Eunuchs, Patriarchs and Macedonians | Studies in Byzantine social history (seventh century - eleventh century)

“Eunuchs, Patriarchs, and Macedonians” is an in-depth study of various aspects of medieval Byzantine society, from the seventh to the eleventh century. The book is divided into four sections, the first of which is “Women and Eunuchs (A Contribution to Gender Studies).” This topic deals with the quantitative and qualitative aspects of women and eunuchs and their relationship with men.It also focuses on the social communication abilities of these groups, which vary greatly. The book offers a completely new approach to reconstructing the hierarchy of ladies-in-waiting of the imperial court, and the ceremonial role of other female title-holders. The second axis deals with the relationship between “clergy and laity.” Here too, the quantitative and qualitative aspects of these social groups are taken into account. Monastic and lay-priestly networks are carefully analyzed. And it hasThe latter, in particular, led to the formation of an intermediate Byzantine elite. The third topic deals with “Races and Peoples.” The analysis aims to identify indigenous ethnic and cultural groups from the Balkans and Asia Minor that were still strongly present in the Middle Byzantine era. The Macedonians, Thracians, Cappadocians and Lycaonians deserve special attention in this context. The fourth topic is titled “Youth and Aging.”Thomas Brach supports our conclusions about life expectancy in Byzantium with a more detailed analysis of the life expectancy of distinct social categories such as emperors, patriarchs, and saints. This leads to a more accurate assessment of the life expectancy of these groups with little change in the general assumption that life expectancy in Byzantium was around 40 years.