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Imperial W omen in Byzantium 1025-1204
 WOMEN AND MEN IN HISTORY

This series, published for students, scholars and interested general readers,
will tackle themes in gender history from the early medieval period through
to the present day. Gender issues are now an integral part o f all history
courses and yet many traditional texts do not reflect this change. Much
exciting work is now being done to redress the gender imbalances o f the
past, and we hope that these books will make their own substantial con­
tribution to that process. This is an open-ended series, which means that
many new titles can be included. We hope that these will both synthesise
and shape future developments in gender studies.
The General Editors o f the series are Patricia Skinner (University of South­
ampton) for the medieval period; Pamela Sharpe (University of Bristol) for
the early m odern period; and Penny Summerfield (University o f Lancaster)
for the m odern period. Margaret Walsh (University o f Nottingham) was the
Founding Editor of the series.
Published books:
Imperial Women in Byzantium 1025-1204: Power, Patronage and Ideology
Barbara H ill
Masculinity in Medieval Europe
D.M. Hadley (ed.)
Gender and Society in Renaissance Italy
Judith C. Brown and Robert C. Davis (eds)
Gender, Church and State in Early Modern Germany: Essays by Merry E.
Wiesner
Merry E. Wiesner
M anhood in Early Modern England: Honour, Sex and Marriage
Elizabeth W. Foyster
Disorderly Women in Eighteenth-Century London: Prostitution in the
Metropolis 1730-1830
Tony Henderson
Gender, Power and the Unitarians in England, 1760-1860
R uth Watts
Women and Work in Russia, 1880-1930: A Study in Continuity through
Change
Jane McDermid and A n n a Hillyar
The Family Story: Blood, Contract and Intimacy, 1830-1960
Leonore Davidojf, Megan Doolittle, Janet Fink and Katherine Holden
More than Munitions: Women, Work and the Engineering Industries 1900-
1950
Clare Wightman
 Imperial Women in
Byzantium 1025-1204:
Power, Patronage and
Ideology

BARBARA HILL

R Routledge
Taylor &.Francis Group

LO N D O N AN D NEW YORK
 First published 1999 by Pearson Education Limited

Published 2013 by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon 0X 14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an im print o f the Taylor & Francis Group, an inform a business

Copyright © 1999, Taylor & Francis.

The right o f Barbara Hill to be identified as author o f this Work has

b een asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopy­
ing and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treat­
ment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating
and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such in­
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contained in the material herein.

ISBN 13: 978-0-582-30352-2 (pbk)

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hill, Barbara.
Imperial w om en in Byzantium, 1025-1204: power, patronage,
and ideology / Barbara Hill,
p. cm. - (W omen and m en in history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0 -5 8 2 -3 0 3 5 3 -2 (csd). - ISBN 0 -5 8 2 -3 0 3 5 2 -4 (ppr)
1. Empresses - Byzantine Empire - History. 2. Byzantine Empire
- History - 1025-1081. 3. Byzantine Empire - History - 1081-1453.
4. Leadership in w om en - Byzantine Empire - History. I. Title.
II. Series.
DF591.3.H56 1999
949.5'02'0922 - dc21 98-52955
CIP
Set by 35 in 1 0 /1 2 p t Baskerville
 Contents

List of maps, figures and family trees vii

List of abbreviations viii
Glossary ix
Author’s acknowledgements xi
1. Introduction 1
Secondary sources 3
R ecent scholarship 6
Sources 8
Feminism, sex and gender 10
W om en in Byzantium: an introduction 14
Towards a fem inist history o f Byzantium 18
Byzantium: an introduction 28
2. The role of women in eleventh-century politics 37
Introduction 37
Zoe 42
T h eo d o ra 55
Family governm ent in the eleventh century 58
Eudokia M akrembolitissa 62
T he rise o f the Kom nenoi 66
T he coup o f 1081 69
3. Creating the ideal Komnenian woman 72
Introduction: deconstructing ideology 72
Ideology and the K om nenoi 75
M other 78
Wife 83
Sister and d aughter 87
Physical attributes 88
C onclusion 93
4. Titles for imperial women 96
Sources and historiography 97
T he system 100

v
VI Imperial women in Byzantium 1025—1204

Augousta 102
Basilissa 108
D espoina 114
C onclusion 117
5. The method of marriage 120
A nthropological analysisof the K om nenian system 123
M arriage 124
Inheritance, descent and nam ing strategies 132
W oman as subject 141
C onclusion 150
6. Power through patronage 153
D efining patronage 155
Individual patrons 161
Patterns o f patronage 174
Econom ic resources 176
T he effect o f m arital status 178
Conclusion 179
7. A woman’s ideology 181
A nna K om nene and the Alexiad 187
8. The collapse of the Komnenian system 199
Maria o f Antioch 201
Euphrosyne Doukaina 204
9. Conclusion 208

Chronology 218
Appendix: Family trees 220
Bibliography 222
Index 242
 L ist o f M aps, Figures an d Family Trees

M aps

C onstantinople xi

F ig u r e s

Figure 1 T he hierarchy o f titles devised by Alexios 101

Figure 2 T he wom en in P rodrom os’s work 110
Figure 3 Genealogical connections 137

