What kind of lives did women in the Byzantine empire lead? Just how subservient were they in so male-dominated a society? In this collection of biographies Donald M. Nicol uncovers the unexpected fact that in the later years of the empire, at least, some aristocratic women enjoyed influence and exercised initiative. The ten ladies whose lives are described here did not complain of male oppression: instead, despite the conventions of caste and court, they found an outlet for their talents in religion, patronage, friendship and scholarship. They left a lasting influence on the society in which they lived. The story of their achievements offers new perspectives on the Byzantine empire, and a fascinating insight into the lives of women in past times.
• Canto version of highly successful and original Cambridge hardback • Follow-up to author’s successful The Immortal Emperor • Unique contribution to the study of women in late Byzantine society, and to history in general
Contents
Introduction; 1. Helena Doukaina, Queen of the Two Sicilies, 1258–1266; 2. Thamar, Princess of Taranto 1294–1309; 3. Theodora Raoulaina, nun and scholar, c.1240–1300; 4. Eirene Palaiologina (Yolanda of Montferrat), Empress, 1288/9–1317; 5. Eirene-Eulogia Choumnaina Palaiologina, princess and abbess, died c.1355; 6. Eirene Asenina Cantucuzene, Empress, 1347–1354; 7. Anna of Savoy, regent and Empress, 1341–c.1365; 8. Anna Notaras Palaiologina, died 1507; 9. Mara Brankovic of Serbia, Sultanina, c.1412–1476; 10. Helena Cantacuzene Kommene, Empress of Trebizond, died c.1463.
Reviews
‘… highly readable.’ The Times Higher Education Supplement
‘… construct[s] in vivid detail the history of the Paelaeologan epoch’. Anglo-Hellenic Review
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