Humility, Civility, and Vitality: Papal Leadership at the Turn to the Seventh Century

Peter Iver Kaufman, University of Richmond

Abstract

Pope Gregory I’s reconstruction of the church’s presence in Rome, and reassertion of Rome’s influence in Italy make his pontificate (590–604) significant for the history of Italian leadership. His correspondence with rivals, counsel for friends, and deployment of relics furnish historians with an opportunity to reassess what leadership theorists depict as “the humility factor” as well as what theorists identify as the roles of “disruption” and “dissonance” in the formulation and implementation of leadership strategies.