Fa m il y T rees

1. T he en d o f the House o f M acedon 220

2. T he House o f Doukas 220
3. T he House o f Kom nenos 221
4. T he H ouse o f Angelos 221
 L ist o f abbreviations

AHR Am erican Historical Review

B Byzantion
BF Byzantinische Forschungen
BMGS Byzantine an d M odern Greek Studies
BS Byzandnoslavica
BS/EB Byzantine S tudies/E tudes byzantines
BSHAR Bulletin de la Section H istorique, Academ ie Roum aine
BZ Byzantinische Zeitschrift
DOP D um barton Oaks Papers
IRAIK Izvestija Russkago Archeoliceskago Instituta v Konstanti-
nople
JOB Jah rb u ch d er O sterreichischen Byzantinistik
JRS Jo u rn al o f Rom an Studies
JThS Jo u rn al o f Theological Studies
NE Neos Ellenika
OCA O rientalia C hristiana Analecta
P&P Past & Present
REB Revue des etudes byzantines
TM Travaux et m em oires
TRHS Transactions o f the Royal Historical Society
W Vizantijskij V rem ennik
 Glossary

W ords defined in the Glossary are asterisked on their first appear­

ance in the book.

affines: persons related by m arriage

augousta: title o f crowned em press
basileia: power holding
basilikos logos: set speeches in h o n o u r o f an em peror
(pi. basilikoi logoi)
basilissa basilis: em press (pi. basilissai)
beneficia: grants and rewards which can be
bestowed
chrysobull: decree issued by the em peror
despoina: mistress o f the house, also used for
empresses
despotes: a title for the em peror, b u t one which
focuses on his practical duties rather
than im perial majesty
diataxis: decree
didaskalos: teacher
eisiterioi: verses o f welcome
filiation: a system which hands property from
father to son
gambroi: plural of gambros - a relative
habitus: thought-world
imperium: em perorship
kaisarissa: wife o f a Caesar
kouropalatissa [kouropalates]: wife o f kouropalate
lemma: heading of a poem o r speech stating
its dedication (pi. lemmata)
magistrisse: wife of magistros
m orning gift: gift given to bride on m orning after
wedding - often a percentage of dowry
oikos: household in the largest sense

ix
X Imperial women in Byzantium 1025-1204

philanthropia: generosity to those poorer than

oneself
phronema: highm indedness
pittakion: decree
porphyrogennitos: born in purple cham ber reserved for
wife of em peror
potestas: power
prim ogeniture: system of inheritance by eldest son
propemptic talk: speech o f advice
prostaxis: decree
protosebastos: son o f first son in K om nenian system
o f titles
sebastokrator: son o r b ro th er o f the em peror
sebastokratorissa: wife o f a sebastokrator
spiritual kinship: creation of godparents
theatron: literary circle (pi. theatra)
typikon: foundation charter o f a m onastery
(pi. typika)
 A u th or’s acknowledgements

This book started life as my doctoral thesis, com pleted for the
Q u een ’s University o f Belfast in 1994. Special thanks go o f course
to my supervisor, M argaret Mullett, who introduced me to Byzan­
tium in the first place and rem ained an inspiration and example
throughout. To Liz Jam es m ust go m uch o f the credit for getting
this book published, since she m entioned the thesis to my aca­
dem ic editor, Patricia Skinner. Patricia’s academ ic excellence and
generous support facilitated the transition from thesis to book. T he
Longm an team o f Hilary Shaw, T erka Bagley and V erina Pettigrew
deserve many thanks for their patience and expertise. Finally, as
always, thanks to my husband Ross who proof-read the m anuscript
and helped greatly in the preparation and production o f the index.

xi
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CONSTANTINOPLE
Source: A. Bridge, Theodora (Chicago, 1993), opposite p. 1.
 CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

T he study o f wom en is currently fashionable during this second

w om en’s m ovem ent of the tw entieth century. Byzantine women
have n o t been neglected in the upsurge o f interest in the lives of
women in general. And yet, despite increased interest over the last
twenty years, the investigation and knowledge o f women still have a
long way to go before they are on a level with many o th er areas of
Byzantine culture and history. T he relatively recent Oxford Dictionary
of Byzantium does n o t have an entry on ‘em press’. For inform ation
on this person, readers are directed to the entry on ‘em peror’.1Even
prim ary evidence can be m isrepresented, and perhaps therefore
misread; this fact is dem onstrated by the usual characterisation of
the mosaic in the south gallery of Hagia Sophia as ‘the C onstan­
tine p an e l’, despite the fact that C onstantine was clearly n o t the
original d o n o r o f the panel and was only em p eror in any case by
his m arriage to the reigning empress, Zoe the M acedonian, who is
also represented in the panel. This should be described as the Zoe
panel.2 T he erro r is fu rth e r com pounded by the inclusion o f the
panel in the very accessible Byzantium by R. Loverance. O n page 44
the photograph o f the panel excludes Zoe altogether, only showing
Christ and Constantine. Loverance does have the grace to include Zoe
in the caption, b u t the photograph is m ore likely to be rem em bered
an d few casual readers will read the caption. T he b itter extrem e of
exclusion o f wom en is that scholarly attem pts are m ade to remove

1. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, A. Kazhdan (ed.), 3 vols (New York and
O xford, 1991).
2. See B. Hill, L. Jam es a n d D.C. Smythe, ‘Zoe and the rhythm m eth o d o f im per­
ial renew al’, in P. M agdalino (ed.), New Constantines: the Rhythm of Imperial Renewal in
Byzantium, 4th-13th Centuries (Aldershot, 1994), pp. 215-29.

