그레고리우스 1세 시대의 로마 페스트

Abstract

In the year 590, when a devastating plague swept through Rome, Pope Gregory I endeavored to uplift and support the Roman population. The most significant primary source that provides invaluable insights into this historical event is The Histories of Gregory of Tours. He vividly portrays the stunning disasters of inundation and plague that occurred in Rome in 590, overlaying them with apocalyptic imagery. This paper argues that it is necessary to understand Gregory of Tours’ writing from the perspective of disaster narratives specific to medieval historical writing.
 Furthermore, The Dialogues of Pope Gregory I is another source that allows us to glimpse the experiences of pestilence in Rome. It contains accounts of the victims who endured this catastrophic epidemic. Notably, it presents the figure of Death not only as dragon but also as Moors who appear to claim a dying person’s soul.
 This paper undertakes a re-examination of these primary sources in order to gain insight into how people perceived and experienced the plague and death during the end of the 6th century.