Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- St. Gregory the Great - Accomplishments as pope
- Italy - Lombards and Byzantines
- Italy - Popes and exarchs, 590–800
- St. Gregory the Great - Historical context and early career
- papacy - The medieval papacy: from 590 to 1303
- Plague of Justinian
- Byzantine Empire - The crisis of mid-century
- Lombard
- Italy - The Lombard kingdom, 584–774
How did famine, plague, and war affect Italy during Gregory I’s lifetime?
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St. Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I (the Great) depicted in a stained glass window at St. Michael & All Angels Church in Brinkworth, Wiltshire, England.
During the lifetime of Gregory I (c. 540–604), Italy suffered from a convergence of crises that devastated the population and destabilized society.
- Famine and Plague: Following the Byzantine Empire's reconquest of Italy in the mid-6th century, the region experienced cycles of famine and the plague (specifically the Plague of Justinian). These disasters depopulated the countryside and caused a decline in cities and commerce. The plague was particularly severe in Rome, where it claimed the life of Gregory’s predecessor, Pope Pelagius II, in 590.1
- War: The Lombard invasion of 568 triggered decades of warfare. The conflict created a fragmented political landscape, as the Lombards sought control over Italy while the Byzantines struggled to defend their administrative centers, such as Ravenna.123
- Papal Response: Amidst this instability, the papacy assumed civic responsibilities as the Roman Senate became defunct. Gregory I acted as a "treasurer" and "paymaster," using church resources to secure grain supplies, repair aqueducts, support refugees, and pay ransoms to protect Rome from the Lombards.412