1
2 Imperial women in Byzantium 1025-1204

their visibility in cases where they have been visible. For example,
J. 1lo ward J oh n .ston would like to turn the Alexiad o f A nna K om nene
into the Alexiad o f N ikephoros Bryennios, edited by Anna Komnene,
on the ludicrous, no t to say unproved and chauvinistic, grounds that
women cannot write about battles.3 Howard-Johnston is no t doing
anything new: denying authorship to wom en is a tim e-honoured
tradition the absurdity and bias o f which have been convincingly
laid bare by Jo an n a Russ.4
It is no longer necessary to make excuses for or to justify study­
ing women: m ost scholars accept that such work is axiomatic for
the full understanding o f social life, an d that ignoring over half the
hum an race results in a distorted picture o f hum an life. Even histor­
ies o f the m ost m ale-dom inated areas o f Byzantine life like military
usurpations are no longer com plete w ithout the consideration of
the role o f wom en within them .5 W om en appear as actors on every
stage.
Before it is assum ed that m en and wom en are now equally rep­
resented as subjects in history-writing, a historiographical note of
caution should be sounded. T here are m ore articles written every
year about women in Byzantium, an d a chronological survey shows
immediately the vast difference between this decade and the 1940s
for example, bu t the authors have also changed. In the 1940s three
very em inent m en wrote about Byzantine women: in the 1980s male
writers were heavily outnum bered by women. Has the study of
Byzantine wom en becom e a specialised subject, only undertaken by
women, ignored by Byzantinists as a whole? Has it been marginalised?
T he good general histories o f the decade, like A ngold’s The Byzan­
tine Empire 1025-1204 and the works deliberately engaging with
culture, like Kazhdan and C onstable’s People and Power in Byzantium,
and Kazhdan and Epstein’s Change in Byzantine Culture, do m ention
women, usually in the context o f the family, bu t there are few
specific articles written by m en. In the 1980s the only m an inter­
ested in wom en was one o f those who was writing in the 1940s,
nam ely Steven Runcim an. O f course, there is an alternative view
o f the preponderance of wom en writers over m en writers, which is
that wom en have taken charge in this area o f research. T he fact

3. J. H ow ard-Johnston, ‘A nna K om nene and the Alexiad’, in M.E. M ullett and

D.C. Smythe (eds), Alexios I Komnenos (Belfast, 1996), pp. 260-301.
4. J. Russ, How to Suppress Women’s Writing (Austin, 1983). T he flat denial of
agency to the wom an is the first option she discusses.
5. J-P. Cheynet, Pouvoir et contestations a Byzance (963-1210) (Paris, 1990), includes
a consideration o f the legitim ising role of w om en betw een 1028-1081.
 Introduction 3

th at m uch w om en’s history is written by fem ale historians has no t

b een lost on feminists, some o f whom are now keen to include
interested m en in their discussions, and see such com binations as
the way forward.6
T he women in this study can be divided into two groups. The
first group consists o f two sovereign empresses, Zoe and T heodora,
the last heirs o f the long-standing M acedonian dynasty. T he second
group is com posed of the women who were powerful because they
were related to em perors. Most o f them belong to the Kom nenian
dynasty which seized power in 1081, establishing an unbroken rule
until the capture of the city in 1204 by the soldiers o f the Fourth
Crusade. These wom en were all im perial in the context o f the
K om nenoi, b u t n ot all were empresses. They were m others, wives,
sisters, sisters-in-law and daughters o f em perors. Such a definition
o f th eir status is n o t a concession to traditional history which always
defines women in relation to m en. In any autocracy m en and women
are defined in relation to the autocrat, an d Byzantium was no dif­
ferent. Since all the m en aro u n d the em peror were defined in
term s of th eir relation to him , it is permissible in the historical
context o f the K om nenian era to do the same with the women.
This is n o t a gen d er difference; it is a political system. T he w om en’s
relation with the em peror was one o f the m ost im portant things
about them and about their society at this particular time. Some
were wives and some were widows. T he effect o f differing marital
status in Byzantine society and ideology will likewise becom e clear.

