"Her accomplice in much evil-doing": the role of emotion in violent female responses to anger, disrespect, grief, and jealousy in Gregory of Tours' Libri historiarum, and their impact on gendered representations

This thesis investigates whether certain emotions experienced by women in Gregory of Tours' Libri historiarum contribute to a gendered construction of their identity. Focusing upon the responses to anger, disrespect, grief and jealousy, the research determines whether these emotions, or the violent acts which occur as a consequence of them, are deliberately conveyed by Gregory with regards to the individuals’ gender. A utilisation of Emotional History and Gender Studies to analyse certain scenes and events within Gregory’s narrative, suggests that the emotions do not seek to cast judgements on the women because of their gender, but does vilify (or praise) emotions because of the social, moral and political factors influencing Gregory's literary purpose, and his personal motivations. The impact of emotions on the identity and representation of Late Antique women, particularly Merovingian women, is a field in which much research is needed. This dissertation determines whether the way in which emotions and gender function in accordance with one another in the literature reflects the author and the social world in which they were written.