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When the letter speaks up : living and lifeless letters

Boekbijdrage - Hoofdstuk

This chapter uncovers the oral elements of the ancient epistolary experience by considering the role of late antique letter-carriers, who would animate written letters by reading them aloud and conveying personal messages from sender to recipient. This emphasis on epistolary performances and the personification of the letter-writer by the messenger underscores that written text was not necessarily perceived as the most authoritative medium in ancient record-keeping. Simultaneously, this evidence demonstrates the utility of Ferraris’s notion that social acts can be inscribed as immaterial documents in memory, to be passed on subsequently via the messenger’s oral utterances. Late Antiquity’s “living letters” reflect our still-evolving understanding of the Graeco- Roman epistolary habit.
Boek: Documentality : new approaches to written documents in imperial life and literature
Series: Trends in Classics - Supplementary Volumes
Pagina's: 233 - 250
ISBN:9783110791914
Jaar van publicatie:2022
Toegankelijkheid:Closed