Secondary sources

Studies on wom en vary widely, from attem pts to elucidate the role
o f wom en in society, through studies on one aspect o f w om en’s life,
to detailed work on one woman. Paul Adams was the first to feel
the fascination o f Byzantine women, writing in 1893 a book on
Princesses byzantines, which included Eirene Doukaina and A nna
Kom nene. However, m odern scholarship can be said to have started
with Charles Diehl, whose charm ing b u t uncritical biographies
o f Byzantine women, Figures byzantines, perform ed the function of

6. O n the effects of the 1970s on history writing and the new breed of feminist
m en, see A. Farge, ‘M ethods and effects o f w om en’s history’, in M. P errot (ed.),
Writing Women’s History (French ed. 1984, tr. F. Pleasant, O xford, 1992), pp. 10-24.
4 Imperial women in Byzantium 1025—1204

pulling together all th at the sources had to say about each into one
place. They are still a good place to start learning the ‘facts’ about
the wom en he chose. T he tradition was carried on by B ernard Leib,
who after translating the Alexiad found so m uch m aterial th at he
proceeded to write many articles about Alexios’s reign, incorporat­
ing the wom en around him: indeed, given such source m aterial he
could hardly have done otherwise. His ‘La role des femmes dans la
revolution des C om nenes a Byzance’ is the m ost relevant to the
present study. H e too gathers the source material into one place, but
there is no attem pt to criticise the source o r to analyse Byzantine
society. Steven R uncim an is the last great follower o f this tradition.
His work is very gallant, b u t in the course o f five articles specifically
on Byzantine wom en he does n o t go far beyond narration. His
interest is consistent: in a book on the em peror Romanos Lekapenos
he includes a chapter on his em press Zoe Karbonopsina, which is
the only detailed treatm ent o f this crucial and m uch m aligned
character. His article on the fall o f A nna Dalassene is an attem pt
to penetrate the silence o f the sources and analyse the events on
o ther grounds: it is n o t his fault th at the state of ou r knowledge has
progressed, leaving his work out o f date. A slighdy different approach
is taken by G rosdidier de M atons in ‘La fem m e dans l ’em pire
byzantin’. A lthough he has only the same source m aterial at his
disposal, he avoids a narrative account, and attem pts to present a
them atic description o f the life o f women. H e includes the highly
interesting and generally neglected subjects o f dangers o f childbirth
and the superstitious rites in which wom en took part in o rd er to
ensure either conception o r contraception, the birth o f a son, or
an abortion.
Them atic studies o f single aspects o f w om en’s life do exist. The
first treatm ent o f wom en an d law was that o f G eorgina Buckler: h er
work on A nna K om nene still stands as the only full-scale study of
this woman in English. T he best an d m ost exhaustive study o f the
law as it applies to wom en is by Beaucamp, which has so far n o t
been bettered. Bensam m ar’s study o f the titles o f the em press and
their significance is the only such study relating to women, in strong
contrast to the num erous articles on the titulature o f the em peror.
In 1985 Women and Monasticism was published, addressing such
aspects o f Byzantine w om en’s m onastic experience as choices in
becom ing a nun, the ideology and the reality contrasted, and the
values that nuns were supposed to hold. A second volume, on Women
and Byzantine Monasticism, was published in 1991, including articles
on founders o f m onasteries, im perial wom en an d the m onastic life,
 Introduction 5

and equality in monasticism. Patlagean’s work on transvestite nuns,

including an essay in this volume, has illum inated the m onastic
choices open to wom en in the m iddle period, and the consequences
o f choosing them . This study is invaluable no t only for its subject
m atter, b u t for its pointers towards the type o f fu rth er research
which needs to be done. Alice-Mary T albot has explored the educa­
tion available in m onasteries o f the later period.7
M uch o f the evidence for women in m onastic life relates to im­
perial o r aristocratic women, who had both the m oney or property
to endow m onasteries and the education to write about their aims.
O n a sm aller scale, these same wom en paid for artistic decoration
in churches o r for icons even if they still lived in the secular world.
T he question of Byzantine devotion to icons was a contested point
then and still m erits discussions today. W om en’s devotion to cer­
tain images above others and their relationship to the Virgin Mary
have been discussed by Robin Corm ack and Ju d ith H errin.
O th er im portant articles on the lives o f Byzantine women cannot
be categorised into strict them es, bu t each add inform ation which
is crucial. Speeches o r artefacts can be used to explore the role of
women: R obert Browning’s article on the funeral oration o f Anna
K om nene is one exam ple,8 Ioli Kalavrezou-Maxeiner’s discussion of
the place o f the em press Eudokia from an ivory from the m id­
eleventh century is another.9 Some work has b een done on the
question o f wom en and power. For instance, Averil C am eron has
shown th at the fifth-century em press Sophia was the power behind
h e r sick husband, and M argaret M ullett has revealed the changing
political role o f the ex-empress Maria o f Alania. Steven Runcim an
has chronicled the career o f the famous empress Eirene the Athenian
in the eighth century and has also written m ore widespread articles
attem pting to define the role o f aristocratic wom en in general and
the em press in particular. For the later period, Alice-Mary Talbot
has exam ined the role o f the empress regent T heodora Palaeologina
in all areas o f h er life.10

7. A-M. Talbot, ‘Blue-stocking nuns: intellectual life in the convents of late

Byzantium’, Okeanos: Essays presented to Ihor Sevcenko (Cambridge, Mass., 1984), pp. 6 0 4 -
18.
8. R. Browning, ‘An unpublished funeral oration o n A nna C om nena’, Proceedings
of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 188 (ns 8) (Cam bridge, 1962), pp. 1—12.
9. I. Kalavrezou-Maxeiner, ‘Eudocia M akrembolitissa and the Rom anos ivory’,
D O P 31 (1977), pp. 305-28.
10. A-M. Talbot, ‘Em press T h eo d o ra Palaiologina, wife o f M ichael VUI’, DOP 46
(1992), pp. 295-304.
6 Imperial women in Byzantium 1025—1204

