Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ [1 ed.] 9781443814508, 9781443806169

Citation preview

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

By

John Martyn

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ, by John Martyn This book first published 2009 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 © 2009 by John 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): 1-4438-0616-1, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-0616-9

Dedicated to my son, Simon and his charming wife, Penelope

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Historical Background................................................................................ ix Pope Gregory's attitude to Monks and Nuns..................................... xxix Pope Gregory's Rules........................................................................ xxxi Nuns and Holy Women in Gregory's Dialogues.............................. xxxv Nuns in Pope Gregory’s Life of Benedict........................................ xlviii List of Letters ............................................................................................. lv Chapter 1: The Nun Tarsilla’s Death [Dial 4.16-17].................................. 1 Chapter 2: The Plague; Nuns’ Procession ................................................. 4 Chapter 3: The 3,000 Nuns [5.30; 7.23] ..................................................... 6 Chapter 4: Refugee nuns from Nola [1.23; 6.32]...................................... 12 Chapter 5: A Convent Endowed in Luni [8.5] ......................................... 15 Chapter 6: An Abbess for Luni [9.115] .................................................... 17 Chapter 7: Adeodata's Convent in Lilybaeum [9.233].............................. 19 Chapter 8: Respecta's Convent in Marseilles [7.12] ................................. 21 Chapter 9: Brunhilde's Convent in Autun [13.5] ...................................... 25 Chapter 10: Talasia, Abbess in Autun [13.10]........................................... 30 Chapter 11: Thecla, Abbess of a Naples Convent [9.54]........................... 35 Chapter 12: Rustica's Convent; A Long Delay [9.165] ............................. 37 Chapter 13: Theodosia's Convent [4.8] ..................................................... 39 Chapter 14: Nuns’ Trials in Cagliari [4.9]................................................. 41

viii

Table of Contents

Chapter 15: Problems with Pomponiana [3.36; 11.13].............................. 44 Chapter 16: Problems with Theodosia [5.2] ............................................. 48 Chapter 17: Juliana, Abbess in Sardinia [1.46] ........................................ 50 Chapter 18: Convent of Saint Hermes [14.2] ............................................ 52 Chapter 19: Flora, Abbess in Rome [3.17] ............................................... 58 Chapter 20: Convent of Euprepia in Rome [2.46] ..................................... 60 Chapter 21: Rustica's Convent [3.58] ........................................................ 62 Chapter 22: Avoiding Thefts in a Convent [5.4] ....................................... 64 Chapter 23: Convents and the Church [2.50] ............................................ 66 Chapter 24: Convent or Marriage [4.34] ................................................... 68 Chapter 25: Collapsing Convents [9.138].................................................. 70 Chapter 26: Desideria's Court Case [13.4] ................................................ 74 Chapter 27: Nuns needing assistance [1.42; 9.85]..................................... 76 Chapter 28: Slaves becoming Nuns [6.12; 13.3] ....................................... 79 Chapter 29: Catella, a Nun Beset by Men [1.60]....................................... 85 Chapter 30: Nun Seduced by Bishop' s Son [4.6] ..................................... 87 Chapter 31: Nun Raped by a Soldier [14.10]............................................. 89 Chapter 32: Nun Seduced by Ex-Husband [9.225].................................... 91 Chapter 33: Nun Corrupted by a Peter [10.3]............................................ 94 Bibliography.............................................................................................. 97 Index........................................................................................................ 107

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The historical period that covers the surprisingly fast spread of convents and monasteries 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 had acted as that 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 he had taken over in 602. After a disastrous reign he was belatedly overthrown by Heraclius in 610. The official links between Rome and Constantinople were increasingly important, whether military or religious, and it was fortunate that the new Pope had become 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 the royal family.1 This helped greatly in the cooperation between Rome and the Emperor on all major matters. 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 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, however, because the Emperor had to face well-equipped 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, 1

See letter 11.27 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 palace in Constantinople.

x

Historical Background

a recurring nightmare for the Pope. But the Emperor's wife, Constantina, and 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 their Italian victims and to bribe the Lombards 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. 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 been beaten and/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 shortage of food in Rome, and its high cost, especially when refugees flooded in, as will be shown in chapter 3 below. Luckily Sicily continued to supply most of the corn produced 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 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 must have toured with his father.2 Their

1

See my The Letters of Gregory the Great, PIMS, Toronto, 2004, vol 1, pp 1-2.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xi

wealth enabled him and his brothers to get a sound education in Classical literature and Greco-Roman law and in Greco-Roman 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 in chapter 1 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 often around him as he grew up. Scholars have not noted the likely 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 his own surprising decision to become a monk rather than a politician or an officer, when 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 then became city prefect (praefectus urbis Romanae), the most important position in the city, mainly for 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 got him to write letters to bishops of Istria over the 'Three Chapters' dispute, later a major heresy despite the Pope's regular attacks on it. By 578 he was a deacon, after two years as a monk, and his stay in 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 Court officials. He also became friendly with Church officials, and with an exile from Seville, soon his clos friend, Leander. As godfather of Maurice's eldest son, Theodosius, he joined the royal family, staying in the palace, joining them in their daily prayers and bible readings. His own research was in a new elucidation of the book of Job, based on feedback from the monks who had accompanied him to the Court, and from Leander. But his main purpose, as emissary, was to get troops and leaders to deal with the aggression shown by the destructive Lombards. 3

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.

xii

Historical Background

There were just too many other calls on the Emperor's armies for any help in Italy, except for ransoms.4 Finally, in about 585, Gregory returned to his monastery in Rome, converted from the family mansion after his father's death, and 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 had established important links with the throne and 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 aversion to the position, which he was filling 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 Duke of Spoleto that was only 100 kms north of Rome, and controlled traffic on the Via Flaminia. The Pope had to control troops and their supplies to remove this threat, with some success, making peace with the Duke in July 592. 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 leave. But smaller towns were easier pickings, and it was a great relief when a peace treaty was finally signed by the King and 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, no more expenditure on those almost useless mercenaries. Among the areas to which the Pope sent most of his letters about nuns, 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. 4

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

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xiii

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, 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, and in a series of letters (letters 4.23, 25, 26, 27) he strongly urged two dukes, Zabardas and Hospiton, and other noblemen and 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 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, 1.46, in chapter 17 below. At this stage Januarius was being quite cooperative, and was ready even to travel over to Rome to sort things out with the 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.

xiv

Historical Background

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 in chapter 15. But neither his flattery nor his criticisms were effective, and fresh complaints reached the Pope's ears repeatedly. 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 horrified 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 did not pollute the blessing of the Holy Mystery, although he should be secretly asked to retire if he felt an attack coming on, to avoid any embarrassment. We shall see this long, interesting letter in chapter 18.

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.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xv

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 full 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 the Pope's personal friends, like sub-deacon Peter in Sicily, and they all had legal powers and the Pope's 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, to cover 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, from a Pope who clearly knew a great deal about the fruitful island of Sicily. Another very successful defender was Boniface, highly trusted and most talented, who became the Pope's 'first' defender or senior manager of the Pope's far-ranging clerical and secular affairs. He also looked after the Church's assets, and showed great diplomacy, when posted to Corsica, to Corinth and to the chaos of Constantinople after Phocas had usurped the throne. Boniface finally became Pope in 608 and managed to preserve the good relations with Constantinople that had been established by his 6

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

xvi

Historical Background

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 defender cooperated well with the local bishop and was ready to assist those being badly treated by the authorities, whether they were a cleric or layman, male or female, rich or 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 soon told Romanus that Vitus was incapable of fraud or deceit, and asked him to welcome him as an official defender, with Christian love. These well-trained defenders played a major 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 religious women, acting fearlessly on his 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 success in his aim to unite, extend and purify the Catholic Church, and much of this was due to his talented and hardworking defenders, mostly brilliant men built up through training and inspiration to serve their Pope.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xvii

. This was especially important when he was really sick, as he was for so much of his papacy, not allowing him visit the trouble spots in person. Scholars have failed to appreciate fully the seriousness and length of the illnesses that plagued the Pope, 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 healthy enough when he entered his cell, in the mansion where he had grown up as a boy and now the monastery of Saint Andrew, he followed the lead of many hermits and Saints, and subjected his body to strict fasting. Unfortunately it seems that he went 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.7 At that time his main diet was 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 dish, gladly given to a beggar who turned out to be an angel.8 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, 'It was due to the extreme nature of my sickness. For look, the second year has now almost ended of my being confined to my lousy bed,9 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 several hundred of the Pope's letters have been lost, proving it with the only full-length book, with its 240 letters. In fact his illness meant that all the letters in that

7

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). 8 See John the Deacon Vita Gregorii, I, 10. 9 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'.

xviii

Historical Background

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 sickbed. In August 599 he endorsed this summary of his past two years. It was sent to the patrician lady Italica and Lord Venantius, an old friend and once a fellow monk with young Gregory. Their daughters, Barbara and Antonina, will appear below. The Pope was extremely sad to hear about their parents' 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 Pope continues with a very gloomy 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 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: 'Since 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 a time of great heat and fevers in Rome, where drains and sewers were still in bad repair after the Tiber's flooding in 589. Although no hypochondriac, Gregory came to fear July and August each year, when a fever aggravated his weakened stomach and the gout in his legs. 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, while feeling progressively less and less well. In fact it did not seem to affect his 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.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xix

The second largest number of letters on the topic of this book 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, 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 was in fact ruled by a praetor, answerable to Constantinople, rather than by the usual exarch. Also, 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 all-important corn supply for Rome. The imperial rulers were a disaster. The first, Justin, appointed in Sept. 593, was 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 exconsul 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 a war to fight 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.10 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 for those fleeing from Italian towns sacked by the invaders. We shall see the effect of this refuge in chapter 30. It also meant that the major source of Rome's bread, the cornfields of Sicily, were not under alien control, 10

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 & Kegan Paul, 1980, p. 160, n. 64.

xx

Historical Background

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, perhaps without knowing 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 also, it seems. The Roman Church's 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 all 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.11 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 that 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 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 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 11 See Abbot Leontius' Life of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigento, trans. from the Greek with intro. and notes by John R. C. Martyn, Mellen Press, Lampeter, 2004.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxi

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. Reform was needed. 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.12 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 an old 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 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 wellorganized and recognizable unit within the wider Christian Church. This was a major achievement, managed by the Pope with skill, determination and 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. To Campania, Naples, Luni13 and Rome the Pope sent eleven letters on the topic of nuns and convents, that is to say, 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 12 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. 13 Luni (Luna originally) is on the North-western coast of Italy, just north of Pisa.

xxii

Historical Background

overcame, and for the nuns and monks, who made no resistance. A summary of the Lombard threat and the final peace terms has already appeared above, but their special victims in the churches and monasteries justify a fuller analysis of this 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. The Emperor created 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 then blamed because those inside had escaped and the corn had run out. 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

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxiii

tirelessly to civilize them and to achieve a lasting peace, between the Lombards and the Empire, so that the battered country might have a chance to recover. But this pacifism was not popular 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 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. 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 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

xxiv

Historical Background

(Dial. 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 590.14 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 her dear son 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.15 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 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 protecting soldiers, when bearing valuable items for worship, would have 14

See Thomas Hodgkin Italy and Her Invaders, Oxford, 1880-99, Bk 5: 236, 239, 283, and Paul the Deacon Historia Langobardorum 3.30, 35. 15 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.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxv

been very dangerous, unless the various bishops along the route followed by the monks looked after them with their 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 1982.16 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.17 The general picture is of a state intent on feuds within the ruling dynasty, with a corrupt 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.'18 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 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 16

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. 17 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. 18 See Jeffrey Richards Consul of God: The Life and Times of Gregory the Great, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and Boston, 1980, p. 212.

xxvi

Historical Background

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. 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 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 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 close together, like 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 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

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxvii

Autun. To succeed, Gregory would have to acknowledge both 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, probably in Gregory's old monastery of Saint Andrew. A year or so later some were no doubt ready to join the first group of monks that left with the timorous Augustine to convert the English. As Queen Bertha was a Christian, with a Christian chaplain, the task was not too difficult, but few of the locals would have known any Latin, and interpreters from Gaul were of little use (6.51), showing the Pope's foresight in sending some monks who had grown up speaking English. Before Augustine and his fellow monks 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 as tactful as usual, and Augustine reported on their continuous help. At the same time, Gregory recommended 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 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

xxviii

Historical Background

which the monks could unlock the exciting new message using their own interpreters to translate it to large numbers of locals.19 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. Her life had been so successful. The daughter of the Visigothic King Athanagild, after his death in about 567, she married Sigebert 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 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 locals, and then tied to the tail of an unbroken horse, that cut her to bits with its hooves.20 In chapter 9 below, we shall see a forceful Brunhilde, still at the peak of her power, and keen, it seems, to bring the Pope into her network (or net).

19

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. 20 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 & New York, 2008, p. 45. Theoderic had just had a fatal attack of dysentery, acquiring 'an eternal death as his mistress,' p. 43.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxix

Pope Gregory's Attitude to Nuns, Convents, and Women in general One would have thought that Pope Gregory's stalwart support for the nuns and their nunneries, 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 have been treated quite fully, the nuns have been virtually ignored, and nobody has realised the impact on a boy being brought up by his mother and four aunts. Even Carole Straw, who wrote so well on Perfection in Imperfection in Pope Gregory, only mentions 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.21 Jeffrey Richards, in his important work Consul of God, does not make a single reference to nuns, and R. A. Markus, in his more recent work on Gregory the Great and his World, mentions 'clergy, monks and nuns' en passant on p. 170, and on p. 69 admits that he does not distinguish between monasteries and nunneries, but fails to discuss the nunneries as such or the nuns at all.22 Even more surprising is the almost total omission of nuns by F. Homes Dudden, in his two dated but still quite impressive 21

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 '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 to Tarsilla and Scholastica in the Dialogues. 22 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.

xxx

Historical Background

volumes on Gregory the Great, despite his mostly accurate study of the monks of Pope Gregory's time.23 Gillian R. Evans, in her interesting book on The Thought of Gregory the Great, devotes ten pages to the monks and monasteries, yet fails to mention the nuns at all,24 nor are they mentioned at all in the work by Jean Décarreaux on Moines et Monastères à l'époque de Charlemagne.25 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.26 Perhaps the lack of an English version of all of the letters of Pope Gregory until that year may have dissuaded these authors from tracking down the varied treatments of the brides of Christ and their convents. Or it may have been a readiness to depend too much on earlier scholarship, where even Dudden had virtually ignored them. Anyway, from the thirty-six examples on pp lv-lvi, covering a wide range of places and of actions by nuns, let us accept that Gregory was almost as interested in helping nuns as in helping monks. Obviously it was impossible then for a nun, even an abbess, to be his representative in Constantinople or carry out the missions overseas led by monks. But for the most part he encouraged a far more humane and independent rôle for the abbesses and nuns in their care, and saw them as a vital force for goodness and a great benefit for the Catholic Church.

23 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. 24 Her book was printed by C.U. P., in 1986. 25 Paris, 1980. 26 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.' It was the quite the opposite.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxxi

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 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.27 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 Gregory could no longer write to him. Gregory was naturally sympathetic towards women, the most common victims of such men. 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,28 he shared a special bond with the admirable 27 See my recent work on Saint Leander, Archbishop of Seville: A Book on the Teaching of Nuns and a Homily in Praise of the Church, Lexington Books, Lanham & N.Y., 2009. For Cyriacus' stay in Spain, see letter 9.230. 28 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.

xxxii

Historical Background

Rusticiana, a descendant of Boethius,29 and with her daughters Gregoria and Eusebia. 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.30 As we shall see below, in the building of monasteries, convents and oratories, the Pope cooperated successfully with many women, mostly wealthy and influential. One would have thought that Pope Gregory's stalwart support for the nuns and their nunneries, as seen in the letters below, 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 stresses the very real dangers to nuns from monks, priests, relatives, soldiers, ex-husbands and even from a bishop's son. He ensures that nunneries are not sited too close to monks, and that they all have private gardens where they cannot be molested, and when Masses are heard in their chapels, he insisted that the priest or bishop must remove himself and his accoutrements at once, as soon as the Mass is 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, mostly wealthy, like Themotea in Rimini, Alexandria in Naples, Lavinia in Corsica, Capitulana in Syracuse, Juliana in Sardinia and Adeodata in Lilybaeum. He got on well with several abbesses, like Desideria, Catella 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 friend and one-time fellow-monk Venantius, Barbara and Antonina, who risked losing to the State what they had inherited from their wealthy father, until the Pope stepped in and managed to uphold his friend's will, which included their education in Rome.31 Finally, he got on well with the recent 29

See my article 'A New Family tree for Boethius' in Parergon, 23.1, 2006, 1-9. 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. 31 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. 30

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxxiii

converts and donors, like Aurelia, and with any manumitted slaves keen to join convents, like Montana and Alisa and Folloniaca. 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). Then 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 can see with Constantina, who had a special oversight of Sardinia's government, in particular its taxation, and in the appointment of its judges.32 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 Lombard leaders, like Droctulf (9.9) and probably Ariulf (9.44). Incidentally, note that it is in the long letter 11.23 to his dear friend, the very disturbed Theoctista, that the Pope comments: 'You know that when I was staying in the royal city at your Lordships' palace,' showing that he was part of the family while the papal emissary there, as the godfather of Maurice's eldest son. Finally there was Queen Bertha, who could rule as a true Catholic with a Catholic chaplain in an 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 initially led by Augustine. Many influential abbesses are mentioned above, who will strut the stage as principal actors in several of the chapters 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 32 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.

xxxiv

Historical Background

be removed (see chapters 9 and 10 below). As it was rare for any Gallic bishops to agree over anything, she seemed to be there for life. And within the local communities, the abbess would be a figure of authority, playing a key part in the health and education of the locals, 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) all went over to England to serve as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the last after just two years as abbot of Bec. By contrast, the nuns had fixed rules, and virtually permanent abbesses, which must have given them far greater scope for long-term influence in their city or country town. In many cases, the Pope's authority gave them his full support, which must have greatly added to their feeling of security. The list on pages lv-lvi shows that the welfare of the 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, but the very few stories about nuns in the Pope's Dialogues will also be included. In this work I shall cover all of these 36 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. As can be seen from the list, the thirty-six letters appeared in all but one of the fourteen books of Gregory's letters, and in that book (12) there are only seventeen letters in all. This shows that his very sincere concern for nuns extended throughout all of the years of his papacy, 591-603; it was certainly not just a short-term, one off interest. The letters were sent to his contacts in Sardinia (11), Sicily (6), Rome (4), Campania (3), Gaul (3), Luni (2). Constantinople (2), Naples (2), Palermo (2) and Marseilles (1), in fact all over central Italy, and to its north, west, south and east. Despite the fact that excessive fasting as a monk left Pope Gregory an invalid for most of those twelve years (591-603), and he rightly complained repeatedly how busy and overworked he always was, he still had the time and the energy to found convents and help a nun or nuns from all over the Mediterranean area, and especially to protect nuns from the many ruthless men determined to corrupt or rob them.33 33

The English version of the Pope's letters comes from my annotated version, in The Letters of Gregory the Great, PIMS, Toronto, 2004, in three volumes. The Latin has been adapted by me from Dag Norberg's edition, in his S. Gregorii

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxxv

Nuns and Holy Women In Gregory's Dialogi there are only five about nuns, of whom Galla comes first, in Book IV ch. 14..34

A. De transitu Gallae ancillae Dei Interea neque hoc silendum arbitror, quod mihi personarum gravium atque fidelium est relatione compertum. Gothorum nam temporibus Galla huius urbis nobilissima puella, Symmachi consulis ac patricii filia, intra adulescentiae tempora marito tradita, in unius anni spatio eius est morte viduata. Quam dum, fervente mundi copia, ad iterandum thalamum et opes et aetas vocarent, elegit magis spiritualibus nuptiis copulari Deo, in quibus a luctu incipitur sed ad gaudia aeterna pervenitur, quam carnalibus nuptiis subjici, quae a laetitia semper incipiunt, et ad finem cum luctu tendunt. Huic autem cum valde ignea conspersio corporis inesset, coeperunt medici dicere quia nisi ad amplexus viriles rediret, calore nimio contra naturam barbas esset habitura, quod ita quoque post factum est. Sed sancta mulier nihil exterioris deformitatis timuit, quae interioris sponsi speciem amavit, nec verita est si hoc in illa foedaretur, quod a caelesti sponso in ea non amaretur. Mox ergo ut eius maritus defunctus est, abjecto saeculari habitu ad omnipotentis Dei servitium sese apud beati Petri apostuli ecclesiam monasterio tradidit, et larga indigentibus eleemosynarum opera impendit. Magni Registrum Epistularum Libri XIV, Tournhout, Brepols, MCMLXXXII,, printed in two vols in the Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, CXL and CXL A. For the few extracts from the Dialogues, I shall also attach my own translations. For those who read French, the translation by Paul Antin, in Adalbert de Vogüé's Grégoire le Grand: Dialogues (3 vols), Les Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 1978, is closer to the Latin original than the English one in Odo J. Zimmerman's in Saint Gregory the Great: Dialogues, Washington, Catholic University Press, vol. 39 in The Fathers of the Church, 1959 (not mentioned by Vogüé, who did include moniales in his index (Thèmes Divers), III p.363. 34 Few compared with the men, with about eighteen chapters on bishops, twelve on monks, eight on abbots and six on priests. The Latin text is adapted from J.-P. Migne Patrologiae Cursus Compltus , vol. LXXVII, Paris, 1896. For the debate over whether Pope Gregory wrote the Dialogues, for his authorship see Vogûé, Adalbert de 'Les Dialogues, Oevre Authentique et Publié par Grégoire lui-mëme' in Gregorio Magno e il suo Tempo, Roma, 1991, vol II, 27-40, and for another view see Francis Clark 'The Authorship of the Dialogues' in the same vol., 5-25. Clark's negative theory seems too ready to reject contemporary evidence. His two books will be discussed in an article when this work is in circulation.

xxxvi

Historical Background

Cumque omnipotens Deus perennem iam mercedem reddere eius laboribus decrevisset, cancri ulcere in mamilla percussa est. Nocturno autem tempore ante lectum eius duo candelabra lucere consueverant, quia videlicet amica lucis, non solum spirituales sed etiam corporales tenebras odio habebat. Quae dum nocte quadam ex hac eadem iaceret infirmitate fatigata, vidit beatum Petrum apostolum utraque candelebra ante suum lectum consistentem. Nec perterrita timuit, sed ex amore sumens audaciam exsultavit, eique dixit: 'Quid est, Domine mi? Dimissa sunt mihi peccata mea?' Cui ille benignissimi ut est vultus, inclinato capite annuit, dicens: 'Dimissa.; veni.' Sed quia quamdam sanctimonialem feminam in eodem monasterio prae ceteris diligebat, ilico Galla subiunxit: 'Rogo ut soror Benedicta mecum veniat.' Cui ille respondit: 'Non, sed illa talis veniat tecum; haec vero quam petis, die erit tricesimo secutura.' His itaque expletis, visio apostoli assistentis et colloquentis ei ablata est. At illa protinus cunctae congregationis accivit Matrem, eique quid viderit quidve audiverit indicavit. Tertio autem die cum ea quae iussa fuerat sorore defuncta est; illa vero quem ipsa poposcerat die est trigesimo subsecuta. Quod factum nunc usque in eodem monasterio manet memorabile, sicque hoc a praecedentibus Matribus traditum narrare illic solent subtiliter iuniores quae nunc sunt sanctimoniales virgines, ac si illo in tempore huic tam grandi miraculo et ipsae adfuissent.35

A. On the Death of the Nun Galla36 "Meanwhile, I do not think that I should keep quiet about what I have heard from a report by serious and trustworthy people. For at the time of the Goths, the most noble young lady of this city, Galla, the daughter of the consul and patrician, Symmachus, during the time of her adolescence got married, but within the space of one year was widowed by her husband's death. And blessed with worldly riches, while both her wealth and age 35 For the many final Ciceronian clausulae (here -- -- u -- --) see K. Brazzel The 'Clausulae' in the works of St Gregory the Great, Washington D.C., 1939, and my Letters of Gregory, pp 110-111. These works were skilfully written. 36 For a version of the Dialogues see Odo J. Zimmerman Saint Gregory the Great: Dialogues, Catholic Univ. of America Pr., 1959, vol. 39 in The Fathers of the Church series. He mentions no 'nun' in his index. As he points out, Sub-deacon Peter, so important as Gregory's defender in Sicily, was very close to the Pope, and comments on the miracles in the Dialogues. There is no reason to dismiss letter 3.50 as a forgery (as Francis Clark did, n. 34 above). In it the Pope says 'my brethren living with me on friendly terms compel me to write something about the miracles of the Fathers which we have heard took place in Italy' asking his old friend, Bishop Maximian of Syracuse, to send a miracle credited to Abbot Nonnosus. He did so, and it is Dial. 1.7. Gregory was fond of irony and enjoyed good stories, at times using the language of the reported miracle.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxxvii

were calling her to get married again, she chose to be joined with God in a spiritual marriage, which she began with grieving, but reached eternal joy, rather than being subjected to carnal marriage, which always begins with happiness but ends with grieving. But since she had an extremely fiery spirit in her body, the doctors began to say that, unless she returned to a man's embraces, with the excessive passion she would grow a beard, contrary to nature. And this did happen so afterwards, too. But the holy young woman had no fear of external deformity, as she loved the beauty of her internal bridegroom. Nor did she fear if her body was befouled, as it was not what her heavenly bridegroom loved in her. And so, soon after her husband's death, she threw away her secular clothing and handed herself over to the convent of the church of Saint Peter the Apostle, to serve almighty God. And there for many years she gave herself up to simplicity of heart and to prayer, and to those in want she provided bountiful works of charity. And when almighty God had now decided to bestow on her a never-ending reward, in return for her labours, she was struck by a cancerous ulcer on her breast. And during the night two candelabra had normally shone in front of her bed, because, being of course a lover of light, she now hated not only spiritual but also physical darkness. And one night while she was lying worn out by this same affliction, she saw Saint Peter the Apostle standing before her bed between the two candelabra. Although terrified, she felt no fear, but as her love made her audacious, she exultantly said to him: 'What is it, my Lord? Have my sins been forgiven?' He looked at her with his usual great kindness, and bending his head, nodded to her, saying: 'They are forgiven. Come.' But because she loved a certain nun in the same convent more than the rest, Galla at once added: 'I ask that Sister Benedicta may come with me.' He replied to her: 'No, but let that good nun go with you: and this woman for whom you ask will certainly follow you on the thirtieth day.' And so with this said, the vision of the Apostle standing in front of her and speaking with her vanished. But she at once summoned the Mother of the whole community, and told her what she had seen and what she had heard. And on the third day she died, together with that sister who had been ordered to attend. But the nun for whom Galla had asked, followed on the thirtieth day. What was done remains memorable even now in the same convent, and it has been so handed down by the preceding abbesses, that the young nuns who are there now are accustomed to telling the story as if they had been present themselves at this most impressive miracle."37 37 The translation by Zimmerman is far too impressionistic, with many words left out, or mistranslated, as these examples from the first paragraph show: relatione

xxxviii

Historical Background

The second 'crossing over' or death comes from Dial. IV. 16.

