READING SIDONIUS' EPISTLES

Sidonius Apollinaris' letters offer a vivid series of glimpses into an otherwise sparsely documented period. His rich anecdotes feature the events, characters, and moments that defined his life, ranging from the treason trial of Arvandus to the Visigothic raiding of Clermont, from the corrupt and vile Seronatus to the holy widow Eutropia, and the day-to-day incidents that confronted a Gallo-Roman poet, aristocrat, and bishop as the Late Roman West transitioned into the barbarian successor kingdoms. Like any good storyteller, Sidonius exploited a wide array of narratological tools, manipulating temporality for dramatic effect, sketching his heroes and villains in vivid detail, and recreating witty dialogue in a collection that is highly organised and carefully strategised. This book provides a fuller understanding of his contribution to Latin literature, as a careful arranger of his self-image, a perceptive exploiter of narrative dynamics, and an influential figure in Late Antique Gaul.

Cover; Half-title; Title page; Copyright information; Table of contents; List of Maps; Preface; Acknowledgements; Chapter1 Sidonius'World; Vita; Sidonius' Epistolography; Sidonius' Epistles and Their Scholarship; Sidonius' Epistolarity; Chapter 2 Self and Status: Reading "Sidonius" in the Epistles; Mapping the Wealth and Offices of Sidonius' Self; Paideia; Sidonius Transalpinus; The Merging of Sidonius' Episcopal and Literary Selves; Conclusion; Chapter 3 Reading Time: Erzählzeit and Lesezeit; Hanging in the Balance: Erzählzeiten as Pivotal Moments; Erzählzeiten on the Road

Epistolary Time and the Construction of Macro and Micro ChronologiesAnticipating and Reporting Lesezeiten; False Endings and Beginnings: Erzählzeiten as Narrative Switch; Conclusion; Chapter 4 Reading Epistolary Characters; Skin-Clad Monarchs: The Rise of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse; Purpled Emperors: Characters in the Imperial Withdrawal from Roman Gaul; Plotting Friends: Constantius, Ferreolus, and Lampridius; Holy Exempla in Episcopal Narratives; Conclusion; Chapter 5 Narrating Dialogue; Switching Focalisation; Narrative Speed; Imagined Speech; Implied Speech; Conclusion

Chapter 6 ArrangementEditing…