Layers of Loyalty in Latin Panegyric

This is the first monograph in English on the Panegyrici Latini, and the first in any language dedicated to the five speeches of praise from 289 - 307. The study considers how the orators justified, accommodated, and projected changes and related them to the local concerns of the people of Northern Gaul. Detailed analyses of the speeches highlight the literary flair and diplomatic acumen their orators required. As various ideologies and attitudes are charted over the five speeches, panegyric is seen to be a genre of great versatility and potential.