Page 3 - Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West 411 - 533

ENVOYS AND POLITICAL
COMMUNICATION IN THE LATE
ANTIQUE WEST, 411–533

Warfare and dislocation are obvious features of the break-up of the late
Roman West, but this crucial period of change was characterised also by
communication and diplomacy. The great events of the late antique West
were determined by the quieter labours of countless envoys, who trav-
elled between emperors, kings, generals, high officials, bishops, provincial
councils, and cities. This book examines the role of envoys in the period
from the establishment of the first ‘barbarian kingdoms’ in the West, to
the eve of Justinian’s wars of reconquest. It shows how ongoing practices
of Roman imperial administration shaped new patterns of political inter-
action in the novel context of the earliest medieval states. Close analysis
of sources with special interest in embassies offers insight into a variety of
genres: chronicles, panegyrics, hagiographies, letters, and epitaphs. This
study makes a significant contribution to the developing field of ancient
and medieval communications.

andrew gillett is Research Fellow in the Department of Ancient
History, Macquarie University, Sydney.