One day in the life of the Late Antique nobleman: Sidonius Apollinaris visiting his kin

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

Issue:  Volume 46, № 4

Rubric:  Topical issues of world history

Annotation:  The article is devoted to the reconstruction of leisure of the Late Roman nobility based upon the one of the letters of Sidonius Apollinaris (c. 430–489). In the framework of the everyday life history, in combination with the hermeneutic approach, the characteristic features of the ordinary pastime of representatives of the upper stratum of the aristocracy in the 5th century AD are revealed. The letter (II. 9) contains information about the visit of Sidonius to the estates of his two relatives – Tonantius Ferreolus (family member in-laws) and Apollinarius (his uncle on the paternal side), located in close vicinity. A typical day of Late Antique noblemen consisted of a series of easy activities – meals, walks, sports (ball) and gambling (dice) games, intellectual discussions, bathing. Obviously, the Late Antique otium was identical as good as its classical patterns presented, for example, in the letters of Pliny the Younger. The author notes that in this case, epistolography can be regarded as a necessary condition for maintaining the connection of generations, which was especially important in the Late Antique period, before the challenges of the time, which is replacing the ancient cultural settings.

Keywords:  Late Antiquity, everyday life, leisure, Late Antique upper class, Sidonius Apollinaris.

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DOI:  10.18413/2075-4458-2019-46-4-620-626

Reference to article:  Litovchenko E.V. 2019. One day in the life of the Late Antique nobleman: Sidonius Apollinaris visiting his kin. Belgorod State University Scientific Bulletin. History. Political Science, 46(4): 620–626 (in Russian). DOI 10.18413/2075-4458-2019-46-4-620-626