Gregory the Great and his World

Description

The book is a study of Gregory the Great, the pope who sent Augustine (of Canterbury) and his fellow missionaries to convert the heathen English to Christianity (597). Markus gives a full account of Gregory's life and work, his thought and spirituality, within the setting of the world at the end of the sixth century. At a time of catastrophic change in Europe, Gregory's work as pope stands on the threshold of medieval Western Europe. The book deals with every aspect of his pontificate, providing a major contribution to the study of late antique society.

'This book has been long and eagerly awaited ... Those who have waited will not be disappointed. No one is better placed to fulfil what the title promises ... It is a mark of Markus's splendid achievement that he is able to intergrate the tensions of Gregory's life, represented by the two halves of this book, and to fuse them in one individual in this world.' Dr Harrison, Durham University ' ... eagerly awaited ... It is a mark of Markus's splendid achievement that he is able to integrate the tensions of Gregory's life, represented by the two halves of this book, and fuse them in one individual in his world'. Church Times 'Sweet fruit of almost forty years' tender cultivation, this is a book to be savoured.' Early Medieval Europe 'Easily accessible to the non-specialist, it is also a carefully argued piece of scholarship ...[this] will no doubt be the standard monograph on this famous Pope for a long time to come.' Wolfram Kinzig, Journal of Ecclesiastical History