epistolography

Epistolography is the study of letters (epistles) as both historical documents and literary artifacts. Derived from the Greek elements epistol- ('letter') and -graphy ('writing'), the field examines the production, transmission, and reception of letters across cultures and periods. It encompasses approaches that treat letters as personal communications, diplomatic instruments, bureaucratic records, and as a distinct literary genre. Researchers consider who wrote a letter, to whom, when and where it was written, and why, as well as how letters were copied, archived, and circulated over time.

Methods and sources: epistolography employs paleography and codicology to date manuscripts and determine form, along with textual criticism and philology to edit and interpret texts. Archival science and manuscript studies locate letters within collections, while digital humanities offer searchability, transcription, and prosopographical networks. Letter collections — private correspondence, institutional archives, diplomatic missives, and epistolary fiction — serve as primary data for social, linguistic, and historical analysis. The content often illuminates social networks, everyday life, language change, and political relations, as well as the rhetoric and conventions of letter-writing itself.

Relation to other fields: epistolography intersects with classics, history, literary studies, anthropology, and diplomatic history. In literature, the study of epistolary novels and letter-based narratives explores how letters shape plot, voice, and perception. In contemporary scholarship, digital archives and computational methods expand analysis of authorship, provenance, and networks.