Reflections

Saint Gregory of Tours (538-594) was born to become a bishop. Many of his ancestors were powerful senators, and all but five of the previous Tours bishops were in fact blood relatives. His family was well respected, pious, and of a good pedigree. Upon the death of his father, Gregory was sent as a boy to live with his uncle, Bishop Gallus (later canonized as a saint). It is important to consider Gregory’s family when commenting on his spiritual convictions. In his mind, he probably felt like a vanguard carrying on the family’s noble legacy. Gregory’s enthusiastic belief in miracles was only natural, considering that much of his family consisted of saints and martyrs.
In his prolific writings, both historical and spiritual, Bishop Gregory of Tours emphasized miracles. The bishop recorded even the most obscure occurrences of a divine intervention, such as the conversion of an Arian. His opinion was that people were sceptical, non-superstitious. In their minds, miracles were a thing of the past. To prove God’s continual influence, Gregory recorded every recent small miracle to be known. These were everyday miracles, such as the transformation of grapes into wine, or the random sightings of angels/demons. Gregory recorded these miracles because the people needed inspiration, and saints’ behaviours were to be emulated.
Miracles were used as the validation of Christianity. A saint would perform an incomprehensible feat, and the faithful would thus be reassured. Further still, the work of the saints undermined pagan beliefs. So, as the apostle Paul commanded, the function of miracles served to convert the heathens. Bishop Gregory and the other saints devoted their lives to Jesus, which meant undermining the false profits. The clergy engaged in burning down heretic temples and destroying false idols. In one popular tale regarding St. Martin, the bishop challenged a group of pagans. Standing in front of a tree, St. Martin proclaimed that if the tree were to be cut, God would divert the falling obstacle from the bishop’s path. The pagans obliged the bishop and chopped the tree down. According to legend, the tree should have toppled St. Martin, but with the outreach of his hand, the bishop propelled the falling limb to swing around and nearly squash his opponents. The purpose of this miracle was to undermine the heathens and assure the faithful. By writing down such a miracle, Bishop Gregory achieved this goal.
According to Gregory’s own admission, he was not a gifted writer. His command of the Latin language was almost substandard, and he was untrained in the classics. For him, despite these hurtles, recording “the church” history was important. As noted by scholars, the all-encompassing history written by Gregory was profound. At the time of his death, it had been over a century since anyone had attempted to write such a grandiose history. Perhaps this is why Gregory felt compelled to write, despite his educational deficiencies.
In the end, Gregory’s priorities are clear. He wished to spread the word of God. The best way to win converts and glorify his faith was through the perpetuation of miracles. At a time when Christianity was battling pagan beliefs for European dominancy, the propaganda function of miracles is unmistakable. However, scholars do not doubt that Bishop Gregory believed every word that which he wrote. According to church doctrine, “natural science” was creation, miracles, and the resurrection. Unlike pagan spirituality, the three components of “natural science” affirmed the idea of inevitability – everything was essentially God’s will. Clearly, Gregory believed that his work was God’s will, his entire life was.