Queens, consorts, concubines
Subtitle: Gregory of Tours and women of the Merovingian elite
By: by E.T. Dailey
Series: Mnemosyne supplements. Late antique literature -- volume 381
Publisher: Brill
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Leiden
Language: eng
Number of pages: 202
ISBN-13: 9789004290891; 9789004294660
Subjects: Historiography; Politics and government; Merovingians; Criticism and interpretation; Elite (Social sciences); Women; Biography; History
Description: "Gregory of Tours hoped to inspire the believers in sixth-century Gaul with examples of righteous and wicked deeds and their consequences. Critiquing his own society, Gregory contrasted vengeful queens, rebellious nuns, and conniving witches with pious widows, humble abbesses, and tearful saints. By examining his thematic treatment of topics including widowhood, marriage, sanctity, authority, and political agency, Queens, Consorts, Concubines reassesses the material shaped by such concerns, including e.g. Gregory's accounts of Brunhild, Fredegund, Radegund, and other important elite women, Merovingian political policies (marital alliances, ecclesiastical intrigue, even assassinations), and seemingly unrelated topics such as Hermenegild's rebellion and the career of Empress Sophia. The result: a new interpretation of an important witness to the transformations of Late Antiquity"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-198) and index.
Table of contents: title: Chart 1: The Merovingian Royal House I : the family of Clovis; title: Chart 2: The Merovingian Royal House II : the family of Chlothar I; title: Widowhood; title: Holiness, femininity, and authority; title: Scandal in Poitiers; title: Brides and social status; title: Merovingian marital practice; title: Brunhild and Fredegund, I : moral opposites or kindred spirits?; title: Brunhild and Fredegund, II : queens, politics, and the writing of history.