Gregory of Tours, Saint was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours, which made him the most important prelate of Gaul. He wrote in an awkward, flawed and barbarized Late Latin effort at a literary style, which is full of vivacity yet and a lot of Frankish and Germanic terms. When motivation fails, he is quick to fall back on the linguistic formulas of doctrine. Withal, he is the main modern source for Merovingian history. Born Georgius Florentius in Augustonemetum (now Clermont-Ferrand, France), he received instruction in classic literature and religious principles, but made no special study of theology or the writings of the Fathers of the Church. He was ordained a deacon in 563. Shortly thereafter he journeyed to the tomb of the 4th-century prelate St. Martin in Tours, seeking a cure for a serious illness, and became the protégé of Euphronius, bishop of Tours. On the death of Euphronius, Gregory was elected by the people of Tours to replace him. This time was a period of great political and social unrest in Tours. As an influential bishop, Gregory helped to restore peace and to ease the burden of taxation.
Gregory wrote, abridged, and translated a number of books, including accounts of the life and miracles of St. Martin. His most significant work, nonetheless, is Historia Francorum, a ten-volume history of the Frankish people from the creation to the year 591, of which the last six books are the most priceless source of historical information on Merovingian times. His conventional feast day is November 17. (Davis, Cyprian (2002)
Gregory's life covers the years from 538 to 594. He was an invention of central Gaul; spending his entire life in the Loire basin except for short stays elsewhere. The river Loire may be regarded as the southern limit of Frankish......
