Return to search

The devil in the writings and thought of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604)

This thesis explores the portrayal of the devil in the/writings and thought of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604). It examines his exegetical, hagiographical and homiletic works in addition to his correspondence. It analyses the ways in which Gregory described, understood, and used the figure of the devil, and places this within Gregory's wider conceptual framework. It proposes new ways of approaching the topic, particularly in his exegetical works, and looks as much into the associations that he drew as the doctrines that he preached. By looking at a wide selection of his works, this thesis gives an insight into how this one idea manifested itself across a variety of genres, and also how it affected his practical politics and interpretation of real-life situations. As part of this it explores the relationship between Gregory's diabology and ecc1esiology, and the influence of this upon his understanding of the Roman primacy. Whilst Gregory the Great has been subject to vast amounts of scholarship, as of yet no such study has been done which takes into consideration so many of his works. This thesis therefore offers a fresh perspective and provides new ways of thinking about how Gregory used and understood the idea of the devil.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:556274
Date January 2011
CreatorsKingston, Charlotte Emily
PublisherUniversity of York
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/14224/

Page generated in 0.0019 seconds