Ruricius of Limoges and Friends / A Collection of Letters from Visigothic Gaul

The letter collection of Ruricius, bishop of Limoges c.485-510, describes the last quarter of the fifth century, when it had seemed that the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse, not the kingdom of the Franks, would become the primary barbarian power of Gaul. The letters illustrate how literary life continued under barbarian rule, and demonstrate how well-to-do Gauls responded to the changing times. They provide priceless insights not only into the private and public lives of individual letter writers, but also into life and activities in Visigothic Gaul at the local level in general. More than any other source, these letters tell the tale of the ‘end of Roman Gaul’.

Ralph W. Mathisen is Louise Fry Scudder Professor of Humanities at the University of South Carolina, where he serves as Director of the Biographical Database for Late Antiquity.