Greek and Latin Letters in Late Antiquity

Pauline Allen is an honorary researcher at the University of Pretoria and the Sydney College of Divinity. Previously she was Professor of Biblical and Early Christian Studies at the Australian Catholic University and Foundation Director of its Centre for Early Christian Studies. Her publications include Sophronius of Jerusalem and Seventh-Century Heresy (2013) and, with Bronwen Neil, Crisis Management in Late Antiquity (410-590 CE) (2013) and Collecting Early Christian Letters (edited, Cambridge, 2015). Bronwen Neil is Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University, Sydney and Director of its Centre for Ancient Cultural Heritage and Environment. Her publications include, with Pauline Allen, Crisis Management in Late Antiquity (410-590 CE) (2013) and Collecting Early Christian Letters (edited, Cambridge, 2015) and, with Doru Costache and Kevin Wagner, Dreams and, Virtue and Divine Knowledge in Early Christian Egypt (Cambridge, 2019).

• 1. Introduction to Late Antique letters; 2. The Christianisation of the Late Antique letter form; 3. Preservation and transmission; 4. Letter-types and their uses; 5. Difficulties in spreading the word; 6. Networks and communities of readers; Epilogue; Appendix 1. Timeline of ecclesiastical events; Appendix 2. Notable letter-writers in Late Antiquity.

'The two authors, who have worked extensively on the subject in recent years, offer a welcome synthesis, which can serve both as an introduction to the question of late antique letters and as a stimulating essay for those already familiar with the subject.' Revue des études byzantines