GREGORY, Saint, of Tours (originally called GEORGIUS historian of the Franks: b. Arverni, the modern Clermont-Fer rand, France, 30 Nov. 538 or 539; d. Tours, 17 Nov. 593, or 594. He belonged to one of those families which called themselves sena torial and which formed the aristocracy of Gaul. After his father's death he was piously taught by his parental uncle, Saint Gallus, bishop of Clermont, and the priest Avitus, who succeeded to that see. Being of very poor health, he made a pilgrimage to Tours in 563 in the hope of curing a serious illness on the tomb of Saint Martin and his hopes were real ized. In 573, while at the court of Sigebert I, king of Austrasia, he received the news of his election to the see of Tours by the clergy and people of that city who had had an opportunity to recognize his worth from his 10 years' sojourn in their midst as a pilgrim. Venantius Fortu natus celebrated his elevation in a congratu latory poem, whose praises were fully justified by subsequent events. As a pastor of souls Gregory was devoted to his flock and, in spite • of the perils and difficulties of the times, he was prudent as well as courageous in protecting the city of Tours, which at that time was the religious centre of Gaul. He successfully op posed ChiIperic and, after the latter's death in 484,. he enjoyed one of the principal roles in the Frankish empire under Guntram, and espe cially under Childebert II, whose particular con fidence he possessed. Though an active par ticipant in the political and civil life of his times,. Gregory did not cease to be an earnest and fecund. writer. Besides the 10 books of his Francorum,' which won for him the merited appellation, "the Herodotus of the Franks'" he is the author also of seven books of 'Miracles,' a book on the lives of the Fathers, a commentary on the Psalter, a book on ecclesiastical offices and two other theologi cal works. In the preface to his 'History' the author states his intention of transmitting to posterity the knowledge of contemporaneous events. So beginning with the fifth book his 'History' is in reality a series of memoirs.
The first book begins with the creation of the world and glides rapidly over the centuries up to the death of Saint Martin (397). The sec ond book contains the history of the Church and of barbarism in Gaul; the largest place herein is devoted to the founder of the Frank ish monarchy, Clovis. The third book stops at the death of Theodebert I (548) and the fourth at the death of Sigebert I (575), bringing in some of the author's own recollections. The fifth and sixth cover the years 575 to 584 and the remaining four books retrace in detail the years 584 to 585 with a brief summary of the other years up to 591. Gregory is entirely him self when he comes to tell of the events of his own time and he does not forget to mention the part which he took in them. As an his torian Gregory merits great confidence and esteem, but he is not an historian in the modern sense of the word. He does not study the connection between events nor analyze their causes, but contents himself with recording and describing that which he knew so well. Apart from the local color and the lives of prominent persons, the natural simplicity and naivete of the author give to his work a charm and an attraction which more than compensate for the weaknesses of his plan and execution and the defects in his style. Moreover, because of the impossibility of duplicating the material in other sources, it has been said that the 'His toria Francorum' is °one of the most precious of all historical literature.° Gregory's complete works have been published in Migne's 'Patro logia Latina.' The best edition of his 'His tory' is in the 'Monuments, Germanise Bibliography.— Buchanan, Thomas R., 'Gregorius (32) Turonensis' (in Smith and Wace, 'A Dictionary of Christian Biography,' Yol. II, London 1880) ; LobeII, J. W., 'Gregor von Tours and seine Zeit' (2d ed., Leipzig 1869); Bonnet, Max, 'Le Latin de Gregoire de Tours) (Paris 1890) ; Chevalier, Ulysse, (Bio Bibliographic' (Paris 1905).