The Thought of Gregory the Great

Gregory the Great was, after Augustine of Hippo, perhaps the most influential of the Fathers in the Latin West during the Middle Ages. He put Augustine's thought into a form which proved accessible and acceptable to medieval readers, and he added much of his own, notably in his preaching, where he i...

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Bibliographic Details
Author:Gillian Rosemary Evans
Published: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986
Series:Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series
Volume:2
Total Pages:XI-164
Format:Book
Topic:- Influence and Survival > The Middle Ages (430-1453) > Influence on the various authors and writings > [Grégoire le Grand]
Status:Active
Description
Summary:Gregory the Great was, after Augustine of Hippo, perhaps the most influential of the Fathers in the Latin West during the Middle Ages. He put Augustine's thought into a form which proved accessible and acceptable to medieval readers, and he added much of his own, notably in his preaching, where he interpreted the Bible with equal emphasis on the practical living of a good Christian life and the aspiration of the soul towards God and the life to come. This study looks at Gregory's thought as a whole and tries to show what was most important to him and the way he arrived at a balance between the active and the contemplative, the 'outward' and the 'inward' of his own mind. There is a tailpiece on the influence of his ideas in later centuries.