Formen der Anrede im byzantinischen Brief vom 6. bis zum 12. Jahrhundert

This study is the first major systematic investigation on forms of address in sixth to twelfth century Byzantine epistology. It is based on more than 3600 letters written by 100 epistolographers, providing about 5500 forms of address which are listed in an alphabetical catalogue. Direct and indirect form of address constitute an essential part of the Byzantine letter and therefore they were chosen carefully by epistolographers. They indicate the relationship between sender and receiver. Do the two correspondents have an close friendship, or are they on more formal terms? The greetings used by letter-writers can be classified according to three different types: greetings based on classical literature (e.g. Homer, Plato), biblical allusions (especially from the letters of the New Testament) and Byzantine terms (especially titles). Contemporary sources offer little information on forms of address, but the quantity of the collected material has allowed an analysis of the characteristics and tendencies of their usage to be made. It can be shown that certain forms of address were used by or reserved for particular social groups (the emperor and his family, clergy and secular persons).