epistology

noun

1. (uncountable)The study of letters and epistles.

   “Chapter Five is an analysis of several poems further to clarify Carew’s ideas, and six, “The Crown of Bays” treats other genres of Carew’s poetry—epistology and elegy.”

   “Considered from the point of view of epistology form, ‘To Mr B.B.’ is interesting as a type of deliberative epistle, with a fairly simple structure:[…]”

   “A further methodological problem of Geniza epistology—aside from the paleographic and stylistic obstacles common to Geniza documents generally—stems from the fact that writers of letters and their addressees (then, as today) knew things of which we are ignorant.”

   “Sembene uses the epistology form to elicit the female point of view in sensitive issues. These letters are written by female characters revealing their female experiences.”

   “We can now go some way towards filling this gap in the Nelson epistology. Five new letters to Cornwallis are included in this book, two of which are placed in this section.”