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Letter-writing and emotions
James, Carolyn O'Leary, Jessica
James, Carolyn
O'Leary, Jessica
Author
Abstract
Understanding how premodern letter-writers employed emotional scripts offers an additional lens with which to understand the socio-cultural context in which letters were produced. Letter-writing was almost entirely an elite affair in the late medieval centuries. The formulaic rules of the ars dictaminis guided the structure and general stylistic approach of the letters, the standard phrases associated with the expression of amity might be manipulated in subtly different ways by writers for a variety of purposes. Early modern epistolary culture might usefully be distinguished from its medieval counterpart as literacy and postal systems improved in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, permitted greater numbers of people to redress distance and maintain relationships by writing to each other. The convincing conveyance of sincerity continued to be of critical importance to correspondents, since, without the perceived presence of a writer’s emotional state, the letter’s contents were considered insignificant.
Keywords
Date
2020
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
The Routledge History of Emotions in Europe: 1100-1700
Volume
Issue
Page Range
256-268
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
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Open Access Status
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File Access
Controlled