B. De Transitu Romulae Ancillae Dei In eisdem quoque Homiliis 38 rem narrasse me recolo, quam Speciosus compresbyter meus, qui hanc noverat, me narrante, attestatus est. Eo namque tempore quo monasterium petivi, anus quaedam Redempta nomine, in sanctimoniali habitu constituta in urbe hac iuxta beatae Mariae semper virginis ecclesiam manebat. Haec illius Herundinis discipula fuerat, quae magnis virtutibus pollens, super Praenestinos montes vitam eremiticam duxisse ferebatur. Huic autem Redemptae duae in eodem habitu discipulae aderant, una nomine Romula et altera, quae nunc adhuc superest , quam quidem facie scio sed nomine nescio. Tres utaque hae in uno habitaculo commanentes, morum quidem divitiis plenam sed tamen rebus pauperem vitam ducebant. Haec autem quam praefatus sum Romula aliam quam praedixi condiscipulam suam magnis vitae meritis anteibat. Erat quippe mirae patientiae, summae oboedientiae, custos oris sui ad silentium, studiosa valde ad continuae orationis usum. Sed quia plerumque hi, quos iam homines perfectos aestimant, adhuc in oculis summi opificis aliquid imperfectionis habent, sicut saepe imperiti homines necdum perfecte sculpta sigilla conspicimus, et iam quasi perfecta laudamus, quae tamen adhuc artifex considerat et limat, laudari iam audit, et tamen ea tundere meliorando non desinit. Haec quam praediximus Romula ea quam Graeco vocabulo medici paralysin vocant, molestia corporali percussus est, multisque annis in lectulo decubans, paene omni iacebat membrorum officio destitute, nec tamen haec eadem eius mentem ad impatientiam compertum - 'found out by me from a report of,' not 'told me by'; huius urbis nobilissima - 'the most noble young lady of this city,' not 'a noble girl'; intra adolescentiae tempora - 'during the time of her adolescence,' not 'at a very early age;' fervente mundi copia ... et opes et aetas - 'blessed with earthly riches, both her wealth and her age, ' not 'Her age and wealth ... in a world glowing with opportunity'; a luctu - 'with grief,' not 'with sorrow and suffering'; valde ignea conspersio corporis - 'extremely fiery spirit in her body,' not 'very passionate nature'; coeperunt medici dicere - 'the doctors began to say' not 'was told by the doctors'; calore nimio contra naturam - 'with the excessive heat ... contrary to nature' not 'even though she was a woman'; exterioris deformitatis ... interioris sponsi - 'external deformity ... internal bridegroom' not 'physical blemish ... heavenly spouse's love'. After this candelabra are not candles, videlicet was left out ('of course'), and 'hated not only spiritual but also physical darkness,' not 'hated darkness, being a friend of light, physical as well as spiritual light.' 38 In Homilies 15. Redempta's cell in Rome was close to Gregoria's (see below).

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xxxix

flagella perduxerant. Nam ipsa ei detrimenta membrorum facta fuerant incrementa virtutum, quia tanto sollicitius ad usum orationis excreverat, quanto aliud quodlibet agere nequaquam valebat. Nocte igitur quadam eamdem Redemptam quam praefatus sum, quae utrasque discipulas suas filiarum loco nutriebat, vocavit dicens: 'Mater, veni, mater, veni!' Quae mox cum alia eius condiscipula surrexit, sicut utrisque referentibus et multis eadem res claruit, et ego quoque eodem tempore agnovi. Cumque noctis medio lectulo iacentis assisterent, subito caelitus lux emissa omne illius cellulae spatium implevit, et splendor tantae claritatis emicuit, ut corda assistentium inaestimabili pavore perstringeret, atque, ut post ipsae referebant, omne in eis corpus obrigesceret, et in subito stupore remanerent. Coepit namque quasi cuiusdam magnae multitudinis ingredientis sonitus audire, ostiumque cellulae concuti, ac si ingredientium turba premeretur; atque, ut dicebant, intrantium multitudinem sentiebant, sed nimietate timoris et luminis videre non poterant, quia oculos et pavor depresserat, et ipsa tanti luminis claritas reverberabat. Quam lucem protinus est miri odoris fragrantia subsecuta, ita ut earum animum quem lux emissa terruerat odoris suavitas refoveret. Sed cum vim claritatis illius terrae non possent, coepit eadem Romula assistentem et trementem Redemptam suorum morum magistram blanda voce consolari, dicens: 'Noli timere, mater, non morior modo' Cumque hoc crebro diceret, paulatim lux quae fuerat emissa subtracta est, sed is qui subsecutus est odor remansit.39 Sicque dies secundus et tertius transit, ut aspersa odoris fragrantia remaneret. Nocte igitur quarta eamdem magistram suam iterum vocavit,; qua veniente, viaticum petiit, et accepit. Necdum vero eadem Redempta, vel illa alia eius discipula a lectulo iacentis abscesserant, et ecce subito in platea ante eiusdem cellulaee ostium duo chori psallentium constiterunt, et sicut se dicebant sexus ex vocibus discrevisse, psalmodiae cantus dicebant viri et feminae respondebant. Cumque ante fores cellulae exhiberentur caelestes exsequiae, sancta illa anima carne soluta est. Quae ad caelum ducta, quanto chori psallentium altius ascendebant, tanto coepit psalmodia lenius audire, quousque et eiusdem psalmodiae sonitus et odoris suavitas elongata finiretur.

39 For the Ciceronian clausulae to the two paragraphs above, see p. xxxviii. To Vogüé this suggests Gregory's expertise.

xl

Historical Background

B. The Death of the Nun Romula "In the same Homilies also I remember that I described an event, to which my fellow priest Speciosus, who knew her, attested as I told it. For at the time when I was joining a monastery, an old woman called Redempta, who wore a nun's habit, was staying in Rome near to the church of Saint Mary ever Virgin. She had been a disciple of the famous Herundo, a woman esteemed for her great virtues, who was said to have lived as a recluse above the mountains of Praeneste.40 And this Redempta had two disciples living with her, in the same habit, one called Romula and the other, who is still alive today, I know by sight, but I do not know her name. And so these three lived in one small dwelling, filled indeed with the riches of morality, but they led lives poor in possessions. But this Romula, whom I mentioned before, surpassed the other nun I noted with the great merits of her life. For indeed she had admirable patience, total obedience, a mouth closed for silence and extremely persistent in the use of continual prayer. But usually those whom men judge as already perfect have some imperfection in the sight of the highest Creator, just as we ignorant humans often look at sculptured figures and praise them as if they were already perfect, which the artist, however, still re-examines and touches up, and now hears it praised, and still does not stop chiselling, trying to improve it, just so this Romula whom I mentioned above, had been struck by a bodily disease that the doctors call in Greek 'paralysis', and lying for many years on a poor bed, she had almost lost the use of all her limbs, and yet these scourges did not lead her mind to impatience. For the very loss of limbs led to an increase in virtues for her, as she had grown all the more passionate over her use of prayer, being in no way strong enough to do anything else. And so one night she called for the same Redempta whom I mentioned above, who was bringing up each of her disciples like daughters, and said to her: 'Mother, come, mother, come.' And she soon arose, with her other disciple, and that same scene grew clear for each of them, and for many others, and I too learnt of it at the same time. In the middle of the night as they stood around her lying on her poor bed, suddenly a heavenly light shone, filling the whole space of that little cell, and the splendour of such great brightness glowed that it froze the hearts of those standing there with 40 The hills around Praeneste were about twenty miles east of Rome, and a monastery had been built on the mountain overlooking the town of Praeneste (Dial. 3.23). In this account, the three nuns live in cells, in a small but very central house, with Redempta acting as their abbess. The monastery was of course Saint Andrew's where Gregory lived as a boy and first served as a monk.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ inestimable fearfulness, and as they themselves reported afterwards, all their bodies stiffened and grew rigid with a sudden paralysis. For they began to hear a sound as if of some great multitude marching in, and the little cell's door was being shaken as if a crowd of people were entering; and as they said, they sensed a multitude of people coming in, but they could not see them, due to their excessive fear and the light, because fear had closed their eyes too, and the very brightness of so much light was dazzling. And then the fragrance of an amazing perfume followed this light, so much so that the sweetness of the smell restored minds terrified by the burst of light. But when they could not bear the glare of that clear light, the same Romula with a kind voice began to console Redempta, the teacher of her morality, who was trembling as she stood beside her, saying: 'Do not be afraid, mother, I'm not dying yet.' And as she repeated this frequently, gradually the light that had been shone was removed, but the perfume that had followed remained there. And so the second and third day passed, so that the sprinkled fragrance of the perfume remained. On the fourth night therefore she called for her same teacher once more, and as she came Romula requested eucharist,41 and received it. And neither the same Redempta nor that other disciple of hers had left the poor bed on which she lay, when, behold, suddenly on the street in front of the doorway of the same convent, two choirs were standing singing psalms, and they said that they worked out their sexes from their voices, since the men sang the psalms and the women the responses. And when the heavenly obsequies were being shown before the doorway of the little cell, Romula's sacred soul was freed from its flesh. And as she was led up to Heaven, the higher the choirs of psalm singers ascended, the more softly the singing began to be heard, so that just as the sound of that singing was ending, the prolonged sweetness of the perfume ended too."

C. Sacra Virgo Gregoria (III.13) Prioribus quoque temporibus Gothorum fuit iuxta Spolitanam urbem vir vitae venerabilis, Isaac nomine, qui usque ad extrema paene Gothorum tempora pervenit. Quem nostrorum multi noverunt, et maxime sacra virgo Gregoria, quae nunc in hac Romana urbe iuxta ecclesiam beatae Mariae semper Virginis habitat. Quae dum adolescentiae suae tempore, constitutis iam nuptiis, in ecclesiam fugisset et sanctimonialis vitae conversationem quaereret, ab eodem viro defensa atque ad eum quem desiderabat habitum, Domino protegente, perducta est. Quae, quia sponsum fugit in terra, habere sponsum meruit in caelo.

41

The viaticum, lit. journey-money, but here her final communion.

xli

xlii

Historical Background

C. The Holy Nun, Gregoria "In the former times of the Goths also, near the city of Spoleto, there was a man of venerable life called Isaac, who lived almost to the final years of the Goths. Many of us knew him, especially the holy virgin Gregoria, who now lives in this city of Rome next to the church of St Mary ever Virgin. While she was an adolescent, her marriage had already been arranged, but she fled to a church to seek the life of a nun. She was defended by Isaac and brought to that habit that she desired, with God's protection. Because she fled her bridegroom on earth, she deserved to have a heavenly one."42

Next, a nun appears in Dial. IV. 53, and her miraculous finale was witnessed in the Church of Saint Laurence in Porto, and was testified to by a bishop highly respected by Pope Gregory.

D. De quadam sanctimoniali femina in Ecclesia sancti Laurentii sepulta, quae dimidia apparuit incensa. Vir namque vitae venerabilis Felix, Portuensis episcopus, in Sabinensi provincia ortus atque nutritus est. Qui quamdam sanctimonialem feminam in loco eodem fuisse testatur, quae carnis quidem continentiam habuit, sed linguae procacitatem atque stultiloquium non declinavit. Haec igitur defuncta, atque in ecclesia sepulta est. Eadem autem nocte custos eiusdem ecclesiae per revelationem vidit quia deducta ante sacrum altare, per medium secabatur, et pars una illius igne cremabatur, et pars altera intacta remanebat. Cumque hoc mane fratribus narrasset, et locum vellet ostendere in quo fuerat igne consumpta, ipsa flammae combustio ita ante altare in marmoribus apparuit, ac si illic eadem femina igne corporeo fuisset concremata. Qua ex re aperte datur intelligi quia hi quibus peccata dimissa non fuerint, ad evitandum iudicium sacris locis post mortem non valeant adiuvari.

42 This very brief extract begins the miracles of Isaac. Gregoria's abode was close to Redempta's. For the last death scene of the Pope's aunt, Tarsilla,, from Dial. IV. 16, see Ch. 1 below. These miraculous death scenes are in striking contrast to the activities of nuns facing the realities and challenges of life in the letters, in Chs 3 32. Gregory clearly enjoyed the relaxation from his elucidation of the book of Job, as he collected all sorts of miracles from his many contacts and his own experience, and from his work on Benedict's life, to produce a delightful collection of dialogues. Even so, his skilful use of Latin is so often manifest, as here with the neatly balanced sponsum fugit in terra, sponsum meruit in caelo, and the vir vitae venerabilis build-up.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xliii

D. About a holy woman (nun) buried in the Church of Saint Laurence, who appeared half-burnt "For Felix, a man venerable in life and bishop of Porto, was born and brought up in the Sabine district.43 And he bears witness to the fact that a certain nun had been in that same place, who certainly showed continence where her body was concerned, but did not avoid rudeness and foolish talk with her tongue. And so she died, and was buried in the church. But the same night, the sexton of that church, saw her in a vision being brought before the sacred altar and cut through the middle. And one part of her was being burnt by fire while the other part remained intact. And when the sexton got up in the morning and told his brethren about this, and wanted to show them the place where she had been consumed by fire, the actual burning of the flames appeared on the marble before the altar, as if that woman had been cremated there with her body alight. From this event one can clearly understand that those whose sins have not been forgiven, after death cannot be helped to avoid the final judgement by a church burial".44

The next chapter on a nun in Pope Gregory's Dialogues is another popular one in books on nuns and on Gregory, this time on the wicked devils out to destroy the Bishop of Fundi. It appears in Book III, chapter VII.

43

Felix, bishop of this Sabine town, was given ownership of an 18 year old Sabine slave by Pope Gregory in letter 9.99, sent in January 599. He ends by suggesting that Felix might free the slave. Felix had earlier attended a Synod in July 595, in Rome at Saint Peter's, staged by Gregory (letter 5.57a), being one of the 23 bishops who attended it. Its six decisions were that: 1. Ministers were not to sing at Mass, rather, sub-deacons, acolytes or readers. 2. Bishops were to be robed by priests or monks, not by secular youths. 3. Those working for the Church should not place titles on country or city properties, using force to retain them. 4. The bier on which the Pope's body would lie should be covered with no vestments or dalmatics (cut up to give them magical powers). 5. No fees should be accepted for ordinations, for allotting palliums, or for the delivery of letters or papal bulls. 6. Those subject to Church law should be approved as laymen before being allowed to enter a monastery. The miracle above was one of several sent to the Pope for his Dialogues, light relief for Peter and other monks with him. 44 Literally 'holy places.' The 'brothers' suggest that both nuns and monks made use of this church.

xliv

Historical Background

E. De Andrea Fundanae Civitatis Episcopo Sed ecce dum facta fortium virorum narro, repente ad memoriam venit quid erga Andream Fundanae civitatis episcopum divina misericordia fecerit.45 Quod tamen ad hoc legentibus ut valeat exopto, quatenus qui corpus suum continentiae dedicant, habitare cum feminis non praesumant, ne ruina menti tanto repentina subripiat, quanto ad hoc quale male concupiscitur etiam praesentia concupitae formae famulatur. Nec res est dubia quam narro, quia paene tanti in ea testes sunt quanti et eiusdem loci habitatores existunt. Hic namque venerabilis vir cum vitam multis plenam virtutibus duceret, seque sub sacerdotali custodia in continentiae arce custodiret, quamdam sanctimonialem feminam, quam secum prius habuerat, noluit ab episcopii sui cura repellere, sed certus de sua eiusque continentia, secum hanc permisit habitare. Ex qua re actum est ut antiquus hostis apud eius animum aditum tentationis exquireret. Nam coepit speciem illius oculis mentis eius imprimere, ut illectus nefanda cogitaret. Quadam vero die, Judaeus quidam ex Campaniae partibus Romam veniens, Appiae carpebat iter. Qui ad Fundanum clivum perveniens, cum iam diem vesperascere cerneret, et quo declinare posset minime reperiret, iuxta Apollinis templum fuit, ibique se ad manendum contulit. Qui ipsum loci illius sacrilegium pertimescens, quamvis fidem crucis minime haberet, signo tamen se crucis munire curavit. Nocte autem media, ipso solitudinis pavore turbatus, pervigil iacebat, et repente conspiciens vidit malignorum spirituum turbam quasi in obsequium cuiusdam potestatis praeire, eum vero qui ceteris praeerat, in eiusdem gremio loci consedisse. Qui coepit singulorum spirituum obsequentium sibi causas actusque discutere, quatenus unusquisque quantum nequitiae egisset inveniret. Cumque singuli spiritus ad inquisitionem eius exponerent quid contra bonos fuissent, unus in medium prosiliit, qui in Andreae episcopi animum per speciem sanctimonialis feminae, quae in episcopio eius habitabat, quantam tentationem carnis commovisset aperuit. Cum vero hoc malignus qui praeerat spiritus inhianter audiret, et tanto sibi factum lucrum grande crederet, quanto sanctioris viri animum ad lapsum perditionis inclinaret, ille spiritus qui haec eadem fatebatur, adiunxit quia usque ad hoc quoque, die praeterito, vespertine hora, eius mentem traxerit ut in terga eiusdem sanctimonialis feminae blandiens alapam daret.

45

For the hilltop town of Fundi see Dialogues Bk I, ch. 1. The first abbot of its new monastery, Honoratus, was in charge of about 200 monks, and after finding fish high up there in a wooden bucket dipped in a well, he miraculously froze a massive rock about to crush the monks and their monastery below.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ Tunc malignus spiritus atque humani generis antiquus inimicus exhortatus hunc blande est ut perficeret quod coepisset, quatenus ruinae illius singularem inter ceteros palmam teneret. Cumque Judaeus qui advenerat hoc vigilans cerneret et magnae formidinis anxietate palpitaret, ab eodem spiritu qui cunctis illic obsequentibus praeerat iussum est ut requirerent quisnam esset qui iacere in templo eodem praesumpsisset. Quem maligni spiritus pergentes et subtilius intuentes, crucis mysterio signatum viderunt, mirantesque dixerunt: 'Vae, vae, vas vacuum et signatum.' Quibus hoc renuntiantibus, cuncta illa malignorum spirituum turba disparuit. Judaeus vero qui haec viderat illico surrexit atque ad episcopum sub festinatione pervenit, Quem in ecclesia sua reperiens, seorsum tulit qua tentatione urgeretur inquisivit. Cui confiteri episcopus tentationem suam verecundatus noluit. Cum vero ille diceret quod in illa tali Dei famula pravi amoris oculos iniecisset, atque adhuc episcopus negaret, adiunxit dicens: 'Quare negas quod inquireris, qui ad hoc usque vespere hesterno perductus es ut posteriora illius alapa ferires?' Ad quae nimirum verba deprehensum se episcopus intuens, humiliter confessus est quod prius pertinaciter negavit. Cuius ruinae et verecundiae idem Judaeus consulens, qualiter hoc cognovisset, vel quae in conventu malignorum spirituum de eo audivisset, indicavit. Quod ille agnoscens, se ad terram protinus in oratione dedit. Moxque de suo habitaculo non solum eamdem Dei famulam, sed omnem quoque feminam quae in eius illic obsequio habitabat, expulit. In eodem vero templo Apollinis, beati Andreae apostoli repente oratorium fecit, atque omni illa tentatione carnis funditus caruit. Judaeum vero, cuius visione atque increpatione salvatus est, ad aeternam salutem traxit. Nam sacramentis fidei imbutum, atque aqua baptismatis emundatum, ad sanctae ecclesiae gremium perduxit. Sicque factum est ut Hebraeus idem, dum saluti alienae consuluit, pervenit ad suam, et omnipotens Deus inde alterum ad bonam vitam perduceret unde in bona vita alterum custodisset.

E. On Andrew, Bishop of the city of Fundi "But look, while I describe the deeds of brave men, I suddenly recollect what heavenly compassion did for Andrew, bishop of the city of Fundi. But I pray that this may have the effect on those who read it that they dedicate their bodies to self-control, and do not presume to cohabit with women, in case ruin suddenly steals into their minds, just as completely as with what is wrongfully desired, for an appearance of the longed-for beauty is also in attendance. The story that I tell is far from doubtful,

xlv

xlvi

Historical Background because there are almost as many witnesses to it as there are inhabitants of that city.46 For although a venerable man was leading a life here filled with many virtuous deeds, and was guarding himself with priestly vigilance in a stronghold of self-control, he was unwilling to eject from the protection of his palace a certain nun, whom he had had with him before.47 He allowed her to stay with him, being certain of his own self-control, and of hers. Through this, it came about that the ancient enemy looked for an entry for temptation in the bishop's mind, and the Devil began to imprint an image of her beauty on the bishop's mind48 so that he was ensnared, and had wicked thoughts. But one day a certain Jew was coming from a district of Campania to Rome, and was travelling along the Appian Way. On reaching the hill of Fundi he saw that daylight was already fading with the evening, and he could not find any place at all where he could turn aside. He was near to a temple of Apollo, and went inside there to spend the night. And being afraid of the place's impiety, although he had no faith at all in the cross, he still took care to protect himself with the sign of the cross. But at midnight he was lying wide awake, disturbed by the very fear of solitude, when suddenly he looked and saw a crowd of evil spirits going forward as if in service to some potentate, and the one who was in charge of the rest settled in the middle of the temple. And he began to discuss the missions and actions of individual devils obedient to him, to find out how much wickedness each one of them had done. And as each individual devil at his enquiry exposed what he had done against decent people, one leapt into the middle and revealed what carnal temptation he had aroused in the thoughts of Bishop Andrew, through the beauty of a nun who was living in the bishop's palace. But when the evil spirit who was in charge listened to him avidly, believing that the more he turned the mind of the holy man to a fatal lapse, the greater the profit would be for him, the devil who had revealed these things, added that on the previous day in the evening he had

46 The Pope likes to have eyewitnesses for the miracles, if possible, and adds moralizing comments, here over cohabitation; this is another likely motif for his composition of the Dialogues. The corrupted elderly bishop Andrew had been replaced by Bishop Agnellus by 592 (see letter 3.13). 47 The quam secum prius habebat ('whom he had with him before') does not suggest service (as in Zimmerman's 'who had served him in the past'). Vogüé rightly has 'qu'il avait eue avec lui antérieurement.' She was simply protected by him before as a young nun escaping from abuse, it seems. 48 Literally 'eyes of mind' (oculis mentis). The Devil was of course the 'ancient enemy', here the leader of many other such devils.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xlvii

enticed the bishop's mind as far as this too, making him slap the buttocks of that nun, while caressing her.49 Then the evil spirit and ancient enemy of the human race encouraged this devil with flattery to complete what he had begun, so that he would hold a single palm of victory among all the other devils, for that bishop's destruction. And when the Jew who had gone in there was watching, wide awake, and shivering with fear from great anxiety, the same devil who was in charge of all those there in service to him, gave orders that they should find out who it was who had presumed to lie down in the same temple. And when the devils went in and looked at him more carefully, they saw that he was signed by the mystery of the Cross and said in amazement: 'Alas, alas, a vessel empty and sealed.' Once they had reported back on this, the whole troop of those evil spirits disappeared. But the Jew who had seen all of this, got up at once and reached the bishop's palace very quickly. Finding him in his church, he called him aside and asked what temptation was worrying him. Embarrassed, the bishop was unwilling to confess his temptation to him. But then the Jew said that he had wickedly turned his love-filled eyes on to that fair handmaid of God, and the bishop still denied it, so he added these words: 'Why do you deny what you are being asked about, as in this you were led on so far yesterday evening that you struck that nun's buttocks with a slap?' With these words of course the bishop saw that he was caught out, and humbly confessed what he had firmly denied before. But the same Jew showed consideration for his ruin and embarrassment, and explained how he had found this out and what he had heard about him at the meeting of the devils. Learning this, the bishop at once threw himself to the ground in prayer. And soon he expelled from his wretched place50 not only that same nun, but also every woman who was living there in his service.

49 Zimmerman's 'a caressing pat on the back' misses the sense of the Latin in terga ... blandiens alapam daret ('slapped her rear, while caressing her'). Vogüé misses the point even more with 'donner une tape amicale dans le dos'. Below the Jew's account of the slap on her 'posteriora' makes the sense all too clear. Vogüé's 'friendly pat on the back' suggests that he was just congratulating her. Note that the Pope gave three examples of devils tormenting monks in his monastery of St Andrew's in letter 11.26 to the aristocratic Rusticiana. 50 The diminutive habitaculo does not suggest small size (certainly not for a palace), but rather it is derogatory, as often ('wretched dwelling'). There were no other nuns there, the feminae lacking a Dei or sanctimoniales; McNamara (p. 105) referred to a 'group of consecrated women' missing the point; the one pretty nun being protected (against what?) was far more risky for the bishop; there would have been several men and women on his staff. He foolishly fondled the nun after slapping her rear. She lived there, but was not a servant.

xlviii

Historical Background

But in the same temple of Apollo, the bishop at once built an oratory of Saint Andrew the Apostle, and he kept totally clear of all that carnal temptation. But he brought the Jew, through whose vision and rebuke he had been saved, to eternal salvation. For once he was imbued with the sacraments of faith and purified by the water of baptism, the bishop drew him into the bosom of the Holy Church. And thus it came about that the same Jew, in looking after the salvation of another person, came to his own, and God almighty led one of them from there to a good life, from where he had safeguarded the other in his good life. "

Nuns in Pope Gregory's Life of Benedict51 On two nuns of noble birth speaking rudely until reconciled by Saint Benedict, taken from Chapter xxiii in his Life (Book 2 of Pope Gregory's Dialogues). For a nun's sharp tongue, see pp xlx-l above.

