CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Knox, Daniel Kevin |
|---|---|
| Title | Trading Letters: A Network Analysis of Ennodius of Pavia's Letter Collection (A.D. 500-513) |
| Summary | 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. |
| Supervisor | Sághy, Marianne; Menze, Volker. |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/knox_daniel.pdf |
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