceased should be adhered to fully. But if this has not been done, to prevent the testator's will from being totally frustrated, this is our wish. Because the monastery of the late abbot, Urban, located outside the city of Cagliari, is said to be so destitute that not a single monk remains there, John should be ordained as its abbot, if there is nothing to prevent him. For it was him that the above-mentioned Epiphanius appointed as abbot in the monastery that he had decreed should be built in his house, as we said. The relics that had to be stored in the house of the aforesaid Epiphanius must be deposited there, and whatever the same Epiphanius had contributed to the monastery that he thought should be built, must be applied to the other monastery completely. And so, even if his will is not carried out in that place because of the warning mentioned above, its benefit should be preserved unimpaired all the same. And let your Fraternity arrange all of this together with the defender, Vitalis, and take care to settle it so usefully that you can be rewarded as much for your laudable prohibition as for your good arrangement. It may be superfluous for that monastery to be recommended to your Fraternity, yet we fully exhort you to have it recommended to you, for the sake of justice, as is fitting for you." Pomponiana wanted to move the nuns from their convent back to those from where they had come, to establish a monastery in their place. As in letter 14.2 below, the convent in Epiphanius' house was not yet established, despite the Pope's neat solution. Maybe Bishop Januarius had purloined the funds meant for the convent. The Pope's worries about monks being close to nuns may have been based on his early years as a monk. The last two letters that he wrote early in March, 604, just before his death on the 12th, covering two pages, were on some monks in the monastery of Saint Vitus on Mount Etna, caught sharing beds with women, 'a sin to be corrected with the strictest of severity' and he ends that it was 'contrary to the fear of God and to legal order.' He was ever the lawyer as well as an outstanding theologian.

(j) Problems with Theodosia [letter 5.2] The saga of the nun Theodosia continues in two other letters sent by the Pope, the first to Januarius, sent very soon afterwards. It deals with Stephen and his uncooperative wife, Theodosia. The magnificent Stephen, when dying, had directed in his will that a convent should be founded, but the honourable lady Theodosia, his heiress and a nun, was delaying in

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making any decision. The Pope asks Januarius to warn her to establish the convent within a year, and to carry out the will of her dead husband without any dispute. But if she completes nothing by that time limit, and neglects the work, then Januarius should build it himself with enthusiasm, applying the goods and revenues left by Stephen. The third appearance of Theodosia is in a letter sent in September, 594, to Bishop Felix and Abbot Cyriacus, the Pope's most trustworthy agents, sent to clean up the mess and convert the heathen in Sardinia. The nun had brought several charges against Januarius, because after she had founded a monastery for monks, as its oratory was being dedicated, there was a disturbance. The Pope tells his agents to clear this up, and to encourage Musicus, abbot of the monastery of Agilitanus, to find time for his monks whom he had begun admitting therein. If they carry this out, the Pope will be "shaken no longer by the frequent complaints of Theodosia over the non-fulfilment of her good desires." He would breathe a sigh of relief. "The tenor of the report submitted to you explains adequately the complaint of Theodosia, a religious woman, in which we have read a good many major charges against our brother and fellow-bishop Januarius, and ones not befitting the clemency of a priest, stating that after she had founded a monastery for the monks, everything pertaining to avarice, disturbance and prejudice is said to have appeared at the time of the actual dedication of the oratory.31 Wherefore, if what we have discovered in her previous suggestion is true, and if you know that anything else was done improperly in this matter, we exhort you first of all to remove all types of prejudice, and then to encourage Musicus, the abbot of the monastery of Agilitanus, to find time without delay for those monks of his, whom he had begun to admit therein. In this way, after you have settled that venerable place in a decent and regular manner, with the Lord's help, we may neither be shaken by the frequent complaint of the aforesaid religious woman over the non-fulfilment of her good desires, nor may it be detrimental to your soul, if such a pious proposal should be languishing through some delay, due to your negligence. And we cannot believe that this is so." 31

Theodosia, although a nun, had donated considerable funds to the founding of a monastery for monks in Cagliari, only to witness their greed and trouble-making at the dedication of its oratory. The Pope tells his agents Felix and Cyriacus, to sort out its Church's abuses, and to persuade Musicus, the abbot of a nearby monastery, to take in the trouble-makers, for them to do penance, while they sorted out a new monastery, or risked Theodosia’s anger.

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(k) Problems with Pomponiana [letter 4.2] We do not know if the cantankerous Archbishop Januarius followed the Pope's orders, but by September 603, the priest was too sick and too old even to take Mass.32 He had received twenty-six letters from the very busy Pope, and in his final years he had become extremely troublesome. In this last letter not to him, but about him (14.2), sent to another reliable defender, Vitalis, the Pope finds from his report that the hostelries in Sardinia were suffering from serious neglect, and says he would have rebuked Januarius severely, if he were not restrained by the bishop's old age, simple-mindedness and illness, as described by the Pope's defender, Vitalis. He then arranges for the Church's steward and high-priest, Epiphanius, to restore the hostelries and to improve their financial position, important for Church income, and for the convents and monasteries in particular. "From the report of your Experience we find that the hostelries established in Sardinia are suffering from serious neglect. For that reason we should have rebuked our most reverend brother and fellowbishop, Januarius, most severely, if we were not restrained by his old age and simplemindedness and the illness afflicting him as described by you. And so, since he is in such a state that he could not be fit to make any arrangement, strictly warn the steward of that church and Epiphanius, the archpriest, through our authority, to set about arranging those hostelries by themselves, carefully and profitably, and at their own risk. For if any neglect should appear there afterwards, let them know that we cannot accept their excuses at all, for any reward. The landowners of Sardinia are being afflicted by various heavy burdens, and they have requested us that you should be sent over to Constantinople to find a remedy for them, and we grant you the freedom to go there. We have also written to our most beloved son and deacon, Boniface,33 asking him to be keen to provide you with his support over a remedy for that province.

32 For letter 14.2, see Letters of Gregory vol 3, pp. 867-869. The reference above to the Rule suggests that the convent's claustration was based on the very strict rule of Caesarius of Arles rather than on those of Saint Benedict or of Saint Columban. 33 This Boniface was his most trusted deacon and his senior defender, who had already been sent to sort out troubles in Milan, Ravenna, Sicily, Corsica and Corinth. He later became Pope Boniface III (606-607), and remained totally loyal to his mentor, Gregory. A dozen of the Pope's letters were sent to him.

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As for the churches that you indicated were without priests, we have written to our aforesaid most reverend brother and fellow-bishop, Januarius, saying that he ought to fill them, but in such a way that those chosen for bishoprics do not all come from his church. For it is fitting for him to arrange other churches in such a way that he does not cause a shortage of priests for his own church, who could be useful in it. Then as for your report that persons have been put in charge of some monasteries who had lapsed before while still monks and minors, they certainly should not have taken on the office of abbot, unless their way of life had been totally corrected, following due penance. But as you say that they have already undertaken the office of abbot, care must be taken over their way of life, their morality and their concern for duty, and if their actions are not found to be contrary to their office, let them continue in their present position. Otherwise, remove them and consecrate others who may profit the souls of those entrusted to them." The Pope ends another long saga concerning the convent of Saint Hermes, constructed in the home of the nun, Pomponiana.34 His tactful suggestions are well worth reading in his own words: "Furthermore, in the case of the convent of Saint Hermes, constructed in the home of the religious lady Pomponiana, it must be treated with tactfulness rather than with strictness. Your Experience must be keen to handle that woman with charm, so that she does not put off the will of its founder, which would be sinful on her part, and so that you can successfully provide advantages for the convent. As for the girls whom the aforesaid Pomponiana converted earlier on in her convent, with a change of religious dress, do not let them be alienated by her, or disturbed in any way, but let them remain with God's protection in their present holy way of life. But as for the search for the goods of churches or of monasteries or of holy places, about which you wrote, those who are interested in this should certainly first be warned that they should search for them in every way, with your encouragement and your support. But if perhaps they prove negligent, or certainly if men cannot be found to search for them, then look for them on your own, and collect what you have found in such a way that you are not seen to be inflicting any prejudice on anyone." The Pope then supports the Emperor's orders over two hostelries, 34

For his four early letters about this convent, see letters 1.46, 1.61, 3.36 and 11.13.

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and suggests that Januarius should withdraw from Mass if he feels too ill, but the faithful should put up with his sickness otherwise, for a person's sickness neither changes nor pollutes the blessing of the Holy Mystery. As usual, the Pope is very reluctant to force a bishop to resign due to any physical or mental illness. The Pope then returns to Pomponiana, who had complained that the defender Vitalis and Archbishop Januarius had unjustly taken away the inheritance of her late son-in-law, Epiphanius. "Furthermore, that religious lady, Pomponiana, has complained to us that your Experience, together with our most reverend brother and fellow bishop Januarius, have unjustly taken away the inheritance of her late sonin-law, Epiphanius, in which he had appointed his wife Matrona, daughter of the aforesaid Pomponiana, as its usufructuary, for the convent that he had decided to found in his own home, and to benefit in all ways afterwards when the usufruct was extinct, as well as other items that are proved to belong to the same Matrona by right of possession. So far no income from this has benefited either her daughter or the convent. But if that is true, or you know that you have done something improperly, without any delay, restore what you took away, or certainly, if you think that it is not so, in case the opposite party should appear to be prejudicially oppressed, do not in any way put off submitting a judgement over this case with her to an elected jury, so that the court's decision may declare whether her complaint is true and just." Gregory handles the nobleman and his relative with great finesse, in both parts of the letter, with the flattering 'Excellency' and 'Glorious' and the stress on a fully legal decision, however it goes. In the second half of the letter, he returns to the convent of Saint Hermes, where he does all he can to motivate his defender Vitalis. Besides the 'Glorious' there is the Pope's 'paternal love' and justice, upheld by law, plus prosperity and dignity of the defender's rule. He had to act at once. "Likewise, Pomponiana also, a religious lady, who is known to have founded a convent in her own house, has complained that a mother wanted to make the will of her deceased son-in-law null and void, so that his final bequest to his son is reduced to nothing. On this matter we think it necessary to exhort your Glorious self with paternal love to safeguard

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justice, and whatever is granted by law, order it to be preserved. May you dispose with prosperity the dignity of your rule." Again the Pope takes a very legal approach to the problem, and shows his usual tact and charm in dealing with difficult women, and tricky priests. In Roman law, the usufructuary was a person who had the use and profits from a will, but did not own its property. The spelling of proper names in Mediaeval times was normally far from consistent, and it seems certain here that Pomponiana and Pompeiana were one and the same person, appearing in five of the Pope's letters in all, 1.46, 1.61, 3.36, 11.13 and the one above, 14.2. All five of these epistles appear in this coverage, and they add up to show how very concerned the busy Pope was to encourage this very pious but at times rather prickly lady, without upsetting her at all.35

(l) Problems faced by the nun Januaria [letters 9.39, 9.181 and 182] In the first of these three letters, Januaria has just visited Pope Gregory in Rome, and he clearly sympathises with her as she complains about her illegal treatment by three men, Ingenuus, Anastasius and Boniface. As we shall see in the last two letters, she was the generous and very pious owner of the Furiana estate in the Tyndari diocese, in north-western Sicily. She had in fact paid for the foundation of an oratory on her estate, in honour of Saints Severinus the confessor, and Juliana the martyr. Gregory sends his first letter, 9.39, to his key representative in allimportant Sicily, the defender Fantinus,36 who was based in Palermo. Presumably the Pope would have told the nun what was in the letter that she was carrying back with her.

35

The tactfulness and charm demanded by the Pope were part of his own great success in dealing with priests, and with women. 36 Gregory sent as many as many as twenty-two letters to this trustworthy agent, Fantinus. The Roman patrimony of Sicily was divided between the administrative centres of Palermo and Syracuse, which explains the very regular correspondence between the Pope and Fantinus. Sicily was the bread and meat basket for Rome. Aa we have seen,an oratory was well equipped and used for church services as well as for public and private prayers, and it normally had a nun or monk or priest looking after it, in this case Januaria herself.

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"Januaria, the bearer of this letter, informs us that she is suffering a great deal of trouble at the hands of Ingenuus, Antonius and Boniface, quite unjustly, and she asserts finally that they are even trying to expel her from a possession that she claims to have owned for many years, as she informed me in person. And because she has asked to be defended against them by the protection of the Church, let your Experience summon the aforesaid gentlemen before you, and warn them not to presume to do anything by force. But if they believe that they can justly make some answer for themselves, against the woman mentioned above, let them join her in choosing judges, and whatever course of action they decide among themselves should be followed, to obtain peace and solace between the two parties. But if you discover that the men are just putting off doing this, then let your Experience provide protection for the aforesaid woman, in preserving equity, and not allow her to be burdened in any way contrary to due reason." As usual the Pope prefers a judge to decide the property dispute in a court, rather that act himself, possibly unjustly. Nothing is known about the three men, but it seems likely that they were put off by the Pope's agent, Fantinus, a man with great authority. The next letter, 9.181, was sent in July, 599, nine months after the one above, sent in October, 598. The last two letters start with 'Januaria, a nun.' Letter 9.181 was sent to Benenatus,37 the bishop of the nearby town of Tyndari. It reads as follows: "Januaria, a nun, has reported to us, while notifying us of the claim included below, that she has founded an oratory in the Furian estate, to show her devotion, and it remains under her charge. She wants it to be consecrated in honour of Saints Severinus the confessor and Juliana the martyr. And for this reason, dearest brother, if the building mentioned above is under the jurisdiction of your parish, and it is certain that no human body has been buried there, you will solemnly consecrate the aforesaid oratory with public masses. But first receive the legal payment, which is ten gold coins,38 which will guarantee some income and will be tax-exempt, as mentioned in the municipal statutes.

37

For Benenatus, see letter 3.59. Given, it seems, by the wealthy nun, Januaria, who was rewarded with special masses. The foundation was monastic, not parochial. The local bishop would set up the necessities for the operation of the oratory.

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Do so in such a way that a baptistery is not constructed in the same place, and you do not incardinate a priest there. But if the founder mentioned above should perhaps prefer masses to be held for her, she will know that a priest must be requested from your Beloved, so that nothing of this sort is ever presumed by any other priest. But you will take control of these sanctuaries39 and set them up with respect for her wishes." The third letter is very short, and was sent to Fortunatus, bishop of Naples, at the same time as the letter above, to back up his request to Benenatus. "Januaria, a nun, made a petition requesting that the sanctuaries dedicated to Saints Severinus the confessor and Juliana the martyr ought to be conceded to her, so that an oratory might be solemnly consecrated, built at her own expense. And for that reason, dearest brother, it is right for you to respond to aforesaid desires according to our injunction, so that she may obtain an outcome for her devotion in the consecration that she requests."

(m) Desideria's Court Case [letter 13.4] An interesting letter to Bishop Januarius, 13.4, sent in September, 602, shows Pope Gregory on the side of another abbess, Desideria, in her case against an abbot, John, who had purloined the fortune left to her by her parents and her brother, no doubt wanted by her for her convent to use.40 Her voyage to Rome from Sardinia certainly shows her determination. The Pope's demand for three bishops to decide her case reminds us of the rules for Talasia in the convent in Autun, but here there is a fall-back, with a holy and wise man required to settle the legality of the case, if three bishops remain divided. "Whenever a controversy arises between religious persons over earthly possessions, it should be ended through priestly concern, to prevent the controversy from increasing due to delay. For indeed the abbess Desideria, who bears this letter, came here complaining that the fortune of her parents, and equally that of her brother, rightly belonged to her, but were being unjustly retained by the Abbot John. She asks for that case to be decided with the intervention of a judgement. So your Fraternity must 39

The plural suggests that the nun had paid for the construction of a baptistery as well. The Pope leaves it to Januaria to decide on the details. 40 The abbot John may also have needed these funds to help him to furnish his monastery outside the city of Cagliari. See letter 11.13.

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examine the nature of this business carefully, assisted by our brethren and by our fellow-bishops, Innocent and Libertinus,41 inviting them to assist you, and with equal counsel and joint handling of the case, hasten to show yourself so concerned in every way in deciding the matter that she is spared any odium over favour or negligence, and after your decision no lawsuit remains between them. But if, due to some point of law, doubt should arise in your mind over giving a sentence, look for a wise man whom you know has the fear of God before his eyes, so that he may inform you what is legitimate and the sentence then involves no blame over your decision."