A. De Sanctimonialibus quae post Mortem per Benedicti oblationes Communioni Ecclesiae sunt redditae Nam non longe ab eius monasterio, duae quaedam sanctimoniales feminae nobiliori genere exortae, in loco proprio versabantur, quibus quidam religiosus vir ad exterioris vitae usum praebebat obsequium. Sed sicut nonnullis solet nobilitas generis parere ignobilitatem mentis, ut minus se in hoc mundo despiciant, qui plus se ceteris aliquid fuisse meminerunt, necdum praedictae sanctimoniales feminae perfecte linguam suam sub habitus sui freno restrinxerant, et religiosum virum qui ad exteriora necessaria eis obsequium praebebat, incautis saepe sermonibus ad iracundiam provocabant. Qui dum diu ista toleraret, perrexit ad Dei hominem, quantasque pateretur verborum contumelias enarravit. Vir autem Dei haec de illis audiens, eis protinus mandavit dicens: 'Corrigite linguam vestram, quia si non emendaveritis, excommunicabo vos'. Quam videlicet excommunicationis sententiam non proferendo intulit, sed minando. Illae autem a pristinis moribus nihil mutatae, intra paucos dies defunctae sunt, atque in ecclesia sepultae.52 Cumque in eadem ecclesia missarum

51

Although these stories concern Saint Benedict, they appear in Pope Gregory's life of the Saint, and suit his purpose. Ironically, many of the works on Gregory make use of these stories about Benedict, but ignore his own letters about nuns. 52 The aristocratic nuns, or their parents, could pay enough for burial inside the church, like the nun in the extract above. It seems they could afford a nurse and a pious man to provide what they needed from outside their cell. The pious man

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

xlix

solemnia celebrarentur, atque ex more diaconus clamaret: 'Si quis non communicat, de ecclesia exeat,' nutrix earum quae pro eis oblationem Domino offerre consueverat, eas de sepulcris suis progredi et exire de ecclesia videbat. Quod dum saepius cerneret, quia ad vocem diaconi clamantis exibant foras atque intra ecclesiam permanere non poterant, ad memoriam reduxit quae vir Dei istis adhuc viventibus mandavit. Eas quippe se communione privare dixerat, nisi mores suos et verba corrigerent. Tunc servo Dei cum gravi maerore indicatum est, qui manu sua protinus oblationem dedit, dicens: 'Ite et hanc oblationem pro eis offerri Domino facite, et ulterius excommunicatae non erunt.' Quae dum oblatio pro eis fuisset immolata, et a diacono iuxta morem clamatum est, ut non communicantes ab ecclesia exirent, illae exire ab ecclesia ulterius visae non sunt. Quae ex re indubitantur patuit quia dum inter eos qui communione privati sunt, minime recederent, communionem a Domino per servum Domini recepissent.53

A. On two nuns, who after their deaths were restored to communion through the oblations of Benedict "Not far from his monastery, two nuns of noble birth were living in a place of their own, and a pious layman provided them with the service of what they needed from life outside. But just as for some people nobility of birth usually gives way to ignobleness of mind, as they despise what is below them in this world, remembering that they were somewhat above the rest, even so these two nuns had not yet curbed their tongues properly under the restraint of their habit, and with their inconsiderate talk often provoked the pious layman to anger, who provided them with service for their external needs. He put up with it for quite a long time, but went to the man of God and described what really insulting words he had endured. Hearing this about the nuns, the man of God at once ordered them, saying: 'Curb your tongue, for if you do not change your language I ban you from communion.' Of course he mentioned a sentence of excommunication not to inflict it, but just as a threat. But they made no changes to their former behaviour, and within a few days were dead, and were buried inside the church. Whenever solemn Mass was celebrated in that church, and as was customary the deacon cried out 'If anyone is not taking communion, that person should retire,' the women's nurse, who usually made an offering to satisfying their needs was the Pope's answer to nuns being forced out of their convent for business in Cagliari (see ch.13 below, on letter 4.9). 53 This episode appeared in McNamara's Sisters in Arms, pp 118-119; but it was their nurse, not 'their surviving sisters' who told Benedict about the nuns.

l

Historical Background the Lord on their behalf, saw them rise from their tombs and leave the church. Having so often seen that they went outside as the deacon's voice cried out, being unable to remain in the church, she recalled what the man of God had ordered while they were still alive. For indeed he had told them that he would deprive them of their communion, unless they corrected their behaviour and their language. They were very upset to indicate this to the servant of God, but he at once laid his hand on them and blessed them, saying: 'Go and see that this oblation is offered to the Lord on their behalf, and they will not be excommunicated thereafter.'54 When this oblation was offered on the nuns' behalf, and the deacon cried out as was the custom that the non-communicants should leave the church, the nuns were not seen leaving the church again. It was without doubt clear from this that, when they did not retire at all with those deprived of communion, they had received communion from the Lord, through the servant of the Lord."

The final poignant passages are well suited to the final day spent together by Saint Benedict and his twin-sister, the nun Scholastica, in chapters xxxiii and xxxiv of Pope Gregory's life of Benedict. Despite a quarrel, they have a whole day together, and the Pope vindicates the nun, whose escaping spirit is seen by her brother three days later.

B. De Miraculo Scholasticae sororis eius Quisnam erit, Petre, in hac vita Paulo sublimior, qui de carnis suae stimulo ter Dominum rogavit55 et tamen quod voluit obtinere non valuit? Ex qua re necesse est ut tibi de venerabili patre Benedicto narrem, quia fuit quiddam quod voluit sed non valuit implere. Soror namque eius, Scholastica nomine, omnipotenti Domino ab ipso infantiae tempore dedicata, ad eum semel per annum venire consueverat. Ad quam vir Dei non longe extra ianuam in possessione monasterii descendebat. Quadam vero die venit ex more, atque ad eam cum discipulis venerabilis eius descendit frater. Qui totum diem in Dei laudibus sacrisque colloquiis ducentes, incumbentibus iam noctis tenebris simul acceperunt cibos. Cumque adhuc ad mensam sederent et inter sacra colloquia tardior se hora protraheret, eadem sanctimonialis femina soror eius eum rogavit, dicens: 'Quaeso te, ne ista nocte me deseras, ut usque mane de caelestis vitae gaudiis loquamur.' Cui ille respondit: 'Quid est quod loqueris, soror? Manere extra cellam nullatenus possum.' Tanta vero erat caeli serenitas, ut nulla in aere nubes appareret. Sanctimonialis autem femina, cum verba fratris negantis audisset, insertas 54 55

The imperatives ite and facite are plural, for both nurse and pious layman. From II Corinthians 12.7-8.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

li

digitis manus super mensam posuit, et caput in manibus omnipotentem Dominum rogatura declinavit. Cumque de mensa levaret caput, tanta coruscationis et tonitrui virtus, tantaque inundatio pluviae erupit ut neque venerabilis Benedictus neque fratres qui cum eo aderant, extra loci limen quo consederant pedem movere potuissent. Sanctimonialis quippe femina caput in manibus declinans, lacrimarum fluvios in mensam fuderat, per quas serenitatem aeris ad pluvium traxit. Nec paulo tardius post orationem inundatio illa secuta est, sed tanta fuit convenientia orationis et inundationis, et de mensa caput iam cum tonitruo levaret; quatenus unum idemque esset momentum, et levare caput et pluviam deponere. Tunc vir Dei inter coruscos et tonitruos atque ingentis pluviae inundationem videns se ad monasterium non posse remeare, coepit conqueri contristatus, dicens: 'Parcat tibi omnipotens Deus, soror. Quid est quod fecisti?' Cui illa respondit: 'Ecce, te rogavi, et audire me noluisti. Rogavi Dominum meum, et audivit me. Modo ergo si potes, egredere, et me dismissa ad monasterium recede.' Ipse autem exire extra tectum non valens, qui remanere sponte noluit, in loco mansit invitus. Sicque factum est ut totam noctem pervigilem ducerent, atque per sacra spiritualis vitae colloquia sese vicaria relatione satiarent. Qua de re dixi eum voluisse aliquid, sed minime potuisse; quia si venerabilis viri mentem aspicimus, dubium non est quod eamdem serenitatem voluerit in qua descenderat permanere; sed contra hoc quod voluit, in virtute omnipotentis Dei ex feminae pectore miraculum invenit. Nec mirum quod plus illo femina, quae diu fratrem videre cupiebat, in eodem tempore valuit; quia enim iuxta Ioannis vocem, 'Deus caritas est',56 iusto valde iudicio illa plus potuit, quae amplius amavit"

B. On a Miracle by his sister Scholastica "Who pray, Peter, will be more sublime than Paul in this life, who asked the Lord three times about the thorn in his flesh, and was still unable to obtain what he wanted? For that reason I must tell you about the venerable Father Benedict, as there was something that he wanted but could not obtain. For his sister, called Scholastica, was dedicated to the Lord almighty from the actual time of her infancy, and was accustomed to meeting her brother once a year, when the man of God came down to her, to a place owned by the monastery, not far from its entrance.57 On a certain day, she came as was usual, and her venerable brother came down to join her with some disciples. After spending the whole day in 56

I John 4.16: 'God is love and he that dwells in love dwells in God.' Scholastica was Benedict's twin sister, most probably a resident at the convent of Plumbariola, in sight of Monte Cassino (see below). See Homes Dudden Gregory the Great, pp 168-169. 57

lii

Historical Background praising God and in holy discourse, as the shadows of the night were now falling, they received a meal together. And when they were still sitting at the table, and a later hour was passing with holy discourse, the same nun, his sister, asked him, saying: 'I beg you, don't desert me tonight, so that we can talk about the joys of life in Heaven until the morning.' He replied to her: 'What are you talking about, sister? There's no way I can stay outside my monastery.' The sky was so serene that not a cloud appeared in the air. But the nun, when she heard her brother's refusal, with her fingers interlaced, lowered her head on to her hands on the table, to pray to the Lord almighty. And when she raised her head from the table, so strong was the thunder and lightning, and such a flood of rain poured down, that neither the venerable Benedict nor the brethren who had come with him, could have set foot outside the doorway of the place where they were sitting. Because of course the nun, as she lowered her head on to her hands, had poured out a torrent of tears on to the table. And not long after her prayer, that flood of rain followed, such was the harmony between her prayers and the pouring rain. And now she raised her head from the table with a thunderclap, so that it was one and the same moment that she lifted her head, and the rain poured down. Then the man of God, seeing that he could not return to his monastery amid the thunder and the lightning and the inundation by sheets of rain, was saddened and began to complain, saying: 'May God almighty forgive you, sister. What on earth have you have done?' She answered him: 'Look, I asked you, and you were unwilling to hear me. I asked my Lord, and he heard me. So just leave, if you can, and dismiss me, and return to your monastery.' But he himself could not go out outside the building, and although he was unwilling to remain of his own accord, he remained in the place against his will. And thus it came about that they spent all night without sleep, and through holy discourse about spiritual life, they satisfied themselves, exchanging their thoughts.58 On this matter, I said that he wanted something, but was totally unable to get it; because if we look at the mind of the venerable man, there is no doubt that he wanted that sky to remain clear as it was when he came down; but contrary to what he wanted, he found a miracle in the desire of a woman, through the power of almighty God. Nor is it surprising that a woman who had wanted to see her brother for a long time, at that moment was mightier than he was, because in the words of John, 'God is love',59 so she who loved more fully was mightier, by a really just judgement." 60

58

See a summary in Schulenburg Forgetful of their Sex, p. 283. 1 John 4.16: 'He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.' 60 The burial of the holy twins together in the Mont Cassino monastery has been confirmed. See P. Meyvaert Benedict, Gregory, Bede & others, Variorum Reprints, London, 1977, I, p.62: 'It is now proved that the Cassino relics are the remains of 59

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

liii

C. De anima Sororis eius visa qualiter e corpore sit egressa Cumque die altero eodem venerabilis femina ad cellam propriam recessisset, vir Dei ad monasterium rediit. Cum ecce post triduum in cella consistens, elevatis in aera oculis vidit eiusdem sororis suae animam de eius corpore egressam, in columbae specie caeli secreta penetrare. Qui tantae eius gloriae congaudens, omnipotenti Deo in hymnis et laudibus gratias reddidit, eiusquw obitum fratribus denuntiavit. Quos etiam protinus misit ut eius corpus ad monasterium deferent, atque in sepulchro quod sibi ipse paraverat, ponerent. Quo facto contigit ut quorum mens una semper in Deo fuerat, eorum quoque corpora nec sepultura separaret.

C. How his sister's soul was seen leaving her body "And on the following day, the venerable lady returned to her own convent and the man of God to his own monastery. Three days later, while standing in his cell with his eyes raised to the sky, behold, he saw the soul of that sister which had left her body, entering the solitude of heaven in the form of a dove.61 Rejoicing over her great glory, he gave thanks to God almighty with hymns of praise. He told his brethren about her death, and also sent them at once to bring her body to the monastery, and to place it in the tomb that he had prepared for himself. With this done, as their minds had always been united in God, even so their bodies were not separated in burial."

two skeletons,one of a man, the other of a woman found in a central place', when Abbot Desiderius had the Cassino church rebuilt and enlarged. 61 The white dove was commonly seen as a departing soul, like that of Saint Eulalia on her pyre ('from there a dove flew up whiter than snow') lines 161-2, in Prudentius' Peristephanon III. She appears over the altar to Bishop Masona as a 'dove of snowy whiteness.' See my book on King Sisebut, pp 161 and 222. See too Gregory of Tours Glor. Mart. 91; spiriyus in columbae specie.

LIST OF LETTERS Pope Gregory's 36 letters in which he discusses convents and nuns Letter Month sent

Year

Address

1.23 1.42 1.46 1.60 1.61 2.46 2.50 3.17 3.36 3.58 4.6 4.8 4.9 4.34 5.2 5.4 5.30 6.12 7.12 7.23 8.5 9.54 9.85 9.115 9.138 9.165 9.225 9.233 10.3 11.13 13.3

591 591 591 591 591 592 592 593 593 593 593 593 593 594 594 594 594 595 596 597 597 598 599 599 599 599 599 599 599 600 602

Campania Sicily Sardinia Sardinia Sardinia Rome Sicily Rome Sardinia Naples Sicily Sardinia Sardinia Sicily Sardinia Palermo Constantinople Rome Marseilles Constantinople Luni Sicily Campania Luni Rome Campania Gaul Sicily Sardinia Sardinia Palermo

February May June July July June July January May August September September September July September September March September October June October November January March April June July August October October September

List of Letters

lvi

Letter Month sent

Year

Address

13.4 13.5 13.10 14.2 14.10

602 602 602 603 603

Sardinia Gaul Gaul Sardinia Naples

September November November September December

CHAPTER 1: THE NUN TARSILLA'S DEATH

Liber iv, Caput xvi Dialogorum De transitu Tharsillae sacrae virginis Nonnumquam vero in consolatione egredientis animae ipse apparare solet auctor ac retributor vitae. Unde et hoc quod de Tharsilla amita mea in Homilibus Evangelii dixisse me recolo, replicabo. Quae inter duas alias sorores suas virtute continuae orationis, gravitate vitae, singularitate abstinentiae, ad culmen sanctitatis excreverat. Huic per visionem Felix atavus meus huius Romanae Ecclesiae antistes apparuit, eique mansionem perpetuae claritatis ostendit, dicens: 'Veni, quia in hac te lucis mansione suscipio.' Quae subsequenti mox febre correpta, ad diem pervenit extremum. Et sicut nobilibus feminis virisque morientibus, multi conveniunt qui eorum proximos consolentur, eadem hora exitu ipsius multi viri et feminae eius lectulum circumsteterunt, cum subito illa sursum respiciens, Iesum venientem vidit, et cum magna animadversione coepit circumstantibus clamare, dicens: 'Recedite, recedite, Iesus venit.' Cumque in eum intenderet quem videbat, sancta illa anima e corpore est egressa. Tantaque subito fragrantia miri odoris aspersa est, ut ipsa quoque suavitas cunctis ostenderet illic auctorem suavitatis venisse. Cumque corpus eius ex more mortuorum ad lavandum esset nudatum, longo orationis usu in cubitis eius et genibus camelorum more inventa est obdurata cutis excrevisse. Et quid vivens eius spiritus semper egerit, caro mortua testabatur. "Sometimes, however, in the consolation of a departing soul, the author himself and restorer of life regularly appears. 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 risen to 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 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

2

Chapter 1 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."

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, soon rejected their solitary life and 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. See letter 1.37 below, for the provision of gold for her expenses.

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 ignored the nuns. See above.in the preface. Tarsilla was the other nun in Pope Gregory's works who appeared in Schulenberg's Forgetful of their Sex, p. 387.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

3

Letter 1.37 Gregorius subdiacano Anthelmo (591, Mart.) Discedenti tibi mandavimus et postmodum praeceptis discurrentibus iniunxisse me memini ut curam pauperum gereres et, si quos illic egere cognosceres, scriptis recurrentibus indicares. Et vix de paucis haec facere curasti. Volo autem ut domnae Pateriae, thiae meae, mox praesentem iussionem susceperis, offeras ad calciarium puerorum solidos quadraginta et tritici modios quadringentos, domnae Palatinae, relictae Urbici, solidos viginti et tritici modios trecentos, domnae Vivianae, relictae Felicis, solidos viginti et tritici modios trecentos. Qui omnes simul octuaginta solidi in tuis rationibus imputantur. Cum summa vero pensionis sub festinatione, et ad Paschalem diem, Domino auxiliante, occurrito. "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 your account. But hurry here with all speed, with the sum to be paid, even by Easter Day,5 with God's help. "

5

Easter Sunday in 591 was on April 15th, allowing five weeks or so for the letter to arrive and for Anthelm to return to Rome. It seems that both of the aristocratic ladies lived in Rome, possibly with properties in Campania. As the thirty gold coins for Rome's poor in Chapter 3 seemed a fortune, the sixty gold coins were worth a very great deal of money, with forty for her husband and children, and twenty for herself. The Felix and his aristocratic but hard-up widow, Lady Viviana, cannot be tracked down. Felix was a very common name, with twentyone different ones in the Pope's letters, but unfortunately not one of them was dead by 591.

CHAPTER 2: THE PLAGUE, AND NUNS’ PROCESSION

When Pope Pelagius became a victim of the plague on February 5th, 590, Gregory was soon elected in Rome as his successor, but served as actingpope until the Emperor had confirmed his elevation. To end this destructive plague, with a special act of contrition, Gregory ordered all the abbesses with their congregations of nuns (and priests and monks likewise) to set out from the Church of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, the Martyrs, and meet at the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On April 25th the procession started, and as Kyrie Eleison was chanted, eighty (or so the Legenda Aurea claims) dropped dead, but the procession continued, and the plague ended not long afterwards.6 A later, passing reference to the pestilence appears in Ch. IV.26 in the Dialogues. It looks back to the devastating plague, three years earlier, when Rome was depopulated by its intensity, and a soldier, Stephen, died, but then returned miraculously from the dead to describe his impression of Hell, and of Heaven, on the two sides of a bridge. But far the most influential picture, the version in the 12th century Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea ('Golden Legend') appears below, giving its cause: Quodam tempore Tyberis fluvius alveum suum egressus, in tantum excrevit ut super muros urbis influeret, et plurimas domos everteret. Tunc etiam per Tyberim fluvium multitudo serpentium cum dracone magno in mare descendit, sed a fluctibus praefocati et ad litus proiecti totum aerem sua putredine corruperunt. Sicque plaga pessima quam inguinariam vocant secuta est, ita ut etiam corporali visu sagittae caelitus venire et singulos quosque percutere viderentur. Quae primo omnium Pelagium papam perculit et sine mora exstinxit, postmodum vero in relinquum vulgus itea desaevit ut subtractibus habitatoribus, domos plurimas in urbe vacuas reliquerit. Sed quia ecclesia dei sine rectore esse non poterat, Gregorium, 6

This picture of the Roman abbesses and nuns is of interest, but it was five months before the Emperor's endorsement arrived. See Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, folios 71v-72r, for the Limbourgs' illumination that shows Gregory in his yet to be bestowed papal tiara, praying to Heaven, followed by four cardinals. The illumination was based on Voragine's version.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

5

licet totis viribus renitentem, plebs omnis elegit. Cum ergo benedici deberet et lues populum devastaret, sermonem ad populum fecit, processionem faciens litanias instituit, et ut omnes deum attentius exorarent admonuit. Cum igitur deum omnis congregatus populus exoraret, in tantum lues ipsa desaevit ut in una hora octoginta homines spiritum exhalarent, sed nequaquam cessavit populum admonere ut ab oratione nunquam desisterent, donec pestem ipsam miseratio propulsaret. Finita processione fugere voluit, sed nequivit quia die noctuque portas urbis propter eum vigiles observabant7. "One day, the river Tiber, leaving its bed, rose so high that it flowed above the city walls and destroyed very many homes. Then also a mass of snakes with a great dragon were swept along the river Tiber into the sea, but they were smashed by the waves and thrown on to the shore, polluting all the air with their rotting bodies, and thus the worst of plagues attacked what they call the groin, so much so that arrows were seen to come from heaven, even with human sight, and to strike down each person in turn. And first of all it struck down Pope Pelagius, and choked him to death at once, but afterwards it so savaged the remaining people that with owners removed, it left very many homes in Rome empty. But because the Church of God could not be without a leader, all the citizens elected Gregory, athough he rejected it with all his strength. So when he should be blessed, and the plague was devastating the people, he preached to them, and arranging a procession of public prayer, advised them all to pray to God more attentively. So, as all the people gathered together prayed to God, the plague itself so raged that in one hour eighty people expired, but Gregory in no way ceased to warn the people never to desist from prayer, until divine pity drove out the plague itself. Finishing with the procession, he wanted to flee but could not, because day and night guards watched for him at the city gates."8

7

For the Latin, see Giovanni P. Maggioni Legenda Aurea, Firenze, 2 vols, 1998. Gregory complained early on that he was the wrong person for the job, but would not have escaped from Rome to hide away. His empassioned objection to his elevation is most noted in his long letter to the Emperor's sister, Theoctista (letter 1.5, where he tells her that he had so 'loved contemplative life,' as a monk),

8

CHAPTER 3: THE 3,000 NUNS [5.30; 7.23]

Their 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,9 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.10 Several had been placed in separate quarters of Rome's convents, but many others were left without proper accommodation, impoverished and destitute. Letter 5.30. Gregorius Mauricio Augusto (597, Iun.) Dominorum pietas, quae suos consuevit misericorditer famulos continere, ita benigna hic subventione resplenduit, ut cunctorum debilium inopia largitatis eius sit consolatione sublevata. Pro qua re lacrimabili omnes prece deposcimus ut omnipotens Deus, qui clementiae vestrae ad hoc corda compunxit, incolume in amoris sui constantia dominorum servet imperium et victorias eorum in cunctis gentibus auxilio suae maiestatis extendat. Triginta itaque libras auri quas confamulus meus Busa detulit Scribo, sacerdotibus egenisque et aliis fideliter erogavit. Et quia quaedam in hanc urbem sanctimoniales feminae ex diversis provinciis post captivitatem fugientes venerunt, ex quibus, quantum locorum possibilitas recipit, aliquae in monasteriis datae sunt, quae vero in eis minime capi potuerunt, singulariter degentes inopem vitam ducunt, placuit ut hoc quod caecis, truncis aliisque debilibus superesse posset eis erogari debuisset, dummodo dominorum misericordiam non solum indigentes indigenae sed advenientes etiam peregrini susciperent. Unde actum est ut simul omnes pro vita dominorum concorditer orarent, quatenus omnipotens Deus longa vobis et quieta tempora tribuat et pietatis vestrae felicissimam subolem diu in Romana republica florere concedat. Rogae quoque militum ita per praedictum confamulum meum Scribonem, praesente quoque glorioso Casto magistro militum, factae sunt, ut dona 9

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. 10 See letter 7.23.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

7

dominorum cuncti sub disclipina debita gratias agendo susciperent, et hoc quod prius eis dominari consueverat omne murmur averterent. "The piety of your Lordship,11 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 30 pounds of gold that my fellow servant Busa brought here to priests and to those in need, and to others. Some nuns have come to this city from various provinces, fleeing after having been captured, and several of them were placed in convents,12 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.13 Payments have also been made to the soldiers through my aforesaid fellow-servant Scribo, in the presence of the chief of the household guard also, the glorious Castus, in such a way that they all received the presents of their Lordship, under due discipline, while giving thanks, and they abstained entirely from the muttering that was normally prevalent before then."14 11

For the very religious life of the Emperor Maurice, 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. 12 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. 13 This must refer especially to the Pope' godson, heir to the throne, Theodosius. 14 Scribo may be the name of the Pope's trusted servant, who looks after the gold and pays the disaffected soldiers (mostly mercenaries). But in letter 2.50, scribo is used with the sense of a 'recruiting officer' which could tie in with his service here as a paymaster. Beside the mercenaries, who were unreliable troops, the Pope used bribes to keep the Lombards out of Rome.

8

Chapter 3

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,15 where he shows the Emperor spending three hours a day on 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. Two years later another far larger influx tested the Pope's organisational skills. In letter 7.23 to the emperor's sister, Theoctista, mentioned above, and sent in June 597, the Pope thanked her 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,16 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," had helped the citizens of Rome to survive the swords of the all too belligerent Lombards. The Pope also comments on the very cold weather in Rome, for which the blankets were urgently needed. Where all the nuns went is not explained, though some may have joined the existing convents. When Benedict's monastery on Monte Cassino was sacked and burnt in 577, followed by those he had founded at Subiaco and Terracina, their monks were scattered, but some of them came to Rome, and joined a satellite monastery of the Lateran basilica, San Pancrazio. But with the shortage of buildings in Rome, accommodation was anything but easy for the unfortunate nuns.17 15

Whitby The Emperor Maurice and His Historian, p. 3. See n. 11 above. See letter 9.85 to his agent Anthelm (Jan. 599), in which Stephen has a nun as his wife, ransomed from the enemy by Accellus for eight gold coins, but he is too poor to pay him back. Gregory asks Anthelm to pay it and he will reimburse him. 17 For the extract from letter 7.23, see my book Saint Leander, Archbishop of Seville: A Book on the Teaching of Nuns and a Homily in Praise of the Church (Lexington Books, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham & New York, 2008), p. 163. See 16

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

9

Letter 7.23. Gregorius Theoctistae Patriciae et Andreae (597, Jun.) "Peto autem ut parvulos dominos quos nutritis praecipue moribus instituere curetis et gloriosos eunuchos qui eis deputati sunt admonere ut ea illis loqui debeant, quae eorum mentes in caritate circa se invicem et erga subiectos in mansuetudine compungunt, ne, si quid odii inter se modo conceperint, in aperto postea erumpat. Verba quidem nutrientium aut lac erunt, si bona sunt, aut venenum, si mala. Taliter ergo nunc eis suggerant quae postmodum ostendunt, quam bona fuerint quae a nutritorum suorum ore suxerunt. Praeterea triginta auri libras dilectissimus filius meus Sabinianus diaconus ab Excellentia vestra transmissas in redemptionem captivorum dandas atque pauperibus erogandas detulit, de quibus vobis gaudeo, sed mihi pertimesco, quia apud tremendum iudicem non solum de sancti Petri apostolorum principis substantia sed etiam de vestris rebus rationes redditurus vado. Vobis autem omnipotens Deus pro terrenis caelestia, pro temporalibus aeterna restituat. Indico vero quia ex Crotonensi civitate, quae super Adriaticum mare in terra Italiae posita transacto anno a Langobardis capta est, multi viri ac multae mulieres nobiles in praeda ductae sunt et filii a parentibus, parentes a filiis et coniges a coniugibus divisi, ex quibus aliqui iam redempti sunt. Sed quia gravibus eos pretiis dicunt, multi apud nefandissimos Langobardos hactenus remanserunt. Mox autem medietatem pecuniae quam transmisistis in eorum redemptionem transmisi, de medietate vero ancillis Dei, quas vos Graeca lingua 'monastrias' dicitis,18 lectisternia emere disposui, quia in lectis suis gravi nuditate in huius urbis vehementissimo frigore laborant. Quae in hac urbe multae sunt. Nam iuxta notitiam qua dispensantur tria milia repperiuntur. Et quidem de sancti Petri apostolorum principis rebus octoginta annuas libras accipiunt. Sed ad tantam multitudinem ista quid sunt, maxime in hac urbe, ubi omnia gravi pretio emuntur? Harum vero talis vita est atque in tantum lacrimis et abstinentia stricta, ut credamus quia, si ipsae non essent, nullus nostrum iam per tot annos in loco hoc subsistere inter Langobardorum gladios potuisset.

The Pope's opening homily in this letter on contrition is not included here, although the last paragraph on the part played by the Emperor's sister, C. H. Lawrence Medieval Monasticism: Forms of religious life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages, Longman, Harlow & New York, 2001, p. 36. 18 The Pope uses the Greek word with which the Byzantines were more familiar. Both were clearly bilingual. See my Letters of Gregory vol 1, pp 102-3. Yet Moorhead op. cit. p. 2, admits Gregory's network of friends in Constantinople but adds 'although he did not learn Greek.'

