Anthyme Saint-Paul, in his Histoire monumentale de la France, nominated Didier as “le dernier des Romains” (“the last of the Romans”) because of his building activities as bishop. Didier’s lifelong correspondence with other aristocrats that he befriended in his youth also represents the very end of ancient epistolography dating back to the Hellenistic period. Didier was fully educated in literary studies, grammar and Roman laws. His small literary circle clearly attempted to preserve Roman heritage and traditions going back to Vergil and Homer, and the ability to speak the language of the past was valued. But Didier and his circle were remarkably few in number, indicating that only a very few individuals were participating in 7th century literary society. His letter collection marks the end of an unbroken chain of not only literary style but also cultural and social connection that can be traced back to Cicero and before. Subsequent surviving letter collections from the late Merovingian and Carolingian periods lack a direct connection to any ancient models.
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