(n) Thefts from Convents [letter 5.4] "No reason at all allowed Gregory, bearer of this letter, once abbot and priest of the monastery of Saint Theodore, to have the right to be in charge of that place any more, following the almost total lapse by that community. For one who has led so many disciples to Hell through his negligence should not be put in charge of those left there, at any time. But since here in Rome he had a long period of penitential suffering, your Fraternity must receive him in that monastery, and reappoint him to his position, but so that Urbicus, put in charge of my monastery, should provide someone from the servants of God to become Gregory's superior, so that what is neglected by that man's lack of care may be preserved through the concern of the new appointee.42 Furthermore, I hear that Marcia, a pious woman, has moved unlawfully from the convent of Saint Martin into another convent, and that Victoria has taken her place, from what I hear, wasting the convent's goods so as to become prioress, and should herself be found meantime as the successor to the abbess. Your Fraternity must take pains to correct this matter with all speed. For you already understand your failure over this, as I can recognize 41

Bishops Innocent and Libertinus were two of the Sardinian bench, consisting of six bishops addressed by the Pope in letter 9.203, sent three years earlier. At least they were in nearby Sees. 42 The monastery of Saint Theodore appears first in letter 1.9 (Oct., 590), where the Pope's agent for Sicily, Peter, is told to visit Palermo and talk with Abbot Gregory over a land claim. Four years later Gregory has done penance in Rome, and returns, but with an abbot to watch over him, chosen by Abbot Urbicus from the monks in his monastery of Saint Hermes. It finally appears in 9.35 (Oct., 598), over a hostelry of Saint Theodore established by Peter, contributing land to a new hostelry built by the heirs of an Isidore, in Palermo.

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what is being done in your city, although I am situated far away, and although occupied with so many concerns, I can arrange what ought to be done. Therefore, we want the aforesaid Marcia to be reinstated in her own convent, in her own position, and we want Victoria to be handed over to our defender, Fantinus, so that he can cross-examine her himself and find out to whom she gave some of the convent's possessions. When she has been examined, we want her to be handed over to another convent, and a detailed report should be sent through Fantinus, so that we may know what ought to be decided about her, with a judgement based on better information. But I hear that many evil things have happened in the same convent, due to the doctor, Anastasius. If he ever enters that convent, or any other convent, your Fraternity will be at fault. You have a flock committed to you, and you only pretend that you are guarding it."43 The Pope was very keen to prevent thefts in convents, and simony in attempts to take over as abbess, as in letter 5.4 above, to Victor, the bishop of Palermo. The Pope ends with a stinging attack on Bishop Victor for failing to protect the convent of Saint Martin, from Victoria's thefts and a corrupt doctor.

(o) Church interference in Convents [letter 2.50] The Pope also did his best to uphold the rights of convents when they risked losing them to the Church. As in letter 1.42, this letter was sent to his very active agent in Sicily, the sub-deacon Peter. He starts this long letter with a complaint from a convent. This letter backs up the letter sent to sub-deacon Peter (1.42), in which he referred to this convent again. It ends with the nun, Honorata, her case continued with letter 4.34. "From a report by my defender Romanus,44 I have learnt that the convent of the nuns situated in the domain of Monosteos, has endured violence to its rights, from our Church, over the property of Villanova, and he says that he was sent by the convent for the same matter. If that is the case,

43

Medical experts were let in for serious illness; Anastasius' libido was far too active! 44 This section is surprising, with advice on culling cattle and dividing profits between a farmer and a collective. The Pope wanted his 60 gold coins back..

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your Experience should both restore the property to them and repay the rents that you charged for the same property for the last two indictions. Because many of the Jews remain on the Church's estates, if some of them want to become Christians, I want their tax to be reduced somewhat, so that they and others may rise up with this same desire, impressed by our generosity. I want all the herds of mares that we consider useless to be sold off, with only four hundred younger ones kept for reproduction.45 As for the case of Honorata, a nun, I think that all the property which she is agreed to have had before the time of the episcopate of John, bishop of Laurinum, should be brought here with you when you come. But let the same nun come here, with her son, so that we may talk with her and do what pleases God."

(p) Convent or Marriage [letter 4.34] The Pope supported celibacy, as stated in letter 1.42, but he thought it harsh for a sub-deacon unaccustomed to chastity to be forcibly separated from his wife, which could make him turn out for the worst. As he argues here, any sub-deacon who had lived chastely with his wife since the prohibition three years earlier should be allowed to continue in marriage. Letter 4.34: "From the reports of many, we have found that this old custom prevailed among you, that sub-deacons should be allowed to have intercourse with their wives. A deacon of our See, Servusdei,46 prohibited anyone from presuming to do this again, on the authority of our predecessor. He did so in such a way that at that time those who had already had sex with their wives should have one of two choices. Either abstain from their wives, or definitely not presume to act as ministers at all. And as we know, since Speciosus at that time was a sub-deacon, he suspended himself from his office of administration for this reason. Right up to the time of his death he carried out the office of a notary instead, and ceased from the ministry that a sub-deacon should have served.

45

For the sequel to this request to bring Honorata to Rome, see below. When forced by Bishop Leo to enter a convent, her property went to the Church. 46 Servusdei was the deacon who was in charge of Sicily's patrimony under the Pope's predecessor, Pelagius II. He appears in letters 1.42, 9.8 and 13.20.

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After the death of Speciosus, because his widow Honorata had been associated with a husband, we know that your Fraternity allotted her to a convent. For that reason, as her husband suspended himself, as is said, from his administrative position, it should not harm the aforesaid woman that she had sexual union with her second husband, especially if she was joined to the sub-deacon without any intention of abstaining from the pleasures of the flesh. And so, if you know that our information is true, it is perfectly all right that you release the aforesaid woman from the convent, so that she can return to her husband without any fear. But for the rest, let your Fraternity be extremely careful, and in the case of those whom you happen to promote to this office, you must look into this as diligently as possible, that if they have wives, they do not have the freedom to have intercourse with them. But you must nevertheless arrange with your own strict rule that they observe all things with the Apostolic See as their model."

(q) Nuns in need of help [letters 1.42 and 9.85] In one of the Pope's very long letters to Peter, his key agent in Sicily, which will not appear here despite its considerable interest, after a very tactful solution to Rustica's dispute over her silver, suggesting that the magnificent gentleman Alexander should be persuaded to give up his case either by the fear of God, or by a bribe or two, he talks about the convent of Monosteos and a lapsed nun who had returned there, and then mentions the nun Extranea in need of a pension. "Concerning the silver of Rustica, look into the case with great care and do whatever seems just to you. Advise that magnificent gentleman Alexander that he ought to settle his case with the Holy Church. If perchance he fails to do so, then pursue the same case as best you can with the fear of God, while preserving his honour. In this matter, we want you even to give him some presents, and if it is possible, let what is to be given to others be allowed for him also, provided he gives up the law suit which he has brought against us. As for the donation of the nun who has lapsed and has been placed in the monastery of Monosteos, restore it, putting off any delay, so that the same place, as I said earlier, which receives the revenue from its goods, bears the labour of its care. But whatever of her fortune is being held by others, collect it and hand it over to the aforesaid convent. Send us the revenues from the hostelry on Via Nova, the amount that you indicated to me that you held at your place. As for the accountant whom

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you appointed in that same patrimony, pay him whatever seems right. As for the nun who was with Theodosius, called Extranea, I think that you should pay her a pension, if you think it useful, or certainly renew the donation that he made. Restore without any delay the house that was taken from the convent, for the price of thirty gold coins, using the money it had received. Send back the jugs of onyx that I sent you through the bearer of this letter, after carefully examining their true worth." The lapsed nun appears to have been reinstated in the convent together with her fortune. The Pope did not give her name, as he usually did, and yet she must have been a wealthy woman. The return of the house, its cost being mostly covered by its rent, would have been very welcome to the abbess. It seems that Theodosius had donated money to support an elderly nun, Extranea, perhaps acting as his housekeeper. The onyx jugs would be used for Mass, but why Peter's valuation is needed is puzzling. Rustica's silver is also puzzling. It seems that she has left it to the Church, or to a convent or a monastery, and an aristocratic Alexander is claiming it, with a lawsuit against the Church. The Pope suggests a tactful approach, firstly with religious pressure, then with some small presents, and finally with access to more general largesse. Although well trained in Law, the Pope often preferred a legal settlement out of court. In the next letter, 9.85, the defenders' regular financial reports to the Pope in Rome are also of interest, as is the nun's husband, being impoverished by his capture by the Lombards, resulting in a very large ransom payment that had been financed by a wealthy old friend, Accellus. The Pope relied largely on the gold sent by his royal friends in the palace of Constantinople to cover the growing cost of ransoms, a lucrative trade for the Lombards. "Stephen, the bearer of this letter, claims that he has a nun of our Church as his wife, and has notified us that the elderly Accellus ransomed him from the enemy for eight gold coins, but Stephen tells us that he is too poor to pay him back, so let your Experience inquire into this diligently, and if you learn that this is so, and he does not have enough money to be able to repay the price, make appropriate arrangements with the aforesaid elderly man and restore the price of the ransom as far as you can afford it. Feel secure that when you arrive to settle your accounts, we shall have what you gave for the captives' ransoms repaid to you."

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Stephen, married to a nun, owes Accellus eight gold coins, a very large amount of money, but he is too poor to pay him back. The Pope asks his agent to fix it up, until he can reimburse him. It seems that nuns were particularly at risk with the Lombards' military successes and brutal treatment of prisonrs, in this case through a ransomed husband, but in chapters 3 and 4 on a far wider scale. No doubt many were raped, and most were severely traumatised by the violence of their military owners, and by the sight of their convents' destruction and burning towns, a complete contrast to the peace and quiet of their orderly lives in a convent. Pope Gregory was shocked by violence, especially when used by soldiers against women, as will appear below.

(r) Catella, a religious woman beset by men [letter 1.60] "If our Lord himself, with the witness of Holy Scripture, should declare that he is the husband of widows and father of orphans,47 then we also, as members of his body, should strive to imitate his head, with the greatest effort of our will, and preserving justice, we must defend orphans and widows. It has been suggested to us that Catella, a religious woman [or 'nun'], whose son is fighting here for the Holy Church of Rome, over which we preside with God's authority, is being troubled by forced entries and disturbances by certain men. We have thought it necessary concerning this matter to encourage your Fraternity with the present letter, to provide protection for that aforesaid woman. To preserve justice, your Fraternity should not decline, knowing that from deeds of this sort you may both make the Lord your debtor and bind our love close to you all the more tightly.48 For we want the lawsuits of the aforesaid woman, whether they are being heard now or are scheduled for a future date, to be terminated by your judgement, so that her legal disturbance may be removed, and yet she should in no way be denied the justice of the judgement. But I pray the Lord to direct your path towards him with a prosperous course, and once appeased, may He himself lead you to the kingdom of future glory."

47 The repeated call for the preservation of justice (salva iustitia) is noticeable, for a widow with an orphaned son, needing protection against obtrusive lawyers. 48 This paragraph is repeated almost word for word in letter 1.62, sent soon after this one to the same Archbishop Januarius. He was determined to free Catella from the law courts.

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(s) Nun seduced by a Bishop's son [letter 4.6] In letter 4.6, sent by Gregory in September, 593, to one of his most trusty 'defenders' now in Sicily, Cyprian, the Pope's sense of justice is outraged, as a nun is first seduced and then blatantly robbed by the son of a bishop. "It has been brought to our attention that a lady called Petronella, who was born in Lucania, became a nun through the encouragement of Bishop Agnellus. She entered a convent, and bestowed on it by a special title of gift all of her property in possession, although it could have remained her property by law.49 Then we heard that on that bishop's death, he left half of his fortune to his son Agnellus, said to be a notary of our Church, and half to the same convent. But when the nuns had fled to Sicily, because of the disaster that was threatening Italy,50 the young Agnellus is reported as having seduced Petronella, after corrupting her morals. Sensing that she was pregnant, he removed her from the convent and stole all of her property, as well as what he possessed through his father. After perpetrating such a dreadful crime, he is said to be claiming all of that property by his right of ownership. We exhort your Beloved to have young Agnellus and Petronella brought before you under a strict indictment, and to investigate this case with a most careful examination. If you find it as reported to us, then settle this business, so defiled by iniquities, with the utmost severity of expiation. Strict punishment should come upon this man, who paid no attention either to himself or to her condition, and who was the cause of such great sins, whereas the woman, who first suffered a punishment, may be returned to her convent, but under penance. All of the property removed from that convent must be restored with all of its profits and accessions." The Pope prejudges this case, due to its manifest enormity, with both lovers letting down the old bishop. The nun's penance may seem harsh after her ordeal, but the Pope saw the wealthy nun almost as a partner in crime. The theft of her inheritance and of the convent's would be hard charges for her lover to answer. The Pope's defender would have acted, but there is no reference to the sequel to this case in any of the letters to Cyprian, sent after this one, nineteen in all. 49

See Justinian Novellae 5.5, 123.38, an example of Gregory's legal expertise. As we have seen above, the 'swords' of the Lombards regularly destroyed monasteries and convents; 16 yrs earlier the monastery of Monte Cassino had been sacked and burned, and Subiaco and Terracina likewise. Monte Cassino remained deserted for 140 yrs. The Lombard threat abated in 598, thanks to Pope Gregory.

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(t) Nun raped by a soldier [letter 14.10] Letter 14.10 was sent in Dec. 603 to Guduin, the duke of Naples. The Pope wanted the duke to ensure that a soldier who had raped a nun several times, and had been found guilty, but had been let off through the lies of others, should now be punished, to show the duke's passion for the protection of chastity. To achieve his aim, the Pope flatters the duke. "Among the many good things that are quite often reported to us about your Greatness, the fact that you love chastity and preserve discipline, as is proper, should be said to deserve greater praise in your case. Yet we have been quite amazed that a really strict punishment has not been inflicted so far on that soldier, who has ruined a nun with Devilish stimulation.51 For it was extremely appropriate for your morality and goodness that the punishment should reach our ears before we heard of the wickedness of the crime committed. But because we believe that the punishment for this sin was suspended not at your wish, but because of the deception of others, so that this cannot suppress the sin and the name of the undisciplined soldier, and those places in which the crime was committed, we exhort you to make haste in strictly correcting such a sin, as an example for others, without any excuse or limitation, showing what sort of position you have for the protection of chastity. Do so in such a way that you make God pleased with you, whom the soldier has harmed by perpetrating this deed, while despising his fear of the Lord, and so that we offer thanks to you for the righteousness of your zeal. For we shall in no way permit such great wickedness to remain unpunished."

(u) Nun seduced by ex-husband [letter 9.225] Again in letter 9.225, the wealthy nun Syagria has been forcibly removed from her convent in Arles and has been raped by her ex-husband, and the Pope's letter berates Syagrius of Autun, and Virgil of Arles, ordering the bishops to rescue the nun, ensuring that her fortune goes to the Church, after providing for her children. The ex-husband was keen to retain her fortune, going by law to the Church once she was back in her convent.

51

The duke of Naples, who only appears in this letter, had the judicial power to punish the errant soldier with death, for raping a nun. The indignant Pope demands immediate action.

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"The nature of the care entrusted to me, my dearest brethren, forces me to break out with a cry of grief, and to arouse your Beloved selves with the anxiety of love, because you are said to be proving to be too negligent and too remiss where the righteous justice and passionate affection should have strongly inspired your endeavour. For it has come to our attention that a certain Syagria followed a religious life, even changing her clothing, but afterwards she was raped by her husband, terrible to hear, and you two were not disturbed enough to defend her. If that is so, I groan all the more strongly, in case before our almighty Lord (Heaven forbid!) you may be holding the office of mercenaries, and not the service of pastors. For indeed you have left a sheep to be torn apart in the mouth of a wolf, without a struggle.52 For what will you say, what account will you give to the future Judge, when you are unmoved by an uncontrolled act of defilement, when you are not encouraged in any way to defend her by your approval of her religious habit, and have not been aroused by priestly consideration to protect the purity of her chastity? Even now, therefore, remember your neglect and let a recollection of this sin and a consideration of your duty force you to be concerned enough to encourage the aforesaid woman. And in case over time her forced removal may perhaps appear to have turned into willingness, let your words be her remedy, and let her pay attention to her prayers, with your encouragement. Her penitential laments must not recede from her memory, and she should display a penitent heart to our Redeemer and repair the loss of her chastity with weeping, being unable to save it with her body." Syagria was clearly very wealthy when she took the veil and became a nun, thus depriving her husband (or ex-husband) of her fortune, which would automatically go to the convent. This explains the Pope's surprise that the two bishops had done absolutely nothing to prevent her from being removed from the convent and raped by her husband, as he points out very strongly. Once restored as a nun, she will have to do penance, despite being a victim of rape. "Since, therefore, they say that the aforesaid woman still wants to devote her property to holy causes, we strongly suggest that she should discover the favour of your two Fraternities in this matter, and should enjoy your support, and we suggest that it is right for her to decide what she wants to do with her fortune, while preserving a suitable portion for her children. For without doubt you do good for yourselves if you give help to those 52

The quotation comes from John 10.11-13.