10

Chapter 3

Theoctista, is worth including. She looked after the five royal sons (Theodosius, Tiberius, Peter, Paul and Justinian) and the three daughters (Anastasia, Theoctista and Cleopatra), all eight murdered by the thug Phocas, together with their parents and court circle. How can some historians today say that the Pope was delighted to see the end of Maurice? He was horrified, but had to bite his tongue, or lose his life.19 "I beg you also to take care especially to teach morality to the dear young Lordships, whose nurse you are, and to remind the glorious eunuchs who have been allotted to them to discuss those things with them that may make their minds contrite in their mutual love for each other, and in their clemency towards their subjects. Otherwise, if they should now feel some hatred between themselves, it might break out afterwards in the open. For the words of their nurses will either be like milk or food, if they are good, or like poison if they are evil. And so, let them suggest such things to them now, which afterwards may show how good the words were that they have sucked from the mouths of their nurses."20

This familial scene is followed by the Pope's gratitude for the thirty pounds of gold sent by Theoctista, and brought back by the Pope's emissary, the deacon Sabinian.21 "Furthermore, my son and deacon, Sabinian, has brought me thirty pounds of gold, sent over by your Excellency, to be given for the ransoms of captives, and to be paid out to the poor. I rejoice for you over this, but I am afraid for myself, as I shall have to render my accounts before the fearful Judge, not only for the substance of Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, but also for your possessions. May almighty God grant you heavenly returns for your temporal ones.

19

See my Gregory the Great pp. 19-20 and 42-47. John Moorhead recently, like many before him, failed to appreciate the Pope's irony, suggesting that Phocas' accession to the throne was 'a development at which the Pope professed hearty satisfaction' (op. cit., p. 6). 20 Gregory does not distinguish between the children's teacher, Andrew, and nurse, Theoctista. The illustrious Andrew had received a letter from the Pope six years before (1.29) in which Gregory expressed his deep affection and gratitude for his goodness when they were together in Constantinople, and his shock at finding himself Pope. Andrew was a close adviser to the Emperor (see letter 7.26), also executed by Phocas on June 7th, 605, after his palace coup. 21 He had been acting as Gregory's emissary in Constantinople since July 593, and succeeded him as Pope (Sept. 22nd, 604 - Feb. 22nd, 606). Gregory sent no fewer than eight letters to him (3.51,52, 65; 5.6, 37, 43, 44, 45).

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

11

I must inform you, however, that last year the Lombards captured the city of Cotrone, which is situated in the land of Italy on the Adriatic Sea. From it many noblemen and many noble women were led away as booty, and children were separated from parents and parents from children, and husbands from wives. Some of these have already been ransomed, but because they have fixed high prices on them, many have remained until now among those most wicked Lombards. I immediately sent over half of the money that you had sent for their ransoms, and from the other half, I have arranged to purchase some bed-coverings for the nuns, whom you call 'monastic women' in Greek,22 because they are suffering from a terrible shortage of bedclothes, during the extremely bitter cold of this city. And there are many of them in Rome. Indeed three thousand of them are found listed in the census, and they receive eighty pounds a year from the goods of Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles. But what is that, for such a great multitude, especially in this city, where everything costs so much to buy?23 But such is their life, so very strict with tears and abstinence, that we believe that if they had not been here, none of us could have survived for so long in this place, surrounded by the swords of the Lombards."

The Pope then sends her a miraculous key from the most sacred body of Saint Peter, explaining to her that it had destroyed an arrogant Lombard, who had found it and taken out his knife to cut off the gold, but a spirit was controlling the knife an it promptly cut his throat. Hearing of this, King Autharit was scared of the key, until finally a strict Catholic Lombard picked it up without any trouble, and Autharit soon had another gold key made, and sent both of them to Pope Pelagius II. The original holy key was now being sent by Pelagius' successor to ensure the good health of Theoctista for all eternity. In fact she was one of Phocas' early victims when he usurped the throne on November 22nd, 602, only five years after receiving this splendid letter from her friend Gregory.

22

In Greek it was ȝȠȞȐıIJȡȚĮȚ. In Latin, monasterium is ambiguous, but in the Greek, the feminine ending shows nuns, not monks. 23 The high cost of living in Rome was caused by the near total blockade of the city by the Lombards' occupation of most of fertile Campania.

CHAPTER 4: REFUGEES FROM NOLA [1.23]

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. Letter 1.23 Gregorius Anthemio Subdiacono (591, Feb.) Insinuatum nobis est ancillas Dei quasdam Nolanae civitatis in Aboridana domo commanentes nimiam victus vestitusque penuriam sustinere. Quibus ex praecepto Dei subvenire nos convenit et inopiam earum, in quantum possumus, donante Domino sublevare. Propterea Experientiae tuae praesenti iussione mandamus ut de hac praesenti nona indictione quadraginta in auro eis solidos dare debeas et deinceps succedentibus indictionibus annuos viginti solidos ministrare, qui tuis possint rationibus imputari. Praeterea Paulino presbytero monasterii sancti Erasmi, quod in latere montis Repperi situm est, sed et duobus monachis in oratorio sancti Archangeli servientibus, quod in Luculano castro iuxta sancti Petri basilicam esse dinoscitur, binos te in praesenti tantummodo solidos dare praecipimus, qui et ipsi tuis rationibus imputentur. Ita ergo fac, ut impensae mercedis tu quoque participium sortiaris. "It has been suggested to us that some nuns in the city of Nola,24 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 Experience25 with the present order. From this present ninth 24

Nola is in Campania, about ten miles North-East from Mount Vesuvius. For a defender or rector (controller of papal territory) the Pope normally used the honorific title 'Your Experience.' For a bishop, 'Your Fraternity' was the norm, although 'your Beloved' also appeared, at times used ironically, as with Januarius. For royalty, as now, he used 'Your Excellency' or 'Your Majesty.' 25

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

13

indiction, you must give them forty gold coins, and thereafter at subsequent indictions,26 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, priest of the monastery of Saint Erasmus, situated on the side of mount Repperi,27 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 Anthelm 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. Letter 6.32 Gregorius Anthelmo Subdiacano Neapoliano (596, Apr.) Quantus dolor quantaque sit nostro cordi afflictio de his quae in partibus Campaniae contingunt, dicere non possumus, sed ex calamitatis magnitudine potes ipse colligere. Ea de re pro remedio captivorum qui tenti sunt solidos Experientiae tuae per horum portitorem Stephanum virum magnificum transmisimus, admonentes ut omnino debeas esse sollicitus, ac strenue peragas, et liberos homines quos ad redemptionem suam sufficere non posse cognoscis, tu eos festines redimere. Qui vero servi fuerint, et dominos eorum ita pauperes esse compereris, ut eos redimere non assurgant, et hos quoque comparare non desinas. Pariter etiam et servos ecclesiae qui tua neglegentia28 perierunt curabis redimere. Quoscumque autem redemeris, subtiliter notitiam quae nomina eorum, vel quis ubi maneat, sive quid agat, seu unde sit, contineat, facere modis omnibus studebis, quam tecum possis afferre cum veneris. Ita autem in hac re studiose exhibere festina, ut ii qui redimendi sunt nullum, te negligente, periculum possint incurrere, et tu apud nos postea vehementur incipas esse culpabilis. Sed et hoc quam maxime age, ut, si 26

The indiction was a fifteen year period, started by Constantine in 313. Neither the monastery nor the mountain can be located with certainty today. The Castle of Lucullus appears in letter 3.1, possibly Castello dell'Oro today, a small island off Naples. 28 The abstract Negligentia suggests a play on Experientia, where a te negligente as below would be normal. They are old friends, but the Pope hammers home his message of concern and urgency with wit and plenty of imperatives. 27

14

Chapter 4 fieri potest, captivos ipsos minori possis pretio comparare. Substantiam vero sub omni puritate atque subtilitate describe, et ipsam nobis descriptionem cum celeritate transmitte. "We cannot express how much grief and how much affliction there is in our heart over what is happening in Campania.29 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 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.30 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, 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 both honestly and carefully, and quickly send over a written account of it all."

29

The Lombards are all too close to Rome, and making what profits they can from their captives, rich or slave, before the peace terms are settled. The list is of interest, an unusual request. 30 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.

CHAPTER 5: A CONVENT ENDOWED IN LUNI [8.5]

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, 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 throughout this book. Letter 8.5 Gregorius Venantio Episcopo Lunensi (597, Oct.) Fraternitatis vestrae insinuatione didicimus, quae habetur in subditis, intra civitatem Lunensem in domo propria monasterium ancillarum Dei pro vestra devotione fundasse, quod in honore Petri apostolorum principis et sanctorum martyrum Iohannis et Pauli atque Hermae et Sebastiani desideras consecrari. Et ideo, frater carissime, si nullum corpus ibidem constat humatum, data primitus a fraternitate tua donatione legitima, id est calicem argenteum unun habentem uncias vi, patenam argenteam habentem libras ii, sindones ii, coopertorium super altare unum, lecta strata numero x, in aeramentis capita xx, in ferramentis capita xxx, in caespite fundum Faborianum et Lumbricata in integro constitutum territorio Lunensi miliario ab urbe eadem plus minus secundo iuxta fluvium qui appellatur Macra cum servis duobus, id est Maurum et Iohannem, et boves paria ii tantum, gestisque municipalibus allegata, praedicti monasterii oratorium absque missas publicas sollemniter consecrabis, et cetera secundum morem. "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

16

Chapter 5 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, together with 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 interesting letter shows also 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. Leander's 'rule' for his sister's convent also defines their life, and although based on monks, the 'Medieval Monastic Claustrum' at the end of P. Meyvaert's Benedict, Gregory, Bede and others is well worth looking at.

CHAPTER 6: AN ABBESS FOR LUNI [9.115]

The Pope was also 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, Letter 9.115. Gregorius Venantio Episcopo Lunensi (599, Febr.-Apr.) Fraternitatis vestrae adeo nobis sollicitudinem placuisse rescribimus, ut studii nostri esset ea quae voluistis effectu complere. Quia ergo scripsistis ut personam transmittere deberemus, quae in monasterio quod in civitate vestra situm est abbatissae regere possit officium, ancillam Dei, quam divina misericordia suffragante regimine eiusdem monasterii strenuo posse arbitramur exsistere, illic praevidimus dirigendam, ut a vobis Deo protegente abbatissa debeat ordinari. Nam nos ei hic oratione tantummodo venimus. Quia igitur memoratam ancillam Dei ad vestram voluntatem et scripta transmisimus, hortamur ut circa eam monasteriumque ipsius fraternitas vestra sollicitudinem gerat atque degentem illic congregationem in Iesu Dei et redemptoris nostri servitio adhortationis suae bono corroboret et ita se, ubicumque necesse fuerit, etiam erga exteriores utilitates eius exhibeat, ut conversantes ibidem magnum in vobis subsidium, sicut decet, inveniant et nullius rei eas necessitas deprimat, quatenus, dum vobis providentibus omnis eis fuerit amota necessitas, in oratione et Dei laudibus assidue secura valeant mente persistere. Sic etenim agitur, ut et illis electa conversio ad salutem et vobis proficiat ad mercedem. Nam gratia prorsus maior acquiritur, si de commissis ovibus lucrum offerat Domino sollicitudo pastoris. "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

18

Chapter 6 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 role for a bishop or 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 other suitable nuns like this from Rome when an abbess was needed, to avoid possible dissension in the local community.

CHAPTER 7: ADEODATA'S CONVENT IN LILYBAEUM [9.233]

Letter 9.233. Gregorius Decio Episcopo Lillibitano (599, Aug.)

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 tells the local bishop, Decius, 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 in Ch. 6 above. Adeodata, gloriosissima femina petitorii nobis insinuatione suggessit, quod habetur in subditis, in domo siquidem iuris sui intra civitatem Lillibitanam monasterium ancillarum Dei a solo se pro sua devotione fundasse, quod in honore beati Petri principis apostolorum atque sanctorum Christi martyrum Laurentii, Ermetis, Pancratii, Sebastiani et Agnes desiderat consecrari. Et ideo, frater carissime, quippe quia in civitatis tuae commemorata constructio iure consistit, si nullum corpus ibidem constat humatum, percepta primitus donatione legitima, id est in reditu praestantes liberos a tributis fiscalibus solidos X, pueros tres, boves paria tria, mancipia alia quae serviant in ipso monasterio numero V, equas numero X, vaccas numero X, hastulas vinearum numero IIII, oves numero XL, et cetera secundum morem. "Adeodata, a most glorious woman,31 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

31 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 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 three letters, two to her, show that they were fellow-spirits.

20

Chapter 7 with its land,32 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 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 the invalid, but they may well have pressed the grapes and augmented their income by selling the wine; with four vineyards it suggests quite a large revenue.

32 The Latin a solo might mean 'from the ground up' but here 'with its soil', or 'land' is far more appropriate.

CHAPTER 8: 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. Letter 7.12 Gregorius Respectae Abbatissae de Gallia Massiliae (596, Oct.) Piae postulatio voluntatis effectu debet prosequenti compleri, quatenus et devotionis sinceritas laudabiliter enitescat et utilitas postulata vires indubitanter assumat. Proinde monasterio quod in honore sancti Cassiani est consecratum, in quo praeesse dinosceris iuxta petitionem filiorum nostrorum Dinamii atque Aurelianae, qui id religiosa devotione domui iuris sui iunctis unisse aedificiis comprobantur, haec privilegia praevidimus indulgeri, constituentes ut, obeunte antedicti monasterii abbatissa, non extranea sed quam congregatio sibi de suis elegerit ordinetur; quam tamen si digna huic ministerio iudicata fuerit, eiusdem loci episcopus ordinet. In rebus autem vel dispositione eiusdem monasterii neque episcopum neque ecclesiasticorum quemquam aliquam habere decernimus potestatem, sed ad haec sollicitudinis tuae curam, vel quae post te in eodem loco fuerit abbatissa, statuimus per omnia pertinere. Die siquidem natalis vel dedicationis monasterii suprascripti, episcopum missarum illic sacra convenit sollemnia celebrat, non ponatur. Quo discedente, simul etiam cathedra illius de eodem oratorio auferatur. Ceteris vero diebus per presbyterum qui ab eodem episcopo fuerit deputatus missarum officia peragantur. Praeterea erga vitam actusque ancillarum Dei sive abbatissae, quae in suprascripto fuerit monasterio constituta, episcopo, secundum Dei timorem, sollicitudinem statuimus adhibere; ut si aliquem de illic habitantibus exigente culpa oportuerit ultioni submitti, ipse iuxta sacrorum canonum vigorem modis omnibus debeat vindicare. His ergo a nobis statutis atque concessis, ita te in congregationis tuae dispositione stude sollicitiorem enixius in omnibus exhibere, ut iniqui hostis malitia nihil ibi quod maculari possit inveniat. Haec igitur omnia quae huius pagina praeceptionis amplectitur monasterio tuo in omnibus et ab omnibus in perpetuum servari, Christo protegente, censemus, quatenus indultorum privilegiorum beneficia in sua semper inviolabiter firmitate permaneant.

22

Chapter 8 A newly converted and very wealthy couple, Dynamius and Aurelia, had shown such religious devotion that they had united a new convent they had had built, with their own 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 curtailement of his usual powers. But this is not mentioned in Gregory's letter to the couple in the following June (letter 7.33), that shows their great enthusiasm for Holy Writ. See below. "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,33 and you will be known as its prioress. Ths is in accordance with the petition of our children, Dynamius and Aurelia,34 who with their religious devotion are shown to 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 left there except on special days, and while he is celebrating Mass.35

33

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. 34 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 whom the Pope encouraged to endow convents and monasteries. 35 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.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

23

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 very 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 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.'36 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:

36

This well-known quotation comes from both Matthew 7.8 and Luke 11.10.

24

Chapter 8 "As for the book of the sort to instruct you, as requested by you, we did not have a spare one ready, but will 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 who were highlighted temporarily by two of the Pope's 960 letters.

CHAPTER 9: BRUNHILDE'S CONVENT IN AUTUN [13.5]

The full autonomy for a convent was not always granted, however, as can be seen in a long and flattering letter (13.5) sent to the powerful queen of Gaul, Brunhilde, whom the Pope was at this time very keen to convert to the orthodox faith.37 Letter 13.5 Gregorius Brunigildae Reginae Francorum (602, Nov.) Haec38 inter quae hoc apud vos tenet prae ceteris principatum, quod in mediis huius mundi fluctibus, qui regentis animos turbulenta solent vexatione confundere, ita cor ad divini cultus amorem et venerabilium locorum disponendam quietem reducitis, ac si nulla vos alia cura sollicitet. Unde quia huiuscemodi praepositorum actio subiectorum magna solet esse munitio, prae aliis gentibus Francorum gentem asserimus felicem, quae sic bonis omnibus praeditam meruit habere reginam. Epistulis autem vestris indicantibus agnoscentes ecclesiam vos sancti Martini in suburbano Augustodonensi atque monasterium ancillarum Dei nec non et xenodochium in urbe eadem construxisse, valde laetati sumus et gratias omnipotenti Deo retulimus, qui cordis vestri sinceritatem ad haec operanda compungit. Qua de re ut et nos bonis vestris in aliquo participes haberemur, privilegia locis ipsis pro quiete et munitione illic degentium, sicut voluistis, indulsimus nec excellentiae vestrae amplectenda nobis desideria vel ad modicum differre pertulimus. Paterna preaterea caritate salutationis praemittentes alloquium, iudicamus illustribus filiis nostris, vestrae vero Excellentiae famulis ac legatis Burgoaldo et Varmaricario, nostrum nos secundum vestra scripta praebuisse secretum. Qui omnia quae sibi iniuncta dixerunt, subtili nobis insinuatione reserasse noscuntur. De quibus curae nobis erit sequenti tempore Excellentiae vestrae quid actum fuerit indicare. Nam nos quiquid possibile, quiquid est utile, et ad ordinandam pacem inter vos et rempublicam pertinet, summa, Deo auctore, cupimus devotione compleri. 37

See my full version in Letters of Gregory of 13.5, sent in November, 602. The first word was missing in the original text, and Norberg rightly adopted the Haec proposed by Hartmann. 38

26

Chapter 9 "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. Wherefore, because action of this sort by those in 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 have 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 church, unless the queen covered their main expenses. The long letter continues with his defence of Bishop Menas, who was allowed to return to Toulon when he was absolved after doing penance in Rome. He then discusses a bishop in Gaul whose mental illness prevents him from taking Mass, where he shows his usual reluctance ever to remove a bishop from his office, unless desperately sick in mind or body. De quodam autem episcopo, quem capitis infirmitas, sicut nobis praedicti magnifici viri dixerunt, administrare suum non sinit officium, fratri coepiscopoque nostro Aetherio scripsimus ut, si intervalla eiusdem indfirmitatis habuerit, data petitine ad implendum se locum suum profiteatur non posse sifficere, sed alium ecclesiae suae postulet

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

27

ordinandum, quia vivente episcopo, quem ab administratione officii sui non culpa sed aegritudo subducit, alium loco ipsius sacri nullomodo permittunt canones ordinari. Si vero nullo tempore ad mentis sanae redit officium. quaeri persona debet vita et moribus decorata, quae et animarum curam gerere et eiusdem ecclesiae causam utilitatesque salubri valeat ordinatione disponere, talis quae si superextiterit, eius possit loso succedere. Sed et si qui in sacro sunt ordine vel ad clericatus ministerium promovendi, antefato reverentissim fratri nostro Aetherio, si tamen ipsius est dioceseos, reservandum renuntiandumque decrevimus, ut de habita inquisitione, si nulli culpae quam sacri canones insequuntur subiecti sunt, ipse eos debeat ordinare. Excellentiae ergo vestrae cura nostrae se dispositini coniungat, quatenus nec ecclesiae utilitates, quarum vobis maximux amor est, pereant et bonis vestries Excellentiae vestrae mercedis augmenta succrescant. "But with regard to a certain bishop whose mental illness does not allow him to administer his office,39 as you magnificent gentlemen have told us, we have written to our brother and fellow-bishop, Aetherius, saying that if that man should have intervals free of that infirmity, he should present a petition and admit that he cannot manage to carry out his office, and ask for another bishop to be consecrated for his church. For while the bishop is alive, and it is not sin but his illness that removes him from the administration of his office, the sacred canons in no way allow another to be consecrated in his place. But if he at no time returns to a state of mental sanity, a person should be sought, admirable for his way of life and morality, who may take over the care of souls and arrange the cases and interests of that church with healthy regulation. And if such a person should outlive the bishop, he could succeed to his position. But if there are some in holy orders who should be promoted to clerical ministeries, we have decided that this should be reserved and declared to our aforesaid most reverend brother, Aetherius. Provided the candidates belong to this diocese, he should have an enquiry, and if they are not subject to any fault that the sacred canons condemn, he should ordain them himself. And so, let your Excellency's concern give support to our arrangement, so that the interests of the Church for which you have the greatest of love, may not suffer, and so that your Excellency's reward may grow larger in return for the good deeds that you do."

He then tells the Queen emphatically that a twice-married man cannot be a priest, tactfully suggesting that it would not suit her pious deeds, and then 39

It seems that John, bishop of Prima Justiniana was mentally sick. See letter 13.6, duly sent to Bishop Aetherius, very close to this letter on this tricky topic of sick bishops. It would apply equally to elderly and sick abbesses and abbots.

28

Chapter 9

he discusses her hint of a possible synod in Gaul, and again praises the Queen, as we see below. Similiter vero de quodam bigamo requisiti, an ad sacrum ordinem potuisset accedere, iuxta canonicam regulam omnino vetavimus. Absit enim ne vestris temporibus, in quibus tam multa pia ac religiosa agitis, aliquid contra ecclesiasticum institutum fieri permittatis. Praefati autem viri megnifici filii nostri dato capitulari inter cetera petierunt, quod sibi ex vestra perhibuere iussione mandatum, ut talis debeat in Gallis a nobis persona transmitti, quae facta synodo cuncta quae contra sacratissimos canones perpetrantur omnipotenti Deo possit auctore corrigere. In qua Gloriae vestrae curam cognovimus, quantum de vita animae et de regni vestri soliditate cogitatis, quia redemptorem nostrum formidantes eiusque in omnibus praecepta servantes et hic agitis, ut diu regni vestri gubernacula subsistant, et post longa annorum curricula vos quoque de terreno regno ad regnum caeleste transeatis. Apto autem tempore, si Deo dictum placuerit, veneranda Excellentiae vestrae desideria implere curabimus. Nos itaque pro munitione locorum, de quibus Excellentia vestra scripsit, omnia sicut voluit sancire studuimus. Sed ne fortasse ab eorum locorum praepositis eadem decreta nstra quoque tempore supprimantur pro eo quod eis quaedam interdicta esse noscuntur, haec eadem constitutio gestis est publicis inserenda, quatenus sicut in nostris, ita quoque in regalibus scriniis teneantur. Omnipotens Deus excellentiam vestram in suo semper timore custodiat atque ita vota vestra in filiorum nostrorum excellentissimorum regum nepotum vestrorum intercedente beato Petro apostolorum principe, cui eos commendatis, adimpleat, ut stabile vobis gaudium de eorum semper incolumitate, sicut cupitis, habere concedat. "Similarly, we have been asked about a certain twice-married man, whether he could have been admitted to holy orders, and we have vetoed this totally, in line with the canonical law. God forbid that in your times, when you are doing so many pious and religious deeds, you should permit something to be done contrary to Church regulations! The aforesaid magnificent gentlemen40 and sons of ours gave us a list of the main points, and claimed that they had been ordered by your command among other things to seek that such a person be sent from us to Gaul who 40 In the third paragraph, Gregory mentions two legates, servants of the Queen, who had sent them to the Pope, who states their keenness to maintain peace between her and the republic. Their names are Burgowald and Warmaricar, and their private meeting with Gregory is mentioned again in letter 13.7, sent soon after to Theoderic, King of the Franks.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ might hold a synod, to correct everything perpetrated contrary to the most holy canons, with the authority of almighty God. In this 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 keen to sanctify everything as you wished, 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."

29

CHAPTER 10: TALASIA, ABBESS IN AUTUN [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, another equally long one, 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 with a stinging attack on seeking high office in a convent through simony. Letter 13.10 Gregorius Talasiae Abbatissae (602, Nov.) Quando ad ea quae catholicorum regum corda pontificalibus sunt monitis provocanda ita ardenti desiderio divina praeveniente gratia succenduntur, ut ab eis ultro poscantur, tanto sunt alacri et laeto animo concedenda, quanto et ea ipsa quae cupiunt, si nollent facere, peti debuerant. Proinde iuxta scripta filiorum nostrorum praecellentissimorum regum Brunigildis ac nepotis ipsius Theoderici monasterio sanctae Mariae, ubi ancillarum Dei est congregatio constituta, in urbe Augustodonensi a reverendae memoriae Syagrio episcopo condito, cui praeesse dinosceris, huiusmodi privilegia praesentis auctoritatis nostrae decreto indulgemus, concedimus atque firmamus, statuentes nullum regum, nullum antistitum, nullum quacumque praeditum dignitate vel quemquam alium de his, quae eidem monasterio a suprascriptis filiis nostris regibus iam donata sunt vel in futuro a quibuslibet aliis de proprio fuerint iure collata, sub cuiuslibet causae occasionisve specie minuere vel auferre et sive suis usibus applicare vel aliis quasi piis causis pro suae avaritiae excusatione concedere, sed cuncta quae ibi oblata sunt vel offerri contigerit, tam a te quam ab eis quae in tuo officio locoque successerint, a praesenti tempore illibata et sine inquietudine aliqua volumes possideri, earum tamen modis omnibus profutura.

The letter starts with the neatly balanced ita ... ut and tanto ... quanto and then a very long and highly complex period follows, with 18 lines of unbroken legal Latin using about 150 words. This certainly suggests that Talasia was well trained in Latin rhetoric, and was a very worthy recipient of the Pope's long and highly literate epistle. At the same time Gregory

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

31

continues to flatter the corrupt Queen and her sex-mad grandson Theoderic, even praising the Queen's one-time lackey, Bishop Syagrius.41 This most interesting letter provides a full, legal document, designed quite often 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 in fact a unique legal document for the establishment of any convent in the seventh to eighth century, and it should perhaps 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 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 offered there, or shall turn out to be offered, to be in its possession for all time, unimpaired and without any disturbance, 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 any avarice or deception. It certainly suggests that in this context, the replacement was very much 41 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 Brunhilde appears on page 45, of Theoderic on page 43.

