Letter 6

From: Pope Gregory the Great To: Agilulf, King of the Lombards Date: ~598 AD Context: Gregory negotiates peace terms with the Lombard king — one of many such letters that show Gregory functioning as a de facto political leader of central Italy in the absence of effective imperial governance. Gregory, bishop, to the excellent King Agilulf. The negotiations of the past weeks have been difficult, and I want to be direct with you about where things stand. The peace I am proposing is not the peace of exhaustion — not simply a cessation of fighting because both sides have run out of strength. I am proposing a genuine settlement, with terms that both sides can live with honestly. Such a settlement requires concessions from both sides, and I want to be clear that the proposals I am making carry real costs for the imperial position, and that I am nonetheless making them because I believe the human cost of continued war is greater than the political cost of compromise. What I ask of you in return: that the Lombard forces withdraw from the areas specified, that the captives taken in recent campaigns be released, and that the settlement be honored in spirit as well as letter for a period sufficient to establish genuine trust. I would also like to raise, if the time is right, the question of the religious education of your son. Your wife Theudelinda is Catholic; the child is baptized Catholic; I ask only that the Catholic formation continue and that no political pressure is placed on the child to adopt the Arian tradition later. This is a personal request, not a term of the political settlement. But it is a request I make with full seriousness. Gregory, bishop of Rome