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who want to do good things. Consider, therefore, dearest brethren, from what great love these words appear that we are saying, and receive all of them with the love with which they are said. For while we are one body in the body of our Redeemer, I am burning at the same time over what I feel is harming you. May the Author of truth reveal to your heart with what intention and with what affection I sent this letter to you. For that reason do not let this brotherly admonition sadden you, since even a bitter drink is accepted readily if it is offered with a healthy purpose. Finally, dear brethren, we should beseech the mercy of our God with joint prayers, that He may order our lives more favourably in fear of Him, so that we may both serve Him here as priests and in the future, may stand in His sight secure and without fear." The Pope admits that over time her enforcement may have turned into acceptance, but the bishops must ensure that her penitential laments do not recede from her memory, and that her loss of chastity is quickly repaired with weeping.53

(v) Nun corrupted by a Peter [10.3] Last but not least is the case of a wealthy nun being persuaded to leave her convent by a Peter, 'an extremely wicked man, and with diabolical intent,' as the Pope described him. His notary had recalled her to the convent and she had put on her habit again, but Peter had lured her from the convent once more, and was shamelessly sharing his bed with her. The nun was a relative of a gentleman, called Stephen, who had travelled to Rome from Sardinia to complain before the Pope about his young relative's treatment. The Pope exhorts the local bishop, Marinianus, to stop procrastinating, and to do something about reinstating her in her convent. He tells the bishop that he has advised his defender Vitalis to support him, and as an agent of Lord Philoxenus is representing Peter, the two of them must appeal to that lord to have her restored without delay. "Since, therefore, they say that the aforesaid woman still wants to devote her property to holy causes, we strongly suggest that she should discover the favour of your two Fraternities in this matter, and should enjoy your 53 This is the second of the two letters from the 50 or so on nuns in Pope Gregory's letters that was included by Jo Ann McNamara in her Sisters in Arms (p. 102). The first, sent to Januarius, was also included by F. Homes Dudden (see above). It is a pity that the very influential Dudden seemed to think that virtually all 'servants of God' were male.

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support, and we suggest that it is right for her to decide what she wants to do with her fortune, while preserving a suitable portion for her children. For without doubt you do good for yourselves if you give help to those who want to do good things. Consider, therefore, dearest brethren, from what great love these words appear that we are saying, and receive all of them with the love with which they are said. For while we are one body in the body of our Redeemer, I am burning at the same time over what I feel is harming you. May the Author of truth reveal to your heart with what intention and with what affection I sent this letter to you. For that reason do not let this brotherly admonition sadden you, since even a bitter drink is accepted readily if it is offered with a healthy purpose. Finally, dear brethren, we should beseech the mercy of our God with joint prayers, that He may order our lives more favourably in fear of him, so that we may both serve him here as priests, and in the future may stand in his sight secure and without fear."

(w) A Nun who offended the Pope [Letters 8.8 and 8.9] In contrast to all of the letters printed above to or about nuns, there are two letters (8.8 and 8.9) that show the Pope losing patience, surprisingly enough, with a nun, an apparently aristocratic and well-educated young lady, whose father, Tullianus, was a 'glorious general' who had died, perhaps after having forced his daughter to enter a convent in Apulia. Once the general was dead, she took off her religious habit and put on secular clothing, an act that was certainly offensive to the Pope, and this 'most depraved' woman then sent a 'perverse letter' to him in Rome, which infuriated him. Unfortunately the letter has not survived, but it would have been very interesting to read. Did she ridicule her abbess or attack her dead father for burying her in a convent, or did she attack the Pope for having played a part in it? Nowhere else did he react so strongly to a nun's letter or presence, writing two angry letters, one to the local bishop of Siponto, Vitalian, and the other to Sergius, the defender of the Pope's patrimony in Calabria. He angrily threatens both of them, if they should fail to act at once. She was to be taken back to the convent, with a guard to stop her from leaving I thereafter.

To Bishop Vitalian [letter 8.8] "If you knew how to be a guardian of religious clothing, or to be a bishop, the daughter of Tullianus, a general of glorious memory, would not have been allowed to throw away her religious vestments, and revert to secular

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dress, with you in charge there, nor would you have allowed her to send such a perverse letter to us. But because you are overcome by excessive idleness and inactivity, the illegal act has been committed without yet being punished, to your disgrace. For if, as we said before, you had been worried, the punishment of the most depraved woman ought to have come to our attention before her fault did. And so, because you are so sluggish and negligent, that, unless you have experienced canonical restraint,54 you do not know how to look after strict discipline in others, we shall show you at a suitable time, if it pleases our Lord, how you ought to be concerned. Therefore, take up the present letter, and be wakeful. Thus aroused, carry out what you have put off until now, overcome by laziness. And so, let it be a sign of your urgency to arrest the aforesaid woman, working with our defender, Sergius,55 and at once not only to recall her to the habit she wrongly despised, without any excuse, but also consign her to the convent, where she can be strictly guarded in every way. Show total care over her, so that from your strictness, she can learn how wicked the sin was which she committed. In this matter, if any layman, although we do not think it very likely, attempts to prevent you, for any reason, suspend him from participation in the most Holy Communion, and hasten to report back to us, so that by the nature of her punishment she may realize how accursed her presumption was, as she failed to realize it by her own consideration. In all of these matters, be keen to show yourself so careful and vigilant, that neglect cannot double your fault, but concern can lessen it for a while."

To his defender, Sergius [letter 8.9] "If you were a man or had some strictness, you ought to have been a guardian of the discipline of the rule, and you would have corrected things committed there illegally with a punishment, before reports reached us. But while excessive stupidity makes you negligent, we are not only offended over those matters, but we are also provoked nevertheless to punish your idleness. Therefore, put aside all postponement and every excuse, and together with our brother and fellow-bishop, Vitalian, hasten 54 The reading coercitationem in the MSS is unique, but is due to dittography, from the normal word coercitionem. It suggests ‘restraint’ or ‘punishment’. 55 Sergius was the defender of the papal patrimony of Calabria and may have exercised the same function in the patrimony of Apulia. Letter 8.9 is addressed to him over this matter.

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to arrest the daughter of Tullianus, a general of glorious memory, as she has thrown out the religious garments which she had assumed of her own accord, and has disgraced herself with lay attire. Recall her quickly to her religious habit, and send her to the convent, where she can be strictly guarded in every way. And do not permit her custody to be relaxed to any extent, until you receive a letter from us again. For if you prove to be in any way negligent or idle in this matter, know that you will have to be punished most strictly, so that you can learn what you do not realize yourself, when restrained by the penalty. For, if you had had the intellect of a man, we should have heard from you directly that you had already taken steps, with a threat of punishment if necessary, to bring about what I must now order you to do."56

(x) Other references to Nuns and Abbesses (i) Letter 4.11 to Maximian, bishop of Syracuse "We most strongly prohibit immature girls from being made abbesses. Your Fraternity should not allow any bishop to veil any virgin less than sixty years old, whose way of life and morality would demand it."57

(ii) Letter 9.3 to Secundinus, bishop of Taormina "Leo, a paper-merchant and bearer of this letter, came to us and indicated that his wife had left him, accusing him of adultery, claiming that this had finally provoked her once and for all to join a convent. And yet he says that he never admitted liability to his wife. As a result, your Fraternity looked into it, as we had entrusted the examination of this matter to you nearly three years ago, as you admit. And it was in no way obvious that, after they entered this marriage, it collapsed due to the charge of fornication. Leo also added that he had provided this same wife of his with very strict oaths, swearing that he had remained innocent of that charge, suspicion of which was upsetting her, and for that reason she had returned to him of her own accord. But he asserts that your Fraternity 56

Both should have dealt with her, before she had troubled the Pope; his scathing attack on them for being so stupid and so lazy is unparalleled. 57 The advanced age is most surprising, as forty years was normal, according to ecclesiastical law.

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deprived her and her servants of Holy Communion, because of the simple fact that she returned to him secretly, without telling you. And so we want her servants, certainly, to receive Holy Communion. The fault of their mistress should not let them be punished by this affliction for long. But with regard to the woman herself, that is the wife of the letter-bearer, you must take care of this. If it is clearly established that she was not able to say anything against her husband, and moreover, that her suspicion was removed when the oath was provided, as we were informed, and after this she returned to him of her own accord, and the censure of the judgement ought to be tempered in her case also, then she should not be deprived of communion any longer." The letter shows the Pope's preference for their marriage to be resumed, unless a charge of adultery can be proved, even if the wife had joined a convent.

(iii) Letter 9.8, to the defender, Fantinus We believe that your Experience already knows that our one-time most beloved son and deacon, Servusdei,58 left his property to the Holy Roman Church, which we serve, with God’s authority. And in an item of his bequest, he decided that four mares should be given to his relative, Aluminosa, a nun. And at the request of our most beloved son and deacon, Florentius,59 we made provision for ten mares with a groom being bestowed on the hostelry of Anicii,60 where he is known to be in charge. For that reason, we request you with this order to deliver simultaneously both the four mares bequeathed by him, and the ten mares granted to the hostelry by us from the mares owned by the one-time deacon mentioned above, and hand them over to the bearer of this letter, who was sent there for this purpose. And at the same time you should also deliver the groom, without any excuse or delay."

58

Possibly the person mentioned in letters 1.42 and 13.20. A Roman sub-deacon, Florentius, appears in letter 3.15 and Dialogi 2.8. It is not certain if he is to be identified with the addressee of this letter, but it is quite possible. 60 Gregory was quite possibly a member of the very old and aristocratic gens Anicia. The gift of 14 mares and a groom seems generous. It underlines the useful role of hostelries like this one, providing board and transport for visitors. 59

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The nun, Aluminosa, received four mares from a bequest by a relative, dear to the Pope, the deacon Servusdei. It needs to be remembered that in mediaeval times speedy transport depended on horses, no doubt owned by any convent.

CHAPTER SIX WIDOWS

(A) Letter 1.13, sent to Dominic, bishop of Civitavecchia in Dec. 590 "It is indeed part of a priest's duty that you are obliged to provide assistance for widows and for women bereft of a husband's support, so that wherever in this world they are deprived of a truly human life, they can find remedies under the protection of a priest. Since, therefore, Luminosa, an honourable woman and the widow of the very famous tribune Zemarcus, has entrusted herself, after God, to our protection, we advise you to give her relief in whatever she needs, and let nobody cause her the slightest amount of trouble. But because, with the agreement of the Palatine Theodore, the wife herself has been allowed to carry out that financial command, which her husband had undertaken to exercise, or until the fulfilment of the present fifteen year period,1 as it suited her, should be celebrated, you should not allow anything to disturb her while she carries it out. And so act in such a way that you both make God your debtor for such deeds, and that our mind rejoices more readily over the benefits of this sort contributed by you." In some towns, tribunes were appointed by the local governor to regulate the city's administration and judiciary, but Zemarcus is unknown otherwise. His widow, Luminosa, is described as 'honourable' and she must have been strong-willed and well educated, to take over her husband's financial duties, but the bishop's protection is needed for her to fulfil her task without interference. She does not appear anywhere else. In the opening section, the duty of bishops to give assistance to widows, and to women not supported by husbands, is of interest. There were no pensions, although property might be left for a widow. In Gregory's time the coastal city was called Centumcelli. Gregory was there in 589, before 1

The letter was dated in the ninth 15 year period, ending on August 31st, 591.

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he had been elected Pope, and Dominic was recorded as a participant in a synod in Rome as bishop in July, 595. The busy mediaeval town, founded by the Emperor Trajan, was completely destroyed by bombing in World War II. The miraculous blood that drips from the eyes of a large statue of the Madonna in that town would have greatly interested Pope Gregory, whose work on Italian miracles, which contained his biography of Saint Benedict, was a best seller for many centuries (his Dialogues).

(B) Letter 9.36, sent to Anthelm, sub-deacon, in October, 598 "Theodora, the widow of the defender Sabinus,2 has sent her servant here, and has complained that she has been deceived by her son and by a certain Aligernus,3 whose daughter that same son of hers had taken in marriage. At the time of the wedding, she was made to leave the title for all her goods to this same son, but now she says that they greatly despise and slight her, so much so that they have taken all of her property and she has nothing left on which she can live. She also asserts that she endures such great adversity from them as well, that they do not allow a slave owned by her to serve her or to comfort her in any way. If that is how things are, it is all too serious and ungodly. And so, with the contents of this authority, we order you to take pains to learn the truth, and if you find it to be so, be quick to apply the protection of the Church, and to assist her to a reasonable extent in all things. Thus, with you placed there, she should not endure any trouble again or any sort of oppression at all from the men mentioned above. But you should be keen to ensure that, where she complains of having been deceived, she can be given legal assistance. For it is extremely cruel that a woman, who should have comfort in the person of her son, is forced by him into greater need and is subjected to poverty. But if perhaps even you cannot arrange the peace and comfort of this woman, hasten to report it to us, and we shall tell you in our reply what you should do after this." There is no sequel to this letter, suggesting that the Pope's agent, Sabinus, managed to sort out the affair, giving Theodora the Church's protection and legal assistance to recover some of her wealth, and more support, perhaps, from her own son. It shows how the men could callously reduce 2 3

For Sabinus, defender of the Palermo patrimony, see letter 3.36. The identity of Aligernus, her son’s father-in-law, is otherwise unknown.

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her to poverty, despite her generous gift to her son. It should not have needed the Pope's intervention.

(C) Letter 3.5, sent in October, 592, to Peter, sub-deacon of Campania "Just as we do not desire to upset the privileges of laymen in the courts, even so when they are prejudging cases, we want you to resist them with moderate authority. For coercing violent laymen is not acting contrary to the laws, but giving assistance to the law. Deusdedit,4 the son-in-law of Felix of Orticello, is said to have proposed violence against the bearer of this letter, and to be retaining the widow's property illegally, in such a way that his theft is found not to provoke pity for her widowhood, but to strengthen his spitefulness. And for that reason we order your Experience that against that man above, as in other cases, in which that lady asserts that she is suffering under prejudgement, you extend to her the consolation of our protection. And do not allow her to be treated badly by anyone at all. Otherwise you may either be found to neglect in some way those things that are entrusted to you, but not through any injustice, or else payments for widows and other poor people may be interrupted, due to the long distance of this journey, when they find no help there."5 The Pope acts quickly against the litigious and violent Deusdedit, protecting the widow from legal prejudgement and loss of property. She may have been the letter-bearer. After clearing up Sicily's many problems in the first two books of letters, sub-deacon Peter is now in charge of Campania.

4

In English, 'God-given', but ungodly in his misuse of the law, it seems. Felix is unknown otherwise. 5 The reference to other widows and poor people suggests that Fantinus was carrying out a key duty of a defender, protecting widows and the poor, while providing them with adequate sustenance.

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(D) Letter 9.75, sent to Fantinus, defender, in November, 598 "Your Experience should know that our notary, Primigenius, has passed from this world, for his sins.6 He is known to have left as his heirs the holy Roman Church, which we serve with God’s authority, and his wife, who afterwards commended herself to the protection of the Church, and also the son of his brother, as an equal heir, accounting for every last cent. For that reason, so that you receive this order at once, before anyone discovers that he has died and permits some fraud over his fortune, you will take care to travel without delay to the place in which his property has been stored. And there, with all concern and diligence, let it be your aim to act with solemnity and precision, in the presence of the boy, Consentius,7 who is nominated as the guardian of that property, and summon witnesses. You should then deposit those goods in an extremely safe place, as you see fit, to provide a benefit for him, so that they might be sent over here at an appropriate time together with the same boy, with the help of God. But hasten with all vigour to bring together and arrange in one place everything else, whether movable property or slaves8 that you find belonging to the man’s estate, so that nothing might be lost from his fortune, not for any reason at all. And therefore, be keen to carry out all of these things with such concerned and attentive care that, when you are located there, no loss may eventuate in his property, and there should be no opportunity at all for any fraud, from those waiting for an opportunity or seeking one out. But hasten equally to inform us in a letter from you what the total sum of the income may be." The Pope certainly puts pressure on Fantinus, who was in charge of his patrimony of Palermo, to sort out his notary's will in person as soon as possible, as there was clearly a large estate for the triple division and there and a risk of their fraudulent removal, without the defender's attentiveness, backed up by papal authority. The Pope was keen to hear how much was bequeathed, and to receive the Church's portion intact. Presumably her 6 The euphemism (lit. ‘passed from this light’) is for ‘died’ and ‘for his sins’ does not suggest that he was especially sinful. 7 It seems that Consentius was the nephew of the deceased, and co-heir to the estate. The storage of the notary's property is of interest, suggesting that his death followed a fatal illness requiring minimum use of his home's rooms, and careful storage of his valuables. 8 The 'movable property or slaves' is a legal phrase to cover a home's contents.

