The ars dictaminis was the medieval description of the art of prose composition, and more specifically of the writing of letters (dictamen). It is closely linked to the ars dictandi, covering the composition of documents other than letters. The standing assumption was that these writings would be composed in Latin, and according to well worked-out models. This made the arts of composition a subfield of rhetoric.
Certain aspects of ars dictaminis may have its roots in the art of dictation applied by medieval Islamic humanists to classical Arabic.1 Important figures in the development of Latin letter writing and document composition include Albericus Cassinensis, his critic Adalbert of Samaria (Praecepta Dictaminum, c. 1120), and Lawrence of Aquilegia.
^ Makdisi, George (April-June 1989), "Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West", Journal of the American Oriental Society109 (2): 175-182
