This book condenses and updates the cogent case showing that Gregory the Great did not write the famous "Dialogues" traditionally ascribed to him. It throws much new light on early Benedictine history and on the life and times of St. Gregory.

Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction PART I. THE DIALOGUES IN THE TIDE OF TIME 1. The Dialogues in History and in Controversy 2. Recent Developments and the present State of the Question PART II. INTERNAL TEXTUAL EVIDENCE OF THE NON-GREGORIAN AUTHORSHIP OF THE DIALOGUES 3. An essential Key to the Enigma of the Dialogues: the Detection of genuinely Gregorian Passages inserted into the main narrative Text 4. Evidence of the non-Gregorian Authorship of the Dialogues from Vocabulary and Orthography 5. The distinctive literary Style and Syntax of the Dialogues Narrative 6. Contrast between the personal Traits and Attitudes of the Author of the Dialogues and those of St Gregory 7. Doctrinal Aberrations and Anomalies 8. Historical Discrepancies and Anachronisms 9. Old Tales in new Guise: Antecedents and Sources of the Dialogist's legendary Gesta: Borrowings from post-Gregorian sources PART III. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE OF THE NON-GREGORIAN AUTHORSHIP OF THE DIALOGUES FROM OTHER DOCUMENTS AND FROM THE HISTORY OF BENEDICTINE ORIGINS 10. The "Bedrock Proof " on which Defenders of the Dialogues' Authenticity now base their Case: the counterfeit "Letter to Maximian" 11. Incongruity of the alleged Date of the Dialogues' Composition, judged in the Context of contemporary History 12. The Dialogues unknown in Gregory's Age and for long afterwards: tell-tale Interpolations in manuscript Records in later Times 13. Post-Gregorian Origin of the Dialogues confirmed by the History of early Benedictinism: obscure first Appearance of the Regula Benedicti 14. Growing Repute of the Benedictine Rule in seventh-century Francia as an Adjunct to the prevailing Columbanian Observance 15. Status of the Regula Benedicti by the Close of the seventh Century: its Arrival in England, and its continuing Neglect in Italy 16. The first Emergence of the Dialogues into historical Record in the late seventh Century 17. Approximate Dating of the Origin of the Dialogues in the Light of the earliest manuscript Evidence 18. First Beginnings, in the early eighth Century, of Cult and liturgical Mention of St Benedict 19. "The mystique of Montecassino": eighth-century Upsurge of Benedictine Monasticism, promoted by three Popes, by Boniface and by the Frankish Rulers 20. Fleury's Claim to possess St Benedict's Body and its Implications for Study of the History of the Dialogues and of the new Benedictine Movement 21. The Paterian Anthology, claimed to be the second "Bedrock Proof " of the Authenticity of the Dialogues, and the Testimony of Tajo 22. Other alleged Indications of early Knowledge of the Dialogues: the Chronicle of Fredegar, the Vitas Patrum Emeretensium and the Vita Fructuosi PART IV. THE DIALOGIST AND HIS LEGACY: RETROSPECT AND FUTURE PROSPECT 23. Profile of the Dialogist in his historical Setting 24. The Dialogist as scriniarius, Gesta-spinner and "tam peritus fallendi artifex" 25. The Past and Future of a counterfeit Saga etched into the history of Christendom Table of significant Dates relating to the Origins of the Dialogues and of Benedictine Monasticism Appendix: Annotated List of the Inserted Gregorian Passages ("IGPs") within the narrative Text of the Dialogues Bibliography Index Nominum