Winrich Loehr: Workshop 'On the Way to a Comprehensive Commentary of the Augustinian Letters'

The paper will highlight various epistolary strategies and their success or otherwise during the 'hot' phase of the Pelagian controversy 411-418. It will show, on the one hand how Augustine and Pelagius used various forms of letters in order to attain their goals, and how all participants in the controversy not only carefully selected the primary and secondary addressees of their letters, but also made conscious choices abouts its contents and forms.  On the other hand, however, the paper will have ample cause to consider the irregular and aleatoric aspects of epistolary communication in Late Antiquity and the ways Augustine, his friends and opponents dealt with them.