Secular Byzantine Women examines female material culture during the Late Roman, Byzantine, and Post-Byzantine eras, to better understand the lives of ordinary and humble women during this period.
Although recent scholarship has contributed greatly to our knowledge of Byzantine and medieval women, such research has largely focused on female saints, imperial figures, and prominent women of local communities. But what about secular and non-privileged women? Bringing together scholars from various fields, including archaeology, history, theology, anthropology, and ethnography, this volume seeks to answer this important question. The chapters examine the everyday lives of lay women, including their working routines, their clothing, and precious possessions.
This book will appeal to scholars and students of Byzantine history, art, and archaeology, as well as those interested in gender and material culture studies.
Although recent scholarship has contributed greatly to our knowledge of Byzantine and medieval women, such research has largely focused on female saints, imperial figures, and prominent women of local communities. But what about secular and non-privileged women? Bringing together scholars from various fields, including archaeology, history, theology, anthropology, and ethnography, this volume seeks to answer this important question. The chapters examine the everyday lives of lay women, including their working routines, their clothing, and precious possessions.
This book will appeal to scholars and students of Byzantine history, art, and archaeology, as well as those interested in gender and material culture studies.
'A variety of sources and approaches motivates this collective female work that broadens our horizons in this fascinating area of Byzantine culture ... Sofia Germanidou responded felicitously to the editorial task, achieving consistent scholarship, uniform, well-documented and convincing papers, amply supported both from primary sources and secondary modern bibliography. As a result, individually and collectively, the essays of the volume offer insight and make a meaningful contribution to the field' - Byzantina Symmeikta, Volume 32 (2022).