Just Saints
Summary
This thesis investigates the use and the meaning of the word 'iustitia' in the hagiographical works of Gregory of Tours and Gregory the Great, combining methodologies and approaches from the fields of historical semantics and the history of ideas. This thesis consists of two parts. The first part examines the historical background of the virtue 'iustitia', and how it existed in late antique and early medieval thought, and in the education of our two authors. The second part consists of an analysis of the work of the two Gregories - including an overview and a detailed analysis of some occurrences of 'iustitia' in their hagiographical works. This leads to a better understanding of the different intellectual worlds our two authors lived in, and helps us to better understand how they saw and judged the world around them.