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display: block; text-align: center;} -} - - - h1.pg { margin-top: 0em; - page-break-before: avoid; - page-break-after: avoid; } - h3,h4 { text-align: center; - clear: both; } - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Empresses of Constantinople, by Joseph -McCabe</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: The Empresses of Constantinople</p> -<p>Author: Joseph McCabe</p> -<p>Release Date: December 16, 2019 [eBook #60938]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EMPRESSES OF CONSTANTINOPLE***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Turgut Dincer, Charlie Howard,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/empressesofconst00mcca"> - https://archive.org/details/empressesofconst00mcca</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> - -<h1>THE<br /> -EMPRESSES OF CONSTANTINOPLE</h1> - -<div id="i_frontis" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 38em;"> - <img src="images/i_001.jpg" width="600" height="395" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>ANCIENT CONSTANTINOPLE, SHOWING THE HIPPODROME, THE IMPERIAL PALACE, AND THE MOSQUE OF S. SOPHIA</p> - <p class="smaller">FROM THE RECONSTRUCTION BY DJELAL ESSAD AFTER THE PLAN BY LABARTE</p></div></div> - -<div class="newpage p4 center"> -<p class="xxlarge wspace"> -THE EMPRESSES OF<br /> -CONSTANTINOPLE</p> - -<p class="vspace"><span class="small">BY</span><br /> -<span class="large wspace">JOSEPH M<sup>c</sup>CABE</span></p> - -<p class="small vspace">AUTHOR OF<br /> -“THE EMPRESSES OF ROME,” ETC.</p> - -<p class="p2 wspace smaller">WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS</p> - -<div id="if_i_002" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 11em;"> - <img src="images/i_002.png" width="172" height="221" alt="ARTI et VERITATI (Publisher's Logo)" /> - </div> - -<p class="p2 larger wspace vspace">RICHARD G. BADGER<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE GORHAM PRESS<br /> -BOSTON</span> -</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">v</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="PREFACE">PREFACE</h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> concluding an earlier volume on the mistresses of -the western Roman Empire I observed that, as the -gallery of fair and frail ladies closed, we stood at -the door of “the long, quaint gallery of the Byzantine -Empresses.” It seemed natural and desirable to pass on -to this more interesting and less familiar series of the -mistresses of the eastern Roman Empire, and the present -volume will therefore tell the story of the Empresses, or -Queens, as they preferred to be called, who occupied the -throne set up by Constantine in New Rome, or ancient -Byzantium, until the victorious Turk thrust it disdainfully -aside to make way for his more spacious harem.</p> - -<p>The eastern or Byzantine Empire has long been -regarded in Europe as a world of far less interest than -that which centred on the banks of the Tiber: a world -of monotonous piety and little adventure or spirit, almost -Chinese in its placid and unchanging adherence to traditional -and very conventional forms. One is tempted to -attribute this error, not merely to the longer concealment -of Byzantine antiquities from our fathers and the superior -attractiveness of Italy, but, in some measure, to the -disproportion of Gibbon’s work. By the time the great -historian has advanced only one or two centuries in the -life of the East he finds that the superb generosity of his -plan has committed him to an unachievable task, and he -begins to compress whole chapters of the most vivid -and adventurous history into a few disdainful pages; -and as Finlay, the proper historian of the Greek civilization, -not only lacks the charm which draws each genera<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">vi</span>tion -with fresh wonder to the volumes of Gibbon, but -shares and expresses the same disdain for his subject, -his work has not tended to redeem the Byzantine Empire -from neglect. Of late years there has been some quickening -of interest in the eastern Empire. Professor Bury -in this country,<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> M. Diehl in France, Schlumberger in -Germany, and other historians, have done much to draw -attention to the extraordinary interest and the very lively -character of Byzantine life.</p> - -<p>When we confine our attention, as we do in this -volume, to the Court life and the personality of the -imperial women, the interest rises to the pitch of -romance, and is often sustained at that height for many -chapters. Few Courts in the world have, in their -thousand years of history, witnessed so much adventure, -intrigue, comedy and tragedy, as that of the Byzantine -Empresses. From all quarters of the Empire, in the -most varied ways, all sorts of women, from princesses -to village girls, tavern girls or circus girls, make their -way to the bronze-roofed palace and wear for a season -the prodigious jewels and the glittering robes of an -Empress of Constantinople; and, as there is no law or -method of succession to the throne, the rise and fall of -Emperors and Empresses gives a dramatic movement to -the story. The notion that the eastern Empresses are -enwrapped in a rigid piety and formalism, as they are -in their stiff tunics of gold-cloth, is a ludicrous mistake. -Their piety is usually external and superficial, and often -they make not the least pretence of it; while, even when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">vii</span> -it is obviously sincere, it is associated with a skill in -casuistry which allows a free play of their ambitions, -their passions, and even their criminal impulses. Indeed, -it is only fair to say at the outset that if a reader passes -from the gallery of the “pagan” Empresses into that -of the Empresses of Constantinople in the hope of -encountering more restful, more virtuous and more -domestic types of womanhood, he will be grievously -disappointed. We may not find a Messalina among -them, but irregularity of life is more evenly distributed -than among the Roman Empresses, ambition and intrigue -are far more cultivated, and there is a strain -of barbaric cruelty running through the greater part of -the story which it would have been more pleasant, had -it been consistent with truthfulness, to omit. But the -biographer should not be a moralist. My simple purpose -is to depict, as far as it is possible, the very varied types -of womanhood which come into “the fierce light that -beats about a throne” in that strange world where -Greek and Roman and Syrian blood blend to produce a -new character.</p> - -<p>The difficulties of the task have been considerable, and -may be urged in extenuation of some of the apparent -defects of the story. Apart from sketches of the lives of -five or six of the Byzantine Empresses, especially those -in M. Diehl’s fine “Figures Byzantines,” the study is -entirely new, and the material has had to be laboriously -collected from the endless pages of the Greek chroniclers. -These chroniclers are largely monks, and in nearly all -cases they are little disposed to speak of the imperial -women until they either misbehave themselves or come -to wield a mastery over men. Their references to the -Empresses are usually brief and scattered sentences -which have to be gleaned with care, and in hardly any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">viii</span> -single case do even contemporary writers condescend to -give us a portrait of an Empress. Seeing that, in addition, -we have not (as in the case of Rome) any statues -or portrait-busts of the Empresses, and the few representations -of them which have survived (in miniatures, -ivories, etc.) are lifeless and conventionalized pictures, it -is not possible to bring them before the eye in as satisfactory -a way as one could wish. In this, as in the -preceding volume, I have utterly refused to follow the -genial example of Roergas de Serviez, and allow imagination -to come to the aid of fact. But I have carefully -gathered and included all that is known about the eastern -Empresses, and, lest it be thought that the less-known -Empresses might alter the balance of vice or virtue, I -have inserted even the scanty references to these.</p> - -<p>It remains only to explain the starting-point of the -volume. In my “Empresses of Rome,” which includes -all Empresses down to the fall of Rome, I necessarily -included the early Empresses of the eastern series, when -east and west were branches of one dominion. It is -therefore not necessary to repeat the story of the beautiful -and languid Eudoxia, the daughter of a Frankish -chief whom a palace intrigue raised to the purple, and -who is one of the butts of St Chrysostom’s fiery sermons; -nor of Eudocia, the Athenian girl who set out to find her -father’s money and obtained a kingdom, who wrote -poems in her native tongue and at last passed from the -Court under a cloud of suspicion; nor of Pulcheria, the -virgin-sister of Theodosius and rival of Eudocia, who -ruled the Empire for her brother and, after his death, took -to herself a nominal husband and, with Marcian, was governing -the Eastern world at the time of the fall of Rome. -I have adequately described her in the preceding volume, -and the present story opens at her death in the year 453.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">ix</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table id="toc" summary="Contents"> - <tr class="xsmall"> - <td class="tdl in3" colspan="2">CHAPTER</td> - <td class="tdr">PAGE</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">I.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Verina and her Daughters</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">1</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">II.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Early Life of Theodora</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">21</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">III.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Empress Theodora</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">36</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Sophia</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">52</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">V.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Martina</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">67</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The most pious Irene</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">81</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Saint Theodora</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">101</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">VIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Wives of Leo the Philosopher</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">120</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">IX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Tavern-keeper’s Daughter</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">136</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">X.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Two Imperial Sisters</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">158</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Eudocia</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">181</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Irene and Anna Comnena</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">197</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Breath of Chivalry</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">218</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Euphrosyne Ducæena</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">238</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XV.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The New Constantinople</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">257</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVI.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Irene of Montferrat</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">276</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Maria of Armenia</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">287</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XVIII.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Anna of Savoy</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">298</a></td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr top">XIX.</td> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Last Byzantine Empresses</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">317</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">xi</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - -<table id="loi" summary="List of Illustrations"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Ancient Constantinople, showing the Hippodrome, the Imperial Palace, and the Mosque of St Sophia</span></td> - <td class="tdr w10"><a href="#i_frontis"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From the reconstruction by Djelal Essad after the Plan by Labarte</td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From “Les Imperatrices Byzantines de Constantinople.” By permission of H. Laurens, Paris</td></tr> - - <tr class="xsmall"> - <td class="tdr" colspan="2">FACING PAGE</td></tr> - <tr class="notpad"> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Empress Theodora and her Attendants</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_40">40</a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">Mosaic of the sixth century in St Vitale, Ravenna<br />From a photograph by Alinari</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Empress Irene</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_88">88</a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From an Ivory Plaque in the National Museum, Florence<br />From a photograph by Alinari</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Eudocia Ingerina, Wife of Basil I</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_116">116</a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From Du Cange’s “Historia Byzantina”</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Empress Helena</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_139">138</a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From Du Cange’s “Historia Byzantina”</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Empress Zoe</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_167">166</a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From “Constantinople,” by E. A. Grosvenor<br />By permission of Little, Brown & Co., Boston, U.S.A.</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Eudocia and Romanus IV</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_187">186</a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From an Ivory in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris<br />From a photograph by A. Giraudon, Paris</td></tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Theodora, Wife of Michael VIII</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#ip_269">268</a></td></tr> - <tr class="sub1"> - <td class="tdl">From Du Cange’s “Historia Byzantina”</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="THE_EMPRESSES_OF"><span class="large gesperrt vspace">THE EMPRESSES OF<br /> -CONSTANTINOPLE</span></h2> -</div> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_I" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER I<br /> - -<span class="subhead">VERINA AND HER DAUGHTERS</span></h2> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> Empress’s apartments in the sacred palace -remained empty for four years after the virtuous -Pulcheria had been laid in her marble sarcophagus. -The Emperor Marcian was aged and feeble, -and, as Pulcheria had guarded even in marriage the -sanctity of her vow of chastity, there was none who -might plausibly be regarded as heir to the throne. It -was such a situation as Constantinople loved; and the -thousands of soldiers, eunuchs, nobles and ladies who -dwelt in the vast palace, and the tens of thousands of -idlers who lounged under the arcades of the great square -or chattered on the benches of the Hippodrome, had a -large field for speculation.</p> - -<p>Their fate, they knew, was in the hands of one man, -the commander of the imperial guards, Asper. He was -an Arian (or Unitarian), and could not hope to occupy -the throne which would soon be at his disposal. The -citizens of Constantinople were at least as wanton and -passionate as those of Rome had been, but they were -fiercely devoted to the sound doctrine of the Trinity, and -they would have flung themselves against the bronze -gates and marble walls of the palace if an Arian had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span> -ventured to don the purple. So Senators and Senators’ -wives indulged their conflicting hopes and paid their -servile reverence to the dying monarch and the vigorous -barbarian commander.</p> - -<p>Marcian died in the year 457, not without a superfluous -rumour of poison, and expectation rose to the -height of fever when the worn frame was entombed with -all the rich ceremony of the Eastern Court. Then there -came the first of the long series of surprises and dramatic -successions which were to enliven Byzantine history for -many a century. Asper announced that his steward Leo, -a tribune, or subordinate officer, of the troops, was to -receive the imperial crown. A barbaric soldier and his -wife were to occupy the golden throne, and all the -nobility of Constantinople hastened to kiss their purple -slippers.</p> - -<p>Leo the Isaurian is one of those quite unromantic -figures which the restless waves of Roman life often -washed into the world of romance: one of the many raw -highlanders who had set out from Asia Minor to make -their fortune in the glittering metropolis of the East. A -few years of useful military service had won for him the -rank of tribune and the confidence of the commander, -and Asper thought that he could rely on the docility and -gratitude of the big simple-featured soldier. Wholly -illiterate, with no larger experience than the control of -Asper’s servants, a man of rough, hairy face, powerful -frame and blunt ways, he suddenly found himself transferred -to a throne that gleamed, as few thrones did, with -“the sands of Indus and the adamant of Golconda.”</p> - -<p>His wife, the Empress Verina, shares alike the earlier -obscurity and the sudden elevation to the extraordinary -splendour of the Byzantine Court. We know nothing -of her nationality or extraction; and, as the only relatives -who gather about her when her hand dispenses the gold -and the favours of a great empire are just as obscure -as herself, we may be sure that her origin was humble -enough. A soldier like Leo would select his mate in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span> -lowly world, and we shall see later that Verina permitted -no scruple to restrain either her passion or her ambition. -But there was personality in the new Empress: an able -and vigorous intelligence, a masterful ambition, a virile -tenacity of purpose, and an equally virile disdain of -scruples and of priests in the pursuit of her ambition. -She must have been much younger than her husband, -who was nearly sixty years old. She not only survived -him for more than a decade, but she filled that decade -with the most spirited adventures, and she admitted, or -attracted, a lover after the death of her husband in his -seventy-fourth year.</p> - -<p>It is one of the most singular features of Verina’s -story that she remains almost as obscure and insignificant -during the seventeen years in which she reigned with her -husband as she had been before her elevation, yet in her -later years reveals a character of remarkable vigour and -great interest. We have, therefore, little concern with -the reign of Leo, and will rather make ourselves acquainted -with the imperial world in which the Byzantine -Empresses will move.</p> - -<p>New Rome, or Constantinople, had been founded by -Constantine on the site of the more ancient city of -Byzantium, and is so faithfully replaced by the modern -city that its situation needs little description. It spread -over the triangular point of Europe which runs to a -tongue between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmora, -and was protected by a double wall from invasion -on the land side; in fact, it was in time enclosed entirely -within thirteen miles of stout wall.</p> - -<p>The lower portion of this triangular area, a vast -domain of more than half-a-million square yards, sloping -gradually to the silver shores of the Sea of Marmora, -was reserved for the imperial palaces and gardens. -Running parallel with the imperial palace, to the north, -was the Hippodrome, into which the story of the -Empresses will repeatedly take us. Like the Great Circus -at Rome, on the model of which it was built, it was the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span> -most commanding and venerated institution of the -frivolous people. Its spacious long-drawn arena was -flanked by tiers of seats which could accommodate tens -of thousands of people—some authorities say a hundred -thousand people. A lofty imperial gallery, the <i>kathisma</i>, -surveyed the races and the spectators from the north-eastern -end, and a great purple awning gave protection -from the burning sun. Beyond the Hippodrome and the -palace was the chief square of the city, the Augusteum, -which corresponded to the old Forum at Rome or the -Agora at Athens. Under the shelter of the double -colonnade which surrounded it the idlers of Constantinople -held their endless fiery discussions of the last -chariot race, the last heresy, or the last revolution: the -studious bargained for books: the amorous made traffic -in love. It was the heart of the city. On the south side -of it was the great gate of the palace: on the north -side the church, or cathedral, of St Sophia: the Senate -House faced it on the east: and from its western side -ran the main street of Constantinople, the Mese (or -Middle Street), lined with colonnades, which passed -more or less continuously along the central ridge of the -triangular area which the city occupied. A city was, in -those days, and for many a century afterwards, a palace -and a cathedral: we can only say of the million citizens -that they were packed into the spaces not occupied by -Church or State, especially in the region between the -Mese and the Golden Horn, where fire and pestilence -periodically fed on their crowded tenements.</p> - -<p>With the palace we need a closer acquaintance. Verina -would be familiar with the massive iron gate on the south -side of the square through which, as the Emperor rode -in, one might catch a glimpse of the great bronze door -of the palace. Through this gate the obscure woman of -the people was now borne on her litter, to be crowned -mistress of the world. The front part of the palace was -burned by the people in 532, but we may assume that it -had the general plan of the later structure which experts<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span> -have reconstructed for us.<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> The door led into a spacious -hall—known as the Chalke on account of its bronze -roof—which was richly adorned with statues, marbles -and mosaics. Constantine had despoiled the world to -enrich his palace and city, and this entrance hall had a -great store of treasures. Crossing the hall one entered -the apartments of the troops who guarded the palace and -whose spacious quarters formed an immense and formidable -approach to the imperial palace. More than -three thousand selected troops, divided into three classes, -formed this imperial bodyguard, and we shall more than -once find their halls swimming with blood as some frantic -mob or adventurous usurper seeks to penetrate to the -palace. The palace grounds were, of course, surrounded -by lofty and unscaleable walls.</p> - -<p>Verina would pass first through the lines of the -Scholarians, whose golden shields and lances, and gold -helmets surmounted with red aigrettes, would form a -glittering corridor. Ascending the marble steps at the -far end of their hall, the purple curtains being drawn -aside, she would pass between the Excubitors, a regiment -of powerful warriors with two-edged axes, and the -Candidates, or white-robed troops, gleaming with gold; -the second and third lines of defence. At the end of -these palatial barracks three ivory-plated doors, hung -with curtains of purple silk, opened into the Consistorium, -a large hall lined with marble and mosaic, in the -floor of which were set porphyry slabs to indicate the -successive spots where even kings must thrice prostrate -themselves before approaching to kiss the feet of—Leo -the Isaurian. A throne, covered with purple and heavily -laden with gold and jewels, was raised under a golden -dome at the upper end of the room.</p> - -<p>Three pairs of steps and three bronze doors—for this -wondrously elevated peasant and his obscure wife must -not pass through the same door as ordinary mortals—then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> -led to an unroofed terrace, lined with columns and -precious statues, on one side of which was the chapel -of the Saviour, and on the other the ancient gold-roofed -banquet-room. Then at length Verina would find herself, -probably for the first time, before the door of the -palace proper, or the main palace, Daphne. Passing -between the crowds of stewards, secretaries, domestic -officers and great ladies, with masses of subordinate -servants behind, all bent in profound reverence, she -would enter by the bronze doors into the Augusteus, or -vestibule of the palace: a hall crowded with choice -bronze and marble statues and mosaics. Fresh legions -of servants—the population of the palace must have been -more than five thousand even at this early date—and -groups of pale eunuchs now crowded to do homage, and -the fortunate woman surrendered herself to her tire-women, -to don the gold-cloth tunic, the purple mantle -and the heavy jewellery of an empress.</p> - -<p>The coronation would probably take place in the -church of St Stephen, within the palace, and it seems -that Verina and Leo then crossed the gardens and -terraces to receive the homage of the Senators and nobles -in the outlying palace of Magnaura. We know it at -a later date as a vast hall lined with coloured marbles -from the most famous quarries of the world, its floors -strewn thick with roses, its wonders lit by fourteen -massive silver lamps which hung from heavy chains of -silvered bronze between its marble columns. But the -wonderful golden sparrows which piped their mechanical -notes on golden trees, and the golden lions which lashed -their tails and roared before the throne, and the organs -of silver and gold, belong to a later date in Byzantine -history. From Magnaura the royal procession returned -to Daphne, and mounted the spiral stair which led to -the royal lodge, with a small palace in its rear, overlooking -the Hippodrome. There the men of Constantinople -rang out their Greek cry of “Many years!” to the -rustic tribune and his wife who had so suddenly been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span> -lifted to this giddy height, and were, no doubt, rewarded -with chariot races. The coronation day would end, as -was usual, with a banquet in the Triclinon, a dining-hall -in the space between the apartments of the guards and -the palace proper. Its lofty roof was of gold, and on its -nineteen purple-draped tables only golden vessels were -set; some of them—at least, at a later date—were so -heavy that they had to be lifted from their purple chariots -to the table by machinery. And after such a banquet as -only the palace could command, amidst some two -hundred of the highest nobles of the greatest empire -in the world, Verina would retire to her ivory or silver -couch to brood over this prodigious turn of the wheel -of her fortune. We shall find numbers of equally -romantic elevations, and just as many tragic falls from -splendour to obscurity, in the long story of the Byzantine -Empresses.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately, the coronation does not yet bring -Verina plainly before us, and we must pass the seventeen -years of her husband’s reign almost in silence. To -explain this obscurity it is not enough to say that it was -the custom of the Byzantine Court to keep its women in -seclusion. As long as the stream of imperial life flowed -evenly they were, generally, content to idle the sunny -hours behind the thick hedge of eunuchs and maids, in -some sequestered palace or other in the vast gardens, -where many fountains and the soft breath of the sea -and leafy groves cooled the air. They did not even feel -the exclusion of women from the tense sensations of the -Hippodrome, for one could witness the thrilling races -from the windows in the upper gallery of the church of -St Stephen. But we shall see speedily enough that this -ceremonious seclusion no more intimidated the imperial -women, when they <em>were</em> imperial, from playing their -part in public life than the pomp and display of the -palace intimidated the people of Constantinople from -talking to their monarch, when occasion arose, as if he -were a village chief. Verina remained quiet and obscure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span> -because life flowed evenly and she had no cause to interfere -with its course. The promptness with which she -sought, or accepted, consolation after the death of her -husband does not suggest that she was very deeply -devoted to Leo. He was, however, a shrewd and strong -man, though rough and uncultivated, and he seems to -have left little room for his wife’s interference.</p> - -<p>The Empress’s quarters in the palace, or assemblage -of palaces, are very imperfectly known to us. Daphne -itself, the original palace, to which later Emperors would -raise stupendous rivals, cannot have had very numerous -apartments. It would assuredly not be possible to hide -a bishop there for years, as the Empress Theodora afterwards -hid a bishop in her apartments; to say nothing of -the subterraneous dungeons which Theodora is said to -have filled with her prisoners. But there were several -detached palaces in the grounds, and no doubt the -Empress had the use of one of these, standing in its -own gardens and groves, and protected by its army of -eunuchs. Verina had had one daughter, Ariadne, before -her elevation to the throne. A few years afterwards she -again gave promise of motherhood, and adjourned for -delivery, as custom demanded, to the Porphyra Palace -by the sea, a small square mansion whose walls were -lined with red, white-spotted porphyry. But it was -another girl, Leontia, that she brought into the world, -and who lay beside her under the sheets of gold-cloth to -receive the homage of the notabilities.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a></p> - -<p>Many years of this placid existence pass before we -catch another glimpse of Verina. The legendary life of -St Daniel Stylites, the emulator or successor of the -famous Simeon of the Pillar, says that the prayers of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> -holy dweller on a column procured for the Empress a -boy in 462, but the effectiveness of his prayers seems to -have been limited, as no such child has found its way -into serious history. Leo was now ageing, and the -question of the succession must have been keenly discussed. -It is at this point that Verina, who seemed -doomed to pass again into obscurity, begins to reveal -her personality. Asper and his son still seemed to -dominate Constantinople, but their power was being -silently undermined. Leo was filling the palace and the -army with his own compatriots, and a conflict impended -between the Isaurians and Goths, between Leo and Asper.</p> - -<p>Amongst these Isaurians a young man named Trascallisseus—or -something approaching it, for the Greeks -make sad work of the Asiatic names—won the favour of -Leo, and approached nearer to the throne. The orthodox -chroniclers are severe on Trascallisseus, and depict him -as “a veritable Pan”—dark, ugly, hairy, ungainly, -heavy-footed and ignorant. The Isaurians were not a -handsome race, nor had they the least ambition to adopt -the culture of the Greeks, yet the portrait is probably -overdrawn. Trascallisseus seems to have been a robust, -sullen, illiterate, intriguing young man, with no apparent -grace of body or character, but Leo was minded to -marry him to Ariadne, and thus mark him for the throne.</p> - -<p>Verina apparently desired the succession of her brother -Basiliscus, and, as a vast fleet of more than a thousand -vessels was about to be sent to wrest Roman Africa from -the Vandals, she obtained the command of it for him. -Verina could watch from the palace gardens the sailing -of the great armada which was to win the purple for her -brother. And in a few weeks a fugitive vessel returned -with the terrible news that the expedition had failed, the -navy had been burned, and the great army of a hundred -thousand men sunk or scattered by Genseric. Basiliscus -had fled shamefully at the first shock, and had retired to -hide his disgrace in private life at Heraclea in Thrace.</p> - -<p>It was the turn of Trascallisseus. His name was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span> -changed to Zeno, and he was married to Ariadne and -promoted to the highest honours.<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> Verina had now to -resign herself to a hope that she would share the power -with Zeno and her daughter, but the struggle of -Isaurians and Goths had first to be settled, and the settlement -interests us. In less than two years the struggle -ended with a victory of the Isaurians—a victory that has -inscribed the name of the Emperor in the chronicles as -“Leo the Butcher.” We do not know the course of -the quarrel, but one day in the year 471 the marble and -bronze palace rang with the clash of swords. Asper and -his elder son were cut to pieces by the eunuchs within -the palace. No doubt Verina and her family had their -boats moored at the foot of the garden, as we shall find -others doing, but the terrible axes of the Excubitors and -the long swords of the Candidates held back the tide of -Goths and covered the marble floors with their corpses. -The Isaurians were masters of the Roman Empire.</p> - -<p>Leo died three years afterwards. It is said that he -wished to crown Zeno before he died, but that the people -were bitterly opposed to it. He had, therefore, in order -to secure the succession, associated his infant (or boyish) -grandson Leo with his imperial power, and had died -shortly afterwards. The mother and grandmother now -came to an agreement with Zeno, and, when the father -came to do humble homage to his imperial child, the boy, -prompted by Ariadne and Verina, put the crown on the -father’s head, and the Court applauded the succession -of the Emperor Zeno. The sickly child died nine months -afterwards (November 474), leaving Zeno in sole possession -of the throne.</p> - -<p>Here begin the adventures of Verina, and at length her -virile character is revealed to us. Her second daughter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span> -Leontia was married to a son of the Western Emperor -Anthemius—it was the period of ephemeral Emperors -that preceded the extinction of the Western Empire—and -a niece of hers was wedded to the Western Emperor -Julius Nepos; though the latter connexion soon proved -its tragic futility, the Emperor fleeing from Ravenna -and falling by the hand of a bishop a few months after -coronation. While promoting this apparent scheme for -the reunion of the Roman Empire, Verina began to -assert her personality more vigorously at Constantinople. -She still lived in the palace, and seems gradually to have -won its officers: as venal and corrupt a body as ever -adorned a court. The works of contemporary Greek -historians survive only in tantalizing fragments, or summaries, -or they would undoubtedly furnish a remarkable -picture of Byzantine life in the next ten years, when three -Empresses occupied the stage. We can but piece -together with caution the fragments we find in the -chronicles, and endeavour to deduce the character of the -Empresses from their actions.</p> - -<p>Verina now had a notorious lover named Patricius, -and was eager to set him on the throne instead of Zeno. -Her daughter Ariadne, a commonplace, docile woman, -clung to her husband, and the palace divided into two -hostile parties and awaited the result. It is piquant to -remember that Constantinople was at the time an intensely -religious city. Its patriarch overshadowed those -of Alexandria and Rome; its populace divided its interest -almost equally between chariot-racing, vice and the suppression -of heresy; and to its great church of St Sophia, -or to the numerous chapels within the area of the palace, -were conducted with splendour the important relics which -were constantly being “found” in Palestine. But the -frivolous citizens ignored the practical enjoinments of -their religion until the periodical fire, or plague, or -earthquake threw them into a spasm of repentance, and -the population of the palace seemed to hold themselves -entirely dispensed from such common laws. Verina, at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -least, knew neither weakness nor scruple in the pursuit -of her ambition.</p> - -<p>In November 475 Zeno fled across the water to -Chalcedon. Ships were kept for such emergencies at -the foot of the gardens, so that an imperial family might -be well on the way to the Asiatic shore before an enemy -could break through the hedge of guards. Zeno, protesting -that his life was threatened by Verina’s servants, -fled precipitately, since he left Ariadne under the power -of her mother. It seems that Verina virtually imprisoned -her daughter, but Ariadne escaped and joined her husband. -From the coast they travelled, in a common cart, -to the wild fastnesses of Isauria, from which another turn -of the wheel will presently recall them to the glittering -palace.</p> - -<p>Zeno had been morose and unpopular, and it had not -been difficult for Verina to detach the Senators and -troops from him. They had, however, no mind to accept -the virtual rule of Verina herself by putting her paramour -on the throne, and, to her great mortification, they -summoned her discredited brother Basiliscus from his -exile in Thrace, and clothed him with the purple. The -change brings on the scene a third Empress, Zenonis, -who was made “Augusta” by her husband as soon as -he was crowned.</p> - -<p>We have hardly time to make much acquaintance with -Zenonis during the brief splendour of her husband’s -reign, but her momentary appearance is not without -romance. Passionately devoted to the more philosophical -religious sect, which maintained that there was but one -nature in Christ, she pressed her husband to espouse its -cause and restore its persecuted members. Constantinople -was soon aflame with religious controversy. -Zenonis secured the return from exile, and appointment -as patriarch of Alexandria, of Timotheus Ælurus. -Timotheus gathered “all the scum of Alexandria”—the -orthodox historian says—that could be found in -Constantinople, and conducted them in procession to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span> -the church of St Sophia. But how Timotheus fell off -his ass, to the delight of Constantinople, and how Peter -the Fuller was summoned to fill the see of Antioch, and -how Basiliscus wrung money out of the wealthy orthodox -churches, must be read in the pages of ecclesiastical -history. Zenonis was impelling her husband to his -doom.</p> - -<p>A much less serious defect in Zenonis, from the Constantinopolitan -point of view, was that she united with her -zeal for the Monophysite faith a genial disregard of its -moral implications. A nephew of her husband named -Harmatius rapidly became one of the most luxurious fops -of the city. His lavishly spent wealth, his lovely hair -and pink cheeks and handsome person, and his reputation -for gallantry, made him the idol of the frequenters -of the Hippodrome. Basiliscus made him prefect of the -city, and he delighted its lower populace by moving -amongst them in the shining armour of Achilles. Duty -frequently called him to Court, and his charms conquered -the susceptible Empress. For some time they sighed -and crossed fiery glances as they met in the open -chambers or corridors, but at length the eunuch Daniel -and the midwife Maria were bribed to facilitate their -desire. Such, at least, was the belief of Constantinople, -and the power of Basiliscus was further shaken.</p> - -<p>His next fatal mishap was to quarrel with Verina. He -had her lover Patricius assassinated, and the enraged -Empress began at once to pay further gold to buy back -the allegiance of Senators and officers to Zeno. The -zeal of Basiliscus for his heresy had now completely -alienated the people and embittered the clergy. He had -ventured to send officers into the churches to proscribe -the great Council of Chalcedon, which had condemned -the heresy, and the city was profoundly agitated. Vast -crowds of men, women and children shouted their -orthodox hymns in the streets and filled the black-draped -churches. When Basiliscus angrily left the city for a -distant palace, the saintly Daniel descended from his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span> -pillar, followed him, and spoke to him in very plain -language.</p> - -<p>In these circumstances Verina was encouraged to -further her plan, and the news soon reached Constantinople -that Zeno had left the mountains of Isauria and -was in command of an army. Two generals, Illus and -Trocundus, were sent against him, and were bought by -him. The very meagre chronicles now indicate a desperate -struggle between Basiliscus and his sister. The -Emperor began to trace the plot and execute the plotters, -and Verina fled for her life to the sanctuary of St Sophia. -We shall see often enough how frail a protection the law -of sanctuary afforded against the anger of an Emperor, -but Harmatius, who seems to have despised his lover’s -husband, helped her to escape, and she seems either to -have crossed to Asia or concealed herself. Harmatius -himself was now sent against the rebels. Swearing the -most solemn oath of fidelity to Basiliscus that the clergy -could devise, he straightway sold his services to Zeno -for the promise of a cæsarship for his son and the -perpetual command of the armies for himself.</p> - -<p>The career of the romantic Zenonis then came to a -rapid and tragic close. As the troops of Zeno marched -into the city Basiliscus and his Empress fled to the -church of St Sophia, and endeavoured, by promises of -undoing their heretical work, to induce the clergy to -make Zeno respect the sanctuary. After a time an -imperial officer came to the trembling wretches by the -altar, and stripped them of all their imperial ensigns, to -be taken to Zeno and Ariadne. Zeno scrupled to drag -them from the altar, and they were at last induced to -come forth on the solemn assurance that their lives would -be spared. It was now their turn to sail for Asia. They -were sent to an obscure village in Cappadocia, and imprisoned -in a tower. One tradition reports that they -were killed on the journey, but the more persistent and -convincing report is that the door of the tower was sealed -with masonry, and the brother of Verina and his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span> -Empress were doomed to a slow and horrible death by -starvation. It was the second revolution in three years, -and Verina had been an active element in both.</p> - -<p>Exile had not improved the temper of Zeno, and the -restoration of his rule was at once stained with murder. -He reflected gloomily on the prestige of the handsome -Harmatius, and easily persuaded himself that he who -had been faithless to one master might be faithless to -another. Soon afterwards the luxurious officer was cut -to pieces as he ascended the spiral stair from the palace -to the Hippodrome; his son was stripped of the robes -and ensigns of Cæsar and was sent to take a minor order -of the Church at Blachernæ. But for the intervention of -the more humane Ariadne the youth would, like his -father, have exchanged his high dignity for death.</p> - -<p>Constantinople seems to have regarded the murder -with indifference, but an avenger arose in the provinces -and the two Empresses had soon grave cause for -anxiety. For a time Constantinople trembled under the -menace of the formidable barbarians, but they at length -returned to Italy without having penetrated into the -city. A more serious danger fell upon the palace in -the following year, however, when the younger daughter -of Verina joined for a moment in the conflict of ambitions. -Leontia, it will be remembered, had married -Marcian, son of the Western Emperor Anthemius. On -the ground that she had been “born in the Porphyry,” -while her elder sister Ariadne had been born before the -crowning of Leo, her husband demanded that the Empire -should be assigned to him, and marched on Constantinople -at the head of an army. He broke through the -defences of the city, and some of the chroniclers actually -assure us that he surprised the guard of the palace in -their midday siesta. It is at least certain that Zeno and -the Empresses fled in alarm, and a vigorous action would -have put Verina’s younger daughter on the throne. -Marcian seems, however, to have postponed the occupation -of the palace until the following day, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span> -commander Illus, secretly transporting fresh troops from -Asia, restored the balance in favour of Zeno and Verina. -Marcian was visited with the more refined punishment -of the Byzantine world—he was forced to enter the priesthood—and -Leontia retired into obscurity.</p> - -<p>But the romance of Verina and her daughters had already -entered upon a fresh chapter. Verina had welcomed her -returning son-in-law at the palace, and her earlier expulsion -of him and Ariadne was overlooked in view of -the important share she had had in securing their return. -We can, however, well understand that Zeno regarded -her with suspicion and distrust, and would welcome the -first opportunity to remove her from the palace. The -argument which he had applied so remorselessly to -Harmatius plainly extended to his imperial mother-in-law. -The writers of the time represent him as not -taking a prominent part in the events that followed, but -it is difficult to doubt that his secret commands directed -the whole intrigue.</p> - -<p>In the year 478 a soldier attempted to assassinate the -commander Illus, and he confessed—under torture or -bribery—that he had been instructed by Verina’s steward -Epinicius. The steward was given into the custody of -Illus by the Emperor, and was sent under guard to a -castle in Isauria. Illus followed, and easily induced the -steward to impeach his mistress. Illus then returned to -the city, and arranged with Zeno a plot for the capture of -Verina. It is clear that the Empress-Mother had great -power in Constantinople, and that they dare not openly -touch her. Illus was to go to Isauria, and pretend that -he feared danger from Zeno. The Emperor was then to -ask Verina to take to Illus with her own hand a letter -of indemnity, and, when she reached Isauria, she was to -be imprisoned there. We should find it difficult to -believe that so naïve a plot could entrap the virile and -experienced Empress were we not expressly assured of it -by the highest authorities. In a few weeks Verina was -enraged to find herself imprisoned in a Papirian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span> -fortress, one of the strongly fortified castles of remote -Isauria. One authority observes that they first compelled -her to take the vows of a nun, but we may decline to -believe that they troubled to place so frail and so superfluous -a chain on such a woman.</p> - -<p>From the lonely hills of Isauria Verina at length found -a means of communicating with Ariadne and securing -her interest. Zeno, to whom Ariadne appealed, referred -her to Illus, and, when that general was summoned to -the Empress’s apartments, and implored with tears to -release her mother, he bluntly asked: “Do you want -to be rid of your husband and wed another?” Ariadne -returned stormily to her husband, and declared that -either Illus or she must leave the palace. “If you can do -anything, I’m with you,” said the distracted Emperor, -who was overshadowed by the vigorous commander. -Presently, as Illus was mounting the spiral stair to the -Hippodrome, a soldier in the pay of Ariadne’s chamberlain -fell upon him. Illus was saved, except for the loss -of an ear, by his guards, but he prudently decided that -Constantinople was injurious to his health and requested -the Emperor for a change of air. He was appointed -commander of the eastern troops, took with him the -patrician Leontius and a distinguished company, and -reached Antioch only to declare himself in rebellion and -Leontius Emperor.</p> - -<p>In the extraordinary confusion of events which the -meagre chronicles transmit to us Verina had obtained -her wish in an unexpected manner. A messenger came -to her in her solitary prison to say that she was to crown -Leontius at the city of Tarsus and join forces with him -and Illus against Zeno. Verina was not the woman to -hesitate. She crowned Leontius, a cultivated Syrian -noble and excellent soldier, at Tarsus, and issued a -characteristic letter to the officials and commanders of -the Empire:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span></p><blockquote> - -<p>“Verina Augusta, greeting to our prefects and -Christian peoples. You know that the Empire is ours, -and that after the death of our husband Leo we, trusting -to improve the condition of the commonwealth, raised to -the throne Trascallisseus, who was afterwards called -Zeno; now, however, since we perceive that he is -deteriorating, and on account of his insatiable avarice, -we have thought it needful to give you a Christian -Emperor, adorned with piety and justice, that he may -save the commonwealth and administer war with moderation -and prudence. We have therefore bestowed the -imperial crown on Leontius, most pious of Romans, who -will guard us all with care and prudence.”</p></blockquote> - -<p>The throne of Leontius was set up at Antioch, and the -aged Empress turned with her confederates to face Zeno’s -troops. It was to be the last act of the stirring drama -of her life. Zeno acted with unaccustomed vigour, and -in a few days Verina and her companions were flying -to Isauria. They shut themselves in the Papirian fortress -and prepared to sustain a long siege. In the middle of -the siege Verina died, and was spared the humiliation -of the final defeat. Four years afterwards the heads of -Illus and Leontius were exhibited on poles at Constantinople, -but the body of Verina was decently interred there -by her daughter.</p> - -<p>The loss of contemporary historians prevents us from -obtaining the closer acquaintance with Verina which her -romantic story leads us to desire. Of her personal -appearance and nationality we know nothing. One is -tempted to conceive her as a Syrian woman of the type -of Zenobia or Julia Domna: a virile and masterful -personality, ambitious and unscrupulous, subtle and -astute rather than cultivated, paying no more than a -merely external and superficial regard to the teaching -of the new religion of the Roman world. It remains to -say a few words about the Empress Ariadne before we -consider the next great Empress of the Byzantine world.</p> - -<p>In the few peaceful years which followed the death of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -Verina life at the palace became sombre and painful. -Zeno was morose, suspicious and unpopular, and increased -the gloom by the usual device of executing, or -murdering, suspects. Their only son came to a lamentable -end. The officials in charge of his education felt that -it would be more profitable to themselves to teach him -vice and luxury rather than the manly arts which his -parents required, and he was profoundly corrupted. His -ostentatious vanity invited ridicule, and his indulgence -in unnatural vice and intemperance ruined his constitution. -He fell an early victim to dysentery, and his father -plunged into deeper bitterness amid the splendours and -pleasures of his palace. Ariadne must have awaited the -end with impatience, and it is not improbable that she -already chose a partner to share her throne. Popular -rumour afterwards said that she buried Zeno alive. It -was said that he used to fall into a kind of trance after his -gluttonous meals, and that Ariadne in disgust bade the -servants seal him in a tomb; the legend even represents -him as recovering and crying in vain to be relieved, and -one version pretends that, when the tomb was eventually -opened, he was found to have eaten his boots and belt. -The truth seems to be that he was subject to epileptic fits, -one of which ended his life in April 491.</p> - -<p>Ariadne at once nominated for the Empire a peasant of -northern Greece who had a very subordinate position in -the military service of the palace. A tall, handsome -man—though one of his eyes was grey and the other -almost black—of strong, quiet character, he seems to -have been chosen by Ariadne as her future husband -before Zeno died. He was unmarried, though past -middle age. One of Ariadne’s eunuchs secured the consent -of the Senators to the strange nomination, and -Anastasius obtained the applause of the people by remitting -their debts to the treasury. The only opposition -came from the patriarch, or archbishop, who had in -earlier years been compelled to prevent Anastasius from -setting up an unofficial pulpit in the streets of the city<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -and teaching his favourite heresy. Anastasius genially -forswore his heresy for so high a price, was at once -crowned Emperor, and married Ariadne on the fortieth -day after the burial of Zeno. Docile and clinging as -Ariadne had been in her earlier years, she fully reveals -herself as the daughter of Verina in her middle life. -But the twenty-five years of life which remained for her -are years of obscurity, as far as the Empress is concerned, -and we will not linger over them. Storm after -storm broke over the palace, where she lived, but she -seems to have taken no part in public events. The -Isaurians marched on the city to demand the throne for -the brother of Zeno, and a long struggle ended in the -complete destruction of the power of the Isaurians. Then -Anastasius returned to his Monophysite heresy, and the -streets of the city and towns of the Empire rang with -defiance and anathema. On one occasion, in 512, the -mob burned the monasteries which Anastasius favoured, -and so angrily assailed the palace that the ships were -made ready at the quays to conduct Ariadne and her -husband to Asia. Anastasius had been guilty of the -additional indiscretion of attempting to reform the morals -of Constantinople and forbidding contests with wild -beasts in the arena.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> Ariadne lived until the year 515 -or 516, when she must have been about seventy years -old. So completely was she overshadowed by her second -husband that the only reference we find to her in the -chronicles is that on one occasion she begged Anastasius -to make a certain appointment, and he refused.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER II<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE EARLY LIFE OF THEODORA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> next Empress to occupy the superb apartments -in the palace, with their couches of ivory -and silver and their regiments of fawning -eunuchs and silk-clad ladies, was assuredly one of the -most remarkable figures that ever sat on a throne. The -Empress Euphemia hardly ever issues into the pages of -history from the becoming seclusion of the women’s -quarters in the palace, but the few details which we have -concerning her suggest the most incongruous figure that -imagination could place in such a world, and a brief -account of her romantic elevation is a necessary introduction -to the equally remarkable and better-known -story of the famous Empress Theodora. The Roman -Empire seemed to be deterred by some faint recollection -of its early democratic spirit from admitting the hereditary -principle; but the absence of this arrangement for -securing the succession, together with the complete lack -of any really democratic arrangement, often threw it into -a chaotic confusion when a ruler died, and made its -internal history a thrilling succession of romances and -tragedies, with an occasional page of comedy. In this -case it is comedy.</p> - -<p>Anastasius, after playing his successive parts as peasant, -lay preacher, soldier and ruler of the world, had passed -away, amid the derision and rejoicing of his people, in -the year 518. His nephews had feeble pretensions to -succeed him, but the most powerful man in the city, the -Prefect Amantius, decided that the purple should pass -to his friend Theocritus. He therefore sought the commander,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span> -or Count, of the Excubitors—the more formidable -guards of the palace—and placed in his hands a -large sum of money for distribution among the troops. -Justin, the said commander, was an Illyrian peasant who -had won promotion in the wars. He was in his later -sixties, though still a powerful man, with handsome rosy -face and curly white hair; but under this disarming -exterior he concealed an ambition and astuteness which -the prefect failed to suspect. He distributed the money -in his own interest, and passed unopposed from the -modest quarters of the guard to the more luxurious -chambers of the palace.</p> - -<p>Euphemia was the wife of Justin, and it may safely be -said that no woman ever experienced a more romantic -elevation. In his military days Justin had bought a -barbaric slave named Lupicina, and raised her to the -rank of his concubine; though no doubt he married her -in the course of time. She retained the uncouth and -illiterate manners of her class, and Constantinople must -have smiled to see her in the richly embroidered robes of -purple silk, with cascades of diamonds and pearls falling -from her gorgeous diadem. The acclamation of the -crowd changed her name to Euphemia, and she retired to -the congenial privacy of her palace. Justin brought his -equally illiterate mother Bigleniza to the palace from her -rustic home, and the two women no doubt contracted a -fitting friendship in their wonderful new home. Of -public action on their part there is no question, and the -events of the next few years do not concern us. I will -say only that, after securing his throne by cutting off -the head of Amantius and crushing Theocritus under -heavy stones in his dungeon, for venturing to resent the -trick he had played them, Justin ruled with moderation, -if not prudence, for nine years. Euphemia died three -or four years before him, living just long enough to -see, and emphatically resent, her successor, the notorious -Theodora.</p> - -<p>In approaching the story of Theodora it is necessary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -to premise a few words on the authority which has provided -most of the sensational statements about her, and -to pay respectful attention to the efforts of some recent -historical writers to discredit those statements. The -general outline of her story has been made familiar by -Gibbon, who has genially dilated on the elevation of -one of the lewdest actresses and most notorious prostitutes -of Constantinople to the position, not merely of -mistress of the greatest empire of the time, but also of -patroness of an important branch of the Church and the -daily companion of saintly monks and bishops. Since -Theodora is very commonly described by the chroniclers -as at least equal in power to her husband, the great -Justinian, and since the next most powerful woman in -the Byzantine Empire at the time is assigned a similar -origin to that of Theodora, the world has long reflected -with amazement on this spectacle of the Roman Empire -at the feet of two imperfectly converted prostitutes. Such -a situation could not pass unchallenged before the more -critical tribunal of modern history, and there are scholars -who have rejected entirely the romantic story of the -youth of Theodora.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> The majority of historians, including -the two chief living authorities, Professor Bury and -M. Diehl, regard the story as true in substance though -unreliable in detail.</p> - -<p>The more romantic statements concerning Theodora -are taken from a work that purports to have been written -by the greatest contemporary historical writer, Procopius, -but there are writers (such as Ranke and Bury) who -regard the work as, at the most, a later compilation of -notes left by Procopius, and in any case it is so envenomed -in temper, and occasionally so reckless in statement, -that it should be regarded with suspicion. The -problem cannot be discussed at length here, but it is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span> -necessary to justify the large use I am about to make -of the work (the “Anecdotes”) which bears the name -of Procopius.</p> - -<p>If it were true, as is sometimes said, that we had no -authority for the impeachment of the character of Theodora -beyond the “Anecdotes,” we should have to -hesitate very seriously, but this is by no means true. -Procopius (“On the Persian War”) represents her as -playing a most unscrupulous part in the ruin of John -of Cappadocia. Liberatus (a contemporary cleric) and -Anastasius exhibit the Empress to us corrupting the -papacy itself and deposing a venerable pontiff by the -most cruel and flagrantly dishonest charges. Zonaras -and other writers accuse her, not merely of avarice, as -Mr Mallett says, but of the most heartless and unblushing -corruption in feeding her avarice. There is every reason -to regard Theodora, after her elevation to the throne, -as a woman devoid of moral scruple. But we now have -ample confirmation also of the story of her origin. The -statement of an eleventh-century writer, Aimoinus, that -Justinian took his wife from a brothel, shows, in spite -of its wild inaccuracies, that some such tradition was -found in European literature quite apart from the -“Anecdotes.” But the publication in the nineteenth -century of the writings of John, Bishop of Ephesus, has -furnished a decisive proof. This Monophysite bishop -and cultivated writer, who lived for years beside the -palace of Theodora, and whose sect received the most -imperial and incalculable benefits from her, speaks of -her as “Theodora of the brothel”; and he uses the -phrase in such a way as to intimate plainly that this was -the name by which she was known in Constantinople -before her elevation to the throne.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> Indeed, the fact that -the author of the “Anecdotes” does not assail the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -chastity of Theodora after her marriage increases our -confidence in his account of her earlier life; as he did -not intend to publish his work—it was not published -until 1623—it would have been just as easy to invent -or collect legends about her after as before her marriage. -On the other hand, the temper of the writer is so bitter -and malignant that we must reserve our judgment in -regard to the details of his strange narrative. He has -gathered together every defaming rumour about Theodora -and Justinian that circulated in Constantinople, -even admitting nonsense obviously unworthy of a serious -writer, and we cannot sift the true from the legendary. -The source of his animosity cannot be determined. From -the tone of his remarks on religion I gather that he was -one of the many surviving pagans who were forced into -outward conformity with the new religion, and, after -giving formal praise in his historical works to Justinian -and Theodora for the splendour of their reign, he relieved -his soul, in this secret collection of notes, of the deep -disgust he felt at the contrast between their characters -and their professions and between the glamour and the -misery of their empire. It must be remembered that -the thoroughly Christian and very weighty authority, -Evagrius, is just as severe on Justinian; there was in -Justinian, he says, “something surpassing the cruelty -of beasts,” and any prostitute could despoil a wealthy -man by a false charge (say, of unnatural vice—a trick -of Theodora’s) “provided she let Justinian share her -vile gain.” It is the common teaching of the authorities -that the Empress was worse than the Emperor.</p> - -<p>In point of fact, there is nothing implausible or improbable -in the details of Procopius’s story of Theodora’s -early life, and the judicious reader will merely make -allowance for the rhetorical strength of its superlatives. -Her father Acacius had been a keeper of the bears which -were baited in the Hippodrome in the reign of -Anastasius. The Hippodrome at Constantinople united -the functions which at Rome had been divided between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span> -the circus, the theatre and the amphitheatre. Its chief -attraction was the chariot-racing which provided the -central and most thrilling sensation of Roman life.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> -Between the races, however, there were contests with -wild beasts in the arena, and there were the numerous -nondescript performances which occupied the theatre at -Rome—mimes (actors by gesture), clowns, acrobats, conjurers, -etc. Acacius was bear-keeper to the “greens,” -and, when he died, his widow promptly secured another -partner and claimed the office for him. But the superintendent -Asterius had sold the office to another man, and -the shrewd widow appealed to the sympathy of the -crowd by parading in the Hippodrome, the heads and -hands of her three daughters crowned with the emblems -of virginity. The “greens” jeered—possibly at the -sight of the eldest daughter, Comitona, a loose girl of -seventeen, dressed as a Vestal Virgin—but the “blues” -received them with sympathy; a distinction which the -pale and slender little Theodora would never forget.</p> - -<p>The mother, who is said to have come from Cyprus, -either before or after the birth of Theodora, then pressed -the fortunes of her daughters in the theatrical world. -Comitona was already a mime (or actress without words) -and, as was usual, a prostitute. The young Theodora -presently began to attend her elder sister, and is said to -have begun her career of infamy as she waited among -the slaves and lackeys on the fringe of the Hippodrome. -When she in turn became an actress, her pretty pale -face, lithe figure and unrestrained gaiety and dissoluteness -made her a great favourite. She stripped to the -narrowest limit of decency which the very liberal law -permitted, performed the most nearly obscene ribaldries<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -which the Roman theatre allowed, and was pre-eminent -for the abandonment of her gestures and movements; -and in the hours of the night, when the wealthier patrons -of the Hippodrome entertained themselves in perfumed -chambers with the actresses and courtesans, Theodora -was in the greatest favour.</p> - -<p>It is absurd to say that this is to impute to Theodora -“a moral turpitude unparalleled in any age.” It was -the common turpitude of that age, of our age, and of -every intervening age. The theatre, indeed, no longer -admits the very broad licence which was admitted at -Constantinople, but the performances which are ascribed -by Procopius to Theodora are innocent in comparison -with certain performances which may be witnessed, in -semi-publicity, in very many cities of Europe to-day. -Of Theodora’s private behaviour—that she practised -both forms of unnatural, as well as natural, vice—one -need only say that it is, and always has been, common to -her class. An actress at that time meant a woman of -loose conduct. The imperial decrees and the Church -fully recognised this, and it is significant that one of the -theatres—if not the one theatre—of Constantinople was -called “The Harlots,” and is so named in an imperial -document. Procopius is merely imputing to Theodora -the common practices of loose women of her time and -our own. And when, in later pages, we come to realise -the fiery and unrestrained temper of the beautiful Greek, -we can well believe that she was at that time one of the -worst of her class.</p> - -<p>Not less plausible is the next chapter in the life of -Theodora. A wealthy official, Hecebolus, induced her -to accompany him to the African province which he was -to administer, and her very brief career at Constantinople -came to a close. M. Diehl conjectures that this occurred -in 517, in her eighteenth year, and that she remained a -few years with Hecebolus. However that may be, she -was, about the year 521, ejected from the governor’s -house, and she passed to Alexandria, and thence to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -Antioch and the other cities of Syria and Asia Minor. -It is most probable that this was the time when, either -at Alexandria or Antioch, she became a convert to the -Monophysite faith. The question of the true character -of Christ had racked and rent the Eastern world, amidst -all its ribaldry and vice, for two hundred years, and the -burning issue at this time was whether the nature of -Christ should be described as single or twofold; the -Monophysites held that there was but one nature in -Christ, and were bitterly opposed to the “Synodists,” -or supporters of the orthodox Council of Chalcedon. It -may seem incongruous to drag in so solemn an issue -on so defiled a page of biography, but it is essential for -the understanding of Theodora’s career.</p> - -<p>According to Procopius, Theodora still practised her -evil profession in the cities of Asia. For the next few -years, however, there is much obscurity about her movements, -and the biographer cannot proceed with great -confidence. One eleventh-century writer represents that -Justinian and the commander Belisarius chose their -wives in a loose house in Constantinople; another -equally remote and unreliable chronicler says that -Justinian found Theodora living a modest life, supporting -herself by spinning wool, in a small house under -the portico—a very strange residence for a virtuous -woman. I prefer still to follow the very plausible story -(in substance) of the “Anecdotes.” At Antioch Theodora -went in great distress to visit Macedonia, an actress -who had influence with Justinian. It is hardly strained -to conjecture that this was the real occasion of her -introduction to Justinian; that she went on to Constantinople -with a recommendation to him and was at once -taken into his house. Beyond question she was his -mistress for some years before he married her.</p> - -<p>Justin had brought from Upper Macedonia, and educated -in the schools of Constantinople, the favourite -nephew who was to become the Emperor Justinian. At -the time when Theodora came back to Constantinople,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> -about the year 522, he approached his fortieth year: a -handsome, wealthy and free-living bachelor, of fresh -and florid complexion and the curly hair of a Greek. -His reputation was somewhat sinister: his influence -unbounded. In entertaining the populace on his elevation -to the consulship in the previous year he had spent -about £160,000, and had turned twenty lions and thirty -leopards together into the arena. He was plainly marked -for the throne. The pretty pale face and bright eyes and -graceful figure of Theodora captivated him, and her -experienced art enabled her to profit by the infatuation. -Justinian lived in the palace of Hormisdas on the shore -of the Sea of Marmora, and Constantinople would take -little scandal at his connexion with Theodora. Four or -five years’ absence would have enfeebled the memory of -her earlier career, and the zeal for the true religion—the -Monophysite heresy, which she paraded from the -moment of her connexion with Justinian—would ensure -the genial indulgence of the frivolous population. -Justinian had her made a “patrician” (or noble), lodged -her in his beautiful palace, and showered his favours -upon her. It is at this point that Bishop John begins -to describe his co-religionists appealing to the protection -of “Theodora of the brothel” from all parts of the -Empire.</p> - -<p>There were two obstacles to marriage. Justin was -feeble and senile, and little able or disposed to resist his -nephew’s whims, but Euphemia strongly opposed the -marriage until her death in 523 or 524. The more serious -impediment was the standing law of the Roman Empire, -that a noble could not wed a woman of ill-fame (an -actress, tavern-girl or courtesan). Justinian afterwards -removed this restriction, but it must have been in some -way overruled by Justin, and many authorities believe -that the first law in the Justinian Code on the point was -really promulgated by Justin. A daughter seems to have -been born before the marriage, possibly before the connexion -with Justinian, as John of Ephesus confirms the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span> -statement of Procopius that Theodora had a marriageable -grandson before she died (in 548).</p> - -<p>The next step for the enterprising young Greek was -the attainment of the throne. Justin was pressed, as -he aged, to associate his nephew in the government, and, -although he nervously refused for some time, he at -length (April 527) conferred the supreme dignity of -Augustus on his nephew and of Augusta on Theodora. -She now entered upon the full splendour of imperial -life, and no parvenue ever bore it with more exaggerated -dignity than the ex-actress, as we shall see. There must -have been many who smiled when Theodora first witnessed -the old sights of the Hippodrome from the -imperial chapel of St Stephen, or sat for the homage -of the Senators in the long gold-embroidered mantle, -with the screen of heavy jewels falling in chains from her -diadem upon her neck and breast, as we find her depicted -in a mosaic at Ravenna; but her formidable power and -her unscrupulous use of it would soon extinguish the -last echo of her opprobrious nickname.</p> - -<p>The early years of Theodora’s power were spent in -enlarging the prestige of her position and in recompensing -her friends. The existent palaces could not meet the -requirements of the woman who, a few years before, had -begged money of an Antioch courtesan. Justin had to -annex his palace of Hormisdas to the imperial domain -and build fresh palaces. The favourite residence of -Theodora was the cool and superb palace of Hieria -across the water, and in spite of the lack of accommodation -for her enormous suite and the terrors of a whale, -popularly named Porphirio, which infested the waters -of Constantinople at the time, she frequently crossed -to it.