IMC 2020: Sessions
Session 1622: The Limits of Gregory of Tours, II: Culture and Society
Thursday 9 July 2020, 11.15-12.45
| Organiser: | Tamar Rotman, Department of General History, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva |
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| Moderator/Chair: | Stefan Esders, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin |
| Paper 1622-a | Gregory of Tours, Theology, and Fear (Language: English) Index terms: Religious Life, Rhetoric, Theology |
| Paper 1622-b | Contagious Filth of Vice: Purity and Pollution in Gregory of Tours (Language: English) Index terms: Religious Life, Social History, Theology |
| Paper 1622-c | The Gendered Borders of Political Power and Legitimate Violence in Gregory of Tours (Language: English) Index terms: Gender Studies, Politics and Diplomacy, Social History |
| Abstract | The sixth-century Merovingian bishop and author, Gregory of Tours, is best known for his extensive corpus of writings, which scholars keep using for examining and reconstructing the histories of Merovingian Gaul. Following this year’s theme of borders and boundaries, this strand shall discuss the limits of Gregory of Tours and examine him, his works and period from various perspectives that emphasize different boundaries that help to reach a better and more complex understanding of Gregory of Tours. This session examines the social and cultural tensions in the works of Gregory of Tours. The first paper explores how Gregory used his works to construct his theological notions of the good Christian self; The second paper examines how Gregory employed purity and pollution in his works to explain social and cultural role of boundaries; The last paper uses Gregory’s works to explore the challenges elite women had to face, and the strategies they deployed in their attempts to overcome them. |