Recent scholarship
Since the 1980s analytical overview studies have been published
by Laiou11 and H errin ,12 which are arguably the m ost accessible
an d useful secondary sources for wom en in Byzantium. These two
are contiguous with the great explosion o f interest in ancient and
medieval wom en at the beginning o f the 1980s. They take different
approaches: Laiou analyses clearly dem arcated areas while H errin
chooses three avenues which are less clear-cut. They concur in the
usefulness o f law as evidence and in the im portance they attach
to property and its m anagem ent, as well as in the explicit aim of
differentiating reality and ideals. Laiou ignores the church but
explores attitudes to women. H errin investigates Christian beliefs
and their effect, bu t is concerned to illum inate practical reality
rather than an ideal. Laiou is interested in aristocratic and im perial
wom en because o f their im portance for property m anagem ent and
transference and sees the em ergence o f aristocratic wom en as a
class into society and politics. H errin would prefer to concentrate
on wom en o th er than im perial o r aristocratic, bu t eventually has to
com e to term s with their role since the property evidence leads that
way. H errin in particular notices the increased freedom and privi­
leged position o f widows. Despite their differing approaches, both
Laiou and H errin conclude that in Byzantium women were sub­
ordinate to m en, being subject to limitations which affected all
wom en from the aristocrat to the peasant, despite som e loosening
of attitudes in the eleventh an d twelfth centuries. Most recently,
Laiou has published a detailed treatm ent o f m arriage, love and
relationship in Byzantium in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries.13
This book no t only explores the developm ent o f civil an d canon
law in relation to im pedim ents to m arriage, and the econom ic con­
sequences o f m arriage alliances for the succession and m anagem ent
of property, bu t also discusses the em otional side o f m arriage, love
and desire. From a thorough exam ination o f all cases o f disputed
m arriages, Laiou shows th at the aristocracy and the em p ero r were
highly concerned to control the organisation o f m arriage, an activity
which placed them in direct conflict with the church, which was

11. A. Laiou, ‘T h e role o f wom en in Byzantine society’, JOB 3 1/1 (1981),

pp. 233-60.
12. J. H errin, ‘In search o f Byzantine women: three avenues o f ap p ro ac h ’, in
Averil C am eron a n d A. K uhrt (eds), Images of Women in Antiquity (L ondon, 1983),
pp. 167-89.
13. A. Laiou, Manage, amour et parente a Byzance aux Xle - Xllle si'ecles (Paris, 1992).
 Introduction 7

equally determ ined to exercise ultim ate jurisdiction. A certain gap

betw een law and practice is exposed, spawning the num erous court
cases dealing with the dissolution o f unions as the aristocracy sought
to m anipulate m arriage alliances for their own social, political and
econom ic advancem ent. Laiou dem onstrates the circular nature
o f the problem : the aristocracy found their m atrim onial strategies
influenced by legal im pedim ents to m arriage, bu t in their attem pts
to carry out their plans through the legal process they contributed
to the developm ent o f these im pedim ents.
Keith H olum ’s Theodosian Empresses was also published in the 1980s,
and deals with the m other, wives an d sister of the fourth-century
em p ero r Theodosios II. Despite H olum ’s stated aim that he is writ­
ing about female *basileia, the im perial dom inion of women, the tide
ties these wom en down firmly in their place aro u n d a m an. The
book proceeds on a narrative basis from the beginning of the period
to the end. A lthough it does m ake available the evidence on the
wom en o f the fourth century with some critical analysis o f sources,
it does n o t start from the point o f view o f the women, n o r are they
the focus o f investigation throughout.
T he m ost interesting discussion o f attitudes to wom en in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries is found in an article by Catia
Galatariotou on the ideas o f a twelfth-century Byzantine m onk,
Neophytos the Recluse, titled ‘Holy wom en an d witches: aspects of
Byzantine concepts o f g en d e r’.14 As the title suggests, this article
uses fem inist and anthropological theory explicitly. Neophytos was
a m onk on the island o f Cyprus and his individual concepts cannot
be taken as a general com m ent on the attitudes o f all Byzantine
males o r even all monks, b u t they do dem onstrate one extrem e
view o f the evil in women. To Neophytos, all wom en were created
in the image o f Eve, a tem ptress by nature who would lead m en
away from God and from righteousness. W om an was universally
bad. G alatariotou’s discussion is convincing an d points to the rich­
ness o f the m aterial on women. O th er males in o th er parts o f the
em pire, notably the court, h ad different views, o r at least did n o t
express themselves as stridendy as Neophytos.
Lasdy, the work of Lynda G arland on im perial wom en and sexual
morality in the eleventh an d twelfth centuries explores the differ­
ence between ideology and reality for wom en in Byzantium. H er
‘Life and ideology of Byzantine w om en’ attem pts to illum inate the

14. C. G alatariotou, ‘Holy w om en and witches: aspects o f Byzantine concepts of

g e n d e r’, BMGS 9 (1 9 8 4 /5 ), pp. 55-94.
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 James Patch
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—William Hackett
Quartermaster.—Thomas Carson
Surgeon.—Alexander Young
Asst.-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Eugene M’Swiney
Vet. Surgeon.—Edward Coleman

