Ars Dictaminis
"In the eleventh century, there arose a whole genre of theoretical works concerned with the form and composition of the official letter, the ars dictaminis, or "art of letter writing."” - Perelman, 98
The Art of Letter Writing in Medieval Times
Click HERE for Les Perelman's arcticle The Medieval Art of Letter Writing: Rhetoric as Institutional Expression
Ars Dictaminis was the most important rhetorical concept of the Medieval era. It arose from the growing needs of ecclesiastical and secular bureaucratic institutions that functioned primarily through letters due to the lack of urbanization in medieval society (unlike the classical polis).
It was developed in the eleventh century at the ancient Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino, partially at the embryonic universities of Bologna, Salerno, and Pavia, and at the newly created Papal Chancery. Accompanying this new theory of composition was the appearance of a new genre of rhetorical manual, also called ars dictaminis, or, collectively, dictamen. - Perelman 100
Papal letters became divided into two distinct categories: Privileges and
Letters. Privileges were the instruments of a grant or confirmation of rights,
property, and jurisdiction to churches and religious houses. Privileges were,
in actuality, title deeds, and as such were carefully saved by their recipi
ents as something of great value. Like modern deeds, such forms were
highly conservative and tended to maintain the forms of Curial formulae.
Privileges were indicated by two specific pictorial devices: the Rota, an
amplified Cross in a circle with some writing in each quarter and a bibli
cal quotation around the circumference, and the Monogram, which,
adapted from the imperial monogram, appeared on the right hand of the
document as a compression of the greeting Bene Valete (Poole, 105)
The pontifical letter was the instrument of the pope’s administrative and
judicial acts and was classified as Tituli, or Letters of Grace, and Manda
menta, or Letters of Justice (Poole, 115).
Tituli were documents by which
the pope granted or confirmed rights, licenses, or indulgences, conferred
benefices, promulgated statutes, or decided points of canon law. Fre
quently, they fulfilled the same purpose which had in earlier times been
effected by the Privilege.
Mandamenta, on the other hand, conveyed the pope's administrative
orders concerning some specific issue, such as injunctions, prohibitions,
appointment of commissioners, as well as the mass of official correspon
dence on both political and administrative matters (Poole, 117).
Being a teacher of rhetoric (dictatores) became a gateway to popehood, so naturally, it became a much more sought after and pursued profession in various monasteries in Europe.
Adalbertus Samaritanus developed set guidelines for composing letters, which were dependent solely upon the author's social class in comparison to the recipient's social class.
There were three categories: exalted (sublimis), the middle style, or "medium" (mediocris), and the low, or "meager" (exilis). Exalted letter are from a person of a lower social class to a person of higher social class. Exhalted letters are broken down into three parts: Flattery in the beginning (eg. "Your divine highness..."), the reason for the flattery in the middle (eg. "You have been blessed with the finest blood. As queen, you are the holiest alive."), and a request at the end (eg. "Please grant me one simple wish and cause such action as to persuade the posseser of Betsy the cow to return her to her rightful owner, my beloved son.") The medium style is for letters written between two people of the same social class. It consists of one instance of flattery and one request. The meager style is for people of a higher class writing to people of a lower class, and consists simple of a request or command (eg. "I hereby command you to release your cow, Betsy, to it's rightful owner.")
Click to read a letter from Catherine of Siena to the queen of Naples
For further reading, see: Flowers of Rhetoric by Alberic of Montecassino, The Lessons in Letter Writing by Adalbertus Samaritanus and The Principles of Letter Writing (Rationes dictandi)