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husband's nephew, Consentius, was grown-up enough to act as guardian of the bequest. The notary's wife, with the Church's protection, was left a wealthy widow.

(E) Letter 9.113, sent to Sergius, defender, in March, 599 "Your Experience is quite certain that the notary Pantaleo9 is occupied in services for the Church. And so, his father-in-law John, the uncle of Megaris, is recorded as having died intestate, without children and with no other close relative still living. And since, if that is so, the law prevents that woman from being heir to her intestate uncle in the absence of his son-in-law, we therefore suggest to you with this order that you should bring in our most reverend brother and fellow-bishop, Vitalian,10 and the notary Boniface, as your assistants, so that she might not suffer any loss through his absence. And you ought to keep make a record,11 of whatever property is agreed to have been left by the deceased, and to keep it safe until the aforesaid Pantaleo may return. And so that you can implement this better, be keen to draw upon the support also of our son and tribune, John, a magnificent gentleman.12 We are totally confident that he would not refuse to accommodate himself to you with devotion, if you tell him what we want. At the same time, since the aforesaid John is said to have had some sacred vessels at his place, let it be your aim also to search for them diligently and to keep them safe with all care, and indicate to us in detail whatever has been found. And so, let your Experience then hasten to do carefully what we have written and to ensure that you cannot be held culpable. For if we suspect that you are being negligent, you will know that you are annoying us, and will not be able to defend yourself with any excuse hereafter." The Pope is keen to help Megaris, unable to inherit from her uncle, bringing together Bishop Vitalian, the notary Boniface and the tribune, John, to sort out the settlement she deserves. As often he makes good use 9

For Pantaleo, see letter 3.40. The sacred vessels may show that John was in fact a priest. The father-in-law suggests a marriage that was soon annulled (with no will or children). 10 For this bishop of Siponto, see letters 8.8,9;9.175. For this Boniface, see letters 3.41;9.175. 11 The Latin sub breve could be ‘briefly’, but the noun breve (‘catalogue’) is better here. 12 This tribune reappears in letter 9.175, and may be the John in Dial 3.19.

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of his legal expertise to sort out the best procedure for the woman to obtain a just settlement.

(F) Extract from letter 1.42, sent to Peter, in April, 591 "In the case of the Jew, Salpingus, a letter has been found which we are sending back to you. Read that letter, and carefully get to know the case of the Jew, and that of a certain widow, who is said to be implicated in the same business. Then send us a reply as far as it seems right for you, concerning the fifty-one gold coins, known to be due for repayment, so that another person's property is in no way unjustly defrauded by creditors."13 There is no sequel to this section of Peter’s letter, but ‘creditors’ suggests that this may be a widow who did not rely on the Pope’s help, or her local bishop’s generosity, but went into business after her husband’s death, using a Jew for the financial arrangements. It is not clear if it was their loan that needed to be paid, or if she and her partner needed to be repaid.

13

At that time loans of money were only legal for Jews to operate.

CHAPTER SEVEN MARRIAGE

This discussion of marriage comes from a very significant page of the Pope's letter 11.27 which he sent to Theoctista, the sister of Queen Constantina. "For it was said against them1 that they were dissolving marriages under the pretext of religion, and that they claimed that baptism would not remove sins completely, and if someone spent three years doing penance for his sins, afterwards he should be allowed to live a wicked life, and that if they were anathematized over something for which they were being blamed when under compulsion, they said that they were in no way restrained by the bond of anathema. And if there are those who in actual fact think or hold such views, there is no doubt that they are not true Christians. And I with all the Catholic bishops and the universal Church anathematize them, as they are thinking what is contrary to the truth and are saying what is contrary to the truth. For if they say that marriages should be dissolved for the sake of religion, it should be known that although human law has allowed this, yet divine law has prohibited it. For Truth says in person: ‘What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.’ And Truth added also ‘that is not lawful to put away a wife, except it be for fornication.’2 Who then would contradict this Heavenly legislator? We know it has been written: ’And they shall be one flesh.’3 If a man and wife, therefore, are one flesh, and for the sake of religion a man puts away his wife or she puts away her husband while he still remains in this world, or perhaps turns to what is not allowed, what is that way of life, in which one and the same flesh on one hand has passed to continence, and on the other hand remains in a polluted state? But if it suits both of them to 1 Those dissolving marriages are like the trouble-makers still pestering his very pious friend, Theoctista. While in the palace, Gregory had had to deal with heresies and misunderstandings of marriage and baptism. 2 Mt 19.6.9. 3 Gn.2.24.

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live a continent life, who would dare to find fault in this, when it is certain that almighty God, who has allowed what is inferior, has not prohibited what is superior? And we know that many pious men have first led a life of continence with their wives, and afterwards have gone over to the rules of the Holy Church.4 For indeed, pious men are accustomed to abstain even from what is allowed in two ways. Sometimes so as to increase their merits before almighty God, but sometimes to wipe away the faults of their past lives. For three boys forced to serve the king of Babylon sought pulse for their meal, not wanting to use the royal food, and not because it would be a sin if they ate what God had created.5 And thus they were unwilling to take what was allowed, so that their virtue might increase through continence. But David, who had taken another man’s wife, and had been soundly beaten for his sin, long afterwards wanted to drink water from the cistern at Bethlehem. But when his bravest soldiers had brought it to him, he refused to drink it and poured it out as a libation to the Lord. For he was allowed to drink if he had wanted to, but he remembered that he had broken the law and laudably abstained even from what was lawful. And he who before had no fear of shedding the blood of dying soldiers because of his sin, afterwards judged that if he were to drink the water, he would have shed the blood of soldiers still alive, saying: ‘Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy?’6 Therefore, when goodly married couples either desire to increase their merit or to wipe out the faults of their past life, so that they may bind themselves to continence and seek a better life, that is all right. But if the wife does not seek the continence that her husband seeks, or a husband refuses the continence sought by her, it is not right for the couple to be divided, as it is written: ‘The wife has not power over her own body, but the husband; and likewise also the husband has not power over his own body, but the wife.’"

4

Gregory’s strong defence of a Christian marriage is noteworthy. See letter 11.30 for the same argument. 5 See Dn 1.3-16. 6 1 Chr 11.19, 1 Cor 7.4, Ps 72.28, Jn 13.10.

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(a) Letter 1.24, sent in February, 591, to John of Constantinople, Eulogius of Alexandria, Gregory of Antioch and John of Jerusalem, and to Anastasius, ex-patriarch of Antioch "For it is thus that Paul is transported to Paradise and investigates the third Heaven, suspending that contemplation of things invisible, he recalls the sharpness of his mind to the bed of carnal men, and since Holy Matrimony is for the sake of procreating children, he allows them some pleasure also, saying: 'But to avoid fornications, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband fulfill his obligation towards his wife, the wife likewise toward her husband,"7 This extract from the Pope's encyclical to the patriarchs shows that the Pope did accept some pleasure being found in marriage, although he readily supported Paul's main purpose of marriage, the procreation of children, a reasonable policy until recently, when over-population became all too evident.

(b) Letter 1.42 sent to sub-deacon Peter in May, 591 "Felix, a steward of Lady Campana, whom she had left freed, with orders not to be examined, said that seventy two gold coins had been stolen from him by the sub-deacon, Maximus, for the payment of which he asserted that he had either sold or pawned all of his goods which he had in Sicily. But the lawyers have said that he could not avoid examination over fraud. But while returning to us from Campania, a storm arose and he died. We want you to look for his wife and children, and whatever he either pawned or sold, to pay off the deposit, to restore the value of what he sold, and to provide some maintenance as well, because Maximus had sent him to Sicily and there had robbed him of what he was claiming. So find out what was stolen and restore it to his wife and children with no delay". This extract comes from a very long letter to his agent in Sicily, subdeacon John, and the Pope certainly shows his concern for the wife and children. It seems that the lawyers (scholastici) had forced the steward to cross over from Sicily to put his case to the Pope, but unfortunately he

7

1 Corinthians 7, 2-3. In the NAB, 'immorality' translates fornicationes.

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died in a storm. The urgency of the Pope's letter demanding immediate action shows the danger for the wife and her children.

(c) Letter 1.65, sent in July, 591, also to sub-deacon Peter "If we confront the needs of our neighbours with customary compassion and kindly intent, without doubt we find the Lord merciful to our requests. Indeed we have learnt that Pastor, who has a wife and slaves and suffers from an extreme weakness of vision, and who used to serve with Jonathas, once of glorious memory, is subject to a great many needs. For that reason we order your Experience with the letter bearing this instruction not to delay in giving him annually enough measures of corn and enough measures of beans also to sustain him, and these costs could be charged to your account afterwards. And so do this in such a way that you both receive the reward for a service well rendered, and bring our orders into effect." It seems that Pastor and his wife had enough means to have slaves, but being nearly blind Pastor could not work any longer. The Pope's agent, sub-deacon Peter, is to provide measures of corn and beans as laid down for the ex-soldier, for service well rendered, and Peter likewise will be rewarded in Heaven. Again it shows that the Pope's agents carried plenty of gold. They were expected to present their expenditures written down in an account-book each year, normally.

(d) Letter 1.69, sent to Peter, in August, 591 "We ought to provide assistance with kindly intent, as far as reason permits, for those in need, with the help of our recommendation. For that reason we thought that Cyriacus and his wife, Joanna, bearers of this letter, should be recommended by our instruction to your Experience, so that you do not allow them to be oppressed and burdened by anybody, contrary to what is just. Rather, when it is necessary, let them enjoy your consolation, with the approval of justice, so that they may rejoice that our recommendation aids them in all ways, with your support, and equity is preserved. Indeed the above-mentioned woman is said to be suffering some trouble for the reason that she has converted to the Christian religion from Judaism, after accepting betrothal money.8 They assert also that the 8

The word arrha came from the Hebrew word ‘to give security’ and was used for money given to seal a contract, here of betrothal.

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same law-case has been heard and decided. Therefore your Experience should look into the matter carefully, and if you acknowledge that the case has been judged, do not allow any complaint thereafter to spread against that women, in any way at all. But let the judgement be preserved in every way, so that she is not shaken by the slanders of evil people, on the grounds that she is known to have chosen a good portion."9 Again the couple had brought the Pope's letter back from Rome. Its legal theme, relating to her betrothal money, it seems, is a common one among his letters.

(e) Letter 7.41, sent in August 597 to Cyprian, deacon in Sicily "Paula, bearer of this letter, complained to us that a certain Theodore, once a Jew, is being excessively hostile to her, for no reason, so much so that, horrible to relate, he is trying to harm her with unfair wrongdoings. And says that Theodore is strongly supported by the people of the church of Messina, against her charge. So, may your Beloved take care that none of the clergy try to act in opposition to that woman, in this case. But for your investigation of it, see that you are concerned yourself, and if the abovementioned Theodore is shown to be guilty of such great wickedness, see that it is punished with such a strict penalty, through those who are involved, that God can be appeased and it may also act as an example of punishment for the others." It seems Paula brought this letter back to Sicily after visiting Rome. She may have been Theodore's wife, but the support given to him by the Church's congregation is too hard to endure. Theodore is to be tried, and the priests must control the congregations.

(f) Letter 9.90 sent to Sabinus, sub-deacon, in January, 599 "The bearers of this letter, Stephen and Marcellus, former freedmen of the palace guard, Comitiolus, have complained to us, asserting that a sixth of his fortune that their master left to these freedmen of his, in the script of his will, has not yet been paid in full to them by the heiress and daughter of the guard, Mary, the wife of the cleric Pardus. And they claim that the 9

For ‘Mary has chosen the better portion,’ see Lk 10.42.

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same heiress of his has frightened them over their status, so that she can delay paying the legacy. And since they ask for the payment of legacy to be completed through your effort, we therefore order you with this authority to warn the aforesaid Mary not to delay in implementing the wish of her father and creator, and you must make sure that they are not subjected to any unreasonable expenses. But if perhaps she tries to defend herself against paying with some excuse, you should rightly examine the case in detail, under oath, deciding what the order of justice and law has recommended, and bring this decision into effect, so that the complaint does not return to us again. But we have also discovered that the same testator left a sixth of his fortune to the church of Saint George, where he wanted to be buried. So, take care in every way to claim the same sixth, if it also has not yet been paid in full, for the aforesaid place, so that the intention of his pious wish is brought into effect totally, even if the heiress is unwilling, and you do not allow what has been reported in this matter to be put off any more. For it is sacrilege and contrary to the laws if some person, through the desires of their perverted will, tries to retain for his own profit what is bequeathed to places of worship." The freedmen were able to persuade the Pope to help them receive what was owed from their one-time master's will, without extra costs. As his ex-slaves, his daughter, Pardus' wife, could easily put pressure on them. Sabinus is to take her to court if she does not cooperate with the terms of the will.10

10

The Pope's special concern is for the sixth left to the Church of St George, for the guard's burial, to be paid in full, whether she is willing or not. She is accused of sacrilege and illegality if she keeps for herself what was bequeathed piously to the local place of worship. The Pope shows little sympathy for the wife.

CHAPTER EIGHT WOMEN COHABITING WITH CLERICS

(1) Letter 1.40, sent to sub-deacon Anthelm in April, 591 "Our brother and fellow-bishop John, directly through his chief secretary Justus, is known to have announced this to us, among several other matters, that some monks from monasteries located in the diocese of Sorrento are changing their abodes from monastery to monastery.1 With the desire for secular things, they are abandoning the rule of their own abbot. Moreover, individuals are applying themselves to their personal gain, which is known to be illegal. For that reason we command your Experience with the present order not to allow any monk to move his abode from monastery to monastery any further, nor to permit any one of them to have any personal interests. But if anyone should presume upon this, he must be returned with due coercion to the monastery where he became a monk, and back under his abbot's rule, from which he has fled. Otherwise, if we leave such great sin uncontrolled and unamended, the souls of those perishing may be examined by the soul of their superiors. If however someone should happen to have been converted to monk from being a cleric, he should not be allowed to return once more of his own volition to the same or another church, of which he was a former soldier. That is, unless he was a monk leading such a life that the bishop, for whom he had fought the good fight earlier on, should see him worthy of a priesthood, so that he should be selected by him and ordained in whatever place he decides is the best for him.2 And because we have learnt that some of the monks have even sunk to such great wickedness, as to obtain wives publicly, you should search for 1 For Anthelm, see letter1.23. John was bishop of Sorrento in Campania. He participated in the Council of July 5th, 595, and appears in letters 9.45 and 62 (Oct.-Dec. 598). He died before March 600 (letter 10.6). 2 This passage is again illustrative of a concept current in the Church of Gregory's day, that of a clerical militia.

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them with all vigilance, and finding them, you should take them back to the monasteries in which they had been monks with due coercion. But also do not fail to complete your treatment of clerics transferring to monkhood, as we have discussed it above. For in this way you will please the eyes of God and will be found a participant in full recompense." The Pope first attacks monks for exchanging their abodes in monasteries, so as to escape from their abbot's rules, and obtain secular things, and more income, contrary to Church law, and he orders Anthelm to return each of them to the monastery where he had become a monk, although those who had been priests before becoming monks might be ordained if the bishop agreed. He then makes a stronger attack on those who had wives quite openly, and ordered him to find them and drag them also back to their monastery.

(2) Extract from letter 1.42, sent in May, 591, to sub-deacon Peter "Three years ago, the sub-deacons of all the churches of Sicily had been forbidden from sleeping at all with their wives, according to the custom of the Roman Church. I think that it is harsh and inappropriate that one who has not become accustomed to this continence, and had not proposed chastity beforehand, should be compelled to be separated from his wife, and because she is absent, thereby turn out the worse. For which reason I think that from this day on, all bishops should be told that they should presume to make nobody a sub-deacon, except for one who has promised to live a chaste life, in so far as things in the past, which were not sought purposely with the mind, should not be forcibly required, and the future should be guarded against with caution. But those who have lived chastely with their wives after the same prohibition, which was made three years before, should be applauded and should be remunerated, and exhorted to persist with their goodness. But we do not want those who were unwilling to abstain from their wives, after the prohibition was made, to take Holy Orders. For nobody should approach the ministry of the altar, unless his chastity has been proved before he is ordained." Pope Gregory shows his support for marriage, and sympathises with those who had been unused to the required continence, who should be rewarded for living chastely, although those unwilling to abstain after the prohibition should not be allowed to become priests.