1816

Colonel.—Oliver de Lancey
Lieut.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
William Carden
Hon. Lincoln Stanhope
Majors.—Oswald Werge
Nathan Wilson
Captains.—David Supple
Jonathan Willington
George John Sale
Daniel M’Neale
Hon. Leicester Stanhope
John Atkins
T. Perrouet Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
Lieutenants.—John Brackenbury
John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
William H. Robinson
Charles Byrne Sale
F. W. Hutchinson
Robert Coulthard
Francis Curtayne
William Daniel
H. Bond
Francis Haworth
I id Bl k
 Isidore Blake
H. Carew
William M’Farlane
Samuel Ward Watson
William Hackett
John Tomlinson
Charles Greville
Cornets.—Richard Willington
Thomas Hurring
Oliver de Lancey
William Potts
George Clarke
James Patch
N. Raven
Thomas M’Kenzie
Peter Backhouse
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—William Hackett
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—W. Wybrow
Asst.-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Eugene M’Swiney
Vet. Surgeon.—Edward Coleman

1817

Colonel.—Oliver de Lancey
Lieut.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
William Carden
Hon. Lincoln Stanhope
Majors.—Oswald Werge
Nathan Wilson
Captains.—David Supple
Jonathan Willington
George John Sale
Daniel M’Neale
John Atkins
Ed dB
 Edward Byne
T. Perrouet Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
Lieutenants.—John Brackenbury
John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
W. H. Robinson
Charles Byrne Sale
F. W. Hutchinson
Robert Coulthard
Francis Curtayne
William Daniel
Henry Bond
Francis Haworth
Isidore Blake
H. Carew
W. M’Farlane
Samuel Ward Watson
Richard Willington
Ambrose de L’Etang
John Tomlinson
Henry Court Amiel
Charles Greville
T. L. Stuart Menteath
Cornets.—Thomas Hurring
Oliver de Lancey
William Potts
George Clarke
T. Ellman
J. Patch
N. Raven
P. Backhouse
Thomas Carey
Thomas Nicholson
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—Thomas Carey
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Quartermaster. James Cockburn
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Asst.-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Thomas Price
Vet. Surgeon.—Edmund Price

1818

Colonel.—Oliver de Lancey
Lieut.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
William Carden
Hon. Lincoln Stanhope
Majors.—Oswald Werge
Nathan Wilson
Captains.—David Supple
Jonathan Willington
George John Sale
Daniel M’Neale
John Atkins
Edward Byne
T. Perrouet Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
Charles Wayth
Lieutenants.—John Brackenbury
John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
W. Henry Robinson
Charles Byrne Sale
F. W. Hutchinson
Robert Coulthard
Francis Curtayne
William Daniel
Henry Bond
Isidore Blake
H. Carew
William M’Farlane
Samuel Ward Watson
 Samuel Ward Watson
Richard Willington
Ambrose de L’Etang
John Tomlinson
Henry Court Amiel
T. L. Stuart Menteath
Thomas Hurring
Oliver de Lancey
Cornets.—William Potts
George Clarke
T. Ellman
James Patch
N. Raven
Peter Backhouse
Thomas Nicholson
James Byrne Smith
J. B. Nixon
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—James Byrne Smith
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Asst.-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Thomas Price
Vet. Surgeon.—Edmund Price

1819

Colonel.—Oliver de Lancey
Lieut.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
Oswald Werge
Majors.—Nathan Wilson
Jonathan Willington
Captains.—George John Sale
Daniel M’Neale
John Atkins
Edward Byne
T Perrouet Thompson
 T. Perrouet Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
Charles Wayth
John Brackenbury
Lieutenants.—John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
W. Henry Robinson
F. W. Hutchinson
Francis Curtayne
William Daniel
Henry Bond
Isidore Blake
H. Carew
William M’Farlane
Samuel Ward Watson
Richard Willington
Ambrose de L’Etang
John Tomlinson
Henry Court Amiel
T. L. Stuart Menteath
Thomas Hurring
Oliver de Lancey
W. T. H. Fisk
Cornets.—William Potts
George Clarke
T. Ellman
N. Raven
Peter Backhouse
Thomas Nicholson
John Byrne Smith
J. B. Nixon
William Marriott
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—J. R. Smith
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—W. Wybrow
Asst.-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Th Pi
 Thomas Price
Vet. Surgeon.—Edmund Price

1820

Colonel.—Oliver de Lancey
Lieut.-Colonels.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
Oswald Werge
Majors.—Nathan Wilson
Jonathan Willington
Captains.—George John Sale
Dan. M’Neale
John Atkins
Edward Byne
Thomas P. Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
Charles Wayth
John Brackenbury
Lieutenants.—John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
W. H. Robinson
Charles Byrne Sale
F. W. Hutchinson
Francis Curtayne
William Daniel
Henry Bond
Isidore Blake
H. Carew
Wm. M’Farlane
Richard Willington
Ambrose de L’Etang
H. Court Amiel
T. L. Stuart Menteath
Thomas Hurring
William T. H. Fisk
G F Cl k
 George F. Clarke
George G. Shaw
Cornets.—William Potts
N. Raven
Peter Backhouse
Thomas Nicholson
James Byrne Smith
William Marriott
Charles St. John Fancourt
Frederick Loftus
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—James Byrne Smith
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Assistant-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Thomas Price
Veterinary Surgeon.—Edmund Price

