“The Letter Collection of Ruricius of Limoges,” in Edward Watts, ed., Late Antique Letter Collections: A Critical Introduction and Reference Guide (Univ. of California Press, 2016), 337-356 The letters of Ruricius survive only in the...
more“The Letter Collection of Ruricius of Limoges,” in Edward Watts, ed., Late Antique Letter Collections: A Critical Introduction and Reference Guide (Univ. of California Press, 2016), 337-356
The letters of Ruricius survive only in the Codex Sangallensis 190, written in the late eighth or early ninth century. 1 They cover the period from ca. 470 until ca. 507, the crucial transitional phase between imperial and barbarian Gaul, and are divided into two books, the first with eighteen letters and the second with sixty-five. The collection also contains thirteen letters written to Ruricius. The collection therefore provides a rare opportunity to see sequences of letters in an exchange. These letters are rarely cited in the scholarship. This is unfortunate, for they present a picture of life in late Roman Gaul that significantly complements that provided by Ruricius's better-known confrères, such as Sidonius Apollinaris, Avi-tus of Vienne, and Ennodius of Pavia. The Ruricius collection has a very local flavor and describes everyday life in Visigothic Aquitania in an intimate and domestic way. THEMATIC MOTIFS A number of repetitious themes appear in the letters, and can provide some insight into the preoccupations of their writers. In particular, there was a great concern for maintaining ties of friendship, and letter writing even was viewed as a duty. Friends expected each other to write, even if only a brief pro forma letter, whenever a carrier happened to be available, and they peevishly complained when a friend passed up the opportunity to do so. They expressed desires to visit each other even when it was fairly clear that such visits would never occur. Friendly ties were reinforced with various kinds of favors, including the loaning of books, gifts of edibles, and the furnishing of building materials and artisans. For bishops, letters provided a venue for the fulfillment of one's episcopal duties, as seen in letters of intercession, condolence, and, in particular, exhortation to lead a better life or to undertake or maintain a