</p> - -<p>At home, in the sacred palace, she led a life strangely -opposed to that of the temperate, accessible and hard-working -Justinian. Rising at an early hour she devoted -a considerable time to the bath and toilet, by which she -trusted to sustain her charm, in spite of delicate health.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span> -After breaking her fast, she again retired to rest before -she would consent to receive courtiers and suitors. In -view of her paramount influence with the Emperor many -sought her patronage, or dreaded to incur her terrible -resentment, by seeming indifferent to it. Numbers of -nobles waited, sometimes for days, in the hot ante-room -to her apartments, standing on tiptoe to catch the eye -of the pampered eunuchs who passed to and fro. After -a long delay they might be admitted to kiss the golden -sandals of Theodora, and listen to her august wishes. -No man was permitted to speak except in reply to a -question. In the course of time, as we shall see, the -highest nobles eagerly submitted to this humiliating -treatment, in order to preserve their wealth from the -extortioner. Dinner and supper, at which, though -Theodora ate little, the most opulent banquets had to be -served, occupied the further hours of the day, together -with Theodora’s abundant devotions and converse with -holy men.</p> - -<p>Her friends were generously admitted to share her -advantages. The “Anecdotes” tell a story of an -illegitimate son of hers who discovered his birth, came -to the Empress for recognition or money, and was at -once despatched to another world. That seems to be one -of the calumnious fables which the writer too eagerly -admitted into his indictment. The “Anecdotes” themselves -rather show that Theodora did not make every -effort to conceal the past, however strongly she might -resent discussion of it. Her sister Comitona was -certainly married in the first year of her reign to a -wealthy and powerful noble. It is not so certain, but -probable enough, that she cherished her earlier theatrical -friends, Chrysomallo and Indara, and found wealthy -husbands for their daughters. The woman whose name -we shall find most closely connected with hers, Antonina, -the wife of the great general Belisarius, is said to have -been her tirewoman before she married Belisarius. This -would account for Theodora’s coolness until Antonina<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -won her by securing her revenge on John of Cappadocia, -when Theodora is said not merely to have overlooked, -but promoted, the vices of her friend. There is, at least, -no room for doubt about the character of Antonina.</p> - -<p>But while Theodora admitted these mute reminders of -her earlier life, she turned with extraordinary severity -upon her earlier colleagues as a body and undertook the -purification of the city. The decrees of Justinian for -regulating the morals of Constantinople—decrees which -go so far as to define the penalties for people who made -assignations in churches, and on the strength of which -bishops were castrated and exhibited in public for unnatural -vice—are generally ascribed to her influence. -She had the imperial net dragged through the loose -houses of Constantinople, and five hundred of the -occupants were imprisoned in an ancient palace on the -Asiatic shore: a form of enforced piety which, the carping -Procopius says, drove many of them to suicide. -Many writers think this zeal for purity inconsistent with -the story of her earlier life. It has rather the appearance -of a feverish affectation of repentance, and must be -balanced by the many proofs we have of Theodora’s -really corrupt and unscrupulous character. One may -recall that Domitian drastically punished the vices of -others. Procopius would have us believe that Theodora -compelled unmarried women to marry, and that when -two delicate widows fled to the Church to escape her -pressure, she had them dragged from the altar and -married to men of infamous life. Yet, he says, vice was -rampant in Constantinople, and protected by the -Empress, when money was paid into her greedy coffers. -Such details we cannot control, and must reproduce with -reserve; we know only from other sources that she -extorted money by corrupt means.</p> - -<p>And the most singular and piquant feature of Theodora’s -life at this period was her zealous patronage of -the Monophysites. Long before her coronation, from -the time when she became the mistress of Justinian, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span> -joyous news of her elevation flew throughout the Empire -among the persecuted heretics. They had had their -hours of triumph under Basiliscus and Anastasius, but -with the accession of Justin the orthodox had returned -to power, and the twofold nature of the gentle Christ -had been urged with bloody arguments. From the -monasteries and towns of the provinces pilgrims now -began to arrive at the Hormisdas palace in great numbers, -and through Justinian she obtained relief and -money for them. When she entered the imperial palace -the procession increased, and, while the nobles of Constantinople -were detained for hours before being permitted -to kiss her feet, ragged monks and unlettered -deacons strode into the imperial apartments without a -moment’s delay.</p> - -<p>So zealous, indeed, was Theodora for their edifying -conversation that she kept them as long as possible -about her. St Simeon of Persia came to plead the -cause of his persecuted brethren, and was induced to live -for a year in the luxurious palace. Arsenius of Palestine, -one of the chief firebrands of his province, was cherished -by her; though Procopius affirms that he at length lost -her favour and was crucified. Orthodox monks were -even permitted with impunity to rebuke the terrible -Empress. A holy hermit came one day to chide Theodora -for her heresy. Ragged and dirty, with garment -so patched that hardly three inches of cloth of one colour -appeared in it, he admonished her in fiery language. -Theodora was so charmed with his piety that she sought -to add him to her domestic collection of sanctities. -When persuasion failed, she resorted to corruption; we -read the story, not in the “Anecdotes,” but in John. -She had a large sum of gold concealed in linen and -imposed on him, but the fiery monk hurled it across the -palace, crying: “Thy money perish with thee.” St -Sabas, also, the unlettered and unadorned abbot of an -orthodox monastery at Jerusalem, came to ask her -patronage. His piety excused his heresy in her eyes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -and she kept him for days at the palace, and humbly -asked his prayers that she might have a son. The grim -monk refused, and, when companions asked how he -could scorn the request of so generous a patroness, he -replied: “We do not want any fruit from that womb, lest -it be suckled on the heretical doctrines of Severus.”</p> - -<p>So great at length became the number of pious pilgrims -from the provinces, and so eager was Theodora -to retain them near her person, that the Hormisdas -palace, which Justinian had richly decorated for her and -enclosed within the area of the imperial palace, was -converted into a monastery. Then were witnessed the -quaintest scenes that ever enlivened the passion-throbbing -palace of the Eastern Emperors. Five hundred -monks, of all ages and nationalities, of every degree -of sanctity and raggedness, were crowded in or about its -marbled walls. Every form that monastic fervour had -assumed in the fiery provinces of Syria or Egypt was -exemplified in it. The orderly community sang its endless -psalms and macerated its flesh in the rooms where -Justinian had dallied with his mistress: little huts were -scattered about the grounds for those who were called -to the life of the hermit: and even columns were set up -here and there for those who would imitate the more -novel and arduous piety of St Simeon Stylites, and pass, -at the open summit of the column, a kind of existence -which the polite pen must refrain from describing. All -the beggars of Constantinople gathered for the crumbs -of this remarkable colony, and crowds of citizens pressed -to witness this singular oasis of virtue in the most -corrupt city of the world. Theodora rarely let a day -pass without crossing the gardens to receive the blessing -and enjoy the pious conversation of such of the saints -as would deign to converse with a woman.</p> - -<p>How she went on to put a courtly heretic upon the -archiepiscopal throne of Constantinople, and, by an -extraordinary piece of intrigue and corruption, depose -a pope and replace him by one who pretended to favour<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span> -her designs, we shall see presently. We must now set -forth the imperial career of Theodora in chronological -order, and learn what kind of character this remarkable -woman maintained amid the chants and prayers of her -deeply venerated monks.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_III" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER III<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE EMPRESS THEODORA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">We</span> have seen how Theodora rewarded the -friends, and must now see how she punished -the enemies, of her earlier career. It will -be remembered that her father had been a servant of the -“greens” of the Hippodrome, but that this party had -greeted her mother with derision when she appealed for -sympathy with her three children, while the “blues” -received them compassionately. Twenty years afterwards -the young circus-girl had become the most powerful -woman in the world, and the blues began to tyrannize -with impunity over their rivals. In the earliest years of -the reign of Theodora and Justinian we find them -swollen with conceit and encouraged in the perpetration -of every kind of disorder. The livelier “sparks” of -that faction advertised their formidable character by -adopting the trousers and sandals of the fierce Huns -and trimming their hair after the fashion of those terrible -invaders; they wore long moustaches and beards, shaved -the front part of the head, and cultivated long hair at -the back.</p> - -<p>A few outrages soon taught them that the laws would -not be enforced against them, and before long the city -of Constantinople became, during the night, a land of -terror. The citizen who dared to pass along the streets -with a gold clasp to his belt or his cloak or money in his -purse was robbed, and women could not move after -nightfall. The continued silence of the authorities encouraged -the blues, and drew all the dissolute elements -of the city into their ranks. They now began to force<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span> -the doors of the houses, plunder the coffers, rape the -wives and daughters, and carry off the more handsome -slaves and boys. At the least resistance their deadly -poniards were drawn, and murder became frequent. -When the authorities intervened, none but the greens -were punished. The evil rapidly spread from night to -day, and from the metropolis to other cities. It would -be futile in this case to quarrel with the details given in -the “Anecdotes.” The great riot into which the greens -were stung by this reign of terror is an historical fact; -and nothing but the vindictive memory of Theodora can -explain how Justinian, the great legislator, permitted so -appalling a disorder.</p> - -<p>Theodora meantime enjoyed the conversation of her -monks and hermits, and even Justinian seems to have -been unconscious that he was slipping the leash of beasts -whom he might be powerless to control. At length, on -14th January 532, the greens stirred. The Emperor -appeared in his <i>kathisma</i> at the Hippodrome, and an -appeal was made to him for justice. His officer replied -disdainfully, and a long and curious conversation took -place.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> The Emperor still refused to grant the impartial -administration of justice or to punish the murderers, -and the greens left the Hippodrome. They gathered in -strength in the streets, and, although Justinian prudently -sent to learn and partly to remove their grievances, they -remained in arms. Belisarius was now sent against them -with a troop of Goths, and the rioting and burning -began. Unfortunately for the Court an accident then -happened which had the singular effect of uniting the -two factions against the troops. Seven criminals were -to be executed, and Procopius cannot conceal the fact—in -spite of his insistence that the blues were never<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -punished—that some of the seven were blues and some -greens. After five of the seven had been despatched, -the rope broke, and the crowd demanded the acquittal -of the remaining two. The authorities refused, and, as -one criminal was a blue and the other a green, the -factions turned in common anger upon the prefect and -the troops.</p> - -<p>The terrible riot that followed during four days must -be read in history. The first part of the palace, the great -church of St Sophia, and many other churches, mansions -and public buildings were destroyed. Priests who -rushed into the fray holding aloft the disarming emblems -of their faith were cut down. On the fourth day, a -Sunday, Justinian entered the Hippodrome with a Bible -in his hand, and took a solemn oath to spare the offenders -if they would disarm. “Ass, thou art perjuring thyself,” -was the infuriated answer; and he retired to contemplate -with Theodora the impending ruin of their -reign. On the following day the crowd forced Hypatius, -nephew of the Emperor Anastasius, to accept such purple -robes as they could obtain, marched with him in triumph -to the Hippodrome, and exulted in the downfall of -Justinian and Theodora, who were believed to have fled -to Asia.</p> - -<p>The “great” Justinian makes a lamentable appearance -throughout the whole riot, which he had guiltily -occasioned, but Theodora and the abler ministers were -not minded to yield. As they gathered in the hall of the -palace, to which the cries in the Hippodrome must -almost have penetrated, the chief eunuch Narses came -to report that by a judicious distribution of money he had -distracted the factions and weakened the cause of -Hypatius. It is probably this news that turned the scale -in the wavering counsels of Justinian and his ministers, -but it was Theodora who pressed it home. The speech -which Procopius assigns to her is worth reproducing, -though we cannot regard it as more than a rhetorical -paraphrase of the words she used:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span></p> - -<blockquote> -<p>“In my opinion this is no time to admit the maxim -that a woman must not act as a man among men; nor, -if she fires the courage of the halting, are we to consider -whether she does right or no. When matters come to -a crisis, we must agree as to the best course to take. -My opinion is that, although we may save ourselves by -flight, it is not to our interest. Every man that sees the -light must die, but the man who has once been raised -to the height of empire cannot suffer himself to go into -exile and survive his dignity. God forbid that I should -ever be seen stripped of this purple, or live a single day -on which I am not to be saluted as Mistress. If thou -desirest to go, Emperor, nothing prevents thee. There -is the sea; there are the steps to the boats. But have -a care that when thou leavest here, thou dost not exchange -this sweet light for an ignoble death. For my -part I like the old saying: empire is a fine winding-sheet.”</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Some such sentiments, we may believe, were urged -by Theodora, and affected the decision. The populace -was penned in the Hippodrome, and Justinian’s officers -and troops stealthily surrounded it. Rushing in at the -various entrances, they fell with such fury upon the -people that the sun went down on the corpses of between -thirty and forty thousand citizens heaped in its arena -or on the terraced seats.</p> - -<p>The health of Theodora suffered from the strain of -this terrible week, and she went to take the waters at the -Pythian baths in Bithynia: a crowd of nobles and four -thousand soldiers and eunuchs forming her retinue. -Meantime Justinian set about the congenial task of re-erecting -the Chalke (or front part of the palace), the -church of St Sophia and the other ruined buildings, on -a more splendid scale than before. We shall see later -by what means he and his Empress obtained the prodigious -sums of money they needed for their enormous -expenditure. We will also postpone for a moment the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span> -early relations of Theodora to the general Belisarius and -his romantic spouse, and consider the next important -episode in which her character is seen.</p> - -<p>In spite of the orthodoxy and religious zeal of -Justinian, his wife had such influence over him and apart -from him that in the year 535 she secured the see of -Constantinople for the Monophysite Anthimus, to the -unbounded delight of her sect and amidst the furious -maledictions of the orthodox throughout the Empire. -Rome was at that time regarded only as a sister Church -of great authority and antiquity, but its venerable -Bishop Agapetus was summoned to the Eastern metropolis -and he succeeded in ousting Theodora’s favourite. -Agapetus, however, died soon afterwards at Constantinople, -and Theodora now conceived the bold design of -putting a Monophysite pope upon the throne at Rome -itself. For the remarkable events which follow I am -not using the “Anecdotes” at all. The story is told -in substance by a contemporary ecclesiastical writer, -Liberatus the Deacon, of Carthage, and the chronicler -Victor, and is repeated, with large and legendary additions, -by Anastasius, the Roman librarian, of the ninth -century.</p> - -<p>In the suite of Agapetus at Constantinople was an -ambitious and courtly deacon named Vigilius, who contrived -to let his accommodating temper become known to -the Empress. He was taken to her apartments, and he -promised, if the Roman see and a large sum of money -were bestowed on him, to reinstate Anthimus and the -other Monophysite bishops. In the meantime the Gothic -ruler of Italy had appointed a certain Silverius to the -Roman see. Theodora tested him with a request that -he would restore Anthimus, but he refused; murmuring, -it is said, as he wrote the letter: “This will cost me my -life,” as it did. The Byzantine general Belisarius had -meantime taken and occupied Rome, and a few words -must be said to introduce him, and his wife Antonina, -into the story of Theodora.</p> - -<div id="ip_40" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 38em;"> - <img src="images/i_040.jpg" width="600" height="462" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE EMPRESS THEODORA AND HER ATTENDANTS</p> - <p class="smaller">MOSAIC OF THE 6TH CENTURY IN S. VITALE, RAVENNA</p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span> -I have previously mentioned an eleventh-century -legend concerning Belisarius and Justinian and their -wives. It was said that the two men had one day -entered a house of ill-fame, found there two captive and -fascinating Amazons named Antonia [Theodora] and -Antonina, and married them. The myth seems to have -crystallized about a belief that Antonina had risen from -the same depths as Theodora, as the “Anecdotes” say, -and the fact that Antonina was a woman of abandoned -character and a leading lady in the service of the -Empress seems to confirm this. In any case, she is -openly assailed by Procopius (her husband’s secretary) -in his historical works as “capable of anything,” and -is described in the Lexicon of Suidas as “an infamous -adulteress.” She had married Belisarius, and accompanied -him in 533 on his brilliant campaign for the -recovery of Africa from the Vandals. With them went -a handsome and foppish Thracian youth named -Theodosius. He was fresh from the baptismal font, in -which the patriarch had washed away his Monophysite -heresy, and it was believed that the presence of so sacred -a youth would bring luck to the fleet. Before they -reached Carthage Antonina enjoyed the secret love of -the youth, but a servant betrayed them, and Theodosius -fled to Ephesus, where we must leave him for a time. -It is said that Antonina had the servant’s tongue cut out.</p> - -<p>Belisarius passed from the subjugation of North Africa -to a victorious war in Italy, and he and Antonina were -staying at a palace on the Pincian Hill at Rome when -the deacon Vigilius—now, no doubt, a priest—came with -the commands of Theodora. “Trump up a charge -against Silverius, and send him to Constantinople,” the -order ran, according to the Roman librarian, and as the -more authoritative Liberatus affirms that the charge was -false, and was supported by mendacious witnesses and -forged letters, there is no possibility of freeing Theodora -from this grave imputation. The Pope was summoned -to the palace, where Antonina lay on a couch with Belisarius<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span> -at her feet. Antonina at once charged him with -treasonable correspondence with the Goths. We may -or may not believe the picturesque version of Anastasius: -that the servants at once stripped the Pope of -his robes, dressed him as a monk, and interred him in -a distant monastery. It is certain, at least, that Silverius -was, at Theodora’s command, deposed on a false charge -and thrust out of sight. Vigilius became Pope, and the -fate of Silverius is unknown to history.</p> - -<p>I cannot entirely omit a later sequel to this sacrilegious -and unscrupulous deed, though it rests only on the -feebler authority of Anastasius. For a few years Theodora -demanded in vain that Vigilius should fulfil his -promise. He had, he said, come to see the heinousness -of such a promise, and could not discharge it. In 544, -therefore, Theodora sent an officer to Rome with a -command which Anastasius gives in these words: “If -you find him in the church of St Peter spare him, but -if in the Lateran or the palace, or in any other church, -put him on ship at once, and bring him to us. If you -fail, I will, by Him that liveth for ever, have your skin -torn from your body.” It is known, at least, that -Vigilius was shipped away from Rome at the end of -544; but that he was at once taken to Constantinople, -and that Theodora had him dragged through the streets -like a bear, is untrue. He reached Constantinople after -her death. We cannot therefore follow the deposition -of Vigilius as confidently as we follow the sordid story -of his elevation, but we can have little doubt that Theodora -punished him.</p> - -<p>Another authentic episode of the time reveals the same -unscrupulous disdain of principles in the patroness of -the Monophysite sect. The story is told by Procopius, -not in the “Anecdotes,” but in his open and authoritative -work “On the Persian War,” in spite of his -usual extreme care to suppress offensive details. The -Prefect of Constantinople, John of Cappadocia, had -incurred the bitter hostility of the Empress. The very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -unattractive portrait which Procopius supplies, and -Gibbon reproduces, of John prevents us from thinking -that in this case an innocent man was persecuted. While -he freely promoted all the schemes of Justinian and his -notorious steward to wring money out of the citizens—“by -fair means and foul,” as Zonaras says—he levied -his private tithe on all their gains, and was popularly -believed to indulge in secret the most sensual tastes and -the even worse abominations of some pagan cult. He -seems to have been the one man to regard Theodora with -open disdain, and she retorted with venomous hate. -Although guards surrounded his bedroom, he started -every hour from his feverish slumbers to look for the -expected assassin.</p> - -<p>His value to Justinian enabled him to keep his position -until the year 540, when Belisarius and Antonina returned -from Italy to Constantinople.<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> Antonina remained -in the city while her husband went against the -Persians. She feverishly summoned her Thracian lover -from the monastery in which he hypocritically lingered -at Ephesus, but the wrath of Belisarius held him aloof. -Whether or no Antonina then deliberately sought the -intervention of the Empress, we cannot say, but she proceeded -to merit it. She learned of Theodora’s hatred -of John, and conceived a plot for his destruction.</p> - -<p>John had an ingenuous and amiable daughter who -seems to have been not unacquainted with the political -situation. Twice had the brilliant Belisarius been withdrawn -to the city in a fit of jealousy, and there were -rumours that the strong man was wearying of serving -an Emperor who could do nothing but employ others -and reap their glory. Antonina won her way to the -heart and confidence of the girl, and betrayed to her that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -her husband was secretly disaffected. The artless -Euphemia hastened to tell her father that there was a -prospect of overthrowing Theodora, whom they both -hated. Even John was deceived by the astute adventuress. -It was arranged that Antonina should go to her -suburban palace and meet John there during the night. -We do not know that Theodora had a share in framing -this diabolical plot, but it was now communicated to her -by Antonina, and she at once pressed it and used her -resources for carrying it out with safety. In the dead of -the following night John entered the palace of the unscrupulous -adventuress and listened to her whispers of -treachery. Procopius says that Theodora had initiated -the Emperor to the plot, and he had consented, but at -the last moment sent a messenger to John not to see -Antonina. This seems to be a piece of polite fiction in -the interest of the Emperor; it is incredible that an astute -and experienced minister would risk his neck after such -a message. John went, and, in the apparently lonely -palace, spoke his secret sympathy with the supposed -design of Belisarius. No sooner had he uttered the -words than a troop of imperial guards entered the room -to arrest or assassinate him, but John also had brought -soldiers and they enabled him to escape.</p> - -<p>Had John gone straight to the palace of Justinian, -he might still have saved his position. Instead, he fled -nervously to the sanctuary, and Theodora hardened the -mind of her husband. The wealthy and powerful noble -was stripped of his estates and forced to enter the ranks -of the clergy—one of the quaintest penalties of the time—in -the suburb of Cyzicus. There the people whom he -had oppressed might behold their once powerful enemy, -the secret pagan and Sybarite, shaven and humiliated. -It appears that Theodora was not yet satisfied, though -she is not directly implicated by Procopius in the last -act of the tragedy. The Bishop of Cyzicus was murdered, -and as John was one of his many bitter enemies, he was -arrested, scourged, and driven into exile and poverty.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -The fate of the unhappy Euphemia is unknown; she was -probably compelled to enter a nunnery and weep there -over the memory of the imperial tigress and her friend.</p> - -<p>This story of perfidy, corruption and vindictiveness, -which Procopius tells openly in his historical work, -disposes us to believe the sequel, as it is narrated in the -“Anecdotes,” even if we must regard certain details -of the narrative with reserve. There was with Belisarius -in Persia a son of Antonina by a former husband (or -lover) of the name of Photius. Bitterly ashamed of his -mother’s conduct, he accepted from Belisarius the charge -of watching her lover Theodosius. At Ephesus he -learned that Theodosius was in Constantinople, and soon -caused him to fly back to Ephesus and cling to the altars -which had sheltered so much vice and crime since the -law of sanctuary had been established. The prelate, -however, delivered Theodosius to the youth, and he was -imprisoned in Cilicia.</p> - -<p>Theodora was now eager to reward her friend and -she had Photius arrested and scourged. He refused to -reveal the prison in which he had placed Theodosius, but -an officer was bribed to betray the secret, and the -Thracian was brought to Theodora’s apartments. Theodora -then sent for Antonina and said: “Dear patrician, -yesterday there fell into my hands a gem finer than any -that mortal eye has ever seen; if you would like to see it, -I will show it to you.” Procopius concludes this -astounding story by saying that Photius was kept for -four years in the Empress’s underground dungeons. -Twice he escaped to the church of St Sophia, and twice -he was dragged back; at length he got away from Constantinople -and hid from the vindictiveness of Theodora -in the robes of a monk. There are writers who flatly -refuse to believe this statement, though the authentic -actions of Theodora which we have described lend it -some plausibility. Once more, however, the recently -published works of the contemporary Bishop of Ephesus -supply some confirmation. We read in them that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -Photius, son of Antonina, “became a monk for some -cause or other”; but the pathos of Gibbon’s picture -of his fate is somewhat lessened when we read that he -still enlivened the monastic life with his genial soldierly -vices and led the troops to the plunder of the southern -provinces.</p> - -<p>I have mentioned the underground prisons of Theodora. -Since it is from the “Anecdotes” alone that we -learn of these dungeons, we should regard the statements -with some reserve, and in this case there is additional -reason for reserve. As Gibbon says: “Darkness is -propitious to cruelty, but it is likewise favourable to -calumny and fiction.” Procopius seems to know too -much of what passed in these carefully guarded places. -Theodora doubtless had spies everywhere, and it would -be easy enough for her to have her enemies conveyed -into the palace during the night, or to some prison in -remote provinces. Somewhere about this time (541), we -learn from John of Ephesus, her episcopal friend -Anthimus incurred the anger of the Emperor and disappeared. -John assures us that Anthimus was hidden in -the Empress’s apartments <em>for seven years</em>. The two -chamberlains who waited on him alone knew the secret, -besides Theodora, until the day of her death. A woman -with such resources could easily maintain private -dungeons if she willed, and we can hardly say that it -would be inconsistent with her character. But when -Procopius minutely describes the fetid condition of these -prisons, and tells how fiercely the prisoners were -scourged, or how cords were tightened round their heads -until the eyes started from their sockets, we are disposed -to think that he has hastily admitted popular rumours -which the judicious historian must set aside as unauthoritative.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, a set of grave charges which -Procopius combines with these statements are not without -very serious confirmation. His most persistent -charge against Justinian and Theodora is that they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -extorted money by cruel and flagrantly dishonest means. -The superb buildings—the new palace, the new St -Sophia, etc.—with which Justinian adorned the city -absorbed stupendous sums of money; and the personal -luxury and religious munificence of Theodora were such -that a vast fortune would be needed to sustain them. It -is equally certain that the money was largely raised by -corrupt means. I have quoted the monastic writer -Zonaras saying that Justinian raised money “by fair -means and foul” and by “dishonest practices”; and -the weighty testimony of Evagrius that the Emperor -was of such “insatiable avarice” that he would share -the “vile gain” of loose women impeaching wealthy -men on false charges. The most that we can say for -Justinian is that the money was not spent in personal -luxury, and that it was extorted by subordinate officers. -Agathias, another good authority, tells us how the -steward Anatolius used to forge or suppress wills, and -practise other dishonest arts, so that he might affix to -houses and estates the strip of purple which betokened -that they had become the property of the Emperor.</p> - -<p>It is indisputable that the metropolis and the provinces -suffered a most unjust and corrupt spoliation in order -to sustain the splendour of the reign of Justinian and -Theodora. Now Zonaras declares that the Empress was -“worse than Justinian in extorting money, both by -unlawful and lawful means,” and that she was “especially -ingenious in finding ways” to enrich herself. -Wealthy men had charges of secret heresy or unnatural -vice brought against them, and their fortunes passed -into the coffers of Theodora. This must mean that her -servants, as the informers, claimed for her the legal -share of the confiscated property which went to an -informer.</p> - -<p>Here again, therefore, the charges in the “Anecdotes” -are substantially confirmed. Not content with securing -testaments in her favour, she had them forged or altered. -She suborned witnesses to support charges of vice or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -heresy. The only difference from Zonaras is in the -added allegation of physical cruelty, and on this point -Procopius is at times explicit. A member of the blue -party, Bassus, a refined and delicate youth, issued some -squib upon the Empress, possibly referring to her early -career. He was dragged from the church in which he -had taken refuge, charged with and convicted of vice, -and subjected, before an indignant crowd, to the barbaric -mutilation with which such vice was then punished. His -property went to Theodora—in part, I assume, for laying -information. Usually it was the greens who suffered. -So angry were the people that they accused Theodora -of a secret (but “impotent”) love of the sinister Syrian -financier, Peter Barsymes, who had succeeded John of -Cappadocia in the duty of governing and exploiting -Constantinople. The restraint with which Procopius -represents her love as “impotent” lends credit to his -other charges. An accusation of an actual liaison would -have been more credible than some of the stories he -reproduces.</p> - -<p>A few episodes remain in the career of Theodora from -which we may confirm our impression of her remarkable -personality. Unfortunately, they rest entirely on the -authority of the “Anecdotes,” and cannot be pressed; -we know only from another, and a sound, authority that -Belisarius was maliciously attacked and disgraced after -his many brilliant campaigns on behalf of the Empire.</p> - -<p>To the evils of oppression, spoliation, corruption of -justice, and persecution which afflicted the Eastern -Empire under Justinian and Theodora there was added -in the year 542 the deadly scourge of the plague, and for -several years in succession it scattered the seeds of death -over the broad provinces. Justinian at length contracted -it, and became dangerously ill. As he had no son, the -question of the succession to the throne was very naturally -discussed, and the generals Belisarius and Buza in -the Persian camp incautiously expressed themselves on -the rumour that Justinian was dying, or were represented<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span> -to the Empress by her spies as having done so. She at -once ordered them to Constantinople. Buza is said to -have been lodged in her underground prisons, and -Belisarius was stripped of his rank, his guard and his -immense wealth. A eunuch was sent by Theodora to -secure the large sums he had deposited in the east, and -the chosen soldiers who formed his personal guard, and -were maintained at his expense, were distributed among -the army. The greatest soldier that the Eastern Empire -ever possessed, the most brilliant contributor to the -success of Justinian’s reign, a man who had preserved -his loyalty in a decade of supreme military power, he -was received at the palace with cold haughtiness, and -retired in deep distress to his mansion. When at length -he observed the approach of a servant of the Empress, -he prepared for death. Instead of death, however, -Theodora’s officer brought this extraordinary message: -“You know what you have done to me, Belisarius, but -I forgive your crimes on account of what your wife has -done for me. Hope for the future through her, but know -that we shall hear how you bear yourself to Antonina.” -And the episode closes with the great soldier kissing the -feet of his perfidious wife, vowing that he will be her -slave, and accepting the office of master of the stables -in the imperial service which he had so gloriously -illumined. Theodora had secured an enormous sum of -money and intimidated an enemy.</p> - -<p>Up to the last year of Theodora’s life (548) the implacable -writer of the “Anecdotes” pursues his record -of her misdeeds. Ever attentive to the men who might -some day dislodge her and her relatives from the palace, -Theodora watched with especial jealousy the grave and -distinguished nephew of the Emperor, Germanus, and -his three children. His eldest daughter Justina was in -her nineteenth year, yet none had dared, out of fear of -Theodora, to offer marriage to her. Theodora then -decided to unite the fortunes of the two houses, and -secure the succession, by commanding Justina to wed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> -her grandson Anastasius—obviously the son of an illegitimate -daughter of the Empress, since it was little over -twenty years since her marriage to Justinian. Justina -refused, and was vindictively married by the Empress -to a common officer. She then commanded the daughter -of Belisarius, Joannina, to wed Anastasius. Procopius, -forgetting that he has stripped Belisarius of almost all -his wealth (an exaggeration), says that Theodora wanted -in this way to secure the general’s fortune, but we may -assume that Theodora was mainly endeavouring to secure -the succession to the throne for her grandson. Her own -health was delicate, and Justinian was well over sixty. -Belisarius shrank from the union, and even Antonina -seems to have refused to further it. All knew that a -struggle impended between the families of Justinian and -Theodora, and it must have been the general feeling that -the former would win. Theodora is said to have angrily -united Joannina to her grandson in the loose popular -form of marriage; indeed later rumour said that she had -the young woman violated first.</p> - -<p>Another matrimonial interference of the Empress in -her later years exhibits the better features of her character. -An ambitious general, Artabanes, sought and -obtained the hand of Justinian’s niece, whom he had -delivered from peril in Africa. Soon afterwards, however, -a woman appeared who claimed that she was the -legitimate wife of Artabanes. She appealed to the -Empress, and Theodora forced Artabanes to take back -his humbler wife. Procopius tells this story in one of -the historical works in which he was careful not to offend -the ruling powers, and he courteously adds that “it was -the nature of Theodora to befriend afflicted women.” -It is the only instance of her doing so that has reached -us, and, ungracious as it may seem to cast a doubt upon -the pure humanity of that one recorded good deed, one is -compelled to suggest that it was not to her interest to -see a niece of Justinian married to a successful commander.</p> - -<p>On the 29th of June 548, after a reign of twenty-one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -years, Theodora died of cancer. Her body was embalmed -and exposed for public veneration in the golden-roofed -Triclinon of the palace. There, still dressed in -the imperial purple, still bearing the magnificent diadem -for a few days, she lay on a golden bed for friends and -enemies to gaze upon the last state of one of the most -remarkable personalities of the time.</p> - -<p>The character of Theodora must be interpreted in so -purely oriental a sense that it is difficult for the modern -European to understand it. Whether Greek or Syrian -in origin, she was an incarnation of the spirit of the -great metropolis in whose life Syria and Greece were so -singularly blended. It is useless any longer to cast -doubt upon her earlier career. She was reared in that -old theatrical world in which moral restraint was wholly -unknown; and her beauty, vivacity and nervous strength -make it probable enough that she was distinguished in -it for dissoluteness. That in her later life she spent vast -sums of money on the Church and philanthropy is unquestionable; -nor would I doubt for a moment that she -was perfectly sincere in her endless conversations with -holy men. But her passionate nature, difficult position -and supple intelligence gave her a genius for casuistry, -and she fell into vices far worse than the vices of her -youth. Quite apart from the attacks of her bitter, anonymous -enemy, we have ample evidence that she was -vindictive, cruel, unscrupulous, dishonest and callous. -To send a bejewelled cross to the holy church at Jerusalem, -or build a monastery, she would ruin and despoil -an innocent man or wreck the happiness of a woman: -to secure the preaching of the true faith in Christ she -would depose an upright Pope on forged evidence and -put a scoundrel in the most sacred chair in Christendom. -It was the temper of Constantinople—to rise from vice -and folly to defend the doctrines of the Church and -enforce them with the dagger or the torch. The further -things that are said of her in the famous “Anecdotes” -must, for the serious historian, remain unproved but not -improbable.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_IV" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER IV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">SOPHIA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> Emperor Justinian continued for seventeen -years after the death of Theodora to occupy the -golden throne and keep the throne of his consort -vacant. As he approached the term of his life the palace -throbbed with the impassioned struggle which always -disturbed the last year of a childless Emperor, and the -courtiers took sides with the relatives of Theodora or -of Justinian, according to their forecast of the future. -On the one side was Sophia, the niece and heiress of -Theodora: on the other the Emperor’s nephew, Justin. -Sophia, however, was diplomatic in the pursuit of her -ambition. She discarded the heresy which it had been -expedient to cherish while her aunt lived, accepted the -hand of Justin, and settled with him in his palace by -the shore, near Theodora’s palace-monastery, to await -impatiently the retirement of the aged Emperor.</p> - -<p>Justinian, says the contemporary lawyer Evagrius, -passed in the year 565 to “those tortures which are provided -in the nether world” for rulers who despoil their -subjects. The “greatness” of Justinian seems to have -been discovered by his mediæval admirers; contemporary -writers usually, and justly, attribute to his great -general Belisarius the military triumphs which partially -restored the outline of the Empire during his reign, and -to the (probably) pagan lawyer Tribonian the compilation -of the famous Justinian Code, leaving to the Emperor -himself the odium of those unprincipled and unjustifiable -extortions which weakened and distressed his subjects. -However that may be, the Emperor’s last years<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span> -were framed in a decaying world, and the citizens of -Constantinople regarded with hesitating admiration the -superb edifices which he had raised. His nephew Justin -was “lord of the palace” (<i>Curopalates</i>), and had ample -opportunity to ensure the succession.</p> - -<p>A profoundly courtly and accommodating poet of the -time, Corippus, has left us a touching account of the accession -of Justin and Sophia. The noble Callinicus comes -one night to rouse them in their suburban palace with the -distressing news that Justinian is no more. The spouses -arise, and sit discussing the situation in a room looking -over the moonlit Sea of Marmora, when a group of -Senators enter, and urge Justin to accept the purple. -He shrinks from the terrible dignity until their tears and -prayers override his modesty, and, as the first faint -flush of dawn outlines the houses, they walk sadly -through the streets to the sacred palace. The guards and -Candidates and servants line the long avenue from the -iron gate to the bronze door of Daphne, and many tears -are shed over the body of the late Emperor, which lies -on a lofty golden catafalque. Sophia produces a piece -of embroidery on which all the illustrious victories of the -great Emperor are depicted. By this time the report has -spread in the town, and the citizens fly to the palace. -The blues and greens in festive dress, with their respective -standards, line the path to St Sophia, whither they -go to ask grace, and they return to the palace to put on -the robes of state. Then four strong soldiers raise -Justin aloft, standing on a shield, and the patriarch -crowns him and Sophia, and the Emperor passes to the -Hippodrome to receive the loyal greeting of his people.</p> - -<p>When we turn from this moving description to the -prosy pages of the lawyer Evagrius we find—without -surprise—that Corippus has very generously drawn upon -the poet’s licence. Evagrius bluntly observes that Justin -“took” the purple the moment his uncle was dead, and -suggests that the officers of the palace were already in his -service. The death of Justinian was kept secret until<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -Justin and Sophia had been crowned and were suddenly -presented to the populace in their sheen of gold and -jewels. Another contemporary writer from whom we -learn much, Bishop John of Ephesus, adds a very -credible and instructive detail. Sophia had been a -Monophysite, like her aunt Theodora, until, in the year -562, an astute bishop had pointed out to her that -Justinian was reluctant to set on the throne another -woman who believed that there was only one nature in -Christ. By this powerful argument Sophia was happily -convinced that there were two natures in Christ, and -accepted the orthodox baptism. It is our first glimpse -of the character of the new Empress, and is quite in -harmony with all that we know of her. She was the -niece of Theodora.</p> - -<p>The new reign opened auspiciously. As the Emperor -stood in the royal gallery, or <i>kathisma</i>, overlooking the -Hippodrome, to receive the plaudits of his people, the -cry was raised, and soon ran through the crowded -benches, that he should undo at once the dishonesty of -his predecessor. If we may believe the poet, the citizens -had, with great forethought, brought with them the bills -of the treasury’s debts to them, and waved their tablets -before the <i>kathisma</i>. One is tempted to believe that it -was part of Justin’s plan to outstrip his cousins and other -rivals. The gold also was produced with theatrical -promptness, and from the glittering pile heaped at his -feet the Emperor discharged all the debts in full. Sophia -sustained her husband’s policy. We read that a few -years after her accession she gathered the moneylenders -of the city at her palace, paid all the debts due to them -by the people, and ensured a large measure of popularity.</p> - -<p>In virtue of the genial feeling engendered by this -generous conduct the new Emperor and Empress were -enabled to strengthen their throne at the expense of their -rivals. The chief rival to the hopes of Justin had been -another nephew of the late Emperor, Germanus, and his -sons: a noble and gifted figure in comparison with the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span> -mean and petty intrigues of Justin. We saw how instinctively -Theodora had hated this family. Germanus -had ended his brilliant and stainless career in war, but -his son Justin seems to have inherited his character and -popularity, and certainly inherited his misfortunes. -Obscure references to revolt in the chronicles of the time -close with the curt statement that Justin and other nobles -were put to death. Justin had been banished to Alexandria, -and <em>may</em> have expressed resentment. Sophia -joined with her husband in what we are tempted to -regard as murder. “Justin and Sophia,” says the sardonic -Evagrius, “did not abate their fury against the -son of Germanus” until his severed and grisly head was -exhibited to them. The metaphors of the time are so true -to life that the historian is often puzzled as to the exact -details of such episodes. The truth is, as we shall soon -realize, that the Byzantine Empire, in spite of its opulence, -its art and its religious ardour, was sinking toward -barbarism.</p> - -<p>For a few years Justin and Sophia ruled with moderation -and success in their decaying dominion. The administration -of justice was reformed and the decoration -of churches and public buildings proceeded. Another -palace—the Sophian palace—was added to the growing -cluster of mansions which made up the imperial town. -Justin cleared a vast site in the quarter where he and -Sophia had lived, built for her a palace and hippodrome, -and raised two large brass statues of himself and the -Empress. In this marble-lined palace, in the imperial -quarters, or in the Hieria palace across the water, or -the new suburban palace at Blachernæ in the north, -Sophia passed the first nine years of her reign without -taking any apparent part in public affairs. Then her -husband lost his mind, and she began to reveal her true -character.</p> - -<p>From his early tolerance Justin had passed to the -temper of the persecutor, and the groans of the Monophysites -were heard throughout the Empire. Whether<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span> -this new phase of activity contributed to, or resulted -from, his growing insanity, and how far Sophia was -implicated in it, we do not know; but by the year 574 -Justin had become a dangerous maniac. Bars had to be -placed at his windows, and his servants had carefully -to avoid the imperial teeth; while, in his less dangerous -hours, he would shriek with delight, or bark like a dog, -as the servants pulled him along the corridors in a small -cart fitted with a throne. The commander of the Excubitors -who guarded or amused him was a tall and very -handsome Thracian officer named Tiberius, whose fine -bluish eyes, light hair and beard, fresh florid complexion -and manly form, pleased the eye of the Empress, -and she induced Justin, in a lucid hour toward the end -of the year 574, to raise him to the rank of Cæsar. -Writers of the time describe with great feeling this last -sane act of Justin II. The Empress, the patriarch and -his clergy, and the nobles and Senators, were summoned -to the palace, and Justin held to them a long and deeply -penitent discourse, lamenting his sins and cruelty, and -recommending his wife and his Empire to the fortunate -Tiberius. The scepticism of the historian is apparently -silenced by the weighty assurance of Bishop John that -this remarkable speech of the insane ruler was taken -down in shorthand,<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> but the publication of such a statement -would be by no means inconsistent with the -character of Sophia, and we must interpret the narrative -with some liberality.</p> - -<p>In most of the historians we read that, when Justin -died and Tiberius ascended the throne, a romantic scene -was witnessed in the Hippodrome and the astute Sophia -was outwitted by her handsome favourite. Sophia, it is -said, proposed to marry him, but when the crowd in the -Hippodrome cried, “Let us see a Roman Empress,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -he replied, through the herald, that an Empress already -existed, and that her name was similar to that of a -church in the city, the position of which he indicated. -The citizens at once solved the conundrum, acclaimed -his secret wife Anastasia, and laughed at the discomfiture -of Sophia, who retired to her palace in anger and -mortification.</p> - -<p>The entire inaccuracy of this legend, which has found -its way into Gibbon and all the earlier historians, must -confirm our feeling of reserve in reading the Byzantine -chroniclers. It is true that Sophia designed to marry -Tiberius, and we may confidently assume that his marriage -was a secret at the time when she raised him to the -cæsarship. But we now know from John of Ephesus -that Sophia learned of the marriage of Tiberius long -before the death of her husband, and the citizens of -Constantinople cannot have been unaware of it. Bishop -John observes that she looked with dry eyes on the burly -figure of her husband as he shrieked and laughed in his -toy chariot; he was, she said, deservedly punished for -his sins, and the Empire would now fall into her more -capable hands. She induced the Senate to consent to the -elevation of the imposing officer, put an edifying discourse -into the mouth of Justin—unless one prefers the -singular story of his hour of lucidity and eloquence—and -bade the patriarch clothe him in the glittering -insignia of a Cæsar. We can imagine her mortification -when she discovered that he was already married.</p> - -<p>The entry of Ino, wife of Tiberius, into the roll of the -Byzantine Empresses is romantic enough without this -discredited story of the concealment of her existence until -her husband was on the throne. Tiberius was a simple -provincial soldier who had won his way to the captainship -of the guards and to the purple by his fascinating -appearance. Gibbon represents beauty as one of his -many virtues; it was certainly much more conspicuous -than any other virtue he may have possessed. He came -from Daphnudium, which commentators place in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -province of Thrace, and it seems to have been while he -was on military service in that town that he met Ino. -She was then married to a soldier, and must have been -older than Tiberius, since we read that he was betrothed -to her daughter. The daughter died, however, and, as -the husband also presently died, Tiberius gave his hand -to the widow, a rustic and undistinguished matron of a -frontier province. When Tiberius was promoted to the -captainship of the imperial guards, Ino came to Constantinople, -and lived there in obscurity with her surviving -daughters, Charito and Constantina. Here the -simple provincial family learned that Tiberius had been -raised to the dazzling height of the cæsarship.</p> - -<p>But it soon became apparent that Ino had, by her -elevation, incurred the resentment of the all-powerful -Empress. It is said that Justin, in one of his lucid hours, -urged that Tiberius should take up his residence in the -sacred palace, and that, since the flesh of young men was -weak, Ino should reside with him. Sophia bluntly -refused her consent. “Fool,” Bishop John represents -her as saying, “do you who have invested yourself with -the insignia of royalty wish to make me as great a -simpleton as yourself? As long as I live I will never -give my kingdom and crown to another, nor shall -another enter here.” Tiberius, knowing that she might -still arrest his progress toward the throne, submitted, -and Ino and her daughters were installed in the splendid -Hormisdas palace—now purified of Theodora’s monks -and hermits—which Justinian had decorated for his -mistress. Such quarters as Tiberius was permitted to -have in the main palace were poor and inadequate; he -preferred to retire each night to the mansion by the shore.</p> - -<p>During the four years that followed Sophia ruled with -the power and rigour of an autocrat. When Tiberius, -seeing the vast sums of money which she and Justin had -amassed, and affecting to regard it as unjustly extorted, -began to squander it on the people, she deprived him -of the key of the treasury. It is not unlikely that he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> -trying to win popularity independently of her. When -nobles, mindful of her attitude, asked if they might visit -the wife of the Cæsar, she angrily told them to “be -quiet,” as it was “no business of theirs.” It was, in -fact, rumoured in the city that, as two contemporary -writers assure us, she urged Tiberius to divorce his wife -and prepare to marry her. We shall see later that, in -spite of the rigorous teaching of the Church, a Byzantine -Emperor, with the tacit connivance of the archbishop, -more than once divorced his wife. As Justin lingered, -and no one dared visit the trembling ladies in the -Hormisdas palace, the courage of the provincial matron -failed and she fled back to her native town.</p> - -<p>In September 578, however, Justin passed the imperial -crown to Tiberius, and died nine days afterwards. -Sophia had more than the strength, but less than the -penetration, of her aunt Theodora, and she very quickly -discovered that she had misjudged the submissive Cæsar. -I have already rejected the fable that he now revealed -to the citizens for the first time the existence of his wife. -It is more plausible to assume that his servants were at -work among the citizens ensuring that, the moment he -appeared in the <i>kathisma</i> in his stiff gold tunic, the cry -should ring out: “Let us see the Roman Empress.” -He submitted with alacrity to the voice of the people. -Officers of distinction were at once despatched to Thrace, -to bring Ino to the palace, and Sophia retired in great -chagrin to her quarters.</p> - -<p>Ino, like so many of the Roman Empresses, remains -a mere name to which are attached a number of singular -and romantic adventures, but a little consideration of her -behaviour in these adventures affords an occasional -glimpse of her personality. A simple and, no doubt, -quite uncultivated provincial matron, she had gladly -exchanged the troubled splendours of a palace for the -tranquil plainness of her former home in Daphnudium. -The faithful Tiberius had occasionally visited her in her -retirement, and it was doubtless understood that when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -the death of Justin made him free to defy Sophia she -should return to the Court. The day had arrived, and -her humble home in the provinces was now besieged by -nobles and officers who were eager to escort her across -the sea to the bronze-roofed palace. “Come in the -morning, and we will start immediately,” Ino told them. -In the morning, however, they found that Ino and her -daughters, disliking the pomp of an escort and the scenes -which their passage would cause, had quietly departed -during the night, and they followed in very evil temper -to Constantinople.</p> - -<p>Tiberius and the Senators and nobles met Ino at the -city quay, and she was presently clothed in the gold -tunic and purple mantle of the Empress. In a covered -litter, accompanied by a crowd of eunuchs and chamberlains, -she proceeded from the palace to the great church -of St Sophia between the living hedges of the populace. -It was here that her name was changed to Anastasia. -Since the introduction of Empresses with provincial or -pagan names a custom had arisen of changing the name -at coronation, and the right to do so had been genially -accorded to the people. On this occasion the ceremony -was more animated than usual. The greens, standing -under their banner at their appointed station, raised the -cry of “Helena”; from the next station the blues raised -the counter-cry of “Anastasia,” and “so fiercely did -they contend,” says the bishop, “with rival shouts for -the honour of naming her that a great and terrible riot -ensued and all the people were in confusion.” The blues -seem to have been in the majority, and from her baptism -of blood Ino emerged with the royal name of Anastasia; -from the cathedral she presently returned to the sacred -palace as Empress or “Queen” Antastasia.</p> - -<p>From that moment we lose sight of the new Empress, -and must imagine her peacefully vegetating in the -marble-lined halls and the superb gardens of her palaces. -The interest passes once more to Sophia. As soon as she -realized that Tiberius had shaken off her control she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span> -removed large sums of money and much treasure from -the main palace, and went to live in her Sophian palace -by the Julian Port. Tiberius, knowing her temper and -the vicissitudes of imperial life at Constantinople, regarded -this action with distrust, and tried to disarm her. -“Dwell here, and be content, as my mother,” he urged, -pressing her to remain in Daphne. She refused to do -so, and he was content to assign her an imperial Court -and make it known by decree that she was to be honoured -as his “mother.” He then married Charito, the -daughter of Anastasia, to a distinguished officer, raised -him to the rank of Cæsar, and prepared to meet the -intrigues of his adopted mother.</p> - -<p>The strong and ambitious woman chafed in the small -world to which she found herself reduced and soon began -to quarrel with the Emperor. Justin had begun the -building of a lighthouse at the Julian Port, near the -great brass statues of himself and Sophia, and Tiberius -pressed Sophia to complete it. She pointed out that it -was a work of public usefulness, and therefore the -Emperor must undertake it. Tiberius refused, and the -relations between them were strained. Here, unfortunately, -our informant becomes less generous with the -interesting historical matter which he mingles with his -narrative of Church affairs. He tells us only that the -“proud and malignant” old Empress “set on foot plots -without number against Tiberius,” and was at length -deprived of her imperial status and retinue. Sophia was -probably still in the prime of life—Byzantine women -usually married about the age of fifteen—and this drastic -step would merely dispose her to more violent action, but -it soon became apparent that a greater power than that of -kings and queens was about to intervene. Tiberius was -consumptive. In the summer of 582, after less than four -years’ enjoyment of his easily won honours, he felt that -the end was approaching and sought a successor.</p> - -<p>A contemporary ecclesiastical writer seems to suggest -Sophia when he tells us that Tiberius died of poison, administered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -to him in a dish of mulberries, but we may accept -the kindlier view that he was delicate and consumptive, -and brought about a crisis by some indiscretion at table. -A popular officer from the Persian wars named Maurice -was in the city at the time, and Tiberius—passing over, -for some unknown reason, the elder daughter of -Anastasia and her husband—offered him the hand of the -younger daughter, Constantina, and the crown. -Maurice, an undistinguished provincial like Tiberius—he -came from Cappadocia—was crowned on 5th August, -and married Constantina a few days afterwards. It is -expressly recorded that the marriage was celebrated with -great magnificence. Maurice was a robust, clean-shaven, -ruddy-featured young man: a man whose goodwill was -as obvious as his incapacity to restore a stricken Empire. -The personal features of the Empresses are never -described by the Byzantine writers, but we are told that -Constantina made a brave show in her bridal tunic of -cloth of gold, edged with purple and sprinkled with -diamonds, amongst the crowd of richly dressed nobles. -The citizens honoured the new dynasty with banquets -and illuminations, little dreaming of the horrible tragedy -which would extinguish it in blood.</p> - -<p>Tiberius died a week later, and Anastasia seems to -have survived her husband only a few years. Sophia -returned to the palace after the death of Tiberius, and -spent her last years in tranquillity. But the twenty -years’ reign of Maurice is barren of interest for the -biographer of the Empresses, and we must pass quickly -over its mediocre annals to its tragic termination. Twelve -months after the coronation Constantinople was again -seething with joyous excitement. Constantina had a son, -and it was the first time in two hundred years that a boy -had been “born in the Porphyra”: an appalling comment -on Byzantine court life. Very costly gifts were -brought to the little Theodosius, as he lay with his -mother, a week or two later, under sheets of cloth of gold -to receive the ladies of the city. Four years later the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span> -boy was made Cæsar, and brothers and sisters followed -him into the world with great regularity, until Maurice -saw a family of nine children about him, giving promise -of an endless dynasty. Anastasia died a few years afterwards. -Sophia is mentioned only once more in the chronicles. -Fourteen or fifteen years after the coronation of -Maurice we read that Sophia and Constantina presented -the Emperor with a magnificent crown, and that he -offended them by piously suspending it over the altar -in one of the churches. We do not know in what year -she died, but it is clear that she did not live to witness -the horrible fate of Maurice and Constantina. No grave -blunder was committed by Maurice as long as she remained -in the palace, but it must have been soon after -her death that he began to incur the disdain of the -people and the army, and to prepare the tragedy which -closed his life and that of his Empress.</p> - -<p>The causes of that tragedy belong to history; it is -enough to note here that Maurice converted the disdain -of the troops into fierce anger by refusing to redeem a -number of them who had fallen into the merciless hands -of the barbarians. From that moment even the rabble -of Constantinople could insult him with impunity. One -day when he and his eldest son Theodosius were walking -barefoot at the head of a religious procession, they were -stoned and compelled to run for their lives. On another -day the crowd found a man with some resemblance to -Maurice, clothed him in black, crowned him with garlic, -and drove him on an ass through the city amidst a chorus -of jeering and execration. Then some troops which he -had ordered to winter in the hard lands beyond the -Danube revolted and marched upon Constantinople -under their leader Phocas. Maurice nervously ordered -games in the Hippodrome, and bade the people not be -alarmed. They were not alarmed, as they had little idea -of loyalty to the despised Emperor, and there was as yet -no question of raising to the purple the brutal officer in -command of the insurgent troops.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -Phocas and his troops had now reached the outskirts -of the city. One day Theodosius and his father-in-law, -Germanus, were hunting in that region when a -messenger of Phocas accosted them and proposed that -Theodosius should replace his father on the throne, or -else Germanus should take the crown. Although they -refused, Maurice heard of the invitation, and accused -them of conspiracy. Germanus fled to the altar, and -Maurice, scourging his son for warning Germanus, sent -guards to drag him from the church. This provoked a -rising of the people, and Maurice fled across the water -with his family. Maurice, now an old man of sixty-three, -was nearly wrecked in crossing during the night, and -was racked with gout. He had some years before befriended -the King of Persia, and he now sent Theodosius -to ask help from that monarch. The young man was, -however, presently recalled by a messenger who said that -his father intended to meet his fate with religious resignation. -He returned to find that his father and five -brothers had been butchered, and his mother and three -sisters confined in a private house, at the command of the -Emperor Phocas.</p> - -<p>Phocas, a little, deformed, red-haired man of repulsive -appearance and character, had at the last moment taken -the purple, and won the people by showering gold -among them as he drove in the imperial litter, drawn by -four white horses, from the church to the palace. On -the following day his wife Leontia was crowned. As she -went from the palace to St Sophia another riot occurred -between the blues and greens, and, when Phocas sent -an officer to quell the disturbance, some of them threateningly -retorted: “Maurice is still alive.”<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> Soldiers were -at once sent to the village on the Bay of Nicomedia which -Maurice had reached with his family. The five young<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span> -boys were beheaded before their father’s eyes, and he -was then despatched. When Theodosius returned a few -days later, he fled to the church, but he in turn was -dragged out by the soldiers and put to death.</p> - -<p>Constantina and her daughters were confined “in the -house of Leo,” the chronicler says, and we may assume -that this was a private house in the district. Unfortunately -for the unhappy Empress, the new reign at once -gave rise to intense disgust, and she became involved in -plots to overthrow Phocas. The new Emperor was a -vulgar and brutal soldier, plunging at once into an orgy -of blood and licence. The Empress Leontia—probably -a Syrian, as Phocas had a Syrian treasurer named -Leontius—is said to have been “as bad as Phocas,” but -we have no detailed information about her. She was -probably one of the strangest in the strange gallery of -the Byzantine Empresses. Within a couple of years a -plot was formed to drive this incongruous pair from the -throne they had usurped, and the patrician Germanus, -who was the chief conspirator, sent a eunuch to deliver -Constantina and her daughters and bring them in secrecy -to the cathedral. It was felt that Constantina, feeble and -passive as she seems to have been throughout her stirring -experiences, would be the best figure to attract the sympathies -of the people. It is one of the many proofs of the -appalling degradation to which the Roman Empire had -sunk that the plot failed. The issue turned, not on -honour and manliness, but on greed. Phocas had been -liberal with money and sports, and the greens, rejecting -the smaller offers of the agents of Germanus, assembled -in the Hippodrome to acclaim the tyrant and revile the -helpless widow of their Emperor.</p> - -<p>Phocas turned ferociously upon the conspirators. -Several nobles were put to death; Germanus and -Philippicus, the brother-in-law of Maurice, were condemned -to shave their heads and enlist in the ranks of the -clergy. The more terrible fate seemed to be in store for -Constantina and her daughters when a troop of soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -burst into the cathedral and threatened to drag them -from the altars, but the archbishop Cyriacus manfully -protested, and Phocas had to swear to spare their lives -before the patriarch would suffer them to leave the -sanctuary. They were confined in a nunnery, apparently -in or near the city.</p> - -<p>In this confinement Constantina presently heard that -the bloody reign of Phocas was becoming intolerable, -and she was encouraged to enter into communication -once more with Germanus. Whether or no the plot -was inspired by Phocas himself, the female servant who -carried the secret messages from the priestly home of -Germanus to the nunnery of Constantina betrayed them -to the tyrant, and he hastened to rid the Empire of the -last reminders of Maurice. Constantina was tortured and -compelled to name one of the patricians. By the same -fearful means a number of the nobility were accused, and -the city was once more driven into mourning. The -hands and feet of the accused were cut off, and their -mangled bodies were then burned alive in the public -places. Even the daughter of Germanus, the young -widow of Theodosius, was put to death. For Constantina -and her daughters the brutal tyrant devised an -exquisite punishment. They were taken across the water -to the spot, on the Bay of Nicomedia, where Maurice -and his sons had been put to death, and there the heads -were struck from the bodies of Constantina and her three -innocent daughters. The Empire of Rome had touched -a deeper depth than it had ever done in its pagan days.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_V" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER V<br /> - -<span class="subhead">MARTINA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Over</span> the eight years’ reign of Phocas and his -consort we have little disposition, and not much -occasion, to linger. The Empress Leontia is -characterized for us only by the one contemptuous phrase -that she was “as bad as Phocas.” We may trust that -she equalled him neither in brutality nor licentiousness, -but the slender indications suggest that she was some -such low type of Syrian woman as a coarse and vicious -soldier would be likely to choose for his companion. A -few words must suffice to explain her exit from the -imperial stage and the introduction of a fairer woman to -the throne.</p> - -<p>As the discontent increased in Constantinople, Phocas, -his brutality fostered by indulgence and vice, turned -upon his subjects with increasing savagery. Plots were -discovered or suspected, and hands and feet and heads -fell under the axes of the guards. At length Priscus -heard that an upright and distinguished commander, -who governed the African province, had cast off his -allegiance to Phocas, and he invited Heraclius to come -and seize the throne. Heraclius was too old to embark -on so adventurous an enterprise, but in the spring of -609 he sent a fleet under the command of his son -Heraclius and at the same time entrusted his nephew -Nicetas with an army which was to range the coast of -Africa and occupy Egypt. The curious statement, -repeated in most historians, that whichever of the young -men reached Constantinople first was to have the crown, -is shown by a recently translated manuscript to be inaccurate,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span> -as we might suspect.<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> Heraclius dallied in the -Mediterranean until his cousin had made progress, and -it was not until 3rd October 610 that the liberating fleet, -exhibiting at the prow of its commander’s vessel a picture -of the Virgin which angels had brought from heaven, -came in sight of Constantinople. At once Phocas found -a tide of desertions, and, after a feeble naval engagement -on the following day, a Sunday, he fled in despair to -the palace. So far was he abandoned that a citizen, -whose wife he had violated, penetrated the palace during -the night, dragged him to the quay, and took him on a -boat to the fleet early on the Monday morning. Nicephorus, -a later patriarch of Constantinople, gives us an -appalling picture of his fate—and of Constantinople. -He was at once cut to pieces, the member by which he -had notoriously sinned was carried on a pole through -the city, and his bleeding trunk was dragged through -the streets and burned. Of the Empress Leontia and her -fate we have no information.