Holy Byzantine Women Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Holy Byzantine Women - Term Paper ExampleWhile we do have well documented accounts of powerful empresses, it is often more beneficial to understand the plight of the number Byzantine woman to truly understand the inner-workings of this particular civilization. Many women during this time period were quite phantasmal and became the saints of their particular generation. Thankfully we do have some wonderful and cherished memories of their lives that leave behind prove almost helpful in this endeavor. It is important to see, through the perspective of history, the important role that women played in many a nonher(prenominal) different aspects of Byzantine society. This will totallyow us to envision that flavor, without Byzantine women, would have been difficult at best. Through a c atomic number 18ful examination of four different holy Byzantine holy women, we will establish that the economic, social, and religious contributions of the common Byzantine woman enabled the continued existence of this society for centuries. Biographical analysis Saint Theodora of Arta is the first holy woman we will discuss. As is typical of Byzantine women, we do non know exactly when she was born, but it must have been somewhere between 1224 and 1230. She was from Servia and her father was John Pertraliphas. He was quite famous in his own right, being the governor of Thessaly and Macedonia. She became unify to the ruler of Epirus and Thessaly, apparently when she was equable a child. This happened shortly after the husbands accession to the throne in 1231. She became saintly collect to her circumstances. Her husband preferred his mistress, which meant that Theodora was not allowed in the house or on the grounds, forcing her into a life of beggary on the streets. From written accounts, she suffered through these various hardships without complaining, even while she was pregnant, eventually gaining the attention of a resolution priest. The priest gave her shelter for ne arly five years until Theodoras husband saw the error of his ways and invited his wife back to live with him. From this account, we envision that Theodoras mind and heart was pure. She did not choose the life she was given, yet she remained of positive attitude and worked hard to do right by her child and her God. Over the tier of her life, she founded the convent of St. George, which was in Arta, and actually lived there after her husband died. To this day, her tomb is a pilgrimage site and many have ascribed miracles to it. Another saintly woman that we have a written account of is Saint Thomais of Lesbos. Thomais was in Lesbos, but spent much of her life in Constantinople. Subsequently, much of what we know about her is confined to that region. The parents of Thomais were named Michael and Kale. From all accounts, they were quite a pious and god-fearing couple. In addition, they were happy as a couple, so we are left to assume that Thomais was raised in a solid and pleasant env ironment and, while they did not have much, she received love and compassion at home. Sadly, her particular marriage was not so happy. She married Stephen and we read that their marriage was a disaster. Thomais was perfectly content staying at home with her parents, and did so until the age of 24, possibly foreshadowing her own fear of marriage. She did not have children of her own. During her adult life, she was in the habit of walking the streets of Constantinople and was