Gregory I Halfond
Biographic Data
| ID | 1372804 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gregory I Halfond |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gregory I |
| FAMILY NAME | Halfond |
| SIGNATURE | HALFOND G I |
| AFFILIATIONS | Framingham State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7639-8797 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Merovingian Moseses
Among Old Testament figures, Moses enjoyed a unique status from the perspective of late antique Christian writers. He was recognized as a lawgiver, prophet, leader, priest, and miracle-working holy man whose guidance of the Israelites toward an earthly salvation prefigured the mission of Christ. Yet, while patristic theologians defined for Moses a common stock of characteristics and themes, a considerable degree of fluidity in defining the prophe…
Confronting a Gens Ferox
A sixth-century Italian émigré to Merovingian Francia, Venantius Fortunatus produced a diverse and voluminous corpus of both poetry and prose. Of his numerous compositions, few have been the subject of as much sustained scholarly attention as his poetic narrative of the mass conversion of the Jews of Clermont in 576. Modern scholars have probed and analyzed this poem for evidence of the historical conditions that prompted the conversion, as well …
The Circumcising Antichrist in the Credo of Gregory of Tours
In the personal credo that prefaces his Decem libri historiarum, Gregory of Tours states his belief in an Antichrist who would impose circumcision upon his subjects. While Gregory did not invent this theme of a circumcising Antichrist, it nevertheless closely mirrored his own eschatological anxieties. Physical circumcision was, for Gregory, an unmistakable indicator of Judaism and the Old Law. The Bishop of Tours was deeply concerned about the Je…
Representing the mysteries of the vine
The literary corpus of Bishop Gregory of Tours (538–94) abounds in references to wine and vineyards. While these references have been mined by historians for insight into early medieval agriculture and commerce, comparatively scant attention has been paid to Gregory’s own complex attitude towards wine. The bishop of Tours was well aware that sin frequently accompanied an excessive desire for wine, although he took pains to insist that it was not …
Hagiography, Historiography, and Identity in Sixth-Century Gaul
The Curious Case of the Council of Sens (594/614)
The Carolingian-era vita of Betharius of Chartres offers a pithy description of an otherwise-unattested ecclesiastical council c. ad 600. This study evaluates the hypothesis that the Council of Sens met in response to a request by Pope Gregory i, and that its agenda included an investigation of the Irish monastic reformer Columbanus
The Easter Ban in the Merovingian Kingdoms
In mid-sixth-century Gaul, two episcopal councils issued canons, in 538 and 581/3, respectively, attempting to prohibit interaction between Jews and Christians between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. The canons suggested that Jews, through their obstinate impiety, posed a threat to their Christian neighbors, particularly during that festal season associated with proselytization. While there is not corroborating evidence that the Merovingian-er…
Monastic Exemption and Episcopal Collaboration in Later Merovingian Gaul
Between AD 637 and 728 over one hundred and seventy Gallo-Frankish bishops participated in the granting of exemptions to regional monasteries. While their participation customarily has been credited to a combination of external coercion and the pursuit of familial objectives by those scions of the secular office-holding elite now occupying episcopal office, the following study argues that the granting of monastic exemptions was an inherently coll…
Ecclesiastical Politics in the Regnum Chramni
In her seventh-century vita of St Radegund, Baudonivia refers in passing to the attendance of a layman named Leo at an Aquitanian ecclesiastical council. This Leo may be identifiable with the ‘Leo of Poitiers’ named by Gregory of Tours as a partisan of Chramn, the rebellious son of King Chlothar i (r. 511–61). If so, then Leo's attendance suggests that the council assembled during the brief period of alliance between Chramn and Childebert i , 555…
Medieval Way of War
Negotiating episcopal support in the Merovingian kingdom of R eims ( ad 561–75)
Minimal scholarly attention has been paid to the ecclesiastical policies of K ing S igibert I of R eims (r. 561–75). An examination of Sigibert's policies suggests the lengths to which the king went to attract and maintain episcopal allies in strategic and politically divided civitates . While G regory of T ours in his D ecem L ibri H istoriarum blamed S igibert's death on his stubborn refusal to heed episcopal counsel, the bishop of T ours recog…
Sis Quoque Catholicis Religionis Apex
The libelous depiction of King Chilperic I (561-584) and his wife Fredegund in Gregory of Tours'Decem Libri Historiarumhas encouraged the false impression of these Merovingian monarchs as scourges of the Gallo-Frankish Church and its bishops. If fact, evidence from Gregory's own writings, as well as from other contemporary sources, reveals that Chilperic and Fredegund were generous patrons of ecclesiastical persons, institutions, and cults. A pro…
Transportation, Communication, and the Movement of Peoples in the Frankish Kingdom, ca. 500–900 C.E
As historians and archeologists continue to debate the volume of commercial traffic in Western Europe following the disappearance of Roman imperial rule, it has become increasingly clear that an infrastructure of transportation and communication continued to facilitate travel and the movement of people in this period. This is particularly apparent in the Frankish Kingdom between the sixth and tenth centuries. Relying to a substantial degree on te…
Cum Consensu Omnium
For scholars of early medieval Europe, and of the Frankish Kingdoms in particular, the canonical decisions of church councils have proven to be immensely valuable sources for understanding the beliefs and policies of the ecclesiastical elite. Although we cannot always assume their enforcement, the canons offer a priceless window into the minds of their authors and the historical contexts that prompted their action. Less work has been done, howeve…
No prominent works on this page.