</p> - -<p>The young Heraclius—he was in his thirty-sixth year, -a robust, broad-chested man with fine grey eyes and -light curly hair—must not be held responsible for the -excesses of the Byzantine mob, though we shall not find -him a man of delicate feeling. He proceeded at once, not -only to assume the purple, but to provide Constantinople -with an Empress. Fabia, daughter of an African noble -named Rogatus, was in Constantinople with the wife of -the elder Heraclius when it was announced that the -African fleet lay in the Grecian waters. Phocas heard -that the mother and the betrothed of his opponent were -in the city, and they must have had a narrow escape -from death. He was content, however, to confine them -in a nunnery or penitentiary, and from this hazardous -position Fabia was released to find her lover master of -Constantinople. She was a beautiful and delicate girl, -and the biographer must feel some impatience that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span> -few Empresses of this more attractive character are so -slenderly noticed by the chroniclers, while they dilate, -as far as their prejudice against mere women will -allow them, on the sins or audacities of the bolder -Empresses.</p> - -<p>Heraclius does not seem to have been eager to assume -the purple, and, knowing as we do the accidents of -imperial life and the degradation of the Empire, we can -believe that he was sincere in offering the crown to -Priscus, the son-in-law of Phocas. Priscus refused, and -the long ceremonies of coronation at once proceeded. -After the coronation in St Sophia he was married to -Fabia, and, under the name of the Empress Eudocia, -she entered the sacred palace which Leontia had vacated. -But the story of Eudocia is brief and uninteresting, and -we hardly make her acquaintance before a premature -death removes her from the scene.</p> - -<p>Indeed, the only details recorded of Eudocia are that -she bore her husband two children in the first two years -of her marriage and died of the strain. With the birth -of her first child, Epiphania Eudocia, is connected one -of those lively incidents which so well illustrate the -character of the later Roman Empire, even under its -better rulers. The patrician Priscus had refused the -purple, but it came to the ears of Heraclius that he was -secretly disaffected and abusive, and the Emperor chose -a dramatic moment for disarming him. He invited -Priscus to be godfather to the little Epiphania, and, in -the midst of the ceremony, in view of the crowd of nobles -and priests, charged him with his treachery. Striking -Priscus on the face with a book which lay at hand—probably -a Prayer Book—he directed that his head be -shaven on the spot, and the great noble passed from the -life of camp and Court to one of those monasteries of -the Empire which harboured many such strange inmates.</p> - -<p>In the following May (612) Eudocia bore a son, -Heraclius Constantinas, and her frail constitution never -recovered from the strain. She had gone during the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span> -summer to the healthier palace at Blachernæ, to the -north of Constantinople, and there an attack of epilepsy -carried her off in the month of August. It is painful to -read that the funeral of this fine and delicate Empress -was disgraced by one of the most repulsive exhibitions of -Byzantine coarseness. The body was conveyed by water -to the city, and borne solemnly through the streets to the -great church between the mourning citizens. Just as -the body was passing a certain window, a maid-servant, -who was watching the procession, carelessly spat and -the wind carried the spittle to the robes of the dead -queen. The girl was burned alive on Eudocia’s tomb -for the involuntary insult, and even her mistress escaped -only by concealing herself.</p> - -<p>Two years afterwards Heraclius married again. The -new Byzantine Empress, whose name stands at the head -of this chapter, was one of those strong and ambitious -women who generally contrive, either by their vices or -their crimes, to break through the anti-feminist reserve -of the later Greek writers, but in this case the prejudice -is increased and we follow Martina with difficulty -through her long and adventurous career. She was the -niece of Heraclius, and, in spite of the support she gave -to her husband in his brilliant defence of eastern -Christendom against the Persians, she remains under the -shadow of the sin of incest.</p> - -<p>Historians have devised many reasons for the audacity -of Heraclius in marrying his niece, but we need hardly -assume more than that she had a beauty and charm -which the ecclesiastical writers disdain to confess. Her -father was dead, and she lived in Constantinople with -her mother Maria, sister of Heraclius, who had married -a second time. Young, spirited and ambitious, she -welcomed the passion of the Emperor, and was prepared -with him to override every ecclesiastical scruple. The -archbishop Sergius, a friendly and very able counsellor -of the Emperor, tried in vain to dissuade them. -Heraclius coolly observed that his objections were quite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -natural from his episcopal point of view, but it was -useless to urge them, and the patriarch discreetly stood -aside and allowed another priest to marry them. According -to a reliable historian the patriarch himself afterwards -crowned her in the great hall of the palace, and -no doubt his bold and politic action silenced the angry -murmurs which arose in the Hippodrome. It was only -when, in the course of time, defective children were born -of the marriage—the first son was wry-necked, the second -deaf—when Heraclius himself ended a brilliant career in -pain and humiliation, and when Martina passed from -public life under a suspicion of murder, that Constantinople -discovered the action of a divine curse and -darkened the memory of Martina.</p> - -<p>So prejudiced are later historians against Martina that -even Gibbon has contracted something of their feeling, -and suggested that a surrender to the charms, if not the -arts, of Martina explains that remarkable indolence -which Heraclius betrayed during the next few years, -when the advancing Persians were rending his Empire -and threatening to sweep Christianity out of Asia. We -need not discuss here the problem of the Emperor’s -alleged supineness during those years of disaster. The -most recent biographer of Heraclius, Signor Pernice -(“L’Imperatore Eraclio”), emphatically denies that -Heraclius was indolent, and more authoritative historians, -like Professor Bury, observe that the lack of -funds and troops, and other internal difficulties, placed -a formidable restraint on the very capable Emperor. -When the war-drums beat at length, we shall find -Martina, in spite of pregnancy, accompanying the -Emperor in his long and arduous campaigns, and this -gives us a right to assume that she supported him in the -long years of preparation and organization.</p> - -<p>At one time, three or four years after their marriage, -it seemed that they would desert the sinking vessel of the -Byzantine Empire and return to the tranquillity of -Africa. Two devastating waves—the Persians to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span> -south and the Avars to the north—were advancing across -the impotent provinces, and it looked as though the -little that was left of the Eastern Empire must soon be -swallowed up in the mighty clash of their conflict. -Egypt, Syria and Palestine were in the hands of the -Persians, who looted and desecrated the most sacred -shrines of Christendom. Famine resulted from the loss -of the grain-bearing provinces, and plague followed -closely upon famine. Heraclius and Martina put their -treasures on a fleet of ships and resolved to transfer the -throne to Africa. Then, when news came that the fleet -had been destroyed in a storm, and the patriarch Sergius -made the Emperor swear not to desert the city, Heraclius -turned again to face his mountainous difficulties.</p> - -<p>Raising the cry that the holy cross was in the hands -of the pagans, and that the very existence of Christianity -was in jeopardy, Heraclius succeeded in concentrating -on a great national issue all the religious passion which -had so long been expended on distracting controversies. -A bargain was struck with the Church; its sacred vessels -and incalculable treasures were to be put at the disposal -of the Empire, and the value returned at the close of the -war. By the beginning of the year 622 the preparations -were completed, the young Heraclius Constantine was -appointed nominal regent of the Empire, and the real -administration was entrusted to the capable hands of the -archbishop and one of the patricians. On Easter Day -the last stirring services were held; and on the following -day the gilded imperial galley, bearing the miraculous -picture of the Virgin, the brightly painted war-galleys -and the hundreds of ships which bore the last part of -an army of more than a hundred thousand men, sailed -bravely toward the coast of Asia.</p> - -<p>The Persian campaigns, which have put the name of -Heraclius high in the list of imperial commanders, -interest us because Martina set sail with her husband -and accompanied him throughout the war. Unfortunately, -the literary deacon of St Sophia, George of Pisidia,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> -who tells the story of the war, shares the ecclesiastical -prejudice against Martina, and never mentions her -name. Congenial as the task would be, therefore, to -follow the Emperor through his brilliant campaigns and -imagine the spirited Martina sharing his perils and his -triumphs, it is hardly a fitting task for a biographer. -George of Pisidia, addressing Heraclius in the name of -the clergy at St Sophia, had trusted that he would redden -his black military boots in the blood of the heathen. -He and Martina returned to Constantinople six months -later, leaving the army in safe winter quarters, with a -great victory and a brilliant march across Asia Minor -to report. Martina sailed with her husband, in the -following year, on his second and more dangerous -campaign, and it was in the course of this campaign that -she gave birth to the son Heraclius—usually called -Heraclonas, to distinguish him from the father, apparently—whom -we shall find tragically associated with her -in her later years. She seems, indeed, to have accompanied -Heraclius on all his journeys; but to what extent -she kept pace with the advance of the troops—whether -she reached the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, and -beheld the oriental luxury of the fallen camps and towns -of the Persians—the prejudice of the deacon of St Sophia -prevents us from ascertaining. She had at least the -glory of accompanying her husband on one of the most -brilliant, the most daring and the most profitable campaigns -that ever illumined the Eastern Empire. Nor -must her biographer forget to add that she bore several -children during her six years’ wandering over the -mountains and deserts of Asia Minor, Syria, Persia and -Mesopotamia. Nine children, four of whom died young, -were the issue of the marriage.</p> - -<p>Martina shared, too, the splendid triumph which -crowned the victories of Heraclius. In the spring of -628 the Emperor and Empress rejoined their family at -the Hieria palace, on the Asiatic coast opposite Constantinople, -whither, with torches by night and olive-branches<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span> -by day, the citizens sailed to greet them. -Heraclius would not return to his capital until the cross -was restored to his hands, and the summer was spent by -the united family in the Hieria palace. Early in September -the cross arrived, and they went to Constantinople -for the triumph. Preceded by the cross, Heraclius rode -in a chariot drawn by four elephants through the Golden -Gate and along the main street of the city (the Mese) to -St Sophia, amidst scenes of such rejoicing as the Empire -had not witnessed since the days of Belisarius. A superb -entertainment in the Hippodrome followed, and then -Heraclius joined his wife in the palace.</p> - -<p>And here ends the glory of the Emperor Heraclius; -the flame that had burst forth so splendidly in a time of -dejection fell just as swiftly, and Heraclius exhibited a -lamentable spectacle in face of an even greater peril than -the Persians. The problem of the character of Heraclius -might concern us if we had any satisfactory information -about the behaviour of Martina during the next few -years, but as the chroniclers almost refuse to notice her -until they come to what they regard as her misdeeds, we -have no occasion to linger over it. Her character induces -us to believe that she attempted to awaken her husband -from his lethargy until she saw that this was impossible, -and that she then devoted her thoughts to securing the -succession for her son and the virtual rule of the Empire -for herself. This, in point of fact, is suggested by the -meagre indications in the chronicles.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 629 Heraclius took the cross back to its -original shrine at Jerusalem, and from that time spent -nine years in the provinces of Palestine, Syria and Asia -Minor. During those years the Mohammedan power -became a formidable menace to the Roman Empire, and -the inaction of Heraclius is a scandal to historians. His -nervous system was strained to the verge of insanity, -and he retreated like one paralysed with terror before -the advance of the Mohammedans. Martina foresaw the -end, and began to prepare for the succession. There<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -can be no doubt that in these later years Heraclius, -whose religious fervour was now greatly increased, was -troubled by the cry that his “incestuous” marriage had -brought these troubles on the Empire. When his -nephew Theodore retreated before the invincible Arabs, -and came to reproach Heraclius for his “sin,” the -Emperor sent him under guard to Constantinople and -ordered that he should be disgraced. Some writers see -in this the action of Martina, but it may quite well have -been due to the broody nervousness of Heraclius himself.</p> - -<p>It was plain that Heraclius would not stem the -Mohammedan tide, and everywhere men talked of the -succession. By the year 638 he and Martina were back -in the Hieria palace, and the struggle deepened. -Heraclius had now two children by his first wife Eudocia, -and five (living) children by Martina. His eldest child, -Epiphania Eudocia, had narrowly missed a romantic -career. During the Persian war Heraclius had struck -an alliance with the King of the Khazars, a wild people -akin to the Huns, and, after gorgeously entertaining and -rewarding him, had shown him a miniature of his beautiful -daughter, then fifteen years old, and offered him her -hand. It was only the death of the King in the next -year that saved the delicate young girl from being added -to the rude harem of the Hunnic prince. She was still -unmarried. Her brother, Heraclius Constantinus, now -twenty-six years old, was already associated in the -Empire, and was the obvious heir to supreme power. -But both Heraclius and Martina knew that the Emperor’s -death would at once set her religious enemies to work to -eject her and her children from the palace, and they were -anxious to secure her position by associating her eldest -son, Heraclonas, in the Empire. There were, besides, -a natural son of Heraclius by an early concubine, named -Athalaric, and the sons of his cousin Nicetas, who had -helped him to win the Empire.</p> - -<p>Two of these possible candidates for the purple were -summarily dismissed. Athalaric and the nephew<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> -Theodore were charged with conspiracy at Constantinople, -their hands and feet were struck off, and they were -sent into exile. It is conjectured by some writers on -Martina that she dictated this heavy punishment, and -that her hand is seen in the events which follow. Of -this there is no proof; but there can be no doubt that she -was eager to secure the succession of Heraclonas, and -that Heraclius was now an almost feeble-minded patient -under her care. He persistently refused to cross the -strip of water from Hieria to the city, and they were -compelled at length to make a bridge of boats across -the narrower part of the strait, and place artificial hedges -of trees along its sides, so that he could ride to Constantinople -without catching sight of the sea. The young -Constantine, his eldest son, had inherited the delicacy -of his mother, and it was necessary to provide for the -event of his death. Should his sons inherit the purple, -or should it pass to “the children of incest”? The city -seethed with discussion.</p> - -<p>In the final decision we may confidently recognize the -voice of Martina. On 4th July 638 Heraclonas, then a boy -of fifteen years,<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> was crowned in the palace by the -patriarch Sergius; a younger son, David, was raised to -the same dignity shortly afterwards, and the young -daughters of Martina, Augustina and Martina, were -entitled Augustæ. On the 1st of January 639 three -Emperors rode in the procession: Heraclius, Constantine -and Heraclonas. Martina had, apparently, triumphed; -but more prudent citizens must have shaken -their heads in reflecting on the struggle which would -inevitably follow the death of Heraclius.</p> - -<p>The Emperor lingered for more than two years in his -impotent condition, and Martina meantime found a fresh -and most powerful ally. The patriarch Sergius had -died soon after crowning Heraclonas, leaving his metropolitan<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> -see to a monk, Pyrrhus, whom he had raised to -the higher rank of the clergy. Pyrrhus became an ally -of the Empress, who may possibly have assisted in his -elevation, and the alliance was the stronger because -Pyrrhus secretly favoured the sect of the Monophysites. -From Constantine he would receive little encouragement, -whereas Martina, as events proved, was ready to allow -him to impose his metaphysical distinction on the Church -in return for his political support. It is even said that -Martina urged her husband to send the weakly Constantine -against the Mohammedans, in the hope that he -would not return. Such things are easily said, and -easily believed, but incapable of proof.</p> - -<p>In February 641 Heraclius died. He suffered in his -last years from dropsy, and those who are curious to -know by what appalling means the medical men of the -time relieved such an affliction, and how the theologians -of the time placidly traced the operation of a divine curse -for marrying one’s niece, may read the details of his -sufferings in the patriarch Nicephorus. To the last -Heraclius was faithful to his beloved wife. He divided -the government of the Empire equally between Constantine -and Heraclonas, and he entrusted to the -patriarch Pyrrhus a large sum of money to be given to -Martina in the event of her enemies succeeding in driving -her from power. The struggle began at once.</p> - -<p>Martina convoked a meeting of the citizens—presumably -in the Hippodrome—and had the will of Heraclius -read to them. When the herald had concluded, the -sullen silence was broken by a cry for the Emperors. -Martina, who was evidently minded to keep the youths -in the background and govern in their name, summoned -the Emperors, but continued to act as mistress of the -Empire. But Constantinople—a compound of inferior -Greek and Roman with Syrian blood—always disliked -feminine rule, and in face of the advancing Mohammedans -regarded it with additional concern. “Honour to -you as mother of the Emperors,” the citizens cried, “but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span> -to them as Emperors and lords. You, mistress, would -not be able to resist and reply to barbarians and -foreigners coming against the city. God forbid that -the Roman commonwealth should fall so low.” We -may take it that the chronicler has gathered into a -speech the various murmurs which arose from the -crowded benches of the Hippodrome. Plausible as the -cry was, it was a grave blunder. The ailing, probably -consumptive, Constantine had not the manliness of a -ruler, and the palace became the theatre of the struggles -of rival courtiers.</p> - -<p>On the side of Constantine was the imperial treasurer -Philagrius, and this man embittered the situation by -informing the young Emperor of the money which -Heraclius had left in charge of the archbishop and -forcing him to pay it into the treasury. In order further -to strengthen his position Philagrius represented to Constantine -that his children would be in danger from -Martina if he died. It is important to notice that the -death of Constantine was plainly expected by all parties. -Nothing is clearer than that he had inherited the delicacy -of his mother, and was either epileptic or consumptive—more -probably consumptive. The patriarch Nicephorus -tells us that he was “chronically ill” and lived in a -palace he had built at Chalcedon for the sake of his -health. His Empress, Gregoria Anastasia, was a -daughter of Nicetas, the young cousin who had set out -from Africa with Heraclius, but we have no further -information about her. For her sake and that of the -children Constantine was persuaded by his intriguing -courtiers to send an officer, Valentine, to the troops when -he felt that his end was near. Valentine had not only a -letter urging the troops to protect Constantine’s children -from Martina, but a large sum of money to distribute -amongst them. It is strange that historians have overlooked -this very obvious intrigue and so easily accepted -the clerical prejudice against Martina. If Martina were -unable to meet “barbarians and foreigners”—a point<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span> -which might be disputed—assuredly infants could not -be trusted to do so.</p> - -<p>Constantine died about three months after the death -of his father. There is no serious ground whatever for -the charge that he was poisoned by agents of Martina -and Pyrrhus. The patriarch Nicephorus, the best -authority, knows nothing of the rumour, and the very -chroniclers, of a later date, who attach importance to it -admit that Constantine suffered from a chronic malady. -Indeed, when we find a contemporary (and recently -published) ecclesiastical writer, the Bishop of Nikin, -saying that Constantine after three months’ illness -“vomited blood, and when he had lost all his blood he -died,” we may confidently acquit Martina, and conclude -that the young Emperor died of consumption. The statement -of Constantine’s son, a boy of eleven, when he came -to the throne, that Pyrrhus and Martina had been justly -punished, is a mere echo of the pretext of those who -deposed her. The poisoning of a consumptive youth -would be a new and superfluous crime, and we have no -reason to think that Martina was even normally criminal.</p> - -<p>Martina at once assumed the government in the name -of her son and expelled the hostile faction from the Court. -Philagrius was visited with the most humane punishment -of the time—he was forced to become a priest—and his -friends were dispersed. But his emissary Valentine was -in a strong position and he determined to put it to -account. The large sum of money entrusted to him -enabled him to purchase the devotion of an army, and -he settled at Chalcedon with the ostentatious design of -seeing that no evil was done to the young son of the late -Emperor. Martina cleverly foiled his first move. She -directed Heraclonas to become godfather to the boy, who -was carefully kept in the palace at Constantinople, and -to swear, with his hand on the cross, that no harm should -be done to the child. Valentine then brought his troops -nearer and began to ravage the suburbs and neighbourhood -of the city, while his friends in Constantinople lit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> -the flame of religious antagonism to Pyrrhus, who was -unfortunately pressing his Monophysite tenets on the -Church. Exasperated at the inconveniences of the siege -and the heresy of the patriarch, the citizens now became -restive. A mob invaded and pillaged the great church -of St Sophia, and Pyrrhus was forced to abdicate. The -power of Martina was now dangerously enfeebled, and -she came to terms with Valentine. The ambitious officer -was to be appointed “Count of the Excubitors,” or -commander of the heavier guards, and to be excused -from rendering an account of the money entrusted to -him.</p> - -<p>The further course of the intrigue is scantily known to -us, as there is here a mysterious gap of thirty years in -the narrative of Nicephorus. From later chronicles we -learn that, before the end of 642, the Senate deposed -Martina and Heraclonas. In spite of the notorious -malady of Constantine, they were found guilty of having -poisoned him, with the connivance of the archbishop, -and were barbarously punished. The tongue of Martina -and the nose of Heraclonas were slit—the text does not -imply that they were cut off—and they were expelled -from Constantinople. Valentine also is said to have been -expelled, so that he must have changed sides. The -further course of the spirited and unfortunate Empress -and her son is told in the bare phrase that they “lived -a private life and were buried together in the monastery -of the Lord.” We do not know the place of exile, or -the year of Martina’s death. That her punishment was -unjust and barbaric seems now to be beyond question, -and there is no excuse, beyond the amiable indiscretion -of her marriage, for the evil repute which chroniclers -have attached to the name of the Empress Martina. She -seems to have been one of the best of the Byzantine -Empresses.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VI" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER VI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE MOST PIOUS IRENE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> revolution which drove Martina from the -palace set upon the throne a boy of eleven, -Constans II. The wife whom he afterwards -brought to share his splendour, and by whom he had -three children, is not known to us even by name. We -know only that when his crimes, or violent indiscretions, -had rendered him so unpopular that he passed to Sicily, -he sent for his wife and children. The Senators, however, -had no mind to see the Court transferred to Italy. -They detained the Empress and her children, and, as -the life of Constans was shortly afterwards ended by his -bath-attendant felling him with a soap-dish, the unknown -Empress sank into complete obscurity.</p> - -<p>His son and successor, Constantine IV., had so clear -a title to the charge of brutality that no historian has -ventured to dispute it, and we will trust that the Empress -Anastasia, whose features and character are unknown to -us, did not greatly lament the loss of a consort who could -slit the noses of his royal brothers and castrate a noble -youth for deploring the execution of his father. Nor can -we think that she was happier under the reign of his -son, Justinian II., since the only reference to her in the -chronicle of his reign is that his favourite minister, a -Persian eunuch, had her flogged in the sacred palace -on one occasion. Her third and last appearance in -history is even more tragic; but a new and quaint type -of Empress meantime enters the scene, and in order to -explain her arrival we must glance for a moment at the -adventures of Justinian II.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span> -Attaining the purple at the age of sixteen, Justinian -seems at first to have sinned chiefly by the very natural -blunder, in a young man, of admitting corrupt and extortionate -ministers. A usurper then took advantage of -his unpopularity to dislodge him from the throne, and -sent him, with diminished nose, into exile at Cherson, -on the Black Sea. Within a year Justinian had the -satisfaction of hearing that his enemy had been forced -by a new usurper to retire, also with diminished nose, -into the tranquil shade of a monastery, and he proposed -to regain his throne. The authorities of Cherson, however, -decided to conciliate the new Emperor, Tiberius III., -by sending Justinian to him in chains, and he fled to -the land of the Khazars, who dwelt on the other side -of the Black Sea. The Khazars were a wild Asiatic -people, akin to the Huns, whose manners had been -somewhat softened by contact with the Byzantine civilization, -and their king, or <i>chagan</i>, not only received the -fugitive with cordiality, but bestowed on him the hand -of his royal daughter.</p> - -<p>Theodora—a name conferred on her, no doubt, by -Justinian in memory of the consort of his great predecessor -Justinian I.—can hardly have boasted much -beauty, being a Khazar, but she was not without spirit -and character. She presently learned that her father had -been bribed by Tiberius to surrender Justinian, and she -warned him of his danger. Sending, in succession, for -the two high officials who had been charged to arrest -him, Justinian strangled them with his own hands and -fled to Bulgaria, leaving his wife and infant daughter -in the care of her father, who very amiably sheltered -them. Within a year the faithful Theodora learned that -she was mistress of the mighty city of the Greeks. -Justinian had offered the hand of his daughter, then one -year old, and some more solid advantages to the King -of Bulgaria in exchange for an army, had laid siege to -Constantinople, and had, with a few soldiers, crept -through the water-conduit into the town and taken it.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> -The appalling vengeance he wrought on his enemies -and on the inhabitants, even to the babies, of Cherson -may be read in history. It is, comparatively, an amiable -trait in his character that he did not forget the yellow-skinned -princess who had lightened the dark hours of -his exile. She was brought with great pomp to the city, -bringing two children to their truculent father, was -crowned Empress, and enjoyed for a few years the -undreamt-of splendour of the imperial palaces. Happily, -she did not live to see the end of her husband’s savage -vengeance. When a storm had threatened the life of -Justinian on the Black Sea, his companions had urged -him to disarm the divine wrath by forgiving his enemies. -“If I spare them, may God drown me here,” he had -replied, with more vigour than elegance. His orgy -was closed by the inevitable assassination.</p> - -<p>We catch a third and last glimpse of the Empress -Anastasia at this point. The brood of Justinian was to -be exterminated, and soldiers went to the palace of -Blachernæ in search of Theodora’s boy. When they -burst into the chapel they found the aged grandmother -sitting, on guard, before the sanctuary. The six-year-old -boy clung to the altar with one hand, and held a fragment -of the “true cross” in the other, while his neck -was loaded with the most sacred relics. But Byzantine -piety was of a peculiar nature. The soldiers brushed -aside the old lady, stripped the boy of his relics, took -him out to the gate, and “cut his throat like a sheep.”</p> - -<p>Three Emperors followed in six years, and came to -violent ends. Then Leo the Isaurian (717–740) came -upon the throne, and inaugurated the famous crusade of -the Iconoclasts, or breakers of images. His wife Maria -is known to us only as having received the title of -Empress in 718, as a reward for bringing Constantine -Copronymus into the world, and having scattered gold -from her litter among the people as she was borne to St -Sophia for the baptism of that ill-regulated infant. -Another Asiatic princess then comes faintly into view,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span> -when, in his fourteenth or fifteenth year, Constantine -marries a Khazar king’s daughter. The religious -chroniclers would have us believe that she was endowed -with much learning and piety, but the only ground of -this remarkable claim is that she did not agree with her -husband, as few women did, about the propriety of -breaking the Virgin’s statues. After eighteen years of -patient expectation she ushered a feeble infant, Leo IV., -into the distracted Empire, and quitted it herself shortly -afterwards. The Empress Maria succeeded to her place -in the arms of Constantine in 750, and in 757 she left -that very doubtful felicity to the Empress Eudocia. -Eudocia was pious and fertile: it is all that we know of -her. Nearing her first delivery she summoned the holy -nun, Anthusa—whom her husband had had publicly -stripped and whipped a short time before—and, in virtue -of her prayers, presented Constantine with a son and -daughter, simultaneously, shortly afterwards. Four -other boys followed, and Eudocia, having behaved as -a good Empress ought and furnished no material to the -biographer, followed her two predecessors.</p> - -<p>Meantime the famous Irene had entered the story of -Byzantine life, and once more we are in a position to -make a satisfactory study of Byzantine feminism. In -the year 768, seven years before the death of Constantine -V., Constantinople was delighted with a succession of -festivities. On 1st April Eudocia was, after ten years of -industrious maternal activity, crowned Empress, or -Augusta, in the “banquet-room of nineteen tables,” -with its golden roof and golden vessels, in the palace. -On the following day, which was Easter Sunday, her -eldest sons, Christopher and Nicephorus, were made -Cæsars, and her third son, Nicetas, received the heavy -title of <i>nobilissimus</i> (“most noble”), which gave the -six-year-old boy a gold-embroidered mantle and a slender -jewelled crown; so that the procession to church was -headed by two Emperors, Constantine and young Leo, -two Cæsars, and a “most noble,” all flinging gold and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> -silver among the enchanted mob. But Leo was now -approaching his twentieth year and must marry. The -idea was mooted first of asking the hand of the daughter -of Pepin the Frank, but it is said that the Western -Christians frowned on the Kensitite heresy of the Eastern -Court. So Constantine then resolved to seek a beautiful -and eligible lady within his own dominions, and it was -announced in the late summer that the prize had been -awarded to Irene, the pride of Athens.</p> - -<p>Irene was then a beautiful, talented and spirited girl -of seventeen summers. As she had, apparently, no -ancestors, and as Athens had become at that time a -drowsy and almost obscure provincial town, we must -suppose that—as she herself afterwards acted—imperial -commissioners had been sent far and wide to examine -candidates for the vacancy. Irene’s radiant Greek -beauty, robust health, and lively intelligence pleased the -officials; an imperial galley brought her to the palace of -Hieria, on the Asiatic side; her qualifications were -found to be adequate. There was one difficulty, and -Irene gave early proof of her skill in casuistry in surmounting -it. Not only was Irene a woman—and all -women were on the side of the Virgin—but Athens was -conservative in religion. Constantine demanded an oath, -and Irene, with a large “mental reservation,” to use the -elegant phrase of the experts in such matters, swore on -the holy cross that she would not favour the worship of -images.</p> - -<p>Her story will turn largely on the question of Iconoclasm, -and a few words on the subject may be useful. -The real origin of Leo the Isaurian’s zeal against statues -is obscure. Historians suggest the influence of the purer -religion of Mohammed, but there was no cultural contact -of Mohammedanism and Christianity, and an Isaurian -soldier would hardly be the man to experience it if there -were. When we find that the Iconoclasts went on to -reject relics and monasticism and treat the Virgin in very -cavalier fashion, I suggest that it was a Protestant or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> -Rationalist movement, a spontaneous protest against the -excessive superstition, clerical wealth and monastic parasitism -of the time. It took strong root in the army; and -we may assume that the permission to rifle wealthy -churches, rather than any leaning to metaphysics, explains -this zeal for advanced theology among the troops. -Constantine, like his father, pressed the reform ferociously; -and as monks and women were the chief recalcitrants, -he fell upon the monks with grim determination. -Their beards were oiled and fired: they were gathered -in masses with nuns, and told to marry each other—as -many did: they were forced to walk round the Hippodrome, -to the delight of the mob, arm in arm with -prostitutes. Even the reluctant patriarch of Constantinople -was indelicately mutilated, driven on an ass round -the Hippodrome, under a fire of spittle, and replaced by -an obedient eunuch.</p> - -<p>This was the Iconoclastic world into which the -Athenian girl entered, armed with a mental reservation. -From the palace of Hieria she went, at the beginning of -September, to Constantinople, and her betrothal to Leo -was celebrated in “the church of the Lighthouse.”</p> - -<p>Three months later her probation was complete; on -13th December she received the wonderful crown of the -Empresses, with its cascades of pearls and diamonds, in -the gold-roofed banquet-room, and was married in the -chapel of St Stephen within the palace.</p> - -<p>Constantine remained on the throne for seven years, -and Irene behaved, and avoided images, with the most -exemplary propriety, until, in 775, the old Emperor -joined his father in the eternal home to which the -religious chroniclers luridly consign him. Still for some -years Irene gave no sign of strong personality, unless -we may see, as is probable, her influence in the events -of the following year. She had borne a son in 770, and -in 776 Leo was urged to admit this boy to a share of -the Empire. The Emperor was delicate, possibly consumptive, -and it will be remembered that he had five<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span> -half-brothers, who offered rich material for intriguing -eunuchs and discontented nobles. Irene was now a -young woman of twenty-five, of strong and subtle intellect, -and well acquainted with Byzantine history. Her -obvious interest was to secure the succession for her son -and exclude the children of Eudocia. Leo at first demurred -to the crowning of the boy. He submitted that, -if he died, the ways of Byzantium made it not unlikely -that the child would be murdered. He was answered -with an assurance that the whole Court and city were -prepared to swear the most solemn allegiance to his son, -and in the spring of 776 he prepared to associate the -younger Constantine in his imperial power. It was -becoming difficult in pious Constantinople to devise an -oath sufficiently sacred to be taken seriously, and Leo -exacted that all orders of the citizens should swear by -the cross on its most solemn festival and then place a -written record of their oath on the altar of the great -church. On Good Friday, therefore, the officers, -Senators, courtiers and various corporations of workers -and idlers in the city, swore their mighty oath by the -cross to know no sovereign but Constantine VI., and on -the following day, when the last son of Eudocia, Eudocimus, -was made a “most noble,” the written oaths were -laid on the altar, to be carefully guarded by the patriarch—for -a few years. On Easter Sunday Constantine was -crowned in the Hippodrome in the early morning, and -the glittering procession of Emperors, Cæsars, and -“most nobles,” moved to the church, followed at a -modest distance by Irene and her eunuchs and women.</p> - -<p>Twelve months later the imperial family and the higher -orders met in the gorgeous hall of the Magnaura palace -for a different ceremony. It had been “discovered” -that the Cæsar Nicephorus had conspired with the -eunuchs and officers, and, when Leo announced the -details—there was no trial—to the audience, it was at -once decided that he be degraded to the rank of the -clergy and banished to Cherson. One rival was put out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span> -of the way, and Leo continued to play with his caskets -of jewels—his favourite occupation—and Irene to cultivate -her policy of waiting. In her service was the eunuch -Stauracius, a genius of intrigue and counter-intrigue, -whose watchful servants could at any time detect or -manufacture a conspiracy. On one occasion only, -towards the end of her husband’s short reign, does Irene -seem to have been indiscreet, though the indications are -rather obscure.</p> - -<p>Historians put it to the account of Leo that under him -the fierce persecution of image-worshippers relaxed, but -the question might be raised whether there was much -occasion for persecuting. It is said that Irene secretly -venerated images in her apartments and had about her -a group of confidential devotees, waiting for the death -of Leo; and the story runs that Leo, hearing of the -conspiracy, forced his way into Irene’s apartments, and -discovered two sacred statues hidden under a cushion. -Whether or no it is true that Irene calmly lied—or made -another mental reservation—and disowned the figures of -Christ and His mother, it is certain that in the last year -of his life Leo had a fit of Iconoclastic wrath, and -numbers of palace officials and nobles were shaved into -priests, dragged ignominiously round the Hippodrome, -and forced to exchange the gilded service of the Empress -for the austere service of the altar.</p> - -<p>In view of this it is not surprising that, when Leo -died a few months later, there was a faint rumour that -Irene had poisoned him; though the more religious -chroniclers tell us that, in his infatuation for jewels, he -had taken from the church the rich crown which Maurice -had suspended over the altars, put it on his sacrilegious -head, which at once broke into fiery carbuncles, and -perished miserably. We may take it that the delicate -constitution of Leo IV. came to an end after a reign of -four and a half years (in 780) and the Empress Irene -entered upon her long, prosperous and blood-stained -reign.</p> - -<div id="ip_88" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 20em;"> - <img src="images/i_088.jpg" width="312" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE EMPRESS IRENE</p> - <p class="smaller">FROM AN IVORY PLAQUE IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, FLORENCE</p></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span> -Constantine VI. was ten years old at the death of his -father, and the administration naturally fell to Irene -and her able, if unscrupulous, ministers. When all -allowance has been made for the ability of her ministers, -especially the eunuch-patrician Stauracius, it must be -admitted that the Empress showed conspicuous talent -and vigour, and brought about a wonderful restoration -of the stricken Empire. Her abjuration of the Iconoclastic -tenets not only brought comparative religious -peace, in the course of time, but enabled her to -strengthen her rule by friendly relations with the Papacy -and with Charlemagne, whose star was rising in the -West. The long and exhausting war in the East was -brought to a close by diplomacy, and the military -victories of Stauracius restored the rule of Constantinople -in Greece and Thessaly. Prosperity brightened the -Empire, and it almost returned to the happy position it -had enjoyed under Justinian I. But from this brighter -aspect of the reign of Irene, in which it is difficult to -disentangle her action from that of her ministers, we -must turn to events in which her character is more -clearly, if less favourably, seen.</p> - -<p>Six weeks had not elapsed since the death of Leo when -it was announced that a dangerous conspiracy had been -discovered, the object of which was to put the royal half-brothers -of Leo on the throne. We can well believe that -there was some discontent at the rule of a woman and a -child, and that the feeble sons of Eudocia were ever -disposed to listen to ambitious courtiers, but the discovery -was opportune. It removed at one sweep all who -seemed to be in a position to dispute Irene’s rule. The -three Cæsars and the two “most nobles,” and a crowd of -nobles and officers who were suspected of favouring them, -were scourged, tonsured or exiled. Indeed, lest there should -be any later error as to the clerical status of the children -of Eudocia, Irene forced them publicly to administer -the sacraments to the people in the great church. It -was Christmas Day, and a vast crowd assembled to see<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> -the royal uncles dispensing the consecrated bread under -the eyes of the vigorous Empress and her son.</p> - -<p>The cruel spectacle was resented by many, and -Elpidius, whom Irene had made Governor of Sicily, -rebelled. Irene ordered the local officers to send him in -chains to Constantinople, and, when they refused, she -sent a fleet which quickly dislodged him and punished -the rebels. Unfortunately, we read that the “most -pious” Empress, as the admiring chroniclers call her, -so far lost her temper as to flog the wife and children of -Elpidius, and drive the innocent woman, with shorn hair, -into a nunnery. A more amiable way of strengthening -her throne was about the same time discovered by some -courtier. A marvellous ancient tombstone was brought -to Constantinople, and citizens gazed with awe on the -inscription: “Christ will be born of the Virgin Mary, -and I believe in him. Sun, thou shalt see me again one -day under the reign of Constantine and Irene.” As this -stone was certified to have been taken by a Thracian -peasant from the tomb of some prehistoric “giant,” it -did much to discredit the more rationalistic Iconoclasts, -who scouted the virginity of Mary, and the opposition -to the divine mission of Irene.</p> - -<p>The time was not yet ripe, however, for an open -disavowal of the Iconoclasts; the heresy was too deeply -rooted in the army and the more cultivated circles of the -city. Irene thought for a moment of an alliance with -Charlemagne, and begged the hand of his daughter -Rotrud for her son. The offer was cordially received, -and Byzantine eunuchs were sent to initiate the Frankish -maiden into the mysteries of the Greek tongue and Greek -etiquette. The fame of Charlemagne now filled the -world, and the young Constantine eagerly looked for the -alliance with his daughter. It would be interesting to -speculate what influence such an alliance would have had -on the fortunes of Europe, and there can be no doubt -that Irene committed a criminal blunder in withdrawing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> -the proposal on what we must regard as selfish grounds. -The only plausible reason that can be suggested is that -she feared that her son might become a monarch in -reality as well as name under the influence of Charlemagne, -and she was determined to be at least co-ruler. -The victories which Stauracius had meantime won in -Greece and Thessaly must have given her greater confidence -in her own resources. In 783 she proceeded -herself with a large army—not forgetting the organs and -other musical instruments of the Court, the chronicler -says—to pacify and restore the province of Thrace.</p> - -<p>She now felt strong enough to restore the worship of -images. At the end of the year 783 the Iconoclastic -archbishop Paul mysteriously retired from his see. -Irene called a meeting of the notables in the Magnaura -palace, and from the marvellous golden throne she -announced that Paul had been stricken with deep penitence -for his opposition to images and had retired to -expiate his sin. She suggested that her secretary -Tarasius should be made archbishop, and the nobles and -clergy faithfully echoed the name of Tarasius. The -secretary then protested that he too had misgivings on -the image question, and would take office only on condition -that a Church council was called to decide upon it. -Within a month or two Irene had brought to Constantinople -a crowd of bishops and heads of monasteries, and a -fiery discussion proceeded in the church of the Apostles. -The Iconoclasts were, of course, in a minority. Suddenly -the doors were forced, and a troop of soldiers entered, -with drawn swords, and threatened to make an end to -Tarasius and his monks. “We have won; thank God, -those fools and brutes have done no harm,” was the exultant -cry of the Iconoclastic bishops—I translate literally -from Theophanes<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a>—and the meeting hurriedly dispersed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span> -Irene once more resorted to the kind of diplomacy of -which she was a mistress. The rumour was spread that -the Saracens were advancing, and the guards were -shipped to the Asiatic side and marched toward the -south. When they had reached some distance from the -city, a message came from Constantinople that the war -had been averted, and they might send their arms or -equipment to the capital before returning themselves. -They were then scattered over the provinces and the -metropolitan guards were recruited from the orthodox -ranks. The bishops and monks were convoked again, in -the Council of Chalcedon, and in the last sitting of the -Council, which was held in the Magnaura palace, the -cult of images was formally restored.</p> - -<p>In the meantime Irene had resumed the work of finding -a wife for her son. If we are right in assuming that she -rejected the daughter of Charlemagne in order that Constantine -should not have any strength independently of -her, we can understand her next procedure. One of those -innumerable “lives of the saints” which have transmitted -to us a few precarious fragments of genuine and -interesting information gives us a very romantic version -of the rise of the next Empress. In a remote Cappadocian -village dwelt a very pious man who had won a -local reputation for sanctity, and impoverished his -family, by his generous almsgiving. He had three -daughters, whose lives and prospects must have been -prosy enough in their rude village until romance entered -it one day in the person of an imperial commissioner. -He was one of many sent all over the Empire by Irene -in search of a mate for her son, and it seemed to him that -the daughters of Philaretus corresponded to the standard -given to him—a standard which specified the height and -the size of the feet of the candidates as well as more material -features.<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> They were taken to Constantinople, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> -numbers of other candidates for the glass slipper, and -Maria, a beautiful maiden of eighteen, was chosen for -the lofty honour. It sounds like a modified version of -the story of Cinderella, but it was not the first time that -obscure maidens had been chosen for imperial dignity on -their looks, and the most reliable authority, Theophanes, -tells us that Irene sent one of her officers into distant -Armenia—Maria is variously described as Cappadocian, -Paphlagonian and Armenian—for the obscure girl. She -was married to the Emperor in November 788, but we -cannot end, as story-tellers do, by saying that she was -happy ever afterwards.</p> - -<p>Constantine was now a youth of eighteen, and had -courtiers of his own. With their aid he perceived that, -although rescripts went out in the names of “Constantine -and Irene,” the government was entirely in the hands of -Irene and her ministers. He had keenly desired the -daughter of Charlemagne, and he resented the forcing -upon him of a village maiden. The year following his -marriage was one of bitter discontent and secret whispering. -Stauracius, however, or Irene, watched the conspirators -closely, and in January 790 the net was drawn -round them. They had intended to banish Irene to -Sicily, and they now found themselves on the way to -Sicily, their backs sore from the scourge and their heads -marked with the odious sign of clerical office. Constantine -himself was flogged, and confined for some time to -the palace; it was decreed that henceforth the name of -Irene should precede that of her son; and a formidable -oath was imposed on the troops that they would not -suffer Constantine to rule while she lived.</p> - -<p>But the counsels of eunuchs and women, however -vigorous they be in their class, are apt either to fall short -of, or pass beyond, the golden mean in the game of -politics. Regiment after regiment took the oath, until at -last the troops in Armenia refused to submit to feminine -rule. Irene sent the eunuch Alexius to persuade or coerce<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span> -them. They made him their commander, spread the -rebellion among other troops, and at length an army -besieged the palace and dictated terms. Stauracius was -scourged, tonsured and deported to Armenia; Irene was -deposed and had to retire to a new palace—the Eleutherian -palace—which she had built and stored with treasure -for emergencies. The lament of Theophanes at this turn -of the wheel, in which he sees the personal action of the -devil, is equal to his naïve praise of all the tricks of -Irene to secure and hold power in the cause of true -religion.</p> - -<p>In spite of that zeal for true religion, the modern reader -will not have followed the career of Irene up to this point -with unalloyed admiration. She was essentially a -casuist, the very embodiment of the Byzantine religious -spirit. Chaste she undoubtedly was, though we shall -presently find her acting in that regard in drastic contradiction -to the teaching of the Church; she was -generous, even extravagant, with money, and she -showed a sincere concern for the welfare of her subjects -within the limits of her own ambition; but she betrays -from the start that lack of moral scrupulousness which -too often accompanies fervent piety in Byzantine women, -and the bitter disappointment which closes the first part -of her reign will now make her more unscrupulous than -ever.</p> - -<p>It was in October 790 that Irene was deposed. Fourteen -months afterwards we find her returning to imperial -power and making a fearful use of it. Constantine had -yielded to her pressure and that of the nobles devoted to -her, and again proclaimed that she was Empress and -co-ruler of the Empire. The Armenian troops at once -protested against the change, and, as their commander, -Alexius, was in Constantinople at the time, he was -scourged and converted into an <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">abbé malgré lui</i>. An -expedition against the Bulgarians failed shortly afterwards, -and, whether the failure did really lead to a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span> -conspiracy, or the plot was invented to serve the purpose -of Irene and Constantine, a terrible clearance was made -of their possible opponents. Alexius and Nicephorus -(the uncle of the Emperor who had been made a cleric) -had their eyes cut out; and three other sons of Eudocia -were brought from their clerical homes and had their -tongues cut. We must not too readily implicate Irene in -these barbarities. She had not returned to her former -influence and activity, and it was Constantine himself -who led an army against the insurgents in Armenia and -made a terrible end of their rebellion. In view, however, -of Irene’s later behaviour, it is probable that she agreed -to, if she did not inspire, these proceedings, and the -authorities assure us that she now began to make selfish -profit of the unpopularity of her son and encourage him -in licence.</p> - -<p>We have as yet said nothing of the imperial life of the -young woman who had passed from her village home to -the palace. The reason is that she seems to have been -one of those admirable Empresses who impress the -chroniclers only when they bear children or suffer misfortune. -Maria had borne two daughters to Constantine, -and the year of her misfortune was at hand. Constantine -had never loved his wife and had freely sought consolation -elsewhere; and in the year 794 his eye fell on a -charming lady of his mother’s suite. Whether this lady -was too chaste or too ambitious to admit his passion -irregularly, we cannot say, but we have the emphatic -assurance of the authorities that Irene encouraged the -passion, and supported her son in his proposal to -divorce Maria, in order still further to weaken his -position. If such an act seem beyond the range of -a mother’s ambition, I can only say that far worse is -to follow.</p> - -<p>On 3rd January 795, the unfortunate Maria was -deposed from her dignity, exchanged her imperial robes -for the rough black dress of a nun, and, with shorn hair,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> -passed to a convent; and before the end of the same year -the more fortunate Theodote was transferred from the -service of Irene’s chamber (<i>cubicularia</i>) to the imperial -dignity. It need hardly be said that this procedure was -violently opposed to the solemn teaching of the Church, -which now regarded marriage as absolutely indissoluble. -The courtly patriarch Tarasius, who had been converted -from a very secular secretary into an archbishop, proved -accommodating enough; he declined to perform the -marriage, but he permitted some enterprising priest -named Joseph to do so, and he sanctioned the transfer -of Maria to a nunnery. But the monks of the Empire -raised once more their formidable chant of execration, -and showered epithets on the Emperor and the archbishop. -The great monastery of Saccudion, in Bithynia, -was the centre of the agitation, under its vigorous abbot -Plato.<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a></p> - -<p>The next move of Irene was to espouse the cause of -the monks who fulminated against her adulterous son -and his “Jezebel,” and were punished for doing so. -If we feel a scruple about admitting so malignant a -course in a Christian mother, we must remember that -these things are ascribed to her by chroniclers who are -full of admiration for her piety, and that the tragic end -of the story is quite beyond doubt. Constantine lost -ground, and Irene watched her opportunity. It came in -the month of September 796, when mother and son went, -with a large and distinguished company, to take the hot -baths at Prusia. Theodote had remained behind, so as -to be near the Porphyra palace, and she presently sent a -message that a son was born. Constantine galloped in -delight to the city, and Irene set to work. By amiable -conversation and secret gifts she won a number of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> -officers, and the conspiracy quietly proceeded when they -returned to Constantinople. The following summer Constantine -set out against the Saracens, and Irene, fearing -that he might return with glory and renewed popularity, -for he was a skilful and vigorous soldier, determined to -strike.</p> - -<p>Constantine was recalled to the city by some false intelligence, -and as he went one day (17th June) from the -Hippodrome to join his wife (whose baby had recently -died) in the palace of Blachernæ, he was attacked. He -escaped, and fled by boat to the Asiatic side, where -Theodote joined him. The position was now critical, as -a number of nobles and officers were with Constantine, -and Irene heard that others were daily crossing the -water. For a moment she trembled and thought of -sending bishops to ask her son to allow her to retire into -private life, but there remained one device. Among the -courtiers with Constantine were some whom she had -already compromised, and she sent a secret message to -these men to the effect that she would reveal their perfidy -to the Emperor if they remained with him. The stratagem -succeeded. In the early morning of 15th August -the Emperor was brought, bound, to his palace and -lodged in the Porphyra; and there, in the very palace -in which he had been born, his eyes were brutally cut -out by the knives of the soldiers at the ninth hour of -the day. Some of the chroniclers observe that the work -was done in such a way that the men really intended to -kill Constantine. That is misleading, since it would have -been perfectly easy to kill him, whereas we know that he -lingered in confinement in the Therapia palace for some -years. The truth probably is that Irene’s casuistry permitted -the horrible mutilation, but forbade the murder, -of her son; but her agents probably concluded that if -they accidentally and unintentionally killed Constantine -there would be few tears shed.</p> - -<p>It would be difficult to find a parallel to this horrible -deed in the long story of the pagan Empresses, and we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> -press on to the conclusion of Irene’s reign. For several -years she continued to rule the Empire in peace and -prosperity. One or two feeble revolts were made, and -more eyes were cut from their sockets, but the year 799 -opened with little sign of trouble. Decrees went forth in -the name of “Irene, the great king and autocrat of the -Romans.” She built convents and established charitable -foundations. She gladdened the hearts of the poor by -remitting taxes and import duties, and scattering money -amongst them as she rode to church in a golden chariot -drawn by four white horses, the reins of each held by one -of the highest dignitaries of the Empire. The Pope -blessed her—he had put out the eyes of his predecessor—and -the great Charlemagne sent legates to ask her hand -in marriage. And the blind Emperor lingered in his -palace-prison with his faithful Theodote, waiting for the -thunder of Jupiter.</p> - -<p>In the year 800 the shadow of the avenger seemed to -come over the palace. Irene had two powerful ministers, -Stauracius (who had, of course, returned from the service -of the altar) and Aetius, and their quarrels filled the -palace and the heart of Irene with bitterness. In 799 she -had been dangerously ill, and their intrigues had -doubled. She recovered, and Stauracius determined to -make a bold attempt to secure the purple. His conspiracy -was discovered, and Irene, holding a council in -the gold-roofed dining-hall, decreed that no military -officer was to approach Stauracius. The sentence seems -mild, but the truth was that, in spite of doctors and -priests who lied to him even as he spat blood, Stauracius -was dying. He passed away in June, and Aetius commanded -the palace.</p> - -<p>The end came in 802. Aetius had frustrated the proposal -of a marriage of Charlemagne and Irene, who -seems to have favoured it (she was still only in her -fiftieth year), because he designed to secure the purple -for his brother and thus maintain his position. But the -legates of Charlemagne lingered in Constantinople, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> -witnessed the fall of the great Empress. On the evening -of 31st October 802, when Irene lay ill in her Eleutherian -palace, a group of nobles and officers knocked at the door -of the Chalke and summoned the guard. They had, they -said, been sent by Irene to put Nicephorus, the “chancellor -of the exchequer,” on the throne; she wished to -forestall Aetius. In the darkness and confusion they -were admitted, and they took possession of the palace -and set guards round the Eleutherian palace. Almost -before dawn the next morning they conveyed Nicephorus -to the great church to be crowned, and, although Irene’s -liberality had won the people and they gathered in the -square to damn Nicephorus and the archbishop and raise -cheers for Irene, they were powerless. The nobles and -officers were resolved to tolerate the insolence of Aetius -no longer.</p> - -<p>Irene, sick and dispirited, was incapable of making -one of those spurts of energy or astute stratagems which -had so often saved her. When the hypocritical Nicephorus -came to visit her in her apartments, she quietly -begged that she might be permitted to end her days in -her Eleutherian palace. He had often been a guest at -her table and grossly deceived her; even the nobles were -yet to learn what a brute they had put on the throne. -He promised that if she would swear on the cross to give -up the whole of the imperial treasure, she should retire -to her palace. It was believed that treasure was hidden -in various places in that labyrinth of palaces; even the -blind Constantine was brought forth to say in which -wall a certain treasure was hidden. Irene swore her last -oath, gave a list of the hiding-places—and was promptly -imprisoned in a monastery she had built on the Princes’ -Islands, a group of small islands, in view of the palace, -on the Sea of Marmora.</p> - -<p>Constantinople seems to have been deeply moved, -and a month later she was removed to a dismal -prison on the island of Lesbos. There, under a -strong guard, rigorously isolated from her friends,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> -she spent nine miserable months reflecting on the -strange career she had run since she had left Athens -in the pride of her youth and beauty. She died on -9th August 803, and was buried in her monastery on the -Princes’ Islands.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VII" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER VII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">SAINT THEODORA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">From</span> the most pious Irene we proceed, after a -passing glance at the half-dozen Empresses of -less fame who come between them, to a notable -Empress whose memory has actually been enshrined in -the list of the canonized. Byzantine piety has at times -assumed such peculiar features in the course of our -story that we will not leap to the conclusion that at length -we reach a woman in whom modern taste will find a -realization of its standards. The restoration of the -images of the Virgin and the founding of monasteries -were in those days arguments powerful enough to silence -the importunities of the devil’s advocate. Theodora will -be found to have ways that the modern woman may or -may not admire, but will assuredly not be encouraged to -imitate. Yet it will be something to meet a powerful -Byzantine Empress whose hands are not stained with -blood, and, from her romantic elevation to her tragic -fall, the story of Saint Theodora will prove of no little -interest.</p> - -<p>We have left Irene dying of a broken heart in her island -prison while the perfidious Nicephorus wantons on her -wealth in the sacred palace. Since no wife is associated -with him in the chronicles, it is not ours to determine -whether he really was “the sink of all the vices,” as the -ecclesiastical writers say, or whether his anti-clerical -spirit and his refusal to persecute heretics have not loaded -the scales against him. The example of Charlemagne, -who maintained an imperial harem in the heart of -Christendom, seems to have affected him. When he had -commanded (for his son Stauracius) one of those “beauty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span> -shows” by which the Byzantine Court often selected a royal -bride, and three blushing and beautiful maidens were presented -for his final decision, he is said to have appropriated -two of them and imposed the third on his son. The new -Empress, Theophano, was an Athenian girl, a relative -of Irene, but, though she was not devoid of ambition, -Fate did not afford her the opportunity enjoyed by Irene. -Nicephorus fell in war after a reign of nine years, and his -skull, tastefully mounted in silver, became a favourite -drinking-cup of the King of Bulgaria. But his son -Stauracius was gravely wounded in the same battle, and -was borne back to the city in a litter in a dangerous -condition.</p> - -<p>Theophano, who was childless, saw the crown slipping -from her hands as soon as she had obtained it. The -Emperor’s sister Procopia was married to the chief -governor of the palace, a very handsome, amiable, black-haired -youth, not wanting in popularity, and the soldiers -and Senators whispered too loudly that he was fit to wear -the purple. Stauracius, from his sickbed, petulantly -ordered that the bright eyes of Michael should be cut out, -and that the imperial power should pass to Theophano. -Within a few weeks the army turned upon its helpless -sovereign, and lodged him in a monastery. Theophano -passed from the palace to a nunnery and lost the beautiful -hair which had so recently helped to win her a throne; -but it should be added, for the credit of Michael, that he -enabled her to soften the disappointment with all the -comfort that a large fortune could afford a woman with -sacred vows.</p> - -<p>Even more romance is packed into the brief story of -the Empress Procopia. Rising with her father, Nicephorus, -from the level of court officials to the imperial -rank, she had married the handsome superintendent of -the palace and had, after a fortunate escape from the -vindictiveness of her brother (or of Theophano), been -crowned mistress of the Roman world, in the gold-roofed -<i>triclinon</i> on 2nd October 811. To her the Fates seemed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span> -to open a long and glorious career. Her husband had -neither grit nor judgment, and she virtually undertook -the administration of the Empire. Unhappily, she -illustrated in a fatal degree the proverbial subservience -of women to priests and monks. The policy of Nicephorus -was reversed; the Church smiled under a shower -of gold, while the heretics were lashed into sullen -defiance in the provinces. Officers and nobles looked -with disdain and irritation on this revival of clericalism, -and even concerted a plot to bring the eyeless sons of -Constantine VI. to the throne from their distant priestly -homes. When, in the year 812, Procopia drove out at -the head of the troops, who were marching against the -Bulgarians, the soldiers murmured and the “simple-minded” -Michael, as a contemporary calls him, was -insulted. And when, in the following spring, Michael, -relying on his spiritual advisers for carnal warfare, was -ignominiously beaten by the Bulgarians, the soldiers -offered the crown to a vigorous Armenian officer and -marched on the city.</p> - -<p>Thus in less than two years Procopia forfeited the -power which, she believed, she had used so admirably. -Her mild and timid husband returned to the capital to -tell her that he proposed to resign and avoid a civil war. -She raged in vain at his pusillanimity; the chroniclers -tell us, in particular, that she dwelt with strong invective -on the notion of this unlettered officer’s wife appearing -in the purple. While they discussed, the army reached -Constantinople, and they fled, with their children, to a -chapel in the palace grounds near the sea. The end was -ruthless and inevitable. Michael, who was little feared, -was clothed with the monastic habit which befitted him, -and placed on one of the Princes’ Islands, in the Sea of -Marmora, from which so many kings and princes were -to gaze upon the palace they had lost. His elder -son was castrated. Procopia was shorn and clothed -with the hated black dress of a nun, and, deprived -of all her property, she lived for a few miserable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span> -years with her daughters in a convent on the fringe -of the city.</p> - -<p>The Empress Theodosia, wife of Leo the Armenian, -who now ascended the throne, hardly merited all the -disdain with which Procopia had depicted her in the -imperial robes. She was the daughter of Arsaberes, an -officer and patrician of such rank and culture that there -had been an attempt to put him on the throne in the -reign of Nicephorus. One of the chroniclers, however, -speaks incidentally of Leo’s “incestuous marriage,” and -we may assume that there was something wrong in the -connexion. It matters little, as Theodosia remains in -complete obscurity during her husband’s seven years’ -reign. Only in the last week does she make her first, and -last, appearance in history.</p> - -<p>In spite of a sincere desire to reform the Empire, and -the most energetic measures to purify and strengthen it, -Leo became unpopular. Reformers were rarely popular -at Constantinople, and Leo had the additional disadvantage -of favouring the Iconoclasts. When fiery -monks denounced his maxim of universal toleration, he -resorted to violence, and hands and feet began to fall -under the axes of his soldiers. At last he discovered -that the Count of his guards, Michael, was at the head -of a conspiracy, and he is said—many historians refuse -to believe the statement—to have ordered that Michael be -cast forthwith into the furnace which heated the baths of -the palace. It was Christmas Eve, and the Empress was -horrified to learn that the feast was to be desecrated in -this way. As the soldiers conducted Michael through -the palace, she rushed from her bed, with flying locks -and disordered dress, and fell upon Leo “like a -bacchante.” He sullenly postponed the execution, -muttering: “You and the children will see what comes -of keeping me from sin.” Michael was fettered and confined, -and Leo retired with the key of the fetters in his -breast.</p> - -<p>The unknown story of Theodosia, daughter of Arsaberes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> -ends in a thrilling page of romance. Leo slept -little, the fear that he had blundered tormenting him, -and at last he went in the dead of night to the chamber -in which Michael was confined. To his surprise he -found Michael sleeping on the jailer’s bed, instead of -being chained to the wall. He retired to consider the -matter, but it seems that he took no steps, and, in the -early morning, he went to the chapel to chant matins -with the clergy. Now a page, who had been lying in a -corner of Michael’s cell, had noticed the purple slippers -of the man who had entered; he at once wakened Michael -and his friendly jailer, and a message was hastily sent -to friends in the city, threatening to betray them to Leo -if they did not deliver Michael at once. It was, as I -said, the depth of winter—it was now Christmas morning—and -a group of singers were to enter the palace in the -early hours to join with Leo in singing the service. -Leo had a resonant voice, of which he was very proud. -With these singers, hooded and cloaked with fur, the -conspirators mingled, and made their way to the chapel, -concealing their swords. They stood perplexed in the -dim and cold chapel, as Leo had drawn his fur hood -over his head and was unrecognizable, until at last his -sonorous voice rang out, and their swords gleamed in the -light of the lamp. Leo, a very powerful man, seized the -cross, and defended himself for a time, but soon fell dead -to the ground. Theodosia was turned adrift in the -desolate Empire, her four boys were castrated—one -dying under the brutal mutilation—and Michael the -Stammerer, instead of passing to the furnace, sat on the -golden throne, even before the fetters could be struck -from his feet.