The Rise of the Epistle

As I was reading “The Principles of Letter Writing,” I began thinking about the historical period in which it began. Throughout it, formal means of communication came in the form of public speeches and forums; however, it seemed that letters began changing this communication and allowed it to expand in terms of geographical positioning. Moreover, I thought it was interesting how letters expanded into a school and form, itself. What’s more, I think it’s important how the authors wrote that “the Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino, one of the oldest Christian institutions in Europe, brought classical learning to the problem of refining letter writing for Church purposes” (492). I’m wondering if this “manual” replaced any obsolete or unpractised forms of writing in the schools? Also, where would this fall in terms of teaching instruction? 

I’m glad at the fact that Bizzell and Herzberg explained that women also had agency during this period as almost an ‘ad hoc’ positioning during the period, but also had the ability to control the business when husbands were away. Letters, then, seemed like a form available and socially acceptable for women and men to write. I found the structuring the author delineates fascinating, It’s thought out and explained well, but also confusing (perhaps because I’m a modern day reader who doesn’t write in Latin on a regular basis). Whilst reading, the sentence structure seems confusing, but I guess it’s much more applicable in Latin. I suppose my lecturers were correct in saying that it’s easy for you to either ride on a horse, or a horse to ride on you as it relates to the cases one assigns to a word in the sentence. All in all, I found the reading fascinating, but perhaps too structured in a sense; to this end, what are the social consequences if one commits a epistle writing faux pas?