Cum Consensu Omnium
For scholars of early medieval Europe, and of the Frankish Kingdoms in particular, the canonical decisions of church councils have proven to be immensely valuable sources for understanding the beliefs and policies of the ecclesiastical elite. Although we cannot always assume their enforcement, the canons offer a priceless window into the minds of their authors and the historical contexts that prompted their action. Less work has been done, howeve…
Transportation, Communication, and the Movement of Peoples in the Frankish Kingdom, ca. 500–900 C.E
As historians and archeologists continue to debate the volume of commercial traffic in Western Europe following the disappearance of Roman imperial rule, it has become increasingly clear that an infrastructure of transportation and communication continued to facilitate travel and the movement of people in this period. This is particularly apparent in the Frankish Kingdom between the sixth and tenth centuries. Relying to a substantial degree on te…
Sis Quoque Catholicis Religionis Apex
The libelous depiction of King Chilperic I (561-584) and his wife Fredegund in Gregory of Tours'Decem Libri Historiarumhas encouraged the false impression of these Merovingian monarchs as scourges of the Gallo-Frankish Church and its bishops. If fact, evidence from Gregory's own writings, as well as from other contemporary sources, reveals that Chilperic and Fredegund were generous patrons of ecclesiastical persons, institutions, and cults. A pro…
Negotiating episcopal support in the Merovingian kingdom of R eims ( ad 561–75)
Minimal scholarly attention has been paid to the ecclesiastical policies of K ing S igibert I of R eims (r. 561–75). An examination of Sigibert's policies suggests the lengths to which the king went to attract and maintain episcopal allies in strategic and politically divided civitates . While G regory of T ours in his D ecem L ibri H istoriarum blamed S igibert's death on his stubborn refusal to heed episcopal counsel, the bishop of T ours recog…
Medieval Way of War
Ecclesiastical Politics in the Regnum Chramni
In her seventh-century vita of St Radegund, Baudonivia refers in passing to the attendance of a layman named Leo at an Aquitanian ecclesiastical council. This Leo may be identifiable with the ‘Leo of Poitiers’ named by Gregory of Tours as a partisan of Chramn, the rebellious son of King Chlothar i (r. 511–61). If so, then Leo's attendance suggests that the council assembled during the brief period of alliance between Chramn and Childebert i , 555…
Monastic Exemption and Episcopal Collaboration in Later Merovingian Gaul
Between AD 637 and 728 over one hundred and seventy Gallo-Frankish bishops participated in the granting of exemptions to regional monasteries. While their participation customarily has been credited to a combination of external coercion and the pursuit of familial objectives by those scions of the secular office-holding elite now occupying episcopal office, the following study argues that the granting of monastic exemptions was an inherently coll…
The Curious Case of the Council of Sens (594/614)
The Carolingian-era vita of Betharius of Chartres offers a pithy description of an otherwise-unattested ecclesiastical council c. ad 600. This study evaluates the hypothesis that the Council of Sens met in response to a request by Pope Gregory i, and that its agenda included an investigation of the Irish monastic reformer Columbanus
The Easter Ban in the Merovingian Kingdoms
In mid-sixth-century Gaul, two episcopal councils issued canons, in 538 and 581/3, respectively, attempting to prohibit interaction between Jews and Christians between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. The canons suggested that Jews, through their obstinate impiety, posed a threat to their Christian neighbors, particularly during that festal season associated with proselytization. While there is not corroborating evidence that the Merovingian-er…
Representing the mysteries of the vine
The literary corpus of Bishop Gregory of Tours (538–94) abounds in references to wine and vineyards. While these references have been mined by historians for insight into early medieval agriculture and commerce, comparatively scant attention has been paid to Gregory’s own complex attitude towards wine. The bishop of Tours was well aware that sin frequently accompanied an excessive desire for wine, although he took pains to insist that it was not …
Hagiography, Historiography, and Identity in Sixth-Century Gaul
The Circumcising Antichrist in the Credo of Gregory of Tours
In the personal credo that prefaces his Decem libri historiarum, Gregory of Tours states his belief in an Antichrist who would impose circumcision upon his subjects. While Gregory did not invent this theme of a circumcising Antichrist, it nevertheless closely mirrored his own eschatological anxieties. Physical circumcision was, for Gregory, an unmistakable indicator of Judaism and the Old Law. The Bishop of Tours was deeply concerned about the Je…
Confronting a Gens Ferox
A sixth-century Italian émigré to Merovingian Francia, Venantius Fortunatus produced a diverse and voluminous corpus of both poetry and prose. Of his numerous compositions, few have been the subject of as much sustained scholarly attention as his poetic narrative of the mass conversion of the Jews of Clermont in 576. Modern scholars have probed and analyzed this poem for evidence of the historical conditions that prompted the conversion, as well …
Merovingian Moseses
Among Old Testament figures, Moses enjoyed a unique status from the perspective of late antique Christian writers. He was recognized as a lawgiver, prophet, leader, priest, and miracle-working holy man whose guidance of the Israelites toward an earthly salvation prefigured the mission of Christ. Yet, while patristic theologians defined for Moses a common stock of characteristics and themes, a considerable degree of fluidity in defining the prophe…
History (11 works) · Medieval Literature and History (9 works) · Law (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Art (6 works) · Classics (6 works) · History (6 works) · Bishops (5 works) · Kingdom (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works)