The Circumcising Antichrist in the Credo of Gregory of Tours: Sources, Context, and Influence

Abstract

In the personal credo that prefaces his Decem libri historiarum, Gregory of Tours states his belief in an Antichrist who would impose circumcision upon his subjects. While Gregory did not invent this theme of a circumcising Antichrist, it nevertheless closely mirrored his own eschatological anxieties. Physical circumcision was, for Gregory, an unmistakable indicator of Judaism and the Old Law. The Bishop of Tours was deeply concerned about the Jews of his own time, whose obstinate refusal to acknowledge Christian truth he perceived as an obstacle to his socio-religious ideal of a unified Christian society. While Gregory did not necessarily believe that the End Times would arrive during his own lifetime, he saw signa of its inevitability everywhere, and consequently encouraged readiness on the part of his contemporaries. The Antichrist’s imposition of compulsory circumcision thus implied for Gregory the culmination of an ongoing effort by Jews to inhibit Christian unity.