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(3) Letter 2.26 sent on May 19th, 592, to Stephen, recorder for Sicily “Knowing that the greatness of your Charity makes you love our Lord with all your heart, we have thought for this reason that it is necessary to bring to your attention those deeds which we have learnt were done contrary to the precepts of our Lord, and contrary to the rule of canon law, in the domains that were once owned by late patrician, Julius, so that those things perpetrated should be corrected and others should not presume to try them hereafter. And so it has been suggested to us by the abbot of the monastery of Saint George, which is situated in the domain called Maratodis, that two monks have taken refuge there, and one of them has in fact already taken a wife from the locals, while the other lives a secular life, having become a layman. They themselves assert that they are not from slaves of the domain, but are free men. But even if they had been tied to their situation, it was contrary to God that after receiving the sacrament of the divine office, they should go back to their secular life and clothing. For that reason I encourage you to take consideration of the eternal judge, and make the monks hand themselves over without delay, so that the strictness of the other monasteries is not weakened by their example, with you at fault (God forbid!). But rather, with the support of your Greatness, let the hope of doing such things be removed from all other monks. The aforesaid abbot also asserted that a priest from the domain mentioned above wanted to introduce new customs into that monastery itself, which from the time of the monastery's foundation had not as yet spanned a thirty-year period. For if anything had been offered there by the faithful as a generous gift, the abbot said that he should receive a portion of it. Your Greatness should be keen to acknowledge this carefully, and if this custom did not exist from the beginning, even with the passage of time, it should not become seemly for some new custom to be imposed, especially as we have learnt that the monastery is poor, with very little property, and that the abbot himself is extremely hospitable, according to the attestation of many." The Pope deals effectively with two problems, first the dangerous example of the two monks who had given up their habits for secular lives, including a wife, and needed to be taken back to their monastery as soon as possible, before other monks followed their example.

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He then discusses the abbot's acceptance for himself of a portion of any donations to the monastery, suggesting that a new custom like this should not be imposed on the monastery, which was far from wealthy. He ends with an ironical comment on the abbot's love of hospitality. From his own years in the monastery of Saint Andrew in central Rome, Pope Gregory must have known a great deal about the running of a monastery, and the dangers to its monks, especially from young ladies.

(4) Letter 3.42 sent in June. 593, to Felix, bishop of Siponto "We expected your Fraternity to convert some people to God by your preaching, and to recall evildoers to righteousness. We are very greatly saddened over this matter, because in the depravity of your grandson Felix, by contrast, your fault has been clearly shown, as it was you who brought up such a person. We have heard that the above-mentioned Felix deceived and seduced the daughter of your deacon, Evangelus. If this is true, although he should be punished with a heavy penalty,3 according to law, yet we alleviate the harshness of the law to some extent, seeing that it should be settled in the following way. That is, he should either marry the girl he defiled or else, if he thinks he must refuse, he should certainly receive severe corporal punishment, and should be excommunicated, and shut away in a monastery, where he can pay penance. He should not be allowed to leave the monastery without our express order. Therefore your Fraternity should be keen to carry this out so that nothing at all might be overlooked concerning these matters. For if anything should be delayed, which we do not believe, a serious danger will threaten your grandson afterwards, and no trifling fault will begin to be attached to you." Young Felix, a novice it seems, brought up by his grandfather, Bishop Felix, may escape the legal death penalty, but if he refuses to marry the girl he has seduced, he will have to suffer a severe beating and pay penance in a monastery. Again, it is the treatment of the young woman that really infuriates the Pope.

3 The death penalty, it seems, from Cod Just 1.9, tit.12-13 and Nov Just 143. This is an example of Gregory tempering the sternness of Roman justice with the clemency expected from a Christian prelate. For a very similar case, see (s) above, on p.162, where the wealthy nun Petronella is raped by the son of bishop Agnellus, who also steals all of the money left by his father.

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(5) Letter 3.44 sent to Andrew, bishop of Tarentum, in June, 593 "Whoever, conscious of his own guilt, strives to placate the eternal judge with a worthy penitence, shall face that judge's tribunal without concern. We have found out with manifest truth that you have certainly had a concubine, and concerning her, divided suspicions have arisen among some people. But since in ambiguous matters a judgement should not be absolute, we have decided that this should be left for your conscience. And so if you recall being stained by intercourse with her, while appointed to a Holy Order, you should lay aside your priestly rank and in no way presume to engage in Church administration, knowing that you are ministering with danger to your soul, and that you are giving a clear account to our God if, while conscious of this sin, you want to remain in the state which you now have by concealing the truth.4 Wherefore we encourage you again, if you find that you have been deceived by the cunning of the ancient enemy, be quick to conquer him while you can with suitable penitence, in case on Judgement day you are condemned as his partner, which we do not want. But if in your view you are not guilty of this charge, you must remain in your present order. Furthermore, you have condemned a woman from the list of the poor5 to be cruelly beaten with cudgels, which is quite contrary to the order of the priesthood, although we do not think that her death eight months later was a direct result of that beating, yet because you have been unwilling to show respect for your Order, we have decided accordingly that you abstain from celebrating Mass for two months. During this time of suspension from your office, it is appropriate for you to lament what you have done. For it is well worthwhile that, although the examples of laudable priests fail to encourage you to the peaceful righteousness of that life, at least the medicine of reproof may compel you to adopt it."6

4

The Pope orders the bishop to resign from his office, because of his concubine. The word matricula was used for a small index or a list of clerics, or a list of the poor who depended on Church stipends, as here. 6 In r2 (BN 11674), the letter ends with Rotbertus, in uncials, seen by E as the scribe who copied this part of the codex (or who checked the text's accuracy). The naming of a scribe is very rare, despite the talent shown by so many scribes; this one was at Fleury-sur-Loire, it seems, where r2 was copied in the 10th century. 5

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(6) Letter 4.40, sent in August, 594, to Abbot Valentinus “It has come to our attention that women are appearing everywhere in your monastery, and, what is even more serious, your monks are making the women their consorts.7 As a result, they are having incautious unions with them. Therefore, in case the enemy of the human race uses this opportunity to deceive them with his cunning (Heaven forbid!), we give you this warning accordingly in the course of this order. Do not permit women to appear in your monastery hereafter, with any sort of excuse, and do not allow your monks to make them their consorts. For, if this comes to our ears again in any way at all, you will know that you must be subjected to such very severe punishment, that the rest are without doubt put straight by the nature of your chastisement.” The Pope threatens to punish the abbot, if he hears any more reports about the monks having consorts. As we shall see, he continued his attack on monks who shared their beds with women right up to the end of his life.

(7) Letter 5.49, sent to Castor, bishop of Rimini, on June 6th, 595 "The text of the petition included herewith indicates to you what prayers Luminosus, abbot of the monastery of Saint Andrew and Saint Thomas (established in the city of Rimini), poured out to us with tears in his eyes. Over this matter, we suggest to your Fraternity that, following the death of that monastery's abbot, your church should on no occasion involve itself in describing and looking after what it has acquired, or in acquiring property of the same monastery. But we want you to ordain as abbot for that monastery the person whom the community demands unanimously, without exception, someone worthy in his morality and suitable for monastic discipline.

7 These commatres in Latin were the bed companions of some clergy and monks, and the Pope attacks this practice very angrily. Behind his outrage, he was also determined to avoid any 'double monasteries' shared by monks and nuns, and forbidden in Nov Just 79. Yet many existed later on in England (at Whitby, for example) and were being founded in the mid 8th cent. by Saint Boniface in Germany. Du Cange suggests that in the singular this word described godmothers of infants being baptized, but is only used here.

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But we totally prohibit public masses being celebrated there by the bishop, so that no chance is provided for meetings of the people in the private areas of the monks, in case frequent entries of women might thus often attract the simpler minds (Heaven forbid!) into temptation. But we have decided that this page of our letter should be observed in its entirety in future by you or by bishops consecrated after you, so that your church, with the Lord's help, may be content with its own rights alone, and so that that monastery, doing service to nothing but general and canonical jurisdiction, may carry out its Heavenly work with the greatest mental devotion, removing vexations and all physical inconveniences." The Pope sees moral danger for the monks, when young women are allowed to make frequent entries into the private parts of their monastery, interrupting their devotions, leading them into temptation. He is also keen to separate the Church property from that of the monastery.

(8) Letter 9.210 sent to Romanus, defender of Sicily, in July 599 "Luminosus, the bearer of this letter, has asserted that he and his wife have been suffering violence at the hands of Salusius, a very famous gentleman, and he was compelled to come here due to that need. Therefore, because he asserts that he is a slave of the church of Saint Mary, which is in the parish of the church of Saponara, it is necessary that he should be defended by the Church’s protection. And so, let your Experience not cease to supply the Church's support for the aforesaid suppliant, and to warn the man about whom he complains, telling him that he must restrain himself from disturbing them. But if it is true when he says that he can come to terms with them in a reasonable way, let it be concluded by the judgement of a jury, and whatever shall be decided, let it be fully implemented in every way." This letter is rare in Gregory’s concern over the Church's slaves, Luminosus and his wife, as her title shows the Pope’s recognition of their marriage, rather than her being his consort. This may be due to some special service to the church of Saponara, which is obliged to defend the two of them against the violence of the aristocratic Salusius, who may well have once owned them as his slaves. The Luminosus here is of course not to be confused with the abbot in the letter above this one. But he had the law on his side, it seems, and the Pope is always keen to see a legal resolution of any disputes.

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(9) Letter 9.111, sent in February, 599, to the defenders Romanus, Fantinus, Sergius and Boniface, sub-deacons Sabinus and Felix, and notaries Hadrian and Eugene, equally, and to the protectors of that patrimony "Just as careful foresight knows how to block the path of sin and to turn away from things that are noxious, even so, neglect is open to excesses and usually runs into what people should be cautious about. Therefore, we ought to devote a great measure of concern and consider the opinion and the caution likewise of our brethren and fellow-priests. And it has reached our ears that some of the bishops, under the specious pretext of a consolation, are living together with women in the same house. And for that reason, so that no just opportunity for disparagement may thus be given for men to disparage and mock them, and so that the ancient enemy of the human race may not obtain material to deceive men’s minds, we charge you with the theme of this order to be keen to show your zeal and concern. And if any of the bishops enclosed by the borders of the patrimonies entrusted to you are living with women, you must stop this completely, and in no way allow those women to cohabit with them in future. The exceptions are those women permitted to do so by the judgement of the holy canons,8 namely a mother, an aunt, a sister and others of that sort, who could not arouse any improper suspicion. But they do better, if they restrain themselves from cohabiting even with women with his sister, saying: ‘Those women who are with my sister, are not my sisters.'9 Thus the caution of this learned man ought to be a major lesson to us. For it is a sign of incautious presumption for a weaker man not to fear what a brave man fears. For he wisely overcomes illegal acts, when he has learnt not to make use of even those that are allowed. And indeed, we bind no one to this against his will, but just as doctors usually do, although the cure is bitter at the time, yet we recommend it to restore health. And for that reason, we do not make it necessary, but we leave it to their decision, should they choose to imitate this learned and saintly man. Therefore, let your Experiences apply zeal and concern so that what we have asked to be prohibited should be observed. For if it should happen to be found otherwise afterwards, you will know that you will be in serious danger before us. Besides that, take care that you encourage those brethren who are our bishops to advise those subject to them, I mean 8 9

See Cod Theod 16.2.44 on this topic. Possid. Vita August. 26.

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those living in Holy Orders, as they themselves are servants, to be completely obedient in a similar way. Just add the fact that these bishops, as canonical authority has decreed, should not leave their wives, but should be chaste in controlling them." In this letter, Gregory (as a monk) strongly recommends to his administrators limits of conduct for bishops and others in Holy Orders towards women and their wives. The letter is significant in the history of the development of priestly celibacy in the Latin West. See also letter 11.27 above to Theoctista, Maurice’s sister, where the Pope mentioned his own trouble with visitors pestering him in the royal palace about the subject of marriage, inter alia, while he was the papal emissary there, still a distressing problem for that very holy lady, Theoctista.

(10) Letter 14.16, sent to Leo, bishop of Catana, in March, 604 "Marcian, a monk of the monastery of Saint Vitus, which is located on Mount Etna, with the consent of that community, as he claims, came to us with the complaint that his monastery is suffering many troubles and a lot of damage through certain men. And among them what upset us also with most angry bitterness, was that he told us how that monastery was being trampled on and despised so much that even monks living there were allowed to cohabit with women, without any fear. If that is so, you will be able to judge for yourself how grave a sin affects your Fraternity before God and how grave a fault before men, since indeed you cannot defend yourself with any excuse. For either you do not know that this is going on and you are extremely guilty of the fault of neglect, or certainly you have learnt that it was in fact done, and you seem to arouse heavier indignation against yourself, as to why you have not punished such a serious crime with the strictest of penalties. We therefore warn your Fraternity with this present letter to make haste in investigating this matter with maximum care. And if you find that certain people are perpetrating wickedness of this sort, you should be keen to correct this sinful perversity with the punishment it deserves, to please God and show the discipline of watchfulness to others, in case asimilar sin might be committed in future. But let your Holiness learn about the troubles that the aforesaid monastery is said to be suffering, and those practises that are said to have invaded the place, and reveal yourself as its protector, as far as it is right, so that it may

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not be oppressed at all in any way, contrary to the rule of justice. But we want you to observe without any opposition the order given to your predecessor Elpidius by our predecessor of blessed memory, Pelagius, for which we have had a copy written below." These last two letters that were written or more probably dictated by the Pope, a few weeks before his death, were sent to answer the complaints of Marcian, and to ensure that the monks cohabiting with women on Mount Etna were duly punished. Bishop Leo is to act as the monks’ protector, and it is interesting that the Pope draws his attention to his predecessor’s sent to Leo’s predecessor, Elpidius. The Pope’s last three letters dealt with two of the topics that worried him throughout his life, health and sex.

(11) Letter 14.17, sent to Hadrian, notary of Sicily,10 in March 604 "A matter has come to our attention that is altogether detestable and wicked, and we are amazed why, if it is basically true, you have taken no notice of it. For Marcian, a monk of the monastery of Saint Vitus, situated on Mount Etna, came to us offering a petition, and he complained that among other things the monks of that monastery were living so perversely and wickedly that they even dared to cohabit with women, which does not bear to be said. On this matter, we have written to our brother and fellowbishop, Leo, saying that he should search for the truth, and if he finds it to be so, he should make an effort to correct this sin with the strictest of severity. Therefore it is necessary that in this matter your Experience should also show yourself concerned in every way to investigate the truth and to punish such a great crime, so that nothing appears to be done idly or negligently. But provide your support for other benefits to that monastery, as far as the dictates of justice should demand, so that if any practise has invaded it, as is said, let it be reformed according to justice, and in future let no damage be produced there in any way, contrary to the fear of God and to legal order."

10

To back up his stinging attack in his letter to the local bishop, Gregory made certain that action would be taken, and wrote to his local civilian agent, the notary Hadrian, to ensure that Bishop Leo did investigate the charges brought by Marcian and took action. For Hadrian, see letters 9.111; 11.30, 33; 13.20, 21, 31.

CHAPTER NINE FEMALE SLAVES

(a) Female slaves, becoming nuns [6.12] Among the most significant letters in this book is letter 6.12, in which the Pope completes the manumission of two Church slaves, Thomas and Montana, the latter soon to join the convent of Saint Laurence. The second half of the letter consists of a legal document on manumission, related to Thomas, but applicable generally, that is duly signed by the Pope himself and by as many as six priests. "Our Redeemer, the source of all creation, was willing to assume human flesh to save us for this end, that by the grace of his divinity, breaking the bond of servitude with which we were held captive, he might restore us to our previous freedom. Thus, it is a salutary act if human beings, whom nature first bore as free men, but whom the law of nations has subjected to the yoke of slavery, should be restored to that freedom in which they were born, through the gift of manumission. Therefore, moved by our regard for piety and through consideration of this matter, from this day on we hereby free you, Montana and Thomas, servants of the Holy Roman Church, which we serve with God's authority, and we hereby make you Roman citizens and release to you all of your property. And because you, Montana, claim to have applied your mind to a monastic way of life, for that reason we give and concede to you today the two ounces of gold1 that the one-time priest, Gaudiosus, is known to have left to you recently in his last will and testament, for your dowry, all of which will of course benefit the convent of Saint Laurence, where Constantina is 1 The uncia was a twelfth part or ounce, of gold presumably in this case. The pair's peculium, their 'property' or 'savings', was the sum that was paid regularly by masters to slaves, later used for their release. In this case the two seem to have been free originally, but were later enslaved, but bought by the Church of Rome. Most probably they were prisoners of war.

