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2 - Gregory: the apostle of the English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

Mechthild Gretsch
Affiliation:
Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
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Summary

When, at some point in the early 990s, Ælfric set out to compose his homily for the feast day (12 March) of Pope Gregory the Great (590–604), he will have been sharply aware that he was recording the uita of the saint who, apart from Christ's apostles, had enjoyed the longest and most universal veneration in Anglo-Saxon England. By the time Ælfric was writing, the cult of St Gregory in England stretched back at least 300 years. In the light of the universality and the venerable tradition of Gregory's cult in England, Ælfric will no doubt have given especial attention to what he chose to relate about the saint in the first vernacular account of his life ever to be written. For an adequate assessment of how Ælfric, the Benedictine monk and Winchester alumnus, saw Gregory, and how he wished his lay audience to see the saint, a twofold approach will be necessary. In the first part of this chapter I shall try to establish what may be assumed Ælfric the scholar knew about Gregory's life, his personality and writings, and the development of his cult. In the second part I shall examine what of his knowledge Ælfric the priest and teacher thought suitable to impart to his audience, and what, possibly, was the rationale for his decision.

THE APOSTLE OF THE ENGLISH

In the collective memory of the English church Gregory had always been doctor et apostolus of the gens Anglorum.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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  • Gregory: the apostle of the English
  • Mechthild Gretsch, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
  • Book: Aelfric and the Cult of Saints in Late Anglo-Saxon England
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511483349.003
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  • Gregory: the apostle of the English
  • Mechthild Gretsch, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
  • Book: Aelfric and the Cult of Saints in Late Anglo-Saxon England
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511483349.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Gregory: the apostle of the English
  • Mechthild Gretsch, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
  • Book: Aelfric and the Cult of Saints in Late Anglo-Saxon England
  • Online publication: 22 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511483349.003
Available formats
×