32

Chapter 10

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 very carefully by the Pope to protect whoever was abbess, provided she was innocent of a major sin. The nature of the jury is most surprising. It must consist of the local bishop and no fewer than six of his fellow-bishops, and all seven must agree over her guilt or innocence. With the long and at times hazardous distances for travel on horseback or in a carriage between Sees, and the busy schedules that most Gallic bishops would have had to fulfill, it suggests that charging and trying any abbess of Autun would be a very rare event. This may well apply more widely, with Abbesses being appointed for life and being very hard to get rid of, without very clear-cut sinfulness, like the bishops supported by Pope Gregory even when they were too sick in either body or mind to take Mass, like the most uncooperative and mentally ill Januarius in Cagliari, whom the Pope would have been delighted to remove from his See, and yet argued for his continuance, however limited. Idem constituimus ut, obeunte abbatissa praedicti monasterii, non alia ibi quacumque obreptionis astutia ordinetur, nisi quam rex eiusdem provinciae, cum consensu monachorum, secundum Dei timorem, eligeret ac praeviderit ordinandam. Hoc quoque capitulo praesenti subiungimus, ut locum avaritiae secludamus, nullum de regibus, nullum de sacerdotibus vel quemcumque alium per se suppositamve personam, de ordinatione eiusdem abbatissae vel quibuscumque causis ad monasterium ipsum pertinentibus audere in auro, vel alia qualibet specie commodi, quicquam accipere, neque eandem abbatissam ordinationis suae causa dare praesumere, ne hac occasione ea quae a fidelibus piis locis offeruntur aut iam oblata sunt consumantur. Et quoniam multae occasiones in deceptione religiosarum personarum a pravis illic, ut dicitur, hominibus exquiruntur, abbatissam praedicti monasterii nullomodo privandam deponendamque censemus, nisi causa specialiter criminis exigente. Unde necesse est ut, si qua contra eam huiusmodi querela surrexerit, non solus episcopus civitatis Augustodonensis causam examinet, sed adhibitis sibi sex aliis coepiscopis suis subtili hoc investigatione perquirat, quatenus cunctis concorditer iudicantibus canonicae districtiois censura aut ream facere aut innocentem possit absolvere. "We have decided likewise that on the death of the abbess of the convent mentioned above, no other woman should be ordained there, though 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

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

33

nor anyone else should dare to accept anything in gold or with any other sort of payment, though either themselves or a person in their place, over the ordination of that abbess, or over whatever cases involve that convent. And that abbess must not presume to give money for the sake of her ordination, so that what is being offered by the faithful in holy places, or what has been offered, 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 the aforesaid convent should in no way be deprived of it and be 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 the city of Autun examine the case, but with six other fellow-bishops assisting him, 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 this very sgnificant letter on a positive note, promising the severe punishments of expulsion from Mass and eternal condemnation, for anyone who contravenes the authoritative contract, whether a 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 new convent with the threats to anyone who should try to circumvent them, would no doubt be pinned up in the convent's entry hall, giving Talasia and her successors as abbess the very real comfort of permanent papal protection. Haec igitur omnia quae huius praecepti decretique nostri pagina continet tam tibi quam cunctis quae in eo quo es ordine locoque successerint, vel eis quorum interesse potuerit in perpetuum servanda decernimus. Si quis vero regum, sacerdotum, iudicum atque saecularium personarum hanc constitutionis nostrae paginam agnoscens, contra eam venire temptaverit, potestatis honorisque sui dignitate careat reumque se divino iudicio exsistere de perpetrata iniquitate cognoscat. Et nisi vel ea quae ab illo male ablata sunt restituerit, vel digna poenitentia illicite acta defleverit, a sacratissimo corpore ac sangune Dei et Domini nostri Redemptoris Iesu Christi alienus fiat, atque in aeterno examine districtae ultioni subiaceat. Cunctis autem eidem loco iusta servantibus, sit pax Domini nostri Iesu Christi, quatenus et hic fructum bonae actionis recipiant, et apud districtum Iudicem praemia aeternae pacis inveniant. Et, nisi vel ea quae ab illo sunt male ablata restituerit, vel digna paenitentia illicite acta defleverit, a sacratissimo corpore ac sanguine domini redemptoris nostri Iesu Christi, alienus fiat atque districtae ultioni subiaceat. Cunctis autem eidem loco iusta servantibus sit pax domini

34

Chapter 10 nostri Iesu Christi, quatenus et hic fructum bonae actionis recipiant et apud districtum iudicem praemia aeternae pacis inveniant. "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. And unless he either restores what he has wrongly removed, or weeps over his illegal actions with due penitence, he must be excluded from the most sacred body and blood of our Lord God and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and must be 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 that they may both receive the fruit of good deeds here, and find the rewards of eternal peace at the court of the strict Judge."

The Pope's final prayer for the survival of the convent of Saint Mary shows how passionate the Pope was about its future, and how keen he was to use it to win over the Queen to his side, both to cement a firm peace and to complete her conversion to his true religion. It also shows how highly he respected the convent's first abbess, Talasia, clearly a very intelligent and talented woman.

CHAPTER 11: THECLA, ABBESS OF A NAPLES CONVENT [9.54]

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 some time ago in Naples, with a resident abbess, in the first letter, and having not yet been started in the second letter, in Sicily, which was sent about seven months later. Norberg wrongly linked the two letters, which was very tempting. In letter 9.54, sent in November 598, the Pope asked his 'defender', Romanus,42 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 son-in-law of the abbess, the eminent Alexander. The Pope ends expecting his agent to settle the dispute, or else to send him full details. His major concern is for the convent, and as usual, he is willing to spend many hours sorting out the abbess' problem. Letter 9.54 Gregorius Romano Defensori Siciliae (598, Nov.) Quia Tecla abbatissa monasterii sanctae Mariae, quod Neapolim in domo quondam Felicis scolastici constitutum est, contra Alexandrum virum magnificum, generum ipsius, de quibusdam rebus causam habere dinoscitur, et ad hoc praesentium portitorem transmisit, ut causa ipsa illic cum eo, si potest fieri, pacifice decidatur, hac Experientiae tuae auctoritate praecipimus ut ei, quocumque usus exegerit, salva ratione solaciari ac concurrere non omittat. Sed et praedictum virum magnificum hortari studeat ut, omni contentione cessante, ad decisionem causae ipsius pacis et ipse intentione perveniat, ne, si neglegendum putaverit, cum 42

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 my 'Six Notes on Gregory the Great', Medievalia et Humanistica, 29, 2003, 1-7.

36

Chapter 11 strepitu postea et dispendio cogatur efficere quod bona voluntate implere postponit, quia, sicut edocti sumus, frequenter iam praedictae abbatissae per epistulas suas causam ipsam promisit decidere et facere hoc hactenus supersedit. Tua ergo Experientia ita agat ut aut causa ipsa, sicut diximus, decidatur, aut certe si te differre voluerit, et videris quia facere quae pacis sunt non volet, subtiliter nobis ea ipsa renuntia, ut quid pro utilitate memorat monasterii agi debeat sciamus. "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 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."

CHAPTER 12: RUSTICA'S CONVENT; A LONG DELAY [9.165]

Letter 9.165, sent in June 599, again encouraged his 'defender' Romanus to act much more decisively.43 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 built as soon as possible. Letter 9.165. Gregorius Romano Defensori Siciliae (599, Jun.) Filius noster Theodosius, investigare te volumus atque evidenter addiscere et utilitatem pauperum, sicut rei ordo poposcerit, exsequi et tunc pro ordinatione cellae illius vel redintegratione demissae rei instanter esse sollicitum, quatenus pia testatricis voluntas in utroque valeat adimpleri et detentatores iniusti culpam retentionis indebitae ex iusta amissione cognoscant. Cum omni ergo vivacitate causam hanc et exquirere et ad effectum te volumus Domino auxiliante perducere, ut pia ordinantis devotio tandem sortiatur effectum. Sed et monasterio ipsi in omnibus salva iustitia solaciari te volumus, ut laicae personae, quasi ex conditoris nomine, qui iuvaminis debuerunt ferre solacium, laedendi non habeant, sicut asseritur, facultatem. "Our son Theodosius, abbot of the monastery founded by Liberius, the late patrician,44 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 43

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.

44

38

Chapter 12 construction of a convent45 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 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.46 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."

45

In Gregory's letters, 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. But for monks, a donation by Felix himself would have been far more natural. 46 Throughout these letters 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. 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 many more.

CHAPTER 13: THEODOSIA'S CONVENT [4.8]

At least Queen Brunhilde had built a convent and had encouraged the nuns in Autun, unlike Januarius, the uncooperative 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 that the Pope looking after what was really his bishop's job. Letter 4.8. Gregorius Ianuario Episcopo Caralis Sardiniae (593, Sept.) Theodosia religiosa femina, in construendo monasterio voluntatem Stephani quondam viri sui complere desiderans, petiit a nobis ut ad Fraternitatem tuam nostras transmitteremus epistulas, quibus per commendationem nostram tuum facilius mereretur auxilium. Asserit siquidem hoc a suo coniuge constitutum ut in praedio quod appellatur Piscenas, quod ad xenodochii Thomae quondam episcopi iura pervenit, monasterium construi debuisset. Quia igtur in alienis hoc fundare rebus, licet possessionis permitteret dominus, tamen videtur cum ratione refugere, petitionem eius praevidimus annuendam, id est ut in domo iuris sui, quam Caralis asserit se habere, ancillarum Dei monasterium debeat Domino adiuvante construere. Sed quia praedictam domum suam dicit ab hospitibus atque supervenietibus onerari, hortamur Fraternitatem tuam ut studeas ei in cuncta concurrere devotionique eius tuae praebeas tuitionis auxilium, ut mercedis defuncti atque huius studii tuus te concursus faciat et sollicitudo participem. Reliquiae vero, quas ibidem postulat collocandas, volumus ut a Fraternitate tua sub debita veneratione condantur. "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

40

Chapter 13 assist her in all these matters, participating in the reward for her late husband and for her sense of duty. But we want the relics that she asks to be gathered in that house to be placed there by your Fraternity with due veneration."

The many guests suggest that it was used as a hostelry. The geography is confusing, but it points to quite a large residence, certainly suitable for a convent. The 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.

CHAPTER 14: NUNS’ TRIALS IN CAGLIARI [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: Letter 4.9. Gregorius Ianuario Episcopo Caralitano (593, Sept.) Satis quidem te ipse pastoralis zelus instigare debuerat, ut gregem quem susceperas etiam sine nostro solacio salubriter ac provide tuereris et a callidis inimicorum subreptionibus cum diligenti circuminspectione servares. Sed quia caritatem tuam pro suae firmitatis augmento nostrae quoque paginam auctoritatis indigere comperimus, necessarium nobis fuit titubantes animos tuos ad religiosi vigoris studium fraternae dilectionis exhortatione firmare. Pervenit siquidem ad nos minus te monastriis ancillarum Dei Sardinia sitis tuitionis impendere, et cum dispositum prudenter a tuis fuisset decessoribus, ut quidam de clero probati viri curam gerentes earum se necessitatibus adhiberent, nunc ita funditus esse neglectum, ut, per publicas personas, pro tributis aliis muniis ipsae per se principaliter Deo dicatae feminae compellantur necessitatemque habeant pro supplendis fiscalibus per villas praediaque discurrere atque virilibus incompetenter se miscere negotiis. Quod malum Fraternitas tua facili correctione removeat, et unum probatum vita moribusque, cuius aetas atque locus nihil de se parvae suspicionis obiciat, sollicite deputet, qui sic monasteriis ipsis cum Dei timore possit assistere, quatenus ulterius eis pro quibuslibet causis privatis publicis extra venerabilia loca contra regulam vagare non liceat. Sed quicquid pro his agendum est per eum quem deputaveris rationabiliter peragatur. Ipsae vero referentes Deo laudes atque coercentes semetipsas in monasteriis suis nullam occasionem ulterius fidelium mentibus pravae suspicionis iniciant. Si qua autem earum vel per anteriorem licentiam, vel per impunitatis pravam consuetudinem ad lapsus adulterini deducta est, aut in futurum fuerit perducta voraginem, hanc post competentis severitatem vindictae, in aliud districtius virginum monasterium in poenitatem volumus redigi, ut

42

Chapter 14 illic orationibus atque jejuniis vacet, et sibi poenitendo proficiat, et metuendum ceteris arctioris disciplinae praestet exemplum. Is autem qui cum huiusmodi feminis in aliqua fuerit iniquitate repertus, communione privetur, si laicus est; si vero clericus fuerit, a suo quoque remotus officio, pro suis continuo lugendis excessibus in monasterium detrudatur. "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 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 tells him to select one man, whose age and rank leave him open to no suspicion of evil. With the fear of God, this man can attend to the convents, so that the nuns no longer wander 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 (p. lvi above) 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."

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

43

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 dscussion with Bishop Januarius on the founding of monasteries, with an example that could well be a convent. Pro fundandis etiam monasteriis, quae a diversis iussa sunt construi, si iniusta perspicis haec aliquos quibus indicta sunt excusatione differre, solerter secundum quod leges praecipiunt imminere te volumus, ne piae defunctorum voluntates voluntates tua, quod absit, remissione cassentur. De monasterio autem quod in domo sua construendum quondam Petrum asseritur praecepisse, praevidimus ut Fraternitas tua subtiliter requirat relictorum illic redituum quantitatem. Et si quidem modus habet substantiae, recollectis omnibus quae de rebus ipsis imminuta vel dicuntur esse dispersa, cum omni studio hoc et sine aliqua dilatione fundetur. Sin autem vel minus idonea vel damnosa facultas est, omnibus, ut edictum est, subtiliter inquisitis, nobis renuntiare te volumus, ut sciamus quid deliberare iuvante Domino de eius constructione possimus. Fraternitas igitur tua ita in cunctis praedictis capitulis se solerter impendat, ut nec nostrae admonitionis seriem inveniatur fuisse transgressa, nec, divini rea iudicii, de minori zelo pastoralis existat officii. "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 amount of income left there.47 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, and to report back to us. In this way we may know what we should determine about its construction, with the Lord's assistance." 47

The 'monastery' was quite possibly to be built for nuns, but 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. With 37 different Peters in the letters, we cannot know whether this bequest was fulfilled.

CHAPTER 15: PROBLEMS WITH POMPONIANA [3.36; 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 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 summoned too. The brilliant scholar Isidore was also invited to Rome.48 It is a great pity that no transcript of the very lively discussions among these powerful figures, male and female, has survived, although the 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. Letter 3.36. Gregorius Sabino, defensori Sardiniae (593, Mai.) Quaedam ad aures nostras gravia pervenerunt, quae quoniam canonicam emendationem exspectant, idcirco Experientiae tuae praecipimus quatenus, una cum Iohanne notario, omni excusatione postposita, Ianuarium fratrem et coepiscopem nostrum summa hic exhibere instantia non omittas, ut eo coram posito, ea quae ad nos perlata sunt subtili valeant indagatione perquiri. Pompeiana vero atque Theodosia, religiosae feminae, iuxta postulationem suam si huc venire voluerint, vestra eis in omnibus praebere solacia, ut desideria sua vobis queant concurrentibus adimplere. Praecipue autem Isidorum eloquentissimum sicut petiit studii vestri sit per omnia vobiscum adducere, ut causae eius qualitas quam contra ecclesiam Caralitanam habere dinoscitur interius trutinata legalem valeat finem accipere. Praeterea quoniam aliqua nobis de persona Epiphanii presbyteri facinora nuntiata sunt, necesse est ut cuncta diligentius perscruteris, et seu mulieres cum quibus perisse dcitur, seu alios quos de causa eadem scire aliquid 48

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.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

45

senseris, hic pariter festines adducere, quatenus ecclesiasticae districtioni liquide possint aperiri quae vera sunt. Haec vero omnia ita efficaciter utrique curabitis adimplere, ut nulla te de neglecto culpa respiciat, scientes ad vestrum omnimodo pertinere periculum, si haec nostra quoquomodo fuerit lentata praeceptio. "Some serious matters have come to our ears, and since they await a canonical emendation, we instruct you, therefore, your Experience, together with our notary, John,49 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 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.50 Furthermore, since some wrongdoings have been reported to us concerning the character of the priest Epiphanius,51 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 neglectfulness 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."

49

Sent to Cagliari in August 592 to investigate complaints against Archbishop Januarius (see letter 2.41). 50 Thus avoiding the scandal of litigation in the public courts. Isidore, a most eloquent lawyer, lived on Sardinia. 51 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 that she had been paid a lot to frame him. See my book on Abbot Leontius' Life of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigento, trans. from the Greek, Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston & Lampeter, 2004,

46

Chapter 15

In his letter 11.13, sent to the then Bishop Januarius in October 600, the Pope managed to solve a problem involving both Pomponiana and Epiphanius, concerning 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. Letter 11.13. Gregorius Ianuario Episcopo Caralitano (600, Oct.) Gratam nobis Fraternitatis vestrae sollicitudinem fuisse cognoscite, quod pastorali se vigilantia pro tutamine animarum, ut oportebat, exhibuit. Nuntiatum siquidem nobis est quod in domo quondam Epiphanii lectoris ecclesiae vestrae idcirco secundum voluntatem ipsius monasterium construi vetuistis, ne, pro eo quod domus ipsa ancillarum Dei ei52 cohaerebat, deceptio exinde contingeret animarum. Et valde laudavimus quia antiqui hostis insidias provisione congrua, ut decuit, praecavistis. Sed quia perlatum ad nos est Pompeianam religiosam feminam velle de eodem monasterio ancillas Dei tollere et per sua, unde tultae fuerant, monasteria revocare atque illic congregationem constituere monachorum, necesse est ut, si impletum hoc fuerit, defuncti dispositio modis omnibus conservetur. Si vero factum hoc non fuerit, ne testatoris voluntas in totum videatur frustrata, volumus ut, quia monasterium Urbani quondam abbatis positum foris civitate Catalitana ita dicitur destitutum, ut ne unus illic monachus remaneret, Iohannes, quem memoratus Epiphanius in monasterio, quod sicut dictum est in domo sua fiendum decreverat, abbatem esse constituit, si tamen nihil est quod eum impediat, abbas debeat ordinari atque reliquiae ibi, quae in domo antedicti Epiphanii condendae fuerant, recondantur et ei modis omnibus applicetur, quicquid isdem Epiphanius in monasterio quod deputaverat aedificari contulerat, quatenus, etsi de loco propter suprascriptam cautelam voluntas eius non disponitur, merces nihilominus illibata servetur. Et haec quidem omnia Fraternitas vestra una cum Vitale defensore disponat et ita ea utiliter studeat ordinare, ut, sicut de laudabili prohibitione, ita quoque de bona habere possit constructione mercedem. Ipsum vero monasterium licet Fraternitati vestrae sit supervacuum commendari, hortamur tamen ex abundanti, ut id salva iustitia, sicut vos decet, habeatis commendatum.

52

A word qualified by cohaerebat is needed, and Norberg read domui, but the demonstrative ei is preferable, picking up monasterium, and the loss of ei through haplography would have been all too easy.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

47

"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 one-time 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, 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 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 St Vitus on Mt 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.

CHAPTER 16: PROBLEMS WITH THEODOSIA [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 honorable lady Theodosia, his heiress and a nun, was delaying in 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, when its oratory was being dedicated, there was a disturbance and prejudice was shown. The Pope tells his two agents to clear this up, and encourage Musicus, abbot of the monastery of Agilitanus, to find time at once 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. Letter 5.2. Gregorius Felici Episcopo et Cyriaco Abbati (594, Sept.) Querellam Theodosiae religiosae feminae subditae vobis satis series relationis explanat, in qua plura et non ad sacerdotalem pertinentia mansuetudinem contra Ianuarium fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum capitula comprehensa relegimus, ita ut post fundatum a se servorum Dei monasterium, omne quod ad avaritiam, turbulentiam praeiudiciumque pertinet, tempore dicatur oratorii ipsius sit dedicationis exhibitum. Quamobrem, si ita est ut antefata eius suggestione comperimus, et in hoc quicquam cognoscitis indecentius fuisse commissum, hortamur ut

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

49

Musicum, abbatem monasterii Aglitani, remotis prius omnibus studeatis praeiudiciis adhortari ut in monachos suos, quos illic ordinare coeperat, summopere vacare festinet, quatenus, ipso venerabili loco decenti regularique modo per vos Domino iuvante disposito, nec frequens nos praedictae religiosae feminae de non impletis bonis desideriis suis querella concutiat, nec cum vestrae detrimento sit animae, si tam pium propositum aliqua, vobis neglegentibus, quod non credimus, dilatione torpescat. "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.53 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 deent and regular manner, with the assistance of the Lord, we may neither be shaken by the frequent complaint of the aforesaid religious woman over the non-fulfillment 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."

53 Theodosia, although a nun, had donated considerable funds to the founding of a monastery for monks in Cagliari, only to witness their greed, their trouble-making and their prejudice at the dedication of its oratory. The Pope suggests to his two very capable agents, Bishop Felix and Abbot Cyriacus, sent to Sardinia to sort out its Church's abuses, that they persuade Musicus, the abbot of a nearby monastery, to take in the trouble-makers, no doubt for them to do penance, while they sorted out the new monastery, or risked trouble from the wealthy and pious Theodosia.

CHAPTER 17: JULIANA, ABBESS IN SARDINIA [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 the rich nun Pomponiana appears again, and will do so in Ch. 18. Letter 1.46. Gregorius Theodoro Duci Sardiniae (591, Iun.) Iustitiam quam mente geritis, oportet coram hominibus luce operum demonstretis. Iuliana siquidem abbatissa monasterii sancti Viti, quod Vitula quondam recordandae memoriae construxerat, insinuavit nobis a Donato officiali vestro possessionem iuris praedicti monasterii detentari. Qui dum Excellentiae vestrae patrociniis cingi se conspicit, ad examinandum iudicio venire contemnit. Sed nunc Gloria vestra praecipiat eundem officialem cum praedicta ancilla Dei arbitrale subire iudicium, quatenus, quicquid eorum de tali controversia arbitrum iudicio fuerit definitum, effectu mancipetur, ut id quod se amittere sive retinere prospexerit, non hoc virtutis opere fieri, sed legis iustitiae debeat reputari. Pariter et Pompeiana religiosa, quae monasterium in domo propria construxisse dinoscitur, questa est testamentum quondam generi sui matrem defuncti velle cassare, quatenus ultimum filii eius arbitrium ad irritum deducatur. Pro qua re caritate paterna Gloriam vestram necessarium duximus adhortandam ut piis se causis, salva iustitia, libenter accommodet, et quicquid his iuris ratio benigne tribuit, iubeat custodire. Dominum autem petimus, qui viam vitae vestrae propitius dirigat, dignitatemque eius susceptae administrationis prosperitate disponat. "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,54 he does not deign to 54

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

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

51

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."

not good. Theodore showed such injustice and violence towards the clergy and people of Sardinia that the Pope complained strongly to the Emperor (1.47), and to the governor of Africa (1.59), whose province included Sardinia.

CHAPTER 18: CONVENT OF SAINT HERMES [14.2]

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 to take Mass.55 He had received twenty-six letters from the very busy Pope, and right to the end he was 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 are suffering from serious neglect, and says he would have rebuked Januarius severely, if he were not restrained by 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 improve their financial position, important for Church income, and for the convents and monasteries in particular. Letter 14.2. Gregorius Vitali defensori Sardiniae (603, Sept.) Experientia tua indicante comperimus xenodochia in Sardinia constituta gravem habere neglectum. Unde reveretissimus frater et coepiscopus noster Ianuarius vehemetissime fuerit obiurgandus, nisi nos eius senectus ac simplicitas et superveniens aegritudo, quam ipse retulisti, suspenderet. Quia ergo ita est positus, ut ad aliquem ordinationem esse non possit idoneus, oeconomum ecclesiae ipsius atque Epiphanium archipresbyterum ex nostra districte auctoritate commone ut eadem xenodochia ipsi in periculo suo sollicite ac utiliter studeant ordinare. Nam si quis illic post hoc neglectus exstiterit, nulla se posse noverint apud nos ratione aliquatenus excusare. Quoniam vero possessores nos Sardiniae petiverunt ut, quia diversis oneribus affliguntur, Contantinopolim pro eorum debeas remedio proficisci, licentiam tibi eundi concedimus. Sed et dilectissimo filio nostro Bonifatio diacono scripsimus ut suum tibi pro remedio provinciae illius studeat praebere solacium. 55

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 more on the rule of Caesarius of Arles than on those of Saint Benedict or of Saint Columban.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

53

De ecclesiis autem quas vacare sacerdotibus indicasti praedicto reverentissimo Ianuario fratri et coepiscopo nostro scripsimus ut eas debeat ordinare, sic tamen, ut non omnes ad episcopatum de ecclesia ipsius eligantur. Nam sic eum convenit alias ordinare, ut ecclesiae suae de personis, quae in ea possunt proficere, necessitatem non faciat. Illud igitur quod ad gubernationem quorumdam monasteriorum personas praepositas, quae ante, dum adhuc in monachico et minori essent ordine, lapsae sunt, indicasti, officium quidem abbatis suscipere, nisi omnino correcta via et digna praecedente paenitentia, minime debuerunt. Sed quoniam iam abbatum, sicut dicis, officium susceperunt, de vita, moribus ac sollicitudine eorum cura gerenda est, et, si actus eorum inventus contra officium non fuerit, in eo quo sunt ordine perseverent. Alioquin remotis eis, alii, qui commissis sibi animabus prodesse valeant, ordinentur. "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 fellow-bishop, 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,56 asking him to be keen to provide you with his support over a remedy for that province. 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.

56

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.

54

Chapter 18 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 abbott, 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.57 His tactful suggestions are well worth reading in his own words: Causa praeterea de monasterio sancti Hermae, quod in domo Pomponianae religiosae feminae constructum est, quia plus blandimentis quam districtione agenda est, Experientia tua apud eandem mulierem cum dulcedine agere studeat, quatenus nec illa in peccato proprio auctoris sui debeat postponere voluntatem, et tu utilitates monasterii valeas salubriter procurare. Puellas autem suas, quas antedicta Pomponiana in monasterio mutata olim religiosa veste convertit, abstrahi ab ea vel inquietati nullomodo patiaris, sed in ea qua sunt conversione Deo protegente permaneant. Pro requirendis vero rebus ecclesiarum vel monasteriorum sive piarum causarum quod scripsisti, prius quidem interest admonendi sun tut ab eis te insistente atque solaciante modis omnibus requirantur. Quod si forte vel ipsi neglegentes exstiterint vel certe qui eas requirere debeant inventi non fuerint, tunc omnia ipse perquire atque ita repperta recollige, ut manu aliquod praeiudicium inferred cuiquam minime videaris. "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, 57 For his four early letters about this convent, see Letters 1.46, 1.61, 3.36 and 11.13.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

55

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, 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. De xenodochiis itaque Hortulani atque Thomae nihil hactenus horum quae indicasti cognovimus. Ea propter Experientia tua iussionem principis ex hoc datam diligenter inspiciat et omnia secundum eius tenorem disponat et nobis, quid egerit, innotescat. De hoc igitur, quod scripsisti fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum Ianuarium tempore quo sacrificium celebrat tantam pati frequenter angustiam, ut vix post longa intervalla ad locum canonis redire valeat, quem reliquit, atque ex hoc multos dubitare, si communionem de eius debeant consecratione percipere, admonendi sunt, ut nullatenus pertimescant sed cum omni fide atque securitate communicent, quia aegritudo personae sacri mysterii benedictionem nec mutat nec polluit. Secretius tamen omnino isdem frater noster hortandus est ut, quotiens sibi aliquem molestiam senserit, non procedat, ne ex hoc se despiciendum praebeat et infirmorum animis scandalum faciat. "As for the hostelries of Hortulanus and Thomas, so far we have learnt nothing of what you indicated. For that reason, your Experience must carefully examine the order that the Emperor gave about this, and arrange everything according to his directions, telling us what was done. Then there is the fact that you wrote that our brother and fellow-bishop Januarius, during the time when he celebrates the sacrifice of Mass, often suffers such great distress that he is barely able to return to the passage in the canon where he left off, even after a long interval. From this you say that many doubted as to whether they should receive communion when consecrated by him.58 But they must be advised that they should in no way be afraid, but should take communion with full faith and security, since a person's sickness neither changes nor pollutes the blessing of the Holy Mystery. And yet that brother of ours should be exhorted secretly in every 58 The Pope's comment is significant for later Church theology, known as the principle of ecclesia supplet.

