Another copy of dissertation Alice

577 Pages·2012·3.16 MB·English

Merovingian Letters and Letter Writers
by
Vida Alice Tyrrell
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Centre for Medieval Studies
University of Toronto
© Copyright by Vida Alice Tyrrell 2012

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Merovingian Letters and Letter Writers
Vida Alice Tyrrell
Doctor of Philosophy
Centre for Medieval Studies
University of Toronto
2012

Abstract

This dissertation is a survey of the more than six hundred letters that form the surviving
epistolographical output of the Merovingian era, i.e. circa AD 500-750. These pieces of
correspondence have been gleaned primarily from the epistolae, auctores antiquissimi,
passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merowingici, and formulae Merowingici et Karolini
aevi sections in the monumenta Germaniae historica; a few have been taken from the
libri historiarum decem of Gregory of Tours. Much of this corpus has never before been
translated into English, or indeed into any modern language. It has also been under-
utilized by scholars. Although work has been done on some of the collections in isolation,
no study to date has approached the material as a whole. This study focuses on the letter
as a conveyor of personal and private information, and the letter collections as a corpus
that contains important historical, sociological, and cultural implications for our
understanding of Merovingian Gaul.

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Five chapters discuss various aspects of Merovingian epistolography. Chapter 1 examines
letters to and from women. Chapter 2 focuses on the large body of poetic epistles
composed by Venantius Fortunatus. Bishops were prolific letter writers and Chapter 3
discusses various aspects of these. Chapter 4 is in two sections: the first examines that
shadowy third party in an epistolographical transaction, the bearer, while the second
focuses on the gifts that sometimes accompanied letters. Finally, Chapter 5 investigates
the role of the Bible in Merovingian epistolography by analyzing the sources, extent, and
purpose of the Scripture quotations employed by letter writers. Also included with the
chapters are an Appendix of Unusual Poems and carmina figurata with translations, an
Appendix of Biblical Quotations, and several charts that serve to quantify the material.

The last half of this dissertation consists of a comprehensive Appendix containing
summaries of each letter in the Merovingian collections, with historical context. This is
followed by an Index of Epistolographical Prosopography that matches each individual
with his or her epistolographical output, which can extend over a number of collections.

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Acknowledgments

I owe a debt of gratitude to my advisory committee, Alexander Murray, John Magee, and
Michael Herren, for their challenging yet helpful comments while my research and
dissertation were still in progress. I especially thank my supervisor Professor Murray for
reading and commenting on the pieces of my dissertation as they materialized, offering
perspectives that were always fresh and insightful, and standing as my link between
Toronto and the West Coast. Thank you also to my children and grandchildren, who
cheerily put up with the peculiar obsessions of their mother and grandmother; to my
husband Ted for his indispensable technical support, and to my friends and relatives for
lending a listening ear and offering encouragement. I must also acknowledge one of my
biggest supporters, my cherished Australian Shepherd dog Tessa, who stayed faithfully
beside me, often well into the night, while I laboured. And to my wonderful partner-in-
crime, Ann MacLeod, I owe a special debt of gratitude. Ann, we’ve been together from
the start of this intellectual journey and I look forward to many more discussions on our
favourite medieval topics silvaticas vagationes cum canibus...
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Table of Contents

Abbreviations.................................................................................................................ix
List of Figures and Charts...............................................................................................x
List of Appendices.........................................................................................................xi
Introduction....................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1: Women’s Letters.........................................................................................25
1 Letters from Women..........................................................................................28
1.1 Emotional Letters Written by Women.......................................................28
1.2 Non-Emotional Letters Written by Women...............................................39
2 Letters to Women..............................................................................................43
2.1 S. Bonifatii et Lulli epistolae.....................................................................43
2.2 Venantius Fortunatus, Food, and Abstinence at Holy Cross.......................45
2.3 Queen Brunhild and Pope Gregory the Great............................................52
3 Conclusion........................................................................................................61
Chapter 2: Venantius Fortunatus and his Correspondents: A Study in Language,
Literacy, and romanitas.....................................................................................63
1 Venantius Fortunatus and Merovingian Literacy................................................68
2 Clerical and Lay Correspondents.......................................................................70
3 Highly-Literate Correspondents.........................................................................72
3.1 The Provençal Literary Circle: Dynamius and Iovinus.............................72
3.2 Austrasia: Lupus and Gogo......................................................................75
4 Exceptionally-Literate Correspondents..............................................................80
4.1 Felix of Nantes..........................................................................................80
4.2 Martin of Braga........................................................................................84
5 Gregory of Tours...............................................................................................88
6 Syagrius of Autun and the carmen figuratum.....................................................93
7 The Legacy of Venantius Fortunatus..................................................................98
8 Conclusion......................................................................................................100

