Abstract
The article discusses epistle 22 by Bishop Paulinus of Nola (5th century), the author of a collection of letters (a total of 51 epistles have survived), which formed a kind of epistolary network of friends, acquaintances and colleagues living in the territory of the Roman Empire at that time. Correspondence was an important element of communication in a situation where personal contacts were diffi cult. Such literary networks involved not only addressees and addressers, but also the reading public, to whom messages became available as examples of the epistolary genre, as well as couriers. Late antique authors took a responsible approach to the choice of couriers, since they were entrusted with valuable, sometimes secret, information. The aim of this article is to determine the role of envoys in the late antique epistolary network using selected epistles of Paulinus of Nola, with an emphasis on Epistle 22. This epistle, addressed to Sulpicius Severus, introduces the “spiritless monk” Marrazinus, who aroused Paulinus’s indignation by his inadequacy to the status of a monk. The letter was written during a period of discord between the bishop of Nola and Sulpicius, so Paulinus considered the dispatch of such an unsuitable courier as yet another link in the chain of disagreements with his friend. Analysis and interpretation of the text within the framework of microhistorical and hermeneutic approaches showed that couriers performed an important mission of communication between Christian leaders, were associated with the personality of the sender of the letter, were often admitted to the author’s inner circle, so the choice of courier could influence the image of the author of the collection of letters constructed by him, and unworthy people who did not correspond to the Christian model of appearance and behavior were condemned.
Keywords
Late Antiquity, epistolary practice, Paulinus of Nola, couriers.