Christopher Nunn: Come to an End – Typology of Closures in Augustine’s Correspondence

The structure of Seneca’s Epistulae morales ad Lucilium gives no reason for surprise. He begins a letter with Seneca Lucilio suo salutem and ends with Vale. This regularity cannot be taken for granted in ancient letter exchanges. For example, the way Augustine opens and closes his correspondence differs significantly from Seneca’s letter scheme. Just take Augustine’s letters in the Dossier Marcellinus. They share impressive opening salutations. The completeness of the individual elements in the salutations and the high frequency of epithets reflect the high social ranks of the addressees, as researchers have frequently observed. However, can we say something similar about the letter endings? The research on letter endings in Augustine’s correspondence is quite meager, as the findings vary widely. In this session, we will analyse how often Augustine ends a letter in a formal manner, what kinds of letter endings he uses, and which functions these endings have. For example, the endings in the Dossier Marcellinus are quite significant. They often end with a Binnenanrede (epp. 133-135; 138-139). Is this a sign of politeness? Is it a way for Augustine to put pressure on his addressees? A closer look during the talk will shed light on these types of questions.