Taking the Devil at his Word: The Devil and Language in the Dialogues of Gregory the Great
In the Dialogues of Gregory the Great (590-604), the devil is sometimes given direct speech in which he is shown protesting his innocence. The devil in these stories is frequently interpreted as comical, trivial and somewhat underwhelming. However, when re-read through the lens of Gregory's exe...
| Published in: | The journal of ecclesiastical history |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
[2016]
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| In: |
The journal of ecclesiastical history
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Gregor, I., Pope 542-604, Dialogi de vita et miraculis patrum Italicorum
/ Bible. Genesis 3
/ Devil
/ Language
/ Deception
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages KCB Papacy NBH Angelology; demonology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In the Dialogues of Gregory the Great (590-604), the devil is sometimes given direct speech in which he is shown protesting his innocence. The devil in these stories is frequently interpreted as comical, trivial and somewhat underwhelming. However, when re-read through the lens of Gregory's exegesis of Genesis iii, and his ideas regarding the devil, sin and language, what emerges is that it is the devil's verbal skill and appearance of harmlessness that make him dangerous. This failure to see the devil's words as a deceptive recapitulation of Genesis iii cannot be separated from the Dialogues’ complex historiography. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-7637 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of ecclesiastical history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0022046915003474 |