1821

Colonel.—Oliver de Lancey
Lieut.-Colonels.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
Nathan Wilson
Majors.—Jonathan Willington
George John Sale
Captains.—Daniel M’Neale
John Atkins
Edward Byne
Thomas P. Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
Charles Wayth
John Brackenbury
William H. Robinson
Lieutenants.—John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
 Charles Byrne Sale
Francis Curtayne
William Daniel
Henry Bond
Isidore Blake
H. Carew
William M’Farlane
Richard Willington
Ambrose de L’Etang
Henry Court Amiel
T. L. S. Menteath
Thomas Hurring
W. T. Hawley Fisk
George F. Clarke
George G. Shaw
W. H. B. Lindsay
N. Raven
Cornets.—W. Potts
Peter Backhouse
Thomas Nicholson
Robert Lewis
Charles St. John Fancourt
Frederick Loftus
Arch. Edmund Bromwich
Hon. Nat. Hen. Chas. Massey
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Assistant-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Samuel Holmes
Veterinary Surgeon.—Edmund Price

1822

Colonel.—Oliver de Lancey
Lieut.-Colonels.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
 Nathan Wilson
Majors.—Jonathan Willington
Norcliffe Norcliffe
Captains.—Daniel M’Neale
John Atkins
Edward Byne
Thomas P. Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
Charles Wayth
John Brackenbury
William H. Robinson
Lieutenants.—John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
Charles Byrne Sale
Francis Curtayne
William Daniel
Henry Bond
Isidore Blake
H. Carew
William M’Farlane
Richard Willington
Henry Court Amiel
T. L. S. Menteath
Thomas Hurring
W. T. Hawley Fisk
George G. Shaw
N. Raven
W. Potts
Cornets.—Peter Backhouse
Thomas Nicholson
Robert Lewis
C. St. John Fancourt
Frederick Loftus
Arch. E. Bromwich
William Penn
Hon. Nat. Hen. Chas. Massey
Paymaster —Robert Harman
Paymaster. Robert Harman
Adjutant.—W. T. Hawley Fisk
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Assistant-Surgeons.—John Lorimer
Sam. Holmes
Veterinary Surgeon.—Edmund Price

1823

Colonel.—Lord R. E. H. Somerset, K.C.B.

Lieut.-Colonels.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
Majors.—Jonathan Willington
Norcliffe Norcliffe
Captains.—Daniel M’Neale
John Atkins
Edward Byne
Thomas P. Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
John Brackenbury
William H. Robinson
W. T. Cockburn
Lieutenants.—John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
Charles Byrne Sale
Francis Curtayne
Henry Bond
Isidore Blake
H. Carew
William M’Farlane
Rich. Willington
Henry Court Amiel
Thomas Hurring
W. T. Hawley Fisk
George G. Shaw
N Raven
 N. Raven
William Potts
William Graham
Cornets.—Peter Backhouse
Thomas Nicholson
Robert Lewis
Frederick Loftus
Arch. Edmund Bromwich
William Penn
Hon. Nat. H. C. Massey
Lewis Shedden
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—W. T. Hawley Fisk
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Asst.-Surgeons.—John Lorimer, M.D.
Sam. Holmes, M.D.
Veterinary Surgeon.—Edmund Price

1824
Colonel.—Lord R. E. H. Somerset, K.C.B.
Lieut.-Colonels.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
Majors.—J. Willington
George Luard
Captains.—Daniel M’Neale
Thomas P. Thompson
Benjamin Adams
Malcolm M’Neill
John Brackenbury
John Scott
Lieutenants.—John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
Harry Bond
W. T. Hawley Fisk
George F. Clarke
George Robbins
William Dungan
Thomas Nicholson
Cornets.—Robert Lewis
Frederick Loftus
William Penn
Hon. N. H. C. Massey
Samuel Pole
R. J. Elton
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—W. T. H. Fisk
Quartermaster.—James Cockburn
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Assistant-Surgeon.—John Lorimer
Veterinary Surgeon.—Edmund Price
Agents.—Hopkinson & Sons

1825
Colonel.—Lord R. E. H. Somerset, K.C.B.
Lieut.-Colonels.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
Majors.—J. Willington
George Luard
Captains.—T. P. Thompson
Benjamin Adams
J. Brackenbury
John Scott
William Locke
Frederick Johnston
Lieutenants.—John D’Arcy
Joseph Budden
W. T. Hawley Fisk
George F. Clarke
George Robbins
William Dungan
George T. Greenland
M. C. D. St. Quintin
Cornets.—Frederick Loftus
Hon. N. H. C. Massey
Samuel Pole
R. J. Elton
John Barron
Hon. R. F. Greville
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—W. T. H. Fisk
Quartermaster.—T. Nicholson
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Assistant-Surgeon.—John Lorimer
Veterinary Surgeon.—Henry Smith