56

Chapter 18 way not to continue whenever he feels an attack coming on him, so that he does not make people despise him in this way and does not tempt the minds of the weak to sin."

The Pope then returns to Pomponiana, who has complained that the defender Vitalis and Archbishop Januarius had unjustly taken away the inheritance of her late son-in-law, Epiphanius. Praeterea Pomponiana religiosa femina questa est nobis hereditatem quondam generi sui Epiphanii, in qua isdem Epiphanius Matronam coniugem suam filiam antefatae Pomponianae usufructuarium constituerat, monasterio, quod in domo sua fundari statuerat, postea exstincto usufructu modis omnibus profuturam atque alia quae eidem Matronae proprietatis probantur iure competere ab Experientia tua et reverentissimo fratre et coepiscopo nostro Ianuario iniuste sublata et nihil exinde hactenus vel filiae suae redditum vel monasterio profecisse. Quod si ita se veritas habet aut aliquid te indecenter fecisse cognoscis, absque ulla mora ablata restitue aut certe, si aliter esse putas, ne gravari pars adversa praeiudicialiter videatur, electorum cum ea iudicium hac de causa nullomodo subire postponas, ut, utrum vera iustaque eius sit querimonia, definitione iudicii declaretur. "Furthermore, that religious lady, Pomponiana, has complained to us that your Experience, together with our most reverend brother and fellowbishop 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.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

57

"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 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 medieval 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 have appeared in this coverage, and they add up to show how very concerned the busy Pope was to encourage this very pious but prickly lady, without offending her at all.

CHAPTER 19: FLORA, ABBESS IN ROME [3.17]

Another abbess, Flora, appears in letter 3.17, sent in January 593 to the sub-deacon Gratiosus, who was acting as administrator of the Church's patrimony in Rome. The Pope again sorts out a tricky problem with his direct orders. Letter 3.17. Gregorius Gratioso Subdiacono (593, Jan.) Religiosam vitam eligentibus congrua nos oportet consideratione prospicere, ne cuiusdam necessitatis occasio aut desides faciat, aut robur, quod absit, conversationis infringat. Idcirco praesenti tibi auctoritate praecipimus quatenus domum positam in hac urbe regione quarta, iuxta locum qui appellatur Gallinas albas, iuris sanctae Romanae cui Deo auctore praesidemus ecclesiae, in qua Campana quondam patricia mansisse dinoscitur,59 simul et hortum atque hospitia, quae intra eandem domum ianua concludit, Florae abbatissae tradere debeas proprietatis iure procul dubio possidendam, in qua domo monasterium, ubi cum congregatione sua habitare possit, Christo queat iuvante construere, ut tam ipsa, quam etiam quae in eius honore locoque successerit, praedictam domum et hortum cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus, sicut diximus, quieto et inconcusso iure a nobis pietatis consideratione concessa valeat possidere. "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." 59 The fact that a patrician woman had lived there would suggest that it was a Roman mansion, readily adapted to a convent.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

59

The new convent was near the Quirinal, in a grand old home that was lucky to have had a garden of its own for the nuns' fruit and mainly vegetarian meals, and it was owned by the Church of Rome. 'All things belonging to them' would give the abbess a good start in collecting the basic equipment for running a convent, as shown in chapters 5 and 7. The house and established garden suggest that there was a good water supply.

CHAPTER 20: CONVENT OF EUPREPIA IN ROME [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 concern for the convents and monasteries in Rome, wanting to ensure their continuance, serving God with secure minds. The provision of a garden for a 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 Sept. 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. Letter 2.46. Gregorius Sabino Subdiacono de Horto Monasterio tradendo (591 Sept. - 592 Aug.) Officio pietatis impellimur monasteriis provida consideratione ferre consultum, ne hi qui Dei se servitio deputasse noscuntur, necessitatem aliquam possint, quod avertat Dominus, sustinere. Ideoque Experientiae tuae hac auctoritate praecepimus uti hortum Feliciani quondam presbyteri, positum regione prima ante grados sanctae Sabinae, excusatione postposita, monasterio Euprepiae, in quo ancillarum Dei congregatio esse cognoscitur, iure proprietario possidendum tradere sine ambiguitate festinet, quatenus nostrae iutae beneficio largitatis, in Dei servitio, ipso quoque suffragante, securis mentibus perseverent. "We are compelled by our duty of piety to make a decision for the convents and monasteries with prudent consideration, so that those who 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

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

61

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.60

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 right,61 so that aided by the benefit of our generosity, they may persevere in serving God with secure minds, with his support also.

60 The garden was near the steps of Saint Sabina, at the foot of the Aventine. It almost certainly had water available through pipes. 61 The lawyer in Pope Gregory is always keen to authorize and ensure the provision of permantent legal possession for any convent or oratory built or converted on his behalf.

CHAPTER 21: ABBESS GRATIOSA'S PETITION [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 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 clergy out of the convents, except for special Masses. Letter 3.38. Gregorius Fortunato episcopo Neapolim (593, Aug.) Religiosis desideriis sine difficultate praestari decet effectum. Atque ideo Gratiosa abbatissa una cum congregatione sua, oblata petitione quae tenetur in subditis, postulavit quod patriciae recordationis Rustica, per ultimum voluntatis suae arbitrium, in civitate Neapolitana in domo propria in regione Herculensi in vico qui appellatur Lampadi, monasterium ancillarum Dei, in quo praefatam Gratiosam abbatissam praeesse disposuit, simulque et oratorium exstruxisse dinoscitur, cui et pro voto suo quattuor uncias totius substantiae suae dimisse suggesssit, quodque in honore beatae Mariae semper virginis, genetricis Dei et Domini nostri Iesu Christi desiderat consecrari. Et ideo, frater carissime, praesenti praeceptione Dilectionem tuam duximus adhortandam ut, inspecto primitus testamento, si iure subsistit, et easdem quattuor uncias verissime eidem monasterio collatas compereris, ad praedictum locum cum postulaverint ingravanter accedas, venerandae sollemnia dedicationis impendens, ut quotiens necesse fuerit a presbyteris ecclesiae in superscripto loco deservientibus celebrentur sacrificia veneranda missarum, ita ut in eodem monasterio neque Fraternitas tua neque presbyteri praeter diligentiam disciplinae aliquid molestiarum inferat, aut si quid pro diversorum devotione commoditatis accesserit sibi aestimet

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

63

vindicandum, cum ancillis Dei in eodem loco deservientibus debeat proficere, quicquid offerri contigerit. "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. And for that reason, my very dear brother,62 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.63 For whatever might happen to be offered should benefit the nuns who are serving in that place."

62

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). 63 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.

CHAPTER 22: AVOIDING THEFTS IN A CONVENT [5.4]

Letter 5.4. Gregorius Victori, Episcopo Panormitano (594, Sept.) Lator praesentium Gregorius, abbas et presbyter monasterii sancti Theodori, nulla quidem ratio permittebat ut, post lapsum cellae illius paene generalem, ultra ei praeesse debuisset. Qui enim tot discipulos per suam negligentiam ad infernum duxit, reliquis numquam praeponi non debuit. Sed quia longa hic est apud nos paenitentia afflictus, Fraternitatem tuam necesse est eum in monasterio praedicto recipere locoque suo constituere, ita tamen ut Urbicus monasterii mei praepositu dare aliquem de servis Dei debeat, qui eius praepositus fiat, ut quod istius incuria neglegitur, illius sollicitudine servetur. Praeterea de monasterio ancillarum Dei, quod est sancti Martini, Marciam sanctimonialem feminam in monasterio alio iniuste audio fuisse migratam. Et Victoria, quae locum illius sequebatur, sicut audio, res monasterii dispersit, ut ad prioratus locum pertingere et ipsa post abbatissam interim inveniri debuisset. Quam rem Fraternitas tua sub omni studeat celeritate corrigere. Cuius enim iam culpae sis intellegis, ut ego, tam longe positus, quae in civitate tua aguntur agnoscam et, tot curis occupatus, quae fieri debeant disposam. Praedictam itaque Marciam in monasterio suo loco suo volumus revocari, Victoriam vero Fantino defensori nostro tradi, quatenus ipse eam discutiens, cui quid de rebus monasterii dedit inveniat. Quam discussam in monasterio alio dari volumus nobisque per Fantinum subtiliter renuntiari, ut sciamus quid de ea debeat sententia certiori constitui. Multa autem mala in eodem monasterio per Anastasium medicum audio contigisse. Qui si quando in monasterio virginum sive ipso seu alio fuerit ingressus, Fraternitatem tuam culpa respiciet, quae gregem commissum tenet et custodire dissimulat. "No reason at all allowed Gregory, bearer of this letter, once abbot and priest of the monastery of St 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

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

65

by that man's lack of care may be preserved through the concern of the new appointee.64 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 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 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 himself crossexamine her 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."65

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.

64

The monastery of St 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 St Hermes. It finally appears in 9.35 (Oct., 598), over a hostelry of St Theodore established by Peter, contributing land to a new hostelry built by the heirs of an Isidore, in Palermo. 65 Medical experts were let in for serious illness; Anastasius' libido was too active!

CHAPTER 23: CONVENTS AND THE CHURCH [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 below (in chapter 27) sent to his agent in Sicily, Peter (1.42), in which he referred to this convent again. It ends with the nun, Honorata, her case continued with letter 4.34. Letter 2.50. Gregorius Petro subdiacano Siciliae (592, Jul. - Aug.) Indicante Romano defensore cognovi quia monasterium ancillarum Dei, quod est in fundo Monostheo, ab ecclesia nostra de Villa-nova fundo iuris sui violentiam pertulit, qui eidem monasterio dicitur dimissus. Quod si ita est, Experientia tua eis et fundum restituat, et eiusdem fundi de duabus indictionibus quas egisti pensiones reddat. Quia autem multi Iudaeorum in massis ecclesiae commanent, volo ut, si qui de eis Christiani voluerint fieri, aliquantum eis pensi relaxetur, quatenus isto beneficio provocati, tali desiderio et alii assurgant." "Greges vero equarum quos valde inutilitr habemus, omnes volo distrahi et tantummodo quadringentas iuveniores servari ad foetum." "From a report by my defender Romanus,66 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, 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.

66

Romanus was in Rome at this time, so this was a verbal report and the Pope quickly restored the property, with its income of two years. Property was a major source of income for convents, and cattle too, discussed in the interesting sequel. In 598 Romanus controlled the Church's patrimony in Sicily (see letters 28-32).

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

67

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."67

The long letter continues with a dozen or so different topics, and ends, as it began, with a nun, Honorata, the sequel appearing in letter 4.34 below. De Honoratae vero ancillae Dei causa, hoc mihi videtur, ut omnem substantiam quae constat quia ante tempus episcopatus Ioannis episcopi Laurinensis fuit, veniens tecum deferas. Eadem vero ancilla Dei cum filio suo veniat, ut nos cum ea loqui, et quod Deo placitum fuerit facere, debeamus. Codicem autem Heptatici de substantia Antonini dari volumus monasterio Praetoriano, reliquos tecum deferri. "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."68

67

This section is surprising, with advice on culling cattle and dividing profts between a farmer and a collective. The Pope wanted his 60 gold coins back. 68 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.

CHAPTER 24: CONVENT OR MARRIAGE [2.50]

Letter 4.34. Gregorius Leoni Episcopo (594, Jul.) Multorum relatione comperimus hanc apud vos olim consuetudinem tenuisse, ut subdiaconi suis licite miscerentur coniugibus. Quod ne denuo quisquam praesumeret, a servo Dei sedis nostrae diacono, ex auctoritate nostri decessoris, est isto modo prohibitum, ut eodem tempore hi qui iam uxoribus fuerant copulati unum ex duobus eligerent, id est, aut a suis uxoribus abstinerent, aut certe nulla ratione ministrare praesumerent. Et quantum dicitur, Speciosus tunc subdiaconus pro hac re ab admiistrationis se suspendit officio, et usque in obitus sui tempus notarii quidem gessit officium, et a ministerio, quod subdiaconum oportuerat exhibere, cessavit. Post cuius obitum, quia relicta eius Honorata marito est sociata, a tua eam Fraternitate in monasterio cognovimus esse deputatam. Ideoque, si ut fertur eius semaritusab administratione suspendit, antedictae mulieri non debet officere, quod ad secundam coniugii copulationem migravit, praesertm si non tali mente subdiacono iuncta est, ut a carnis voluptatibus abstineret. Si ergo ita se veritatem quemadmodum edocti sumus habere cognoscis, praedictam te mulierem de monasterio per omnia convenit relaxare, ut ad suum maritum sine aliqua possit formidine remeare. De cetero vero Fraternitas tua sit omnno sollicita, ut quos ad hoc iam officium contigerit promoveri, hoc quam maxime diigenter inspiciat, ne si uxores habent, miscendi se cum eis licentia potiantur, sed ad similitudinem sedis apostolicae eos cuncta observare sua nihilominus districtione constituat.

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. "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,69 prohibited anyone from 69 Servus-dei 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.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ 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. 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."

69

CHAPTER 25: COLLAPSING CONVENTS [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 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. Letter 9.138. Gregorius Bonae Abbatissae (599, Apr.) Ecclesiastica damnum non sentit utilitas, si res aliis competentes cognita veritate restituat. Cognovimus itaque Iohannem quondam presbyterum sanctae Romanae cui Deo auctore deservimus ecclesiae in domo iuris sui posita in hac urbe Roma iuxta thermas Agrippianas oratorium construxisse, atque illic quosdam reditus legati titulo reliquisse; in quo etiam oratorio servorum Dei congregationem esse constituit,; et haec omnia ut debuissent impleri, testamenti sui pagina sanctae memoriae Pelagio decessori nostro mandaverat. Sed quia morte occupatus hoc non occurit implere et domus ipsa cum horto suo ab actoribus nostrae ecclesiae detinetur, iustitiae nos ratio vehementer invitat huiusmodi piae dispositionis arbitrium adimplere. Sed quoniam illic pro difficultate temporis nova servorum Dei congregatio adhiberi non potuit, feminarum saltem ibi congregationem constituendam esse decrevimus, atque ideo et locum ipsum sollemniter dedicare et, quia monasterium tuum, ubi prius fuisti, in ruinae erat periculo constitutum, te illic cum congregatione tua constituere Deo annuente prospeximus, quatenus et in suprascriptae dumus monasterio iuxta voluntatem defuncti Domino redemptori nostro serviens habitare congregatio debuisset et imminens potuisses periculum evitare. Praeterea considerantes ante dicti presbyteri voluntatem, perpetuo illic tempore monasterium esse atque ad id eandem domum in integro cum horto suo et rebus inferius designatis, quae a testatore relictae sunt, proprietatis iure constituimus pertinere; id est massam Magulianensem

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ cum appendicibus suis via Numentana miliario plus minus XIo, tabernam in hac urbe, quae et posita iuxta Pallacenis, et salgamum positum ante domum suprascripti monasterii. His igitur ita concessis atque dispositis, Dilectio tua diligenter invigilet, ut et Dei illic laudes salubri studio devotissime, ut moris est, celebrentur et suprascriptas res ad ius ipsius pertinentes nulla te neglegente occasione depereant. Hanc enim sollicitudinem non solum te sed etiam eas quae loco tuo successerint in praedicto monasterio et rebus superius designatis constituimus nihilominus exhibere. "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 with God's authority an oratory, 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 prevented by his death, he 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 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 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 by those abbesses also who are your successors in the aforesaid convent and the properties as itemized above."

71

72

Chapter 25

The items: 1. The Magulian estate with its appendages, about eleven miles down the road towards Nomentum. 2. A tavern in Rome, situated close to the Pallacenae. 3. A pickles store located in front of the convent mentioned above. Again, this was a very neat solution, and it interesting to see how ready the Pope was to give so much help to the nuns, rather than wait for renewed pressure from the many monks still escaping from the swords of the Lombards. The large house and garden, with the other three commercial concerns, suggest that the priest John was very wealthy, and his page for the previous Pope suggests that this was meant to be a monks' monastery. Pope Gregory seemed delighted to forget this, however, and to allow Bona and her nuns to benefit from an excellent endowment. Either the estate with its farms, or the tavern in Rome or the pickles store (and shop) close to the convent, would have provided a very reliable income, all three would have really delighted the abbess Bona. The parlous state of many houses and churches in Rome was a permanent worry to the Pope. In 596, he had established a regular sea-trade, arranged personally with Bishop Eulogius in Alexandria, supplying him with large tree-trunks, from 596 to 603. These were cut down in papal estates in Calabria, and provided the Alexandrine fleet with its masts and beams, at no cost. Early in the year of the letter to the abbess, 599, the Pope needed large wooden beams to repair not the usual ships, but the great roofs of the churches of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The letters suvive that show how difficult the process was, first strong men were needed to fell the giant trees in Calabria, then oxen were needed to drag them to the coast nearby, then sailing-boats to take them round the coast and barges to take them up the Tiber to Rome. Then came the cutting, trimming and final placement on high, on new joists. The letters describing this major operation are in book nine, 125-128. The first was to General Maurentius. In it the Pope told him that beams were needed, and that his sub-deacon Sabinus was arranging for twenty beams to be cut, but extra men were vital, and he had a note for Duke Arogis to provide men and oxen, for the General to give him, as soon as possible, and then he asked ex-prefect Gregory, who owned property near Calabria, to supply some farm workers, and then told the Duke that God would reward him, and a local bishop Stephen, who had used such beams for his

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

73

own church, was asked to supply oxen, carts and men, to help Sabinus. The operation was very well orchestrated, and the two large city churches were soon equipped with new roofs, as were many smaller churches, monasteries and houses, once the new supply system was up and running, thanks to the Pope's organizational skills.

CHAPTER 26: DESIDERIA'S COURT CASE [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.70 Her voyage to Rome from Sardinia 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, although here there is a fall-back, with a holy and wise man possibly required to settle the legality of the case, if the three bishops should remain divided. Letter 13.4. Gregorius Ianuario Episcopo Caralis (602, Sept.) Quando inter religiosas personas de terrenis rebus controversia nascitur, ita sacerdotali est sollicitudine finienda, ut crescere non possit ex mora contentio. Desideria siquidem abbatissa, latrix praesentium hic veniens, questa est substantiam parentum suorum pariter et germani sui sibi rationabiliter competentem a Iohanne abbate indebite detineri. Et quia eandem causam interveniente petit iudicio terminari, fraternitas vestra coepiscopisque nostris cum eis negotii huius qualitatem diligenter examinet et pari consilio communiqué tractatu ita se in definiendo ex omni latere festinet exhibere sollicitum, quatenus et ipsa omni invidia favoris ac neglegentiae careat et inter illos post definitionem vestram aliquod non possit litigium remanere. Si vero aliqua ex lege vobis ad proferendam sententiam fuerit nata dubietas, sapientem virum et quem nostis Dei timorem habere prae oculis requirite, ut ab eo quid sit legitimum informati nullam reprehensionem vestrae definitionis valeat calculus sustinere. Gregory to Januarius, bishop of Cagliari, September, 602 "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 70 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 discussed above.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

75

were being unjustly retained by the Abbot John. She asks for that case to be decided with the intervention of a judgement. So let your Fraternity examine the nature of this business carefully, assisted by our brethren and fellow-bishops Innocent and Libertinus,71 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."

71

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.

CHAPTER 27: NUNS NEEDING ASSISTANCE [1.42; 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 returned there, and then mentions the nun Extranea in need of a pension. Letter 1.42 Gregorius Petro Subdiacano Siciliae (591, Mai.) De argento Rusticae causam subtiliter require, et quicquid tibi iustum videtur exsequere, Alexandrum virum magnificum admone ut causam suam cum sancta ecclesia decidere debeat. Quod si facere forte neglexerit, eandem causam cum timore Dei, honestate servata, ut potes exsequere. In qua re etiam largiri te aliquid volumus, et si potest fieri quod aliis dandum est, ipsi relaxetur, dummodo causam quam nobiscum habet exeat. Donationem ancillae Dei, quae lapsa est et in monasterio Monosteo data, omni postposita tarditate restitue, quatenus ipse locus, ut superius dixi, rerum eius stipendia habeat, qui eius sollicitudinis labores portat. Sed et quicquid ab aliis ex eius substantia tenetur, recollige et monasterio praefato trade. Pensiones xenodochii de Via-nova quantas mihi indicasti quia apud te habes, nobis dirige. Actionario autem, quem in eodem patrimonio deputasti, prout tibi videtur ei aliquid largire. De ancilla Dei quae cum Theodosio fuit, Extranea nomine, videtur mihi ut ei continentiam facias, si utile conspicis, aut certe donationem quam fecit reddas. Domum monasterii quam Antoninus, datis triginta solidis, a monasterio tulerat, receptis solidis, omni postposita veritatem, restitue. Anulas onichias, requisita subtiliter veritatem, restitue, quas per portitorem praesentium retransmisi.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

77

"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 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 wih 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,

78

Chapter 27

which 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. Letter 9.85 Gregorius Anthelmio Subdiacono (598 Dec. - 599 Ian.) Stephanus praesentium portitor, qui uxorem se ecclesiae nostrae ancillam habere, perhibet, octo se solidis Accello seniore de hostibus comparatum innotuit. Et quia ad eorum se restitutionem inopem esse commemorat, Experientia tua diligenter inquirat et, si ita esse cognoscit nec habere unde suum possit pretium reddere, cum praedicto seniore ad quantum potuerit ordina et pretium eius quod tibi steterit restitue, securus quia tempore quo rationes tuas positurus adveneris, de captivorum tibi redemptione quod dederis restitui faciemus. "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."

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' brutality and military successes, 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 in chapter 31.

CHAPTER 28: SLAVES BECOMING NUNS [6.12; 13.3]

Among the most significant letters in this book on nuns 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 consists of a legal document on manumission, related to Thomas, but applicable generally, that is duly signed by the Pope himself and six priests. Letter 6.12. Gregorius Montanae et Thomati (595, Sept) Cum redemptor noster, totius conditor creaturae, ad hoc propitiatus humanam voluit carnem assumere ut divinitatis suae gratia, disrupto quo tenebamur capti vinculo servitutis, pristinae nos restitueret libertati, salubriter agitur, si homines, quos ab initio natura liberos protulit et ius gentium iugo substituit servitutis, in ea qua nati fuerant manumittentis beneficio libertate reddantur. Atque ideo pietatis intuitu et huius rei consideratione permoti vos Montanam atque Thomam famulos sanctae Romanae cui Deo auctore deservimus ecclesiae liberos ex hac die civesque Romanos efficimus omneque vestrum vobis relaxamus peculium. Et quia tu, Montana, animos ad conversationem fateris appulisse monachicam, idcirco duas uncias, quas tibi quondam Gaudiosus presbyter per supremae suae voluntatis arbitrium institutionis modo noscitur reliquisse, hac die tibi donamus atque concedimus, omnia scilicet monasterio sancti Laurentii cui Constantina abbatissa praeest, in quo converti Deo miserante festinas, modis omnibus profutura. Si quid vero de rebus suprascripti Gaudiosi te aliquomodo celasse constiterit, id totum ecclesiae nostrae iuri sine dubio mancipetur. Tibi autem suprascripto Thomae, quem pro libertatis tuae cumulo etiam inter notarios volumus militare, quinque uncias, quas praefatus Gaudiosus presbyter per ultimam voluntatem hereditario tibi nomine dereliquit, simul et sponsalia, quae matri tuae conscripserat, similiter hac die per huius manumissionis paginam donamus atque concedimus, ea sane lege atque condicione subnexa ut, si sine filiis legitimis, hoc est de legitimo susceptis coniugio, te obire contigerit, omnia quae tibi concessimus ad ius sanctae Romanae sine diminutione aliqua revertantur ecclesiae. Si autem filios de

80

Chapter 28 coniuge, sicut diximus, cognitos lege susceperis eosque superstites reliqueris, earumdem te rerum dominum sine quadam statuimus condicione pesistere et testamenti de his faciendi liberam tibi tribuimus facultatem. Haec igitur quae per huius manumissionis cartulam constituimus atque concessimus, nos successoresque nostros sine aliqua scitote refragatione servare. Nam iustitiae ac rationis ordo suadet ut, qui sua a successoribus desiderat mandata servari, decessoris sui procul dubio voluntatem et statuta custodiat. Haec autem manumissionis paginam Paterio notario scribendam dictavimus et propria manu una cum tribus presbyteris prioribus et tribus diaconibus pro plenissima firmitate subscripsimus vobisque tradidimus. "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. And so, 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 gold72 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 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

72

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 free originally, but later enslaved, but bought by the Church of Rome.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

81

his last will and testament, and the dowry also that he left to your mother.73 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.74 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."

In this short but interesting letter, the Pope shows a wealthy man becoming a monk, and donating his goods, houses and gardens in Palermo to the monastery of Saint Hadrian where he will serve God, and he also transfers an estate with vineyards. Part of it was promised to his two female slaves, who were manumitted by him, backed up by Gregory, with a legalistic paragraph ending the letter. This is followed by letter 13.3, where he writes to a monk, Adeodatus ("God-given'), on two female slaves granted their freedom, to become nuns. Finally, a short chapter on nuns will be included who are ex-slaves, from the nuns' point-of-view, as written by the Pope's dearest friend, Saint Leander of Seville.

73 The 10 ounces or more 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 two years earlier, and likely to retire in Rome. Nothing is known about his death. 74 The 'property' and over double amount of gold, suggest that Thomas was well set up 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.

82

Chapter 28 Letter 13.3 Gregorius Adeodato Servo Dei (602, Sept.) Effectus iusta postulantibus indulgere et vigor aequitatis et ordo exigit rationis, praesertim quando petentium voluntatem et pietas adiuvat et veritas non relinquit. Quia igitur, priusquam in monasterio sancti Adriani, ubi es conversus, intrares rerumque tuarum illic donationem emitteres, domos et hortua intra civitatem seu terras sationales vel vineas in fundo, sicut nos docuisti, Carsimiano, pariter et portiones tuas in fundo Folloniaca et Alisa mancipiis tuis, quibus a te concessa libertas est, verbo largitus es, ipsaque donatio licet possit iure subsistere, praecipue in hoc quod ab illis tribuitur qui cum pompis suis saeculum relinquentes ad Dei se eligunt conferre servitium, quoniam tamen, ne quid futurum tempus oblivionis nubilo huic derogare quicquam valeat largitati, scripturae hoc desideras tradere monumentis, quod ut queat robustum exsistere, a nobis tibi poscis dari licentiam: idcirco huius praecepti nostri pagina liberam tibi hoc faciendi concedimus facultatem, quatenus, dum omnia a te fuerint diligenter expressa et designatione tua noverint esse quod suum est, quod cunctis modo commune est, et ipsi sine contentione donata possideant et voluntas tua, quid ad quem pertinere voluerit, esse non possit ambigua. Quicquid enim huiusmodi scriptura interveniente feceris, firmum stabileque et ex rei ipsius veritate et hac nostra auctoritate non dubites, quippe quia non novum aliquid facere, quod lege est vetitum, sed dudum factum videris exprimere et salubriter amputandi causa litigii litterarum memoriae servanda deponere. "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 peson to have. For whatever you do of this sort with the addition of a written text,

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

83

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."

