E06320: A letter of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 2.1) of 591, to Petrus, papal notary, mentions a monastery of an unnamed Archangel (probably *Michael, S00181) in Tropeae (Calabria, southern Italy). Written in Latin in Rome.

https://doi.org/10.25446/oxford.13899185

online resource

posted on 2018-09-10, 00:00 authored by Bryan

Pope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 2.1 Extract from the start of a letter about affairs in Bruttium (modern Calabria): Monasterium sancti Archangeli quod Tropeis est constitutum, indicante praesentium portitore, uictus habere necessitatem didicimus. 'We have learnt that the monastery of the Holy Archangel which was built in Tropeae, has a shortage of provisions, as is indicated by the bearer of this letter.' Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 1, 90. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 1, 194.

History

Evidence ID

E06320

Saint Name

Michael, the Archangel : S00181 Archangels, unnamed or name lost : S00191

Related Saint Records

Type of Evidence

Literary - Letters

Language

Latin

Evidence not before

591

Evidence not after

591

Activity not before

591

Activity not after

591

Place of Evidence - Region

Rome and region

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Rome

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Rome Rome Rome Roma Ῥώμη Rhōmē

Major author/Major anonymous work

Gregory the Great (pope)

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - monastic

Source

A letter transmitted as part of Gregory the Great’s Register of Letters. This letter collection, organised into fourteen books, is large and contains letters to a variety of recipients, including prominent aristocrats, members of the clergy and royalty. The issues touched on in the letters are equally varied, ranging from theological considerations to mundane administrative matters. This collection of letters, which was possibly curated by Gregory, was originally much larger. The surviving Register comprises several groups of letters which were extracted at several later moments in history, the largest of which took place in the papacy of Hadrian I (772-795).

Discussion

The unnamed archangel is most likely to have been Michael, the archangel who received most dedications in our period.

Bibliography

Edition: Norberg, D., S. Gregorii Magni, Registrum epistularum. 2 vols. (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 140-140A; Turnhout: Brepols, 1982). English translation: Martyn, J.R.C., The Letters of Gregory the Great, 3 vols. (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2004). Further Reading: Neil, B., and Dal Santo, M. (eds.), A Companion to Gregory the Great (Leiden: Brill, 2013).