</p> - -<p>The reign of Michael introduces us at length to the -woman whose name stands at the head of this chapter. -Michael was the son of a Phrygian peasant, knowing -more about pigs and mules than about Greek letters, says -the indignant chronicler, and had risen from the lowest -rank of the army. He had in early years married the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span> -daughter of an officer; though we may smile at the -legend that Thecla was bestowed upon him because some -soothsayer had foretold his fortune. Thecla had enjoyed -a year or two of splendour and passed away, leaving a -son and daughter. Second marriages were not favoured -by the clergy and monks, and it is said that Michael -secretly arranged with the Senators that they should -press him to marry again; but when we find that he -married a nun, we can hardly suppose that he was disposed -to fear the clergy. His second Empress, Euphrosyne, -has made no mark in history, yet she is interesting. -It will be remembered that twenty years earlier the son -of Irene had divorced his wife Maria, and sent her and -her young daughters into a convent. It was one of these -daughters who, after spending twenty years’ placid -existence in a religious house during all the storms that -had swept through the palace, was recalled to the world, -relieved of her vows by the patriarch, and married to -the boorish Michael. After four or five years’ further -enjoyment of the palace, Michael was carried off by -dysentery, and left the Empire to Euphrosyne and her -stepson Theophilus. Here begins the story of the -sainted Theodora, and ends the brief visit of Euphrosyne -to the brighter world.</p> - -<p>When Theophilus ascended the throne in 829 he is -said to have been a widower, though still young. The -chroniclers persistently state that the youngest of his -five daughters married one of his officers a few years -after his accession, and the only solution of this singular -puzzle is said to be that an earlier wife had died and left -him with several girls. He was not, at all events, -married when he was crowned in 829, and, with the aid -of Euphrosyne, he sought a consort. Once more matrimonial -commissioners searched the city and the provinces, -and every father of a beautiful girl hastened to -display her charms to the imperial examiners. Some -writers would confine the scrutiny to the city of Constantinople, -but the fact that Theodora came from the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span> -distant province of Paphlagonia confirms the statement -of George the Monk that the imperial commissioners -travelled through “all regions” (of the Empire) in search -of a perfect bride. The utmost that panegyric has been -able to say of Theodora’s parents, Marinus and Theoclista, -is that they were “not ignoble.” We may assume -that, like the Empress Maria, the mother of Euphrosyne, -she was discovered in some obscure village of Asia Minor -and conducted, with fluttering heart, to the Court of the -great king.</p> - -<p>Euphrosyne added a picturesque feature to the “competition.” -She arranged the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">élite</i> of the candidates in a -line in the hall of one of the palaces, gave Theophilus -a golden apple, and bade him give the apple to the lady -of his choice. He first approached a maiden named -Casia, or Cassia, who was not only the most beautiful -of them all, but had some repute for poetical talent. -“How much evil has come through woman,” said the -imperial prig, improvising a Greek verse. “Yet how -many better things have come from woman,” the young -poetess modestly retorted, in verse. To her great mortification -he passed on, apparently displeased with her -ready tongue, and gave the apple to Theodora. Casia -retired to a nunnery and to the composition of hymns, -and Theodora was, on Whitsunday 830, married and -crowned by the patriarch Antony in the historic chapel -of St Stephen.</p> - -<p>Euphrosyne returned to her convent immediately after -the coronation. Some authorities say that she was dismissed -by Theophilus, others that she retired voluntarily. -It is not improbable that twenty years of religious life -had made her a real nun at heart, and she retired the -moment she was relieved of those reasons of State which -had interrupted her solitude.</p> - -<p>During the thirteen years of the reign of Theophilus -the Empress bore her children and confined herself to the -gynæceum, as a good Empress should. Two sons and -five daughters are assigned to her, but, as I said, some,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span> -if not all, of these daughters of Theophilus seem to have -had an earlier mother. Maria is described as the -youngest, yet about the year 832, two or three years after -the marriage of Theodora, she married the commander -Alexis. She died shortly afterwards.</p> - -<p>Theodora had been piously educated in the orthodox -faith, and it is piquant to read the approving language -of the religious writers when they describe her duping -her husband and breaking her oath to him. Cardinal -Baronius, who is endorsed by the Bollandists, calls her -“the glory and ornament of holy womanhood ... the -unique example of exalted holiness in the east.” We -shall follow these distinguished authorities on sanctity -with some hesitation when we afterwards find Theodora -encouraging her son in vice, in order that he may leave -the administration to her and the clergy, and permitting -him to hold drunken suppers with his mistress in her -palace; but the worldly minded biographer must be less -enthusiastic than they even about her earlier actions.</p> - -<p>The first anecdote told of her is that the Emperor one -day noticed a heavily laden ship making for the port of -Constantinople and learned that it belonged to Theodora. -He went down in great anger to the quay, and ordered -the ship and its cargo to be burned. “God made me an -Emperor,” he cried, “and my wife and Augusta has -made me a shipowner.” The Bollandists merely enlarge -at this point on the naughtiness of princes who wish to -monopolize trade for their own profit, but I think that a -better defence of Theodora can be imagined. The young -Empress was probably blameless. It was a custom of -courtiers to evade the duties on imports by trading in -the name of the Empress, and Theodora would hardly -understand the matter sufficiently to refuse her name at -once.</p> - -<p>The genial critic will also regard with some indulgence -her petty mendacities in regard to the beloved images -which she cherished in secret. One day her jester, or -half-witted page, came suddenly into her room and found<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> -her embracing the forbidden statues. She told him that -they were dolls, and Denderis went at once to tell -Theophilus of the pretty dolls with which his wife played -in secret. Theophilus angrily started from the table and -went to her room. The fool was mistaken, she cried; -she and her maids had been looking in a mirror, and the -boy had taken their images in the mirror to be dolls.<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> -Theophilus was not convinced. Little more could be -learned from the page, who had been flogged by Theodora -and told to hold his tongue about dolls, so that -whenever Theophilus asked him, he said: “Hush, -Emperor; nothing about dolls.” But his young -daughters also now began to speak of dolls, especially -when they returned from visits to Theodora’s mother, -who had a palace at Gastria across the water. He learned -from them that the old lady kept a chest full of pretty -dolls, which they were encouraged to kiss and embrace -when they visited her. The visits were immediately -stopped, and Theodora was compelled to take the most -sacred oaths that she would never favour the worship of -images. Like Irene, she did so with mental reservation.</p> - -<p>The long and vigorous reign of Theophilus ended -sadly. Unsuccessful in war, indiscreet at home, and at -war with the clergy, he wasted his talent in adding to -the luxury of the Court. He found a wonderful mechanic -and engaged him to fill the palace with expensive toys -that seemed to enhance the imperial dignity. Before -“Solomon’s Throne” in the Magnaura palace were set -lions of gilded bronze which would rise and roar at the -approach of foreign ambassadors. Golden trees, with -golden singing birds, invisible organs, and all kinds of -mechanical barbarities were added to the rare furniture -of the palace. New palaces also were built in the -grounds: a semicircular hall with roof of gold and doors -of bronze and silver, fountains which gave aromatic wine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> -from their silver pipes on feast-days, summer palaces and -chapels completely lined with the choicest marbles and -mosaics. A superb palace was raised on the Asiatic -shore in imitation of the Caliph’s palace at Bagdad, and -the palace at Blachernæ, in the cool northern suburb, -now spread over a vast domain. But with all this facile -splendour Theophilus was conscious that he failed to -hold the ever-pressing enemies of the Empire, and he -became morose and diseased. Theodora seems to have -kept his affection to the end. In an earlier year she had -detected him in criminal intimacy with one of her maids, -and he had asked her forgiveness with great humility. -His last act was a brutal murder in her interest. The -noble Theophobos, who was married to the Emperor’s -sister Helena, was in jail on some suspicion. Theophilus -feared that he might aspire to the throne, and ordered -the head of the unfortunate noble to be brought to him. -He died in January 842, leaving the Empire to Theodora -and her infant son Michael.<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a></p> - -<p>Theodora now had supreme power, and her first care -was to restore the worship of images, in spite of her -heavy oaths to Theophilus. In this she needed diplomacy, -as well as casuistry, since the learned patriarch -John, as well as the majority of the Senators, were -opposed to images. There was, moreover, a Council of -Regency, consisting of three of the abler officials of the -Court. The first of them, Theoclistos, the eunuch -“keeper of the purple ink,” was an official of some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span> -ability, and so devoted to Theodora that, in spite of his -condition, the gossip of the city associated the saint and -the eunuch in a most unedifying manner. The second -member was Manuel, an uncle of Theodora and an -Iconoclast; the third her brother Bardas, a man of equal -ability and unscrupulousness, who could be relied upon -either to worship or to break an image according to his -interest. It was to this man, in spite of notoriously -immoral life, that Theodora entrusted the tutorship of -the young prince; and there cannot be the slightest -doubt that Michael was deliberately educated in vice and -sensuality, in order to divert his attention from political -power. St Theodora was to be the mother of the Nero -of the Eastern Empire.</p> - -<p>The first step was taken in the restoration of images -shortly after the beginning of the Regency. Michael -fell dangerously ill and at one time he was believed to -be dead. The monks came from the great monastery of -Studion, the most fiery centre of orthodoxy, to pray over -the remains of the Iconoclast—a singular procedure—and -it was presently announced that he had miraculously -recovered his life and was converted to the worship of -images. In this new zeal he pressed the Empress to -remove the impious restriction on piety, and for a time -she resisted, pleading the sanctity of her oath. Knowing -Constantinople as we do, we have little difficulty in -regarding the whole procedure as a comedy. At length -a council was summoned in the house of Theoclistus, and -the reform was sanctioned. The patriarch John was now -ordered to convoke a synod; he refused, and the way in -which that obstacle was removed so well illustrates the -character of Constantinople, if not of Theodora, that it -is worth describing.</p> - -<p>John was one of the most learned men of his time, a -genius in physical science and mechanical art. His -rationalistic opposition to the popular cult of relics and -statues, however, gave a dark aspect to his learning, and -he was commonly regarded as a magician and a secret<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span> -libertine. Men told each other of the subterraneous -chamber which he had in his brother’s house for entertaining -nuns and other pretty women. In reality, he -seems to have been a learned and conscientious man, -and, even when Bardas cruelly flogged him, he refused -to submit to the Empress’s wish and relieve her from her -oath. The report was given out from the palace that he -had inflicted the marks of the scourge on himself, and -had even attempted to commit suicide. He was at once -deposed and confined in a monastery; and, when it was -reported to Theodora, no doubt falsely, that he had there -pricked the eyes out of a picture of Christ, she angrily -sentenced him to lose his own eyes and to receive two -hundred strokes of the loaded scourge. He had been one -of the chief pillars of her husband’s reign. His friends, -I may add, retorted by accusing the new patriarch -Methodius of rape, but decency prevents me from -describing how the archbishop happily escaped the -charge by proving, in open court, that St Peter had -miraculously relieved him from temptations of the flesh -many years before.</p> - -<p>The new patriarch convoked a synod, and crowds of -monks flocked to Constantinople from all parts to encourage -the good work, and marched through the streets -of Constantinople under their sacred ensigns. Theodora -surprised the bishops and abbots, as they sat in conclave, -by demanding that they should issue a guarantee that -her husband was absolved from his sins. It was a -dangerous precedent, and they protested that they had -no power to give such an assurance. Theodora then -explained that she had presented a sacred image to -Theophilus in his last hour, and that he had embraced -it fervently. Modern historians are ungallant enough to -disbelieve her story, and no doubt there were many at -the time who distrusted Theodora’s casuistic ability, but -when she proceeded to hint that image-worship would -not be restored unless they satisfied her, they decreed that -the sins of Theophilus had been undone by repentance.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span> -At the conclusion of the synod Theodora entertained the -holy men in her Carian palace, or palace built entirely -of the famous Carian marble, at Blachernæ. Near the -end of the banquet, when the cakes and sweets were -being served, her eye fell on the grim, disfigured face of -the religious poet Theophanes. He had come from -Palestine to Constantinople, during her husband’s reign, -to fight for the images, and Theophilus had sent him -into exile with no less than twelve lines of bad verse -tattooed on his face, announcing that he was a “wretched -vessel of superstition.” Theophanes marked the tearful -gaze of the Empress, and impetuously cried that he -would not forget to ask the judgment of God on Theophilus -for the outrage. “Is this the way you keep your -promise?” she exclaimed excitedly; and the bishops -had to intervene and appease her and the martyr.</p> - -<p>This restoration of image-worship seems to be the one -virtue which ensured for Theodora a place in the Greek -canon of the saints (on 11th February). That she led a -chaste life we need not doubt for a moment. The rumour -of amorous relations with Theoclistus is foolish gossip, -and a man named Gebo, who afterwards claimed to be -her natural son, was either an impostor or a lunatic. But -the shallowness of her piety and weakness of her moral -character are too plainly revealed in the debauching of -her son by her own brother, into whose care she gave the -young Emperor. The historian Finlay observes that -“in the series of Byzantine Emperors from Leo III. to -Michael III., only two proved utterly unfit for the duties -of their station, and both appear to have been corrupted -by the education they received from their mothers.” -When we reflect on the strange types of men whom the -disordered life of the Empire brought to the throne, this -is a terrible impeachment of Irene and Theodora; and it -is a just impeachment. No man was less fit than her -brother Bardas to train a youth, and the only conceivable -palliation of Theodora’s guilt is that she wished -to retain power in the interest of the Church. How even<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span> -that hope was mocked, and the rule of her son ended in -debauchery and murder in her own house, we have next -to consider.</p> - -<p>For some ten years the Empire enjoyed comparative -peace and prosperity. The Bulgarians, learning that a -woman and a child ruled the Empire, made inflated -demands, but Theodora met them with admirable firmness, -and averted war. Her only grave blunder was the -ruthless persecution of heresy. She sent officers to convert -the masses of Paulicians in the eastern provinces, -and, whether with her consent or no, they perpetrated -horrible butcheries in the name of religion and engendered -a civil war. Then, as Michael approached his -sixteenth year, a series of terrible internal troubles and -disorders set in.</p> - -<p>Gladly following the example of his tutor Bardas, the -young Emperor fell in love with the beautiful daughter -of a high official of the Court named Inger. Eudocia -Ingerina is described by one of the writers of the Court -of Constantine VII.—her grandson—as “one of the -most beautiful and most modest women of her time.” -The course of this narrative will show that she was, as -most of the chroniclers say, one of the most dissolute -women of the time, second only to Theodora’s daughter -Thecla. Whether she betrayed her laxity even at this -early age, or whether Theodora merely dreaded an -alliance of her son with a distinguished officer, we cannot -confidently say. The chroniclers suggest that she was -already the lover of Michael, and that Theodora and -Theoclistus interfered. They compelled Michael to -marry another Eudocia, daughter of the patrician -Decapolita. We do not know the fate of this lady and -may trust that she did not live to see the more sordid -phases of her husband’s life. It seems that very shortly -after the marriage he resumed his relations with the -daughter of Inger.</p> - -<p>Bardas now began to force his ambition more openly -and get rid of the members of the Council of Regency.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> -He first, by means of Theoclistus, drove his uncle -Manuel into private life, and then turned upon Theoclistus, -who ventured to remonstrate with him about his -notorious liaison with his own daughter-in-law. Fearing -for his life Theoclistus built a house close to the palace, -communicating with it by an iron door, which was -carefully guarded, and continued to administer the -Empire in conjunction with Theodora. There is some -indication that Theodora’s three sisters—Sophia, Maria -and Irene—also had some share in the administration. -Bardas pointed out to his pupil that he was improperly -excluded by them, and suggested that Theodora intended -to marry Theoclistus and have Michael’s eyes put out. -When, therefore, Theoclistus next went to read his -report to Theodora, he was intercepted by a group of the -servants of Bardas, who, in the name of the Emperor, -demanded his papers. A scuffle took place, and Theoclistus -was imprisoned, and presently murdered in his -cell. One of the chroniclers would have us believe that -one of Theodora’s daughters actually witnessed the -murder on behalf of her brother.</p> - -<p>Theodora was beside herself when the news reached her -that her favourite minister had been murdered. She is -described as roaming about the palace with dishevelled -hair, weeping and upbraiding her son and brother. The -natural result was that they decided to remove her, and -she saw that her rule had come to an end. She summoned -the Senators and laid before them a financial -statement of the affairs of the Empire. She had so well -husbanded the funds left by Theophilus that a store of -gold and silver amounting to many million pounds of -our coinage, besides chests of jewels and other treasure, -were at the disposal of the State. “I tell you this,” she -shrewdly added, “in order that you may not readily -believe my son the Emperor if, when I have quitted the -palace, he tells you that I left it empty.” She saluted -the Senators, laid down her power, and quitted the -imperial palace. But Michael and Bardas were not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span> -content. As Theodora and her daughters went to the -palace at Blachernæ they were arrested by her elder -brother Petronas, shorn of their hair, and confined, in -the dress of nuns, in the Carian palace at Blachernæ. -They continued, however, to regard the proceedings at -Court with close interest, and were transferred to the -palace-monastery of Gastria across the water.</p> - -<div id="ip_116" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 28em;"> - <div class="caption vspace"><p class="smaller">ΕΥΔΟΚΙΑ ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΑ<br /> - ΛΕΩΝ ΔΕΣΠΟΤΗΣ <span class="in116">ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ</span></p></div> - <img src="images/i_116.jpg" width="437" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>EUDOCIA INGERINA, WIFE OF BASIL I</p> - <p class="smaller">FROM DU CANGE’S ‘HISTORIA BYZANTINA’</p></div></div> - -<p>From her near exile Theodora watched the next -dramatic phase of the quarrel. It was in the year 856, -apparently, that Theoclistus was murdered and she -forced to resign, and the next ten years witnessed a -repellent development of Michael’s vices. He has passed -into history under the name of Michael the Drunkard, -but drunkenness was not the worst of his vices. He lived -in open association with Eudocia Ingerina and filled the -palace with scenes that had been banished from Roman -life with the death of Nero. The only point that can be -urged in favour of Byzantine morals is that the drastic -legislation and action of earlier Emperors had checked -the spread of unnatural vice. Apart from this, Michael -the Drunkard ranks with Nero and Caligula, and, in -respect of some kinds of grossness, surpasses them. -Only the more repellent pages of Zola’s “La Terre” -offer an analogy to the coarse practices which Michael -rewarded in the abominable circle he gathered about -him. It is enough to say that the filthiest of his friends -dressed in the vestments of the archbishop, and had -eleven followers dressed as metropolitan bishops; that -they used the sacred vessels, with a mixture of mustard -and vinegar, for their parody of the Mass; and that they -paraded the streets on asses in this guise, and hailed the -patriarch himself with obscene cries and gestures. The -treasures left by Theodora were soon dissipated on these -ruffians and on Michael’s favourite charioteers, and the -golden curiosities made by Theophilus were melted down -to eke out the failing exchequer. And when Michael -was told that the enemies of the Empire were once more -pressing on its narrowed frontiers, he callously ordered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span> -that the line of signal fires, which were wont to announce -the inroad of the enemy from the distant provinces, -should be abandoned, so that his chariot races might not -be interrupted.</p> - -<p>Such was the spectacle which Theodora had to contemplate -for ten weary years, nor can she have been -unconscious how deeply she was responsible for it. At -length, in 866, the infamous career of her brother came to -a close, and she was free to return to the Court. A new -favourite had arisen and displaced Bardas. A handsome -groom in the imperial service, Basil the Macedonian, had -caught the fancy of Michael. When Bardas one day -denounced a noble for not saluting him in the street, as -he passed in the gorgeous robe of a Cæsar—a dignity to -which Michael raised him in 865—the noble was deposed -from office and Basil put in his place. Basil was married, -but the besotted Emperor forced him to divorce his wife -and marry Eudocia Ingerina; and, as Michael retained -Eudocia as his own mistress, he brought his willing -sister Thecla from her nunnery and made her the -mistress of Basil. Bardas was now alarmed and perceived -that either he or Basil must die. I need not enter -into the sordid details. Enough to say that Basil and -Michael decoyed the Cæsar from the city, after a solemn -oath on the cross and the sacrament, which were held -before them by the patriarch, that they had no design on -his life, and murdered him. This occurred on Whit-Monday -866; on the following Saturday Basil was -crowned and anointed co-Emperor of the Romans.</p> - -<p>To this blood-stained and sordid Court Theodora did -not hesitate to return as soon as Bardas was slain. One -of the chroniclers tells an anecdote which would, if one -dare reproduce it in full, give some idea of the atmosphere -which she breathed. Michael one day summoned -her to come and receive the blessing of the patriarch, who -was with him. She entered and bent in inobservant -reverence before the vested figure beside her son, and -she was, to the loud delight of Michael, startled by an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span> -outrage that the rudest peasant would hardly suffer to -be offered to his mother. It was the infamous mock-patriarch -Gryllus, perpetrating his coarsest joke.</p> - -<p>This, however, seems to have occurred before her -abdication, and she seems, after the murder of Bardas, -to have lived chiefly in the Anthemian palace across the -water. Unfortunately, the last scene in the squalid reign -of her son shows that she still tolerated his excesses. -Basil, in turn, had seen a new favourite arise and -threaten his hope of inheriting the Empire. In a -drunken fit Michael had put his purple slippers on a -vulgar servant—a man who had formerly rowed in the -galleys—for praising his chariot-driving, and brutally -observed to the tearful Eudocia, who sat beside him, that -the man was more fit for the purple than her husband. -Basil, if not Eudocia, concluded that the Emperor must -be assassinated, and before long Theodora provided them -with an opportunity. I am not for a moment suggesting -that Theodora was aware of their intention, but this last -appearance of hers on the stage of history is a painful -close of her career.</p> - -<p>She invited Michael to sup and stay at her palace after -he had spent a day hunting on the Asiatic side of the -water. Such an invitation might be innocent, even -virtuous, if there were a design to separate the young -Emperor from his associates and, perhaps, endeavour to -counsel him. But we find that his usual Court accompanied -him, and the evening was spent in drunken -debauch. The new favourite, Basilicius, and Michael -were put to bed in a drunken condition. Basil, with -whom was Eudocia, had slipped from the room and -tampered with the fastenings of their doors, and in the -middle of the night Theodora awoke to hear the clash of -swords and cries of hurrying men; Michael and -Basilicius had been murdered, and Basil and Eudocia -were hastening to Constantinople to secure the palace.</p> - -<p>The last glimpse we have of St Theodora is when she -and her daughters convey the remains of the wretched<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span> -Emperor to the city for interment in the great marble -tombs of the kings. It was the autumn of 866, and, as -the Greek Church celebrates her festival on 11th -February, we may assume that she lived a few months -afterwards in sad, if not penitent, obscurity. Few in -modern times, even of those who share her creed, would -venture to describe her as “the glory and ornament of -her sex.” No woman of high character could have been -betrayed into the criminal blunders which Theodora -committed, however exalted she may have considered her -ultimate aim to be. Yet we may grant that she was -rather tainted by the pitiful casuistry of her time than -evil in disposition, and the historical memorial of her -life-work is a sufficiently terrible punishment of her -errors.</p> - -<p>It remains briefly to dismiss the Empresses Eudocia -and Thecla. On the morning after the murder Eudocia -Ingerina sat proudly by the side of her husband, in the -glorious robes and jewels of a reigning Empress, as he -went to the great church to consecrate his Empire to -Christ. She enjoyed her dignity for about fifteen years, -but the only incident recorded of her is that she was -detected by her husband in a liaison with a steward of -the table. Thecla was discarded at the death of her -brother and passed to less exalted lovers. Some years -after his accession she sent a servant with a petition to -Basil. “Who lives with your mistress at present?” -the Emperor cynically asked. “Neatocomites,” the -man promptly replied. Neatocomites was flogged and -put in a monastery, and Thecla was flogged and robbed -of the greater part of her fortune. It is the last glimpse -we have of the family of St Theodora.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VIII" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER VIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE WIVES OF LEO THE PHILOSOPHER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Basil</span> the Macedonian, or Basil the groom, son -of a Macedonian peasant of Armenian extraction, -enjoyed his imperial wealth, and made excellent -use of his imperial power, during nearly twenty years. -His story is not one to encourage the venerable adage -that honesty is the best policy. But we have dismissed -his Empress, Eudocia Ingerina, whose only known -features are great beauty and equally great licence in -love, and we pass on to review the remarkable series -of Empresses whom his son successively married. I say -his son, but no historian doubts that Leo VI. was really -the son of Michael the Drunkard. The temper of -Eudocia Ingerina had been so accommodating that royal -genealogists have to indulge largely in arithmetical calculation -in order to determine the paternity of her -children, or the maternity of Basil’s children. Briefly, -Basil’s eldest son, Constantine, was probably a child of -the poor Maria who had been sent back to Macedonia -with her pockets full of gold, but he died before his -father and will not interest us; the second son, Leo, was -almost certainly the son of Michael and Eudocia, who -had been transferred in a state of pregnancy from the -embraces of the Emperor to the embraces of his groom; -the third and fourth sons, Alexander and Stephen, were -presumably born of Basil and Eudocia; and the four -daughters must, in despair, be distributed over the group -of parents.</p> - -<p>When Leo had reached the age of fifteen or sixteen, -his elder brother having died two years before, Basil -and Eudocia sought him a wife, and we are at last so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span> -fortunate as to meet a really blameless Empress, and one -whose title to her place in the calendar of the saints will -not be disputed by the most irreverent historians of -modern times. St Theophano has, moreover, been -revealed to us more fully in recent years by the publication -of ancient Greek manuscripts that were unknown in -the days of Gibbon.<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> That they enlarge her virtues and -attenuate the vices of her husband is only what we -should expect in Byzantine writers of the time, but they -enable us to give a satisfactory portrait of an imperial -saint and to set it in pleasant contrast to the figures of -her contemporaries and successors. Theophano is a -stray lily in a garden of roses.</p> - -<p>The first wife of Leo was the very pretty and pious -daughter of a distinguished noble of the city, Constantinus -Martinacius. Her mother had died in her early -years, but her education had proceeded on lines of the -most orthodox piety, and she had a genius for assimilating -its ascetic prescriptions. The piety of her father, -however, did not prevent him from putting forward his -fifteen-year-old daughter when, in the winter of 881–882, -Basil and Eudocia sought a mate for Leo. The city and -provinces were, as usual, scoured by the special matrimonial -commissioners, and Theophano was one of the -dozen maids introduced into the great palace for inspection. -Eudocia, a good judge, reviewed them in the -Magnaura palace, and selected Theophano and two -others. Eudocia’s high birth probably gave her some -advantage over the obscure Athenian girl and another -rival who ran her close in the competition. She was -exhibited to Basil, and he at once placed a ring on her -young finger and ordered Leo to marry her. Much -subsequent evil might have been avoided if the youth -had been consulted. Either the excessive piety of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span> -Theophano was distasteful to him, or he had already -set his mind on another lady. But Basil was never -indulgent to Leo, whom he must have regarded as -Michael’s son, and the children were married with all -the splendid ceremony which the Emperor Constantine -describes for us, and entered upon their duty of sustaining -the dynasty.</p> - -<p>The pious Theophano soon found that life in a court -was not a mere monotonous round of ceremonies. The -chief friend and adviser of Basil was a compatriot—that -is to say, a Macedonian of Armenian origin (Armenian -colonies having been transferred, on account of the -Saracens, to Macedonia)—named Stylianus Zautzes, and -Zautzes had a pretty and lively daughter named Zoe. -It is probable that Leo had contracted a boyish love of -Zoe before he was forced to marry the young saint, and -he was not of a nature to sacrifice the rose to the lily. -Not very long after the marriage Theophano complained -to Basil, we learn from the life of Euthymius, that her -husband was making love to Zoe. Leo naturally protests -to the patriarch, and no doubt protested to Basil, that his -admiration was Platonic, but we shall see that he did -not usually confine himself to that academic emotion. -Basil believed the charge, caught Leo by the hair and -flung him to the ground, and compelled Zoe to marry, -out of hand, a man to whom she was more than indifferent. -He was sowing a crop of tragedies.</p> - -<p>Eudocia died about this time, and the young Theophano -took her place in the rich ceremonial of the Court, -walking in the endless processions and being borne in -the golden litter, drawn by white horses, to the great -church and the lesser shrines and palaces. Her new -dignity cannot have lasted many months when a fresh -and more furious storm broke upon her virtue, and she -bore herself admirably. The second most intimate friend -and counsellor of Basil was the abbot Theodore, of -Santabaris in Phrygia, a very enterprising and peculiar -monk. He was a master of magic and was regarded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> -with the greatest awe by the Emperor. Leo ventured to -urge on Basil that the man was an impostor and humbug, -and the chroniclers say that the abbot turned vindictively -on Leo. No one was allowed to have weapons in the -company of the Emperor, but Theodore persuaded Leo -that, if he kept a knife concealed in his boot when he -was hunting with Basil, he might be able in an emergency -to render a service and disarm Basil’s anger. -Leo hid a knife in his boot, and the monk promptly -advised Basil to search the prince, as he feared conspiracy.</p> - -<p>So from the palace Leo passed to prison, or confinement -in the Pearl palace, and Theophano went with her -little daughter Eudocia to keep him company and impress -on him the duty of resignation to the divine will. The -chroniclers differ as to the length of the imprisonment; -some make it three months and others three years. As -Zautzes and the Senators intervened and begged Basil -to reconsider his verdict, I prefer to accept the shorter -term. One of the chroniclers tells us that the most -effective pleader for Leo was a parrot, kept in the palace, -which someone taught to cry: “Poor Leo, poor Leo.” -At all events, Zautzes, and the patriarch Photius, and -numbers of the Senators, insisted that Leo was innocent; -and he was set at liberty. He was now the obvious heir -to the throne. Basil could not put him aside in favour -of a younger son without admitting his irregular parentage, -and it is not unlikely that the old Emperor had a -regard for Theophano. For a few years, therefore, the -young Empress continued to rule the great palace, to -which Basil had made superb additions, and to practise -the high virtues which her husband so little appreciated. -Then (in March 886) Basil left his purple robes to Leo, -and Leo and his wife and child to the care of Zautzes.</p> - -<p>The first concern of Leo the Philosopher—who was -no philosopher at all, though he was well read in the -letters of the time—was to seek Abbot Theodore of -Santabaris. The monk had prudently retired to a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span> -bishopric in remote Pontus before Leo came to the -throne, but he was brought to Constantinople, deposed, -scourged, and exiled to Athens, where his eyes were -afterwards cut out. It was the punishment he had -recommended Basil to inflict on Leo. As the patriarch -Photius was believed to have been in league with the -monk-magician, he also was deposed, and Leo’s younger -brother, Stephen, was made archbishop. Leo’s four -sisters had already been turned into nuns by the prudent -Basil, and there remained only the second brother Alexander, -who was content to await the hour for his own -imperial debauch.</p> - -<p>Leo’s next care was to renew his pleasant relations -with the fascinating Zoe, “the most beautiful woman of -her age.” A few added years would have merely ripened -her charms, and her father regarded with complacency -her promotion to the place of imperial concubine, and -continued to discharge his functions as commander of -the foreign guards (<i>hetæriarch</i>). To Theophano only -was it a grave affliction to find the palace enlivened by -the fiery and beautiful oriental. She endured the outrage -for some years, patiently working at her embroidery -for the altars and spending long hours in prayer, until her -one child died, in the winter of 892–893, and she begged -Leo to allow her to retire to a convent, leaving him free -to marry. Leo was not unwilling, but the patriarch -Euthymius foolishly refused to consecrate her, and she -languished for a few months longer in her uncongenial -world.</p> - -<p>The situation is illuminated by a passage in the -chronicles which leads up to the first plot on Leo’s life. -Some time in 891, apparently, Leo and Zoe and Zautzes, -with other members of their family, went to stay at the -Damian palace in the suburbs, probably for a hunt. -Theophano, the chronicler says, was not with them; she -was “busy praying” in the Blachernæ palace, to which -she seems to have generally retired from the dissolute -Court. For some entirely obscure reason Zoe’s brother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span> -and his friends concerted a plot against the life of Leo; -we can hardly suppose that it was a case of outraged -brothers wiping out the dishonour of their sister, seeing -that Zautzes himself was a member of the house-party. -Whatever the cause was, Zoe, who was sleeping with -Leo, heard whispering in the garden without, and, creeping -to the window, learned that her brother Tzantzes and -others were about to murder Leo. These are the sober -details given in the chronicles, but Byzantine history -is so full of melodrama that we need not hesitate to accept -them. She roused her lover, and they stole from the -house and reached Constantinople. Leo suspected that -Zautzes himself had been privy to the plot and was -estranged from him for some months.</p> - -<p>This seems to have been the position during the early -years of Leo’s reign: his wife “busy praying,” or -mortifying her frail body, in the quieter palace at -Blachernæ, while Leo floated over the Sea of Marmora -with Zoe in the great pleasure-galleys he had constructed, -or wantoned in his various palaces. Theophano died -in the seventh year of his reign—on 10th November 893 -according to de Boor’s calculations, though her festival -is celebrated by the Greek Church on 16th December. -The modern mind would be little impressed by an -account of the miracles which her remains are said to -have wrought after death, nor can one read without a -certain amusement that, in the words of a later Emperor -and most of the chroniclers, she deserved the aureole of -sanctity by “her freedom from jealousy and her patient -endurance of the contempt of Zoe.” The nobles of -Constantinople would not be unwilling to see such -virtues consecrated by the Church. There is, however, -no doubt that the daughter of Constantinus Martinacius -merited her place in the calendar of the Church, and -she is one of the few blameless women to gratify the -biographer of the Empresses.</p> - -<p>From the saint we pass to the sinner; from “the lilies -and languors of virtue” to the “roses and raptures of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span> -vice.” In the following year Leo violated all decency by -taking Zoe into the sacred palace. Her husband, the -patrician Theodore Guniazitza, died so opportunely that -it was inevitably believed that he had been poisoned; and, -although the statement is no more than a rumour, and -one may hesitate to-day to admit that “an adulteress may -easily become a poisoner,” it cannot be said to be improbable. -Leo now approached the patriarch Euthymius -on the question of marrying Zoe, and the prelate again -blundered, in too narrow a zeal for his ideals, and sternly -resisted. He was removed to a monastery, and before -the end of 894 Zoe was the legitimate Empress of the -Roman world. It was, however, only to enjoy a few -more hours of pleasure in the gilded palace. Her father -died in the spring of 896, and Zoe followed him in the -autumn or winter of the same year, having worn the -crown for one year and eight months. For her the -ecclesiastical chroniclers have no praise; they affirm that, -when men came to lay her remains in her marble sarcophagus, -the words “Miserable daughter of Babylon” -were found to have been mysteriously carved on the -stone. Beautiful, careless and sensual as she was, one -may doubt if a single stone could be flung at her if Leo -had been allowed to consult his own heart at the time of -his first marriage.</p> - -<p>Leo was now, in his thirtieth year, a widower for the -second time, and he was little reconciled to that condition. -Not only was his dissipated brother Alexander -greedily waiting to occupy his throne, but an astrologer -had assured Leo that he would yet have a son, and the -message of the stars must be fulfilled. Third marriages, -on the other hand, were subjected to grave ecclesiastical -censure, and for several years the Emperor did not -venture to take the forbidden step. Indeed, when he -did begin to speak of marriage, Zoe’s relatives and other -disappointed courtiers took alarm and plotted against his -life. Her nephew Basil had his hair oiled and fired, and -all the survivors of the Zautzes family were driven from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span> -the city. The clearance made room for fresh courtiers, -one of whom, a Saracen named Samonas, became the -master of intrigue which we almost invariably find in the -palace in each generation. One instance of his wit will -suffice to make him known and to illustrate life at the -Court. The commander Andronicus had taken alarm -and fled to the Saracens. Leo had no wish to injure him, -and he entrusted a message to that effect to a captive -Saracen and bade him deliver it to Andronicus. In order -to outwit Samonas, who did not wish the able officer to -return and dispute his power, the message was ingeniously -enclosed in a wax candle. Before he left Constantinople, -however, Samonas told the Saracen that the -candle contained a plot against his country, and it was -never delivered to Andronicus.</p> - -<p>At the beginning of 899 Leo braved the censures of the -clergy and, apparently, sent out his commissioners in -search of a bride. As a result he married, probably at -Easter, a beautiful maiden from the Opsikian district—the -region of Asia Minor nearest to Constantinople—named -Eudocia. To his great mortification, Eudocia -gave birth to a boy, but both mother and child died -immediately. The majority of Christian Emperors -would have resigned themselves to this third disappointment, -but it seems to have increased Leo’s determination. -Most historians admit that it was not so much sensuality, -which such a man as Leo could easily gratify, as the -determination to have a son, which inspired Leo’s -defiance of the Church; not impossibly he also had -regard to the complaisance of the Western clergy in face -of the conduct of the great Frankish monarchs.</p> - -<p>It is conjectured by de Boor that Eudocia died about -Easter of the year 900, and before the end of that, or in -the following, year Leo began to look for another spouse. -In place of the patriarch Euthymius, who had resisted -his marriage to Zoe, he had appointed a certain Nicholas, -an intimate friend of his in earlier years, and he expected -the new prelate to be accommodating. Nicholas, however,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> -violently opposed the idea of a fourth marriage, -and a long and stormy struggle with the Church party -followed. On one occasion a man attempted the life -of the Emperor in a church, and Alexander and Nicholas -were strongly suspected of treachery, but no torture could -wring a confession from the assailant.</p> - -<p>Leo took a first defiant step by again admitting a lady -to the palace. Zoe Carbonopsina, as she was named, -seems to have had a humble origin, since her son, the -imperial historian, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, cannot -devise any genealogy for her. Diligent research, however, -finds that she was related to the famous abbot -St Epiphanius, the admiral Himerius, and the patrician -Nicholas, so that we must not imagine her as a flower -transplanted by imperial commissioners from some rural -garden. Her later career will confirm the impression she -makes on her first entry into the pages of history as -mistress of the Emperor. She was a woman of great -vigour and faint scruples: a less pleasant type of sinner -than the Zoe who had preceded her in the halls of -Daphne.</p> - -<p>We do not know how long Zoe lived in the palace as -Leo’s mistress, nor is it material to seek to determine. -It is enough that in the course of the year 905 she -promised to become a mother, and Leo renewed his effort -to provide a <em>legitimate</em> heir to his throne. The confused -and poorly written records of the time merely tantalize -us with fragmentary or conflicting statements, and one -must present a connected version of the accession to the -throne of Zoe Carbonopsina with some hesitation. -Apparently (“Life of Euthymius”) the patriarch -Nicholas was at first not unfriendly. He blessed the -womb which gave promise of an heir, ordered prayers -in the churches, and met Zoe without a blush in the -palace. These candid details need a short explanation. -A bitter feud had set in between the followers of the -deposed patriarch Euthymius and the followers of -Nicholas, so that an admirer of the former may be trusted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span> -to say even more than the truth in regard to Nicholas. -Leo seems to have promised the clergy that he would put -away Zoe as soon as she gave him an heir to the throne. -But the biographer of Euthymius professes to throw -another light on the situation. A rising took place in -the provinces, and Leo secured a letter which proved -that Nicholas was involved in it. It was in order to -avoid the consequences of this treachery that he submitted -to Leo.</p> - -<p>A boy, the future Emperor and writer Constantine -Porphyrogenitus, saw the light in the course of the year -905—a comet appearing in the heavens, in ominous -conjunction, at the time—and in the beginning of 906 -he was solemnly baptized by the patriarch, and had his -uncle Alexander and some of the highest Senators as -godfathers. The modern reader is amazed at the spirit -which will permit the heads of Church and State to -gather thus in their grandest robes about the cradle of -an illegitimate child, yet resist, even to death, a fourth -marriage which might supply a legitimate heir to the -imperial house; but Byzantine life will exhibit singular -features to the end of its history. The child was baptized, -and the clergy trusted to hear no more of marriage. To -their great anger Leo recalled Zoe to the palace, from -which she had been temporarily removed, and found a -priest to marry them. At the same time Zoe was made -Augusta and Basilissa (Queen) of the Empire.</p> - -<p>The clergy now assailed Leo with every invective, and -the patriarch forbade him to enter the church. One -almost despairs of following the Constantinopolitans -through their tangle of scruples and licences, but we -find that Leo met the prelate by entering the church at -a side door and sitting in a part, apparently, where the -singers used to take refreshments. He also sent a request -that the Roman bishop and the three patriarchs of the -East would pronounce upon the validity of his marriage. -When they declared in his favour, and Nicholas still -resisted, Samonas consulted his large faculty for intrigue;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span> -indeed, we may confidently trace the counsel of -that wily courtier, a great friend of Zoe, in the whole -procedure. Nicholas was invited to dine at the Bucoleon -palace, on the shore of the Sea of Marmora. In the -middle of the banquet he was again pressed to withdraw, -and again refused; and the chamberlain’s servants -dragged him down the stairs which led to the palace -quay and shipped him to Asia. Euthymius now returned -to the see, and, after a decent show of reluctance, recognized -the marriage of Zoe. Some of his admirers recount -that he was directed in a vision to overrule the law of the -Church; others tell us that Leo compelled him by -threatening to enact a law that every citizen might have, -if he pleased, three or four simultaneous wives. If we -change the word “simultaneous” into “successive” -we shall not be far from the truth.</p> - -<p>The adventurous career of Zoe Carbonopsina now ran -quietly for a few years. Her boy flourished, and was, -about four years later, associated in the purple with his -father. The only event to ruffle the even flow of her -pleasant life in the palace was one of those deadly feuds -of rival courtiers which were of constant occurrence in -the great palace. Samonas had introduced into her -service a handsome Paphlagonian named Constantine, -and, about the year 911, was alarmed to perceive that -this man was supplanting him in the royal favour. He -denounced Constantine to Leo for improper conduct with -the Empress. In another passage the chronicler has -already described Constantine as a eunuch, and it is not -the only occasion on which we find this strange charge -against an Empress in the chronicles; it may be added -that another writer marries Constantine to a cousin of -Zoe. Leo, at all events, was convinced, and ordered -that Constantine be shaved and put in a monastery. He -repented, however, and brought the eunuch back to the -palace. In revenge Samonas drew up a libellous writing -on the Emperor, and secretly put it in the church. There -was great agitation in the palace, especially as an eclipse<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span> -of the moon occurred at the height of the quarrel. Leo -the Philosopher trembled and sent for a bishop who was -better versed than he in astrology. On this occasion the -reader of the stars proved correct. When Samonas -intercepted him, and asked whether the darkening of the -moon portended evil for him or for Leo, the bishop -answered: “You.” In a few days he was betrayed, and -he exchanged his hope of the throne for the obscurity -of a monastery.</p> - -<p>Leo died in the next year, commending his wife and -child to the Senators, who swore tearful oaths to protect -her and the boy from any misconduct on the part of his -successor and younger brother Alexander. But Alexander -met no opposition when, as soon as he had -ascended the throne, he bade Zoe leave her child and -quit the palace. Even the boy had a narrow escape, as -Alexander ordered that he should be castrated, but his -guardians happily lied to the Emperor and represented -that Constantine was too delicate to live. All knew that -the reign of Constantine would be short. Although only -in his twenty-first year, he had ruined his constitution -by vicious indulgence, and the life he led after mounting -the throne was killing him. He perished miserably from -intemperance within a year, leaving his young colleague -to a Council of Regents, from which he had carefully -excluded Zoe.</p> - -<p>The imperial career of Zoe was, however, by no means -closed. A regency was the opportunity of a Byzantine -Empress, and Zoe had, no doubt, faithful servants about -her boy in the palace. He was now seven years old, and -he insisted that his mother must return to the palace. -She at once took the lead in the administration, and, -having the support of a group of experienced statesmen -and several able commanders, she must have looked -forward to a long and prosperous rule. At one moment -it was gravely threatened with premature extinction. -One of the commanders in Asia Minor was invited by -some of the disaffected nobles to seize the throne, and it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span> -seemed to the vigorous Constantine Ducas that the hour -long ago promised to him by astrologers had come. He -crossed the sea in the night, and had seized the anterior -part of the palace before the guards were thoroughly -roused. Then one of the regents flung himself upon the -intruders with a troop of armed servants and sailors—there -seems to have been treason among the guards—and -Zoe presently learned that Ducas and, it is said, -three thousand of the combatants lay in a lake of blood -on the marble floor of the palace. A terrible vengeance -purified Constantinople of those who were opposed to -the rule of Zoe and her son. Women were shorn, boys -castrated, and men hung on gallows along the Asiatic -shore for all Constantinople to see.</p> - -<p>During several years Zoe seems to have governed with -vigour and judgment, but since it is impossible to disentangle -her share from that of her servants and -counsellors, it would be inexpedient to enter into the -prosy details of the administration. A personal note is -sounded when we find, in a later page of one of the -chronicles, that she was intimate with the admiral, and -later Emperor, Romanus. Neither of the two can be -regarded as very scrupulous, but it is probable that -Bishop Luidprand, who accuses her, is in this hastily -retailing the gossip he picked up in Constantinople. A -disappointed ambassador is apt to be a libeller.</p> - -<p>The behaviour of Romanus in the crisis which, in the -year 919, put an end to her reign does not encourage the -idea of a liaison. By dexterous diplomacy Zoe had -obtained peace with the Saracens and then withdrawn -all her forces from Asia, to make a concentrated attack -upon the Bulgarians. It was admirable, if not very -subtle, policy, since at that time the Saracens and Bulgarians -were the upper and nether stones that threatened -to grind the Eastern capital between them. Unhappily -the jealousy of her two chief commanders betrayed and -ruined her. A vast army was assembled at Constantinople, -new arms and equipment were supplied, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> -advance pay was liberally given to the soldiers. The -cross was borne at their head by the clergy, and, with -a last entreaty that all would be faithful to their country, -Zoe sent forth the great army which was to begin the -restoration of the Empire. And in a few weeks the fleet -returned with the news of complete and irreparable -disaster. The admiral Romanus had, out of jealousy of -the land commander, failed to transfer their northern -allies across the Danube; the general of the troops, -Leo Phocas, too eager for glory, had attacked without -his allies and been utterly routed.</p> - -<p>Zoe at once summoned a council and proposed that -her alleged lover should lose his eyes for his failure to -co-operate. Romanus had, however, a firm hold on the -affection of the sailors, and it was judged inexpedient to -attempt to displace him. But the position of Zoe was, -through no fault of hers, terribly weakened, and a change -of government was openly expected. Zoe’s chief hope -lay in the fact that the two commanders, Leo Phocas and -Romanus, could not share the power, yet neither was -likely to suffer the other to occupy it, and for some time -matters remained in suspense. Then the experienced -intriguers of the palace began to act, and the quarrel -hastened to its climax. Constantine, the favourite -chamberlain, urged Zoe to build on Leo Phocas (who had -married his sister) and take him into the Regency. A -rival courtier, the young Emperor’s tutor, Theodore, -then espoused the cause of Romanus, and secretly urged -him to declare himself the protector of the boy. Zoe -ordered Romanus to sail with the fleet to the Black Sea, -and, when Romanus pleaded that the pay was in arrears -and the sailors disaffected, the chamberlain himself -rowed out to the commander’s vessel with the money. -He did not return, and Zoe was soon alarmed to hear that -the admiral had imprisoned him on the fleet.</p> - -<p>The patriarch and Senators were summoned to the -palace, and it was decided that their leaders should row -out to the fleet and demand an explanation of Romanus.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span> -By this time the citizens were keenly interested in the -quarrel. The fleet lay in sight of all on the Sea of -Marmora, and the detention of the chief eunuch of the -palace became known and seems to have pleased the -people. When the patriarch and the heads of the Senate -went down to the quay, they were stoned and forced to -retire. Early the next morning Zoe went to the Bucoleon -palace, where Constantine and his tutor lived, and -demanded an explanation. Strong in the support of the -admiral, whom he now induced to draw up the fleet in -battle array opposite the Bucoleon palace, the tutor -replied insolently that the time had come for Constantine -to take the reins; the eunuch Constantine, he said, had -ruined the palace and Leo Phocas had wasted the army. -Zoe saw that she had lost the battle. She submitted -very quietly, except that when the aggressive tutor -ordered her to quit the palace she appealed to her son, -and was allowed to remain.</p> - -<p>Little remains to be told of the fourth wife of Leo the -Philosopher. She was for a time an idle spectator, in -the palace, of the course of events. The patriarch -Nicholas sternly challenged the admiral, and, when he -disavowed the charge of treason, invited him ashore to -clear himself. In the historic church by the lighthouse -a number of the higher officials gathered to hear -Romanus swear the “direst oaths” on the true cross -that he would be loyal to the young Emperor, and the -reconciliation was sealed by Constantine wedding the -admiral’s daughter Helena in April (919), a month later. -Leo Phocas had meantime retired to the provinces and -raised an army. By the characteristically Byzantine -device of sending a prostitute with a secret message -among his troops, his force was weakened and his -rebellion soon trodden out. Zoe now played her last and -most desperate card, and attempted the life of Romanus. -Some of the chroniclers give the charge as a rumour, -but when her son observes that she was “detected” in -an attempt to poison the food of Romanus, by means of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span> -one of his servants, we cannot hesitate to believe it. -She was at once removed from the palace, forced to take -the vows of religion, and ended her romantic life, at -some unknown date, in the monastery of St Euphemia -at Petrion.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_IX" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER IX<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE TAVERN-KEEPER’S DAUGHTER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">It</span> may not be inexpedient to pause for a moment to -consider the general character of the period through -which the romantic story of the Empresses is hurrying -us. The reader may learn with some astonishment -that we are now, in the tenth century, in the golden age -of Byzantine history; or that, at least, the Roman -Empire in the East has nearly returned to the altitude it -had reached in the days of Justinian and Theodora. It -is not a part of a biographer’s duty to enlarge on historical -themes, and the somewhat slender thread which -he pursues through the web of history may lead to -erroneous conclusions. Precisely on that account, however, -it seems advisable to say a word in correction of the -prejudice which the restricted study of one set of -characters may create. It shall be brief.</p> - -<p>The truth in regard to the Byzantine Empire seems to -lie between the disdain of older historians like Gibbon -and Finlay and the exaggerated claims made for it by -some recent writers. I speak of character only, not of -art or industry or military success. In some respects—in -regard to unnatural vice, for instance—it is superior -to the older Empire of the West; in ordinary licentiousness -it has no superiority whatever, and the ascetic code -it so pompously boasts only makes its guilt the greater; -while there are persistent strains of coarseness in its -character which tempt one to characterize it as barbaric. -Castration and the excision of eyes continue for many -centuries, under almost every Emperor and Empress, -ordinary punishments of political offence; and the constant -violation of the most terrible oaths that the clergy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> -can devise, the abominable device of filling the priesthood -and the monastic world with reputed criminals, the -unceasing intrigues of eunuchs and officers, the sanguinary -coercion of heretics, the persistent financial and -administrative corruption, and the lamentable casuistry -of priests and religious women, betray a new and general -type of character which no amount of appreciation of -Byzantine art can restore to honour. The four hundred -years of Byzantine history that we have traversed, compared -with the four hundred years which preceded them -in Roman history, show no elevation of the type of -womanhood, nor will the four centuries that remain -compel us to alter this conclusion.</p> - -<p>The young Empress Helena, daughter of Romanus, -whom we introduced at the close of the last chapter is -imperfectly, but not favourably, known to us. Beautiful -and intelligent, she found no occasion to assert herself -as long as her father lived. That unscrupulous commander -had very quickly found a way to gratify his -personal ambition without violating the letter of his -solemn oaths. He had in March sworn on the wood of -the true cross to be loyal to Constantine; in September -of the same year he received, or obtained, the dignity of -Cæsar, and three months later he was co-Emperor. In -the following January he made his wife Theodora -Empress, and in May he conferred imperial rank on his -son Christopher and his wife Sophia. Later he gave the -purple to his two remaining sons, and destined his fourth -son, Theophylactus, for the patriarchate. Further, “in -order to prevent plots,” which were frequent, he put his -own name before that of Constantine, and arrogated the -whole work of administration. He lived in the largest, -latest and most superb palace of the imperial town—the -golden-roofed Chrysotriclinon—and, plebeian as he was -by birth, carried the pageantry and ceremonial of the -Court to its highest point. His wife Theodora did not -long survive her elevation, and Helena seems to have -taken the chief place as Empress in the glittering crowd,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> -but she escapes our scrutiny altogether until the close of -the twenty-five years’ reign of her father.</p> - -<p>Romanus seems in his later years to have shown -symptoms of remorse and made edifying preparations -for death. His philanthropy and religious fervour -alarmed his sons, who concluded, apparently, that if his -repentance were carried too far they might lose their -purple robes. The eldest son, Christopher, had died, -and the youngest, Theophylactus, was quite happy in -possession of the patriarchate; he had, it seemed to the -pious, turned the cathedral into a theatre and the bishop’s -house into a place of debauch, and his religious duties -were so far postponed to the cares of his stable of two -thousand horses that he would cut a ceremony short -when a groom came to the altar to whisper that a -favourite mare had foaled. There remained Stephen and -Constantine, whose royal position seemed to be threatened. -Stephen, with the consent of his brother, deposed -his father at the end of 944, and sent him into a -monastery on the Princes’ Islands.</p> - -<p>Helena was the chief inspirer of the next intrigue. -Constantine Porphyrogenitus had sought consolation in -art and letters for the imperial power of which he had -been defrauded. He was now a tall, straight, well-made -man of thirty-nine, with mild blue eyes and fresh, ruddy -countenance, but he had little faculty or disposition for -politics, and was more interested in the pleasures of the -table and the library. His attainments in art and science -would have been respectable in any other than a king. -Helena, however, supplied the resolution he lacked, and -watched the procedure of her brothers. She concluded -that they intended to displace or ignore her husband, -and she stimulated him to action, or, more probably, -acted herself with the aid of her head chamberlain Basil, -an illegitimate son of Romanus. On the evening of 27th -January the royal brothers were invited to sup with -their mild-mannered and long-suffering colleague, and -they found themselves dragged from their purple couches<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span> -by his servants, bound, and put aboard a waiting vessel -at the palace quay. Some of the authorities improbably -state that they asked permission to visit their father, -Romanus, in his monastery, so that Gibbon’s genial -picture of the father cynically greeting his sons at the -shore is not without foundation. The story is unlikely, -however, and they were soon despatched to remote parts.</p> - -<div id="ip_139" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 16em;"> - <img src="images/i_138.jpg" width="253" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE EMPRESS HELENA</p> - <p class="smaller">FROM DU CANGE’S ‘HISTORIA BYZANTINA’</p></div></div> - -<p>During the fifteen years’ reign of her husband Helena -is known to us only for the unscrupulousness with which, -in collusion with the head chamberlain Basil, she sold -offices of state to the highest bidders. The interest -passes to the new and singular types of Empresses who -now enter the chronicles. The first is the most pathetic -and remarkable figure in the whole strange gallery of the -Byzantine Empresses. Helena and Constantine had a -son named Romanus, and the elder Romanus, who was -most assiduous at making royal matches for his descendants, -had decided to marry the boy in good time. It -seems not unlikely that, in his last year of life, he -realized the unscrupulousness of his sons, and entertained -a tardy concern about his oath. At that time the -kingdom of Italy was ruled by Hugh, a violent and half-barbaric -monarch, whose conjugal arrangements were -calculated to furnish a rich supply of royal alliances. -Romanus sent an envoy to ask the hand of one of his -natural daughters, and the little Bertha, a beautiful -child of tender years, was conducted to Constantinople -by the Bishop of Parma and married to the boy -Emperor. Romanus was five years old, and it is not -likely that Bertha, or Eudocia, as she was now named, -was older than he. What type of woman the little -princess, offspring of a wild Teuton and his concubine, -would have made, we shall never know, for she died five -years afterwards. The chroniclers are careful to add that -she died a virgin.</p> - -<p>The young prince was allowed to grow, and develop -his vices, for a few years, before contracting a second -marriage. It seems to have been in his eighteenth year<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span> -that he took a second wife, and his choice illustrates at -once the supineness of his father, the selfishness of his -mother, and the unrestrained passion of the son. He -married Anastaso, the daughter of a tavern-keeper named -Crateros. We have seen so many types of Empresses -ascend the throne that it might cause us little surprise -to find a woman passing from the counter of a wine-shop -to the palace, but there is grave suspicion that -Theophano—the name substituted for Anastaso—was -base in more than the genealogical sense of the word. -She is accused of poisoning her father-in-law and her -first husband, and she certainly led the assassins to the -chamber of her second husband. Whatever allowance -we make for the prejudice against her humble birth, -authentic facts in her story show that she was licentious -and criminal.</p> - -<p>We do not know how the son of a highly cultivated -Emperor made the acquaintance of a tavern-girl. It is -clear that she was a young woman of singular beauty—“a -kind of miracle of nature,” Zonaras says—and most -graceful figure, and I would conjecture that some courtier -among the disreputable followers of the young prince -brought her to his notice. There may have been a -“beauty show,” and the publican may have boldly -pressed the merits of his daughter, but some attention -was generally paid to birth in these matrimonial contests. -A tavern-woman was still held to be equivalent to a -prostitute or an actress. It is useless to speculate. Constantine -idly acquiesced, and the beautiful Theophano -passed from the sordid scenes of a little wine-shop to the -wonderful splendours of the palace. Courtly writers -afterwards discovered that there was royal blood in her -veins. The only serious clue we have to her origin is -that she came from Laconia, and we may regard her as a -common type of Greek.</p> - -<p>It is calculated that the marriage took place about the -end of the year 956. For three years no events occur that -enable us to penetrate the secluded life of the palace,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> -though the subsequent events suggest that Helena and -her daughters were disdainful of the vulgar beauty and -were met with a virulent hatred. At the end of three -years (August or September 959) Constantine died, and -the ampler chronicles tell a circumstantial story of his -being poisoned by his son Romanus and Theophano. A -poison was, it is said, put in his physic. Either by -accident or from suspicion he spilled most of the contents -of the cup and escaped death. But his health -was gravely impaired; he went to visit the monasteries -of Mount Olympus, fell dangerously ill there—the -chronicler says that <em>perhaps</em> more poison was administered—and -was brought back to the palace to die.</p> - -<p>We must regard this charge of poisoning as probably -a construction put on his illness by the officials or people -of Constantinople. It may or may not be true. We -have no right to conclude at once that it is an historical -fact, but it seems to me that some recent historians have -just as little right to reject it as “improbable.” Romanus -was a licentious and unscrupulous man, carrying his -father’s amiable weakness for wine to the pitch of -debauch and ruining his constitution by vice. Theophano, -we shall see, was capable of murder, and her -ambition would most certainly lead her to wish the older -imperial family out of the way. On the other hand, -there would be a prejudice against her in Constantinople, -and in the mind of later writers, and we must leave this -first charge against her what it is in the chronicles—a -suspicion.</p> - -<p>Her next step was to get rid of the sisters of Romanus. -Helena and her five daughters still lived in the palace, -or in one out of the great cluster of palaces. There were -now at least eight palaces, connected by superb colonnades -or separated by choice gardens and terraces, in -the vast imperial domain between the Hippodrome and -the Sea of Marmora; there were, in addition, several -palaces on the Asiatic coast; and the palace at Blachernæ, -in the cool, hilly district to the north, had in turn become<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span> -a vast cluster of palaces, chapels, colonnades and terraced -gardens. The mother and sisters of Romanus could -therefore find ample hospitality without being compelled -to witness the daily dissipation of the Emperor, his -drunken banquets and his troops of lascivious actors and -women, but they frowned on the kind of Court over -which Theophano presided, and she persuaded her -husband to remove them. He bade his five sisters adopt -the monastic life. Theophano now had two sons and a -daughter, and would feel safer if their royal aunts were -prevented from making aristocratic marriages. The -young women were, however, not at all disposed to -embrace a religious life and there were furious scenes -in the palace. They were removed to the monastery into -which the palace of Theodora’s minister, Theoclistus, -had been converted, near the Hippodrome, but they seem -still to have intrigued, and were separated and transferred -to other monasteries.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a></p> - -<p>Romanus was not cruel or malignant. His temper -was to live and let live, provided that no check was -placed on his imperial pleasures. He merely smiled, -therefore, when he heard that, in their convents, his -sisters refused to exchange their silks for the hated black -robe, or abstain from the delicate meats to which they -had been accustomed. We shall later find one of them -coming out, in spite of her vows, to marry an Emperor, -to the intense mortification of Theophano, who had -murdered her husband to marry him herself. Helena -was the chief sufferer. She sank into melancholy and -illness after the departure of her daughters, and died in -September 961.