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, one was on how nuns should react to ex-slaves joining their community, a process fully supported by his very close friend, Pope Gregory. This interesting advice from the freeborn nun's point-of-view is worth adding here.75 Qualiter habeantur ancillae virginitatem professae Quas tibi fecit aut fecerit ancillas conditio, et sorores professio, iam non pro nexu servitutis exulceres, sed pro paritate professionis honores. Quae ergo tecum in Christo virginitatis stipendiis militat, pari tecum libertate exsultat. Nec sic vos provocamus ad humilitatem, ut illas superbia erigamus; quas dum tu accipis ut sorores, gratius illae tibi sint famulae, praebeantque obsequium non servitute addictae, sed liberae caritate. Quoniam quidem 'non est personarum acceptio apud Dominum,' scilicet in distribuenda fide, ubi pariter consuliter dominae et ancillae, ubi non eligitur domina, et reprobatur ancilla, aequaliter baptizatae, simul Chtisti corpus et sanguinem sumunt. Nam et patriarchae dum essent sanctissimi, quantum ad res terrenas et temporales, discernebant inter servos et filios; illos famulos, hos dominos iudicabant. Quod vero ad spei fururae munus attinet; ex aequo filiis et vernaculis consulebant, quos una circumcisione signabant. 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 75

The original with my translation can be seen in my recent work on Saint Leander, Archbishop of Seville: A Book on the Teaching of Nuns and a Holily in Praise of the Church, Lexington Bks, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham & New York, 2009, p.106.

84

Chapter 28 freed by love. Indeed, 'there is no respect of persons with the Lord.'76 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."

76

From Ephesians 6.9. See McNamara, Sisters p.116.

CHAPTER 29: CATELLA, A RELIGIOUS WOMAN BESET BY MEN [1.60]

Letter 1.60. Gregorius Ianuario archiepiscopo de Carali Sardiniae (591, Jul.) Si ipse se Dominus noster viduarum maritum orphanorumque patrem scripturae sanctae testimento profitetur, nos quoque membra corporis eius ad imitandum caput summo debemus affectu mentis intendere et, salva iustitia, orphanis ac viduis praesto esse necesse est. Et quia insinuatum nobis est Catellam religiosam feminam, habentem filium hic sanctae Romanae, cui Deo auctore praesidemus, ecclesiae miltantem, quorumdam immissionibus vel inquietudinibus molestari, de qua re Fraternitatem vestram scriptis praesentibus necesse duximus adhortandam ut eidem praedictae feminae tuitionem ferre, salva iustitia,77 non declinet, sciens quod de huiuscemodi rebus et Dominum sibi debitorem faciat et nostram circa se caritatem maius astringat. Causae enim praedictae feminae sive sunt, sive fuerint, vestro volumus iudicio terminari, iustitia nullatenus excusetur. Oro autem Dominum, qui viam vestram cursu ad se prospero dirigat, et ad regna venturae gloriae propitiatus ipse perducat. "If our Lord himself, with the witness of Holy Scripture, should declare that he is the husband of widows and father of orphans,78 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, 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 77

The repeated call for the preservation of justice (salva iustitia) is noticeable, for a widow with an orphaned son, needing protection against obtrusive lawyers. 78 Taken from Psalm 67 (68), 6. 'Now you are Christ's body' comes from 1 Corinthians 12. 27.

86

Chapter 29 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.79 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."

79

This paragraph is repeated almost word for word in letter 1.62, sent soon after this one to the same Archbishop Januarius. He ws determined to free Catella from the law courts.

CHAPTER 30: NUN SEDUCED BY A BISHOP'S SON [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. Letter 4. 6. Gregorius Cypriano Diacono nostro et Rectori Siciliae (593, Sept.) Perlatum est ad nos Petronellam nomine, de provincia Lucania genitam, per exhortationem Agnelli episcopi fuisse conversam, resque suas omnes quas habere potuit, licet iure potuissent competere, tamen eidem monasterio in quo ingressa est etiam specialiter donationis titulo contulisse. Moriensque praedictus episcopus dimidiam partem substantiae suae Agnello, cuidam filio suo, qui notarius nostrae esse fertur ecclesiae, atque dimidiam eidem monasterio reliquisse, sed cum propter irruentem Italiae cladem Siciliam refugissent, dicitur eam saepe nominatus Agnellus, corruptis eius moribus, instuprasse atque sentiens gravidam de monasterio seduxisse, resque eius omnes tam proprias quam quas pro parte patris ipsius habere poterat, abstulisse, ac post perpetratum tale tantumque facinus in sui eas dominii iure defendere. Hortamur igitur Dilectionem tuam ut praedictum virum vel ante fatam feminam sub districta ad te facias exsecutione perduci, causamque ipsam secundum sui meritum cum summa subtilitatis examinatione perquiras. Et si ita inveneris ut nobis nuntiatum est, negotium quod iniquitatibus inquinatum est cum summae purgationis severitate determina, quatenus et in ante fatum virum, qui neque suum, neque illius attendit habitum et tantorum causa fuit scelerum, ultio districta proveniat, et illa prius procedente vindicta, atque in monasterio sub paenitentia redacta, omnes res quae de saepedicto loco ablatae fuerant cum omnibus suis illic fructibus atque accesssionibus revertantur. "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.80 Then we heard that on that bishop's death, he left half of 80

See Justinian Novellae 5.5, 123.38, an example of Gregory's legal expertise.

88

Chapter 30 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,81 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 the 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 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 of the lovers letting down the old bishop. The nun's punishment and penance 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.

81

The 'swords' of the Lombards regularly destroyed monasteries and convents. Sixteen years earlier the monastery of Monte Cassino had been sacked and burned, and Subiaco and Terracina likewise. Monte Cassino remained deserted for 140 years. It was not until 598 that the Lombard threat abated, with peace..

CHAPTER 31: NUN RAPED BY A SOLDIER [14.10]

Letter 14.10 was sent in December 603 to Guduin, the duke of Naples. The Pope wants 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 deception of others, should now be punished, to show the duke's passion for the protection of chastity. To help achieve his aim, the Pope flatters the duke, as one who loves chastity and discipline. Letter 14.10. Gregorius Guduini Duci Neapoli (603, Dec.) Dum inter multa bona, quae nobis magnitudine vestra saepius nuntiantur, illud in vobis plus laudabile dicatur exsistere quod castitatem diligitis et disciplinam, sicut dignum est, custoditis, satis mirati sumus quod in milite illo, qui ancillam Dei diabolica instigatione perdidit, districtissima vindicta hactenus facta non fuerit. Nam moribus et bonitati vestrae valde conveniens fuit ut ante ad nos ultio quam perpetratae culpae iniquitas pervenerit. Sed quia vindictam huius sceleris non voluntate sed aliorum credimus subreptionibus esse suspensam, ne hoc peccatum vel numerum indisciplinati militis vel loca illa in quibus commissum est valeat premere, hortamur ut sine excusatione aliqua vel modo, qualis vobis fervor sit erga castitatis custodiam demonstrantes, ita pro exemplo aliorum districte emendare tantum facinus festinetis, ut et Deum vobis, in cuius ille hoc iniuria perpetravit et timorem eius despexit, placabilem faciatis et nos vobis de zeli vestri rectitudine gratias referamus. Nam tantam iniquitatem inultam remanere nullo modo patiemur.

Unfortunately almost none of the letters from the Pope's correspondents survived, so there is no way of knowing whether the duke really upheld chastity and discipline, and ensured that the errant soldier did not act as an example to others. Gregory applies flattery and the double threat of his anger and of God's displeasure, if nothing is done to the soldier.

90

Chapter 31

Gregory's appeal to the Duke of Naples is a short but skilfully composed persuasion, of an easily offended aristocrat, written (or more likely, dictated) when the ever-active Pope was close to death. The errant soldier was no doubt under the Duke's command, and he had the judicial power to punish him. "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. And 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 his devilish stimulation. For it was extremely appropriate for your morality and goodness that the punishment should have reached our ears before we had heard of the wickedness of the crime that was committed.82 But we believe that the punishment for this sin was suspended not because of your wish, but due to the deceitfulness of others. Therefore, to avoid suppressing the undisciplined soldier's sinfulness and the number of times and those places where he committed the crime, we exhort you to make haste to strictly correct such a great sin, as an example for others, without any excuse or limitation, showing what sort of passion 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 Him, and that we may offer thanks to you for the righteousness of your zeal. For we shall not allow such great wickedness to remain unpunished in any way."

82

For the death penalty plus confiscation of property for rape of nuns laid down by Justinian in 533, see James A. Brundage Law, Sex and Christian Society in Medieval Europe, University of Chicago Press, 1987, p.119. The rapist's property was to go to the victim's convent.

CHAPTER 32: NUN SEDUCED BY EX-HUSBAND [9.225]

Again in letter 9.225, the wealthy nun Syagria has been forcibly removed from her convent in Arles and raped by her ex-husband, and the Pope berates Syagrius of Autun, and Virgil of Arles, ordering the two bishops to rescue the nun, ensuring that her fortune goes to the Church, after providing for her children. The ex-husband was clearly keen to retain her fortune, which by law would go to the Church once she was back in her convent. Letter 9.225. Gregorius Virgilio episcopo Arelatensi et Syagrio episcopo Augustoduno (599, Iul.) Curae commissae me qualitas, fratres carissimi, in voce cogit doloris erumpere et dilectionem vestram anxietudine caritatis exasperare, quod illic vos nimium neglegentes, remissos dicitur exstitisse, ubi studium vestrum acriter iustitiae rectitudine et zelus debuit castitatis accendere. Pervenit autem ad nos Syagriam quandam vitam religiosam mutatis etiam vestibus assecutam, posteaque marito violenter esse, quod audiri iniquum est, sociatam, et nullo vos in eius defensione dolore permotos. Quod si ita est, vehementius ingemesco, ne apud omnipotentem Dominum, quod absit, mercennarii officium et non pastoris meritum habeatis, quippe qui in ore lupi ovem laniandam sine certamine reliquistis. Quid enim dicturi quamve rationem futuro estisiudici reddituri, quos stupri solutio non commovit, quos ad defendendum favor bnequaquam religiosi habitus excitavit, quos ad tutandam pudicitiae integritatem sacerdotalis consideratio non erexit? Vel nunc ergo neglectus ad memoriam redeat, huius recordatio culpae sollicite et officii vestri consideratio ad praedictae mulieris vos adhortationem impellat. Et ne forte per tempus transisse in voluntate videatur necessitas, lingua illi vestra medella sit, atque admonentibus vobis orationibus operam det. de memoria lamenta paenitentiae non recedant, redemptori nostro cor paenitens exhibeat et castitatis damna, quam ei corpore servare non licuit, fletu resarciat. Quia ergo praedicta mulier res suas etiam nunc piis, ut fertur, desiderat causis impendere, hortamur ut fraternitatis vestrae hac in re favorem inveniat, solaciis potiatur et servata competenti filiis portione fas illi sit de substantia sua iudicare quod velit. Vestrum enim sine dubio bonum facitis,

92

Chapter 32 si bona volentibus opem feretis. Haec igitur, dilectissimi fratres, quae loquimur, ex quanto procedant amore pensate et omnia cum ea qua dicuntur caritate suscipite. Nam dum unum in redemptoris nostri corpore corpus sumus, in his quae vobis nocere sentio simul uror. Qua autem intentione quove affectu hanc ad vos epistulam miserim, cordi vestro veritatis auctor aperiat. Et ideo haec fraterna vos admonitio non contristet, quia et asperum poculum libenter accipitur, quod intentione salutis offertur. Quod superset, carissimi fratres, iunctis Dei nostri misericordiam precibus exoremus, ut vitam nostram in suo propitius timore disponat, quatenus et hic illi sacerdotaliter deservire et conspectu ipsius in futuro securi assistere et sine metu valeamus. "The nature of the care entrusted to me,83 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.84 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.85 For indeed you have left a sheep to be torn apart in the mouth of a wolf, without a struggle. 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.

83

The curae proposed by Hartmann and adopted by Norberg is needed here, to agree with commissae in the text ('of care entrusted'). 84 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 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. 85 The quotation comes from John 10.11-13.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

93

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 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.86

86

This is the second of the two letters from the thity-three 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 Dudden took virtually all servants of God as male.

CHAPTER 33: 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 being idle, and do something about reinstating her in her convent. He tells the bishop that he has advised his defender Vitalis to support him, and as Peter is represented by an agent of Lord Philoxenus, the two of them must appeal to that lord to have her restored without delay. Letter 10.3. Gregorius Mariniano Episcopo (599, Oct.) Si latoris praesentium Stephani viri clarissimi querella veritate subsistit, omnino nos fraternitas vestra contristatos intellegat, cur tantum pigra vel deses extiterit, ut ante ad nos facti pravitas quam correctio perveniret. Questus itaque est quod cognatam eius, cui aliquando Petrus quidam nequissimus diabolico instinctu de monasterio exire suaserat atque a Gratioso notario fuerat mutato habitu unde exierat revocata, nequissimus vir iniqua suasione de monasterio rursus eliciens apud se nunc usque impudice retineat. Ex qua re valde nos, sicut diximus, tua desidia contristavit, cur necdum in monasterium revocata sit ac retrusa. Vel nunc ergo praepositi tui consideratio et zelus te castitatis accendat id summopere modis quibus potueris studere, ut asperitatem, quam de tantae iniquitatis perpetratione concepimus, eius citius valeas correctione mollire. Nam et Vitali defensori praecepimus ut vobis hac in causa solaciari non differat. Sed quia memoratur Petrus ab homine filii nostri magnifici Filoxeni dicitur defensari, apud eum vobis cum omni studio et caritate instanter agendum est, ut eam sine aliqua faciat dilatione restitui. Quem credimus hoc, quia bonus omnino vir esse dicitur, sine mora facturum. Quod si forte, quod non credimus, aliqua hoc fuerit excusatione dilatum, tunc etiam publice contestandus est atque pro hoc fraternitas nobis vestra renuntiet, ut exinde in urbem regiam scribamus, quatenus, quod fieri honeste neglegitur, ea qua dignum est ultione plectatur.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ "If the complaint of the bearer of this letter, that most famous gentleman, Stephen, has some basis in truth, your Fraternity must understand that we are extremely distressed by the fact that you have been so sluggish and indolent that we heard of the wickedness of the deed before its punishment. Stephen complained that a man called Peter, an extremely wicked person, had finally persuaded one of Stephen's female relatives, with diabolical intent, to leave her convent. Our notary, Gratiosus, did recall her subsequently to the convent she had left, and got her to put on her habit again, but that extremely wicked man again used unfair techniques to lure her out of the convent once more, and until now he has been keeping her shamelessly in his house. For this reason your idleness has greatly distressed us, as we have said, as she has not yet been recalled and reinstated in her convent. Even now, therefore, let the consideration of your rank and the zeal of your chastity inflame you greatly to strive in every possible way to be able to mitigate the ill-will we have aroused, thanks to the perpetration of such great wickedness, with a quick correction. For we have also advised our defender, Vitalis, not to hesitate in offering you his support in this case. But since the Peter mentioned above is apparently represented by an agent of our son, the magnificent Philoxenus, you must earnestly appeal to him, with all passion and love, to restore her without any postponement. We believe that he will see to this without any delay, as he is said to be a thoroughly decent man. But if there is some inexplicable delay, which I do not believe will happen, then he must be called to witness even publicly, and your Fraternity should report back to us on this matter. In this way we could then write to the royal city, asking that the offence which manages to escape being punished as it should be, should receive its just retribution."

95

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrahamse, Dorothy 'Byzantine Asceticism and Women's Monasteries in Early Medieval Italy' in John A. Nichols Distant Echoes, 31-49 Adriaen, Marcus,(ed.) Moralia in Job, CCL 143-143b, 1979-1983 Amory, Patrick People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554, Cambridge University Press, 1997 Baker, Derek (ed.) Medieval Women, Oxford, Blackwell, 1978 Battifol, P. Saint Grégoire le Grand, Paris, 19283 Beck, Henry G. J. The Pastoral Care of Souls in South-Eastern France during the Sixth Century, Rome, 1950 Bertolini, Ottorino Roma di fronte a Bizanzio e ai Longobardi, Bologna, Cappelli, 1941 Blumenkranz, Bernhard Juifs et chrétiens dans le monde occidental, 4301096, Paris, Mouton, 1966 Boglioni, Pierre Pour l'étude du miracle au moyen âge: Grégoire le Grand et son milieu, Université de Montréal, 1972 Brazzel, Kathleen The 'Clausulae' in the Works of Saint Gregory, Washington DC, 1939 Bremmer Jr, Rolf H. et al. Rome and the North: The Early Reception of Gregory the Great in Germanic Europe, Peeters, Paris and Leuven, 2001 Brooke, Christopher N. L. The Medieval Idea of Marriage, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989 Brown. Peter The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, A. D. 200-1000, Oxford, Blackwell, 20032 —. The Cult of Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity, University of Chicago Press, 1981 —. Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity, Berkeley, University of Chicago Press, 1972 —. The World of Late Antiquity: From Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad, London, Thames and Hudson, 1971 Brown, T. S. Gentlemen and Officers: Imperial Administration and Aristocratic Power in Byzantine Italy, 544-800, London, British School at Rome, 1984 Brundage, James A. The Profession and Practice of Medieval Canon Law, Aldershot, Variorum, 2004

98

Bibliography

—. Sex, Law and Marriage in the Middle Ages, Aldershot, Variorum, 1993 —. Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe, University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1987 Burns, Thomas S. A History of the Ostrogoths, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1984 Burns, Thomas The Ostrogoths: Kingship and Society, Wiesbaden, Franz Steiner, 1980 Bynum, Caroline W. Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1987 Cameron, Averil The Mediterranean World in late Antiquity: AD 396-600, London & New York, Routledge, 1993 Cameron, Averil et al. The Cambridge Ancient History 14: Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors A. D. 425-600, Cambridge University Press, 1990 Cameron, Averil 'Images of Authority: Elites and Icons in the Late SixthCentury' in Past and Present, 84, 1979, 3-35 Carr, Karen Eva Vandals to Visigoths: Rural Settlement Patterns in Early Medieval Spain, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2002 Carruthers, Mary The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture, Cambridge University Press, 1990 —. The Craft of Thought: Meditation, Rhetoric and the Making of Images, Cambridge University Press, 1998 Caspar, Eric Ludwig Geschichte des Papsttums von der Anfângen bis zur Hôhe der Weltherrschaft, 2 vols, Tübingen, Mohr, 1930-1933 Cassiodorus: Variarum libri XII, Ake Jason Fridh CCL, 96, 1973 Chapman, John Saint Benedict and the Sixth Century, London, Sheed and Ward, 1929 Clark, Francis The "Gregorian" dialogues and the origins of Benedictine monasticism, Leiden, Boston, Brill, 2003 —. The Pseudo-Gregorian dialogues, 2 vols. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1987 —. 'The Authorship of the Dialogues' in Gregorio Magno e il suo Tempo, Roma, 1991, vol II, 5-25 —. 'The Authenticity of the Gregorian Dialogues: A Reopening of the question? in Grégoire le Grand, CNRS, 1986, 429-443 Clarke, H. B. and M. Brennan Columbanus and Merovingian Monasticism, Oxford University Press, 1981 Cocheril, Père Maur Le Monachisme en Espagne et au Portugal, Port-duSalut, 1964.

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

99

Collins, Roger Early Medieval Europe: 300-1000, New York, St Martin's Press, 1999 —. Visigothic Spain: New Approaches, Oxford University Press, 1980 Constable, Giles Three Treatises from Bec on the Nature of Monatic Life University of Toronto Press, Toronto/London, 2008 Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, CXL and CXL A Courcelle, Pierre Histoire littéraire des grandes invasions germaniques, Paris, Hachette, 19643 Cross, F. L. and E. A. Livingstone The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, 19973 Dagens, Claude Saint Grégoire le Grand: Culture et expérience chrétiennes, Paris, Études Augustiniennes, 1977 Damazia, Guiseppe 'Il Registrum Epistolarum di S. Gregorio Magno ed il Corpus Iuris Civilis' in Benedictina 2, 1949, 195-226 Deansley, Margaret History of Early Medieval Europe, 476-911, A History of Med. and Early Mod. Europe, vol 1, Methuen. London, 1956 —. A History of the Medieval Church 590-1500, London, Methuen, 19475 Décarreaux, Jean on Les Moines et la Civilisation en Occident: des invasions à Charlemagne, Paris, 1962 Dekker, Kees 'King Alfred's Translation of Gregory's Dialogi: Tales for the Unlearned?' in Rome and the North: The Early Reception of Gregory the Great in Germanic Europe, Peeters, Paris/Leuven, 2001, 27-50 Duby, Georges and Michelle Perrot (edd) A History of Women in the West, vols I & 2, Mass. Cambridge, 1992 Dudden, F. Homes Gregory the Great: His Place in History and Thought New York, Russell & Russell, 2 vols, 19672 Dunn, Geoffrey D. tr. Tertullian De Virginibus velandis, Early Christian Fathers, New York, Routledge, 2004 Dvornik, Francis Byzantium and the Roman Primacy, New York, Fordham University Press, 19792 Echols, Anne and Marty Williams An Annotated Index of Medieval Women, New York, Weiner, Oxford: Berg, 1992 Eliot, Dyan Spiritual Marriage: Sexual Abstinence in Medieval Wedlock, Princeton University Press, 1993 Elm, Susanna Virgins of God: The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1994 Ennen, Edith The Medieval Woman (tr. Edmund Jephcott), Oxford, Blackwell, 1989

100

Bibliography

Evans, G. R. The Thought of Gregory the Great, Cambridge University Press, 1986 Ferreiro, Alberto (ed.), The Visigoths: Studies in Culture and Society, Turnhout, Brill, 1999 Festugière, A. J., Les Moins d'Orient, 4 vols., Paris, 1960-1965 Fletcher, Richard The Conversion of Europe: From Paganism to Christianity 371-1386 A.D. London, Harper Collins, 1997 Fontaine, Jacques et al. Grégoire le Grand, edition du CNRS, Paris, 1986 Frend, W. H. C. Orthodoxy, Paganism and Dissent in the early Christian Centuries, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2002 —. The Donatist Church: A Movement of Protest in Roman North Africa, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 19852 Gandolfo, Emilio Gregorio Magno, papa di un'epoca travagliata e di transizione, Roma, Città nuova, 1994 Goffart, Walter 'Byzantine Policy in the West under Tiberius II and Maurice: The Pretenders Hermenegild and Gundovald (579-585),' Traditio, 13, 1957, 73-118 Gregorio Magno e suo il tempo, 2 vols, Instit. Patristicum, Roma, 1991 Grégoire le Grand: Colloques Internationaux, Chantilly, C. N. R. S., 1986. Gregory of Tours Historia Francorum libri X, edd Bruno Krusch and Wilhelm Levison, MGH, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum, 1.1,19371951 Gregory of Tours The History of the Franks, trans. with introd., Lewis Thorpe, London, Penguin Books, 1974 Hamel, Christopher de A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, London, 19942 Heffernan, Thomas J. Sacred Biography: Saints and their Biographers in the Middle Ages, Oxford University Press, 1988 Hillgarth, J. N. (ed.) Christianity and Paganism 350-750: The Conversion of Europe. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986 Hodgkin, Thomas Italy and Her Invaders, 5 vols, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1880-99, Homelies sur les Evangiles, tr, Adalbert de Vogüé, Le Barroux, Editions Sainte-Madeleine, 2000 Hotchin, Julie 'Female Religious Life and the Cura Monialium in Hirsau Monasticism, 1080 to 1150' in Constant Mews Listen Daughter, Palgrave, 2001, 59-83 James, Edward The Origins of France: From Clovis to the Capetians, 5001000, London, Macmillan, 1982

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

101

Jones, A. H. M. The Decline of the Ancient World, London, New York, Rinehart and Winston, 1966 —. The Later Roman Empire, 284-602: A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey, 3 vols, Oxford, Blackwell, 1964 Katz, Solomon 'Pope Gregory the Great and the Jews,' Jewish Quarterly Review, 24, 1933-34, 113-136 Kellett, F. W. Pope Gregory the Great and his Relations with Gaul, Cambridge University Press, 1889 Kelly, J. N. D., The Oxford Dictionary of the Popes, Oxford/New York, Oxford University Press, 1986 Knowles, David Christian Monasticism, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1969 La Rocca, Christine (ed.) Italy in the Early Middle Ages: 476-1000, O.U.P., 2002 Latko, E. Origen's Concept of Penance, Quebec, Université de Laval, 1949 Lawless, George (ed. & tr.) Augustine of Hippo and his monastic rule, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1987 Lawrence, C. H. Medieval Monasticism: Forms of religious life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages, Longman, Harlow & New York, 2001 Leclercq, Jean The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture, tr, Catherine Misrati, New York, Fordham University Press, 1961 Leyser, Karl Authority and Asceticism from Augustine to Gregory the Great, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2002 Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G. The Decline and Fall of the Roman City, O.U.P., 2001 Llewellyn, Peter Rome in the Dark Ages, London/N.Y., Constable, 1971 —. 'The Roman Church in the Seventh Century: The Legacy of Gregory' in Journal of Ecclesiast.. History 25,1974, 363-80 Lynch, Joseph H. Godparents in Early Medieval Europe, Princeton University Press, 1986 Longnon, Jean Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Thames and Hudson, London, 1969 McCready, William D. Signs of Sanctity: Miracles in the Thought of Gregory the Great, PIMS, Toronto, 1989 McCulloh, J. M. 'The Cult of Relics in the Letters and Dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great: A Lexicographical Study' Traditio, 32, 1976, 145184 MacMullan, Ramsay Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, New Haven, CT, 1997

