God, Demons, and Fear

The sixth-century bishop, Gregory of Tours, is one of the most renowned figures in the history of Merovingian Gaul (c.458-751 CE). This book explores a new side to Gregory: his interest in and attitudes towards Christian fears and their role in shaping the good self and good society. By analysing Gregory’s written references to the fears of God, the devil, and demons, Hailstone argues that Gregory was and is better understood as a “Christian intellectual” whose views and writings merged Christian principles and practices together with Graeco-Roman ethics. This book invites us to re-evaluate our knowledge of Gregory and the early Merovingians, encouraging us to rethink what an analysis of emotions can tell us about the impact that Rome’s decline had on the social, political, and cultural environment of Gaul.