2.17 RT – Viva voce. The Agency of Envoys in the Medieval Mediterranean

In the medieval Mediterranean, envoys on diplomatic dispatches often carried not only official written statements but also messages transmitted viva voce. This can be inferred from occasional oblique references in official documents. It appears that in some cases viva voce exchanges exerted an impact which went beyond what was put down in writing. One example can be drawn from the ample and pointed report of the famous embassy to Constantinople led by Liudprand, bishop of Cremona, in the name of the Ottonians.Those living along the shores of the Mediterranean had inherited a regard for the written word from Classical Antiquity but also from the book-based Abrahamic religions. However, they also had exchanges with other peoples which relied on orally transmitted consuetudes and knowledge. Therefore, this round table aims to bring together scholars from various fields of medieval and Byzantine studies to reflect, comparatively, on the following: how orally transmitted intelligence stood vis-à-vis written documentation in the diplomatic exchanges between polities of the medieval Mediterranean; how personal persuasion could go beyond official expectations or, on the contrary, fail spectacularly to the point of jeopardising the diplomatic mission. The papers might be collected in a special issue of a journal to offer a new perspective on the history of political relations in the medieval Mediterranean and neighbouring regions.