Category: Review

Ferrari Reviews ‘Gallia docta?’

Carlo Ferrari reviews Tabea L. Meurer & Veronika Egetenmeyr (eds): Gallia docta? Education and In-/Exclusion in Late Antique Gaul, in Sehepunkte 24 (2024) no. 7, 8.’

‘Ten years after the release of Steffen Diefenbach and Gernot Michael Müller’s pivotal work, Gallien in Spätantike und Frühmittelalter, this new volume serves as an important resource for expanding our understanding of a region central to the cultural history of the late Roman Empire and early Middle Ages. While much of the volume understandably focuses on Sidonius’ literary production, it successfully offers a highly original and comprehensive view of Gallic society during a time of significant transformation, highlighting the strategies of inclusion and exclusion prompted by the emergence of new communities and the spread of Christianity, and going beyond the traditional barbarian/Roman and pagan/Christian dichotomies.

Montone Reviews Hindermann

Francesco Montone reviews Judith Hindermann’s commentary of Book 2 of the Correspondence (Sidonius Apollinaris’ Letters, book 2: text, translation and commentary. Edinburgh studies in later Latin literature. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022) in BMCR 2023.11.28.

‘Il lavoro realizzato dalla studiosa è di certo apprezzabile […] per la chiarezza espositiva e per l’acribia dimostrata nella stesura dell’ampio commento.’

‘La traduzione proposta è precisa, molto aderente al testo ed attenta a cogliere le arguzie della dictio sidoniana. ‘

‘In definitiva il pregevole volume sarà di grande utilità per i cultori di cultura antica.’

Wahlgren-Smith Reviews the Companion

Lena Wahlgren-Smith (Southampton) published a review of the Companion in Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art and Architecture 8,2 (2022) 173-84, online here.

‘With the exception of material culture, this rich volume appears to cover almost every aspect of Sidonius’ life and oeuvre that a student of the period might look for. It not only represents an enormous advance in the understanding of this author, but also suggests ways in which other authors, in this and other periods, might profitably be approached. It will add greatly to the field of Sidonius studies and doubtless stimulate further exploration of the author, his genres, and his time.’