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in charge as abbess and where you are hastening to be converted, with God's mercy. But if it is in fact established that you somehow concealed something from the goods of the above-mentioned Gaudiosus, then all of this must be transferred without any doubt to the control of our Church. As for you, above-mentioned Thomas, in addition to your freedom, we also want you to do service among the notaries, and on this day similarly we grant and concede through the writ of manumission, the five ounces of gold that the aforesaid priest Gaudiosus left to you by title of inheritance in his last will and testament, and the dowry also that he left to your mother.2 We add of course that law and condition that, if you should happen to die without legitimate children, that is born from legal matrimony, then all that we have conceded to you should revert to the control of the Holy Roman Church, without any deduction. But if you have children born in wedlock, as we have said, and the children are acknowledged by the law and survive you, we decree that you persist as master of the same property without any condition, and we grant you the free ability to make a will in their favour.3 And so be sure that our successors and we too shall preserve these things that we have decided and have granted through the charter of this manumission, without any opposition. For the rule of justice and reason persuades us that he who desires his own orders to be maintained by his successors, should indubitably look after the will and statutes of his predecessor. This writ of manumission we have dictated to our notary Paterius, for him to write down, and for total security we have signed below it with our own hand, as have three senior priests and three deacons, and we have handed it over to you. Completed in the city of Rome."

2 The 10 ounces or more of gold left by the priest Gaudiosus was very generous. It appears that Montana and Thomas were slaves in his service, and the institutio, 'dowry' or 'investiture,' that he left in his will for Thomas' mother, suggests a convent for her also in her later years. The priest Gaudiosus is unknown, but may possibly be the Pope's chief secretary sent on a mission to Ravenna earlier, and likely to retire in Rome. Nothing is known about his death. 3 The 'property' and over double amount of gold, suggest that Thomas was well set as a man of substance, plus savings of his own, perhaps taking over from Paterius (who had written letter 5.26 from Gregory's dictation). Montana's gold 'dowry' and savings went to the convent of Saint Laurence.

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Letter 13.3 was sent to the monk Adeodatus, in September, 622 In this short but interesting letter, the Pope writes to a monk, Adeodatus (‘God-given'), about two female slaves who have been granted their freedom, to become nuns. After it, a short chapter on nuns will be included who are ex-slaves, from the nuns' point-of-view, as written by the Pope's very close friend, Saint Leander of Seville. "To grant the outcome to those asking for justice is demanded by vigorous equity and by orderly reason, especially when piety aids the wish of those asking for it and truth supports them. Therefore, before you entered the monastery of Saint Hadrian, where you became a monk, and released a donation of your goods there, your homes and gardens within the city, and land for sowing and vineyards in the Carsoli estate, as you informed us, at the same time you also bestowed by word of mouth your portions in that estate for your slaves, Folloniaca and Alisa. You had granted these two their freedom, and that gift could stand by law, especially as it was given to those who are leaving worldly things while choosing to devote themselves to the service of God. And yet, so that future time may not take anything away from this generosity through the mist of oblivion, you want to record this in writing on documents. So that it can be durable, you ask us to give you the licence to do so. For that reason we grant you the power to do it with this page containing our command. And so, when everything has been carefully expressed by you and by what you designate, they should know what is theirs and what is now common to all, and they should possess what is given to them without argument, and your wish should not be ambiguous as to what you want each person to have. For whatever you do of this sort with the addition of a written text, do not doubt that it is firm and stable both due to the truth of the matter and due to this authority of ours. For indeed, you are not seen to be doing anything new that is forbidden by law, but are expressing something done some time ago, as you put down what should be preserved in writing for men to remember, for the sake of a healthy reduction in litigation."

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Leander on emancipated Slaves in a Convent Among the 'rules' set out by Saint Leander of Seville for his much younger and wealthy sister, his darling Florentine, and published not long before his unexpected death in about 600, one of the rules was on how nuns should react to ex-slaves joining their community, a process fully supported by his very close friend, Pope Gregory. This very interesting advice from the freeborn nun's point-of-view is worth adding here.4 How should slaves be judged on becoming nuns: "Those whom their condition made or will make your servants, and their calling makes your sisters, you should not demean now because of their bond of slavery. Honour them rather for the parity of their calling. So let her who fights the good fight for Christ with you, with a nun's service, enjoy equal freedom with you. Nor do we incite you to humility to puff them up with pride. While you accept them as sisters, let them be your servants more willingly, showing obedience, not forced by slavery but freed by love. Indeed, 'there is no respect of persons with the Lord.' freed by love. Indeed, 'there is no respect of persons with the Lord.'5 That is, in the distribution of faith, when mistress and slave are cared for equally, and the mistress is not chosen while the slave girl is rejected, then they are baptized with equality, and partake of Christ's body and blood together. For patriarchs also, although most holy, where earthly and temporal matters were concerned, distinguished between slave and freeborn sons, judging the first to be servants and the latter masters. But as for the reward of future hope, they took care of the sons and the slaves equally, as they have marked them both with one circumcision. That is, in the distribution of faith, when mistress and slave are cared for equally, and the mistress is not chosen while the slave-girl is rejected, then they are baptized with equality, and partake of Christ's body and blood together. For patriarchs also, although most holy, where earthly and temporal matters were concerned, distinguished between slave and freeborn sons, judging the first to be servants and the latter masters. But as for the reward of future hope, they took care of the sons and the slaves equally, as they have marked them both with one circumcision." 4

The original with my translation can be seen in my recent work on Saint Leander, Lexington Books, Rowan and Littlefield, Lanham and New York, 2009, p.106. 5 From Ephesians 6.9. See Jo Ann Kay McNamara, Sisters in Arms p.116.

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The full title of my book on Leander is A Book on the Teaching of Nuns and a Homily in Praise of the Church, and besides an updated biography of the little-known archbishop of Seville, Leander, it contains a powerful persuasio of his darling sister by her brother, who turns his rich sister away from a wealthy suitor and a life of parties and fine clothes and seduction, to a true marriage with Christ, and rewarding service to him in a convent, for which Leander provides very sensible rules. His links with Pope Gregory are included in the last part of the book.

(b) Letter 4.12, sent to Maximian, bishop of Syracuse, in October, 593 "We have received repeated reports of such great evils being done in that province, that we might believe that it will soon perish (Heaven forbid!) due to the sins it commits. For the bearer of this letter, on arriving here, complained tearfully that for several years before, some man had supported him over possession of the church of Messina and its fonts. He said that he had been forcibly married to that man's female slave,6 through various persuasions, and he asserted that from that union he already had some poor young boys.7 And he is even said now to have forcibly separated her from him, removing her and selling her to some other person. If this is true, your Beloved sees how unheard of and cruel an evil it is. And for that reason we suggest that you inquire into and disperse this very great wickedness, with that vivacity which we know full well you show in holy causes. And if you find it to be just as the above-mentioned lettercarrier has suggested, you will not only take care to return what has been done badly to its original state, but you will also hurry in every way to present a punishment which might please God. But make a strong attack on the bishop, who neglected to correct and improve his people who were doing such things.8 Propose that, if such a complaint should come to us again concerning any of those for whom he is responsible, a canonical punishment result, not for the sinner, but for the bishop himself." 6 The Latin puella would normally be a 'young girl' or 'daughter' but here her sale suggests that she was in fact a slave. The sense of 'slave' is a more common sense of the masculine puer (see letter 1.18). 7 A diminutive from iuvencus ('bullock' or 'boy'), used here with a sense of tenderness. 8 The bishop of Messina in question was another Bishop Felix, a very common name.

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(c) Extract from letter 2.38, sent to John, bishop of Ravenna, in June, 592 "Moreover, in the case of the young girl bought back from captivity, you wrote to me that an inquiry should have been made as to her status at birth. Your Sanctity must know that an unknown person cannot easily be investigated. But as for when you say that one who has been ordained should be ordained again, it is quite ridiculous and at odds with what I think of your intelligence, unless perhaps some example is brought forward, according to which he should be judged also, who is said to have done something of the same sort. Let your Fraternity avoid sophistry like that! For just as a person once baptized ought not to be baptized again, even so a person once consecrated cannot be consecrated again in the same order. But if someone perhaps becomes a priest who has a minor fault, he ought to receive penance over his fault, but his status should still be preserved. But as for the city of Naples, put pressure on that most excellent exarch at once. For Arogis,9 as we have learnt, has sided with Ariulf, turning against the faith of our republic, and is vigorously blockading the same city. If the general is not sent there quickly, it should be numbered now among those totally lost." The young girl had been ransomed, presumably, and as Gregory pointed out, in the war situation it was impossible to work out whether she was a slave or free by birth. Clearly neither parents nor owner were present. The four lines below show how a minor problem over a possible slave-girl is included together with major problems of total warfare, with the important city of Naples very much at risk. The exarch of Italy, based in Ravenna, was a new creation of the Emperor Maurice, putting the military, civil, judicial and religious affairs in Italy under the control of one official, who might be autocratic, but his power was justified by the permanent state of war. In this case he had the power to protect Naples against Lombard occupation.

9

Arogis (or Arichis) became duke of Beneventum at the death of Zotta, and supported Ariulf. See letters 9.44,125,127.

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(d) Letter 7.1 sent to Fortunatus, bishop of Naples10 in October, 596 "Your Fraternity knows quite providently why the lady bearing this letter came here last year with her mother under compulsion. Her husband, one of your clerics, is known to have removed her from living with him, because she had been attacked over her slave status. They assert that while stationed here, you promised that you would restore her to her husband, if she could prove with the Lord's help that she was free. Your Fraternity should know, therefore, that, as revealed by God, the source of liberty, she has been proved free and no sign of slavery has been found in her. With this knowledge, therefore, we want her to be restored to her husband without any delay. Likewise, her husband must not look any more for arguments for himself, as an excuse to get rid of her. For if you do not see to the implementation of this, and we are sure you will, and if perhaps he puts off taking her back, you can be sure that we shall correct such an act with a strict punishment." If the woman were a slave, she would then be deemed to be living in concubinage with the cleric of Bishop Fortunatus. This was forbidden by Nov Just 123 ch.12. However, if she were a free woman, she could be recognized as the cleric’s true wife. The Pope comes to the woman’s defence, declaring her free status, and threatening the priest who is clearly using the rumour of slavery to avoid taking her back as his wife. As we have seen, he strongly supported marriage as a union sanctified by God. Again the problems over free or slave births were common and they were often hard to resolve, without birth certificates, especially during warfare, when families were torn apart. The acceptance of the girl and her mother in Rome is of interest, where the Pope was extremely busy and for most of his final years far from healthy, and yet was ready to provide an audience to sort out the girl's problem.

10

For Fortunatus, bishop of Naples, see letters 3.38,60; 5.50; 6.11,29.

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(e) Letter 1.53 sent to sub-deacon Anthelm in July, 591 "I remember having warned you quite often not only with frequent injunctions, but also face to face, to administer our office there not so much for the sake of Church interests as for alleviating the needs of the poor, and more for protecting them against the oppression of whoever it may be. Now the bearer of this letter, Gaudiosus, has suggested to us that violence has been inflicted on him, by agents of the holy Roman Church, over which we preside with the authority of God. He asserts that they wanted to free their sons from the power of the aforesaid Church. For receiving documents from him, we have perceived that Sirica, the wife of the letter carrier, had been left by Aetia, once of glorious memory, to a certain woman Morena, by a title of gift, and that she had been manumitted by the same Morena in a letter.11 And we therefore believe it improper that sons born from a free woman should be reduced to slavery. For that reason with this present authority we instruct your Experience to examine these same documents with care, just as we too have studied them. Free your mind from worries, so that if there are no documents on the Church's side that might contradict the documents of this gentleman, you should stop causing him trouble, without any hesitation. For it is harsh that some who buy their freedom for the due price are reduced to slavery once more by the Church, which should have protected them against it. And so we find it necessary to advise your Experience again and again that if some questions arise there between poor people and the holy Roman Church, you must discuss them with total integrity of mind, and pursue the interests of the patrimony in such a way that you do not withdraw from merciful justice." The Church is shown to endorse slavery, an institution accepted by the Holy Fathers of the Church, and in fact the Christian Church showed less compassion in its treatment of slaves than the old Roman State had shown, where freedom was so often bought from the master's regular payments to his or her slaves. It seems that Sirica was freed after the birth of her sons, who thus obtained their freedom, according to the laws of Gaius (1.82), but the Church went back to the slave status of the parents. A child's

11

It was Aetia who had died, leaving her slave Sirica to Morena.

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freedom depended on its having a free mother, whether the father was a slave or a free man at the birth of the child. However, the Pope was always ready to support a slave girl or older woman who was seeking to live a monastic life, as in the last letter in this book, 3.39, a very pertinent one, sent to the sub-deacon Peter, the Pope's very close friend and key agent in charge of Campania, where another Catella12 had made a tearful and earnest request to her uncooperative master to free her for that holy purpose:

(f) Letter 3.39 sent to Peter, sub-deacon of Campania in June, 593 "Furthermore, since the defender Felix is said to own a female slave called Catella, who is seeking the robe of a religious life with many tears and most ardent desire, although her master does not allow her to be converted, we therefore want your Experience to go and see the aforesaid Felix and to examine carefully the intention of that same slave-girl. And if you find that this is so, provide her master with a payment for that girl, and send her over here with some responsible people, to be placed in a convent, with God's help. And do this in such a way that the soul of the aforesaid slavegirl does not sustain any loss in her desire, through your sluggish action." This passage shows the Pope ready to spend the Church's money to persuade one of his defenders to release an unknown slave-girl who was seeking to take the veil and become a nun. He also demands that she should be brought to Rome by reliable people to join one of the convents in the city, and this should be done without any delay. There was always a risk, on the road to a convent in Rome, of her being abducted and being forced to continue as a slave-girl, or worse. As one of his personal agents, Felix could have been compelled to hand over the slave-girl, but Gregory very tactfully arranges for a fair price to be paid to him. His close friend Peter would no doubt soon find and commission a suitable escort for the new nun. After his very successful cooperation with Pope Gregory while acting as his representative in Sicily, so much in need of reform, he could be trusted to act quickly and effectively in the more settled province of Campania.

12

We have already met a legalistic Catella, a nun whose father was in the Pope's army, and who was being beset by men, on page 159 above.

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This letter shows the Pope's personal interest in the religious future of this young slave-girl, which is quite surprising, but is all too typical of Gregory. Throughout his years as Pope he did all he could do to support women, as we have seen above, whether they were rich and powerful or were poor and powerless, whether they were freeborn aristocrats or had been forced into slavery by their birth or by warfare or as the victims of kidnappers or of slave-dealers. As the Lombards' assault on Italy had clearly shown, many women of all classes had been captured by their troops in country towns and the northern cities, and although many had been ransomed, especially the nuns, others would have become slaves, women especially, with no hope of escaping their degrading new lives of sexual servitude or long hours of heavy work. No other Pope before Pope Gregory, or among those who were Popes during the centuries after his life, has showed such an abiding interest in the lives of women, of all sorts, whether religious or secular, clearly impressed by the part that women played in his Church's domains, and in the Eastern empire, which was ruled by his friend, the very religious Emperor Maurice and his devout wife. In his early life in Rome, Gregory had served as the city's praetor, Rome's chief legal officer, and was finally appointed as the city's prefect, in charge of the senate, a political career that was very much a male preserve, and in charge of the militia, the mercenary force that proved to be of little use against the Lombards' army. After his father's death, Gregory allowed the family's mansion to be turned into the monastery of Saint Andrew, where he became a monk, and then a deacon, as he got to know the royal family in Constantinople, and as he began to show his deep respect for women and determination to improve their lot, no doubt reminded of that very special group of women who had brought him up. No scholar has hitherto studied this important part of Pope Gregory's extremely successful mission in life.