</p> - -<p>The Emperor continued for two years to enjoy his -pleasures and hasten his death, leaving the care of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span> -Empire to his very capable ministers and officers. -Amongst these officers was a very singular commander -named Nicephorus Phocas, whose romantic career still -puzzles historians. Whether he was a profound hypocrite, -or a deeply religious man fascinated and seduced -by Theophano, it is difficult to determine. “God only -knows,” says Leo the Deacon, a chronicler of the time -to whom we owe most of our knowledge. Nicephorus -was a very able general of about fifty years: a dark, -robust little man, with black hair and small dark eyes -under thick eyebrows, a very stern look, and the chest -and arms of a Hercules. He was not at all handsome, -but he was one of the greatest soldiers of his time. The -singular feature about his life was that, in consequence -of a tragic accident of earlier years, he had adopted a -very religious and ascetic life. He wore a hair shirt -under his armour and linen, abstained from flesh and -women as rigidly as a monk, and was understood to have -vowed chastity.</p> - -<p>It appears that, as her husband sickened, Theophano -set out to seduce this remarkable soldier-monk and -succeeded. The other great power in the State was -Joseph Bringas, the leading civilian and statesman; but -Joseph was a eunuch, and of no use to Theophano. She -would marry Nicephorus. Leo the Deacon says that she -admitted, or drew, the ascetic to her arms before the -death of her husband, and it is not impossible, as the -chief biographer of Nicephorus admits.<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> However that -may be, Romanus died in 963, after a giddy reign of four -years, at the age of twenty-four. Once more Theophano -is charged with poisoning, and once more we must -refrain from pressing the charge. The nearest authority, -Leo the Deacon, leaves it an open question whether -Romanus died of poison or had closed his own life -prematurely by debauch; and we may do the same. -Historians are too apt to conclude that because Romanus<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span> -<em>did</em> wear himself out by his excesses, we may dismiss -the charge against Theophano. Disease, on the contrary, -would furnish a cloak to an artful poisoner, and -Theophano certainly wished to get rid of the despotic -eunuch Bringas, whom Nicephorus would quickly displace. -The chief reason why we must hesitate is because -Theophano was prostrate at the time and unable to master -the new situation. She had given birth to a second -daughter two days before the death of Romanus, and -there is reason to think that Bringas and others were -anxious to remove her from power. The circumstance is -not decisive, as her servants might carry out a plan -made at an earlier date.</p> - -<p>As soon as Theophano recovered she entered upon -the struggle with Bringas. It seems, from the movements -of Nicephorus, that the Empress was in communication -with him before the death of Romanus, and that -at least she sent him a secret and flattering message -when Romanus died. Nicephorus had disbanded the -army with which he had conducted two brilliant campaigns -against the Saracens, and was little equipped to -contest the power of Bringas, but he went at once to the -city in order to be near Theophano. Bringas had made -desperate efforts to keep him away, even going so far -as to propose in the council that the general’s eyes should -be put out for his treasonable ambition. His great -victory over the Saracens and his repute for sanctity had, -however, won a large body of admirers for Nicephorus, -and when he entered the city in triumph, driving before -his car groups of Saracen prisoners, and exhibiting the -holy relics he had rescued from the hands of the heathen, -citizens and soldiers and priests united in acclaiming -him. A private conversation with the new patriarch -Polyeuctes, a fanatical monk and eunuch, secured the -favour of that prelate and his clergy, and it is even said -that he ventured into the house of Bringas and revealed -to that cautious statesman the hair shirt which he wore -below his fine robes and the monastic heart that beat<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> -beneath it. But for his intense devotion to the -young princes, he said, he would at once retire into a -monastery.</p> - -<p>If we can believe this last statement, the situation was -not without humour, because Bringas presently discovered -that his pious rival was being surreptitiously -admitted to the Empress’s apartments. Whether it is -true or no that Nicephorus had previously been intimate -with her, it is certain that he now became infatuated -with Theophano, and received an assurance that she -would marry him, if not more intimate pledges of her -love. We may be confident that Theophano did not -love him; he was not physically attractive to her sensual -taste, and his incongruous mixture of piety and passion -and deceit must have excited her disdain. He was merely -the best instrument at hand for the achievement of her -ambition. Then, as I said, Bringas discovered the secret -meetings and renewed his attack. He invited Nicephorus -to the palace. The gallant, but prudent, soldier preferred -to fly to the altar of St Sophia and secure the -protection of the patriarch. The Senate was convoked, -the prelate warmly espoused the cause of Nicephorus, -and he departed in honour to take supreme command -of the army in Asia and await the orders of Theophano.</p> - -<p>The next move of Bringas was a blunder and the -beginning of his downfall. One of Nicephorus’s chief -officers was his nephew, John Zimiskes, the later -Emperor. When we find Zimiskes murdering his uncle -with the aid of Theophano, and then callously repudiating -her, we shall not suppose him to be a man of tender -conscience, and Bringas, no doubt, regarded him as -venal. He sent a secret messenger to offer Zimiskes the -supreme command if he would send his uncle in bonds to -Constantinople. Zimiskes calculated that he would have -the command, in any case, if his uncle became Emperor, -and he showed the letter to Nicephorus, and urged him -to assume the purple. They were in Cæsarea at the time, -and from that city Bringas soon learned that Nicephorus<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span> -had accepted the title of Emperor and would march on -Constantinople.</p> - -<p>The spirited events which followed must here be told -briefly. On Sunday morning, 9th August, the advance-guard -of Nicephorus’s army appeared on the Asiatic -shore in sight of the city, at the point where Scutari -now is, and the people began to make their choice in the -usual sanguinary way. The services in the great church -were desecrated with riot, the battle against the guards -who were faithful to Bringas was conducted in the streets, -and by midnight the houses of his supporters were in -flames. Theophano remained with her children behind -the barrier of palace guards, listening, not unwillingly, -to the increasing cries for Nicephorus. We may very -well assume that she had had her share in the riot. One -of the most formidable leaders of those who called for -Nicephorus was the bold and ambitious Basil, the natural -son of the elder Romanus. Castrated by his father, that -he might never aspire to the purple, yet promoted to -wealth and high office, he seems to have come to an -agreement with Theophano. As soon as the battle began -he led three thousand of his servants and followers, -armed, into the Augusteum, and they continued all -Sunday and throughout the night to hunt the soldiers -of Bringas and loot the mansions of his friends.</p> - -<p>Nicephorus had meantime reached the Hieria palace -on the Asiatic side, and on the following Sunday he -made his triumphant entry by the Golden Gate, and -along the Mese, to St Sophia, the citizens draping their -houses with the scarlet of rejoicing and adorning the way -with laurel and myrtle. The patriarch Polyeuctes met -him at the cathedral, and Theophano would be present -on her golden throne, in her violet mourning robes, -when the crown was put on his head.</p> - -<p>His next step must have caused a sensation in the -city and entirely deceived the clergy. He sent a monk to -conduct Theophano from the palace to the fortress, or -higher prison, of Petrion on the Golden Horn, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span> -maintained for a few weeks his austere aversion from -wine and women. We hardly need the assurance of the -chroniclers that this was done by arrangement between -the two, and we may regard it as a device of Theophano. -Nicephorus was now aflame like a youth. In the middle -of September he “threw off the mask,” in the words of -the ecclesiastical chronicler, and announced that he was -to marry Theophano on 20th September. His monastic -advisers, he explained, had concluded that his new -position demanded that he should marry. The marriage -service was performed by the patriarch himself in a -chapel in the grounds of the palace, and, while the -Emperor went to kiss the altars at St Sophia, Theophano -retired to her familiar apartments, to congratulate herself -on the fortunate issue of her difficult manœuvres.</p> - -<p>And presently the Emperor returned in terrible rage -to tell her that a formidable obstacle had revealed itself. -When he had reached the door of the sanctuary, the -patriarch Polyeuctes had barred his way and said that he -would be excluded from the church for a year for contracting -a second marriage. His angry protest had -availed nothing; before a vast crowd of his subjects he -had had to submit to the austere priest, and he was to -remain in the ignominious position of a penitent for a -year. Concealing their anger, they concluded the day, -as usual, with a banquet to the leading officers and -nobles in the gold-roofed <i>triclinon</i>, now restored and -magnificently decorated by Constantine, and retired to -discuss Polyeuctes.</p> - -<p>The patriarch was undoubtedly a stern and conscientious -priest, insisting upon a plain law of his Church. -We may, however, assume that another feeling mingled -with his sense of discipline. Nicephorus had, in the -literal meaning, tasted blood at his matrimonial banquet, -and he passionately refused to forgo the embraces of -Theophano. His pious practices were wholly discarded -in a day, and the clergy must have been bitterly disappointed -to see him passing from their allegiance to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span> -that of the beautiful adventuress. So Polyeuctes had -made a bold bid for power; and he had made a serious -mistake. From that moment Nicephorus conceived, not -merely a personal hatred of the patriarch, but an anti-clerical -spirit, and began to restrict the wealth and -power of the priests and monks. He clung to his -enchanting young bride and sternly faced the clergy. -In the discussion that at once filled the palace and the -city some careless noble, named Stylianus, had recalled -the fact that Nicephorus was godfather to one of the -Empress’s children, and the patriarch learned this. He -at once pronounced that the marriage was invalid, as the -Church regarded this spiritual relationship as an insuperable -impediment to marriage, and bade the Emperor -dismiss Theophano.</p> - -<p>The feelings of Theophano during these days of disappointment -and anxiety are left to our imagination. -It is enough that her charms held Nicephorus to her in -spite of the terrible threats of the patriarch, and it may -be that it was she who approached the unfortunate -Stylianus and persuaded him to commit perjury. Nicephorus -gathered a council of pliant bishops and Senators, -and they decided that, as the law invoked by the patriarch -had been passed by the heretic Constantine Copronymus, -it was not binding. Polyeuctes scorned their decision. -Then Stylianus came forward to swear that Nicephorus -had <em>not</em> been godfather to any child of Theophano, and -the Emperor’s father, Bardas, came forward to swear that -<em>he</em> was the godfather. The patriarch knew that they were -lying, but his clergy were anxious to escape a formidable -struggle and he was forced to yield. To Theophano it -was, no doubt, immaterial whether or no she was married -to Nicephorus; she had a strong and devoted soldier to -protect her and her children. How the pious Nicephorus -reconciled himself to the situation is one of the things -that “God only knows.” All that we know is that the -possession of Theophano dissipated his asceticism as the -summer sun disperses the mists, and he eagerly embraced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span> -a woman to whom, under the creed of his Church, he -was not married.</p> - -<p>During the six years’ reign of Nicephorus the Empress -had little occasion to assert her wayward personality, -but it is significant that the one statement made of her is -an accusation of crime. One of the sons of the older -Romanus still languished in captivity, and it seemed -possible, in view of the growing discontent at Constantinople, -that an intrigue would be formed to put him on -the throne. “Theophano,” we are curtly informed, -“made an end of him.” There is no reason to doubt -that messengers were sent to his distant prison with an -order that he should be put to death, and it is more -probable that the order came from Theophano than from -Nicephorus. For the first year or two, however, Nicephorus -prudently removed his fiery young bride from the -seditious and immoral atmosphere of Constantinople, -and she passed her days in unwonted innocence amid the -lonely mountains of Cilicia.</p> - -<p>The Emperor had spent a few months in an effort, by -lavish entertainment, to dispel the suspicion of parsimony -and meanness under which he had ascended the -throne. The Hippodrome rang daily with the applause -and contests of the citizens, and the winter was enlivened -with great gaiety. Meantime Nicephorus was gathering -an immense army for the more substantial work of -driving back the Saracens, and when, in the early spring, -the cosmopolitan regiments were assembled along the -Asiatic shore, he announced that the Empress would -accompany him to the field. He knew Theophano too -well to leave her in that world of intriguing eunuchs and -ambitious courtiers. A little pot-bellied man, with dark -skin and little dark eyes, with short greyish beard -betraying his age, and with disproportionately long arms -and short legs to his stumpy figure, he felt that he was -not likely to grow fonder to the heart of the fascinating -Theophano during two or three years’ absence. On -the other hand, one must not imagine the sensual young -Empress as being inconvenienced by the rough ways of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> -a camp. The rulers of Constantinople carried their -luxury even into the camp, on the occasions on which -they condescended to take the field in person. Eighty -horses were needed for the transport of the kitchen -equipment and table silver alone, and thirty were required -to convey the imperial wardrobe from town to town; -while the whole countryside was laid under contribution -to supply delicacies for the table. No doubt these normal -glories of an imperial march would be at least doubled -in view of the presence of Theophano.</p> - -<p>They sailed from the Bucoleon port in the great gold -and purple galley of the imperial family, and joined the -army at Cæsarea. From that city Theophano accompanied -her husband across the hills and plains of Asia -Minor until they came to the beginning of the Taurus -range. Here the Emperor left Theophano and her sons, -in safe charge, while he led his troops into the more -dangerous country beyond. At the entrance of the -narrow defile which the ancients knew as the “Cilician -Gates” was the massive fortress of Drizibion, a solitary -and rugged castle in a wild mountainous district. It -was in this quiet and cool home, removed from communication -with the metropolis, that Theophano and her -children spent the summer of the year 964. She would, -of course, have an ample retinue of eunuchs and women, -and every provision would be made for her comfort, but, -whether it was the jealousy or the amorousness of Nicephorus -that detained her in this healthy solitude, she -would be sure to resent it. At the beginning of the -winter he returned to her, with modest laurels, and may -have conducted her to Cæsarea, or some other city of the -plains, for the enjoyment of the winter. But the early -spring called him once more to the field, and it seems -that Theophano had to spend another summer in the -wilds of Cilicia. It was only in the autumn of 965 that -she re-entered Constantinople, to witness the splendid -triumph of her husband.</p> - -<p>In the following year Nicephorus made another campaign,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span> -and from the time of his return in the autumn of -966 the shadow of tragedy began to creep over his life. -His vast armies and laborious victories had laid a heavy -burden of taxation on the Empire, and, passionately as -Constantinople loved to see a herd of captives driven -before the royal chariot in the hour of triumph, it was -little disposed to pay for remote victories. The clergy -also were embittered. Nicephorus, soured by the action -of the patriarch, and thus made sensible of the revolting -spread of luxurious idleness under the name of monasticism, -curtailed the revenues of the clergy, forbade the -further conversion of mansions and palaces into monasteries, -and claimed the right to appoint bishops. The -people became sullen and hostile. When, on Easter -Sunday, 967, Nicephorus crossed the Augusteum to go -to church, they pelted him with mud and stones so -violently that a group of the more sober citizens had to -rescue him. It was expected that he would inflict some -punishment, and when, a few weeks later, he ordered -his guards to descend to the arena in the Hippodrome -and begin their military evolutions, either to impress or -to entertain the spectators, there was a frantic rush for -the gates and many were trodden underfoot.</p> - -<p>By the summer of 969 life in the sacred palace had -become very sombre and unpleasant, and Theophano -began to seek a new companion. The ardour of her -husband’s passion had been chilled by the terrors which -now surrounded him, and, in preparation for the death -which was foretold to him, he returned zealously to his -monastic habits. Even the soldiers were now hostile to -him, except his immediate corps of foreign mercenaries. -Nicephorus relied on their formidable axes, converted -the old and decaying Bucoleon palace into a massive -fortress, girt the whole enclosure with a lofty castellated -wall, and retired within this heavily guarded circle to -spend his days and nights in prayer and penitence.</p> - -<p>It is one of the most curious features of the story that, -while he moodily punished his bravest officers for their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> -very victories, the lithe and insidious Theophano retained -his confidence. She had no longer the comparative -solace of his sensual fire, and she must have -looked on with deep disdain when he refused to share the -imperial bed at night and, after long hours of prayer -and psalm-reading, flung himself for a brief and feverish -sleep on a panther-skin spread upon the ground in the -corner of his chamber. But Theophano was not excluded -from the Bucoleon palace, and she laid her plans to -defeat his desperate entrenchments. The new partner -whom she chose to encourage was the general Zimiskes, -the Emperor’s nephew, whom we have seen on an earlier -page revealing the perfidy of Bringas to his uncle. He -had been dismissed from office by Nicephorus “on -account of certain suspicions”; and we have little trouble -in inferring that he was suspected of liaison with Theophano -and eagerness for the throne. He was, like his -uncle, a very little and robust man, but much more handsome -than Nicephorus; his broad chest and great brawny -arms were redeemed by a fair countenance, a pair of keen -and friendly blue eyes and a crown of almost golden hair. -I must be pardoned for inserting such portraits of the -Emperors as we have, while seeming to omit the more -desirable portraits of their consorts. The Byzantine -chroniclers rarely give us more than the very vaguest -assurances that Empresses were “very beautiful,” and -so on, and the few surviving representations of them in -ivory or bronze or mosaic are not portraits on which one -would dare to found a physiognomical study.</p> - -<p>In the autumn of 969 Zimiskes was living impatiently -on his private estate in Armenia, when he received an -assurance that Theophano had persuaded his uncle to -allow him to return to Court. Whether or no it is true -that he had previously enjoyed the favours of Theophano, -he now certainly became her ally and accomplice. -She seems to have deluded Nicephorus with diabolical -duplicity. A rumour, which most historians plausibly -ascribe to her, was circulated in Constantinople, to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span> -effect that Nicephorus intended to castrate her sons and -leave the crown to his brother Leo, who, on account of -his extortions, was no less hated than he. On the other -hand, Theophano persuaded Nicephorus that the interest -of herself and her children would be best consulted if -Zimiskes were recalled to the capital and compelled to -marry some noble lady of the city. Nicephorus assented, -and his nephew came to Constantinople. Then it seems -to have been betrayed to the Emperor, probably by his -brother, that Zimiskes was being secretly admitted to -the Empress’s apartments, and he placed restrictions on -him. Zimiskes retired to his mansion at Chalcedon, on -the Asiatic side, and continued to communicate with -Theophano.</p> - -<p>The culmination of the plot is a thrilling, if sordid, -page of romance. On the night of 10th December -Theophano visited her husband and persuaded him to -leave his chamber door unfastened, as she would see -him later. He still failed to suspect her, although some -watchful priest had warned him of the plot. Some time -before a group of tall, veiled women had presented themselves -at the palace door and been admitted; and, when -they had reached the secret chambers assigned to them -by Theophano, it was a group of bronzed soldiers who -emerged from the mantles and veils. Someone betrayed -them, and Nicephorus sent an officer to explore the -palace, but he, probably being in the pay of Theophano, -reported that all was well, and Nicephorus turned to his -long psalms. Theophano and her servants were in the -upper part of the palace looking out anxiously over -the Sea of Marmora. It was a dark wintry night, and the -snow was falling heavily. At length a faint whistle from -below told them that a boat had arrived from Chalcedon -and lay under the walls. A basket (some say a ladder) -was tied to a rope and lowered into the depths, and -presently Zimiskes and several companions were within -the palace. An Arab historian would have us believe -that Theophano herself led them, with drawn swords, to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> -her husband’s room; it is more probable that, as the -Greek writers say, she left this to one of her eunuchs.</p> - -<p>For a moment the conspirators started back in alarm; -the imperial bed was empty, and they fancied that the -plot was known, and Nicephorus would fall on them. -But the eunuch showed them the sleeping form of the -Emperor on his panther-rug, and, with a cry for help to -the Virgin, the strange soldier-monk passed out of the -imperial world he had invaded. Basil, the astute head -chamberlain, had an opportune illness at the moment, -and only recovered in time to do reverence to his new -sovereign. The guards alone rushed from their quarters -and attacked the conspirators, but the sight of the grisly -head of the late Emperor, which was exhibited at the -window, induced them to sheathe their swords and accept -a new paymaster. So Zimiskes proceeded gaily to the -golden palace (Chrysotriclinon) to put on the purple -slippers, and Theophano retired to her room to reflect on -the next phase of her career: perhaps to glance now and -again at the ghastly trunk of her late husband, which -lay, all night and all the following day, in the snow -without. This, surely, was the last crime she need -commit. She was still young, and might look forward -to many years of power with the robust soldier she had -invited to share her throne.</p> - -<p>Six days later Zimiskes went in state to St Sophia to -receive his diadem, and found the stern patriarch -Polyeuctes again boldly barring the way. He refused -to crown Zimiskes except on three conditions: he must -undo the anti-clerical work of his predecessor, he must -deliver to justice the actual murderer of Nicephorus, and -he must drive the guilty Theophano from the palace. -Theophano now discovered the full brutality of her -accomplice. He bowed at once to the commands of the -patriarch, and the beautiful young Empress—she must -still have been in her twenties, unless she was much older -than her husband at the time of her first marriage—was -dragged from her apartments to the Bucoleon quay and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> -shipped to one of the dreary island prisons in the Sea of -Marmora. She was furious with rage and disappointment. -After a time she escaped and contrived to reach -the altar in St Sophia; but even the mob of Constantinople -shrank from the murderess, and her former confederate, -Basil, was allowed to tear her from the altar. -In her frenzy she beat the grand chamberlain with her -own white hands and, reverting to the language of the -tavern, poured her invectives on the “Scythian -bastard.”<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> Her career had been so darkened with -suspicion, and had so plainly ended in murder, that -her appeals fell on a cold, if not jeering, audience, and -she was conveyed to distant Armenia and confined in a -monastery.</p> - -<p>The rest of the story of Theophano, as far as it is -known to us, is told in the curt statement that she was -recalled to Court in the reign of her eldest son, Basil, -and again enjoyed the imperial position for half-a-century. -John Zimiskes retained only for a few years -the power for which he had paid so base a price. The -marriage which he presently contracted was not much -less sordid than the marriage he had intended to contract; -if, indeed, he ever had a serious desire to make so -dangerous a woman as Theophano the partner of his -throne. He took a nun from her monastery, bade the -patriarch—whose scruples had their limits—relieve her -of her vows, and married her. The Empress Theodora -is not clearly outlined in the chronicles, but she is not -without interest. She was one of those daughters of -Constantine whom her brother Romanus had forced to -take the veil. Zimiskes had felt that an alliance with the -late dynasty would strengthen his position, and it may -be remembered that the daughters of Constantine were -not at all scrupulous. They had refused to wear the -black robe or eat the bread and beans of the monastery.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> -Constantinople is said to have indulged in the most -boisterous rejoicing over the marriage, and even the -heavens seemed to express their satisfaction, when one -of the Senators discovered in his orchard an ancient -stone on which was miraculously inscribed: “Long Life -to John and Theodora.” There were, however, sceptics -in the city, as it was recalled that a similar “discovery” -had been made in the interest of Irene and her son, yet -the blessing had proved illusory. The Senator was -richly rewarded, but he may have lived to see the futility -of his miracle. After a few years (976) the handsome -chamberlain Basil bribed John’s cook to put less innocent -things than condiments in his dishes, and he went the -beaten way of Byzantine Emperors. Theodora disappears -after his death, though we can hardly suppose -that she returned to her monastery.</p> - -<p>Theophano’s sons, Basil and Constantine, now became -joint Emperors, and they recalled their mother -from Armenia to the palace. One would be inclined to -suspect that the poisoning did not come to her as a -surprise, but the chroniclers do not impeach her, and -we need not strive to lengthen the list of her misdeeds. -She makes no further mark, for good or evil, in the -chronicles. Possibly the terrible experiences of her -early womanhood and seven years of sober reflection -in her monastic prison had destroyed her passion for -intrigue. In any case, the very vigorous administration -of her elder son left her little room to interfere, and she -seems to have been content with the quiet enjoyment of -the position of a dowager Empress. According to -George the Monk (or his continuer) she lived for fifty -years after the death of her first husband—that is to say, -after 963—and so she must have passed her seventieth -year at the time of her death. There seems to have been -no rival Empress during that time. We may trust that -the character of Theophano sobered and matured, and -that the forty years’ silence means that she led a regular -and unambitious life. However that may be, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span> -personality she shows when she is under the full limelight -on the imperial stage is one of unrestrained passion -and greed. She was a tavern-keeper’s daughter in the -purple, an appalling instance of the lowest type of Greek -beauty.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_X" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER X<br /> - -<span class="subhead">TWO IMPERIAL SISTERS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> long and prosperous reign of Basil II. -(976–1025) has no further interest for us, since -we find in the chronicles no reference to a wife -of that hardy and brilliant soldier. His younger brother, -Constantine, was more like their mother: a man of -passion and greed, though with no higher ambition than -that of an imperial enjoyment of wine and women, and -in that enjoyment he was quite willing to await the -natural death of his more sober and more distinguished -brother. Although he approached his seventieth year -when the undivided rule fell to him, his ways were still -those of an aged and jaded, and not very refined, -Sybarite, and the three years of his reign interest us only -because they show us the earlier environment of his two -daughters, Zoe and Theodora, who are the next to -occupy—alternately or simultaneously, according to the -course of the romance—the gynæceum, or women’s -quarters, of the palace.</p> - -<p>Constantine’s wife, Helena, daughter of the patrician -Alypius, is a mere cipher in the imperial records, and -seems to have died much earlier, leaving three daughters—Eudocia, -Zoe and Theodora—to grow up as they might -in the palace of her voluptuous husband. Eudocia, the -eldest, lost during an attack of smallpox whatever comeliness -she may have had, and retired to hide her disfigured -countenance under the veil of a nun. There -remained Zoe and Theodora, and Constantine determined -to marry one of the two to some important noble and -leave the crown to him. The elder of the two was nearly -fifty years old, and Theodora cannot have been much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> -younger. It is not very clear why they had not married -earlier. Their father, who could hardly be induced to -take the least interest in his Empire, had wholly -neglected his daughters until he held the sceptre in his -hands, and felt that the time was at hand when he must -relinquish it to another. He was a very large and robust -man, absorbed in hunting, gambling and other less -reputable pleasures, and, even when he was sole -Emperor, he left the cares of state to his eunuchs and -retained his imperial attention for the theatre, the -banquet and the dance. In his home the sisters had, -says the chronicler, “lived as they listed,” and the -further course of the story will make it probable that -Zoe had not failed to enjoy her liberty. Theodora was -less sensual, but we shall have to include both sisters in -the list of Empresses who were little embarrassed by -moral scruples.</p> - -<p>In approaching their careers we have the rare advantage -of an excellent guide. Michael Psellus, one of the -leading philosophers and literary men of Byzantine -history, not only lived at their Court, and knew them -intimately, but he had a genial taste for the tattle and -scandal of a court and not the least reluctance to entrust -it to his graceful pen. He has been called the Voltaire -of Byzantine letters on account of his brilliant, caustic -and very candid way of writing the story of his times. -We shall find his “Chronography” of inestimable -value, provided we make due allowance for the prejudices -of the politician and the amiable unscrupulousness of the -anecdotist.</p> - -<p>Zoe and Theodora were very different types of women. -Zoe, who will interest us most, was a woman of fine -complexion, very graceful figure and ardent passions. -She had large sensuous eyes under heavy eyebrows, a -mass of blonde hair, and a skin of remarkable whiteness. -She was of middle height, and preferred to dress in -simple robes, which exhibited her figure, rather than in -the heavy and gorgeous draperies and massive jewellery<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> -of an Empress; though this simplicity of taste was -limited, on one side, by a passion for perfumes and -cosmetics, of which she gathered the material from all -parts of the world and compounded, either with her own -hands or by her maids, so industriously that her room -“looked like a workshop.” She took such care of her -smooth and clear skin and blonde hair that even in her -seventieth year she had no wrinkle or other mark of age. -She retained youth also in her blood, and we shall find -her remarkably amorous in her sixth decade of life. -Such a woman we shall hardly expect to find richly -endowed with intellect or greatly restrained by moral -sentiments, yet I think that M. Diehl follows too literally -the facile witticism of Psellus when he speaks of Zoe as -“childish” and “silly,” and I will prefer to let the story -of her life tell us the limitations of her intelligence and -character.</p> - -<p>Theodora will interest us much less than Zoe, and it -will suffice to say that she was in all respects different -from her sister. Her tall and graceless figure and her -very plain features were compensated by a stronger -intelligence and greater force of character. She could -be coldly stern, even cruel, on occasions, while cruelty -only came to Zoe in the impulsive anger of her thwarted -passions. We shall see that, when the occasion came to -her, she cherished a very high ideal of public duty and -used her power with an intelligence and beneficence that -Psellus greatly underrates.</p> - -<p>Such were the two daughters who, in middle age, were -warned by their father that one of them must marry and -inherit the Empire. The choice of Constantine first fell -upon a distinguished noble named Constantine Delassenus, -and a eunuch was sent to bring him from Armenia, -where duty had taken him, to the Court. Much tragedy -might have been prevented if that eunuch had reached -his destination in time, but he was recalled by a second -courier and told that the Emperor had changed his mind. -It appears that the commander of the palace guards had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> -felt that he would not have much influence on a noble -like Delassenus, and he had brought to the notice of the -Emperor a less young and less vigorous candidate, -Romanus Argyrus, who was related to Constantine. -Romanus was sixty years old, and had little to recommend -him except his incompetency, which would suit -the designs of the officers of the Court. He had, however, -a wife living in Constantinople at the time, and it -seems to have been supposed that he might not be willing -to abandon her. The petty schemers of the Court were -accordingly directed to bring about a separation, and, -as Polyeuctes was dead, and a more accommodating -patriarch held the see, no opposition was expected from -the Church.</p> - -<p>A file of soldiers entered the mansion of Romanus and -told him that he had incurred the anger of the Emperor. -They were, they said, to lead him to the palace for -execution, and his wife was to enter a monastery. Many -eyes had been put out, on slight grounds, during the -three years’ licentious reign of Constantine, and the -threat was serious. The wife fled at once to a monastery, -and Romanus was brought, in some trepidation, to the -royal presence—to learn that, since his wife was now a -nun, he was free to marry the Emperor’s daughter and -thus secure the purple. Instead of retiring to thrust a -dagger in his heart, as an older Roman would probably -have done, the sixty-year-old noble graciously submitted -his person to the princesses. Theodora, the favourite of -her father, had the first choice, but she turned away in -disgust. Possibly Romanus did not regret that this -gave him the hand of the more charming Zoe, who, in -her forty-ninth year, fully preserved the fresh and -brilliant complexion and the warm passions of a young -woman. He had set out from home prepared for death, -and must have been bewildered by his fortune. The -clergy obligingly disentangled the somewhat complicated -relation in which they stood to each other, in the eyes of -the Church; they were married and crowned on 19th<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span> -November 1028; and, as Constantine died three or four -days afterwards, the duty, or pleasure, of governing the -Empire fell on them during the first week of their -singular honeymoon.</p> - -<p>After this inauspicious beginning we shall hardly -expect the reign of Romanus III. and Zoe to be one of -brilliant and inspiring deeds; indeed, we may say briefly -that it was merely an inglorious effort to retain the -crowns they had obtained. They adopted the easy device -of emptying the treasury on the common folk, the clergy -and the monks. The private debts of citizens were paid -by them, more churches were built or richly decorated, -the clergy were relieved from taxation, and the monks—it -was the very culmination of their golden age—were -lodged in luxurious mansions which made their calling -one of the most attractive in the Empire. The graver -nobles frowned, plotted and were savagely punished, -but we are interested in these conspiracies only in so -far as they involve the imperial sisters.</p> - -<p>Theodora, a spirited and intelligent woman, naturally -despised the marriage which she had refused, and was -regarded with suspicion and hatred by her sister. By -some means Zoe put at the head of Theodora’s household -a Paphlagonian eunuch in her own pay, a very -crafty and unscrupulous man named John, who was -enjoined to watch Theodora’s conduct. This very -interesting person will be better known to us presently, -as he was destined to be the most powerful man in Zoe’s -Court. For the moment it is enough to say that, about -a year after the coronation, Theodora was discovered to -have some share in a conspiracy which was set afoot by -Constantine, a relative of the Emperor. It is curious -that John also was found guilty, though whether this -was merely a trick to conceal his spying, or he had really -been gained by Theodora, it would be difficult to say. -Theodora was expelled from the palace and confined in a -building at Petrion, on the Golden Horn, which seems to -have had the mixed characters of a monastery, a state<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> -prison and a fort. It was the building to which Nicephorus -had consigned Theophano for a few weeks before -their marriage, and would have comfortable apartments. -A year later Romanus was ignominiously beaten by the -Saracens and the conspiracy revived. There is no proof -that Theodora took part in it, but its aim would be, no -doubt, to place her on the throne. In one of those -moments of energy which passion occasionally gave her, -Zoe went to Petrion, and forced her royal sister to take -the vows and adopt the dress of a nun.</p> - -<p>As a number of other malcontents lost their eyes or -their liberty at the same time, the throne of Zoe and -Romanus seemed to be firmly established. Unfortunately, -a very grave breach now took place between the -imperial pair, and, as a handsome official entered the -service of the palace, there happened what so commonly -happens in Byzantine history under the circumstances: -Zoe fell in love with the handsome servant, and Romanus -died, of a mysterious complaint.</p> - -<p>Delicacy compels me to refer the inquisitive reader to -the Greek text of Psellus, or to the chronicle of the monk -Zonaras, for a full explanation of the rift in the sacred -palace. Briefly, Romanus had been assured by one of -those soothsayers who were in such high repute at Constantinople -that he would have a son, and he zealously -studied and employed the whole known range of -aphrodisiacs and other contrivances that might help to -ensure the fulfilment of the prophecy. After two or three -years of this peculiar activity he retired in despair from -the struggle, leaving Zoe untouched and indignant. As -she had now certainly entered her sixth decade of life, -the modern reader will have but a slender sympathy with -her, and will recognize a very low quality of character in -her conduct. Her husband became ill, and his favourite -chamberlain, Michael, was often summoned to attend him, -even when Zoe shared his bed. This chamberlain was a tall, -handsome, fresh-faced young man, whose form pleased the -Empress, but there was a deeper intrigue in the affair; the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> -chamberlain was a brother of the Paphlagonian eunuch -John, whom we saw in charge of Theodora’s mansion, -and it is now necessary to present him more intelligibly.</p> - -<p>John was a very shrewd, ambitious, vulpine provincial -of mean family; he had been converted into a eunuch -in early years, had held office in the employment of the -Emperor Basil, and had then retired to a monastery. -His character is so far removed from religious ideals -that one is disposed to imagine him as having been -compelled to take the black robe for some indiscretion, -but it is quite possible that he adopted it voluntarily, as -at this time many of the monasteries were merely -luxurious colonies of bachelors living on a swollen -stream of legacies. Romanus, who knew his ability, -brought him from his monastery to supervise Theodora -and her affairs. In spite of the curious statement that -he was himself involved in the conspiracy, he was soon -back at Court, and in great favour. He had five brothers -and a sister, and the general character of the family may -be deduced from the fact that three of the six brothers -were moneylenders, two (John and Simeon) were monks, -while the sister, Maria, had married a ship-caulker at -the quays. John used his influence to introduce these -brothers into the very lucrative service of the State. -Within a few years the beau of the family became -Emperor, the son of the ship-caulker also became -Emperor, the ship-caulker himself became High Admiral -of the Fleet, two other brothers had the rank of generals, -and John became the virtual ruler of the Empire.</p> - -<p>It was chiefly through his young and attractive-looking -brother that John pushed their fortunes. Michael was -a young man of large and well-proportioned figure, with -that freshness of complexion which we often find in -nerve-diseased or epileptic subjects. He became a -favourite chamberlain of Romanus, and John presently -noticed that Zoe was interested in him. Romanus was -visibly failing, and Michael was at times called in to -chafe his feet as he lay in bed with Zoe. “Who will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> -believe,” the monk Zonaras asks, “that he did not take -the opportunity to rub Zoe’s feet also?” Zoe expressed -to John a lively interest in his brother, and John took -care that their movements should not be hampered by -any of the restrictions that normally curtailed the liberty -of a Byzantine Empress. The pale Paphlagonian, in the -black dress of a monk, was already the supreme master -of the palace, but the most piquant feature of his position -is to find him chiding the nervous hesitation of his brother -and feeding the improper admiration of the Empress.</p> - -<p>Psellus dilates, almost gloats, for pages over the -development of this singular love story, in a way that -hardly becomes a great exponent of Plato and Aristotle. -Before long the relation of the two was known to the -whole Court. Michael was loaded with jewels and other -presents, and not infrequently courtiers would find him -sitting, still rather nervously, on the same couch with -the infatuated Empress. One day a servant entered the -throne-room for some purpose, and almost fell to the -ground in astonishment. Zoe had made Michael sit on -the throne, had put the crown on his head and the sceptre -in his hand, and was admiringly murmuring: “My -darling, my flower of beauty, joy of my eyes, consoler -of my soul,” etc. Instead of bursting into passion at the -entrance of the official, she bade him do homage to the -man who would one day be his Emperor. So says, at -least, the philosophic Psellus, whom many believe. It -is quite certain that Zoe made flagrant love to the -chamberlain, and that the Emperor knew it. His sister, -Pulcheria, angrily spoke to him of the notorious scandal, -but he professed to be ignorant of it and was content to -exact from Michael an oath that there was no truth in -the rumour. Other writers say that he overlooked the -liaison because it preserved his middle-aged spouse from -promiscuous irregularity.</p> - -<p>Romanus forgot that such love affairs were apt to -entail tragic consequences for the superfluous man. As -Zoe’s passion increased, he found himself suffering from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span> -an alarming and mysterious illness. His hair fell out -in patches, his breathing was laboured, his face—a more -significant symptom in an old man like Romanus—became -livid and puffy. Whether this illness was really -due to a slow poison, and whether the poison was administered -by John or Zoe, are points which we must -leave as we find them in the chronicles—uncertain. Since -there is very little doubt that Romanus was murdered in -the end, the theory of poison is not reckless; but -Romanus was aged and worn, and the illness may have -been natural. However that may be, Romanus lingered -in a frightful condition until Holy Thursday of the year -1041. On that sacred day Romanus distributed to the -Senators the ceremonious gifts prescribed in the ritual, -and retired to the bath. From the bath he was presently -removed in a dying condition to his bed. However -possible it may be that he had had a serious attack of his -illness in the bath, we cannot easily ignore the persistent -statement that men entered the bathroom, and either -strangled the Emperor or held his head under the water. -Psellus gives this as a rumour, but even he seems to -believe it. Both Michael and John are accused of the -murder, and it is left uncertain whether Zoe was privy -to the plot. Her immediate conduct will not dispose us -to be eager to clear her memory of the suspicion, but we -may be sure that the monk John was the soul of the plot.</p> - -<p>Zoe came, with ostentatious (the chronicler says -feigned) tears, to see that her husband was really dead -or dying, though she did not await the end, which -occurred soon afterwards. When we learn that she -announced her intention of marrying Michael <em>the same -evening</em> we are disposed to see in her an element of -cold-blooded calculation which does not very well assort -with the character we have given her. It would probably -be much more correct to conceive her as nervous -and confused, and simply yielding to the dictation of -the monk John. Her father’s eunuchs, who had remained -in her service, begged her to wait some time,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span> -but John bullied and threatened, and Michael was forthwith -decked in the dead man’s robes and placed beside -Zoe in the gold-roofed hall. The patriarch was summoned -to the palace and curtly ordered to crown Michael -and marry him at once to the very recent widow, in the -presence of the assembled Senators. The whole scene -is so repulsive that we need not hesitate to accept the -last touch given to it in the chronicles. The archbishop -hesitated, but a present of a hundred pounds in gold -from John removed his scruples, and he invoked the -blessing of God on the new imperial marriage.</p> - -<div id="ip_167" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 30em;"> - <img src="images/i_166.jpg" width="478" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THE EMPRESS ZÖE</p> - <p class="smaller">FROM ‘CONSTANTINOPLE’ BY E. A. GROSVENOR</p></div></div> - -<p>After this authentic episode it is superfluous to seek -to determine the share of Zoe in the illness and death of -her first husband. The monk-eunuch was capable of -any crime, and it is, perhaps, not likely that he would -take others into his confidence in perpetrating them. -His brother Michael was a feeble-minded man, of no -criminal instincts, whom we shall presently find smitten -with the deepest remorse for the part he had played. -Zoe also was little more than a tool in the hands of John. -Had he communicated his criminal design to them, they -would probably have consented, but there is no evidence -that he did so. The marriage, however, is a sordid fact -that no casuistry can excuse. It would, no doubt, be -represented to Zoe that delay would give an opportunity -for a revolution, and there were always at Constantinople -nobles who were ready to aspire to the throne when so -excellent a pretext was afforded. These considerations -may explain, but cannot excuse, Zoe’s action. She was -almost, if not quite, devoid of moral feeling. The utmost -we can say for her is that it was not merely her passion -for Michael that gave such indecent precipitancy to a -woman of fifty-four years. But she had no children to -protect, and she lent herself to this disgraceful procedure -merely in order to retain her royal position.</p> - -<p>We read, therefore, without the least sympathy that, -while the change made the fortune of the astute John -and his brethren, it brought great disappointment and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span> -chagrin to Zoe. She had, the chronicler says, imagined -that the lowly chamberlain, grateful for his elevation to -the throne, would be her slave, and she at once gathered -about her the former servants of her father and began to -rule. But the monk had no intention of handing to her -the power he had purchased so heavily. His official -position was merely that of “orphanotrophos,” or -director of charitable institutions; his real position was -that of Emperor. Most of the brothers were able men, -but Michael was, as John probably took into account -from the first, epileptic and incapable of self-assertion. -John, therefore, took the reins in his own hands. He -summarily dismissed Zoe’s eunuchs and maids and put -about her an army of servants in his own employment, -so that she could not even go to the bath without the -permission and knowledge of the eunuch. To the -Empire and its affairs, it may be said, he devoted the -most careful and intelligent attention. Even in the -midst of a solitary carouse—for the monk was fond of -wine—he would turn with alacrity to any pressing business. -It was only in the dishonest enrichment of himself -and his brothers, whom he at once promoted to the -highest commands, that he overreached himself.</p> - -<p>One noble only, the Constantine Delassenus who had -so narrowly missed the Empire and the hand of Zoe, -rebelled against this division of the Empire among a -family of low-born eunuchs and money-changers, and -the punishment of Delassenus so well illustrates the -world in which Zoe now found herself that it may be -briefly recounted. John secured the loyalty of the -Senators by a generous distribution of money, and then -sent a eunuch to assure Delassenus, who was in -Armenia, that his conduct would be overlooked if he -disarmed at once. Delassenus required some tremendous -security of such a promise on the part of John, and it -was left to the clergy to devise a new and particularly -ponderous oath. The evolution of the oath in Byzantine -life is one of the many ways in which we may trace the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span> -degradation of its character; no one had any longer the -faintest confidence in oaths on the true cross or the -Sacrament. A group of clerics were therefore sent with -the most sacred objects in the reliquaries of Constantinople, -and they marshalled before the eyes of Delassenus -the cross, the napkin bearing a miraculous image of -Christ, the original letter of Christ to King Abgar, and -the portrait of Mary painted by St Luke. On these -portentous relics an oath was taken that no punishment -would be inflicted on him. He submitted; and a few -months later, when the people of Antioch rose against -their oppressive tax-gatherers, the revolt was subtly -traced to the distant noble, and he was exiled and ruined.</p> - -<p>Zoe tolerated the domination of the odious monk for a -few years impatiently, and at length made an attempt on -his life. She won one of the eunuchs whom John had -placed about her, and directed him to offer John’s medical -attendant a vast sum of money if he would poison his -master. But, by one of those convenient accidents which -commonly happen in novels and in Byzantine history, -the doctor’s boy discovered the plot and denounced it -to John. Her eunuch was drastically punished, and -Zoe was treated worse than ever.</p> - -<p>At the same time her condition became more unpleasant, -because Michael’s illness became worse. The -popular belief in Constantinople was that a devil had -invaded the Emperor, to punish him for his mendacious -denial, to Romanus, of intimacy with Zoe. Men told of -the suddenness with which the quiet, rosy-cheeked -Emperor would be, at any moment, converted into a -frothing maniac, and it was noticed that, on the rare -occasions on which he appeared on the throne, purple -curtains were looped in readiness about it, and servants -stood to draw them round the throne if the devil should -choose that moment to indulge his frolics. Even the -Byzantine writers take this theory seriously; though -some of them offer the alternative theory of insanity. -We recognize the symptoms of epilepsy, and see that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> -Zoe’s choice had failed. Between the attacks Michael, -who seems to have believed in the devil, was gloomy -and penitent. He and his brothers walked barefoot -through the city, at the head of processions, bearing the -swaddling-clothes of the infant Christ and all the other -priceless relics I have mentioned; but the only answer of -the heavens was a storm of such hail that the stones -crashed through the tiled roofs. He visited shrines, -built churches and monasteries, showered gold on the -clergy, and even gave a baptism-fee to every new-born -babe; and famine, pestilence and earthquake vexed the -over-burdened Empire, and men cursed Michael and his -brothers.</p> - -<p>At length dropsy was added to epilepsy, and Michael -determined to resign and enter a monastery. Zoe seems -by this time to have been completely cowed by the -arrogant monk, and she made little opposition when he -went on to provide a new and strange aspirant to the -throne. His sister Maria was, as I said, married to a -ship-caulker named Stephen, who had been put in command -of the fleet. They had a boy named Michael, a -vicious youth, but young enough to submit to his uncle’s -rule if he obtained the crown, and the Emperor and Zoe -were persuaded or coerced to adopt this child and clothe -him with the dignity of Cæsar. One of the chroniclers -tells that they deceived Zoe by representing the boy as -the son of a noble matron. Some such fiction may have -been served to the populace, but Zoe could hardly be -deceived on the point; and even the people were not -long deceived, if at all, since he has passed into history -as Michael the Caulker. In the chapel at Blachernæ -the boy was accepted into the imperial family, after -swearing the customary ponderous oaths to respect Zoe -as his mother and mistress. It is not impossible that -Zoe felt that this adoption of a son who was to wear the -crown made her own position more secure.</p> - -<p>Some time afterwards Michael IV. retired to a -monastery, and Michael V. began to look forward to his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span> -imperial opportunities of indulgence. The next course -of events is not quite clear, but it seems that the retiring -Emperor felt some scruple about his action and had -relegated the boy to a house without the walls. He -died, refusing to see Zoe, soon afterwards (10th December -1041), and John forged a letter in his name, bidding -the guards deliver the young Cæsar, and brought him -to the palace. We are then told that Zoe asserted her -power, bestowed the crown on the youth only on the -strictest promise of obedience to her, and expelled the -three brothers—John, George and Constantine—from the -palace. It seems more likely that the brothers quarrelled -with each other. John, promising the most absolute -power to Zoe, had his younger brothers exiled, and then -Constantine intrigued with the young Emperor and displaced -his brother.</p> - -<p>These details are of little moment for our purpose. -By the spring of 1042, three months after the death of -her husband, we find Zoe sharing the power with her -adopted son and his uncle Constantine, and a fresh -chapter of romance opens in her story.</p> - -<p>Constantine, apparently, urged the youth to get rid -of Zoe and rule alone. A vicious and conceited youth, -he was little troubled by the oaths he had taken a few -months before, but he felt it necessary to proceed -cautiously. He began to slight Zoe, then to treat her -with disdain and harshness. He confined her to her -palace, and refused to let her control the treasury. One -day he announced one of those imperial processions -through the city which the people regarded as opportunities -to express their feelings, and rode out alone. -To his delight he was received with the liveliest rejoicing. -The citizens hung their choicest silks and tapestries -before their houses, and displayed their silver and other -treasures on their balconies, as they were wont to do on -the most festive occasions. Elated with his apparent -popularity, Michael consulted his unofficial council of -fast-living young sportsmen, as soon as he returned to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span> -the palace, and they decided to dismiss Zoe at once. It -is said that Michael himself brutally told her of his -decision, and even slapped the fair face of his adopted -mother. The charge he put forward was that she was -preparing a poison for him. It would not be difficult -to believe, if there were any serious evidence, but it was -probably only a pretext to get rid of her. That night -she was put on ship at the quay, rowed to the islands -and consecrated a nun.</p> - -<p>On the following day, however, the laments of Zoe -were cut short in a very unexpected manner. A boat -came at its highest speed from the palace, and a royal -official bade her at once return to her dignity. The -people had resented the flagrant conduct of her adopted -son, and he had hastily summoned her to her palace. -A herald had been sent into the public square to -announce that the most pious Emperor had deposed his -mother and the patriarch for conspiring against his -throne and would himself care for their interests in the -future. From the sullen crowd a voice protested angrily -that they “wanted their mother Zoe, not the son of the -caulker”; it was repeated fervently on every side, and -the prefect had to fly under a shower of stones. Then -the crowd poured into the cathedral, from which the -patriarch had not yet departed, and a noisy debate took -place. A council of the clergy and Senators was then -held in the church, the singular resolution was taken -to bring Theodora from her convent and clothe her with -the purple.</p> - -<p>The younger sister of Zoe had, it will be recalled, -been compelled by her to take the monastic vows at -Petrion eleven years before, and this sudden recall to life—a -recall without precedent, since she was not summoned -for the purpose of marrying—gave a remarkable -turn to her career. She had passed from the luxury and -dissipation of her father’s palace, with a brief interval -of independent life, to the shade of the monastery, and -now she was to spend the last fifteen years of her life<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span> -on the imperial throne. She was of sterner stuff than -Zoe, and the Senators must have concluded that she -alone could check the audacity of the low-born Paphlagonians. -This does not in itself argue any great strength -of character in Theodora. We must remember that there -was always a party of ambitious eunuchs or statesmen -behind each of the names that is put forward by the -historian.</p> - -<p>When the news of this decision reached Michael, and -the crowd stormed angrily at the gates of the palace, he -sent an officer on a swift vessel to the Princes’ Islands -for Zoe. In the palace she was quickly stripped of her -nun’s robe, and clothed in her former garments. It is -clear that Michael’s uncle, Constantine, who was not -without ability, directed the campaign in the palace. -Michael was advised to take Zoe with him into the -imperial lodge overlooking the Hippodrome and show -the citizens, who had gathered in the enclosure, that all -was well. The only reply he got was a shower of stones, -arrows and epithets, and, as the chroniclers remark, the -young lion became at once a timid hare, and proposed -to run for shelter to the monastery at Studion, on the -Asiatic side. His uncle prevented him, however, and -marshalled the guards in the fore part of the palace. -The battle which followed ended in a complete victory -for the people. Constantine and Michael fled across the -water to Studion, in the early morning of Wednesday -in Holy Week, and the new Empress Theodora was conducted -into the palace over the corpses of some three -thousand of the combatants.</p> - -<p>The royal sisters, it will be understood, did not fly into -each other’s arms. Theodora had to thank Zoe for -eleven years’ confinement, and Zoe herself was very -reluctant to share her power with her younger sister. -However, a formal reconciliation was arranged by the -Senators, and the two Empresses sat side by side to -receive the homage of the leading citizens and decide -what was to be done with the late Emperor and his uncle.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span> -If there were any who wondered in what spirit Theodora -would wield her power after a decade of religious life, -they were not left long in doubt. Zoe asked what the -will of her advisers was in regard to the fugitives, and -such cries as “Out with their eyes!” and “Crucify -them!” rang furiously through the chamber. Zoe recoiled -and pleaded for leniency, but Theodora, a much -better speaker than her sister, sternly ordered the prefect -to see that their eyes were put out. A great crowd -crossed the sea with the officers, and saw Michael, who -had hidden under the altar, and his more stoical uncle -dragged from the chapel. The same crowd had applauded -Michael in his procession hardly a week before; -now they stood by with wild delight to see the brutal -sentence carried out. It was 21st April: Michael the -Caulker had reigned for four months.</p> - -<p>For a few weeks the imperial sisters ruled their kingdom -in complete harmony and with exemplary zeal. -M. Diehl, too lightly following the censorious Psellus, -rates the intelligence and character of both at a very low -level, but that estimate is hardly supported by the facts. -Few Emperors had dared to attack the administrative -corruption of the Empire as Zoe and Theodora attacked -it in the first freshness of their power, and as we have -every reason to believe that they would have continued -to attack it. For centuries the State had been the easy -prey of ambitious eunuchs at Court and corrupt officials -in the provinces. Zoe and Theodora issued decrees to -the effect that all injustice must cease and that the law -must be administered with equity. They themselves sat -on the highest tribunal of the city to hear cases, and the -sale of offices was strictly prohibited. The accounts of -the late chief minister were examined, and Constantine, -eyeless and shaven, was brought from his monastery -to explain the enormous deficiency. The power of his -family was broken for ever, and the miserable man -disclosed that 5300 pounds of gold (nearly a quarter of -a million sterling) was hidden in a cistern in his house.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span> -Legates and petitions were heard with dignity by the -royal sisters, and it must have seemed to many that the -Empire had, by this singular adventure, obtained juster -and finer rulers than it had known for many a century. -We cannot discriminate in the joint public action of the -sisters, but it is clear that the strong will and intelligence -of Theodora were the chief power of the administration. -How drastically the Empire needed such a purification -may be gathered from the fact that, when the patriarch -Alexis died in the following year, a secret and dishonest -hoard of gold, amounting to more than £100,000, was -discovered in his palace.</p> - -<p>This brilliant example of feminine rule might have -been expected to disarm the old Byzantine prejudice -against women, but prejudices of that nature are too -deeply rooted to be displaced by facts. The cry was -raised that an Emperor was needed, and Zoe once more -expressed her willingness to marry. The careful chronicler -tells us that her conduct was not necessarily inspired -by a carnal feeling—she was now sixty-two years old—but -that she may have feared that Theodora and her -ministers wished to dislodge her. Her age, no less than -the remarkable conditions of her third and last marriage, -will easily persuade us that the motive was political. -There were those who said that, as Theodora had been -the chief agent in expelling Michael, the throne belonged -to her alone, and Zoe sought an ally. The first noble -chosen by her was Constantine Delassenus, who had -almost obtained her hand and the throne fourteen years -before. But Constantine, when he was invited to the -Court for inspection, proved so brusque and independent -that he was again dismissed. Her next choice was -Constantine Catepano, a handsome officer of the palace, -with whom, in spite of her age, the gossips of the Court -already connected Zoe somewhat too intimately. Constantine, -however, had a wife living, and this lady is -said to have poisoned him as soon as she heard of the -proposal to divorce her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> -If we may believe the gossipy chronicles, Zoe met the -disappointment with tranquillity, as she had another -lover among the officials of the palace. Constantine -Monomachos, a very handsome and distinguished and -dissolute noble, had been exiled from Court to Mitylene -by Michael IV. on the suspicion of intimacy with Zoe, -and had for some years gilded the hours of his distant -exile with the enjoyment of letters, the pleasures of the -table and the affection of a pretty and devoted cousin. -When his second wife had died, he had obeyed the -injunction of the Church to refrain from a third marriage -and had been content with the free companionship of -the beautiful Sclerena, a sister of the distinguished noble -Romanus Sclerus—a member, that is to say, of one of -the proudest Byzantine families. She had followed her -lover to Lesbos, used her fortune to mitigate the harshness -of his exile, and was living with him at the time -when Zoe recalled him to Court. “Handsome as -Achilles,” uniting a prodigious strength with a singular -delicacy and elegance of appearance, equally devoted to -the robust pleasures of the chase and the enervating -delights of love, Constantine Monomachos at once returned -to his place in the heart of the ageing Empress, -and was invited to wed her. He is said to have stipulated -beforehand that the fair Sclerena should be allowed to -come to Constantinople, and Zoe genially consented. -They were married, and Zoe entered upon the last and -strangest part of her strange career.</p> - -<p>While the sexless Theodora continued to rule the -Empire and put out the eyes of her enemies, while -Constantine revelled in the new and more exquisite -luxuries of his position, Zoe seems quietly to have -enjoyed the secure and restful days which her marriage -obtained for her. She still, with her maids, compounded -and distilled the perfumes which were almost her one -luxury, but she now paid a scrupulous attention to her -devotions and burned much incense before the icons. -Sclerena at first dwelt apart, and Constantine set about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span> -building a magnificent palace for her, thinly veiling his -liaison with the pretence of going daily to see the progress -of the works. As the citizens smiled at the connexion, -and Zoe seemed to be piously indifferent to it, -he became bolder and asked Zoe to allow him to bring -Sclerena to live in the palace. Again Zoe consented, and -the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">ménage à trois</i> was maintained in the most pleasant -harmony. She gave Sclerena the title of Empress, embraced -her, when they met, with entire goodwill, and -showed her such consideration that she never visited -her husband without first ascertaining if he was disengaged. -Constantine occupied the central part of the -palace, and his wife and mistress had apartments on -each side.</p> - -<p>Although Zoe now approached her seventieth year, -she still retained the freshness of her complexion and -had no wrinkles. Psellus says that a stranger would -have been sure that she was still a young woman. She -shared the pleasures of the gay Court, and made no -protest against the frivolous Constantine emptying the -treasury on his mistress. If we may believe implicitly -all the details given by Psellus, there was little delicacy -in the fun which enlivened the gardens or halls—for -Zoe disliked the open air—of the sacred domain. Music -and skilful dancing were too fine for his appreciation. -He liked the broader merriment of mimes, and took -especial pleasure in imitations of stammering. His chief -entertainers would go so far as to represent, pantomimically, -the chaste Theodora lying abed in child-birth, -and Theodora herself joined in the loud laughter of -Constantine as the man imitated the shrieks which -befitted such an occasion. The months passed very -merrily, and the treasury emptied.</p> - -<p>And as the treasury emptied, and the citizens saw -their funds passing into the marvellous palace which -Constantine was building for Sclerena, clouds began to -gather over the life of the epicure. One day, in the -year 1044, as he rode with his guards at the head of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span> -religious procession, a cry broke from the crowd: “We -don’t want Sclerena as Empress, nor to see our lawful -mistresses, Zoe and Theodora, perish on her account.” -The cry was a spark to the spreading discontent, and the -small troop of guards were surrounded by a threatening -mob. Fortunately for the Emperor, the Empresses were -watching the procession from the balcony, and they -sent troops to rescue him. Later, a discontented noble -led some Macedonian troops against the city, and encamped -opposite the Blachernæ gate. Constantine disdainfully -ordered a chair to be placed for him outside -the gate, in order that he might see, and be seen by, the -rebels. For a time they were content to sing comic songs -about him—of which there must have been a good supply -in the city—then they made a dash and scattered his -guards, and could have penetrated into the city, possibly -taken it, if they had not foolishly retired. On such -slender threads did crowns hang in that singular Empire.</p> - -<p>Sclerena relieved the growing discontent by a premature -death, apparently about the year 1045, and the -superb palace which had been intended for Constantine’s -mistress was turned into a monastery. Five years later -Zoe closed her long and romantic career, at the age of -seventy. Constantine mourned for her as if she had -been a beloved child, and even pressed the Church to -put her on the list of the canonized; he may have read -how St Theodora had won the aureole largely by her -freedom from jealousy. When it was found, after a -time, that some curious fungi had grown about her -monument, he insisted that they were heaven-sent -assurances that Zoe had been admitted at once into the -company of the saints. The Greek Church, however, -was not persuaded to add Zoe to its quaint list of the -blessed, and few will reflect on the many events which -reveal her personality to us without admitting that, -whether or no she was guilty of the positive crimes -attributed to her, she had little or no moral feeling.</p> - -<p>Constantine found consolation in the charms of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span> -young Alan princess who was detained as a hostage at -Constantinople. The milk-white skin and fine eyes of the -unknown so fascinated him that he gave her the imperial -title and emptied the remainder of the treasury upon her -and the relatives who flocked to share her fortune. He -was by this time a miserable wreck of his former magnificent -person, and could not sit unaided on a horse, -but the Court still rang with laughter and buffoonery. -His favourite, a man who had been raised from the -position of street buffoon to that of Court jester, became -so infatuated with his wealth and privileges that he -dreamed of possessing the pretty Alan princess and the -purple. He was caught in Constantine’s bedroom with -a drawn sword. The Emperor asked why he had -attempted assassination, and, when the man said that -he had an irresistible passion to see himself in the crown -and imperial robes, burst into laughter and ordered the -attendants to put them on him. He returned to his -position, and, to the amusement of Constantine, made -more open love than before to the fair Circassian -mistress. But the Emperor died in 1054, and his mistress -returned to her previous obscurity.