Episode from the life of gallo-roman society in V cent. (sidonius Apollinaris’ letter to Montius, 461 a.d.)

Author(s):  E.V. Litovchenko, no, no, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia, Litovchenko@bsu.edu.ru

Issue:  Volume 43, №15

Rubric:  Topical issues of world history

Annotation:  This research contains the introductory article, translation and commentary on one of the letters of Gallo-Roman nobleman and bishop Sidonius Apollinaris (Ep. I, 11). The author briefly analyzes the factors pro-moting the preservation of identity in the transitive epoch. Rhetoric education and literary activity allowed the Late Antique noblemen to acquire a ―technical‖ skill which help to realize the power duties not only as political office holder but also as a clergyman. This work is devoted to a translation of the eleventh letter of the first book, addressed to Montius, an acquaintance of Sidonius and to commentary on the text. Epistula describes the events that took place in Arles in 461 A.D., during the second visit of Emperor Majorian to Gaul. In the center of the plot is a scandal in Arles around anonymous satire, openly ridiculing some high-ranking people. The hermeneutic method or method of interpretation is used as the key in the work. Using the method we try to reduce from the modern constructs of the consciousness and to ―dip‖ into the reality of the Late Antiquity world for more clear understanding of the past.

Keywords:  Late Antiquity, Gallo-Roman elite, Sidonius Apollinaris, literary tradition

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