A Network Analysis of Ennodius of Pavia's Letter Collection
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Daniel K. Knox Trading Letters: A Network Analysis of Ennodius of Pavia’s Letter Collection (A.D. 500-513) MA Thesis in Medieval Studies Central European University Budapest May 2016 CEU eTD Collection Trading Letters: A Network Analysis of Ennodius of Pavia’s Letter Collection (A.D. 500-513) by Daniel K. Knox (New Zealand) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner ____________________________________________ CEU eTD Collection Examiner Budapest May 2016 Trading Letters: A Network Analysis of Ennodius of Pavia’s Letter Collection (A.D. 500-513) by Daniel K. Knox (New Zealand) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2016 Trading Letters: A Network Analysis of Ennodius of Pavia’s Letter Collection (A.D. 500-513) by Daniel K. Knox (New Zealand) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2016 I, the undersigned, Daniel Keven Knox, candidate for the MA degree in Medieval Studies, declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or institution’s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 19 May 2016 __________________________ Signature CEU eTD Collection Abstract This thesis is a network analysis of the letters of Ennodius of Pavia: aristocrat, intellectual, churchman, and letter writer of the early sixth century. This Thesis Examines the structure of Ennodius’s network to the extent that it can be reconstructed from his extant published letter collection. Three questions are the focus of the thesis: who were the most structurally important actors in Ennodius’s network? Which influential individuals and groups did Ennodius seek to attach himself to and why? And how did Ennodius maintain the ties that he had made? By answering these questions I aim to provide a better understanding of how Ennodius’ social network functioned. I will argue in this thesis that Ennodius was what network scientists call a ‘sociometric superstar’: a well-connected actor within his network who facilitated the communication and connectivity of the other actors within the network. This status is based on Ennodius’s ties to a number of influential individuals in Ostrogothic Italy—chiefly the senator Faustus Niger. When we consider Ennodius’s letter collection in the light of the social network that it represents it is clear that a key purpose of the text was to promote Ennodius’s ties to the most influential members of his society and his extensive participation within it. CEU eTD Collection i Acknowledgements There are many people to thank for their help in the completion of this thesis. Firstly I would like to thank my supervisors: Marianne Sághy and Volker Menzer for their support and advice throughout the MA programme and during the writing of this thesis. It was a hard decision to come here from so far away but you have both ensured that it was an excellent move. In addition I wish to thank the faculty and staff of the Medieval Studies programme at CEU for their support and encouragement throughout the year. I owe thanks in particular to the academic writing instructors Zsuzsa Reed and Tom Rooney, I have learnt a lot about writing this year, and perhaps more about formatting than I thought possible. I would like to thank the Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies for supporting me to attend a conference in Edinburgh where I presented parts of this thesis. Parts of this thesis were also prepared in the course of my class work this year, Thanks to Daniel Ziemann, Igor Razum, and Andra Juganaru for your support in this. Thank you also to Gina White at CEMS for your support and encouragement this year—even this thesis could not escape the long reach of the res publica. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues in the MA and PhD programmes at CEU for making this an excellent and stimulating year. In particular owe thanks to Marino Kumir, Iliana Kandzha, and Rob Sharp for their friendship, support, and banter throughout the year—I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to my friends and family back in New Zealand for letting me move so far away and not minding too much that I don’t call CEU eTD Collection as often as I should. Your love and support is greatly appreciated. Finally I would like to thank Karen Stark for her love, support, and understanding during the final months of this project. Without your encouragement, and meticulous proof reading, I don’t think I could have finished it. ii Table of contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 – The Network of Ennodius ........................................................................................... 6 Social Networks .......................................................................................................................... 6 Analyzing the Network of Ennodius........................................................................................... 9 Network Direction .................................................................................................................... 12 Network Centrality.................................................................................................................... 13 Epistolary Acts vs. Centrality ................................................................................................... 17 Faustus ...................................................................................................................................... 19 The Value of Modelling Ennodius’s Network .......................................................................... 21 Chapter 2 – Influential Connections ............................................................................................. 23 The Social and Political Landscape of Ostrogothic Italy.......................................................... 23 The Pull of Theodoric’s Court .................................................................................................. 25 The Laurentian Schism and the Papacy .................................................................................... 28 CEU eTD Collection Connections to Faustus ............................................................................................................. 33 A Sociometric Superstar ........................................................................................................... 37 The Value of Good Connections............................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3 – Maintaining Ties ....................................................................................................... 40 iii Amicitia and Letters .................................................................................................................. 41 Ennodius, Amicitia, and the Commercia Litterarum ................................................................ 46 Shared Presence and Human Ties ............................................................................................. 48 The Value of Maintaining Ties ................................................................................................. 50 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 52 Apendix 1: Letter Recipients .................................................................................................... 55 Apendix 2: Individuals Mentioned in Letters ........................................................................... 57 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 60 Primary Sources ........................................................................................................................ 60 Secondary Sources .................................................................................................................... 60 CEU eTD Collection iv List of Figures, Tables or Illustrations Figure 1 Ennodius's Network .......................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2 Network Centrality ........................................................................................................