Libanius' Social Networks: Understanding the Social Structure of the Later Roman Empire

Sandwell, Isabella

doi:10.1080/09518960701539323

Cited by 4 publications

References 12 publications

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Bridging the Cultural Divide: Libanius, Ellebichus, and Letters to “Barbarian” Generals

McLaughlin¹

2014

jla

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Roman elite society was changing rapidly in the late fourth century. Increasingly, military men of foreign origin acquired positions of power. Despite differences in education and background, members of the civilian and “barbarian” military elite managed to bridge this often stark cultural divide by exchanging letters, a key practice of traditional aristocratic, status–based culture. This study focuses on the friendship of Libanius and Ellebichus, magister militum of the East, as found in the letters and orations of Libanius composed between 385 and 390. As one of the few well–documented relationships between an educated civilian and a “barbarian” general, their friendship offers insight into the broader pattern of letter exchanges between these seemingly disparate groups. Libanius clearly valued this relationship, as did Ellebichus, who requested orations from the famous rhetor. Libanius’s letters conformed to generic conventions and maintained the semblance of a shared cultural background. When the relationship broke down, Libanius could criticize his friend’s foreign origin only in an oration, not a letter. Whatever the true feelings of the correspondents, the very act of exchanging letters helped unite the Roman Empire and, in effect, carefully mitigated the differences in culture, education, and power between the civilian and “barbarian” military elite.

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Bridging the Cultural Divide: Libanius, Ellebichus, and Letters to “Barbarian” Generals

McLaughlin¹

2014

jla

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The Audience of Ammianus Marcellinus and the Circulation of Books in the Late Roman World

Vendramini

2018

Journal of Ancient History

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Since the late nineteenth century, studies of Ammianus’ audience have reached widely divergent conclusions. Research has focused on two opposed theses: while some scholars have seen the pagan senatorial aristocracy as the audience of the Res Gestae, others have assigned that role to the imperial bureaucracy. However, in thinking that a work could reach—or target—exclusively the members of a specific social group, the prevalent views on Ammianus’ audience contradict what we know about the circulation of books in the late Roman world. In contrast to previous research, this study proposes a new approach based on an analysis of the information available on book circulation in Ammianus’ time. This analysis shows that the audience of the Res Gestae was most likely socially diverse.

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Reconstrucción, representación gráfica y análisis de las redes de poder en la alta edad media. Aproximación a las prácticas sociales de la aristocracia a partir del ejemplo de Odón de Cluny († 942)

Rosé¹

2011

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http://revista-redes.rediris.es Reconstrucción, representación gráfica y análisis de las redes de poder en la alta edad media. Aproximación a las prácticas sociales de la aristocracia a partir del ejemplo de Odón de Cluny († 942) 12 Isabelle Rosé-Université de Rennes 2-Cerhio, UMR 6258-Université Européenne de Bretagne (UEB) 3 Resumen Este texto pretende mostrar cómo la utilización de métodos, de conceptos y de análisis sobre las redes sociales pueden ser útiles en el estudio del principio de la Edad Media. Para reconstruir una « red personal » en este periodo, este artículo pone de manifiesto primero varias dificultades : la falta de fuentes, la selección y uso de documentos adecuados, la identifiacion clara de redes aristocráticas así como consideraciones sobre la construcción de redes que evolucionan en el tiempo. Se propone utilizar teorías y métodos tomados prestados de la sociología y se muestra un estudio de caso: la red personal de Odon de Cluny, un miembro importante de la aristocracia que también era abad del monasterio francés de Cluny entre 926 y 942. Ese caso sirve de ejemplo significativo para ilustrar como funcionaban las redes sociales en la sociedad de la Alta Edad Media.

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Libanius' Social Networks: Understanding the Social Structure of the Later Roman Empire

Cited by 4 publications

References 12 publications

Bridging the Cultural Divide: Libanius, Ellebichus, and Letters to “Barbarian” Generals

Bridging the Cultural Divide: Libanius, Ellebichus, and Letters to “Barbarian” Generals

The Audience of Ammianus Marcellinus and the Circulation of Books in the Late Roman World

Reconstrucción, representación gráfica y análisis de las redes de poder en la alta edad media. Aproximación a las prácticas sociales de la aristocracia a partir del ejemplo de Odón de Cluny († 942)

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