The story of the apocryphal pope and saint Gregorius was extremely popular throughout the middle ages and later in Europe and beyond.This book traces the story from its English or French origins through its many variations from Iceland to Egypt and from the twelfth to the twenty-first century.

“Both a riveting novel on its own merits and an astonishing gloss on an earlier masterpiece.”—Margaret Atwood Bengt Ohlsson, one of Sweden’s most successful young writers, has responded to the classic Doctor Glas with Gregorius, which is the voice of Pastor Gregorius over the course of what could be his last and fateful summer. Gregorius is a rancorous, malodorous, and unattractive figure married to a girl young enough to be his granddaughter. But his sense of his own mortality, of his personal inadequacy, and his tenuous hold on happiness are uniquely absorbing and haunting. It is a compelling study of loneliness, longing, and the nature of love, the desires that bring people together and the fears that keep them apart.

Aging and unattractive, the widowed Pastor Gregorius seems to have been granted a second chance at happiness when Helga, the young girl he has been fascinated by since her childhood, accepts his offer of marriage. Yet before long, the relationship turns sour and brutal and Gregorius suspects that his wife's distaste for him has driven her into infidelity. To Gregorius, fretful about his failing health and brooding upon mortality, the emptiness of his marriage is the final, bitter proof that he is unlovable, except in the eyes of God. And then an unexpected encounter with a woman who is able to return his affection makes it seem as though another kind of life might be possible.

This novel by Hartmann tells the story of Gregorius, a medieval scholar who becomes disillusioned with his life and embarks on a journey to find meaning and purpose. Along the way he encounters various challenges and trials, and ultimately discovers a new perspective on life and learning. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Originally published in 1955, this rendering in rhyming couplets was the first English translation to appear of the medieval Oedipus legend of Gregorius, made known to readers by Thomas Mann in his novel The Holy Sinner (1951). The introduction situates Hartmann's poem in the pantheon of Gregorius legends by writers from Sophocles to Mann.

A study of Hartmann von Aue's 'Gregorius'.

Poems.