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9 Appendix: Translations and Diagrams of Unusual Poems and
carmina figurata..............................................................................................101
Chapter 3: Bishops’ Letters........................................................................................106
1 epistolae Desiderii episcopi.............................................................................110
1.1 Biography of the Bishop.........................................................................111
1.2 Quantifying the Collection......................................................................112
1.3 Bishop, King, and Court..........................................................................116
1.4 Desiderius and the Law...........................................................................119
2 Bishops as Amici.............................................................................................121
2.1 Patronage Networks................................................................................121
2.2 Sharing Artisans.....................................................................................123
2.3 Copying Texts........................................................................................124
2.4 Solving Problems....................................................................................128
3 Bishops as Teachers.........................................................................................129
3.1 Abbesses.................................................................................................130
3.2 Kings......................................................................................................131
3.3 Queens....................................................................................................138
3.4 Mother....................................................................................................144
4 Bishops and Popes...........................................................................................147
4.1 Arles vs. Vienne.....................................................................................149
4.2 Gregory I and Virgilius...........................................................................155
4.3 Boniface and Rome.................................................................................158
4.4 Summary of Bishops and Popes..............................................................165
5 Bishops in Conflict: Chrodobert of Tours and Importunus of Paris.................166
6 Conclusion......................................................................................................180
Chapter 4: Bearers and Gifts.......................................................................................182
Section I: Bearers.......................................................................................................187
1 The Identity of Bearers....................................................................................188
1.1 For Clerics..............................................................................................188
1.2 For Royalty.............................................................................................189
1.3 For Non-Elites........................................................................................190
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2 Petitioners as Bearers.......................................................................................191
2.1. Requests for Aid.....................................................................................191
2.2. Letters of Commendation........................................................................194
3 The Responsibilities of Bearers........................................................................194
4 Bearer Malfunction..........................................................................................196
5 Modes of Travel..............................................................................................199
5.1 Horses.....................................................................................................199
5.2 River Travel............................................................................................201
5.3 Travel Between Gaul and Italy................................................................203
6 Conclusion......................................................................................................208
Section II: Gifts..........................................................................................................209
7 Gifts in the Venantii Fortunati opera poetica...................................................212
8 Gifts in the epistolae Austrasicae, the epistolae aevi Merowingici
collectae and the epistolae Desiderii episcopi................................................216
9 Solicited Gifts..................................................................................................220
9.1 Technology and Craftsmanship...............................................................221
9.2 Relics......................................................................................................222
9.3 Books.....................................................................................................227
10 Gifts in the S. Bonifatii et Lulli epistolae..........................................................229
11 Conclusion......................................................................................................235
Chapter 5: The Merovingians and the Bible................................................................236
1 Biblical Quotations in the Collections: an Overview.......................................236
2 Heavy Use of Scripture: Letters of Instruction and Reproach...........................240
2.1 Germanus of Paris to Brunhild................................................................240
2.2 Chrodobert of Tours to Boba...................................................................243
2.3 Nicetius of Trier to Chlodosind...............................................................245
3 Varied Use of Scripture: Letters of Defence....................................................248
3.1 Cyprianus of Toulon to Maximus of Geneva...........................................248
3.2 Remigius of Rheims to Heraclius, Leo, and Theodosius..........................249
3.3 Letters of Pope Pelagius I........................................................................251
4 Scriptural Usage in Letters of amicitia.............................................................252
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4.1 Mapinius of Rheims to Vilicus of Metz...................................................252
4.2 Abbot Florianus to Nicetius of Trier........................................................252
4.3 Desiderius of Cahors...............................................................................253
5 Insular Epistolography.....................................................................................254
5.1 S. Bonifatii et Lulli epistolae...................................................................254
5.2 Columbani abbatis Luxovienses et Bobbiensis epistolae..........................257
6 Vitae and Biblical Usage: A Comparison........................................................259
7 Conclusion......................................................................................................260
8 Chart of Biblical Quotations............................................................................261
9 Appendix of Biblical Quotations......................................................................263
Appendix: Summaries of Individual Merovingian Letters with Historical Context .......270
Works Cited ...............................................................................................................525
Index of Epistolographical Prosopography..................................................................543
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Abbreviations

LH historiarum libri decem of Gregory of Tours
HL historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon
MGH monumenta Germaniae historica
Fred. chronicarum quae dicuntur Fredegarii scholastici libri
LHF liber historiae Francorum
PLRE The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
PL patrologia latina
HE historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum of Bede
MLLM mediae latinitatis lexicon minus

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List of Figures and Charts

1. Relative Weight of Individual Collections.........................................................22
2. Timeline of Letter Collections...........................................................................23
3. Letter Senders and Recipients............................................................................24
4. Chart of Biblical Quotations............................................................................261
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