Content

The letter is structured in three distinct sections, coinciding with the modern paragraph divisions:

• § 1 salutation and praise of Petronius;

• § 2 introduction of the bearer Vindicius, apology and a gift for Petronius;

• § 3 commendation of Vindicius and explanation of his legal problem.

The addressee Petronius

As can be seen in the apparatus, the manuscript tradition diverges on the name of the addressee: Petronius in Dolveck's δ branch, Petreius in his α branch. The latter name has never been taken into serious consideration before, although Petreius is the addressee of another letter in the collection, Ep. 4.11, where it is to Petreius, the nephew of Mamertus Claudianus, that Sidonius addresses the heartfelt eulogy at the news of Claudianus’ passing. Still, the commonly printed name Petronius is much likelier to be correct. First of all, this is not the only letter sent to Petronius to be included in the collection, since he is also the addressee of Ep. 2.5 and of Ep. 8.1. In both Ep. 2.5 and Ep. 5.1 Sidonius writes to Petronius seeking legal advice on behalf of his friends, Petronius being a renowned lawyer who had been sent in 469 to Rome, alongside Tonantius Ferreolus and Thaumastus (Ep. 1.7.4), to press charges against Arvandus, accused of treason for urging the Visigothic king Euric to turn on the emperor Anthemius, to attack the Bretons north of the Loire and to divide Gaul with the Burgundians.

Ep. 5.1 and Ep. 8.1 have a similar structure: in both letters Sidonius praises Petronius’ noble-mindedness and selflessness in enhancing his literary fame, and subsequently recalls the addressee's eagerness and strong desire to read more of his works. This similarity of structure and content points in the direction of Petronius, who would be a good candidate for the dedication of Book 5 also in terms of internal coherence of the Book. As will be explained in the introduction to Ep. 5.3, Sidonius’ decision to warn Arvandus of the charges against him seems to have caused tensions with close friends and family members involved in the prosecution.