Female Space within the Byzantine Court

This short paper will attempt to map the physical and cultural space, which a Byzantine empress might claim between the fifth and the twelfth century. It intends to identify the potential power space in which she could exercise a female dominance. Every empress controlled her own living quarters within the Great Palace and her own servants, mainly eunuchs. In addition, numerous ladies-in-waiting looked after her appearance (hair, make-up, costume, shoes etc). Because these attendants worked in close personal proximity to the empress, they were often pressured by others to exercise persuasion. Some may have acted as guardians of tradition to restrict any inappropriate behaviour. With her own income, however, the empress had the power to dispense funds in the construction of churches, monasteries and poor houses; she could patronise poets, historians, doctors and theologians, invite individuals to dine with her in her private dining rooms and send personal messages to individuals outside the palace. Her independence and initiative was a recognised factor both in court circles and among the people of Constantinople. A similar power could also be exercised by the mothers of the emperor and empress and other female relations. While widowed empresses were particularly active in guaranteeing their sons’ inheritance, imperial women at other stages of the female life-cycle also influenced political, ecclesiastical and cultural decisions in Byzantium. Identifying their power space within the court should enhance current knowledge of their wider activities.

< Back to Abstracts of Papers