Ancient Salutation Formula in the Greek Letters from the Palaiologan Period

Abstract

“So-and-so to so-and-so [wishes] to rejoice” (Ὁ δεῖνα τῷ δεῖνι χαίρειν) is an epistolary salutation formula (hereinafter: infinitive formula), which emerged as early as the fourth century BC and was used throughout the Byzantine millennium. The formula is known in a large number of variants. This paper analyzes the use of the infinitive formula in the Greek letters from the Palaiologan period (second half of the thirteenth to fifteenth century). First, the evolution of the formula from antiquity to the thirteenth century is briefly characterized. Second, it has been investigated how often this formula was used, by which authors, and in what versions. Third, a typology of varieties of the infinitive formula has been proposed: two main types, “ancient” and “Byzantine,” have been distinguished, with variations possible within each one. Fourth, it is considered what reasons could have caused the choice between different variants of the formula, for example, when the verb χαίρειν (“to rejoice”) was replaced by the phrase εὖ πράττειν (“to fare well”) or when the name of the author is put in the first place, and when in the second place. It has been shown that this choice depended on various factors, including author’s belonging to a certain social group, his philosophical views, and aesthetic preferences.

Keywords

• византийский эпистолярный этикет, формулы приветствия, гуманизм, платон, георгий гемист плифон, виссарион никейский, феодор газа, франческо филельфо, геннадий схоларий