1826
Colonel.—Lord R. E. H. Somerset, K.C.B.
Lieut.-Colonels.—Evan Lloyd
Hon. L. Stanhope
Majors.—George Luard
Lord Bingham
Captains.—Benjamin Adams
John Scott
Frederick Johnston
W. N. Burrows
George F. Clarke
Alan Chambre
Lieutenants.—W. T. H. Fisk
George Robbins
William Dungan
G. T. Greenland
M. C. D. St. Quintin
Frederick Loftus
Hon. Nat. Hen. Chas. Massey
Samuel Pole
Cornets.—R. J. Elton
John Barron
Hon. R. F. Greville
Charles Forbes
Henry Witham
S. J. W. F. Welch
Paymaster.—Robert Harman
Adjutant.—W. T. H. Fisk
Quartermaster.—T. Nicholson
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Assistant-Surgeon.—Sam. Holmes
Veterinary Surgeon.—Henry Smith

1827
Colonel.—Lord R. E. H. Somerset, K.C.B.
Lt.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
George, Lord Bingham
Majors.—Anthony Bacon
John Scott
Captains.—William N. Burrowes
George F. Clarke
George Robbins
George T. Greenland
M. C. D. St. Quintin
George M. Keane
Lieutenants.—Robert James Elton
John Barron
Charles Forbes
Henry Witham
S. J. W. F. Welch
Cornets.—Nat. B. F. Shawe
Samuel W. Need
W. C. Douglas
William Murray Percy
William Henry Tonge
Lionel Ames
Paymaster.—W. T. Hawley Fisk
Adjutant.—John Barron
Quartermaster.—T. Nicholson
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Assistant-Surgeon.—H. G. Parken, M.D.
Vet. Surgeon.—John Wilkinson

1828
Colonel.—Lord R. E. H. Somerset, K.C.B.
Lt.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
George, Lord Bingham
Majors.—John Scott
William N. Burrowes
Captains.—George F. Clarke
George Robbins
M. C. D. St. Quintin
John Lawrenson
Robert James Elton
Lieutenants.—John Barron
Charles Forbes
Henry Witham
Nat. B. F. Shawe
W. C. Douglas
Samuel Need
William M. Percy
Cornets.—William H. T. Tonge
Lionel Ames
A. H. Mitchelson
Denis Hanson
William Wentworth
William L. Shedden
Paymaster.—W. T. Hawley Fisk
Adjutant.—Denis Hanson
Quartermaster.—T. Nicholson
Surgeon.—William Wybrow
Asst.-Surgeon.—H. G. Parken, M.D.
Vet. Surgeon.—John Wilkinson

1829
Colonel.—Lord R. E. H. Somerset, K.C.B.
Lt.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
George, Lord Bingham
Majors.—John Scott
W. N. Burrowes
Captains.—George F. Clarke
George Robbins
M. C. D. St. Quintin
George M. Keane
John Lawrenson
Robert James Elton
Lieutenants.—John Barron
Charles Forbes
Harry Witham
N. B. F. Shawe
William C. Douglas
Samuel W. Need
William M. Percy
Cornets.—William H. Tonge
Lionel Ames
A. H. Michelson
Denis Hanson
William Wentworth
W. L. Shedden
Paymaster.—G. Chandler
Adjutant.—Denis Hanson
Quartermaster.—T. Nicholson
Surgeon.—James G. Elkington
Assistant-Surgeon.—H. G. Parken
Vet. Surgeon.—John Wilkinson
Agent.—Mr. Hopkinson

1830
Colonel.—Sir J. Elley, K.C.B.
Lt.-Cols.—Evan Lloyd
George, Lord Bingham
Majors.—John Scott
W. N. Burrowes
Captains.—George F. Clarke
George Robbins
M. C. D. St. Quintin
George M. Keane
John Lawrenson
Robert K. Trotter
Lieutenants.—John Barron
Charles Forbes
N. B. F. Shawe
Samuel W. Need
William C. Douglas
William M. Percy
William H. Tonge
Cornets.—Lionel Ames
Denis Hanson
W. L. Shedden
H. F. Walker
Walter Williams
Philip J. West
Paymaster.—G. Chandler
Adjutant.—Denis Hanson
Quartermaster.—Thos. Nicholson
Surgeon.—James G. Elkington
Asst.-Surgeon.—H. G. Parken
Vet. Surgeon.—John Wilkinson
Agent.—Mr. Hopkinson

1831
Colonel.—Sir J. Elley, K.C.B.
Lt.-Cols.—Sir Evan Lloyd
George, Lord Bingham
Major.—W. N. Burrowes
Captains.—George F. Clarke
George Robbins
M. C. D. St. Quintin
George M. Keane
John Lawrenson
Robert R. Trotter
Lieutenants.—John Barron
Charles Forbes
N. B. F. Shawe
Samuel W. Need
W. C. Douglas
W. M. Percy
W. H. Tonge
Cornets.—Lionel Ames
Denis Hanson
W. L. Shedden
H. F. Walker
Walter Williams
Philip J. West
Paymaster.—G. Chandler
Adjutant.—Denis Hanson
Surgeon.—J. G. Elkington
Asst.-Surgeon.—H. G. Parken
Vet. Surgeon.—John Wilkinson
Quartermaster.—Thos. Nicholson

1832