</p> - -<p>When it was seen that Constantine was failing, a -number of the nobles and officials conspired to put on -the throne Nicephorus Bryennius, but Theodora’s supporters -forestalled the plot. They sent a swift vessel -for her and lodged her in the sacred palace before their -opponents could bring Bryennius from Bulgaria, which -he governed. She seems to have been forced out of -affairs during the later years of Constantine, and the -sending of a boat implies, apparently, that she had -retired to the suburbs. She was still, in her seventh -decade of life, erect of form and clear in mind, and -drastic punishment was inflicted on the conspirators. -She then began again to control the affairs of the Empire -as she had done in conjunction with Zoe. She personally -received ambassadors and heard trials, and resumed her -war on corrupt officials. Psellus is disdainful of her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span> -rule, and unjust to her. The only grave defect we can -recognize is that she put the higher offices and commands -at the disposal of men who were less distinguished -for ability than for devotion to her. A very strong -provincial aristocracy had by this time arisen in the -Empire, and from their vast estates a number of able -nobles and officers kept a discontented eye on the hierarchy -of eunuchs at Constantinople.</p> - -<p>Theodora, conscious of her vigour, and sustained by -the prophetical assurance of a monk that she would -wear the crown for a long time, maintained her power for -three further years, and then became seriously ill. It is -said that she chose an aged and feeble noble of the city, -Michael Stratioticus, to don the purple, but one is rather -disposed to see in the choice of Stratioticus the action of -the Court party, whose influence was threatened by the -provincial nobles. Theodora still confided in the monk’s -prophecy; she had the aged soldier brought to her sickbed -and bound him by the direst oaths to promise obedience -to herself. She died a few days later, however, on -30th August 1057, leaving the crown to the frail charge -of Michael VI. The historian must regret that Theodora -had not a larger opportunity to prove her value as a ruler -and exhibit her personality. She was a woman of great -vigour and generally high political ideals, and she incurs -the reproach only of stooping at times to the common -Byzantine level in securing her power. It was not she, -but the contemptible Constantine, who emptied the -treasury for frivolous purposes, and, in spite of the light -disdain of Psellus, her rule compares most favourably -with that of most of the Emperors.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XI" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">EUDOCIA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> struggle which Theodora had foreseen was -not long deferred after her death, and Michael -Stratioticus was compelled, after a few months -of feeble imperial experiment, to retire to the private life -from which he had been unwisely drawn. The great -territorial nobles—one might almost say, the feudal -nobles—concentrated upon the capital and put one of -their number, Isaac Comnenus, upon the throne. Isaac -had in earlier years married a Bulgarian princess, and -her career as mistress of a large provincial domain, -and then as Empress of Constantinople, suggests a very -interesting study. Unfortunately, her husband’s reign -lasted only two years, and the events yield us only few -and fleeting glimpses of the new Empress.</p> - -<p>Æcatherina, as the best contemporary authority, Nicephorus -Bryennius, calls her (though later writers often -say Catherina), descended from the Bulgarian royal -family, which had fallen from its high estate when -“Basil the Bulgarian-slayer” had won a definitive -victory over the nation. Bryennius makes her a daughter -of the King Samuel, and we have in a later chronicle a -picture of Samuel’s daughters which would dispose us to -imagine Æcatherina as a very fiery and interesting -personality. When, in the presence of Basil, they were -brought face to face with the woman whose husband had -killed their brother, the Emperor and his officers had -great difficulty in preventing a very violent and undignified -scene. The dates, however, make it improbable -that Æcatherina was one of the daughters of Samuel—others -more probably suggest that she was his niece, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span> -grand-niece—and in character she seems rather to have -been gentle and religious. She was brought from her -remote provincial home and made Augusta, but she -proved to be one of the quiet and retiring Empresses who -leave no mark in the chronicles. The only reference to -her is that, in 1059, she encouraged her husband, who -had met with a serious accident or illness, to resign, and -she herself took the veil of the nun. One suspects that -her husband’s policy of curtailing the funds of the -luxurious and innumerable monks alarmed her, and she -was ready to believe that, as rumour maintained, the -wild boar which led him into grave peril in 1059 was no -ordinary animal. He resigned, and Æcatherina, changing -her name to Helena, retired with her daughter Maria -to a quiet mansion, where they practised monastic discipline -and were esteemed so holy that Æcatherina was -eventually buried in the cemetery of the monks of -Studion.</p> - -<p>With the next Empress, Eudocia, we return to the -more familiar and more piquant type of Byzantine princess: -the woman who unites with her subservience to -the Church a skill in casuistry which protects her human -inclinations from the harsher control of the Church’s -ascetic standards. Eudocia Macrembolitissa, or Eudocia -the daughter of Macrembolites, a distinguished noble of -Constantinople, had some beauty and no little wit, as -well as good birth and breeding. In the reign of -Michael IV. and Zoe she had been wooed and won by a -handsome and learned, if not very warlike, commander -named Constantine Ducas, and had in the subsequent -twenty years of changing rulers borne three sons and -three daughters to her elderly husband. Constantine -was at least ten years older than she, and had no higher -ambition than to be regarded as a prince of letters and -rhetoric. It must, therefore, have been an agreeable -surprise to Eudocia to learn, in 1059, that the retiring -Emperor had transferred his crown to her husband, and -she was henceforth to be the mistress of the sacred palace.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> -She was then, probably, in her later thirties. She was -entitled Augusta, and the imperial dignity was conferred -also on her six children, of whom the youngest was born -after her coronation.</p> - -<p>During the eight years of her husband’s reign Eudocia -remained a silent witness of his futility and unpopularity. -He retained his pedantry, and sought the laurels of -learning and eloquence, while formidable enemies -threatened the Empire on every side. In 1067 he perceived -that his inglorious reign was about to end, and -summoned Eudocia, the nobles and the patriarch to his -couch. The nobles were commanded to swear to maintain -the throne of Eudocia and her sons, and Eudocia -was compelled to swear a portentous oath that she would -not marry again. Possibly Constantine felt that he was -not imposing a very heavy sacrifice on a woman who -approached her fiftieth year, and it was plainly to the -interest of his sons that she should not marry. Eudocia -signed the written oath, and it was entrusted to the -patriarch Xiphilin to keep in the great church.</p> - -<p>The regency of Eudocia lasted about seven months, -during which she emulated the conduct of Zoe and -Theodora. She received ambassadors, heard trials and -paid more direct and closer attention to the affairs of the -Empire than her late husband had done. Two things, -however, concerned her and illustrated the weakness of -woman-rule at Constantinople. The Turks and other -hostile neighbours were raiding the provinces with -greater vigour, and the nobles were making this a -pretext for intrigue to replace Eudocia with an Emperor. -Before the year was out Eudocia decided to marry again -and sought a means of evading the oath which the -patriarch grimly guarded.</p> - -<p>The story of her outwitting the patriarch is, as we -find it in the later chronicles, in the finest vein of -Byzantine melodrama. She took into her confidence -one of the wiliest eunuchs of her Court, who assured her -that it was quite easy to induce the patriarch to release<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span> -her. This Xiphilin, the patriarch at the time, was himself -as casuistic as he was religious. Originally a noble, he -had voluntarily embraced the black robe of the monk, -and had been withdrawn from the monastery to rule the -Eastern Church. He had in Constantinople a brother -named Bardas, whose gallantries and sybaritic ways -were notorious. When the eunuch proposed the subject -of marriage, Xiphilin sternly maintained that the oath -was binding and that Eudocia must remain a widow, -but when the astute eunuch regretted that such was his -view, since it was his brother Bardas whom Eudocia -wished to marry, Xiphilin reconsidered the matter. It -is not for us to analyse his reasoning. It is enough that -in a short time he declared to the assembled Senators -that the oath was unjust and invalid, a mere wanton -outrage on the part of a jealous man, and he handed the -precious document back to Eudocia to destroy. His -feelings may be imagined when, a few hours later, he -heard that the Empress was married, not to his brother, -but to Romanus Diogenes.</p> - -<p>The contemporary writer Psellus gives a more sober -version, but, although Psellus was one of Eudocia’s -chief ministers at the time, there can be little doubt that -his vanity and policy have somewhat tempered the -veracity of his narrative. Eudocia, he says, came to him -in tears to complain that the cares of Empire were an -intolerable burden for a single woman’s shoulders, and -she wished to marry. The story is, perhaps, not inconsistent -with the story of her outwitting the patriarch. In -any case, the second marriage of Eudocia had an element -of romance.</p> - -<p>In the state prison of Constantinople at the time was -a handsome young noble and commander named -Romanus Diogenes, who ran some risk of losing his -head for high treason. Distinguished by birth and in -person, and a man of great spirit, he reflected that the -throne of the Eastern Empire had been reached by less -able men than he, and cherished a daydream of wearing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span> -the purple. At the death of Constantine in 1067, when -there was much discussion of the empty throne and the -imperial widow, he imprudently confessed his ambition -to those about him in the remote province of Thrace, -which he governed; he was denounced in the capital; -and he was brought in bonds to Constantinople and put -on trial. He had then completed his thirtieth year: a -tall, comely, broad-shouldered man, with the dark skin -of a Cappadocian and very winning eyes. Constantinople -looked with sympathy on the manly, but impetuous, -young noble. He was connected by birth with -the greatest families of the Asiatic provinces, and he -pleaded that it was only his concern for the safety of -the menaced Empire that had wrung from him words -of dissatisfaction. His treason was, however, apparent, -and he was found guilty and restored to jail.</p> - -<p>Eudocia was probably present at the trial of Romanus, -and noted the handsome form and flashing eye. She -professed afterwards that the trial was unsatisfactory and -must be revised, and the young commander found himself -acquitted and free to return to his native province. -The time was not yet ripe for the marriage project; in -fact, one of the historians states that Romanus was -already married, and went to join his wife and family -in Cappadocia. About Christmas (1067), however, he -received an order from Eudocia to return to Constantinople, -and may or may not have been surprised to hear -that she proposed to marry and crown him. His wife -and family seem to have been deserted with great cheerfulness—unless -we prefer to regard the statement in the -chronicle as an error<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a>—and Eudocia secretly prepared -for the marriage. Senators were bribed to support the -proposal, and, on 31st December, the patriarch was won -by the stratagem which I have already described. That -very night Romanus was introduced, fully armed, into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span> -the palace and secretly wedded to the Empress, and on -the first day of the new year the young Emperor and -his middle-aged Empress were ceremoniously presented -to the people. For a moment it seemed as if the fierce -Varangian guards were about to avenge what they regarded -as a violation of the oath to the dead Constantine, -but Eudocia prevailed on her elder sons to assure the -guards that they had consented to the marriage, and the -trouble was averted for the time.</p> - -<p>It was, however, in face of considerable hostility that -Eudocia and Romanus entered upon their task of governing -the Empire. The clergy were naturally hostile, since -their leader had been tricked into an ignominious concession; -more distinguished nobles than Romanus -envied his elevation; and courtiers who were attached -to the fortunes of Eudocia’s elder sons regarded the -new Emperor, and the possible issue of the new -marriage, with sullen distrust. Michael Psellus, the -historian who boasts that he guided Eudocia’s counsels -in regard to the marriage, is transparently hostile to -Romanus, and his historical work is largely responsible -for the traditional prejudice against that brave and -spirited, but injudicious and unfortunate, monarch. -Psellus was not merely the chief student of philosophy -in Constantinople, but an ambitious and successful -courtier. His great repute in letters and philosophy -gave him a commanding position in the Court of -Eudocia, who had herself some literary ambition,<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> and -his secret and sinuous counsels must have deeply influenced -the later course of the careers of Romanus and -Eudocia. A philosopher-statesman was the great ideal -which Plato, whose works he revived, had urged upon -the Greeks, but the fortunes of Psellus remain so even -throughout the various revolutions he outlived that one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> -is tempted to compare him rather with Talleyrand than -with Plato’s ideal.</p> - -<div id="ip_187" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 28em;"> - <img src="images/i_186.jpg" width="446" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>EUDOCIA AND ROMANUS IV</p> - <p class="smaller">FROM AN IVORY IN THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE, PARIS</p></div></div> - -<p>Into this atmosphere of culture the robust Romanus -was little fitted to enter, and some disdain must have -been felt of his uncultivated ways. On the other hand, -the brother of the late Constantine, John Ducas, who -bore the dignity of Cæsar and jealously guarded the -position of his nephews, was not less hostile to Romanus. -The boys had received the purple before the death of -their father, and the time was rapidly approaching when, -with the assistance of their uncle and Psellus, they might -begin to exercise their power. To this plan Romanus -was a considerable obstacle. When we further learn -that Romanus was gravely conscious of his duty to -restore the strength and discipline of the army, and -diverted funds from the entertainment of idle citizens -to the pay and equipment of his troops, we realize that -the life of the palace was preparing for one more of those -tragic revolutions which punctuate the history of the -Byzantine Empire.</p> - -<p>From this Court atmosphere of pedantry and intrigue -Romanus turned to the field of battle; he would -strengthen his position by winning such laurels as his -vigorous and warlike character seemed to promise him. -Two months after his coronation a fresh invasion of the -Turks was announced, and he led a large army out to -meet them. After nearly a year’s absence he returned -with some report of victories, but there had in the same -year been heavy losses, and his success was not decisive -enough to override the intrigues of his opponents. -Already, we are told, he found Eudocia colder. Her -attitude is attributed to his arrogance and boastfulness; -we may suppose that it was just as much due to an instinctive -irritation when her robust husband strode into -the philosophic atmosphere of the palace with the smell of -the camp clinging to him and the language of war on his -lips. In two or three months he was off once more to -the field, leaving Eudocia to her master of philosophy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span> -and her brother-in-law. Into their hands she placed the -more virile cares of State, while she enlarged libraries, -cultivated men of letters and fostered the higher ambition -of making verses. Her eldest son, Michael, was associated -with her in her cultural work.</p> - -<p>When Romanus returned in the following winter, still -without decisive success, he seems to have concluded -that it would be better to remain in Constantinople, and -the campaign of the third year was entrusted to his -generals, but in the spring of 1071 he again prepared -to take the field. Nothing but a crushing victory over -the enemies of the Empire would enable him to silence -his enemies in the Court and capital. Eudocia seems -by this time to have wavered between admiration of her -young and manly spouse and repugnance to his more -robust standards of life. She was now certainly over -fifty, and had never been particularly sensuous, but we -cannot doubt that she had married Romanus for love -and that that love was not yet extinct. As he set out -from port for his last crossing to Asia a singular dark-plumaged -pigeon circled his royal galley. He directed -that it should be caught and sent to the Empress; and it -was said in later years that Eudocia nervously recognized -in the rare bird an omen of the evil fortune that was -about to befall her husband.</p> - -<p>And in the course of the summer stragglers made their -way hastily to Constantinople with the news that -Romanus had been heavily defeated and his large army -shattered. The Emperor himself had been slain, some -said, but at length there came men who had seen him -captured and borne away, a prisoner, by the Turks. -The hour of the malcontents had come, and a council was -summoned to discuss the situation. It was at once -decided that no effort would be made to save Romanus—some -of the authorities declare that it was the treachery -of the Cæsar’s son, acting on the instructions of his -father, which led to the reverse—but the eldest son, -Michael, should be appointed ruling Emperor, together -with his mother.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span> -That Eudocia at once surrendered her husband becomes -quite clear from the subsequent course of events. -The new administration had hardly settled to its work -when Eudocia received a joyful letter from her husband -announcing that he was free, and on his way to Constantinople. -How the Turk had entirely falsified his -repute for barbarity, treated Romanus as a brother king -in misfortune, and eventually released him on promise -of a ransom, is a familiar and attractive picture in the -history of the time. Romanus was hastening to the arms -of his beloved wife. Eudocia is described by contemporary -writers as “distracted” and eager to consult -those about her as to her conduct. Of wifely feeling she -did not exhibit one sincere particle, and, however we -may remind ourselves of the inevitable coldness of a -woman in her sixth decade of life, her conduct is somewhat -repellent. Had she known that the Cæsar was bent -on bringing her to a common ruin with her husband, -she might at least have purchased some loyalty to him, -in the usual Byzantine fashion; but she was either -ignorant or powerless, and she accepted the counsel that -Romanus should be disowned and repelled by force from -his Empire.</p> - -<p>John Ducas, however, concluded that the opportunity -was convenient for the removal of both Emperor and -Empress. A decree was issued to the provinces to arrest -the advance of Romanus, and the guards were marshalled. -At this date the mercenary troops in charge -of the palace were the famous and formidable Varangian -guards, in whom modern authorities recognize the blue-eyed -giants of distant Scandinavia and even of Britain. -Romanus had favoured the native troops of the Empire -rather than these foreign mercenaries, and they at once -accepted the command of the Cæsar. One half of them -went to the apartments of Michael, and declared him -sole Emperor of the Romans; the other body went in -search of Eudocia, with orders to transfer her to a -monastery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span> -Eudocia at once concluded that the end of her rule -had come when she heard the jubilant clash of axe on -shield, the deep guttural voices, raised in song, of the -northern soldiers, and their heavy tread across the -gardens and terraces. Fearing for her life, she hid -herself in some sort of hut in the grounds of her palace, -but the door was presently flung open and she looked -on the fierce hairy faces and shining weapons of the -Varangians. She was prostrate with terror when the -Cæsar arrived, to give her the comparative consolation -that her life would be spared, but her empire was over. -From the palace, spoiled of all the ensigns of royalty, -we follow her along the short and painful route that we -have seen so many proud rulers of the sacred palace -take. At the Bucoleon quays a swift galley waited to -take her to the Asiatic shore, where she was lodged in -a monastery which she herself had founded. A further -message soon came, ordering her to take the black veil, -and the frail and unfortunate woman bade farewell to all -the glories of imperial life. It was only four years since -she had been left in control of the Empire by her first -husband.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards she was summoned to bury -Romanus, and with him the last flickering hope of a -return to power. He had collected an army and resolved -to fight for his throne, and the troops of Ducas at length -pinned him in a town of Cilicia. In order to end the -civil war John now sent an assurance that the life of -Romanus would be spared if he would resign his claim -and enter a monastery; nay, three archbishops were -sent to give him a solemn testimony that John had sworn -and would fulfil his oath. Frail as the most formidable -oaths had become in Eastern Christendom, Romanus -opened the gates and yielded to the sons of the Cæsar. -The rest of the story is a chapter of nauseous horror, -and concerns us, fortunately, only in outline. Romanus -was conveyed across Asia Minor, in the robe of a monk, -with studied insult. Most of the chroniclers affirm that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> -poison was administered to him, but that his powerful -constitution prevented it from doing more than add to -his misery. At length his eyes were cut out with more -than ordinary brutality, the roughest and most elementary -attention to his bleeding sockets was refused, and -he was borne once more on a mule, dying by inches in -the most ghastly conceivable fashion, across Asia Minor. -He reached the island of Prote in time to die on the soil -that was already watered by so many imperial tears, and -the chroniclers add that Eudocia gave a splendid funeral -to the remains of the man whom she had transferred from -the jail to the palace, less than four years before, in the -full pride of a magnificent manhood.</p> - -<p>I have said that with the remains of Romanus she -buried her last hope of returning to power, yet some -seven years afterwards a strange message reached her in -her cloister, recalling the memory, if not the hope, of -imperial power. Her son Michael proved an ineffective -ruler. The tradition of culture which had lingered in -the palace since the days of Psellus absorbed all his -energy, and he could not be diverted from the dialogues -of Plato or the iridescent dreams of Plotinus by mere -conspiracies against his throne or invasions of his -Empire. Indeed, it was with difficulty, sometimes, that -they could drag him to table or persuade him to refrain -from spending the night over his books. The irony of -the situation was that, while the Greek writings over -which he lingered urged that a profound study of -philosophy was the fittest education of monarchs, -Michael remained as helpless and heedless as a boy, -precisely on account of his studies. Fortunately, he had -the casual inspiration to call to the palace a wily eunuch, -named Nicephorus, who become the virtual ruler. -Nicephoritzes—as the people, using the diminutive form -of his name, called the pale and shrunken little eunuch—soon -displaced the Cæsar John, and, as was the invariable -custom of his kind, enriched himself at the -expense of the impoverished and decaying provinces.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span> -Under Nicephoritzes Eudocia had no chance of a -return to power. He had endeavoured to persuade her -first husband, the Emperor Constantine, that she was -unfaithful to him, and had been driven from office -during her regency. But the Empress’s quarters in the -palace were not vacant; a new type of Empress was -added to the long and varied gallery. Shortly before his -accession to the supreme throne Michael had married -a princess of one of the tribes that had settled in Asia -Minor. The father of the Empress Maria is conflictingly -described as a king of the Iberians and the Alans, and is -said to have been a ruler of great fame and power; but -he is not named, and it seems that he was not powerful -enough to avert or temper the tragedy of his daughter’s -career. Her dowry had been her beauty. I have complained -at times of the lamentable indifference of the -male historians of Constantinople to the physical features -of the Empresses, and the lack of portraits which might -bring the living figure with any fulness or accuracy -before the imagination. We now, however, approach -a period, the history of which has been written for us -by a woman, the famous Anna Comnena, and her pen -happily wanders at times back to the age of Eudocia, of -which her husband, Nicephorus Bryennius, was the -chief historian.</p> - -<p>Unhappily, the art of which Anna Comnena was so -patently proud did not include skill in portraiture. -Maria was the most beautiful woman of her time, and, -although her interests become opposed to those of Anna -and her family, and the learned princess was capable of -malignant hatred, Anna Comnena rises to the height -of superlative when her pen delineates the figure of -Maria. Her grace of form and beauty of face were -beyond the artist’s power to convey; though one must -add that Anna not infrequently uses that formula, in -order to enhance the artistic wonder of her own descriptions. -Maria, she says, was tall and graceful as a -cypress; her body was white as snow, save for the roses<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span> -that bloomed in her cheeks, and the luminous blue eyes -which shone beneath the perfect and lofty arch of her -auburn eyebrows. To this vague poetical description -we may add at once that the beautiful young princess -was not wholly devoid of the spirit of her tribe, and -was prepared for romantic adventure in support of the -imperial dignity.</p> - -<p>The seven years of Michael’s reign do not interest us. -The Emperor lived in the remote solitude of his exalted -studies; Maria enjoyed the superb luxury of her position, -and brought a prince into the world for the greater -security of her throne; Eudocia languished in the royal -monastery of the Virgin across the straits. Usurpers -rose and fell, and the defrauded people spoke with -bitterness of the young pedant who let his ministers rob -them while he studied the divine maxims of Plato. -Another princess, daughter of Robert of Lombardy, was -introduced from the West, but she was, like Maria’s son, -to whom she was betrothed, a child of tender years, -looking with strange blue eyes on the vast palaces she -would one day govern—they said—and the boy who -shyly shrank from her companionship.</p> - -<p>At last, in 1078, a more fortunate rebel advanced on -Constantinople, the clergy and nobles were bribed to -espouse his cause, and Michael fled to the Blachernæ -palace in the suburbs. Maria accompanied him, and -what we know of her character emboldens us to fancy -her urging the distracted scholar to draw a sword on -behalf of his throne. His friends, however, found it -impossible to move him, and, yielding to the usurper, -he was conducted on an ass to the monastery at Studion, -where he might prosecute his studies with even greater -leisure. The new Emperor had so genial a disdain for -him that he made him titular Bishop of Ephesus, and -allowed him to return and live in the capital.</p> - -<p>Maria, in accordance with custom, entered the suburban -monastery at Petrion. She did not, however, take -the vows of the religious life, and it was not long before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span> -the interesting news came that the new Emperor designed -to marry her. Nicephorus Botaneiates was an elderly -voluptuary, who had seized the throne only because so -little energy was needed for the task. For the administration -of public business he had two slaves of his own -household, of Slavonian extraction, who at once put an -end to the life of Nicephoritzes and diverted the stream -of gold to their own pockets. For their master the -pleasures of the table and the couch sufficed. He had -brought to the throne an obscure Empress named -Berdena, but she died shortly afterwards, and the aged -Sybarite consulted his ministers. To their cold and -impartial judgment it seemed that political considerations -must rule the choice and they were divided between -the claims of Maria and those of Eudocia. It is true that -Nicephorus had been twice married, that Eudocia was a -nun, and that Maria was not yet a widow; but such -difficulties were never beyond the casuistic resources of -the Constantinopolitan clergy. The Emperor must -marry, since the sacred ritual of the Court demanded -the presence of an Empress.</p> - -<p>The politicians favoured the suit of Eudocia, and she -was actually informed that Nicephorus wished to marry -her, and expressed her cordial willingness to sacrifice her -monastic estate in view of such august considerations. -Nicephorus, however, was, as I said, a Sybarite, and -even advanced age did not blur his experienced eye to -the charms of Maria. We may, therefore, suppose that -Nicephorus was neither surprised nor pained when a -certain very holy monk appeared at the monastery of -the Virgin and sternly forbade Eudocia to quit her -black robe. It may be that the monk was one of the -chaplains of the monastery; it is at least clear that his -zeal did not take him to the monastery at Petrion, where -Maria resided. The beautiful young Empress was -recalled from her prayers and fasts and conducted to the -side of the Emperor in the palace chapel. The patriarch, -who seems to have had some scruples, was not summoned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span> -to perform the ceremony, and Nicephorus noticed -with irritation that the priest who was called hesitated -to come to the sanctuary; Nicephorus had no dispensation -for a third marriage, and Maria’s husband still -lived. A courtier, however, had foreseen the difficulty -and had a more accommodating priest at hand. The -irregular knot was tied, or regarded as tied, and Maria -returned to enjoy, with her son, the pleasures of the -Emperor’s luxurious Court.</p> - -<p>It is, perhaps, no alleviation of the conduct of Maria, -in purchasing her crown by an invalid marriage to an -elderly sensualist, to say that—the chroniclers assure -us—quite a number of noble ladies at Constantinople -were eager to be chosen. Eudocia, her youngest -daughter, Zoe, and many other ladies had been pressed -upon the notice of Nicephorus. It is merely one more -indication of the inferiority of character, both in men and -women, in the Byzantine Empire. But Maria was not -destined to enjoy long the throne which she had purchased. -Contemptible as the reign of Michael had been, -it was succeeded by one far more contemptible, and -sullen murmurs filled the palace and the city. Men told -each other how the aged Emperor, who ought to be -thinking of eternity, changed his splendid robes ten -times a day, anointed his jaded frame with the most -costly unguents, and sat down, day after day, to the most -superb banquets that the Empire could afford; while the -two barbaric slaves whom he had made his chief -ministers ground the despairing provinces and disgusted -the nobles. Within a year or two of Maria’s return to -power, the customary, inevitable revolt arose, and she -was driven back to her monastery.</p> - -<p>This revolution, however, introduces us to the strong -women of the Comnenian house and must commence a -fresh chapter. Of Eudocia we hear no more. If we -accept the statement of one of the chroniclers, that she -had married in the reign of Michael IV. (1034–1041), she -must now have reached her seventh decade of life, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> -would probably not long survive her last disappointment. -Her readiness, in her later sixties, and after seven years -of monastic life, to accept the embraces of a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">roué</i> like -Nicephorus, in return for the crown, is a sufficient -measure of her character; her violation of her oath to -her first husband, and her desertion of her second -husband, point to the same feebly vicious and unattractive -type of personality. Through the favour of Nicephorus -she was permitted to leave the suburban monastery, -and spend her last years in considerable comfort -in the city.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XII" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">IRENE AND ANNA COMNENA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> distinguished family of the Comneni has -already made its appearance in our narrative. -It may be recalled that the last chapter opened -with a march of the great provincial nobles upon the -capital, and the placing of one of their ablest representatives, -Isaac Comnenus, upon the throne. Isaac’s brave -life had ended in heroic foolishness. Terrified by an apparition, -he embraced the monastic life, ignored the natural -desire of his brother John to succeed him, and handed -the crown to the Ducas family. During the reign of -Eudocia the widow of John Comnenus, Anna, remained -in Constantinople to guard the fortunes of her children -and eventually to help them to secure the throne. She -was a woman of the old Roman build, rather than -Byzantine; strong, ambitious, able and despotic. The -Cæsar John Ducas looked on her with just suspicion, -and accused her of treasonable correspondence with -Romanus, when he was struggling to regain his throne. -She boldly asserted that the letters were forged, and -brandished an image of Christ in the eyes of her judges; -but it was expedient to condemn her, and she passed to -the melancholy Princes’ Islands.</p> - -<p>Michael the Scholar released her as soon as Diogenes -was dead, and she returned to Constantinople, to watch -and work. She had something of the spirit of her father, -who had sent so many of the enemy to the land of shades -that he had won the name of Alexius <i>Charon</i>: her -mother had been of the great family of the Delasseni. -The feebleness of Michael and the insipidity of Nicephorus -gave promise of a successful revolution, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span> -Anna and her two sons were shrewd enough not to -force the opportunity. The youth had first to learn the -mastery of legions and to marry. There were, in fact, -four women in Constantinople, all able and ambitious, -who sought the throne for their children, and a stupendous -amount of intrigue must have been expended. The -four were: Anna Comnena, the Empresses Eudocia and -Maria, and the wife of Andronicus, son of the Cæsar -John Ducas. Andronicus had been fatally wounded in -war, and condemned to a lingering death, and his wife -pressed the Cæsar to find good alliances for her three -daughters. She was one of those virile and beautiful -Bulgarian princesses who had found the way to Constantinople, -and her eldest daughter, Irene, was now -just marriageable.</p> - -<p>The wife of Andronicus—we do not know her name—shrewdly -concluded that an alliance with the Comneni -would best serve her ambition, and she pressed her -father-in-law to bring about a marriage between Irene -and Alexis, the elder of Anna’s two sons. Alexis was -a very promising and successful commander who had -recently lost his first wife, and he was not unwilling to -wed the fair Irene. Anna Comnena (the younger) -describes the pair for us, with her usual verbosity and -inexactness, premising that it is beyond the power of art -to reproduce their comeliness. Alexis was, it seems, a -man of medium height, with very broad shoulders and -massive chest, eyes of “terrible splendour,” and a look -that was “at once both truculent and bland.” He -seems, in fact, to have been a very ordinary young man, -with an extraordinary capacity for ruse and intrigue. -Irene (Anna’s mother) was, of course, a paragon. Her -face was “like the moon,” though not quite so round, -and her rosy cheeks and fine blue eyes make the simile -somewhat weak; her look, like that of her husband, was -“at once sweet and terrible”—the look of “a Minerva -of heavenly splendour”—and calm and storm succeeded -each other, as on the sea, in her expressive blue eyes;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> -her arms and hands were like carven ivory, and her -constant gestures extremely graceful. In other words, -Irene was a very pretty maiden of thirteen summers -at the time, with a large share of the spirit and temper -of her Bulgarian mother. These fragments of Anna -Comnena’s art may serve to illustrate Gibbon’s indulgent -complaint that it is more feminine than the artist herself.</p> - -<p>The prospect of so significant a marriage released a -fresh flood of intrigue. Anna, the mother of Alexis, -remembered that it was John Ducas who had driven her -into exile, and would not hear of a match with his -daughter-in-law. The Emperor Michael regarded the -marriage with distrust; his brother Constantine wanted -to marry Alexis to his sister Zoe, Eudocia’s youngest -daughter. Through this thicket of obstacles and -intrigues the wife of Andronicus fought her way with -spirit, and not a little bribery, and the marriage took -place. We may assume that this was in the second or -third year of Nicephorus, when Irene, who was only -fifteen at her coronation, cannot have been more than -thirteen or fourteen years old.</p> - -<p>The Empress Eudocia had now played her last card, -and resigned herself to the life of the monastery; it -remained to secure the favour of the lovely Empress -Maria. Isaac Comnenus had married her cousin Irene, -and had therefore the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">entrée</i> of her palace. The -Slavonian ministers of Nicephorus watched him and his -brother with concern, but he won the affection of Maria -and, by generous distribution of money, the service of -her eunuchs. It was presently announced that the -Empress Maria proposed to adopt the successful young -commander of the troops, Alexis Comnenus, and when -this ceremony had been performed both brothers were at -liberty to make lengthy visits to the Empress. It is not -difficult to accept the rumour that the relation of Alexis -to his “mother” was not entirely filial. Alexis was no -ascetic, and he notoriously strayed from his girl-wife. -On the other hand, Maria had not shown much delicacy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> -in marrying the white-haired sensualist, and the privilege -of intimacy with a handsome young general of -thirty-seven, her eunuchs being bribed in his and her -favour, would be appreciated by her. Her mind was not -strong and penetrating enough to see through the -trickery of Alexis. He posed as an unambitious general, -loyally devoted to her reign and that of her son.</p> - -<p>The Emperor Nicephorus probably felt that the young -men would await the natural termination of his imperial -orgies before seizing the throne, and seems to have -regarded them with a certain genial indifference. His -ministers, however, knew that their fortunes were ruined -if Alexis came to the throne, and they insisted that Nicephorus -must name a successor. He chose his nephew, -a handsome young noble named Synadenus. Maria was -now seriously alarmed, since the accession of Synadenus -would mean the monastery for her and, possibly, death -for her son, and she allowed the Comneni to witness her -tears. They were, they said, devoted to her cause. Nay, -they swore on the holy cross that they would acknowledge -no rulers but Maria and her son, and she promised, -in return, that they should be informed of any step that -might be contemplated against them in the palace. I -am following, almost entirely, the narrative of Anna -Comnena, who enlarges with the most candid pleasure -on the deceit of her father, and assures us that her grandmother, -Anna, was the soul of the plot. In the palace -of the Comneni councils were held daily, and the virile -mother directed the movements of her sons. It was a -time of great anxiety. One night Nicephorus invited -Alexis and Isaac to his banquet, and Anna depicts them -nervously glancing round them during the meal for the -guards or assassins who might have been summoned to -despatch them. But Alexis, a master of ruse and insinuation, -won the Emperor, and, when a charge of treason was -afterwards brought against him, he easily cleared himself.</p> - -<p>At last a message came to the mansion of the Comneni -from Maria that Barilas (one of the Slav ministers)<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span> -intended to seize the throne and put out the eyes of -Alexis; and it was decided that the time had come for -action. Alexis hastily made a tour of the city, persuading -some, bribing others, until he had a large number -of officers and Senators bound by secret oath to support -him. Anna meantime made preparations for the flight -of the family during the night. The chief weakness of -their position was that a young relative of the Emperor -had recently married a young girl of their family, and -lived, with a tutor, in an outlying part of their mansion. -Anna, regarding the tutor as a spy, locked them in their -rooms when they were asleep, and before dawn the whole -Comneni family set out on foot to cross the city. At that -hour of the night there was little watch in Constantinople, -and the nervous band—the mother, the two -brothers with their wives, children, and sisters, and a -few servants—passed safely and silently down the colonnaded -main street as far as the Forum of Constantine, -where horses awaited the men. They bade each other -farewell in the darkness of the early spring morning, -and the brothers galloped to the Blachernæ palace, where -they broke into the stables, chose the swiftest horses, -hamstrung the rest of the horses, and fled to the army -which awaited them in Thrace.</p> - -<p>The women and children made their way noiselessly -back along the Mese to the cathedral. As they went -along the street, the glare of a torch appeared in the -distance and they found themselves inconveniently -accosted by the tutor spy. Anna kept her presence of -mind, however. They had heard, she said, that they -were accused of some crime and they were going at -once to St Sophia, but as soon as the day broke they -would go to the palace to demand justice, and she -begged the tutor to go on to the palace to announce -their intention. As soon as he had gone, they made for -the house of Bishop Nicholas, an annexe of the cathedral -into which fugitives were admitted during the night. -Rousing the doorkeeper, they announced themselves—they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> -were all heavily veiled—as a party of women who -had just landed at the quays from the east, and who -would render thanks to the Almighty before repairing -to their homes. They were admitted to the church, and, -when the officers of the infuriated Emperor arrived, in -the early morning, they found that nothing less than a -violation of the sanctuary would put the women in the -power of Nicephorus. Anna, in fact, clung to the gates -of the sanctuary, and exclaimed that the soldiers would -have to cut off her hands to remove her from the church, -as the Slav ministers threatened. Isaac’s wife Irene, -an Iberian princess like her cousin Maria, followed the -example of her mother-in-law, and we must imagine the -younger Irene and the children standing by, with large -and tearful blue eyes, taking their first lesson in -Byzantine politics. Nicephorus temporized, and swore -to spare their lives. Anna shrewdly stipulated that his -oath should be taken on the large cross which the -Sybarite Emperor always wore, and, when this had been -brought and the oath guaranteed to them, the women -passed from the church to the palace-fortress-monastery -at Petrion, on the Golden Horn. There they were soon -joined by the wife and mother-in-law of George Paleologus, -a dashing young commander who had fled with -the Comneni, and, by sharing their delicate meats and -wines liberally with their jailers, they secured a constant -account of the progress of the insurgent brothers.</p> - -<p>They heard presently that Alexis and Isaac had safely -reached the camp in Thrace, and that it had needed only -a little further intrigue on the part of Alexis for the troops -to proclaim him Emperor. The next news of importance -was that the brothers were encamped with their troops -on the higher ground without the city walls, and Nicephorus -was distracted and terrified. But we may tell -in few words the success of the Comneni. The formidable -walls of Constantinople were held by the Varangian -guards and Immortals, on whose blind fidelity a ruling -(and paying) Emperor could always rely. But the extravagance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">203</span> -of Nicephorus had in three years exhausted -the treasury—its doors stood open for any man to enter -the empty building—the troops were few, and uncertain -mercenaries had to be enlisted in the defence. Alexis -bribed the German soldiers who held the tower overlooking -the Blachernæ gate, and at dawn of Maundy -Thursday (1081) his troops poured into the city.</p> - -<p>It is one of the few points in favour of Alexis that he -here made a very human blunder which might have cost -him his life and his ambition. Instead of holding his -troops to scatter the guards, who had retreated upon the -palace, he rode at once to Petrion to see that the women -were safe, and his soldiers—a motley and savage crowd -of Thracian and Macedonian mercenaries—spread with -fiendish delight over the city, violating nuns in the -monasteries and burdening themselves with wine and -loot. Paleologus saved them by a bold and crafty seizure -of the fleet, cutting off the Emperor’s retreat to Asia. -Nicephorus wavered between the vigorous counsels of his -ministers and the command of the patriarch that he -should abdicate and prevent civil war, but his hesitation -enabled the troops to rally, and, with a melancholy farewell -to his perfumed baths and opulent banquets, he -suffered himself to be shipped to the opposite shore and -shaved into a monk.</p> - -<p>The Empress Maria is described as trembling in her -palace during these critical days of the Holy Week, -clinging to her boy Constantine, a pretty seven-year-old -lad with curly golden hair and pink and white complexion. -Alexis had apparently deceived her, and the -Comnenian women would have little consideration for -her. For some days, however, she remained in quiet -possession of her apartments, and a very keen discussion -took place in Constantinople as to the intentions of -Alexis. He had put Irene, with her mother and sisters, -in the lower and older palace, while he, his mother, -brother, and other relations had taken residence in the -more important Bucoleon palace, by the water. Did he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">204</span> -propose to put away his doll-wife and wed the riper -beauty? Such things had happened before, and the -careful reader of Anna Comnena’s discreet narrative -will easily believe that that was the intention, or the -disposition, of Alexis. He had treated Irene with coldness -and disdain (other chroniclers tell us), and been -unfaithful to her. But the little Irene had her party, or -Maria had her enemies, and the indecision of Alexis -was forced. Paleologus drew up the fleet before -Bucoleon. When Alexis sent orders to him that the -sailors must not acclaim Irene, he boldly replied that he -had “not done all this for Alexis, but for Irene,” and -her name rolled from galley to galley. Next the Cæsar -John Ducas intervened, and urged Maria to retire; probably -he sought favour with Anna. Alexis still hesitated, -and Irene was not crowned with him.</p> - -<p>Speculation in the city was now seething, but a curious -circumstance soon ended the hesitation of Alexis. His -mother was devoted to monks generally, and one in -particular she so esteemed that she insisted on his being -appointed at once patriarch of Constantinople. The -actual patriarch, Cosmas, swore that he would not resign -in favour of the monk until he had crowned Irene, and -Anna had now an additional incentive to press her son. -Within a week of the coronation of Alexis the second -coronation took place, and Irene began to share the bed -and the throne of her husband. The last hope of Maria -had gone down before her more virile and older -antagonist, and she prepared to retire. Her son Constantine -was clothed with the imperial dignity, and an -imperial rescript, written in the red or purple ink and -signed with the golden seal of the Emperor, guaranteed -their safety. With this precious document Maria retired, -accompanied by her son, to a somewhat remote palace -in the imperial domain, and we may briefly dismiss her -from the story. Some years later a pretext was found to -remove her from her semi-imperial state and lodge her -in a monastery. Her last recorded act is that she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">205</span> -bethought herself of her first and real husband, who -still lived in Constantinople as titular Bishop of Ephesus, -and asked and obtained forgiveness.</p> - -<p>Alexis now hastened to form about his throne a -bulwark of loyal, and richly rewarded, friends, and the -Court resounded with sonorous new titles and glittered -with new insignia. Another noble, Nicephorus Melissenus, -had sought the throne at the same time as Alexis; -he was disarmed with the dignity of Cæsar and the remote -governorship of Thessalonica. Isaac received the newly -created dignity of Sebastocrator; Michael Taroneita, who -had married a sister of Alexis, rejoiced in the opulent -name of Panhypersebastos; and younger brothers were -created Protosebastos and Sebastos.<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> When we recollect -that the wife of each had a corresponding title and state, -we appreciate the splendour of the processions which -now constantly fed the enthusiasm of Constantinople.</p> - -<p>For a time, however, life in the palace wore a humorously -mournful complexion. The appalling outrages -of Alexis’s troops had sown bitterness in the minds of -the people, and the memory of them had to be obliterated. -Any other Emperor would have at once provided -a glorious series of chariot races and flung gold in -showers from his chariot. Alexis Comnenus found a less -expensive device; unless we care to attribute the scheme -to his mother, whom he consulted. The new patriarch -was humbly begged to impose a penance on all the -royal inmates of the palace, and he decided that forty -days of fasting and prayer would efface the stain. Alexis -himself generously went beyond the letter of the -penance; he slept nightly on the ground and wore a -hair shirt—and took care that all the citizens knew it. -His brothers, his mother and the other women of the -family embraced their share of the imposition, and for five -or six weeks the Bucoleon palace resembled a monastery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">206</span> -When the period of mourning came to an end Alexis -turned to face the numerous and pressing enemies of -his Empire, and his mother became the active ruler. -Her granddaughter would have us believe that the elder -Anna had no ambition to wield power; she was disposed -to retire at once into a monastery, and it was only in -obedience to a solemn decree of Alexis that she consented -to remain in the palace and use the powers of -her absent son. But Anna Comnena, the royal historian, -possessed in a considerable degree the faculty for ruse -and duplicity which distinguished her family,<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> and we -have little difficulty in seeing that the older Anna claimed -and clung to power. Irene was, of course, still a -negligible child. Anna at once set about the restoration -of discipline in the palace, which had been so grossly -neglected under Nicephorus and Maria. Hours were -fixed for meals and prayers and the chanting of hymns, -and her table was rarely without the blessing of some -priest or monk who would discuss with her the sacred -books and theological issues in which she was interested. -Sober in diet, liberal to the poor and the Church, awake -beyond the hours of most mortals with her long prayers, -yet up early in the morning for those imperial duties -which the golden bull of her son had laid on her, Anna -was at least not unworthy of the power she had intrigued -to secure. We must, however, not exaggerate her -political influence. A few years later we find Alexis, -when he sets out for the field, entrusting the reins of -government to his brother, and no doubt Isaac generally -controlled the administration.</p> - -<p>Of Irene we hear little until the latter part of her -husband’s reign, when her services as nurse make him -appreciate her value. In spite of the glowing assurances<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">207</span> -of their daughter, we perceive confidently that Irene was -slighted, both by the mother and the son, and we shall -ultimately find her dismissing him from the world with -an assurance of her profound disdain. For two years -the chronicles are silent about her, and the one reference -to her in twenty years is that she bore children to her -spouse. As Christmas approached in 1083 she began -to feel the first pangs of travail. Alexis was expected -home from his campaign against Robert Guiscard in two -days, and Anna Comnena, who is not hypersensitive in -her narrative, relates that the young mother signed her -body with a cross and said: “Stay where you are, my -boy, until your father arrives.” It was not a boy, but -the historian herself, who saw the light two days later, -and Anna—a fierce and murderous rebel against her -brother—asks us to applaud her very early practice of -the virtue of obedience.</p> - -<p>In view of this silence concerning the Empresses we -will hold ourselves dispensed from following Alexis -through the campaigns, plots and counter-plots of the -next twenty years. Five years were spent in struggle -with Robert Guiscard of Italy: five in repelling the wild -Patzinaks of Scythia: five more in suppressing conspiracies, -or alleged conspiracies, against the throne. -It may seem ungenerous to suspect that the hard-working -Alexis invented these conspiracies in order to rid his -camp and Court of suspected relatives or nobles, but -Byzantine historians not obscurely hint such a suspicion. -One conspiracy only need be related, since Irene appears -on the stage at the time.</p> - -<p>Some years after his accession to the throne—the date -is uncertain—Alexis consented to the retirement of his -mother into the monastery to which, her granddaughter -says, her heart had always turned. Very probably Irene, -as she grew to womanhood, resented the older woman’s -restraint and piety, and insisted on her removal. She -died, a nun, a few years afterwards. From that time -Alexis drew nearer to Irene, and used to take her with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">208</span> -him on his campaigns. In 1092 or 1093 there was trouble -in Dalmatia, and Irene accompanied her husband and -shared his tent in the camp. It was noticed with some -alarm by the officers that Nicephorus Diogenes, son of -Eudocia, who had received imperial dignity in his -infancy and might aspire to regain it, pitched his tent -nearer to that of the Emperor than courtesy permitted. -Alexis scouted their suspicions, and retired to rest with -Irene; but in the middle of the night the maid who was -engaged in keeping the flies, or other insects, off the -royal sleepers, aroused them with the news that Nicephorus -had entered the tent with a drawn sword. One -hesitates to say which is the more remarkable: that there -should be no guard to the imperial tent, or that Alexis -should take no notice of this attempt on his life. A few -days later, Anna assures us, Nicephorus renewed the -attempt, and was detected with drawn sword near the -Emperor’s bath. He was now put to the torture and -provided a list of nobles who were obnoxious to the -Emperor and were duly punished. It is interesting to -find that the ex-Empress Maria was included among the -conspirators, and it was possibly on this occasion that -she was sent to a nunnery. But the narrated details of -the conspiracy are so clumsy, and the issue proved so -profitable to Alexis, that historians regard it with grave -suspicion.</p> - -<p>We come next to the page of Byzantine history which -is least unfamiliar to English readers, the page restored -to life by Sir Walter Scott in his “Count Robert of -Paris.”<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> But, profoundly important as the passage of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">209</span> -the first Crusaders is in Byzantine history and in the -biography of Alexis, we have no decent pretext to enlarge -on that fascinating episode in a biography of the -Empresses. We need say only that Irene trembled with -her husband, or more than her husband, at the formidable -tide of the invasion. Thinking to secure a few -thousand spears to assist him in his warfare with the -Turks, Alexis had added a pathetic, if not hypocritical, -plea to the eloquence of Peter the Hermit. The response -was, in 1096, a devouring and destructive army of -locusts: a flood of 300,000 men, women and children, -who, before they could be persuaded to cross the straits -and leave their bones on the plains of Asia Minor, -gravely embarrassed the Byzantine Court. In their train -came a more formidable menace: Godfrey of Bouillon, -Robert of Flanders, the princes of Western chivalry, -with their hawks and hounds and ladies, and their vast -hordes of hungry and blustering men-at-arms. Their -suspicions, ferocious outbursts, disdain, and greed of -wealth, called out every diplomatic resource at the command -of Alexis, and few will do more than smile at his -duplicity in such circumstances. At one moment, when -it was rumoured in their camp without the walls that -Alexis had imprisoned some of their leaders, they flung -themselves against the city, and a howl of terror was -heard from Blachernæ to the Sea of Marmora. How -Alexis astutely drew them from the fascinations of his -capital, and hovered in their rear, jackal-like, to recover -the towns from which they expelled the Turk, and at last -brought on a conflict of Latin and Greek, must be read -in history. Seven further years of the reign of Alexis -and Irene passed in these adventures.</p> - -<p>The next decade was full of war against Bohemund, -son of his former antagonist Robert Guiscard, and other -Crusaders. In the course of the war, in 1105, we again -catch a glimpse of Irene, who accompanied Alexis to the -camp of Thessalonica. Apropos of the journey her -daughter, who was now a mature eyewitness of events,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">210</span> -depicts Irene’s character in phrases which we read with -some discretion. She was, it seems, so devoted to the -reading of sacred books, the conversation of holy men -and the discharge of her domestic duties, that she was -reluctant to make these journeys; indeed, she could -never appear in public without a nervous blush. It is -not like the Irene whom we shall know more fully anon. -But her husband needed her, and she obeyed. Plotters -and conspirators surrounded him, and he suffered acutely -from gout in the feet. Of the constant plots Anna offers -no explanation; it is not from her that we learn how -Alexis so far debased the coinage that his “gold” pieces -(almost entirely bronze) were a thing of contempt -throughout Europe, how he further oppressed his -subjects with monopolies, and how savagely he could -at times treat malcontents and heretics. His gout, however, -she is eager to explain. It was due, not to any -generosity of diet, but to an injury to his knee in early -years, aggravated by the stupid “barbarians of the -West” (the Crusaders), who kept the sacred Emperor -<em>standing</em> for hours to listen to their unceasing torrents -of talk. So Irene had to accompany her husband, to -chafe his poignant limbs when the gout racked him -and to scare away conspirators. She travelled with great -modesty, in a litter borne by two mules and so enwrapped -with purple that “her divine body was not -visible.”</p> - -<p>In the following year a conspiracy was “detected” at -Constantinople. A wealthy Senator named Solomon -and four brothers of Saracenic origin were the chief -plotters, and the treasury was enriched by their fortunes. -Solomon’s mansion was given to Irene, who is said to -have restored it to the wife of the Senator. For once -Anna admits that her father could be truculent. Anna -was at a window of the palace overlooking the Forum, -or the streets near it, when the soldiers and mob passed -with the four brother conspirators. They were mounted -on oxen, and were derisively adorned with the horns and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">211</span> -entrails of oxen by the theatrical folk to whom they had -been entrusted before their eyes were put out; from -another historian we learn that the hair had already been -torn, by means of pitch, from their heads and chins. -Anna called her mother, and the two women forced -Alexis to put an end to the horrible display and spare -the prisoners’ eyes.</p> - -<p>A year or two later Irene is said to have saved her -husband’s life from fresh conspirators. She had again -set out with him for Thessalonica, and, as they camped -at Psyllus on the way, a plot was formed to murder -Alexis as soon as Irene should return to the city. Alexis -would not part with her, and the impatient conspirators -threw a parchment in his tent, deriding him for his -reluctance to take the field and urging the dismissal of -Irene. Shortly afterwards a more violent diatribe was -placed under their bed while they slept, but one of -Irene’s eunuchs was on guard and arrested the man, who -betrayed the plotters. Then the death of Bohemund put -an end to the war in the West, and the indefatigable -Emperor turned to face the Turks and the Crusaders -who had settled in the East. Irene became seriously ill -when she accompanied Alexis to the Chersonesus in -1112, yet we find her with him at Philippopolis in the -following year.</p> - -<p>Irene was little more than nurse to the gouty monarch -during these campaigns, yet we must, in order to understand -her last fierce word to him, glance for a moment -at the conduct she observed in him. She had for years -seen how he conducted wars and diplomacy chiefly by -guile and deceit, and she now saw how he converted -heretics. A few years before he had set out to refute the -tenets of the “Bogomilians,” one of the many sects, -mingling Eastern and Western ideas, in which age after -age the protestant feeling against the superstitions and -corruption of the Greek Church found expression. By -the use of torture Alexis discovered that the leader of -the sect was a staid and venerable monk named Basil,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">212</span> -invited the monk to visit him in the palace, and, by -a grossly hypocritical pretence that he himself leaned to -the sect, induced him to talk freely of their doctrines. -When he had “vomited his heresy,” Alexis drew aside -a curtain, and showed the man that a shorthand-writer -had secretly taken down his words. Basil was imprisoned, -and Alexis spent hours in argumentation with -him; and a few years later the “archsatrap of Satan” -and large numbers of his followers were burned alive for -refusing to see the force of the imperial logic. Similar -tactics were now adopted at Philippopolis, where Alexis -and Irene spent the greater part of 1113. It was an -important seat of the Paulicians (a modified Manichæan -sect), and Alexis spent days in disputation with their -leaders; when persuasion failed, he resorted to bribery -and coercion.</p> - -<p>These few instances will suffice to illustrate the relations -of Irene and Alexis, and we may hasten to the -final scene. The last years were occupied with a campaign -against the Turks, but Alexis was now seriously -ill and the enemy advanced and reviled him for his -cowardice. In their camp they bore about a bed with -an effigy of Alexis pretending that gouty feet prevented -him from taking the field. Irene was awakened one -night with the news that the Turks were upon them, and -Alexis was forced to let her return to the capital. There -is no doubt that she accompanied Alexis on these later -campaigns only because he compelled her, and one -wonders whether he was not afraid to leave her in the -palace. He retreated, and recalled her at once to Nicomedia. -Here she found that his own subjects were singing, -on the streets, comic songs about the gout of the -great Emperor and his flight before the Turks. He was -undoubtedly very ill, and in the spring of 1118 he was -brought back to the palace to die. Then arose a fierce -struggle for the throne.</p> - -<p>Anna Comnena, the princess born in 1083, had been -betrothed, in her tender years, to the Empress Maria’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">213</span> -pretty boy Constantine. The boy died, however, and -in time she was married to the distinguished and ambitious -noble, Nicephorus Bryennius, who received the -title of Cæsar and then that of Panhypersebastos (“the -august above all others”). Bryennius was a scholar: -Anna a prodigy of female learning, a cyclopædia of arts -and philosophy, a most imposing writer, and—strange -to say—a spirited and ambitious princess. The brilliance -of this imperial pair dazzled the Court and the capital, -and it was very naturally suggested that the crowns -could not be placed on wiser and more fitting heads than -theirs. Such was the opinion of Irene. But Alexis and -Irene had three sons (John, Andronicus and Isaac) and -three daughters (Maria, Eudocia and Theodora) besides -the gifted Anna, and the crown belonged, by such right -as was recognized in Byzantium, to the eldest son. John -was a plain, quiet youth of—as events proved—sterling -character and no ostentation. His father appreciated -him, though few others knew him. He observed with -sullen eyes the efforts of his mother to displace him, and -secretly engaged officers and nobles to support him -against her; and Irene retorted by forbidding them to -have any intercourse with John. This struggle was now -to reach the height of passion round the deathbed of the -Emperor.</p> - -<p>The last ten pages of Anna’s narrative give a vivid -account of the progress of her father’s illness. She was -appointed to a kind of presidency over the skilled medical -men who were summoned from all parts of the Empire -to check the “mysterious” illness—of a gouty old -man of seventy. I will quote only that, when relics -failed to improve his condition, they applied a red-hot -iron to his stomach—to counterpoise the pain at the -extremities, perhaps—and, when this brought about no -relief, removed him to the Mangana palace, near what is -now known as the Seraglio Point. Irene watched her -husband night and day (carefully excluding John), and, -although the monks assured her that he would live to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">214</span> -visit the Holy Sepulchre, she shed “more tears than the -waters of the Nile,” Anna says.</p> - -<p>In the afternoon of 15th August 1118, Alexis lay dying -on his purple couch. The description of the scene, -which closes Anna’s narrative, has reached us only in -a torn and fragmentary condition, but the chronicle of -the monk Zonaras, who lived about this date, is full and -authoritative, and it is supported by the chronicle of -Nicetas. Their account of that last scene in the life of -Alexis shows that Anna Comnena crowns her work with -a masterpiece of deliberate lying. She depicts her -mother overwhelmed with sorrow at the impending loss -of her husband, crying that thrones and crowns are -vanity, and calling for the black robe of a nun, if not -actually shearing her golden tresses, before the last -breath has left her husband’s body. Of the real features -of the scene there is merely a faint and vague report that -John is hurrying to the main palace and the city is -disturbed. The truth is less touching, more dramatic.</p> - -<p>Availing himself of a temporary absence of his mother—probably -bribing the guards—John entered the room -and approached the bed of the dying and speechless -monarch. Alexis was still conscious; but whether he -gave his ring to John, or the son detached it from his -finger, the chroniclers are not agreed. No doubt Alexis -was too feeble to detach and give it, and merely looked -assent when John detached it; Alexis had always -favoured John. By the time Irene returned John was -galloping across the imperial domain to the chief palace -(either Daphne or, more probably, Bucoleon), and the -Empress was furious. She angrily observed to Alexis -that his son was seizing the throne while he yet lived. -Alexis feebly, and equivocally—though some writers -say that he smiled—lifted his hands and eyes toward -heaven, as if to intimate that there was the only throne -about which he was now concerned. Nicephorus -Bryennius was summoned, and Irene urged him to unite -with her in claiming the throne. He refused, and she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">215</span> -returned to her husband. The last words, loudly and -harshly spoken, which she gave the dying man were: -“Husband, while you lived, you were full of guile, -saying one thing and thinking another; you are no better -now that you are dying.”<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a> We may assume that -Alexis had deceived her about the succession. He died -that evening, so completely deserted that there were no -ministers to perform the ceremonial services over his -remains. The interest had passed to the main palace.</p> - -<p>John had found before the door a regiment of the -Varangians, who, even when he showed his father’s -ring, refused to allow him to enter. But they grounded -their formidable two-edged axes, and stood aside, when -he swore (a false oath) that his father was already dead, -and had appointed him successor. He at once secured the -palace and the crown, and the reign of Irene Comnena was -over, the hope of Anna Comnena shattered. John would -not even issue to attend the funeral of Alexis, so determined -he was to hold the palace. The women were -beaten by the quiet, ugly little youth they had despised, -and a few words of the chroniclers dismiss them from the -stage of history.</p> - -<p>Irene, changing her name to that of Xene, retired to -a monastery which she had built in the city. Curiously -enough, a manuscript copy of the rules of this monastery -has survived, and been published,<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> so that we have an -interesting glimpse of Irene’s later years and of the -monastic life of the time. The inmates were to number -between thirty and forty, were to sleep in a common -dormitory, and were to elect a prefect. Besides the -steward, who was to be a eunuch, and the two chaplains, -who must be monks and eunuchs, no man was ever to -enter the monastery, and the reception of visitors was -strictly controlled. There was midnight office to be -chanted, and the remaining offices and meals and other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">216</span> -details were planned much as in a modern “convent” -(a Latin word unknown in the East). Each nun was -permitted to have a bath once a month. Irene little -dreamed, when she sanctioned this ascetic scheme, that -she would one day be forced to adopt it. But the last -glimpse we catch of her in the chronicles suggests that -she did not embrace it in all its rigour. Fifteen years -later, when another Irene came from the West to wed -the Emperor Manuel, she noticed, among the crowd of -notabilities who welcomed her to the city, an aged lady -whose dark monastic robe was relieved by strips of -purple and edges of gold. When she asked the name of -this royal nun, she learned that it was the widow of -the great Alexis. Probably Irene tempered the diet and -prayers, as well as the robe, of the monastery. She was -then seventy-seven years old, and cannot have lived -much longer.</p> - -<p>Anna Comnena seems to have retained her liberty and -rank at the accession of her brother. He soon proved -his worthiness of the crown, and the corrupt nobles and -ministers, shrinking from his inflexible justice, gathered -darkly about Anna and Bryennius. Anna was the most -active spirit in the plot, and it would have succeeded -but for the irresolution, or humanity, of Bryennius. The -doorkeeper of the palace was bribed, and John might -have been murdered in his bed. When Bryennius failed -to use the advantage, Anna turned upon him with fury. -Nicetas tells us that she complained, “in somewhat -obscene language,” that Nature had made her a woman -and him a man. John was content to confiscate their -property; though, when he gave Anna’s luxurious -palace and all it contained to his Turkish minister, that -strange type of Byzantine official begged his master to -lay aside his anger and permit him to restore the palace -to Anna. Some years later she entered her mother’s -monastery—probably when her husband died in 1128—and -lived there at least twenty years, writing her famous -work, the “Alexiad,” a chronicle of her father’s deeds.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">217</span> -That work—affected, insincere and ambitious—reflects -the character of its author, nor can its lavish use of the -art of suppressing some facts and enlarging others efface -from our memory the ignoble attitude of Irene and Anna -by the bedside of the dying Alexis and toward his -legitimate heir.