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Smith, Julie Ann Ordering Women's lives: Penitentials and Nunnery Rules in the Early Medieval West, Adershot, Ashgate, 2001 Smith, J. M. H. (ed.) Early Mediaeval Rome and the Christian West. Essays in honour of D. A. Bullough, Leiden, 2000 Southern, R. W. The Making of the Middle Ages, New Haven and London, Hutchinson Universal Library, 1953 Straw, Carole Gregory the Great, Aldershot, Variorum, 1996 —. Gregory the Great: Perfection in Imperfection, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1988 Swinburne, Richard The Concept of Miracle, London, Macmillan, New York, St Martin's Press, 1970 Synan, Edward A. The Popes and the Jews in the Middle Ages, New York, Macmillan, 1965 Taylor, H. O. The Emergence of the Christian Culture in the West: The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages, New York, Harper, 1958 Thompson, E. A. The Early Germans, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1965 Ullman, Walter The Growth of Papal Government in the Middle Ages: A Study in the Ideological Relation of Clerical to Lay Power, London, Methuen, 1970 Ure, P. N. Justinian and his Age, Penguin, 1978 9RJXp, Adalbert de 'Les Dialogues, Oevre Authentique et 3XEOLp par *Upgoire lui-meme' in Gregorio Magno e il suo Tempo, Roma, 1991, vol II, 27-40 —. Les 5qgles des Saints 3qres, Sources &KUptiennes, 297, 298; 2 vols, Paris, editions du Cerf, 1982 —. *Upgoire le Grand: Les Dialogues, Sources &KUptiennes, 3 vols, Paris, 1978-1980, tr. by Sqre Paul Antin 9RJXp, Adalbert de La FRPPXQDXWp et l'DEEp dans la 5qgle de Saint Benoit, Paris, De Brouwer, 1961 Wallace-Hadrill, John M. The Frankish Church, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1983. Early Medieval History, Oxford, Blackell, 1975 —. The Long-haired Kings and other studies in Frankish History, London, Methuen, 1962 —. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar, Nelson, 1960 —. The Barbarian West, 400-1000, London, Hutchingson's Universal Library, 1952 Watson, Alan The Digest of Justinian, 4 volumes, 1985; rev. ed. in 2 vols, University of Philadelphia Press, 1998 Webster, Leslie and Michele Brown (edd) The Transformation of the Roman World AD 400-900, British Museum Press, 1997

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INDEX OF NAMES

Abbess 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 73, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 154, 155, 158, 164, 166, 192 Abbot 4, 6, 11, 12, 15, 19, 20, 24, 27, 51, 58, 60, 61, 62, 66, 72, 74, 75, 85, 88, 89, 100, 107, 126, 127, 140, 146, 147, 149, 153, 154, 181, 182, 183, 184, 186, 187 Abel 39 Abelard 33 Abraham 39 Accellus 37, 160, 161 Adaloald, son of Theodelinda 16, 59, 62, 63 Adam 34, 80 Adeodata, aristocrat 25, 95, 96, 140 Adeodatus, monk 197 Aemilia, aunt 3, 30, 31 Aetia, noblewoman 202 Africa 5, 6, 12, 99, 114, 208 Agilitanus, monastery 149 Agilulf, Lombard king 4, 16, 58, 59 Agiulf of Metz 20 Agnella, abbess 27, 119 Agnellus, bishop 162, 186 Agnellus, notary 162 Agnes, saint 140 Agriculture 12 Agrigento 12, 13, 125, 126, 147 Agrippa, baths of 123 Alexander, governor of Sicily 11 Alexander, lord 47, 79, 82 Alexander, eminent 88, 89, 120, 159 Alexandria 9, 5, 77, 179

Alexandria, widow 93 Aligernus, 172 Alisa, slave 25, 197 Aluminosa, nun 109, 169 Amand, priest 87, 88 Amulet 63 Anastasius, patriarch 79 Anastasius, doctor 157 Anastasius, ill-treating Januaria 153 Anathema 41, 44, 59, 60, 69, 72, 177 Anatole, deacon 83, 84, 105, 106 Andrew, saint 9, 19, 20, 108, 109, 188, 196, 204 Andrew, bishop of Tarentum 187 Angel 9, 40, 54, 56, 63, 76, 80, 137 Anglo-Saxon 70, 75 Anselm, abbot at Bec 27 Anthelm, financial agent 30, 31, 88, 90, 92 Anthelm, sub-deacon 92, 98, 136 Antichrist 54 Antioch 79, 179 Antonina 25, 104, 105 Apostles 39, 42, 48, 50, 53, 54, 57, 61, 64, 65, 73, 81, 83, 102, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 129, 140 Appian Way 109 Appio, Egyptian lord 98, 99, 100, 111 Apulia, convent 164, 165 Aquileia 14 Arcadius, emperor 56 Aregius of Gap 20 Arian(ism) 16, 20, 21, 59, 64, 109, 115, 128, 201 Arigius, patrician 19

212

Index of Names

Aristocrat(s) 2, 23, 24, 25, 31, 82, 83, 87, 88, 98, 103, 113, 144, 158, 164, 167, 187, 200 Ariulf, Lombard 4, 26, 196 Arles 8, 10, 19, 20, 22, 68, 70, 148, 161 Arogis, duke 196 Asclepiodatus, patrician 20 Athanagild, king 20 Augustine of Hippo 202 Augustine, monk 19, 20, 26, 66, 67, 69, 72, 74, 75 Aurelia 25, 115, 116 Austrasia 18, 20 Autharit, Lombard king 16, 59 Autun 16, 19, 22, 25, 26, 67, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 141, 153, 161 Babylon 176 Baptism 10, 16, 18, 42, 43, 44, 57, 70, 75, 125, 126, 175, 186, 194, 196 Baptistery 139, 153 Barbara 25, 103, 104 Barbarini 5 Bavarians 16, 59 Beator 110 Bec, monastery 27 Bede 19, 25, 137, 207 Beelzebub 40 Benedict, saint 21, 24, 37, 124, 137, 141, 148, 170 Benedictines 124 Benenatus, bishop 152, 153 Beneventum 196 Bertha, queen 19, 24, 26, 75 Bethlehem 176 Bible 4, 20, 45, 81 Bishop(s) passim Blessed Virgin Mary 115, 131 Boethius 24, 98, 111 Bona, abbess 25, 121, 124 Boniface, saint 186 Boniface, pope 8 Boniface, bishop 90

Boniface, defender 7, 88, 148, 188 Boniface, notary 171 Boniface, ill-treating Januaria 151, 152 Book of Job 4, 10, 37, 39, 45 Bottomry 8 Bribery 14 Brides of Christ 23 Brunhilde, queen 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 58, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 71, 73, 74, 128, 130, 141 Bruttium 124 Burgowald, legate 128 Burgundy 18, 20 Busa, treasurer 133 Byzacenum 98 Byzantine 5, 11, 12, 33, 48, 87, 106 Caelian Hill 2 Caesarius archbishop of Arles 18, 70, 148 Cagliari 58, 25, 117, 118, 141, 142, 144, 145, 146, 147, 153 Cain 39 Calabria 28, 124, 164, 165 Callixenus, Stephania's son 91 Campana, patrician 122, 177 Campania 2, 14, 28, 31, 83, 87, 89, 91, 134, 135, 140, 171, 177, 181, 199 Candidus, priest 19, 64, 66, 68, 70, 127 Canon Law 6, 54, 56, 92, 183 Canterbury 20, 27 Canterbury bible 20 Capitulana 25, 89 Carsoli, estate 193 Cassian, saint 115 Castor, bishop of Rimini 139, 140, 186 Castus, commander of guard 134 Catacombs 11, 50 Catana 11, 12, 13, 91, 189 Catella, abbess 159 Catella, slave 26, 199

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory's Special Concern for Women Catholic (faith) 15, 17, 19, 22, 36, 43, 45, 47, 69, 87, 131 Cella Nova 9 Centumcelli 169 Cethura, wife of Abraham 39 Chalcedon, heresy 56, 59, 60, 63, 69 Châlons-sur-Saône 20 Chapel(s) 2, 26, 122 Chastity 85, 156, 161, 162, 163, 182 Childebert II, king 18, 19, 20 Christ 28, 38, 40, 50, 65, 67, 73, 75, 83, 87, 116, 121 Christian(s) 44, 56, 59, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 73, 74, 75, 76, 86, 88, 125, 126, 150, 175, 178, 184, 195 Christianity 61, 62, 66, 67, 68, 74, 75, 76, 125 Christodorus, lord 42, 82 Christology 63 Church of Rome 2, 29, 83, 122, 159, 191 Church(es) passim Church of Saint George 180 Circus Maximus 2 Classical literature 3 Clementina 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 Cleopatra, daughter of Maurice 45 Clivus Scauri 107 Cloister(s) 210 Clothar II, king of Neustria 20, 21 Columban 21, 130, 148 Comitiolus, guard 179 Consentius, young boy 172, 173 Constantina, abbess 191, 192 Constantina, empress 2, 5, 20, 26, 33, 45, 48, 51, 53, 57, 175 Constantine I, son of Helena 57, 75 Constantine, emperor 57, 135 Constantine, lord 93 Constantinople 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 16, 18, 23, 24, 26, 28, 33, 46, 47, 53, 56, 60, 63, 76, 79, 100, 101, 102, 104, 106, 107, 111, 133, 141, 148, 158, 177, 200

213

Constantius, bishop of Milan 15, 18, 58, 59, 60, 61, 97, 98 Constantius defender 7, 89 Convent(s) 3, 7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 36, 37, 46, 82, 88, 95, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 191, 192, 194, 195, 199 Convent of Holy Mary 120 Convent of Saint Martin 154, 155 Cornelius 42 Corinth 8, 45, 148, 177 Corinthians I & II 45 Corn-supply 2, 11, 12, 14 Corsica 8, 25, 51, 70, 88, 89, 148 Cosmas, saint 140 Crucifix 63 Cyprian, deacon 11, 91, 96, 160, 179 Cyriacus, abbot 5, 6, 7, 8, 51, 72, 147, 178 Cyridanus 12 Damian, saint 140 Danube 2 David, prophet 39, 81, 176 Deacon (Gregory) 13 Decius, bishop of Lilybaeum 11, 95, 138 Defender 6, -9 (passim), 11, 12, 13, 14, 56, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 105, 120, 124, 125, 127, 128, 135, 140, 144, 146, 148, 150, 151, 155, 158, 160, 163, 164, 165, 167, 170, 171, 172, 173, 187, 188, 199 Desideria, abbess 25, 153 Desiderius, bishop of Vienne 21, 130

214

Index of Names

Deusdedit 171 Devil 35, 40, 99, 117, 181 Dialogues 22, 27, 30, 108, 143.176 Diminutive 45, 56, 64, 195 Dioscorus, heretic 60 Disciples 39, 41, 43, 80, 154 Disease 2, 9, 10 Domina, abbess 73, 125, 126 Dominic, bishop 169, 170 Dominica, John's wife 93, 94 Dominica, prioress 46, 79, 82 Dominica, Gregory's nurse 73, 100 Donatus (rules) 23, 24, 113 Donus of Messina 13 Droctulf, Lombard leader 26 Duke(s) 4, 5, 6, 8, 15, 16, 59, 113, 161, 196 Dynamius 18, 19, 115, 116

Etna, mountain 146, 189, 190 Eudochia 46, 79, 82 Eudoxius, lord 98, 99, 102 Eugene, notary 188 Eulogius, bishop 9, 77, 177 Euprepia, abbess 124, 125 Europe 1, 14 Eusebia, pope's ward 24, 98, 99, 100, 101, 111 Eutherius 9, 82, 83 Eutyches, heretic 60 Evangelus, deacon 184 Eve 34, 80 Exarch of Italy 11, 14, 15, 58, 196 Excommunication 6, 55, 184 Ex-nun 37 Extranea, nun 157, 158 Ezekiel 39

East 1, 4, 28, 50 Easter 31, 126 Eastern Court 4 Eastern Empire 77, 200 Edantius, duke 5 Egypt(ian) 39, 43, 98, 111 Eleutherius 9 Elpidius, ex-bishop 190 Emissary 1, 3, 4, 6, 18, 33, 44, 53, 55, 79, 105, 141, 189 Emperor 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 26, 33, 36, 37, 45, 46, 47, 48, 54, 55, 56, 58, 67, 75, 76, 79, 82, 99, 103, 104, 105, 110, 111, 114, 133, 149, 170, 196 Empire 5, 12, 15, 16, 23, 52, 57, 58, 59, 133, 200 England 17, 19, 20, 26, 27, 64, 66, 74, 75, 87, 186 English 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 45, 72, 74, 75, 171 Enslavement 14 Ephesus, synod 60, 63 Epiphanius, priest 83, 118, 145, 146, 148, 150 Ethelbert, king 26, 75

Fantinus, defender 125, 151, 152, 155, 167, 171, 172, 188, 126, 129, 140 Farmer 11, 12, 155 Fasting 9, 28, 29, 143 Fathers of the Church 68, 100, 198 Felicianus, priest 125 Felix III, pope 29, 31 Felix, bishop 5, 51, 147 Felix, bishop of Messina 195 Felix, bishop of Ravenna 146 Felix, bishop of Siponto 177 Felix of Orticello 171 Felix, defender 199 Felix, sub-deacon 188 Felix, scholastic 88, 120 Felix, steward 177 Felix, husband of Rustica 140 Felix, husband of Viviana 30, 31 Felix, grandson of bishop Felix 177 Flaminian Gate 109 Flavius, Boethius' son 98 Fleury-sur-Loire 185 Flora, abbess 122 Florentine, sister of Leander 24, 194 Florentius, sub-deacon 167

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory's Special Concern for Women Folloniaca, slave 25, 193 Fortunatus, bishop of Naples 87, 119, 121, 122, 153, 197 Frank(ish) 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 58, 64, 65, 66, 67, 71, 73, 74, 75, 129 Fredegar, chronicler 17, 21 Fredegonde, mistress 18 Furiana estate 151 Gaius, laws 198 Galatians 456 Gap 20 Garibaldi, duke 16, 59 Gaudiosus, defender 7, 191 Gaudius, one-time priest 192 Gaul (Gallic) 2, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 28, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 115, 131 Gauthsruda, abbess 23 Gavin, saint 27, 117, 118 Gavinia, abbess 27, 117, 118 Genesis 36 Gennadius governor 5 Genoa 62 Gentiles 5, 38, 40, 42 George, saint 180, 183 Gerasene demon 35 German(y)14, 186 Godfather 1, 3, 24, 33, 42 Gordia, Maurice's sister 24, 46, 47, 79, 82 Gordiana, pope's aunt 30, 31 Gordianus, pope's father 67 Gorgona, isle 88 Gothic War 20, 21, 130 Gout 9, 10, 45, 62, 76, 106, 107, 110 Gratiosa, abbess 121 Gratiosus sub-deacon 122 Greco-Roman law 3, 141 Greco-Roman rhetoric 3, 10, 33, 130, 141 Greece 49 Greek 11, 12, 47, 49, 63, 141 Gregoria, lady 80, 81, 98, 99 Gregory, pope passim

215

Gregory, bishop of Agrigento 13, 126, 145 Gregory of Antioch 127 Guduin, duke of Naples 161 Guntrum, king 70 Hadrian, saint 193 Hadrian, notary 188, 190 Heaven(ly) 29, 33, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 62, 65, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 80, 81, 85, 93, 94, 95, 99, 102, 105, 106, 109, 114, 117, 122, 126, 129 Heathen 20, 51, 147 Helena, saint 57, 75 Heloise 33 Heraclius, emperor 1 Herculaneum 121 Heresy 3, 16, 42, 61, 63, 64, 68, 71 Hermes, convent 149, 150 Hermes, martyr 137, 138, 154 Hesychia, ladyship 46, 79 Hippolitus, notary 58, 60 Holly Gospel, 39, 41 Holy Lands 99, 100 Holy Mystery 7, 150 Holy Orders 68, 182, 185, 189 Holy Roman Church 89, 123, 140, 167, 172, 191, 192, 198, 106, 119, 120, 126, 129, 131, 143, 144 Holy Scripture 43, 105, 159 Holy See 116 Holy Spirit 42, 69, 72, 81 Holy women 27 Holy Writ 33, 40, 76, 79, 101, 115, 116 Homilies on the Evangelist 29 Honorata, nun 155, 156, 157 Honoratus, deacon 799 Hospiton, duke 8 Hostlery 118, 129, 142, 154, 157, 167 Idols 5, 51, 70

216

Index of Names

Illness 6, 9, 10, 23, 106, 148, 150 Ingenuus, ill-treating Januaria 151, 152 Innocent, bishop 154 Irene 92 Irish 21, 130 Isaac 39 Isidore, Leander's brother 144, 145 Isidore, scholar 144, 145 Isidore, financing hostelry 154 Istria 3, 28 Italica 10, 96 Italy 3, 4, 5, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 28, 30, 36, 44, 51, 52, 55, 77, 101, 102, 110, 133, 160, 196, 200 Italian 2, 4, 12, 14, 15, 47, 70, 71, 164, 165, 170, 173 Jacob 35, 39 Januaria 25, 151, 152, 153 Januarius 5, 6, 22, 117, 135, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 153, 159, 163 Jerome 64 Jerusalem 81, 109, 177 Jesus see Christ Jew(ish) 18, 63, 73, 125, 126, 127, 128, 143, 156, 174, 179 Job 4, 10, 37, 39, 45 John, martyr 137 John, saint 45, 163 John III, pope 4, 10, 37, 39, 45 John the Baptist 38, 40 John the Faster, patriarch 24, 33, 153, 177 John of Jerusalem 177 John, bishop of Syracuse 13, 45, 102, 103, 105, 138, 181 John, bishop of Ravenna 196 John, bishop of Laurinum 117 John, bishop of Sorrento 181 John, bishop 95 John, abbot 58, 60, 146, 153 John, priest 123, 173

