Epistolary motifs in the correspondance of Alcuin

Often used as a document, the letter is also a form of discourse allowing an approach which is pragmatic in the linguistic sense of the term, studying enunciation so as to understand its mode of communication. In this article, the author studies the role of epistolary motifs first in the very definition of the Alcuinian letter, and then in the emergence of a specific identity of the letter-writer, before analysing the importance of epistolary motifs, especially Paulinian ones, in the transformation of the letter into a form of eschatological space. In a genre that is heavily codified and conventional, where the universe of the Fathers has left its mark, Alcuins correspondence testifies to the wealth of epistolary discourse. The letter a place where models of being and of society are constructed, also becomes an emblem of the eschaton. Thus, far from being a simple appendix to his other, more noble, work, Alcuins correspondence is an integral part of his thinking on important issues.