Importance
The letters give insight into the workings of Frankish diplomacy, and life at the Austrasian court. The letters include insights into the literacy of the kings' inner circle and the way diplomacy was conducted, together with snippets of information not supplied by other sources of the period. The letters are particularly useful in illuminating the complex diplomatic relations between Austrasia and the Byzantine Empire during much of the 6th century.
Caution must be exercised however, not to draw too much from the letters. The collection is at heart a compilation of disparate letters and their replies are often not included. Without a prior understanding of the greater context surrounding the letters, their content may be mis-interpreted. Also as some of the letters cannot be reliably dated, there is debate surrounding the interpretation of certain letters, particularly letter number twenty.
Read more about this topic: Austrasian Letters
Famous quotes containing the word importance:
“Think of the importance of Friendship in the education of men.... It will make a man honest; it will make him a hero; it will make him a saint. It is the state of the just dealing with the just, the magnanimous with the magnanimous, the sincere with the sincere, man with man.”
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“There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying.”
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“The importance to the writer of first writing must be out of all proportion of the actual value of what is written.”
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