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">218</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIII" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">A BREATH OF CHIVALRY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap b"><span class="smcap1">Our</span> last chapter introduced the chivalry of the -West into the East, and, as numbers of the -princes of the West remained and set up principalities -in the East, and mingled with it in matrimonial -alliance, the hope may be entertained that at last we shall -witness some signal alteration of the Greek character. -The more informed reader, who knows how the severe -historians of recent times have washed much of the -colour from “the days of chivalry,” whose acquaintance -with that epoch extends beyond the “Idylls of the King,” -will, perhaps, not expect any transformation of the -character of the East. I will not anticipate the verdict. -We have reached a time when the ideas and sentiments -of the Western knights make a marked impression on the -minds and ways of the East, and it will be interesting to -see what types of women now arise. I shall therefore not -confine myself rigidly, in this chapter, to those women -who are fortunate enough to attain the supreme title, but -include in the survey a number of princesses who, in -various ways, approach the throne.</p> - -<p>John the Handsome, as the citizens of Constantinople -came to call the dark and by no means handsome young -Emperor they had now obtained, does not provide us with -an Empress of distinct or interesting character. His -wife Irene, a daughter of Wratislav, King of Hungary, -was too virtuous to leave a mark in the Byzantine -chronicles. While her able and upright husband flung -back the invaders from his territory, and essayed such -improvement in its condition as his poor political faculty -enabled him to achieve, she spent her days in prayer and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">219</span> -the rearing of her family. Pearls and diamonds had no -dangerous fascination for her; she maintained a modest -demeanour in the pomp of the palace and gave the -superfluous wealth to the poor and the monks. After -bringing five children into the world, she died about six -years after her coronation, and John remained a widower -for the twenty further years of his arduous and exemplary -reign. In the winter of 1142–1143, as he spent -the truce from campaigning in hunting in Asia Minor, -he accidentally poisoned himself with an arrow, nominated -his youngest son Manuel for the succession, and -died a few days afterwards.</p> - -<p>Of his four sons: two—Alexis and Andronicus—had -died before their father: two—Isaac and Manuel—survived. -Manuel was in the field with his father, and he -at once sent to Constantinople his father’s able Turkish -minister to secure the throne for him, while he remained -to care for and convey the royal remains. The Turk was -vigorous, and not unfamiliar with Byzantine history. -Before a soul in Constantinople had heard of the -Emperor’s death he lodged the elder son, Isaac, in a safe -monastery, promised an enormous sum of money to the -clergy, and had the path to the throne lined with subservient -courtiers when Manuel arrived. A shower of -gold upon the city completed the preparation, and -Manuel I., a tall, handsome, vigorous and fairly cultivated -youth, took in hand the reins of the Empire. The -spirit of Western chivalry had found an apt pupil in -Manuel, and his robust frame, reckless daring, and fiery -passions made him at once a brother of the Crusaders -and their Eastern descendants. For generations men -told of his feats of strength and boldness.</p> - -<p>His first Empress was the daughter of the Count of -Sulzbach, an important Bavarian noble, and sister to -the wife of Conrad, the ruling Emperor of Germany. -Bertha had been betrothed to Manuel before the death of -his father, and some time after his coronation she was -conducted from the humble castle of her father to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">220</span> -world-famed splendour of Constantinople. Her name -was to be changed to Irene, and she must have had a -momentary shudder when an aged lady, whose dark -nun’s robe was faintly edged with royal purple and -gold, was introduced to her, among the welcoming -crowd, as the great Irene who had once occupied the -throne. But the impression was effaced by the brilliance -of the marriage ceremonies and the manly beauty of her -imperial husband. He returned at once to the field and -spent a considerable time in expelling the Persian -invaders. After that he remained a few years in his -capital, attempting to reform the Court and the administration, -and the royal spouses came to know, and probably -dislike, each other.</p> - -<p>Manuel had the vices, as well as the virtues, of a -Western knight; Irene had no vices, and her virtues -were old-fashioned. The emergence of these modest -and tender young women, such as the last two Irenes, -from the Courts of central Europe warns us to refrain -from thinking that chivalry everywhere meant gaiety -and licence of conduct. Irene had no love of luxury or -of the breaking of lances. Such comeliness as she had -she declined to adorn with perfumes and fine silks, -placing her ideal in the practice of Church virtues and -the quiet performance of a mother’s duties. But Manuel -had the eye and the blood of unrestrained youth, and -he soon wandered from his cold and passive spouse to -other women of the Court. His elder brother, Andronicus, -had left three fascinating daughters, and two of -these were of a temper to welcome the freer and livelier -spirit which Manuel encouraged. The eldest of the -three, Maria, confined herself to a sober marriage, but -Theodora became the acknowledged lover of the Emperor -(her uncle), and the youngest, Eudocia, was even more -flagrantly connected with the Emperor’s cousin, -Andronicus, one of the most handsome, most daring -and most unscrupulous nobles of the time. Andronicus, -who in time ascended the throne, will engage us, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">221</span> -his lady-loves, presently. For the moment we have only -to note that the Comneni princesses lived at Court without -a pretence of restraint. Manuel frowned when he -heard that his cousin met what little expostulation was -made with the cheerful assurance that he felt it his duty -to imitate the example and copy the taste of his sovereign; -but Manuel had himself too little self-control to -dismiss Theodora.</p> - -<p>The clergy were at the time too corrupt and subservient -to interfere, and the courtiers are contemptuously -dismissed by the historian Finlay as “a herd of knaves.” -The chief minister, a keen financier and most successful -extortioner, was known to sell in the market, even two -or three times over, the choice fish or game which suitors -presented to him. The favourite minister, John Camateros, -was a handsome man of gigantic stature, who -enjoyed the repute of drinking more wine, and retaining -a clearer head, than any man of his time. He won a bet -off the Emperor by emptying at two draughts an immense -porphyry vase full of water.</p> - -<p>Such were the character and pursuits of the Court into -which the virtuous Irene had entered, and in which she -remained a silent and despised figure for fourteen years. -The second Crusade, led by her brother-in-law, Conrad, -passed through Constantinople, on its way to destruction, -without altering her condition. Manuel was not -less unwilling than his people to cheat the despised -Westerners, and further seeds of bitterness were sown -in the soil of the time. Irene lingered on for some years, -while Manuel waged his endless campaigns against -Sicilians, Servians, Scythians and Turks, or flung himself -into hunts and tournaments for the entertainment -of his mistress and her friends. Then, about the year -1158, Irene died, leaving a young daughter (a second -daughter having died in infancy) to the care of her -boisterous spouse.</p> - -<p>For his second wife Manuel turned to the Latin -nobility who had settled in Syria. During a recent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">222</span> -campaign in the east he had joined with the Latins in a -tournament at Antioch, and made a deep impression on -them by his personal bravery, the golden trappings of -his charger, and the embroidered silk tunics and mantles -of his suite. He begged Baldwin III., King of Jerusalem, -to choose for him a bride among the Latin nobility, -and professed that he would abide by Baldwin’s choice. -Baldwin selected Melisend, sister of Raymond, Count -of Tripoli (on the Phœnician coast), and legates were -sent to obtain the ready consent of her father and inquire -carefully into the lady’s morals and physical condition. -The sad story of Melisend’s disappointment is very -differently told by the Greek and the Latin historians. -According to the Eastern writers Melisend passed the -tests of Manuel’s legates, and for some months the city -of Tripoli was enlivened by the preparations for her -exalted marriage. The most splendid clothing, plate and -jewels that the family and principality of Raymond -could provide were contributed to her trousseau, and no -less than twelve large galleys, laden with her treasures, -lay beside the imperial trireme at the quays. The day of -departure came, and the princess bade farewell to her -proud relatives; but the ships had not advanced far -from port when Melisend became so ill that they -were forced to return. She recovered, and they set -sail again, but the mysterious illness returned, and -as often as they attempted to convey her across -the seas she became livid with sickness or burning -with fever. The legates then made a closer inquiry—of -a local soothsayer—found that there was a grave flaw -in the genealogical tree of the princess, and departed -without her.</p> - -<p>There is no doubt that this story is a malignant untruth -published by the Greeks in order to cover the heartless -vacillation of their Emperor. The Latin historian -of the time in the East, William of Tyre, tells a simpler -story. Manuel’s legates lingered at Tripoli, month after -month, until Raymond angrily asked them either to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">223</span> -convey his daughter or refund the cost of the preparations. -They then fled secretly, offering no reason whatever -for the desertion, and the only consolation afforded -to the wounded Melisend was that her father handed -over her twelve bridal galleys to a band of pirates, and -sent them to spread their terrible ravages along the Greek -coasts and islands. We know little of Melisend; she -may have been a woman of mature years, and one of the -most lamentable signs of the abandonment of the times -was the eagerness of monarchs and nobles for child -brides. Manuel had discovered a child of ravishing -beauty in the Court of Antioch.</p> - -<p>Maria, daughter of Raymond of Poitou, the prince -of Antioch, must have been in her early teens when -Manuel’s legates reported her beauty to him. Her -mother, Constance, and stepfather, Reginald of Chatillon, -a French adventurer, eagerly welcomed the alliance -with the powerful Manuel, and the young girl was conveyed -on a gilded galley to Constantinople and married -to Manuel, in or about 1161, with the utmost splendour. -She received the imperial title, but she naturally escapes -the notice of chroniclers during the next ten years, and -we may assume that Manuel continued to entertain his -more mature niece, who bore him a son and was rewarded -with one of the most luxurious palaces in the -city. Corrupt as Constantinople was, an illegitimate -son could not hope to wear the purple, and Manuel was -concerned about the succession. He betrothed his -daughter Maria (daughter of Irene) to the younger -brother of the King of Hungary, but six years later -Maria retired to the Porphyra palace, and Manuel, a -keen student of astrology, consulted the heavens with -feverish anxiety. The conjunction of the planets was -auspicious at the hour of delivery, the child proved to -be a son and heir, and the wildest rejoicing filled the -Court and city. From that time Maria became “mistress” -in reality as well as name, and Theodora passes -from the chronicles. The Hungarian prince, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">224</span> -awaited his marriage and elevation at the Court, was -wedded to Philippa of Antioch, and the nobles were -summoned to swear allegiance to Maria and the infant -Alexis. The princess Maria, Manuel’s daughter, was -now thrust aside as of no political importance, and was -suffered to continue, “celibate and sad,” at the Court -until the leisure of old age permitted her father to reflect -on his neglect of her.</p> - -<p>Ten further years of warfare occupy the chronicles, -and leave no room for the mention of princesses and -Empresses. Then the tireless and restless monarch -begins to show signs of age, and we prepare for the -crisis which so frequently brings the imperial women -more prominently before us. Manuel’s last campaign -had been overcast by grave disasters; he had lost the -vigour of youth and had never possessed any large and -orderly power of controlling events. Weary and saddened, -he concluded an indecisive peace with the Turk, -and returned to ensure the succession to the throne. -His legitimate son Alexis was now, in the year 1180,<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> -turned twelve years old, and therefore, in view of the -political circumstances and the lax feeling of the time, -fit for marriage. Some years before Manuel had learned -from one of the Crusaders that Louis of France had a -beautiful young daughter, and legates were sent to ask -her hand for Alexis. One reads with strange feelings -that the child was only seven years old when, in the -spring of 1180, she was wedded to Alexis in the ancient -palace of Daphne. We shall see to what a sordid fate -this premature marriage to a helpless boy exposed her. -From the Latin writers we learn that her name was -Agnes, but it seems to have been changed to Anna (as -the Greeks always call her) at her marriage. She at -once received the imperial title, and must have seemed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">225</span> -a strange young figure in the stiff gold-cloth garments -and rich jewels of a Byzantine Empress.</p> - -<p>It is interesting to notice that the thought of matrimony -reminded Manuel of his “celibate and sad” -daughter Maria. She was now in her thirty-first year. -A spouse was found for her in a handsome seventeen-year-old -Western youth, Reyner, son of the Marquis -of Montferrat, and they were married with pomp at the -Blachernæ palace. But the character of Maria will -presently become clearer to us, and we shall see that it -does not call for sympathy.</p> - -<p>Weary and ill as Manuel was, he had by no means the -idea that he was preparing for death in making these -arrangements. The astrologers, in whom he put supreme -confidence, assured him that he would yet live fourteen -years, and he looked forward to rising from his bed -and once more dashing with lance and sword against the -Turks or Persians. A few months spent in his capital -must have shaken his confidence. Thirty-five years of -strenuous war had added no material security to his -Empire and had alienated his subjects. Vast sums had -been wrung from them, but they had passed into the -purses of soldiers, foreigners, monks and astrologers, -and the civil framework of the vast Empire was in a -state of decay. Men spoke with bitterness of the superb -palaces, their ceilings plated with gold, their walls lined -with mosaic representations of the Emperor’s victories, -which Manuel had added to the imperial town. He grew -sombre, his illness increased, and, one day in September, -he felt his own pulse and concluded that he was sinking. -Impetuous to the last, he slapped his thigh and called -for the robe of a monk. He at once exchanged his purple -for the rough cloth, gave his signature to a condemnation -of astrology, and bade farewell to the world. He died a -few days later; and the shadow of tragedy began to creep -over the gold-roofed halls in which his young widow, and -the child-bride of his son, played with the imperial toys -while men looked on with dark and selfish designs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">226</span> -The character of the Empress Maria is obscured for -us by the somewhat conflicting reports or suggestions of -the authorities. Finlay says that she at once retired to -a monastery, and, although I can find no direct authority -for this, she is so frequently named “Xene” in later -passages that one may conclude that she took the veil -and changed her name. The next statement about her, -however, is little in accord with this. The central and -most powerful person at the Court after the death of -Manuel was Alexis, brother of the sisters Theodora and -Eudocia whose amours had enlivened the Court. Now -advanced in years, but ambitious, covetous and luxurious, -he became the virtual ruler of the Empire. A -somewhat repulsive picture is drawn of his efforts to -maintain himself in sufficient health to enjoy the sensual -rewards of his position, and it is added that he contracted -a liaison with Manuel’s young widow. We are -quite free to reject this sordid suggestion, as a calumny -of those who sought to displace her or of those who -afterwards murdered her, but it must be recollected that -we have arrived at a period of grosser immorality than -ever. It is essential only to observe that she was closely -allied to Alexis (the minister) and was accused of intimacy -with him.</p> - -<p>The Emperor Alexis, who was only thirteen years old -at his coronation, was a flippant and heedless boy. The -base and astute intriguers about him encouraged him to -spend his time in hunting or drinking or dressing in -imperial finery. On the other hand, his sister Maria (the -daughter of Manuel) now began to display a dangerous -ambition and an unscrupulous character. The supposed -intimacy of the Empress and Alexis alarmed her; she -feared, or affected to fear, that Alexis would marry Maria -and seize the throne. She therefore conspired with her -relatives, and sent assassins to make an end of Alexis, -as he hunted in the country. Presently, however, a -messenger returned, not with the head of the minister, -but with the news that he had discovered the plot and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">227</span> -was returning to wreak his vengeance. Maria and her -young husband fled to St Sophia, and, as the crowd -gathered in the church at the news, she loudly and -bitterly harangued them on the scandalous vices of the -Empress and the licentious dotage of her uncle. A -judicious distribution of money opened the ears of the -clergy and the mob to her charges, and she grew bolder. -When the Emperor, or his minister, threatened to drag -her from the church, she enlisted a troop of Italian -gladiators and Iberian soldiers, and, before the clergy -could follow her furious proceedings, turned the cathedral -into a fortified citadel, and egged on the mob to loot -the mansions of Alexis and his friends. On 7th May -the troops issued from the palace, and a bloody battle -was fought at the entrance to St Sophia, but the horrified -clergy now intervened, and Maria and her husband were -allowed to return in safety to the palace.</p> - -<p>On this squabble of hawks there now descended a -veritable eagle of intrigue, and a brief account of his -story will greatly add to our knowledge of the noble -women of the time. I have previously mentioned that, -while Manuel made love to his niece Theodora, her sister -Eudocia was the mistress of Manuel’s cousin Andronicus, -one of the most romantic figures in history. -Andronicus Comnenus, in whom the great line of the -Comneni comes to an appalling end, was one of the -most handsome, most robust, most fascinating and most -unscrupulous men of his age. Tall and massive of build, -tender and engaging in countenance, endowed with a -voice of singular strength and sweetness and an easy -flow of language, he could enslave any woman on whom -his heart was set; and it was set on many. Sober in -diet and drink, he would avoid the revels and carouses -of his brother officers, and spend hours of delight in -reading the rugged epistles of St Paul. But in the -enjoyment of love or the pursuit of ambition he recognized -no moral principle whatever, and few men ever -crowded more adventure into a single career.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">228</span> -His father was the elder brother of the Emperor John, -Manuel’s father, and, on the accession of Manuel, he -was called to Court. He was married, but he admitted -with equal freedom the devotion of his pretty cousin -Eudocia and that of other ladies of less distinction. His -wife seems to have cheerfully recognized that large need -of his nature, and the lips of Manuel were sealed by his -own love affair; but there were men and women of the -family who cherished the older ideas, and Andronicus -nearly lost his life at an early date. After failing in -Armenia—for he was a lax and unskilful general—he -was appointed governor of some of the chief towns on -the Hungarian frontier. Hither the devoted Eudocia -accompanied him, and she lay in his arms, one night, -in the tent when it was announced that her brother and -brother-in-law were approaching with drawn swords. -She pressed him to disguise himself in some of her -garments, but he buckled on his immense sword, slit the -canvas of the tent, and was deep in the neighbouring -forest when the young men arrived.</p> - -<p>He was next detected in treasonable correspondence -with the Hungarians. Manuel overlooked his crime, -but Andronicus went on to make two attempts on the life -of his cousin, and wore so brazen a face when he was -charged, that he was sent in chains to Constantinople -and lodged in a strong tower connected with the palace. -Here he one day discovered an old and forgotten -passage, almost filled with rubbish, which branched -from his prison. He scooped out a hiding-place in it -with his hands, entered it, and concealed the entrance. -When the furious search of the guards had ended, and -messengers had been despatched over the Empire with -orders to arrest the fugitive, the Emperor, suspecting -that his cousin’s wife had aided him to escape, ordered -her to be lodged in the tower. No sooner had the jailers -left her than the poor woman was terrified, and then -delighted, to see the burly form of her missing husband -emerge from a heap of rubbish, and they fell into each<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">229</span> -other’s arms. For a long time husband and wife lived -together in the prison, but at length Andronicus escaped. -His splendid frame betrayed him, and he was recaptured -and enclosed in a more formidable prison. Once more -he escaped and was caught, and for nine years he remained -in prison.</p> - -<p>At length he induced the boy who brought his meals -to take an impression in wax of the key of his prison -while the jailers enjoyed their midday siesta, the impression -was sent to his faithful wife and son (the fruit -of his earlier confinement in the tower), and a key and a -rope were stealthily conveyed to him. He escaped at -sundown, lay in the long grass in the garden for two -days, until the search was abandoned, and then took a -boat at the quay by night and reached his wife’s house, -where his fetters were struck off. He returned to his -boat, rowed to a district beyond the walls where a horse -awaited him, and set out in the direction of Russia. -Once again he was captured, but, as the soldiers conducted -him through a forest during the night, he feigned -illness and retired a few yards. After repeating the trick -a few times, so that they watched him less closely, he -put his mantle and hat on his stick, so that the soldiers -seemed to perceive his figure crouching in the dark, and -plunged into the forest. He reached Scythia in safety, -and was after a time recalled by Manuel, pardoned, and, -after striking a few heavy blows in the wars, was made -Governor of Cilicia. Here a fresh chapter of his love -stories opened. Eudocia had married after the vigorous -intervention of her brother, and his wife seems to have -entered a monastery.</p> - -<p>Endowed by Manuel with the rich revenues of the -island of Cyprus, as well as the poorer proceeds of his -province, he entered with alacrity the gay circle of the -Latin nobles at Antioch, clothed himself in the finest -embroidered silks, and kept about him a handsome suite -of young courtiers. It was not long before his fascinating -manner and brilliant appearance won the heart of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">230</span> -Princess Philippa of Antioch, a sister of the Empress -Maria, and she proved to be no more scrupulous than -the Greek ladies had been. William of Tyre says that -he married her, but the Greek writers speak of the relation -as a scandal, and the sequel favours their view. -Manuel was enraged at this outrage, and because -Andronicus dallied in Antioch instead of taking the -field against the Armenians, and he sent a noble to -replace Andronicus in his office and in the affections of -Philippa. The young princess scorned the meaner -figure of the new governor, but Andronicus was alarmed -and, quitting his new love with a light heart and taking -with him all the imperial funds he could secure, he -fled to Palestine.</p> - -<p>In the town of Acre, to which he soon repaired, he -found a pretty and wealthy widow with whom he could -claim a cousinship, and we are introduced to another -branch of the Comneni family. Eudocia and Theodora, -the frail ladies who have previously engaged our attention, -were the daughters of Manuel’s brother Andronicus. -A third brother, Isaac, had left six daughters, of -whom the eldest, Theodora, had been married in her -fourteenth year to Baldwin III., King of Jerusalem. -Baldwin had died four years afterwards, and the young -widow had received the town of Acre as her estate. She -was still in her early twenties, in the ripest development -of her charms and her passions, when the handsome -Andronicus came to tell the story of his misfortunes. -From mutual consolation they quickly passed to love, -and Manuel was once more infuriated to hear that his -scapegrace cousin was openly fouling the honour of the -family in the friendly kingdom of the Latins. He sent -to Acre a secret and pressing request that the <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">beaux -yeux</i> of his cousin should be cut out, and his dangerous -person forwarded to Constantinople. But the letter fell -into the hands of Theodora, she showed it to her lover, -and the devoted pair packed their treasures and fled to -Damascus and on to Mesopotamia.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">231</span> -A few years, in which several children were born, were -spent in this extraordinary exile by the rivers of Babylon, -where the passionate love of the young ex-queen endured -without regret the rude accommodation of a camp in -what was almost a desert. Andronicus turned brigand -when their money and jewels failed, and, at the head -of his little band of Arabs, raided the territory of his -imperial cousin and even carried off the Christian inhabitants -to be sold as slaves. His queen and he laughed -at the anathema which the Greek Church laid on them. -At last the Governor of Trebizond, at the request of -Manuel, enticed Theodora from the camp and captured -her, and Andronicus sought pardon once more. We -may honour the reluctance of Manuel to shed the blood -of his subjects, but in the case of Andronicus it was an -almost criminal weakness. That astute adventurer put -a heavy iron chain round his neck, covered it with his -mantle, and sank on his knees at a respectful distance -from his cousin’s throne. When he was pressed to come -forward to receive a cousinly embrace, he opened his -cloak and protested that he must be dragged by the chain -to the feet of the Emperor. The comedy ended in his -receiving a wealthy appointment, but he was separated -from Theodora and sent into a comfortable exile on the -southern shores of the Black Sea.</p> - -<p>Such was the man who, after the death of Manuel, -came forward as the champion of the moral principle -and Byzantine honour. Manuel’s daughter Maria, “the -virago,” as Nicetas calls her, appealed to him to end the -scandalous rule of the Empress Maria and her reputed -lover. Age had made him cautious, however, and he -allowed the conflicting parties to exhaust themselves, -and the young Emperor fully to reveal his incapacity -and unworthiness. Then he began to write indignant -letters on the state of the Court to the patriarch and to -the provincial authorities. In his great anxiety for the -welfare of the Empire he left his exile and moved nearer -to Constantinople, winning many to his side by his tears<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">232</span> -and his venerable appearance. He was now a white-haired -old man, approaching his seventieth year, his -still robust and magnificent frame made more attractive -by the apparent sobering of his character. At length he -reached Chalcedon, and the citizens of Constantinople -went across the straits in crowds to hail the deliverer of -the Empire, or of the Emperor, as he was careful to say. -The sins of Andronicus had faded in the memories of -their fathers, and they returned to the city to praise his -loyalty and his demeanour. Before long they arrested -the minister Alexis and put out his eyes. It remained -to disarm the clergy, who had been forced to excommunicate -him for enslaving Christians. When the -patriarch came over to visit him, the wily hypocrite fell -at his feet and kissed them, protesting that the archbishop -had saved the Emperor, to whose cause he was -devoted.</p> - -<p>In brief, Andronicus was presently installed in the -palace, and a ruthless suppression of his opponents -began. Eyes were cut from their sockets, the jails were -filled with nobles, and confiscated property swelled his -treasury. The Princess Maria, who had appealed to him, -and must now have seen her error, perished with her -vigorous husband; one of their eunuchs was bribed by -Andronicus to poison their food. The clergy next discovered -his hypocrisy. He ordered the patriarch to -marry his illegitimate daughter Irene to Manuel’s illegitimate -son Alexis—the natural children of two sisters—and, -when he refused, deposed him and found some other -bishop complaisant enough to perform the ceremony. -The nobles hastily plotted to displace him, but it was too -late. Another batch of condemnations routed his -opponents and enriched his purse. The people, it is -lamentable to find, supported his every deed with enthusiasm, -and were not slow to take up the cry of -“Andronicus Emperor” which his creatures soon -whispered in their ears.</p> - -<p>It was the late summer of 1183, only three years after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">233</span> -the death of Manuel. The foolish young Alexis still -caroused and hunted in frivolous unconcern, but his -mother now saw that the end of her reign approached, -and might come in dreadful form. She was transferred -to a suburban palace, and her life was embittered by -calumny and petty persecution. It is in view of these -circumstances that we must hesitate to accept the charge -of misconduct with the minister Alexis; she seems to -have been one of the best of the princesses of the time, -though her personality never comes clearly before us. -Presently Andronicus charged her with treachery. Her -sister, Philippa, was, after being detached from -Andronicus, married to the King of Hungary, and it -is not impossible that some letters were exchanged -between them in regard to the monster who now aimed -at the throne. Philippa would retain little tenderness -for him since he had fled straight from her arms to those -of Theodora. Maria was, of course, found guilty, and -lodged in a dungeon. Her son, little dreaming how -soon he would follow her, signed the death-warrant, -and in the month of August 1183 her sufferings -came to an end. A high commander of the army -and a eunuch of the Court strangled her with a bowtring.</p> - -<p>Alexis lightheartedly pursued his pleasures for a few -weeks, until he heard about him the cry of “Andronicus -Emperor.” He nervously applauded it, and offered a -share of his throne; and, with feigned reluctance, -Andronicus yielded to the general demand and was -crowned by the clergy in St Sophia. When, in the -course of the coronation Mass, the chalice was brought -to him containing the consecrated wine, he took it in his -hands and swore on the living body of Christ that he -accepted the crown only in order to assist Alexis. A -few days later the youth was strangled by his orders, -and, when the lifeless body was placed at his feet, he -kicked it and observed that it was the child of a perjurer -and a whore. One further detail will complete the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">234</span> -picture of the degradation of the Eastern Empire. Two -high officials of the Court took the body out in a boat, -flung it in the sea, and sang gay songs as they returned -to the Bucoleon quay. One of them became Archbishop -of Bulgaria.</p> - -<p>The two years’ reign of the Emperor Andronicus was -an orgy of bloodshed, spoliation and vice. Perhaps the -most abominable detail of it is that he at once married -the child-widow of Alexis, Anna, the beautiful daughter -of Louis VII. She had not yet completed her twelfth -year, yet she now became the daily and—one fears—nightly -companion of an erotic old man of seventy, -whose devices to maintain his virility are hardly less -repulsive than his murders. It is in one sense a relief -to know that little Anna was only one member of a -veritable harem of singing and dancing girls, and some -nobler women, who filled the palaces, especially the -pleasure-palaces on the Asiatic coast, of the repulsive -monarch. Powerful in frame and fresh in countenance -to the end, Andronicus maintained even in the palace -his sobriety and moderation at table in order to preserve -his youthful vigour. He was, if ever a man was, an -erotomaniac, one of the strangest personalities in the -whole of Byzantine history. He brought about several -excellent reforms in the administration of the failing -Empire, and had, almost to the end, the enthusiastic -attachment of his people; but his brutality in the punishment -of rebels, who were numerous, was too appalling to -be described, and his conduct in many ways approached -insanity. He raised a statue in the city to his first wife; -she was represented as a nun accompanied by a handsome -youth.</p> - -<p>We hasten through this welter of brutality and licence -to the natural termination. Deliverers of the Empire -arose in various places, and were either savagely crushed -or showed a savagery equal to that of Andronicus. The -natural son of Manuel, whom he had married to his -daughter Irene, rebelled; his secretary was burned alive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">235</span> -in the Hippodrome, his eyes were removed, and Irene -was banished for shedding tears over his fate. A nephew -of his mistress Theodora (of Acre) rebelled, and captured -the island of Cyprus, and Andronicus impotently ordered -the two innocent nobles who were Isaac’s sureties to be -stoned to death by their fellow-nobles in the palace; but -Isaac proved as savage and licentious as Andronicus. -Then another Alexis Comnenus, a grand-nephew of -Manuel, fled to the West for assistance, and the Sicilian -army set sail for Constantinople; but the soldiers merely -fell like a fresh flood of savagery on the miserable -Greeks. At last a deliverer arose, almost by accident, in -the city.</p> - -<p>Sorcery and astrology were at that time as rife in the -Eastern Empire as they had been in the worst days of -ancient Rome; the clergy were deeply corrupted and -were almost idle (and wealthy) spectators of the vices -and superstitions of Court and people. One of the more -astute of these diviners was consulted as to the successor -of Andronicus, and, by a device which was a thousand -years old in the Roman world, he caused the letters I.S. -to appear in answer to the inquiry. When Andronicus -heard the result of the consultation, he concluded that -Isaac of Cyprus, his rival in power and licentiousness, -was the fated individual, and felt confident as long as -that tyrant was unable to leave his island. But the -prediction also assigned a very near date for the succession, -and the chief minister of Andronicus was concerned. -There was in the city a timid and unambitious -noble, of a provincial family, named Isaac Angelus, and -the minister insisted that this was the man designated -by the diviner. Andronicus cheerfully ridiculed the -idea, placed his little wife upon the royal galley, and -went with her to join his gay ladies in one of the palaces -across the water. It was the early autumn of the second -year of his reign (1185).</p> - -<p>Within a few days a messenger from the palace broke -into their pleasant dalliance with the news that Constantinople<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">236</span> -was aflame with revolt, and Andronicus, taking -with him his wife and a favourite courtesan, made with -all speed for Bucoleon. It appeared that after his departure -his minister had gone in person to arrest Isaac -Angelus, and, in a surprising fit of boldness, the noble -had drawn his sword and buried it in the body of the -minister. He fled at once to St Sophia, and the people, -flocking to see the man who had slain the hated minister, -made him a hero in spite of himself, and burst open the -prisons that all the victims of Andronicus might come -and support him. He still shrank, even when they -offered him the crown, and his elderly uncle, John Ducas, -cheerfully presented his own bald head to receive it. -“No more bald heads, especially with forked beards,” -cried the people—as those were features of Andronicus—and -the trembling Isaac was crowned.</p> - -<p>At this point Andronicus and his companions reached -the palace, only to discover that there were no royal -troops to defend the throne. In impotent rage Andronicus -snatched a bow, and, from one of the towers or -balconies of the palace which overlooked the square, -sent a few arrows into the crowd, but they burst into the -palace, and he returned in haste to his galley. With his -twelve-year-old wife and his favourite, Maraptica, he -made with all speed for the Black Sea, but his popularity -had turned to hatred throughout the Empire, and he was -dragged from the ship at the first port and sent in chains -to Isaac. His right hand and eye were removed, and he -was delivered to the vengeance of the mob, whose -savage torture and execution of the adventurous prince -must be read in the dead language in which they are -described.</p> - -<p>The young daughter of Louis of France will come -again upon the imperial stage at a later date. Already, -in her thirteenth year, the widow of two murdered -Emperors, she was destined to wed and lose an ambitious -soldier, Branas, and for the third time, almost before -she reached womanhood, weep over the bloody corpse of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">237</span> -a husband. Nor were her sufferings to end here. We -shall see that she remained in Constantinople, and it -was reserved for her to witness the final tragedy which -the chivalry of the West was to bring upon her adopted -country.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">238</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIV" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XIV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">EUPHROSYNE DUCÆNA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> new Emperor, whom so extraordinary a -chance had raised to the throne, was a worthless -and entirely incompetent man of thirty summers, -with the courage of a mouse, the vanity of a peacock, -and the small cunning of a Byzantine mediocrity. Finlay -contemptuously observes that he was “a fair specimen -of the Byzantine nobility of his age.” He had accepted -the control of an Empire which only a Hercules could -save from ruin; and he proceeded to extort money from -its distracted citizens for the building of palaces and -decoration of churches, to surround himself with a hedge -of actors and actresses which shut out the misery of his -provinces, to cast the cares of government upon a crowd -of praying and feasting monks, and to place his ideal of -monarchy in the possession of endless wardrobes and the -enjoyment of stupendous banquets.</p> - -<p>He was an upstart in epicureanism, and it is therefore -not strange that he followed the recent and abominable -practice of taking a child to wife. An earlier wife, of -whom he had a son named Alexis and two daughters, -had died, and, when he came to the throne, there was -the customary scanning of the lists of royal families in -order to secure an Empress. His choice fell on the nine-year-old -daughter of Bela, King of Hungary, and the -wondering maiden was brought to Constantinople by his -resplendent officers and eunuchs and prepared for the -impressive ceremonies of an imperial marriage. The -tender little Margaret became the Empress Maria, and -was entrusted to the care of the troop of strange beings -whom she would learn to call her eunuchs. She would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">239</span> -not be old enough to know that Isaac provoked a -dangerous revolt at once by imposing the cost of his -marriage on the overburdened provinces: or to perceive -that the vast aggregation of palaces had, for the first -time in Byzantine history, been looted by the mob. -Isaac had ignobly lingered in the Blachernæ palace while -the people of Constantinople, after despatching Andronicus, -had wandered through the imperial apartments and -stolen all the money and portable treasures they contained. -One pious looter had even carried off the autograph -letter of Christ to King Abgar. But Isaac, as -soon as his throne was secure, repented of his liberality, -and, by means of extortion and spoliation and adulteration -of the coinage, contrived even to surpass the luxury -and parade of his predecessor.</p> - -<p>Maria will not interest us until, in her womanhood, -she begins to encounter the adventures of a fallen -Empress, and one or two anecdotes will serve to describe -the kind of life she endured during the ten years’ reign -(1185–1195) of her husband. Isaac was a florid-faced, -red-haired young man with imperial appetites. His -banquets consisted, Nicetas says, of “a mountain of -bread, a forest of game, a sea of fishes and an ocean of -wine,” at which he sat, richly perfumed and clothed -with the conscious gorgeousness of a peacock, amidst -a crowd of female relatives, and other females who were -not relatives. When the dishes were removed, the -choicest mimes and conjurers and musicians of the -Empire were summoned to entertain him and his guests. -It is narrated that one famous comedian, when he was -for the first time admitted into the presence of this -cohort of wine-flushed ladies, bowed to the Emperor and -said: “Let us make the acquaintance of these first, and -then you may bring the rest.”</p> - -<p>Nearly his whole reign was filled by a great revolt of -the Wallachians and Bulgarians, and in 1195 he set out -to take the field in person against them. One day he -rode out from the camp to hunt, and had not proceeded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">240</span> -far when he heard an alarming tumult in his rear. He -found that his brother Alexis, who had astutely awaited -his opportunity, was being acclaimed Emperor, and, -without a struggle, he galloped across the country. He -was captured, blinded and imprisoned; and his young -wife now gives place to a more interesting type of -Empress. Maria remained in Constantinople, and will -re-enter the story presently.</p> - -<p>Euphrosyne Ducæna—that is to say, Euphrosyne of the -famous Ducas family, into which some ancestor of hers -had married—was an energetic and ambitious woman -of middle age at the time of her accession. Her father, -Gregory Camaterus, had been an imperial secretary, and -had taken advantage of his favoured position to marry -into the nobility. Euphrosyne must have been born -some time before 1150, in the reign of Manuel, and have -witnessed the later series of revolutions and assassinations. -In time she married the elder brother of Isaac -Angelus, a provincial noble of no distinction or wealth, -and, during the bloody reign of Andronicus, Alexis had -taken refuge among the Turks. Even whole populations -gladly put themselves under the Turks or Saracens to -escape the vices of their Christian rulers. We cannot, -however, say if Euphrosyne accompanied her husband -or remained in Constantinople. At last Alexis heard the -strange news that his brother was on the throne, and he -hastened to Constantinople. He was arrested on the way -by the Prince of Antioch, ransomed by Isaac, and promoted -to high office and wealth. He was a more -energetic, more handsome and superficially more -attractive man than his younger brother, but his -slender list of virtues did not include gratitude.</p> - -<p>He had communicated to Euphrosyne, if not received -from her, his design of seizing the crown, and she threw -herself ardently into the work of preparing the city. She -was a woman of great ability, of persuasive tongue, and -still not without beauty; and it was not difficult to persuade -Senators and priests that Isaac was a disgrace to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">241</span> -the purple. Her own husband was little, if at all, better, -but he had the advantage of an imposing exterior and of -concealing his real character. When a messenger -reached her with the news that Alexis was declared, she -bribed a priest to proclaim him from the pulpit of the -cathedral, and promised heavy rewards to the nobles who -would support him. Alexis himself was following the -same line of lavishing offices (even if they had to be -created) and money on his supporters. As a result -Euphrosyne was able to occupy the palace almost without -opposition, and the Senators hastened to kiss her slippers -and lie at her feet, while she “stroked the bellies of the -pigs,” in the scornful language of Nicetas, who was a -Court official of the time—on the wrong side. She -announced that the new Emperor would adopt the name -of Comnenus, instead of Angelus. It was an indiscretion, -as the artisans of the city said that they had had -enough of the Comneni, and met in the Forum to place -a crown on the head of a popular astrologer of the hour. -But Euphrosyne sent a troop of her obedient nobles to -scatter the rabble and their king, and in a few days -welcomed Alexis to his golden throne. People shook -their heads, however, when, as Alexis came out of St -Sophia wearing the crown, his fiery Arab at first refused -to let him mount, and then plunged so violently that the -crown fell off and was broken.</p> - -<p>The people of Constantinople soon discovered that -they had exchanged brother for brother. Alexis emptied -the war-chest, which Isaac had at length filled, into the -pockets of his supporters, leaving the Bulgarians and -other foes to raid the provinces. He hastened to don the -gorgeous golden robes, and to restore the opulent -banquets and merry parties of his predecessor, and soon -“knew no more about the cares of his Empire than the -inhabitants of Thule.” Euphrosyne is said to have -equalled him in luxury and display, but she had some -idea of statesmanship. She promptly undertook to rule -the Empire, and we can well believe that, even when she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">242</span> -incurs the censure of Nicetas for going about in a golden -litter borne on the shoulders of distinguished nobles, she -was acting from policy. She ignored her husband, overruled -his decrees, placed her own relatives in office, and -had her own lovers. When important ambassadors were -to be received, she had her throne placed beside that of -the Emperor, and Senators had to visit and pay homage -at her palace as well as at that of Alexis. Her husband -was happy in his imperial lake of luxury, and for a time -took no notice. If a noble offered him a sum of money -for the office of ploughing the sand he accepted it cheerfully. -Euphrosyne, however, forbade the selling of -offices, and made a sincere effort to arrest that diversion -of funds from public purposes which had been wasting -the blood of the Empire for centuries.</p> - -<p>Her integrity as a ruler soon excited the hostility of the -vicious nobles, and a struggle began which makes it -difficult for us to judge certain aspects of the character -of Euphrosyne. The rule at Constantinople was to -impeach the morals of an Empress when her public -virtue was beyond question, and this the angry nobles -proceeded to do. She had ventured to appoint a first -minister on the mere ground of ability, and her brother -Basil, her son-in-law and other nobles plotted to restrict -her power. They approached Alexis and whispered that -Euphrosyne was criminally intimate with a handsome -young officer named Vatatzes, and that he might before -long find his throne occupied by her paramour.</p> - -<p>Nicetas, who was at the Court, has clearly no doubt -about the liaison, and we must admit that Euphrosyne’s -family is not distinguished for asceticism. Her youngest -daughter, Eudocia, had been married in 1185 to the King -of Servia, and had, after a few years, been driven from -the Court, naked, for her misconduct, and brought back -in shame to Constantinople. Euphrosyne’s brother Basil, -who owed his office to her, was her chief accuser. Alexis, -at all events, was convinced. He sent for the head of -Vatatzes, who was in Bithynia at the time, and, when it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">243</span> -was brought, addressed it, says Nicetas, “in words -which cannot be included in this history.” Euphrosyne -trembled, and appealed to her courtiers to intercede. -Alexis had gone to Thrace for a time, and he returned to -find the Court divided into two parties over the affair. -Some said that she was guilty; some were for punishing -the libellers.</p> - -<p>He went with Euphrosyne to the Blachernæ palace, -and his dark demeanour and refusal to sleep with her -made her fear that her head would be the next to fall. -She therefore demanded a trial of the charge, but Alexis -merely handed her maids and eunuchs to the official -torturer, and they could only obtain release from their -horrible sufferings by declaring her guilty. Alexis was -not normally a cruel man; very little blood was shed in -his reign. But the suggestion that Euphrosyne meditated -taking from him his throne and his splendid -pleasures alarmed him. He stripped her of her gold and -purple, dressed her in the rough tunic of a common prostitute, -and handed her to two barbaric slaves to be conveyed -to the Nematorea monastery, near the entrance to -the Black Sea. There, guarded by two uncivilized slaves -who could hardly speak Greek, she looked back with -bitterness on the two or three years of power and the -ingratitude of her brother and son-in-law. But Constantinople -pitied her, or at least despised her opponents. -Basil and Andronicus were assailed in the street with -jeers and popular songs, and began to repent. They had -not, they pleaded, imagined that the luxurious Emperor -had energy enough to take such a step; they had wished -only to restrict the power of Euphrosyne. They and -others now pleaded with the Emperor to reconsider his -decision, and, after a solitary confinement of six months, -Euphrosyne returned in triumph to the palace and -wielded more power than ever. It is pleasant to read -that Alexis found himself incapable of ruling without her -judicious aid; and that she took no vengeance whatever -on her accusers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">244</span> -In the following year Alexis fell seriously ill, and the -question of successor was opened. He suffered much -from gout and despised physicians. Unfortunately his -own ideas of medical treatment were much more crude -than those of the doctors of the time. He ordered his -servants to cauterize his gouty limbs with red-hot irons, -and passed into a dangerous condition. As he had no -sons, a wide field was opened for competitors, owing to -the abominable Byzantine system, which knew neither -the hereditary principle nor serious election, and the -palace was enlivened by the intrigues of a score of -aspirants. None of them seemed to have the faintest -suspicion that the Byzantine Empire was within five -years of its first destruction. However, to Euphrosyne’s -relief, Alexis recovered, and, as the earlier husbands of -his elder daughters died (Eudocia was still in Servia), -they were wedded to distinguished nobles, and the year -ended with prolonged gaieties at the Blachernæ palace.</p> - -<p>A long absence of the Emperor in Thrace left the -supreme power in the hands of Euphrosyne, and, as so -many Byzantine women had done, she held the reins -with a firmer and more skilful hand than her husband. -The only defect noted by the censorious Nicetas is that -she was lenient to members of her own family. Fraudulent -officials she punished with a severity that was rarely -witnessed in the East, but the admiral Michael Stryphnus, -who had married her sister, was permitted to -indulge criminal malpractices, for which the Empire -would soon pay a heavy price. He sold even the stores -and equipment of the existing galleys, and they rotted -in the harbours, while pirates spread terror throughout -the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. These were not -crimes at which the short-sighted Emperor could cavil. -Not only did he cheat his people by creating and selling -sinecures, but he resorted to practices which amounted -to piracy. He once sent six galleys of the fleet into the -Black Sea for the ostensible purpose of salving a wreck, -but with secret orders to board and loot every vessel they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">245</span> -met. Large numbers of mercantile galleys were returning -with cargoes from the Black Sea ports, often in -charge of the merchants themselves, some of whom were -flung overboard for resisting. The others returned to -Constantinople in great anger, and, although they stood -at the door of St Sophia, candle in hand, when the -Emperor came to pray, he merely laughed at their complaints. -From the clergy such sufferers received little -sympathy; the patriarch was a brother of Euphrosyne. -The city was full of violence and knavery: the seas were -scoured by pirates: the remoter provinces were ground -between the imperial tax-gatherers and the foreign -raiders.</p> - -<p>Yet in this melancholy putrescence of the once mighty -Empire Alexis and Euphrosyne maintained all the -glamour of the imperial Court. Euphrosyne is the only -Empress whom we find engaging in the chase as the -Emperors did. Nicetas describes her setting out amid -large companies of nobles, a falcon resting on her gold-embroidered -glove, or a kennel of dogs rushing at her -virile call. It is even said that she believed in, and -practised, the incantations and divinations which had -become generally popular among the decaying people. -Her magic seems to have taken some unfamiliar form, -since she had the snout cut off a famous bronze boar in -the Hippodrome, had a beautiful marble statue of Hercules -flogged, and ordered mutilations of other works of -art that reminded Constantinople of better days. She -seems to have been an able and well-disposed woman -tainted by the perversity of her age.</p> - -<p>The Empire was sinking rapidly, living on its capital, -yet suffering the roads and bridges and forts to fall to -ruin, the helpless provinces to writhe under the heel of -every invader, and the funds that should have been -spent on defence to be wasted in courtly luxury and the -maintenance of a crowd of ignoble parasites. An anecdote -of the time (about the year 1200) shows to what an -extraordinary degree the funds had been diverted from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">246</span> -the army. There was in Constantinople a descendant of -the Comneni who, from his barrel-like shape, went by -the name of John the Fat. This paltry and contemptible -conspirator won a few followers among the nobility, -went with them into the cathedral, and put upon his own -head one of the imperial crowns that hung over the altar. -The report ran through the city and a great crowd -assembled and conducted the waddling and perspiring -John to the palace. Alexis and Euphrosyne seem to have -been at Blachernæ, or in one of the Asiatic palaces, but -the strange thing is that there seem to have been no -guards whatever, where former Emperors had kept whole -regiments of Scholarians and Excubitors or, at the later -date, Varangians. We know that there were still Varangians -in the imperial service, but they seem to have been -too few to defend the numerous palaces. However, John -the Fat had not wit or grit enough to secure the palace -when he had entered, and, as darkness came on, a few -imperial soldiers penetrated to his apartments and killed -him.</p> - -<p>At length, in the year 1202, the Empire passed into the -penumbra of its great tragedy. Isaac II., the younger -brother whom Alexis had displaced and blinded, had -lived in Constantinople, in a humble mansion near the -shore, during the seven years that followed his deposition, -and was regarded with so little concern that no -watch was kept upon his movements. It was not noticed -that the Latin soldiers who lived in, or constantly passed -through, Constantinople were frequent visitors at his -house, and it was not known that the letters he wrote to -his daughter Irene, who had married Philip of Germany, -were treasonable in their import. But the blind and -neglected brother was dreaming of a return to his imperial -debauches. It is probable that Maria, who would -now be a comely young woman of sixteen, lived with -him, but of that we are not assured; she was somewhere -in Constantinople. At length the time seemed ripe for -his effort, and he sent his son Alexis, a youth as ardently<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">247</span> -and unscrupulously bent on returning to power as he, to -the Court of Philip and Irene in Sicily.</p> - -<p>It was the eve of the fourth Crusade, and the knights -of the West were gathering for a fresh effort to break the -power of the Turk, and to gather loot by the way. To -these noble buccaneers the Emperor Philip introduced -the young Alexis and proposed that they should restore -him and his father to their throne. Neither East nor -West attracts our sympathy for a moment. The Angeli -brothers were squabbling for the right to indulge their -sordid tastes on an imperial scale, and the younger Alexis -had no more serious ideal. The Venetians, who had an -important voice in the matter, sought their own profit -and a discharge of their debts, and there can be little -doubt that the Western knights, as a body, were allured -by the vague hope of plundering, in one way or another, -the richest and most splendid city in Europe. An infamous -bargain was struck. The princes of Western -chivalry did not hesitate to accept from the frivolous and -irresponsible youth a promise of the payment of 200,000 -silver marks, a year’s supply of provisions to their troops -and other preposterous rewards for dethroning Alexis. -Even the papacy had its share in the sordid bargain; -the Greek Church was to be forced to submit to the -Vatican.</p> - -<p>In the month of April (1203) the fourth Crusade set -sail in one hundred and seventy large vessels, and some -smaller ships, for Constantinople. Alexis awoke from -his dreams to find that a score of worn triremes was all -the navy he possessed, and he must resign himself to -meet a siege of his capital. The vivid story of the fall of -Constantinople cannot be told here. Toward the end of -June the Crusaders landed near Chalcedon and gazed -with covetous eyes, most of them for the first time, -at the innumerable spires of churches—schismatical -churches, and therefore fair prey—that rose above the -clustered houses, the princely villas that shone between -the cypresses in the wealthier suburbs, and the bronze<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">248</span> -roofs and marble walls of the superb palaces which -glittered in the sun among the vast imperial gardens -on either side of the Sea of Marmora. When the news -of their sailing had reached Alexis he had made it a -table joke; now he and his trembled within the walls of -their capital. By the middle of July the Crusaders were -encamped outside the land walls; the Venetians lay -beneath the walls which girt the shores; and the great -assault began. Alexis, from a tower of the Blachernæ -palace, saw the double-edged axes of the brave English -Varangians scatter the Germans and Italians, but he -learned that the Venetians had broken in. Packing his -treasures and his money, he took ship at dawn of the -following day, with his daughter Irene, and fled to -Thrace, where a retreat had been prudently prepared for -such an emergency. George Acropolites, whose chronicle -now opens, says that he took Euphrosyne, but Nicetas, -an eyewitness, more correctly observes that the imperial -egoist deserted his wife, his city and his Empire.</p> - -<p>In their anger at the flight of Alexis the people now -swept aside Euphrosyne and her relatives, and turned to -Isaac, for whom the eunuch-treasurer secured the Varangians. -He was brought to the palace and proclaimed, -and Euphrosyne, her discredited daughter, Eudocia, and -other relatives, were put in confinement. The Latins -were informed that the object of their expedition had -been attained, and when Isaac had ratified the preposterous -contract signed by his son, the young Alexis rode -proudly into the city between Baldwin of Flanders, -almost the one <em>noble</em> of the crusading party, and the -blind, but astute and formidable, Doge of Venice. One -of the Latin knights, Villehardouin, has left us a vivid -narrative of the conquest, and enlightened us as to the -fate of some of the imperial women we have encountered. -When the Latins entered the Blachernæ palace they -found the eyeless monarch sitting on his golden throne -in robes “the like of which you would seek in vain -throughout the world.” By his side sat the “most fair<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">249</span> -lady,” Maria, who, we may therefore conclude, had -faithfully clung to her husband in his blindness and -humiliation. And amongst the crowd of fine ladies, -superbly dressed and glittering with jewels, who stood -about the throne, was Agnes, or Anna, the beautiful and -pathetic widow of the Emperor Alexis, the Emperor -Andronicus, and the would-be Emperor Branas. She -was still only thirty years old. Her presence in the -palace suggests that she had accepted some office in it -under Isaac and Maria.</p> - -<p>But the joy and confidence of the returning throng -were doomed to be speedily overcast. The end was -merely postponed for a month or two. The Empire had, -in its most solemn crisis, received a worthless and despicable -pair of rulers, and the Latins pressed for their pound -of flesh. Isaac, blind, gouty and weak-minded, spent -his days among monks and astrologers, who, while they -devoured the choicest dishes that the palace could afford, -assured him that he had entered upon a long and glorious -reign, that his gout would quickly disappear, and that -his eyes would be miraculously restored to their arid -sockets. The younger Alexis drank and gambled with -the experienced knights of the fourth Crusade. When -the leaders of the Crusade pressed for the payment of their -reward, all the wealth of Euphrosyne and her relatives -was confiscated—Alexis had left little to seize—the jewels -and plate of the palaces were pledged, even the precious -reliquaries of the churches and monasteries and the great -silver lamps of St Sophia were appropriated; yet the jaws -of the West still stood wide open, and the Latin troops -lingered and demanded food and drink. The fugitive -Alexis had, in the meantime, raised an army in Thrace, -and the citizens of Constantinople were embittered and -disaffected. In August a quarrel with some of Baldwin’s -soldiers had led to a conflagration which, it being the -height of summer, had burned for two days and -destroyed nearly half the city. The clergy and people -met in the cathedral to appoint a new Emperor, but,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">250</span> -though some undistinguished officer afterwards accepted -the title from the mob, no serious aspirant dare take the -crown in face of the hostile Latins.</p> - -<p>Isaac died in the midst of the turmoil, and the young -Empress Maria lost her crown almost as soon as she had -received it. We shall see presently that she found -consolation among the Crusaders, but it is necessary first -to follow the adventurous fortune of Euphrosyne and her -daughter. The young Alexis, distracted and feeble as -ever, proposed to leave the city and join the Westerners -in their camp without the walls. As he prepared for -flight there came to him a fiery and ambitious young -officer who felt that the time was opportune for laying -his own hand on the sacred crown. Alexis Ducas -Murtzuphlus—his last name, or nickname, was due to -the fact that he had a peculiar connexion of the bushy -eyebrows which stood out over his crafty eyes—was one -of the party in the city who, to the applause of the crowd, -urged direct war upon the Latins, and his popularity -emboldened him to remove Alexis and ally himself with -Euphrosyne. By a liberal outlay of money he secured -the Varangian guards, and he then approached Alexis -and whispered to him that his leaning to the Latins had -exasperated the citizens. When Alexis trembled, the -adventurer offered to lodge him in a secure retreat until -the rage of the people should have calmed. It is hardly -necessary to add that the young Emperor was conducted -to one of the dungeons of the palace, where his egregious -folly was presently ended with a bowstring.</p> - -<p>Euphrosyne and her daughter were now delivered from -their confinement and restored to the palace, and, as -Murtzuphlus had the characteristic looseness of his age -in regard to conjugal matters—he had already discarded -two wives—he soon sought and obtained the affection of -Eudocia. The contemporary courtier and writer Nicetas -says that Eudocia was merely his mistress, but others -say that he married Eudocia and it is difficult, as the -sequel will show, to determine the point. Probably he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">251</span> -did, after a time, marry Euphrosyne’s daughter, and he -then set to work to defend the city against the Crusaders. -The issue is one of the great pages of history, but its -details do not concern us. On 9th April the Latins -moved their formidable rams and catapults and towers -against the walls, and the Venetians drew up their -vessels along the Golden Horn. Three days later, after -a furious assault, amid showers of mighty stones and -the blaze of burning houses, the heroes of the cross -burst into the city and began that historic ravage which -puts them for all time far below the moral level of the -Turks they had set out to combat.</p> - -<p>Murtzuphlus, finding his troops discouraged, had -retired to the Bucoleon palace, where Euphrosyne and -Eudocia awaited the issue. He had lost, he said; and -from the palace quay, where the stone lion and bull, -which gave the place its name, had witnessed so many -flights, they took ship and sped in the direction of -Thrace. The ex-Emperor Alexis would surely welcome -his wife and daughter, and he would feel little tenderness -in regard to the murder of his perfidious nephew. -Murtzuphlus arrived in confidence at the ex-Emperor’s -new home, and was received in apparent friendliness. -For some reason, however, which is not very clear, Alexis -concealed under his friendly appearance a deadly and -murderous hatred of the adventurer. It seems to me -that, if a marriage had really taken place between -Eudocia and Murtzuphlus, Alexis regarded it as invalid. -He ordered a bath to be prepared for his daughter and -Murtzuphlus, and, when the young officer had entered -it, sent in his servants to put out his eyes. Eudocia, we -are told, stood at the door angrily upbraiding her father, -and he turned upon her with language which leaves little -doubt as to her character. I may add that the blind -adventurer was captured by the Latins, as he wandered -miserably about the provinces. He was taken to Constantinople -and flung from the top of one of the loftiest -columns in one of the public squares of the city.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">252</span> -In order to follow the further fortunes of our ex-Empresses -we must turn back for a moment to Constantinople. -After they had allowed their soldiers to loot and -rape with impunity—to perpetrate, with the aid of their -camp-followers and prostitutes, a veritable orgy of -desecration in the most sacred shrine of the Greeks—for -several days, the leaders of the Crusade met to divide the -spoil. Twelve electors, chosen from amongst themselves, -were in future to appoint the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, -and its territories were to be distributed -among his feudal supporters and the Venetians. Baldwin -of Flanders was chosen to be the first Emperor of the -new series. His most serious competitor was the commander -of the army, Boniface, Marquis of Montferrat, -who had occupied the Bucoleon palace, but the shrewd -Doge of Venice had preferred to set on the throne a -prince whose native seat was at a safer distance from -Venice and Greece. Boniface had to be content with the -title of King of Saloniki and such territory in Macedonia -and Greece as he could wrest from, and hold against, -the Greeks.</p> - -<p>Among the noble dames whom Boniface found in the -Bucoleon palace were Agnes, the widow of Andronicus -and daughter of Louis of France, and Maria, the widow -of Isaac. It is the last appearance in the chronicles of -the unfortunate daughter of King Louis; we must assume -that she spent the rest of her life in quiet attachment to -the Latin Court. The Hungarian princess Maria was -destined to enter once more the field of royal ambitions. -She had not yet reached her thirtieth year, and her -beauty won the heart, possibly an alliance with her -supported the policy, of the ambitious Marquis. He -married Maria in Constantinople, and started with his -queen for Thessalonica, the seat of the new kingdom. -How at the outset he nearly forfeited it by a civil war -with Baldwin must be read elsewhere. The quarrel was -adjusted and they settled in Thessalonica. And at their -Court in that city there presently appeared the ex-Emperor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">253</span> -Alexis, with his wife and daughter, soliciting -peace and friendship.</p> - -<p>Alexis had now concluded that the recovery of the -Byzantine Empire was impossible and he was prepared -to submit. He was compelled to lay aside such ensigns -of royalty as he still wore, and a pleasant residence was -afforded him and his family in Thessalonica. Nicetas -makes the singular statement (followed at a later date by -Ephraem) that Boniface sent Alexis and Euphrosyne -“across the sea to the Prince of Germany.” It is clear -that this is incorrect. They lived for some months at -Thessalonica, and it is one of the few traits we have of -Maria’s character that she received with kindly hospitality -the man who had deposed and blinded her -husband. But the tranquil life of a retired monarch did -not suit Alexis, and we have already seen that his base -character was devoid of gratitude. He was detected in -an intrigue with the citizens of Thessalonica, and -Euphrosyne and Eudocia had to accompany him once -more in his wandering.</p> - -<p>The next page in their career is singularly adventurous, -but scantily preserved. As they wandered over the -Greek province they met Leo Sgurus, a Peloponnesian -noble who had been governor, under the Byzantine -Empire, of part of Greece. He clung to his little power -in the chaos which followed the fall of Constantinople, -and Alexis decided to join him. The troops of Boniface -were steadily restricting his range, and, shortly after the -alliance with him of the imperial family, his life was little -better than that of a brigand. He lived in the decaying -old citadel of Corinth, and marched out periodically at -the head of his men to forage and to harass the Latin -troops. In this quaint home the imperial family found -shelter for a few further months, and Eudocia married -Sgurus. It was the fourth romantic marriage of that -adventurous princess, and was destined to be as unfortunate -as its predecessors. In her early girlhood she had -been sent, while still immature, to wed the King of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">254</span> -Servia. He had adopted the robe of the monk soon afterwards, -and his son and successor, a fiery, brutal youth, -had claimed the pretty young bride of his father and -married her. After some years she had, on a charge of -misconduct, been thrust out of the Servian capital, her -sole garment a narrow strip of cloth round her loins, and -had had to await, in the castle of a sympathetic noble, -the arrival of clothes and a litter from her father. Then, -as we saw, she married the already married Murtzuphlus, -and shared his adventures for a few months. Now she -found herself the wife of an outlaw, living in the rude and -dilapidated chambers of the old Acropolis. But Sgurus -was shortly afterwards captured by the troops of Boniface, -and we lose sight of the unfortunate Eudocia. She -was probably still in her early twenties, yet the widow of -two kings, an Emperor, and an adventurer. Such was -life in mediæval Byzantium.</p> - -<p>Alexis and Euphrosyne took to ship when Sgurus was -defeated, and sailed for Ætolia and Epirus (on the -eastern coast of the Adriatic), where a certain Michael, -a natural son of the Emperor’s uncle Constantine, had -set up a sovereignty over the rude mountaineers and few -towns of that isolated region. On the voyage the ship -was captured by Lombard pirates, but Alexis and -Euphrosyne were ransomed by their nephew, and at -length reached Arta, the chief town of his dominion. -The Byzantine world was at the time full of small rulers, -and would-be rulers. The leading Crusaders had received -their various slices of the dismembered Empire, and here -and there some fugitive Byzantine noble, especially if he -were connected with the imperial house, had set up a -small throne and defended it against the Latins. In this -way Michael, the illegitimate son of Constantine Angelus, -had fled from the captured city to Epirus, married a -native lady of wealth, and constituted himself “despot” -of the whole region. In his chief town, Arta, Euphrosyne -tranquilly passed her last year or two of life. Her -restless husband still thirsted for power, and, when he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">255</span> -found that his nephew was not at all disposed to put on -his head once more the crown which he demanded, he -took to ship again and sailed for the lands of the Turk -in Asia Minor. Euphrosyne did not accompany him. -She died at Arta, either just before or soon after his -departure. Ten years’ experience of imperial life had -sated her ambition.