Blog Post #3: Letters

The letters written in medieval times and the letters written today are actually very similar. With the medieval letters, there are five key parts of a letter. The first is the greeting. All letters today start off with a greeting for if they didn't, the writer might be construed as rude and not willing to take the time to wish the reader of this letter well. The second thing is what was called the benevolentiae captatio. To my knowledge this is partially the hook to get the reader interested in the letter and partially a bit of flattery to get in the reader's good graces before asking them for something or delivering bad news. The third part lays out the facts that are being presented. Pretty straight-forward. The fourth part is the petitio, where the writer requests something of the reader. These are common in business letters today. If the letter is not in the format of "please do this thing for me," then usually there will be a line at the bottom requesting a meeting or a phone call. The final part is the conclusion which will sum up the letter and most likely include a sign off.

These similarities can probably be contributed to the fact that if something has worked in the past, then why change it? If formula letters were what a) got your point across or b) got you what you wanted, then why have a different way of doing things? They are easy to use, and in my mind if it's convenient then it is even better than the other alternatives. (Please note: that does not hold true in all circumstances. Just this one)

Technology has greatly impacted letter writing. For one, back in ye olden days it could take an indeterminate amount of time for a letter to reach its intended reader. There was no instant connection between all people. The improvement of technology has made delivery of messages so much faster and therefore the response time has also dramatically decreased. It has also changed the format of some letters. Letters become shorter if people are under a deadline and much less eloquent. They become demanding.