John, the Deacon 9 John, sub-deacon 177 John, tribune 173 John, prefect of Rome 94 John, regionarius 67 John, quaestor 15 John, notary 6, 144 John, uncle of Megaris 173 John, slave 137 Jonathas, military officer 178 Judaea 42 Judaism 178 Judah, Leah's child 35 Juliana, martyr 151, 152, 153 Juliana, abbess 25, 113, 114 Julius, patrician 183 Justin, emperor 1, 79 Justin, governor of Sicily 11, 12 Justinian, emperor 1, 49, 59, 63, 70, 79, 119, 160 Justinian, son of Maurice 45 Justus, secretary 181 Kent 26, 75 Laban, father of Rachel 35 Lampas 121 Lanfranc, abbot at Bec 27 Latin 9, 11, 19, 20, 23, 28, 34, 47, 63, 67, 130, 134, 138, 139, 186, 189, 195, 201 Laurence, basilica 22 Laurence, saint 48, 49, 65, 138, 191 Laurence, bishop 18, 97 Laurence, priest 20, 74, 75 Lavinia 25, 88, 89 Law (Roman) 3, 70, 141, 151 Lazarus 50 Leah 33, 35 Leander, archbishop of Seville 3, 4, 10, 24, 137, 141, 144, 193, 194, 195 Legal(ity) 153, 180 Leo, pope 49, 63 Leo, bishop of Catana 11, 13, 156, 189, 190

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory's Special Concern for Women Leo, paper-merchant 166 Leontia, wife of Phocas 48, 56, 57 Leontini 13 Leontios, biographer 126 Leontius, ex-consul 11, 95, 138 Letter-bearer(s) 89, 119, 128, 167, 171 Letters passim Leuparic, priest 65 Levi, Leah's child 35 Liberius, prefect 140 Libertinus, governor of Sicily 11 Libertinus, bishop 154 Licerius 18 Licinius, bishop 20 Ligurian Sea 88 Lilybaeum 11, 25, 95, 138, 139 Lipari 13 Livorno 88 Lombard(s) 2, 4, 8, 11, 14, 44, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 89, 94, 101, 123, 133, 134, 135, 158, 159, 160, 196, 200 Lord's Prayer 85 Lot 39 Lucania 160 Lucidus of Leontini 13 Lucius, one-time bishop 90 Lucullus, castle 83, 87, 135 Luminosa, widow 169 Luminosus, abbot 186 Luminosus, ex-slave 187 Luni 14, 28, 114, 136, 137 Lupus, bishop 20 Luxorius saint 27, 117, 118 Lyon 19, 67 Macedonius, heretic 60 Macra, river 137 Malta 13 Mammonia 91 Maratodis, domain 183 Marcellus, ex-slave 179 Marcia, nun 154, 155 Marcian, monk 189, 190 Marcian, notary 102

217

Marianianus, bishop 163 Marinus, lord 47, 79, 82 Marriage 43, 103, 105, 156, 166, 167, 170, 173, 175, 176, 177, 182, 187, 189, 195 Marseilles 17, 18, 25, 28, 115 Martha 33, 35, 80 Martin, saint 129, 154, 155 Mary 33, 179 Mary Magdalene 80 Mary, patrician 93 Mary, saint 35, 115, 120, 121, 130, 187 Mary, guard's daughter 180 Mass, solemn 6, 9, 17, 25, 55, 72, 107, 116, 121, 122, 124, 131, 132, 138, 139, 140, 148, 150, 152, 153, 158, 185, 187 Matrona, wife of Epiphanios 150 Matthew 45, 117 Maurice, emperor 1, 3, 4, 10, 11, 14, 24, 26, 35, 36, 37, 42, 45, 47, 48, 57, 76, 79, 82, 99, 105, 110, 111, 133, 189, 196, 200, 204 Maurus, slave 137 Maximian, lord 13, 18 Maximian, bishop of Syracuse 166, 195 Maximus, bishop of Salona 55, 71 Maximus, sub-deacon 177 Mediterranean 28, 110 Megaris 173 Melantius of Rouen 20 Mellitus, abbot 18, 20, 74, 75 Menas, bishop of Toulouse 20 Mercenaries 4, 14, 134, 162 Merulus 9 Messina 13, 179, 195 Metrovian Gate 109 Milan 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 58, 59, 61, 88, 97, 148 Miracles 20, 35, 42, 48, 49, 51, 74, 93, 107, 109, 138, 170, 201 Monastery(ies)3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 36, 42,

218

Index of Names

81, 82, 93, 94, 104, 106, 108, 121, 135, 136, 137, 139, 141, 142, 144 Monastic 88, 103, 118, 137, 152, 186, 191, 199 Monk(s) passim Monophysitism 56 Monosteos, domain 155, 157 Montana, slave 25, 191, 192 Monte Cassino 37, 160 Monza 63 Moralia 10, 201 Morena, freed slave 198 Musicus, abbot 147 Naples, 14, 25, 28, 83, 86, 88, 119, 120, 121, 122, 135, 153, 161, 196 Narses, courtier 33, 36, 46, 79, 80, 82 Narses, general 79 Nestorism 56 Neustria 20, 21 New Testament 45, 70 Nicene synod 60 Nola 31, 134, 135 North 1, 4, 12, 19, 20, 54, 200 North-Africa 12, 98, 204 Nostamnus, jew 127 Notary(ies) 6, 12, 58, 60, 102, 127, 144, 156, 160, 163, 172, 173, 190, 192 Nun(s) passim Nunnery see Convent Ocleatinus (defender) 7 Old Testament 45 Oratory 87, 107, 108, 109, 121, 123, 124 125, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 142, 147, 151, 152, 153 Orthodoxy 16, 59, 61, 130 Orosius, abbot 88, 89 Orticello 171 Otranto 3

Pagan 26, 51 Palermo 12, 13, 28, 127, 151, 154, 155, 170, 172 Pallium 18, 67, 68, 97 Pancras, saint 65, 138 Pantaleo 173 Paradise 34, 46, 80, 81, 177 Pardus, cleric 180 Paris 20 Palatinus, brother 3 Palladius, bishop 65 Paradise 34, 46, 80, 81, 177 Pascasius, bishop 122 Passivus, libeller 99 Pastor, nearly blind 178 Pateria, aunt 3, 30 Paterius, notary 192 Patriarch(s) 1, 9, 24, 33, 45, 69, 77, 79, 177, 194 Patrician 5, 10, 15, 18, 19, 20, 58, 82, 86, 93, 96, 100, 102, 104, 106, 110, 111, 121, 122, 127 Patrimony 12, 18, 19, 31, 64, 66, 68, 91, 115, 122, 151, 158, 164, 165, 170, 172, 188, 198 Paul, apostle 36, 37, 39, 40, 43, 48, 49, 50, 51, 65, 81, 83, 137, 177 Paul, son of Maurice 45 Paul, lordship 46 Paul, bishop 83 Paula, beset by Theodore 179 Paulinus, abbot 135 Pavia 4 Peace treaty 2, 4, 13, 14, 15, 16, 34, 37, 41, 59, 61, 63, 64, 94, 96, 128 Pelagius II, Pope 1, 2, 3, 4, 14, 48, 123, 156, 190 Penance 43, 44, 143, 147, 149, 154, 160, 162, 175, 184, 196 Persia(n) 1, 2, 8, 63, 79 Perugia 94 Peter, saint 4, 7, 36, 41, 42, 45, 47, 48, 50, 53, 54, 57, 61, 64, 65, 101, 105, 106, 129, 135, 137, 138

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory's Special Concern for Women Peter, sub-deacon 7, 11, 12, 13, 19, 75, 83, 87, 144, 154, 155, 182, 189, 199 Peter, late husband 91 Peter, major domo 102, 103 Peter, ordered monastery 143, 144 Peter, seducer 163 Petronella, wealthy nun 160, 184 Petronius, church secretary 89 Pharisees 41 Philippicus, Theoctista's husband 47 Philoxenus, lord 163 Phocas, emperor 1, 8, 37, 45, 47, 48, 57, 58, 79, 82, 98, 110, 111 Pilgrimage 57, 99, 100, 102 Piscenas, farm 142 Plague 2, 4, 9, 42, 70 Pomponiana 25, 113, 114, 144, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150, 151 Praefectus Romae 3, 94, 200 Praetor, imperial 3, 11, 12 Praetor urbanus 141, 200 Predil Pass 14 Priesthood 68, 69, 71, 72, 127, 181, 185 Priests passim Primigenius, notary 172 Prioress 46, 82, 115, 154 Probus, abbot 15, 61 Provence 18 Psalms 23, 33, 133 Pulcheria, empress 56, 57 Queen 1, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 33, 50, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 121, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 141, 175 Rachel 33, 35 Ransom(s) 2, 4, 26, 36, 37, 133, 135, 136, 158, 159, 196, 200 Ravenna 12, 15, 28, 49, 54, 88, 94, 95, 142, 196 Red Sea 43

219

Redemptus, defender 6 Reggio 90, 124 Registrum 3 Relic(s) 9, 20, 49, 50, 65, 138, 139, 140, 142, 146 Religion 8, 48, 70, 74, 132, 175, 178 Respecta, abbess 17, 25, 115 Resurrection 80 Reuben, Leah's child 35 Rhetoric(al) 3, 10, 33, 130, 141, 202 Rimini 25, 139, 186 Roman 3, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 19, 26, 33, 49, 50, 59, 89, 102, 167, 184, 195 Roman Church 7, 8, 12, 16, 18, 59, 89, 123, 140, 167, 172, 182, 191, 192, 198 Roman Empire 12 Roman Law see Law (Roman) Roman Republic 43, 45, 97, 101, 146 Romans 45 Romanus, defender 7, 8, 11, 58, 90, 91, 103, 105, 120, 140, 155, 187, 188 Romanus, exarch 11, 15, 58, 196 Rome 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 36, 37, 47, 50, 54, 64, 66, 76, 83, 91, 94, 97, 98, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 111, 115, 117, 118, 119, 122, 123, 124, 126, 128, 133, 134, 135, 141, 144, 151, 153, 154, 156, 158, 159, 163, 164, 170, 179, 184, 191, 192, 197 Rouen, 18 Royal City 42, 110, 111 Rule (monastic) 23, 24, 27, 67, 137, 143, 181 Rustica 87, 88, 121, 140, 157, 158 Rusticiana 24, 81, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 111

220

Index of Names

Sabina, saint 125 Sabinian, deacon 15, 19, 53, 67 Sabinus, defender 6, 7, 124, 144, 170, 180 Sabinus, jealous priest 13 Sabinus, sub-deacon 124, 179, 188 Sacristans 49 Saint(s) passim Saint Peter's 4, 36, 47, 51, 105, 106 Salarian Way 109 Salerius, notary 127 Salona 55, 71 Salpingus, jew 174 Salusius, aristocrat 187 San Pancrazio, monastery 37 San Sebastiano, catacombs 50 Sapaudus 18 Saponara, church 187 Sardinia 5, 6, 17, 25, 26, 27, 28, 51, 70, 113, 114, 117, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 153, 154, 163 School for defenders 8 School for notaries 67 Scribo, recruiting officer 133, 134 Sebastian, martyr 137, 138 Sebastian of Resini 15 Secundinus of Taormina 13, 62, 166 Secundus, abbot 62 Senate (Roman) 2, 3, 200 Serenus, bishop 115 Sergius, defender 164, 165, 173, 188 Servusdei, deacon 156, 168 Severinus, saint 84, 87, 98, 151, 152, 153 Seville 3, 24, 144, 193, 194, 195 Sexual aggression 23, 130, 145, 157, 200 Schism(s) 8, 16, 58, 59, 60, 68, 69 Scholastica 22 Scholasticus 83 Scripture see Holy Scripture Scutari 92 Shroud, holy 50

Sicily 2, 3, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 28, 52, 88, 91, 96, 101, 102, 103, 104, 107, 120, 138, 139, 140, 148, 151, 155, 156, 157, 160, 171, 177, 179, 182, 183, 187, 190 Sigibert, Frankish king 20 Simeon, Leah's child 35 Simony 18, 20, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 130, 131, 155 Simplicius of Paris 20 Sinai, mountain 99, 100 Siponto, 164, 173, 184 Sirica, abbess 27, 117, 118, 119 Sirica, wife of Gaudiosus 198 Sisebut, king 21, 130 Slavs 8 Slave(s) 2, 12, 14, 23, 26, 34, 47, 73, 81, 84, 86, 97, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 143, 170, 172, 178, 180, 183, 187, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 198, 199, 200 Sodom 39 Soldier(s) 1, 17, 24, 25, 27, 101, 119, 123, 134, 159, 161, 176, 178, 181 Solomon 36 Sorrento 86, 87, 181 Spain 21, 24 Spoleto, duke of 7 Spoleto, bishop of 15 Stephan 135 Stephania, widow 90, 91 Stephen, saint 125, 126 Stephen, bishop 92, 93 Stephen, recorder for Sicily 52, 183 Stephen, husband of Theodosia 142, 146, 147 Stephen, married to a nun 37, 158, 159 Stephen, unable to repay loan 158 Stephen, ex-slave 179 Strategios, pope's godson 98, 102, 109, 110, 111

From Queens to Slaves: Pope Gregory's Special Concern for Women Sub-deacon(s) 7, 11, 28, 66, 67, 83, 87, 89, 97, 122, 124, 134, 135, 155, 156, 157, 167, 170, 171, 177, 178, 179, 181, 182, 188, 198, 199 Subiaco, monastery 37, 160 Swords (of Lombards) 2, 5, 15, 37, 54, 57, 101, 160 Syagria, nun 17, 161, 162 Syagrius of Autun 17, 19, 22, 67, 68, 72, 130, 131, 161 Sylvia (Gregory's mother) 3, 30 Symmachus, defender 88 Symmachus, lord 73, 80 Synagogue 127 Synod 18, 20, 53, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 63, 69, 72, 170 Syracuse 11, 12, 13, 25, 89, 102, 103, 138, 151, 166, 195 Talasia, abbess 17, 25, 26, 115, 128, 130, 132, 153 Taormina 13, 166 Tarsilla, pope's aunt 22, 29, 30, 31 Taxation 5, 8, 12, 13, 26, 33, 51, 52, 115, 138, 142, 143, 152, 156 Terracina, monastery 37, 160 Thecla, abbess 25, 120 Theft 23, 107, 154, 155, 160, 171 Themotea 25, 139, 140 Theobold, abbot at Bec 27 Theoctista 1, 2, 24, 26, 33, 36, 37, 42, 45, 47, 57, 133, 175, 189 Theoctista, daughter of Gordia 47, 82 Theoctiste, daughter of Maurice 45 Theodebert, king 20 Theodelinda 15, 16, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 Theoderic, wastrel king 20, 98, 130 Theodora 59, 144, 170 Theodore, saint 154 Theodore, Palatine 169 Theodore, lord (doctor) 47, 79 Theodore, curator of Ravenna 15

221

Theodore, duke of Sardinia 113, 114 Theodore, converted Jew, 179 Theodoric, king 98 Theodosia, abbess 25, 70, 141, 144, 146, 147 Theodosia, nun 142, 144, 147 Theodosian code 70 Theodosius, son of Maurice 1, 3, 24, 42, 133, 140 Theodosius II, emperor 56 Theodosius, abbot 140 Theodosius, supporting Extranea 158 Theology 19 Theophanes, historian 79 Thomas, saint 186 Thomas, bishop 142 Thomas, ex-slave 191, 192 Three Chapters schism 3, 16, 58, 59, 60, 64 Tiber, river 2, 3, 10, 48, 77, 123 Tiberius II, emperor 13, 48 Toulouse, 20 Trajan, emperor 170 Trajan of Malta 13 Triocala 13 Tullianus, nun's father 164, 166 Turin 59 Tyndari, diocese 151, 152 Uncials 20, 185 Urban, abbott 146 Urbicus, abbot 127, 154 Valentinus, bishop 186 Valerian, emperor 50 Vandals 5 Venantius, bishop of Luni 114, 136, 138 Venantius, lord 10, 25, 103, 104, 105, 106, 127 Venice 14 Vesuvius, mountain 134 Via Flaminia 4 Victor, bishop 155

222

Index of Names

Victoria, queen 26 Victoria, nun 155 Vienne 21, 130 Villanova, property 155 Vincomalus 92 Virgil, archbishop of Arles 18, 19, 20, 22, 161 Visigothic 20, 21, 130, 203 Vitalian, bishop 161, 165, 173 Vitalis, defender 6, 7, 146, 148, 150, 163 Vitula 113 Vitus, defender 8 Vitus, saint 113, 146, 189, 190 Viviana, lady 30, 31

Warmaricar, legate 128 Widow(s) 30, 88, 89, 91, 118, 159, 169, 171, 173 Will(s) 9, 10 Women 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 46, 58, 63, 79, 80, 83, 99, 119, 132, 135, 143, 144, 145, 146, 151, 159, 169, 179, 181, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 200 Zabardas, duke 5 Zemarcus, tribune 169