102

Bibliography

—. Enemies of the Roman Order: Treason, Unrest and Alienation in the Empire, Harvard University Press, 1966 McNamara, Jo Ann Kay Sisters in Arms: Catholic Nuns through two Millennia, Cambridge, Mass, and London, Harvard Univ. Press, 1996 —. tr. with John E. Halborg The ordeal of community: The Rule of Donatus of Besançon, Toronto, Peregrina, 1986 —. A New Song: Celibate Women in the First Three Christian centuries, New York, Haworth Press, 1983 MacNeill, William H. Plagues and Peoples, University of Chicago Press, 1976 Meyvaert, Paul 'The Enigma of Gregory the Great's Dialogues: A Response to Francis Clark' Journal of Eccles. Hist. 39,1988, 335-381 Meyvaert, Paul Benedict, Gregory, Bede and others, London, Variorum Reprints, 1977 Maggioni, P. Jacobus de Voragine: Legenda Aurea, Firenze, 2 vols, 1998 Markus, R. A. Gregory the Great and his World, Cambridge University Press, 1997. —. From Augustus to Gregory the Great, Variorum Reprints, London, 1983 —. Christianity in the Roman World, London, Thames and Hudson, 1974 Mathisen, Ralph W. (ed) Law, Society and Authority in Late Antiquity N.Y. and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001 Mathisen, Ralph W. Roman Aristocrats in Barbarian Gaul Austin TX, University of Texas Press, 1993 —. Ecclesiastical Factionalism and Religious Controversy in Fifthcentury Gaul, Washington D. C., 1989 Martindale, J. R. The Prosopography of the Late Roman Empire, 3 vols, 527-641 A.D., Cambridge University Press, 1971-1992 Martyn, John R. C. The Letters of Gregory the Great, PIMS, Toronto, 3 vols, 2004 —. 'Six Notes on Gregory the Great' in Medievalia et Humanistica, ns 29, 2003 —. Saint Leander, Archbishop of Seville: A Book on the Teaching of Nuns and a Homily in Praise of the Church, Lexington Books, Lanham and New York, 2009 —. Abbot Leontius' Life of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigento, tr. from the Greek with intro and notes, Mellen Press, Lampeter & N.Y., 2004 —. King Sisebut and the Culture of Visigothic Spain, Edwin Mellen, Lewiston & New York, 2008 Meisel, Anthony C. and M. L. de Mastro The Rule of Saint Benedict, (tr. with intro. & notes), New York, Image Books, 1975

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

103

Mews, Constant J. (ed.) Listen, Daughter: The Speculum Virginum. Female Religious Life and the Cura Monialum, Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2001 Meyvaert, Paul Benedict, Gregory, Bede and others, London, Variorum, 1977 Migne, J.-P. Patrologiae Cursus Completus vol. 77, Paris, 1896, Gregorii Dialogi Minard, Pierre Registre des Lettres du Grégoire le Grand, Sources Chrétiennes 370, 2 vols, Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1991 Moorhead, John Theoderic in Italy, Oxford University Press, 2006 —. Gregory the Great, Routledge, London & N.Y., 2005 —. The Roman Empire divided 400-700, New York, Longman, 2000 Moricca, Umberto (ed.) Dialogorum libri quatuor de miraculis patrum italicorum, Rome, Istituto storico italiano, 1924 Morrison, Karl F. Tradition and Authority in the Western Church 3001140, Princeton University Press, 1969 Muller, H. F. L'époque merovingienne: Essai de synthèse de philologie et d'histoire, New York, 1945 Musset, Lucien Les Invasions : Les vagues germaniques, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 1965 New Catholic Encyclopedia, Catholic University of America, 2003 Nichols, John A. and Lillian T. Shank Medieval Religious Women vol. 1 Distant Echoes, Kalamazoo, Mich., Cistercian Publication, 1984 Norberg, Dag S. Gregorii Magni Registrum Epistularum Libri XIV, Turnhout, Brepols, MCMLXXXII Owen, Francis The Germanic People: Their Origin, Expansion and Culture, New York, Bookman Assocs., 1960 Paola, Suzanne Lives of the Saints, Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2002 Paronetto, Vera 'Gregorio Magno e la cultura classica' Studium, 74, 1978, 665-680 Pantoni, A, 'Sulla località del convegno annuale di S. Beedetto e S. Scolastica, e sui monastero di Piumarola' in Benedictina 22, 1975, 255283 Peterson, Joan M. The Dialogues of Gregory the Great in their Late Antique Cultural Background, PIMS 1, Toronto, 1984 Pietri, Luce 'Grégoire le Grand et la Gaule: Le projet pour la réforme de l'église gauloise,' Gregorio Magno e il suo Tempo, Roma, 1991, vol I, 109-128 Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity, New York, Schocken Books, 1975

104

Bibliography

Richards, Jeffrey Consul of God: The Life and Times of Gregory the Great, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980 —. The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476-752, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979 Rohlfs, Gerhard Scavi linguistici nella Magna Graecia, Roma, 1933 Russell, Jeffrey Burton Satan: The Early Christian Tradition, Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University Press, 1981 Schulenburg, Janet T. Forgetful of their Sex: Female Sanctity and Society ca 500-1100. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1998 —. 'Women's Monastic Communities, 500-1100' in Sisters and Workers in the Middle Ages edd. Judith Bennet et al. University of Chicago Press, 1989, 208-239 Slavitt, David R. Lives of the Saints, New York, Athenaeum, 1989 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 & 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, N. Y., 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, 19703 Ure, P. N. Justinian and his Age, Penguin, 1978 Vogûé, Adalbert de 'Les Dialogues, Oevre Authentique et Publié par Grégoire lui-mëme' in Gregorio Magno e il suo Tempo, Roma, 1991, vol II, 27-40 —. Les Règles des saints Pères, Sources Chrétiennes, 297, 298; 2 vols, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, 1982 —. Grégoire le Grand: Les Dialogues, Sources Chrétiennes, 3 vols, Paris, 1978-1980, tr. by Père Paul Antin

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

105

Vogûé, Adalbert de La communauté et l'abbé dans la Règle de saint Benoît, Paris, De Brouwer, 1961 Wallace-Hadrill, John M. The Frankish Church, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1983 Wallace-Hadrill, J. M. Early Medieval History, Oxford, Blackell, 1975 Wallace-Hadrill, John M. 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 vols, 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 Wemple, Suzanna F. Women in Frankish Society: marriage and the cloister, 500-900, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981 White, Lynn 'The Byzantinization of Sicily,' American Historical Review, 42, 1936, 1-21 Whitby, Michael The Emperor Maurice and His Historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan Wars, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1988 Wilson, Stephen (ed) Saints and their Cults: Studies in Religious Sociology, Folklore and History, Cambridge University Press, 1983 Wolfran, Herwig History of the Goths, tr. T. J. Dunlap, Berkeley, University of California, 1988 Wood, Ian N. 'A Prelude to Columbanus: The Monastic Achievement in the Burgundian Territories' in Columbanus and Medieval Monasticism, (edd) Clarke and Brennan, Oxford. 1981, 3-32. Wood, Ian N. The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450-751, New York &London, Longman. 1994 Wormald, Francis The Miniatures in the Gospels of Saint Augustine, Cambridge University Press, 1954 Zimmerman, Odo John (tr.) Saint Gregory the Great: Dialogues, Washington, Catholic University Press, vol.39 in The Fathers of the Church, 1959

106

Bibliography

For Benedictine reactions to Clarke's theory that Pope Gregory did not write the Dialogues, these two articles noted by Dr Constant Mews are interesting, but error-prone, as I hope to show later this year. 1.Written by Terrence Kardong http://www.assumptionabbey.com/Newsletter/2005/33-1/33-1p2.html 2.Written by Will Johnston http://science.jrank.org/pages/10297/Monasticism-Institutional-MatrixSpirituality.html

INDEX

Abbess xix,xxi,xxiv,xxx,xxxi,xxxii, xxxiii,xxxiv,xl,4,5,17,18,21,22, 23,30,31,51,58,59,62,63,65,70, 71,72,74,75 Abbot xii,xiv,xix,xxiii,xxvi,xxvii, xxxi,xxxiv,16,37,38,47,49,54, 65,74,75 Accellus (wealthy) 8,78 Adeodata of Lilybaeum 19 Adeodatus (monk) 81 Adriatic Sea 9,11 Aemilia (aunt) xi,2 Aetherius (bishop) 27 Africa xiii,xxiv,51 Agilitanus (monastery) 48,49 Agilulf xii,xxiv Agiulf xxviii Agnellus (bishop) xlvi,87 Agnellus (bishop's son) 88 Agnes (saint) 19,20 Agrigento xx,xxi,45 Agrippa (baths of) 70 Adaloald xxiv Alexander xix Alexander (lord) 35,76,77 Alexandria (city) x,xvii,72 Alexandria xxxii Alisa xxxiii,82 Anastasia (Maurice's daughter) 10 Anastasius (doctor) 65 Andrew (bishop) xlvi,xlvii Andrew (saint) xvii,xxvii,xlviii,2 Andrew (teacher, royal children) 10 Angel xvii Anselm xxxiv Anthelm (sub-deacon) 3,12,13 Antonina xviii,xxxii Apollo xlvi,xlvi,xlviii Appian Way xlvi

Aquileia xxii Archangel (saint) 13 Aregius xxviii Arian xxiv,xxviii Arigius xxvii Ariulf xii,xxxiii Arles xxvi,xxvii,18,52,91 Arogis (duke) 72 Asclepiodatus xxvii Athanagild xxviii Augustine xxvii,xxxiii,xxxiv Aurelia xxxiii,22,23 Austrasia xxvi,xxvii,xxviii Autharit xxiv,11 Autun xxv,xxix,xxvii,xxxii,xxxiii, 25,26,30,31,32,33,39,74,91 Aventine 61 Barbara xviii,xxxiii Barbarini xiii Bavaria xxiv Bec (monastery) xxxiv Benedict (saint) xxix,xxxi,xxxvi, xlviii,xlix,l,li,lii,8,16,52 Benedicta (sister) xxxvi,xxxviii Bertha (English queen) xxvii, xxxii,xxxii Boethius xxxii Bona (abbess) xxxii,70,72 Boniface xv,53 Bribery x,xxii,xxiii,xxxiii Brides of Christ xxx,xxxvii,xlii,52 see Nuns Brunhilde (queen) xxiv,xxvii,xxviii (passim),xxix,xxxii,xxxiii,25,31, 39 Bruttium 60 Burgowald (legate) 26,28 Burgundy xxvi,xxix

108 Byzantine xiii,xix Caelian Hill x Caesarius xxvi,52 Cagliari xiii,xv,xxxii,xlix,32,39,41, 45,47,49,74 Calabria 60,73 Campana (patrician) 58 Campania x,xxii,xxxiv,xliv,xlvi, lv,4,12,13,14,37 Candidus (priest) xxvi,xxvii Canon law xiv,23,27 Canterbury xxxiv Canterbury Bible xxvii Capitulana xxxii Carsoli (estate) 82 Cassian (saint) 21,22 Cassiodorus 37 Castle of Lucullus 13 Castus 7 Catacombs xx Catana xix,xx,xxi Catella (nun) xxxii,85,87 Catholic xvii,xxiv,xxvi,xxx,xxxiv, 11,30,31 Cattle 20,66,67 Cella Nova xvii Chalcedonian xxviii Châlons-sur-Saône xxviii Chapel(s) x,xxxii Childebert (king) xxvii,xxviii Christ viii,xiii,xxviii,xxx,20,23,34, 58,63,86 Christian xvi,xxi,xxiv,xxv,xxvii xxviii,xxxii,xxxiii,23,66,67 Christianity xxv,xxviii Church estates xix Church of Rome x,xi,xii,xv,xvi,xvii, xix,xx,xxi,xxiii,xxvi,xxvii,xxx, xxxiv,2,5,13,14,15,29,37,38,43, 45,52,54,56,58,59,63,66,67,70, 71,72,73,77,78,79,80,81,85 Circus Maximus xi Cicero xxxviii,xl Classics x Claustration xxxi,52

Index Cleopatra (Maurice's daughter) 10 Cloister(s) x Close Friend xl,xiv,xxvi,xxxi Clovis (king) xxv Columban xxix,31,52 Comas (estate) 37,38 Constantina (abbess) 80 Constantina (queen) ix,xiii,xxxii, xxxiii,8 Constantine 13 Constantinople ix,xi,xii,xiv,xvi, xix,xxiii,xxiv,xxvi,xxx,xxxiii, xxxiv,xxxv,lv,6,8,53,78 Constantius xv,xxiii,xxvi Convent(s) ix,xi,xv,xvii,xxi,xxx, xxxii,xxxiii,xlix,lii,liii,lv,6,7,8, 15,16,17,18,19,22,38,52,54,58, 61,66,68,69,70,71,72,74,76,77, 78,79,80,83,87,89,91,94,95 Corinth xvi,53 Corn-supply xix Corsica xv,xxxii,53 Cotrone (sacked) 11 Cyprian xix,87,88 Cyriacus (abbot) xiii,xxxii,48,49 Cyridanus xx Danube x Deacon/Sub-deacon xi,xv,xix,xxii,53, 58,60,66,68 Decius, bishop of Lilybaeum 19,20 Defender(s) xiv-xvi (passim),xix, xx,xxxvi,12,13,35,37,53 Desideria (abbess) xxxii,74 Desiderius (saint) xxviii,31 Devil(s) xliii,xliv,xlvi,xlvii,23,90 Dialogues xxxiv,xxxv,xliii,xlviii, 2,4,42 Diminutive xvii,xlvii Doctor xi,xxxvii Donatus (holding documents) 51 Donatus (rules) xxx Donus xxi Dove (soul) liii Droctulf xxxiii Dynamius xxv,xxvi,22,23

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ

East ix,xii,xxxiv Edantius (duke) xiii Eleutherius xvii Emissary ix,xi,xiii,xxv,xxxiii,8,10 Emperor ix,x,xi,xii,xiii,xviii,xx, xxi,xxii,xxiii,xxxii,xxxiii,4,8,9, 10,52,55 England xxv,xxvii,xxxv Epiphanius (priest) 45,46,47,52,53,56 Epiphanius (son-in-law) 56 Erasmus (saint) 13 Etna (mount) 47 Eucharist liii Eulalia (saint) liii Eulogius (patriarch) xvii,72 Euprepia (convent) 60 Europe ix,xxii Eusebia, (Appio's daughter) xxxi Exarch xix,xxii Extranea (nun) 76,77 Fantinus (defender) 65 Farm xix,xx (passim),16,20,40, 42,72 Fasting xvii,xxxiv Felicianus (dead priest) 61 Felix (ancestor) 1,2 Felix (bishop) xiii,xlviii,48 Felix (heir) 3,35,37 Felix (scholastic) 36 Flaminia (via) xii Flora (abbess) xxxiii,58 Florentine (saint) xxxi,83 Folloniaca xxxiii,82 Fortunatus (bishop) 62,63 Frank(s) xxv,xxvi,xxviii,26,28 Fredegar xxv,xxviii Fredegonda xxviii Fundi xliii,xlv,xlvi Galla (nun) xxxv,xxxvi,xxxvii Gap xxvii Garden(s) xxxii,22,58,59,60,61,70, 71,72,81,82

109

Garibaldi xxiv Gaudiosus (defender) xv Gaudiosus (old priest) 79,80 Gaul x,xxii,xxiv-xxviii( passim), xxxiii,lv,lvi,21,25,26,28,37 Gauthsruda (abbess) xxxi Gennadius xiii German xxi God xviii,xxii,xxix,xxxvii,xlii,xlvii, xlviii,xlix,l,li,lii,19,93 Godfather ix,xi,xxxi,xxxiii,7 Gordia (Maurice's sister) xxxii Gordiana (Gregory's aunt) xi,2 Gordianus (Gregory's father) x Goths xxvi,xlii Gout xvii,xviii Grain supply xx Gratiosa (abbess) 62,63 Gratiosus (church notary) 95 Gratiosus (sub-deacon in Rome) 95 Greco-Roman law xi,38 Greek xix,xliv Gregoria (Rusticiana's daughter) xxxii Gregoria (nun) xli,xlii Gregory (abbot) 64,65 Gregory (ex-prefect) 72 Gregory of Agrigento xx,xxi Gregory of Tours xxv Gregory I, Pope ix,x,xi,xii,xiii,xiv,xv,xvi,xvii, xviii,xix,xx,xxi,xxii,xxiii,xxiv, xxvi,xxvii,xxviii,xxix,xxx, xxxi,xxii,xxxiii,xxxiv,xxxv,xlii, xliii,xlviii,l,lv,2,4,5,6,8,9,10,11, 12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,21,22, 23,24,25,26,30,31,32,35,38,43, 49,51,53,55,56,63,65,66,67,68, 72,74,76,77,78,79,81,83,87,88, 89, 90,91,93,94 Guduin (duke) 89,90 Guntrum (king) xxviii Hadrian (saint) 81,82 Heraclius, (emperor) ix Herculaneum 62,63 Heresy xi,xxiv

110 Hermes (saint) 15,20,52,54,56 Hermit xvii Herundo (recluse) xl Holy Sacraments xiv,55 Holy Writ 7,8,22,23 Homilies xl,1,8,9 Honorata (nun) 66,67,68,69 Honoratus (abbot) xliv Hortulanus (hostelry) 55 Hospiton (duke) xiii Hostelry xiv,xv,26,40,52,53,55,77 Idols xiii Illness xiv,xvi,xvii-xviii (passim), xxxii Inheritance see Wills Innocent (bishop) 75 Irish xxviii Isaac (venerable) xli,xlii Isidore of Seville 44 Isidore (scholar) 44,45 Istria xi Italica (pious lady) xviii Italy x,xi,xii,xix,xxi,,xxii,xxiii, xxiv,xxx,xxxiv,6,8,11,88 Januarius xiii,xiv,12,32,39,41,43,44, 45,46,47,48,49,52,53,55,56,74, 86,93 Jesus 2,18,34,63 Jew(ish) xxvi,xlvi,xlvii,xlviii,43,67 Job (book of) xi,xviii,xlii John (abbot 1) 47 John (abbot 2) 74,75 John (apostle) lii,16 John (archdeacon) xxi John (bishop of Laurinum) 67 John (bishop of Syracuse) xxi,19 John (sick bishop) 27 John (deceased) 71,72 John (ex-consul) xxii John (martyr) 2 John (notary) xiv,44,45 John (patriarch) ix John (priest) xxvi John (slave) 16

Index John the Deacon xvii John III (pope) xxii Judge xiii,xvi Juliana xxxii,50,51 Justin (byzantine) xix,xx Justin II ix Justinian ix,87,90 Justinian (Maurice's son) 10 Justiniana see Prima Lampas (village) 62,63 Lanfranc xxxiv Lateran Basilica 8 Latin xix,xxvii,xxviii,xxxiv,xxxv, xlii,xlvii,5,7,11,20,30,38 Laurence xxv,xxvii Laurence (saint) xlii,xliii,20,79, 80 Laurinum 67 Lavinia xxxii Leander of Seville xi,xviii,xxxi, xxxii,16,81,83 Legal expertise (pope's) 16,23,30, 31, 35,43,45,47,50,56,57,62,78, 81,86 Legenda Aurea 4,5 Leo, bishop xix,xxi,67 Leontini xxi Leontius (abbot) xix Leontius (biography) xxi Leontius (ex-consul) 19 Letters xii,xiii,xiv,xv,xvi,xviii,xix, xxxi,xxxiv,xxxvi,xlii,xliii,xlviii Liberius (patrician) 37 Libertinus (bishop) xix,75 Licerius xxvi Licinius xxvii Lilybaeum 19,20 Lombard(s) ix,x,xi,xii,xvi,xix,xxi, xxii-xxiv (passim),6,7,8,11, 14,72, 77,78,88 Lucidus xxi Luni xxii,xxxiv,lv,15,16,17 Lupus xxvii Lyon xxvii Macra (river) 15,16

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ Magulian estate 72 Malta xxi Marcellinus (saint) 4 Marcia (nun) 65 Marseilles xxvi,xxix,xxxi,xxxiv,lv, 21 Martin (saint) 26,64,65 Mary, Blessed Virgin xl,xlii,4,,30,31, 34,35,36,62,63 Mass xiv,xvii,xliii,xlix,22,27,32,33, 52,55,62,63,77 Matrona (Epiphanius' wife) 56 Maurentius (general) 73 Maurice, Emperor ix,xi,xii,xviii,xix, xxxi,6,8,10 Maurus (slave) 16 Maximian xxi,xxvi,xxxvi Mediterranean xxxiv Melantius xxvii Mellitus xxv,xxvii Menas xxvii Merovingian xxv Merulus xvii Messina xxi Metz xxvii Milan xx,xxii,xxiii,xxiv,xxvi,53 Miracle(s) xxviii Mission xii,xiii,xxiv Monastery ix,xii,xv,xxx,xxxii,xxxiv, xl,xlix,li,lii,,liii,2,8,13,37,38,43, 46,47,48,49,65,72,74,77,81,82, 88 Monk(s) vii,ix,x,xi,xiii,xiv,xvii, xviii, xx,xxii,xxiv,xxv,xxxi, xxxii,xxxiii,xxx,v,xli,4,8,13,16, 46,47,48,49,54,70,71,72,81,82 Monosteos (convent) 66,76,77 Montana xxxii Monte Cassino li,8,88 Moralia see Job Musicus (abbot) 48,49 Naples xxi,xxxii,xxxiv,lv,lvi,13,35, 36,62,63,89,90 Neustria xxvii,xxviii Nola 12

111

Nomentum 72 Nonnosus (abbot) xxxvi North(ern) ix,x,xxi North Africa xx Nun(s) vii,x,xi,xii,xiv,xxix (passim), xxx,xxxi,xxxiii,xxxiv,xxxv,xxx vi,xl,xlii,xliii,xlvi,xlvii,xlviii, xlix,l,lii,lv,1,2,4,6,7,8,11,12,13, 15,16,17,18,22,23,26,31,33,39, 41,42,44,46,47,48,50,54,59,61, 62,63,66,67,70,71,72,76,77,78, 79,81,83,87,88,89,90,91,94 Nunnery(ies) see Convent(s) Ocleatinus xv Oratory xlviii,13,15,16,40,48,49,62, 63,70,71 Otranto xi Palace ix Palatinus (brother) xi Palermo xx,xxi,xxxiv,lv,65,81 Pallium xxvi,xliii Pancras (saint) 20 Papacy xvi,xvii,xviii,xx,xxii,xxiv Paris xxvii,xxviii Pascasius (bishop) 63 Pateria (aunt) xi,2,3 Paterius (notary) 81 Patriarch John ix Paul (saint) li,10,15,72 Paul (son of Maurice) 10 Paulinus (priest) 13 Pavia xii Peace treaty x,xii,xxii,xxiii,xxiv,34 Pelagius II, Pope ix,xi,xii,xxii,5,14 Persia x Peter (bequest) 43 Peter (saint) xii,xxxvii,xliii,8,10, 11,13,15,20, 29,72 Peter (seducer) 94,95 Peter (son of Maurice) 10 Peter (sub-deacon) xv,xix,xx,xxi, xxvi,li,66,76,78 Peter the Martyr 4 Petronella (nun) 87,882

112 Philoxenus (lord) 94,95 Phocas ix,xv,10,11 Pisa xxi Piscenas (farm) 39 Plague x,xii,4,5 Plumbariola (convent) li Pompeiana see Pomponiana Pomponiana xxxiii,44,45,46,47,50, 51,54,56,57 Pope see Gregory I Porto xlii Praefectus (prefect) xi Praeneste xl Praetor xi,xix Predil Pass xxii Prima Justiniana 27 Provence xxvi Prudentius lx Quaestor xxii Ransom x,xii,xxxiii,6,8,9,10, 11,13,14 Rape (of nuns) 78,89,91,92 Ravenna xx,xxiii,53,81 Redempta xxxviii,xl,xli Redemptus (defender) xiv Reggio 60 Relics 40,47 Repperi (mountain) 13 Respecta (abbess) xxiv,xxxii,21 Rhetoric x.xi,xviii,31 Rimini xxxii Roman xxxiii,7,8,81 Roman Empire xiii,xx,xxiii,xxiv Romanus (defender) xv,xvi,xix,35 37,66 Romanus (exarch) xxiii Rome x,x,xi,xii,xiii,xiv,xv,xvi,xviii, xix,xx,xxi,xxii,xxiv,xxvi,xxvii, xxx,xxxi,xxxii,xxxviii,xl,xliii,1, 3,6,8,11,18,27,44,45,58,66,70, 71,72,74,77,81,85 Romula xxxiii,xxxix,xl,xli Rouen xxvii Rule(s) xxxi,xxxiv,16,42,74

Index Rustica 37,38,62,63,76,77 Rusticiana xxxii,xlvii,60,61, 72,76,77 Sabine xlviii Sabinian (deacon) xxiii,xxvi,10 Sabinus (defender) xiv,xv,44,60,73 Sabinus (priest) xxi Sapaudus xxvi Sardinia xii,xiii,xiv,xxiv,xxv,xxxii, xxxiii,xxxiv,lv,lvi,39,41,42,43, 44,48,50,52,53,74,85,94 Schism xvi,xxiv Scholastica (Benedict's sister) xxix, l,li,liii Scribo (papal agent) 6,7 Sebastian (saint) 16 Secundinus xxi Senate xi Servusdei (deacon) 69 Seville xi,xxxi,81 Sicily x,xi,xvi,xix-xxi (passim), xxvi,xxxv,xxxvi,lv,19,20,35, 37,38,53,65,66,68,76,87,88 Sigibert I xxviii Simony xxv,30,32,65 Simplicius xxvii Sisebut (king) xxviii,liii,31 Slave(ry) x,xx,xliii,13,14,15,16,20, 43,79,81 Spain xxviii,xxxi Speciosus (priest) xxxviii,xl Speciosus (sub-deacon) 68,69 Spoleto xii,xxiii,xlii Stephen (bishop) 72 Stephen (nun's husband) 78 Stephen (nun's relative) 94,95 Stephan (pope's agent) 14 Stephen (soldier) 4 Stephen (Theodosia's husband) 39,48 Subiaco (monastery) 9 Syagria xxiv,91,92 Syagrius (Autun) xiv,xv,xxvii,xxix, 31,91 Sylvia (Gregory's mother) xi,2

Pope Gregory and the Brides of Christ Symmachus xxxix Synod xxv,xviii,28,29 Syracuse xix,xx,xxxii,xxxvi Talasia (abbess) xxiv,xxxii,xxiv,30, 31,33,34,74 Taormina xxi Tarsilla (aunt) xi,xxix,xlii,1,2 Taxation xiii,xvi,xx,xxxiii Terracina (monastery) 8,88 Thecla xxxii,35,36 Themotea xxxii Theobald xxxiv Theoctista ix,xi,xxxi,8,9,10,11 Theoctista (Maurice's daughter) 10 Theodebert (king) xxvii Theodelinda xxiv Theoderic (king) xxvii,xxviii,30,31 Theodore (duke) xiii Theodore (Ravenna) xxiii Theodore (saint) 50 Theodosia xxxii,39,44,45,48,49 Theodosius (abbot) 37 Theodosius (heir) ix,xi Theodosius (Sicilian) 78 Thomas (bishop) 39 Thomas (hostelry) 55 Thomas (slave) 79,80 Three Chapters (heresy) xi,xxiv Tiber x,xviii,70,73 Tiberius (emperor) ix,xi

113

Tiberius (Maurice's son) 10 Toulon 26 Toulouse xxvii Trajan (bishop) xxi Troops/Soldier(s) ix,x,xi,xii,xxxiii, 7, 70,78,89,90 Urban (abbot) 47 Urbicus (abbot) 64 Venantius (lord) xvii,xxxii,15,17,18 Venice xxii Victor (bishop) 64,65 Victoria (nun) 64,65 Victorian xxxiii Vienne xxviii,31 Virgil (bishop) xxvi,xxviii,xxxvii Visigothic xxviii Vitalis (defender) xiv,xv,47,52,56, 94,95 Vitula (inheritance) 50 Vitus (defender) xvi Vitus (saint) 48,50 Viviana (lady) 3 Voragine, Jacobo de 4 Warmarica (legate) 26,28 Water-supply 15,16,40,59 White Hens (in Rome) 58 Wills/Inheritance xvi,50,56,60, 63,80,81,88