Envoys and political communication in the late antique West, 411-533 / Andrew Gillett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gillett, Andrew.

Series:

Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought ; 4th ser., 55.

Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought ; 4th ser., 55

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Diplomacy--History--To 1500.

Diplomacy.

History.

Europe--History--392-814.

Europe.

Europe--Politics and government--476-1492.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xvii, 335 pages : maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Summary:

Warfare and dislocation are obvious features of the break-up of the late Roman West, but this crucial period of change was characterized also by communication and diplomacy. The great events of the late antique West were determined by the quieter labours of countless envoys, who travelled between emperors, kings, generals, high officials, bishops, provincial councils, and cities.

This book examines the role of envoys in the period from the establishment of the first 'barbarian kingdoms' in the West, to the eve of Justinian's wars of reconquest. It shows how ongoing practices of Roman imperial administration shaped new patterns of political interaction in the novel context of the earliest medieval states. Close analysis of sources with special interest in embassies offers insight into a variety of genres: chronicles, panegyrics, hagiographies, letters, and epitaph. This study makes a significant contribution to the developing field of ancient and medieval communications.

Contents:

1 Embassies and Political Communication in the Post-Imperial West 1

The framework and conventions of embassies in the classical world 11

Classical Greece 11

Republican and imperial Rome 17

Contemporary perspectives 26

2 The Provincial View of Hydatius 36

Hydatius and embassies 37

Patterns of contact 53

Gallaecian provincials and imperial and royal authorities 55

Sueves and external affairs 63

Vandal diplomacy 67

Multiple embassies 70

A model of political communication in the barbarian kingdoms 73

3 The Hero as Envoy: Sidonius Apollinaris' Panegyric on Avitus 84

The circumstances of the Panegyric 87

Panegyric and propaganda 91

Themes and plot of Panegyric 94

The portrayal of the envoy 108

4 The Saint as Envoy: Fifth- and Sixth-Century Latin Bishops' Lives 113

The embassy of Pope Leo I to Attila 114

'The hero worn out by his labours': Constantius, Life of Germanus of Auxerre 115

The Lives of Orientius of Auch and Vivianus of Saintes 138

Orientius of Auch 138

Vivianus of Saintes 143

'Author of concord': Ennodius, Life of Epiphanius of Pavia 148

5 Cassiodorus and Senarius 172

Diplomatic correspondence in the Variae of Cassiodorus 174

Senarius, 'Ceaseless wayfarer of the world' 190

6 Negotium Agendum 220

Prescriptive accounts of receptions 222

De ceremoniis aulae Byzantinae 222

Pope Hormisdas, Indiculi 227

Descriptive accounts: personnel and protocol 230

Selection 231

Accommodation and transportation 238

Patrons, friends, and lovers 243

Stages of reception, audience, and departure 244

Court personnel 249

Ceremonial 251

Ius gentium 259

Justinian's wars and after 263

New terminology 265

Embassy narratives from Merovingian Gaul 267

Municipal embassies in the sixth century 269

Appendix I Chronology of Constantius, Vita Germani 278

Appendix II Chronology of the life of Epiphanius of Pavia 284

Appendix III Senarius' Letters of Appointment: Cassiodorus, Variae IV, 3 and 4 286

Appendix IV The text of Senarius' Epitaph 290.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 294-319) and index.

ISBN:

0521813492

OCLC:

52286722