Epistolography, Social Exchange and Intellectual Discourse (1261–1453)

The present chapter examines the role that letter-writing played within educated elites of the late Byzantine period. It argues that epistolography was an essential medium of social exchange which enabled literati to communicate among another and to reaffirm themselves as a distinctive group based on the principles of friendship and shared intellectual ideals. While the general “conservatism” of Byzantine literary culture fostered the stabilization of social and linguistic codes within this framework, this essay shows that the transformation that Byzantine society underwent due to the severe crisis it witnessed in this period, also challenged traditional values and deeply affected the constitution of networks and behavior of educated elites.