</p> - -<p>The ex-Empress Maria, now Queen of Saloniki, continued -for many years to enjoy the restricted power and -state which she had won by her marriage, but they were -years of anxiety and care. Two years after her settlement -in Thessalonica, the Greeks rebelled and, in alliance -with the Bulgarians, spread fire and sword over the -province, and pinned Maria in the citadel of her capital. -In that rebellion the Latin Emperor Baldwin was captured, -and his brother and successor, Henry of Flanders, -occupied the throne. Some years later Boniface was -killed in his struggle against the Bulgarians, and Maria -became regent for her infant son, Demetrius. It is the -last glance we have in the chronicles of the beautiful -Margaret of Hungary, who, as the Empress Maria, had -come to spend so extraordinary a youth in the Byzantine -capital.</p> - -<p>There remained one other imperial daughter of -Euphrosyne, Anna, who had married the able and -ambitious noble Theodore Lascaris. When Murtzuphlus -had abandoned Constantinople, Theodore had a momentary -ambition to collect the scattered troops and make -a struggle for the throne. He found that the attempt -would be futile, and, with his wife and three daughters, -joined the throng of noble families at the quays who were -flying from the doomed city and the barbarous troops of -the West. They reached Nicæa, but the city, concerned -about its future, refused to admit him. He persuaded -the citizens, however, to receive his wife and daughters, -and departed to seek allies among the Persians. In a -short time he had an army powerful enough to take -Nicæa, and he established himself as governor in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">256</span> -name of Alexis. When, in the year 1206, the Latins -were diverted for a moment by the trouble in Greece, -Theodore was crowned by the citizens, and Euphrosyne’s -second daughter, Anna, attained the dignity of Empress.</p> - -<p>Disappointed in Epirus, her father, Alexis, had now, -as we saw, deserted the little kingdom of his nephew and -sailed for Asia Minor. In earlier years he had befriended -the Turkish Sultan of Iconium, and he now proposed to -ask the hospitality of the Sultan and intrigue for the -crown of his son-in-law. The Turk received him with -great cordiality, and wrote to inform the Emperor -Theodore that his father-in-law, in whose name he was -presumed to hold power, had arrived in Asia. We must -not too hastily admire the gratitude of the Turk; he had -regarded with some concern the establishment of Theodore’s -empire at Nicæa, and welcomed a pretext to -dispute it. But in the war which followed, the Sultan -was defeated, and the active career of Alexis came to a -close. He was treated with respect, but his son-in-law -prudently confined him in a monastery under his own -eyes at Nicæa, and the arch-intriguer ended his days in -the monotonous chant of psalms and prayers. His -daughter Anna died soon afterwards, the last of the -group of imperial women who had struggled for power -and wealth while the great Empire tottered to its fall. -We shall find that that terrible catastrophe made no deep -impression on the men and women who filled the less -opulent Court at Nicæa, or on those who, half-a-century -later, returned to the lamentable ruin from which they at -length dislodged the Western knights.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">257</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XV" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XV<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE NEW CONSTANTINOPLE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">For</span> fifty-seven years the metropolis of the East -remained in the power of the Western knights, -but our Empresses have already come so frequently -from the West that we shall not be tempted to -expect a new or higher type of woman on the throne at -Constantinople during the Latin occupation. That half-century -may, indeed, be dismissed in a few lines as far -as the purpose of this work is concerned. We saw that -Baldwin, Count of Flanders, was selected by the Venetians -and Crusaders to fill the throne. The Blachernæ -and Bucoleon palaces were placed at his disposal, and -one-fourth of the old Empire was assigned for his -immediate rule. But Baldwin’s wife, Mary, daughter of -the Count of Champagne, did not live to adorn herself -with such remnants of the imperial finery as were still -to be found in the palaces. Baldwin had left her in -Flanders, and, when she at length attempted to join her -high-minded husband in his new dignity, she died at -Acre, on the journey.</p> - -<p>Baldwin himself was captured a few years later by the -Bulgarians, and died in prison. His brother Henry, -who succeeded him, married the daughter of Boniface, -the King of Saloniki, whose adventures we have -described. Agnes was, of course, not the daughter of -the ex-Empress Maria, but of an earlier wife. She was -summoned from Lombardy, married to Henry on 4th -February 1207 in St Sophia, and the marriage day -ended with a great banquet in the Bucoleon palace, in the -older Byzantine fashion. But that is all we know of the -Empress Agnes. Henry died in 1216, and his sister<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">258</span> -Yolande became Empress. Even of Yolande, however, -the very scanty chronicles furnish a very poor portrait. -Her husband, Peter of Courtenay, was, after being -crowned at Rome by the Pope, arrested in Epirus, -through which he had foolishly endeavoured to cut his -way, and died in prison. As regent for her children -Yolande remains almost imperceptible, and an anecdote -of the reign of her son Robert is all that need be given -to illustrate the character of the new dynasty. Robert, -who had a light idea of chivalry, brought into his palace, -as mistress, the daughter of one of the Crusaders, and -her mother. She had been betrothed to a Burgundian -knight, and the embittered lover, supported by a few -friends, forced his way into the palace, cut off the nose -and lips of the faithless lady, and bore off her mother to -be drowned in the Sea of Marmora.</p> - -<p>As Robert’s brother was a mere boy, the King of -Jerusalem, a worthy old man of eighty, was summoned -to fill the throne for nine years, and then Baldwin II. -entered upon his long and inglorious reign; of which we -need only say that, in spite of his extreme liberality in -selling, especially to St Louis of France, the valuable -relics (the crown of thorns, the rod of Moses, etc.) which -had accumulated in Constantinople, and in spite of all -the efforts of the Pope to maintain the worthless monarch -on his throne, and that throne subservient to the Vatican, -the feeble and incompetent rule of the Latins sank lower -and lower, until, in 1261, a regiment of Greeks put an -end to it.</p> - -<p>This slight account of the Latin rule at Constantinople -will suffice to enable us to follow intelligently the fortunes -of the descendants of the Byzantine monarchs who had -set up a throne at Nicæa. Theodore Lascaris had -married Alexis’s daughter Anna, who died early in the -reign of her husband, and her two successors in his -affection are even less known to us than she. The first -was Philippa, daughter of the King of Armenia; but, -after giving birth to a boy, Philippa was, for some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">259</span> -unstated but imaginable reason, sent back to the ruder -Court of her father, and Maria, daughter of Yolande of -Constantinople, occupied her place. Maria died, childless, -after a few years, and, when Theodore himself -departed in 1222, his only son (the child of Philippa) was -a boy of eight years. The Empire was, therefore, wisely -entrusted to a powerful and distinguished noble, John -Ducas Vatatzes, and we at length reach an Empress of -distinct and admirable personality.</p> - -<p>The Empress Irene, who, in the year 1222, ascended -the throne with Vatatzes, was the eldest of the three -daughters of Theodore Lascaris and Anna, and therefore -a granddaughter of the Emperor Alexis and Euphrosyne. -While the Princess Eudocia had inherited the character, -or lack of character, of Alexis, her elder sister Anna had, -as far as we can judge, shared the comparative sobriety -of Euphrosyne, and Irene united in her person all the -best features of the family, without its ancestral defects. -She was prudent, equable, pious and virtuous. Her -first husband, Andronicus Paleologus, died prematurely, -and her father then united her to the able commander to -whom he designed to confide the Empire.<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> When Irene -received her share of the imperial responsibility, she -proved to be, says Ephrem, “a new Deborah,” and the -few anecdotes preserved in regard to her suggest a sober -and high-minded woman, associated in perfect harmony -with (as long as she lived) a sober and high-minded and -valiant husband. Unfortunately, Irene led so well-regulated -a life during the twenty years in which she -shared the rule of Vatatzes that there is little to record -of her, and, however much we may resent it, we are -dragged onward by the misguided chroniclers until we -reach John’s later and less virtuous companions. But -the contrast of this later period will be the more piquant,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">260</span> -and the more honourable to Irene, if we dwell for a -moment on the exemplary years that preceded it.</p> - -<p>The greater part of John’s days were spent in warfare, -but in the intervals of his wars he was attentive to the -development of his little Empire, and in this he was -finely supported by Irene. It is true that they adulterated -the coinage, but that device had become a Byzantine -tradition and we must set against it a large number of -reforms. John was a just and simple-minded monarch. -He developed his estates so industriously, in the periods -of peace, that he at length relieved his subjects of the -financial burden of royalty, and enabled them to prosper. -The character of the Court is, perhaps, best seen, and -attracts a lively admiration, in the following anecdote. -One day John presented his consort with a modest -jewelled coronet, and informed her, with pride, that it -had been purchased by the profit on the eggs alone which -his poultry farms yielded. He forbade his courtiers to -wear Persian, or Syrian, or Italian silks, though they -might wear the product of the silkworms of his own -dominions, and he one day severely rebuked his son for -going out to hunt in a tunic of cloth of gold.</p> - -<p>Irene admired and encouraged this care for their -subjects. Acropolites, our chief authority for the period, -was a student attached to the Court at the time, and he -gives high praise to the Empress. One day there was an -eclipse of the sun, and Irene turned to the learned young -man for an explanation. The work of the earlier Greeks -was not yet entirely forgotten, and Acropolites was able -to tell the Empress, with due modesty, that the body of -the moon had passed before the face of the sun and -momentarily cut off its light. But superstition was -spreading its unhappy growth over the ruins of Greek -culture, and other courtiers, especially the Empress’s -physician, ridiculed the youth’s explanation. Irene -laughingly told Acropolites that he was “a young -fool”; but she regretted afterwards, in telling the matter -to John, that she had used so arrogant an expression.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">261</span> -Acropolites almost spoils the story by going on to tell -us that, in his own conviction, the eclipse foreboded the -death of the Empress, which occurred soon afterwards.</p> - -<p>One other story confirms this excellent impression of -the life of the Court in the palace at Nicæa, or in the -country palaces at Nymphæum and Smyrna. Irene had -one child, her son Theodore; an accident, as she rode to -hunt and was thrown from her horse, prevented her from -enlarging her family. When Theodore reached his -twelfth year, the Emperor, who was himself over fifty, -decided to marry him, and, as he was allied with the -Bulgarians against the Latins, he sought the hand of a -Bulgarian princess. The only available daughter of -John Asan, the Bulgarian king, was a girl of tender -years named Helen, and, though the marriage ceremony -was performed, the two children lived together only as -children under the watchful eye of Irene. The Bulgarian -king at length repented of his alliance, and begged that -the little Helen, now ten years old, might return for a -visit to her parents. Vatatzes and Irene concluded at -once that this was only a preliminary to breaking the -alliance, but they scorned to detain the child. We read -that she wept bitterly at being separated from Irene. -During the journey to her father’s capital she was so -inconsolable, even when Asan took her on his own saddle, -that the monarch lost his temper and slapped her face. -Helen did in time return to her spouse, but she will -have little interest for us.</p> - -<p>After nineteen years of this placid and useful co-operation -with the Emperor, Irene passed away, and, -after a decent interval of mourning, John Vatatzes, -though now advanced in years, sought another Empress. -He succeeded, in spite of the opposition of the papacy, -in obtaining the hand of Anna, daughter of Frederick II., -and sister of Manfred of Sicily. Anna was a pretty -maiden of tender years, a mere symbol of alliance with -the two powerful and independent monarchs I have -named. John may have reflected that, as he had now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">262</span> -entered his sixth decade of life, the immaturity of his -bride would matter little. In the train of the young -Empress, however, was an Italian marchioness<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> whose -eyes were, the chronicler says, “unescapable nets,” and -John soon fell into them. Nicephorus says that the lady -employed philtres and her fine Italian eyes in the conquest -of the Emperor’s heart. We will be content to -think that the eyes sufficed.</p> - -<p>For the remaining decade of John’s reign the favoured -marchioness was the most prominent figure at the Court. -She did not, apparently, desire to interfere in politics. -It was enough that she was permitted to wear purple -slippers and other ensigns of royalty, and that courtiers -should gather about her rather than attend the young -Empress. It is related that she on one occasion went, -decked in her imperial robes and accompanied by her -glittering suite, to visit the famous chapel attached to -one of the chief monasteries of Nicæa. The abbot of -this monastery, Nicephorus Blemmydas, was tutor to -Irene’s son Theodore, and, though we shall find his royal -pupil affording little proof of the excellence of his education, -the Abbot Nicephorus was a rare type among the -degenerate clergy of the time. He shut the doors of the -chapel and refused to admit the marchioness. Infuriated -at the humiliation, and stimulated by her followers, she -begged John to punish the abbot. John refused, and -tearfully admitted that his own weakness was the proper -occasion of the trouble.</p> - -<p>In 1254 the valiant Vatatzes bequeathed the crown to -his son, and Anna and the marchioness made way for the -Bulgarian princess, Helen. Anna seems to have remained -attached to the Court, or in some mansion at -Nicæa, and we shall meet her again. But Helen died -in a year or two; her husband followed after a short and -licentious reign of four years, and the relinquishment of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">263</span> -the throne to a boy of tender years, their son John, -opened the gates of the palace to a shrewd and unscrupulous -adventurer and his wife.</p> - -<p>One of the commanders of the troops under Vatatzes -and Theodore was Michael Paleologus, a grandson of -the Emperor Alexis’s daughter Irene. Bold and crafty, -passionate, yet ever ready to stoop to lies and oaths to -cover his ambition, sensible that he was one of the most -capable men to undertake the government and that his -grandfather had at one time been destined for the -throne, Michael directed his steps toward the palace from -early youth. In later years his favourite sister, Eulogia, -who reared him, used to tell how, when nothing else -would soothe the restless infant, she used to put him to -sleep with the strange lullaby: “Hush, Emperor of the -city. You will go in at the golden gate, and do such-and-such -things.” She <em>may</em> have mentioned to him this -almost miraculous inspiration when he came to years of -discretion. By sobriety of life—apart from love affairs—and -liberality to his friends and dependants, he won -great popularity and early incurred suspicion. John -Vatatzes, in his later years, summoned him to reply to -a charge of treason, and said that he must purge himself -by the ordeal: one of the enlightened practices which the -Crusaders had introduced into the East. Michael -glanced at the iron balls glowing in the fire, and protested -that, although he was innocent of treason, he -feared that so sinful a man as he could hardly hope to -carry the red-hot globes with impunity. When a bishop, -who stood by, rebuked his lack of faith in Providence, -he shrewdly suggested that the bishop, being innocent, -might take the balls from the fire with his hands and -deliver them to him.</p> - -<p>His wit and boldness disturbed the solemn Court, and, -instead of losing his head or his eyes, he won the favour -of John and married the Empress’s great-niece, Theodora. -She was a daughter of John Ducas, a nephew of the -Emperor, and had been left to his guardianship. Michael<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">264</span> -was then twenty-seven years old, and we cannot say if -the young Theodora accompanied him in his new command -of the troops. However that may be, he was again -denounced, to the new Emperor Theodore, and compelled -to take a particularly sonorous oath of fidelity to -Theodore and his infant son. In two or three years he -was recalled to Court to repeat his oath. His eldest sister -Martha—sometimes also called Maria—had a charming -daughter, whom the Emperor ordered to marry one of -his servants. The young people had just succeeded in -falling in love with each other when Theodore, who was -now diseased and capricious, changed his mind, and -ordered the girl to marry a noble of her own rank. It -was reported to the Emperor after a time that this -marriage was not consummated, and could not be, -because Martha had vindictively laid on it a form of -incantation known as “Venus’s knot.” Martha was -put, naked, in a sack with a number of cats; the cats -were pricked with pins in order to make them lacerate -her; and the abominable Emperor sat by to interrogate -her about her incantations. After this it was thought -prudent to compel Michael to repeat his oath, which he -did fluently, and the impenetrable geniality of his -manner quite disarmed Theodore.</p> - -<p>Theodore died soon afterwards, and his boy (variously -described as six, eight and nine years old) was left to -rule the Empire under the tutorship of the first minister, -George Muzalon, and the patriarch. Not only Michael, -but all the other commanders and nobles, had sworn -heavily to respect this arrangement. But the body of -Theodore had scarcely been interred before Michael -began secretly to agitate and to bribe his colleagues. -Muzalon was an upstart, not a noble by birth, and it -was not difficult to cast on him the blame of the brutalities -of Theodore’s later years. Three days after the burial of -the Emperor, Muzalon and his brothers and a large -company of nobles and noble ladies gathered in the royal -monastery at Sosander, without the city, for a memorial<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">265</span> -service, when, in the midst of the chanting, the heavy -and regular tread of soldiers was heard. A band of -officers and men burst into the chapel, and, before the -eyes of the shrieking dames and the horrified priests, cut -Muzalon and his friends to pieces beside the altars. -National catastrophe, it will be seen, had not chastened -the Byzantine character.</p> - -<p>From Constable of the Empire, Michael was now -raised to the dignity of Despot, and became tutor of the -young Emperor. Then a convenient coalition of -Western powers against the Empire gave Michael’s -friends the opportunity to suggest that the strong man -ought to be associated with the boy in the supreme power. -On New Year’s Day (1259) he was openly proclaimed -Emperor. The patriarch almost alone professed some -concern about the terrible oath they had all taken only -four months before; Michael met his concern by giving -him a written affidavit, sealed with ponderous oaths, that -he would restore the full sovereignty to John VI. when -he came of age, and would recognize no claim of his -own heirs to power. It was therefore agreed that Michael -and John should be crowned together. When, however, -the hour of coronation arrived, John was not present to -respond to the call of the patriarch, and Michael and -Theodora alone received crowns. Michael had made a -little arrangement with the bishops beforehand, and only -one of the lords spiritual protested. The crowd may -have murmured when, after the ceremony, they saw the -boy, crownless, walking after the new Emperor and -Empress, but a liberal shower of gold coin put an end -to their scruples.</p> - -<p>Such was the initiation to power and dignity of the -Empress Theodora. Two other women, who will engage -our attention, shared the elevation. These were -Michael’s two sisters, Martha and Eulogia, who began -to have an even more important voice than Theodora in -the administration. Both of them were widows, and had, -after the death of their husbands, assumed the monastic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">266</span> -habit. Probably Martha took the name of Maria when -she adopted the black robe, and Eulogia was the -monastic name of the younger sister, Irene. Finlay -remarks that at least in this decaying period of the -Empire the women showed no less ability than the men, -and assuredly there was not in the Greek world of that -time the least effort to confine women within the -gynæceum. During the remaining two centuries the -chronicles are full of references to active and ambitious -women, and we shall see that Maria and Eulogia were -not prevented by their religious vows from taking their -share in the political life.</p> - -<p>From the first year of his reign Michael gave his -thoughts to the recapture of Constantinople, and in 1260 -he led his troops against the city, but he had not the -rams and catapults necessary to shake its stout walls. -He retired to the palace at Nymphæum, to arrange for -the strengthening of his forces, and one of his generals, -hearing that the bulk of the Latin defenders had sailed -on an expedition to the Black Sea, and that the Greeks -in the city were prepared to aid him, boldly entered -Constantinople during the night, burned out the Venetians -from their quarters, and, when the Latin galleys -hastily returned, laughed at them from the impregnable -ramparts. Their monarch had fled at the first shock, and -the whole of the Latins now (in the summer of 1261) -returned to the West.</p> - -<p>On the day following the entry of the city Michael -was awakened by his sister Eulogia. The chronicler -praises the prudence with which she broke the good news -to her brother. One of her servants had heard it in the -early morning, and she entered the bedroom of Michael -to tell him. She thoughtfully tickled his feet to awaken -him in a natural manner, and stood smiling by the bed -until he had full possession of his faculties and she could -tell him without risk. Michael at once moved his forces -and his family to the Asiatic suburbs in view of Constantinople, -where the crown and the royal boots were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">267</span> -brought to him. Not until a becoming ceremony could -be arranged, however, would Michael enter his capital, -and then only with the most conspicuous piety. After -spending the night of 14th August in a monastery -outside the walls, near the Blachernæ palace, he entered, -in the dress of a plain citizen, preceded by the picture of -the Virgin which was believed to have come from the -brush of St Luke.</p> - -<p>The brilliant August sun lit up for them a melancholy -spectacle, as the Emperor—John had been left to amuse -himself in Asia—and his wife and sisters rode or drove -down the Mese to the cathedral. The Blachernæ palace -itself was uninhabitable. Its mosaic walls were blackened -with the smoke of the fires by which Latin soldiers had -roasted their game, and its tessellated floors were in a -sordid condition. Filthy, too, were the colonnaded -streets and squares that had once been the pride of -Constantinople. I will presume that the reader knows -something of the indescribable ways of our Latin and -Teutonic fathers at that time, and for centuries afterwards. -Not a statue or ornament of value remained in -the public squares; the vast piles of stone still lay where -once had been the graceful mansions of the Byzantine -nobility; and great areas of the city were now but -scorched skeletons of once gay and populous districts. -The Bucoleon palace alone had been preserved with any -care, and to it, cleansed for their reception, the royal -party proceeded, after a thanksgiving service in St -Sophia.</p> - -<p>Before long the Court stealthily discussed the fate of -the young Emperor who had been left at Nymphæum. -Michael was said to have reflected that he had now -obtained an Empire of his own, and that the obligation -of his oath did not extend to this new dominion. -Eulogia, a fanatically religious woman, as we shall see, -supported her brother; indeed, it is said that the two -nun sisters, whom Michael consulted daily, urged him -to depose John and bury him in a monastery. Sinister<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">268</span> -rumours circulated in Constantinople, especially when -Michael proceeded to marry John’s sisters to obscure -Western nobles, who happened to be in the city, and -gave them money enough to take their brides away to -their distant countries. But this topic was presently -displaced for a time by one of greater interest. It was -said that Michael proposed to divorce the plain and quiet -Theodora, and marry the Italian widow of John Vatatzes.</p> - -<p>Anna had remained in the East after the death of her -husband in 1254, and would be about twenty years old, -or in the ripest development of her beauty, at the time -we have reached. She came to Constantinople with the -Court, and, from his slender resources, the Emperor -supplied her with a revenue which enabled her to live -and dress luxuriously. It was, no doubt, politic for -Michael to invite the favour of the Italian monarch -by this generous treatment of his sister, but Anna soon -learned that the policy was strongly supported by inclination. -Directly, or by means of his servants, Michael -made violent love to her, and begged a fitting return for -his liberality. Anna refused to be his mistress. It is -characteristic that the chroniclers do not represent her -as spurning his advances on the ground of virtue; she -was, they say, too conscious of her superior origin to -enter into such a relation with Michael, and, instead of -rejecting his gifts and returning to her father’s Court, -she let Michael know that, though she disdained the -position of mistress, she would not refuse that of wife. -The kindly and patriotic chronicler would have us believe -that this was merely a ruse to protect her dignity, and -we may or may not believe this. The immediate effect -was that Michael began openly to speak of divorcing -Theodora. She was, he gracefully acknowledged, a -faithful wife and excellent woman, but considerations of -State made it advisable for him to marry Anna. There -was a fear that the Latins would make an effort to -retake the city, and it was prudent to form an alliance -with some of their strongest princes. Theodora, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">269</span> -had given birth to her fourth son since they had reached -Constantinople, vehemently protested against the proposal -and enlisted the interest of the patriarch, so that -Michael was forced to send back Anna, with a splendid -escort and equipment, to plead his cause in Italy.</p> - -<div id="ip_269" class="figcenter" style="max-width: 19em;"> - <img src="images/i_268.jpg" width="303" height="600" alt="" /> - <div class="caption"><p>THEODORA, WIFE OF MICHAEL VIII</p> - <p class="smaller">FROM DU CANGE’S HISTORIA BYZANTINA</p></div></div> - -<p>Michael now returned to the problem of John, and, -when he remarked to his courtiers that it was absurd -to have “two heads under one hat,” they knew that the -youth was doomed. We have no reason to doubt the -statement of the chronicler that Eulogia supported him in -this design, but we may at least assume that the manner -of executing it was due to Michael alone. He ordered -that the harmless and helpless young man should be -blinded. A long experience had made the Greeks ingenious -in this operation, and, instead of removing the -eyes with knives, or using hot irons, they now sometimes -blinded a man by an elaborate concentration of intense -light on the retina or by the use of boiling vinegar. The -more humane method of blinding by an intense light was -used in the case of John, and the unfortunate youth was -then incarcerated for life in a fortress on the coast of -Bithynia. This ghastly operation was performed on the -day on which the churches and monasteries of the -Byzantine Empire offered their clouds of incense in -honour of the birth of Christ. It is at least gratifying to -find that it did not pass without protest. A warm-hearted -youth attached to the Court lost his nose and lips for -speaking too freely about it, and many others had to be -punished.</p> - -<p>Theodora seems to have been a silent, perhaps disgusted, -witness of her husband’s course, and there is -some faint evidence that Michael’s elder sister dissented -from it. In fact, the patriarch Arsenius himself openly -resented this flagrant violation of a thrice-repeated oath, -and thus led to a long and fierce ecclesiastical struggle -in which the two royal nuns were actively engaged. The -patriarch’s procedure was not as emphatic and thorough -as it ought to have been, but he at least distinguished<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">270</span> -himself among the crowd of corrupt and servile bishops -and abbots by more or less excommunicating Michael. -A council of bishops then obliged the Emperor by deposing -Arsenius and putting a more courtly prelate in his -place, but the hostility and derision of the people soon -induced Germanus to retire, and a clerical diplomatist -named Joseph occupied the see. As the furious schism -of the Arsenians and the Josephites, which followed, will -cross the lines of our story for some time to come, it is -necessary to introduce this fragment of ecclesiastical -history. For the moment it is enough to say that in -1268 the patriarch Joseph absolved from his sin the -ostentatiously penitent Emperor, before a crowd of -weeping Senators and priests.</p> - -<p>The twenty years that followed the return to Constantinople -were absorbed in the work of restoring the -Empire and adjusting the quarrels of the partisans of the -rival patriarchs. Of the restoration it is enough to say -that, as in all similar efforts during the last three centuries -of the Empire, it consisted in recovering the revenue -of the Court and enriching the Emperor’s supporters, -not in any serious attempt to revive the industries and -commerce of the Empire.<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> Nor were Michael’s attempts -to make foreign alliances much more successful. Foiled -in his efforts to secure the interest of Latin rulers, he -turned to the Servians and Bulgarians. In 1272 he -decided that his second daughter, Anna, should marry -the King of Servia. Theodora had some misgiving that -the barbaric Servians were unfit to receive her daughter, -and she directed the ministers who took Anna to the -frontier to send on in advance a party to explore the -Servian Court, and to linger sufficiently on the journey -to receive their report. It proved a wise precaution. -The Servians had gathered round the advance party like—as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">271</span> -described in the Byzantine chronicles—a group of -savages. Anna’s eunuchs excited their intense curiosity, -though not their admiration, and the superb equipment -of the princess was heatedly criticized. They brought -out Anna’s prospective mother-in-law, a dirty and -coarsely dressed woman, to show the Greeks a model -queen. They also stole the imperial horses. So the -advance party hastily sent a report to the ministers who -lingered on the way with Anna and she was conducted -back to her mother.</p> - -<p>In the same year Eulogia’s daughter Maria was -married to the King of Bulgaria, but the marriage -brought little profit to the Emperor. Eulogia had now -quarrelled with Michael. She took the part of the -ex-patriarch Germanus, and she and her daughters and -her favourite monks threw themselves so ardently into -the religious quarrel, which the Emperor vainly endeavoured -to settle, that Michael was very angry with -them. Monks now travelled constantly between the -young Queen of Bulgaria and the Empress-nun, her -mother, and gravely disturbed Michael’s work. After -a time Maria sent some of the monks to Palestine to -induce the Sultan to harass her uncle’s territory, and -she even persuaded her husband to declare war on him. -Michael hated the monks as heartily as Eulogia loved -them, and he at length expelled his sister from the -capital. When he went on to propose a union of the -Latin and Greek Churches, and induced a synod at -Constantinople to acknowledge the supremacy of the -Pope, Eulogia’s love was turned into violent hatred of -the Emperor.</p> - -<p>Martha seems to have died during the struggle, and -Theodora was too weak, or too indifferent to clerical -matters, to take any part in it. She must have watched -with disdain the last vain efforts of her unscrupulous -husband to escape the dangers which threatened him. -In the early winter of that year (1282) he set out to crush -a rebellious noble of the Ducas family. Theodora tried<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">272</span> -in vain to dissuade him from leading an expedition to -Thrace in such a bad season, and a month later she -received the news of his death.</p> - -<p>Her son Andronicus now took the purple, and, as -Andronicus was orthodox and his royal aunt Eulogia -at once returned to the scene, Theodora had a more -dreary time than ever. Her brother was damned, -Eulogia insisted, and his remains and memory were not -to be honoured by the pompous ceremonies of the Greek -Church. The young monarch—he was in his twenty-fifth -year—bent to her commands, and the body of -Michael was buried, almost without a prayer, in the -military camp where he had died. Theodora feebly protested, -and was assured by the fanatical Eulogia that her -own soul was in danger, and her name could not be -included in the list of those who were commended to the -prayers of the faithful in St Sophia until she had purged -herself of her guilt. She was compelled to sign a -repudiation of the authority of the Pope, which would -cost her little, and to promise that she would not ask -the prayers of the Church for her husband.</p> - -<p>Into the appalling struggle of the Church factions -which followed we need not enter. One of the best -historians of the time, who saw the Empire slowly -perishing while its whole soul was absorbed in this -quarrel, bitterly observes that “for the sake of a single -coin both sides were prepared to take oaths so horrible -that the pen cannot describe them.” One day they -appealed to miracle; each side wrote out a statement of -its case, and a vast crowd gathered to see the two rolls -of parchment cast into the flames and howl for the intervention -of God in favour of the just cause. But both -documents were burned to ashes, and the ferocious -struggle continued for decades, while the Turks spread -over the Asiatic provinces, pirates swarmed in all the -seas, and the Venetians and Genoese captured all the -trade of the Empire. Eulogia disappears in the midst of -this struggle, fighting to the last in the cause of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">273</span> -monks, a pathetic example of the way in which the age -perverted its ablest and most spirited women.</p> - -<p>Theodora lived on for twenty-two years, and saw two -new Empresses enter the palace, but the chroniclers of -the time are too much occupied with the ecclesiastical -controversy to tell us much of the personal life of the -Court. George Pachymeres has left us a large volume -on the history of his times, but fully one-half of it is -taken up with the patriarchal struggle. I will therefore -be content to tell the later sufferings of Theodora, and -then return to the Empresses whom her son Andronicus -put on the throne.</p> - -<p>The family of the Emperor Michael had consisted -of four sons, three daughters and two illegitimate -daughters. The daughters were bestowed upon various -nobles or petty monarchs, and of the four sons three -survived to intrigue, or suspect each other of intriguing, -for the throne. Andronicus was the eldest, and he -succeeded his father without opposition. The second -son, Constantine, had, however, been the favourite of -his parents; he had received great wealth from Michael, -and it was known that Michael intended, when death -closed his career, to set up Constantine as an independent -Emperor in Greek territory. From the first, therefore, -Andronicus regarded his younger brother with a -jealous eye. Constantine was a good-looking and very -popular youth, very liberal with his money and surrounded -by friends. Unfortunately he had, like most of -the Greeks of the time, little or no self-control, and in -1291 he gave his brother an opportunity to destroy him.</p> - -<p>Some short time before 1291 Constantine had married -the daughter of Raul, one of the chief officials of the -Court. She was a beautiful and somewhat vain young -woman, very conscious of her new dignity. On the -Feast of the Apostles, one of the many days on which -the ladies of Constantinople were wont to pay ceremonious -visits to the ruling Empress, Constantine’s -wife—we do not know her name—repaired in great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">274</span> -splendour to the palace of Irene. In the hall sat an -aged and noble dame named Strategopulina: in other -words, a lady of the distinguished Strategopulos family, -and herself a niece of a former Emperor. She had -arrived too early for the reception, and sat on a couch -without the Empress’s chamber. On account of her -age and rank Strategopulina did not rise, as she ought -to have done, when Constantine’s wife passed, and the -offended princess returned to her husband in such rage -that she fell ill. Most probably the old lady knew that -Andronicus and his wife would not be very displeased -with her action. But Constantine, egged on by his -wife, took the matter in his own hands. Acquainted as -we are with the morals of Constantinople, we are hardly -surprised to learn that Strategopulina was believed, in -spite of her age, to be intimate with one of her servants. -Constantine sent some of his servants to flog this man in -public, and drag him naked round the Forum.</p> - -<p>The scandal, the storm of chatter, and the gross injury -to one of his wife’s friends, angered Andronicus, and -for some time he looked darkly on his brother. Constantine -was alarmed, and took pains to conciliate him, -but he was displaced from his position at Court and sent -on some mission to Nymphæum.</p> - -<p>With his sixty thousand gold pieces a year and his -pretty wife Constantine would still find life desirable in -Asia Minor. Presently, however, Andronicus came to -Nymphæum, and took up his residence in the old palace -of the Nicene Emperors. To this palace Constantine -was summoned one morning in March (1291). He found -it full of soldiers, learned that his brother had found -him guilty of treason, and was given into custody. His -luxurious belongings and his great income were confiscated -by Andronicus, and he was destined to spend the -remaining fifteen years of his life in a new and particularly -ignominious prison. Andronicus was afraid to -lodge him in a fixed jail, lest his supporters should free -him and start a revolt, and he therefore had a portable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">275</span> -prison—a litter converted into a strong-barred cage—made -for him.</p> - -<p>In this plight Theodora found her handsome son -when, a month of two later, Andronicus brought him to -Constantinople. The Emperor had now taken a decisive -step, and he disregarded his mother’s prayers and tears. -When she pleaded that her son had been convicted, -without trial, on the secret denunciation of a monk, -Andronicus merely summoned a council in the palace -and compelled his obsequious courtiers to ratify his -sentence. Theodora continued to assail him, but she -had never had much influence in the administration, -and under Andronicus she was completely powerless. -Andronicus gave her no opportunity to thwart his policy -by intrigue or violence. When he was compelled to go -into the provinces, he took Constantine with him in his -portable prison, and the miserable young prince, dressed -and shaven as a monk, dragged out year after year -without the least prospect of escape. The third and -youngest brother, Theodore, took warning by Constantine’s -fate, put off all signs of royal estate, and, -living as a private citizen, endeavoured to disarm the -jealousy of the Emperor. These misfortunes, and the -thick gathering of clouds about the Empire, saddened -the last years of Theodora’s long life. The regaining -of Constantinople had put no new spirit, no healthier -blood, into either people or Court. The Byzantine power -was doomed, and the last sad glances of the aged -Empress fell on a capital fiercely rent with ecclesiastical -quarrels, a shrunken Empire trodden under the feet of -the Turk, and a sea swept by innumerable pirates. She -died in 1304, respected and superbly lamented by the -citizens of Constantinople. Without strength of character -to make her mark on the life of the Empire during -nearly fifty years of imperial authority, she had at least -kept her slender record unstained by crime or vice in a -criminal and vicious world. At the most we can regret -only that she clung so faithfully to Michael Paleologus -through all the crimes and deceits of his tortuous career.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">276</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XVI" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XVI<br /> - -<span class="subhead">IRENE OF MONTFERRAT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> story of the unfortunate Theodora has led -us to make a somewhat premature excursion into -the fourteenth century. We have now to return -a few decades, in order to begin the story of the Empress -Irene, who succeeds her in the gallery of prominent -Empresses. Andronicus had in his sixteenth year married -Anna of Hungary, a daughter of Stephen V. One -of the daughters of Theodore Lascaris, the first Nicene -Emperor, had married a King of Hungary, so that the -daughter of Stephen V. had Byzantine blood—the blood -of the Angeli family—in her veins. Her mother, however, -was not of royal, or even noble, birth. Stephen -had fallen in love with a pretty Choman captive, and -married her, and the beautiful young girl whose hand -Michael asked for his son was the issue of their marriage. -At her baptism according to the Greek rite her name -was changed to Anna, and she, with her husband, -received the crown of a junior Empress. Unfortunately -she died the year before Andronicus attained supreme -power, and we have merely to record that she left two -sons, Michael and Constantine, to maintain the valuable -dynasty of the Paleologi.</p> - -<p>As Andronicus intended that one or other of these sons -should inherit the purple, he did not seek his second -wife among the more powerful courts of Europe. Two -or three years after his accession to the throne he married -Irene, daughter of the ruling Marquis of Montferrat. -At the time she was a very pretty little maiden of eleven -summers, and Andronicus may be excused for overlooking -the possibility that, even if there were no powerful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">277</span> -Court to espouse or create her interests, there might be -a character in the lady herself which would interfere -with his designs. For some years nothing occurred to -make him regret his choice. In the Blachernæ and -Bucoleon palaces, or in the old Nicene mansions, Irene -slowly grew up to womanhood, and added three sons -and a daughter to the imperial family. The daughter, -Simonides, will interest us no less than the sons, and -an interesting light may be thrown on the character of -the time by telling the origin of her very unusual name.</p> - -<p>Andronicus desired to have a daughter, and was in -despair when Irene had, in succession, three stillborn -female children. A daughter, at Constantinople, meant -a useful foreign alliance; though Constantinople never -seems to have given any aid to the Courts from which -it drew its own Empresses. In the year 1292 Irene -again approached childbirth, and the anxious Emperor -consulted “a venerable and experienced matron” in -regard to his hope. Acting on her advice he set up, in a -room of the palace, statues of the Twelve Apostles, with -candles of exactly equal weight and size before each. -A group of monks were then introduced to pray energetically -for the issue, the candles were lighted, and -careful watch was made to see which of the candles -burned the longest. The apostle Simon won the contest, -and it was resolved that the forthcoming little daughter -should be put under his protection and named Simonides. -The superstition must have gained enormous prestige -when a daughter <em>was</em> born, and lived to experience a -number of highly interesting, though not very apostolic, -adventures.</p> - -<p>Another incident of the same year illustrates a different -aspect of high life in the Eastern metropolis. Theodore, -the younger brother of Andronicus, had now reached -a marriageable age, and was, as I said, observing a very -discreet behaviour in view of the recent fate of his brother -Constantine. He bore the lower dignity of “Despot,” -and was careful not to aspire to anything more than the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">278</span> -slender circle of gold, with few jewels, which marked -that dignity. Theodora had earnestly pressed her son -to grant Theodore the title of Augustus, as it was -customary to do, but he gravely replied that he had -made some mysterious vow in earlier years which prevented -him from doing so. He now decided to marry -Theodore to the daughter of Muzalo, one of his chief -ministers. They were betrothed, but before the day of -the marriage arrived Muzalo’s daughter was found to -be in a painful condition, as a result of too great a -liking for a cousin of hers. Betrothal was a very solemn -ceremony in the eyes of the Greek Church, and it took -a special synod of the bishops to determine that in this -case the bond was invalid. The affections of Theodore -were transferred to the daughter of another official, and, -to reward the faithful services of her father, the soiled -hand of Muzalo’s daughter was bestowed on Constantine, -the second son of Andronicus and Anna. Experience -had taught Andronicus that, if his eldest son, -Michael, was to succeed him, all others must be kept -away from the throne.</p> - -<p>A third curious incident of the time may be recorded -to illustrate the kind of world in which Irene grew to -womanhood. The fierce struggle of the Arsenians and -the Josephites still enlivened the environs of St Sophia, -but the controversy entered upon a new phase after the -imprisonment of Constantine. The young prince had -been denounced to his brother by a monk who was a -favourite of the patriarch, and, as this became known, -the opponents of the patriarch assailed him with a -furious tempest of invective. Nearly the whole of his -clergy turned against him, and the charges they made -against his personal character—charges which were -loudly echoed in the public streets—were of the most -sordid nature. He was compelled to resign, but he -planned an elaborate revenge. He wrote a letter in -which he invoked eternal punishment on the Emperor -and all who had joined in his humiliation, and, in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">279</span> -characteristic Byzantine vein of ruse and intrigue, concealed -the letter in one of the holes on the roof of -St Sophia where the pigeons nested. He then retired -to a monastery and contemplated with malicious joy the -spectacle of the priests and citizens going about their -work with this dire and authentic sentence of excommunication -suspended over their heads. A year later -the vase containing the letter was found by some youths -who had sought pigeons’ eggs, and a panic seized the -Court and city. For twelve months they had all lived, -unconscious of their danger, on the very brink of hell. -Athanasius was quickly summoned from his monastery -and forced to withdraw his censure.</p> - -<p>In this atmosphere of intrigue, ambition and hypocritical -selfishness Irene of Montferrat developed her -character. The Empire was tumbling into ruins, yet the -one thought of the vast majority of its citizens, of all -orders, was to obtain as much money as possible out of -its shrinking treasury and close their eyes to its future. -Even the Emperor, who looked as far ahead as the next -generation, consulted only the future of his family. -His eldest son was, apart from any question of merit -or competency, to succeed him in the tarnished splendour -of the Bucoleon palace. To ensure this Irene saw him -stoop to the crime of barbarously imprisoning his -brother, and the spectacle of the young prince, travelling -everywhere among the Emperor’s baggage like a caged -bear, would impress deeply on her young mind the first -duty of man, as it was conceived in Constantinople. For -her own part she would take care to secure her position -and that of her children.</p> - -<p>Irene was now a mature and very spirited young -woman in her early twenties. She had great force of -character, a keen and strong intelligence, and an unchallenged -virtue. It was an age of general laxity of -morals, as we shall realize, yet Irene is not assailed on -that ground. But ambition for her children became her -dominant quality, and, as it grew stronger and more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">280</span> -imperious in face of obstacles, it warped her character, -saddened her life, and made her career inglorious and -futile. Had she been the first wife of Andronicus, she -might have rendered very valuable service to the Empire; -as it was, she became recklessly absorbed in her ambition, -and only added to its formidable burdens. When, in 1296, -Andronicus married his eldest son to Maria of Armenia, -she began that sombre brooding on the inferior position -of her own children which was to embitter the latter part -of her life. The policy of Andronicus would be to make -poor matches for her children; her policy was to prevent -it.</p> - -<p>We shall be glad to think that Irene had no voice in -the first matrimonial settlement of one of her children—the -marriage of Simonides to the King of Servia—for -it was a sordid and abominable transaction, but she -seems at least to have played her part in the ceremony -without resentment. We had, in the last chapter, a -glimpse of the condition of Servia in the thirteenth -century. In the year 1298, which we have reached, -there was on the throne a particularly objectionable -type of “kral,” as the Servians called their ruler. He -had first married the daughter of a neighbouring king, -but he had led astray his brother’s wife, who was a sister -of Anna of Hungary, and, when a third sister came on -a visit to his Court, he conceived so violent a passion for -her that he sent his wife home to her father. This lady -was a nun, yet the Kral persuaded her to discard her -black robe and go through a form of marriage with him. -He then tired of the royal nun in turn, and married the -daughter of King Terter of Bulgaria. By the year 1298 -he was ready for a third change. None of his three -queens had given him an heir to the throne, and he was -therefore disposed to listen to the expostulations of his -clergy and the advances of Andronicus.</p> - -<p>At this time the Emperor’s sister Eudocia returned, a -young and attractive widow, to the Court at Constantinople. -She had married, and recently lost, the Emperor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">281</span> -of Trebizond, and came home to enjoy her fortune in her -native city. Andronicus pressed her to marry the Kral -of Servia, whose army would be useful to him. When -Eudocia indignantly refused, there was no lady of the -imperial house to offer to the Kral except the little -Simonides, who had not yet reached her seventh birthday. -The only serious obstacle which Andronicus saw -to the alliance was the fact that the Kral’s first wife still -lived, and both the Servian and Byzantine clergy would -regard the marriage as invalid. But this obstacle was -opportunely, perhaps artificially, removed by the death -of that lady, and the child of six summers was taken by -Andronicus and Irene to the Servian capital—we notice -the caged Constantine still among the Emperor’s luggage—and -married to the middle-aged and hot-blooded -barbarian.</p> - -<p>Since we shall find Irene in the following year making -a most violent and effective protest against the marriage -of her eldest son, and do not find her making any -protest at all in regard to the marriage of Simonides, -we must conclude that she consented to this abominable -procedure. The patriarch of Constantinople, who had -been deceived by them, felt so strong a repugnance to -the marriage that he followed the Emperor to Servia and -vainly endeavoured to secure an audience. Irene seems -to have given him no assistance. The husband proposed -for her child was a king: the wife proposed for her son -in the following year was <em>not</em> of royal birth. We see her -ambition already corrupting her nature. She was content -to stipulate that Simonides should be treated as a -sister until she reached the condition of puberty, and -entrusted her to the “honour” of the fiercely sensual -and unscrupulous Kral; though we shall find in the -course of time that Irene herself became largely responsible -for the Kral’s breach of his engagement to respect -the age of her daughter. Irene and Andronicus returned -to Constantinople, bringing with them the Bulgarian -princess whom Simonides had replaced. This lady, it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">282</span> -is interesting to note, was married soon afterwards to the -Emperor’s brother-in-law, Michael Cutrules, who had -wedded, and recently lost, Andronicus’s youngest sister. -But her career ended in prison before many years, as -Michael was convicted of treason and placed for life, -with his wife, in one of the palace dungeons.</p> - -<p>In the following year, 1299, Andronicus proposed to -marry Irene’s eldest son, John, and the struggle of her -life began. The wife chosen for him was a daughter of -one of the chief ministers, Nicephorus Chumnus, and -Irene now fought her husband with such vigour that he -was compelled to desist. Andronicus wished to remove -her children from any possible rivalry with his son -Michael; Irene was determined that they should make -royal matches and wear diadems. She had probably -by this time conceived the ambitious idea which wrecked -her life, and trusted to induce Andronicus to detach -fragments of his Empire in which her sons might set -up independent Courts. In this she was, no doubt, -mainly inspired by ambition for her children, but the -later course of the quarrel will show that she had secret -personal grievances against her husband, and she may -have contemplated retiring to the Court of one of her -sons. For five years Irene resisted the design of her -husband and, with tears at one time and threats at -another, urged her own scheme upon him. Andronicus -became weary and irritated. The ecclesiastical quarrel -still distracted his capital, the Turk ravaged his provinces, -the pirate swept his seas, and a new burden was -added to his cares. An army of Spaniards, who had -been set free by the termination of the Twenty Years’ -War in Italy, came eastward in search of adventure, -and, being employed by Andronicus to fight the Turk, -soon proved a very fertile source of anxiety and trouble.</p> - -<p>In the midst of these harassing cares Andronicus -impatiently resented the importunity of his wife, and -their life became one of incessant quarrel. Irene threatened -that she would not share his bed unless he either<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">283</span> -associated her sons in power with Michael or secured -them independent kingdoms at his death; Andronicus -retorted by locking his door against her, and Irene was -further embittered. In 1304 her son John married Irene, -the daughter of Chumnus, and the Empress went at once -to live at Thessalonica. The chroniclers relate that -Andronicus had at length persuaded his wife to consent -to this marriage, but that seems to be a half-truth put -forward by the Emperor. He gave John the government -of Thessaly, and Irene accompanied him and the younger -Irene to Thessalonica, where, as we saw, there had been -a palace since the days of Boniface.</p> - -<p>In the capital of the Greek province Irene now entered -upon an activity that gave her husband more anxiety -than ever. He presently learned that she was openly -telling to the monks and matrons of her Court certain -indelicate details of their conjugal life which “the most -brazen courtesan would blush to tell,” says the chronicler. -Through her daughter these details were forwarded -to the Kral of Servia, but such matters were not of a -nature to induce that monarch to declare war on his -erring father-in-law. The Duke of Athens was then -assailed by the ambitious Empress; he was urged to -marry his daughter to her second son, Theodore, and -then wrest the province of Thessaly from Andronicus. -Irene’s plan was now clear. The most westerly part of -the Empire was to be detached and converted into a -kingdom for her and her children. The Duke of Athens -declined to pit his small force against the Byzantine -mercenaries, and Theodore was sent to Lombardy to -wed the daughter of the Marquis Spinola, who held a -small territory in the north of Italy. The marriage was -spiteful, as Andronicus was not consulted, but it did not -bring to Irene an alliance of any material value; and, as -John died, childless, about the same time (1307), she -turned again to the Kral of Servia.</p> - -<p>Andronicus was alarmed. He was at the height of -his trouble with the Catalans and at war with Bulgaria,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">284</span> -so that fresh trouble with Servia would be a serious complication. -He made every effort, short of granting her -extreme demand, to conciliate Irene, but the passionate -woman determined to profit by the Empire’s difficulties -and carried on the war with a spirit and ability that -deserved a better cause. She had taken with her to -Thessaly a vast quantity of money and treasure, and she -now employed this more persuasive argument on the -Kral of Servia. She sent him a superb crown from the -Byzantine treasury and some of the richly embroidered -robes of the Byzantine Court for himself and her -daughter; and she forwarded to him, the chronicler says, -money enough “to equip and maintain a hundred -triremes for ever.” It is unfortunate that we do not -know more particulars about her departure from Constantinople -and the way in which she became possessed -of all this treasure. It looks as if she had been collecting -resources for some years, and had left with a quite -definite intention of fighting her husband. Her present -policy was to induce the Kral to make war on Andronicus -and take Constantinople. Her ambition had degenerated -into a disease and a crime.</p> - -<p>There is grave reason to blame Irene for another -issue of her ambition which, no doubt, she did not -intend. Next to the taking of Constantinople Irene most -desired to see her daughter have a son to inherit the new -Empire, and it is plain that she impressed this on the -Servian monarch. Simonides was now fourteen or -fifteen years old, and would be regarded in the East as -a possible mother, but, whatever the details may be, the -fact is recorded by the chroniclers that her womb was -injured in some way and Irene was told that her daughter -would never have children. Her next plan was that the -Kral should adopt one of her sons as his heir, and, as -her treasury was ample, the Kral consented. Demetrius, -her youngest son, was sent with a splendid escort and -luxurious outfit to the Servian Court, but its rough -ways disgusted the spoiled youth and he returned to his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">285</span> -mother. As a last resource Irene recalled Theodore from -Lombardy and sent him to Servia.</p> - -<p>When Theodore also found the ways of the Servians -unbearable, and returned to Lombardy, Irene’s fiery -spirit was quenched. Her four years’ struggle for a -kingdom had entirely failed, and her health was affected. -She confessed her defeat and requested Andronicus to -allow her to return to Constantinople. We are scarcely -surprised that Andronicus refused permission, politely -assuring her that, as the Turks now swarmed in the -neighbourhood of Constantinople, she was safer at -Thessalonica. Even when, in the following year, the -Catalan troops returned to the West, and relieved him of -one of his burdens, the Emperor gave her no invitation -to return. She lived on for eight years in complete -obscurity at Thessalonica, and died of fever at Drama, -in Thessaly, where she had a country palace, in 1317, -leaving, in spite of her great expenditure, a considerable -fortune. The dead body of his fiery spouse was not -feared by Andronicus. He permitted Simonides to bring -it to the metropolis and inter it with imperial ceremonies -among the royal graves.</p> - -<p>The further career of Simonides herself is not without -interest, though we have no very definite portrait of the -daughter of Irene and protégée of the Apostle Simon. -Once in Constantinople, she declared that she would not -return to the less luxurious Court and the rough manners -of her husband. Andronicus did not interfere until, -after a time, the Kral sent word that he would attack -Constantinople if his wife did not return. She was -forced by the Emperor to join the Servian envoys, and -set out with them for Belgrade. But Simonides had not -a little of the spirit of her mother. When they had -proceeded some two or three days’ journey toward Servia, -she cut her hair and donned the black robe of a nun. -The Kral’s servants were stupefied, and, thinking it -better to anticipate the order of their monarch, drew -their swords. With Simonides, however, was her half-brother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">286</span> -Constantine, who saw a more reasonable solution -of the difficulty. He stripped her of the monastic robe -with his own hands, compelled her to put on her royal -garments, and sent her to her Court. The Kral died a -few years afterwards, and Simonides returned to live in -Constantinople and find more congenial lovers, as we -shall see, amongst its more refined nobility.</p> - -<p>But the adventures of Irene’s daughter continue into -the next reign, and it is time to turn back and consider -the new Empress who had been crowned in Constantinople -in 1296. Once more we shall find a story of a -woman of excellent character, though less gifted than -Irene, tainted by the Byzantine atmosphere and driven -to assist in rending the dying Empire. Nothing but a -strong infusion of virile moral feeling could have arrested -the decay of the Empire. Unhappily, moral sentiment -sinks lower and lower at Constantinople after the death of -Irene, while the energetic Turk slowly advances to its -destruction.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">287</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XVII" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XVII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">MARIA OF ARMENIA</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">In</span> the year 1295 Michael, the eldest son of Andronicus -II. and Anna, received the imperial title, and -there ensued a remarkable competition of monarchs, -great and little, for the honour of wedding a daughter to -him. Charles of Sicily made an early offer of the hand of -his daughter, but the legates returned disappointed to -their master, and the smaller kings of the East sent in descriptions -of the charms of their marriageable daughters. -Amongst them was the King of Armenia, and the -patriarch Alexis was deputed to go and examine the -candidate. Alexis was captured by pirates as he crossed -the sea, and, although the prelate made a skilful and -vigorous escape, it was thought that Armenia was too -remote and inaccessible. Legates were therefore sent -to learn the terms of the King of Cyprus, and observe -the merits of his daughter. When these also were unsuccessful, -a stronger embassy was sent to Armenia, and -the troop presently returned with two blushing candidates -for the position of Empress.</p> - -<p>The King of Armenia had, it seems, two marriageable -daughters, and they were so equal in grace and beauty -that no courtier could decide which was the more eligible. -The Armenians insisted that both Ricta and Theophano -should be conveyed to Constantinople, where noble husbands -were still plentiful, and a message was sent to the -capital to notify their coming. Andronicus gave them -a princely welcome at the palace quay, and decided that -the elder of the two should marry Michael. Their names -were changed to Maria and Theodora, and, when the -elder was united to the young Emperor, and received<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">288</span> -herself the imperial title, the younger was consoled by an -alliance with the “Sebastocrator” John and a share of his -sonorous title and more slender diadem. We do not know -the age of Maria and are, as usual, without a description -of her person; in fact, the quiet, unassuming ways of -her very mediocre husband leave her in considerable -obscurity for the first half of her life. We find her -in 1306 setting out with him for the Bulgarian war -and showing a fine spirit of patriotism. Andronicus -had no money to pay the troops, and Maria, who -remained in Adrianople, sold the jewels and melted the -plate which had formed part of her dowry, in order to -win success for her husband. They then returned to -Constantinople to await, in exemplary patience, the -natural transfer to them of the supreme power.</p> - -<p>In 1318 their eldest son, Andronicus, was married to -Irene, daughter of the Duke of Brunswick, and Michael -and Maria went to Thessaly and engaged in the peaceful -administration of that province. Two years later came -a terrible message from Constantinople which put an end -to the life of Michael and changed and saddened the -whole course of Maria’s career. They had had two sons -and two daughters. One daughter, Theodora, married -the King of Bulgaria; the elder, Anna, married the -Prince of Epirus, and, when he was assassinated, married -his murderer. Tragedy seemed to dog the footsteps -of the descendants of Michael Paleologus and Theodora, -and a far more terrible experience was reserved for the -sons, Andronicus and Manuel. Their father had consented -to leave them at Court under the eye of the old -Emperor, and that monarch’s idea of training them was -unhappily consistent with a great deal of spoiling and -pampering. Manuel, the younger brother, seems to -have had a more sober and industrious character; the -elder, Andronicus, was a vain, handsome and unscrupulous -youth, whose light head was soon turned by the -flattery of courtiers. His days were spent in hunting, his -nights in the pleasures of the table, the dice-board, or the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">289</span> -enervating chambers of courtesans. He was the natural -heir to the throne, after his father, and already enjoyed -the imperial title, so that parasites gathered thick about -his person. He outran his ample income, and was forced -to borrow large sums of money from the Genoese -bankers of the suburb of Galata in order to maintain -his luxuries and his mistresses.</p> - -<p>The old Emperor did not fail to perceive the debasement -of the character of his favourite grandson, and -sharply to reprove him, but the young man sank more -deeply into debt, and began at length to feel impatient -of the long delay that must ensue before the keys of the -imperial treasury would come into his hands. He contemplated -a series of wild intrigues for the purpose of -securing an immediate independence and control of at -least a small dominion. At one moment he meditated -seizing the throne of Armenia, on the pretext that it was -his mother’s appanage; at other times he aspired to rule -the island of Lesbos, the Peloponnesus, or any other -fragment of the Empire from which he could wring the -price of his pleasures.</p> - -<p>The older Andronicus watched him vigilantly, and -his intemperance soon led to a tragedy which -definitely turned his grandfather against him. He -was informed that a rival secretly visited the house -of one of his mistresses, a lady of the Byzantine -nobility and of very Byzantine laxness of morals, and he -posted a band of archers and swordsmen near the house, -with orders to fall upon any man who approached. It -happened that on the same evening, about midnight, -Manuel had occasion to see his elder brother at once, -and expected to find him at the house of his mistress. -He was not recognized by the assassins, and was -murdered. This was the news which came to Michael -and Maria in the autumn of 1320. Michael was in poor -health at the time, and the shock ended his life. Maria -seems to have taken the veil, as we generally find her -named Xene in the chronicles after this date, but we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">290</span> -shall find that she neither repudiated her elder son nor -retired wholly from the world.</p> - -<p>The elder Andronicus now made it clear that his -grandson should not inherit the purple, but he unfortunately -committed a fresh blunder, which strengthened -the hands of the young Emperor. The proper and most -worthy—or least unworthy—heir to the throne was now -the younger son of Anna of Hungary, Constantine, who -had for some years been content with the lower title of -“despot” and the government of Thessaly and Macedonia. -He had, as we saw, married the daughter of the -minister Muzalo. Finding a pretty maid among the -common servants of his wife’s household, he had made -her his mistress, and, as Muzalo’s daughter soon died, -Cathara was raised to the rank of companion. They -had a remarkably beautiful boy, who went by the name -of Michael Cathara. After a time the roving eye of -Constantine was arrested by the charm of the wife of one -of his secretaries, and he proposed to bestow part of his -affection on her. She pleaded the claims of her husband -and the prescriptions of virtue; her husband promptly -disappeared, as so many inconvenient husbands did in -the Byzantine Empire; and the “new Hypatia,” as the -chronicler calls her, shared the crown and the couch of -the Despot of Thessaly. Her beauty, wit and culture are -said to have placed her before all other women of her -age, though there is a taint of sacrilege in the comparison -with the virtuous, philosophical and venerable -Hypatia of Alexandria. Cathara was dismissed, and -Michael Cathara became a page at the Court of the elder -Andronicus.</p> - -<p>The Emperor, now a gouty and feeble old man of -sixty-four, was again seduced by the superficial charm -of a handsome boy, and treated Michael with a favour -which clearly marked him for the ultimate possession of -the throne. He gave the boy the imperial title, and kept -him by his side when he received ambassadors. When -the elder Michael died, and it was necessary, according<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">291</span> -to custom, to frame a new oath of allegiance to the -Emperors, the name of the younger Andronicus was -expressly excluded, and the officers swore only to obey -the old Emperor and whomsoever he might associate -with himself. This imprudent choice gave some of the -discontented nobles a pretext to disregard their oaths, -and they entered into secret alliance with the younger -Andronicus. In order, however, to follow intelligibly -the further fortunes of the imperial women, it will be -necessary to give a brief account of this conspiracy and -its leaders.</p> - -<p>The most prominent figure among the discontented -nobles was John Cantacuzenus, a very distinguished and -cultivated noble, a later Emperor, and one of the chief -historians of the period. The tortuousness of his career -and the cloak of hypocrisy in which he foolishly -imagines that he has concealed his ambition warn us to -read his account of his times with discretion. His -history opens with a deliberate concealment of the -murder of Manuel and of the flagrant vices of his -associate, Andronicus, and it remains mendacious and -hypocritical to the last page. Such was the chief -character who will mingle in the story of the Empresses -for the next twenty years. He frowned on the low birth -of Michael Cathara, was indifferent to the vices of -Andronicus, and secretly cherished an ambition to -occupy the throne. With him were Theodore Synadenus, -a noble of equal distinction and more substantial -character; Sir Janni (probably Sir John), an unscrupulous -Choman adventurer; and Apocaucus, a successful -financier, of low birth, who begged to be allowed to -share the risk and profits of the speculation. Secret -vows of fidelity were exchanged, and the more wealthy -members of the group purchased the administration of -distant provinces, in which they might raise and arm -troops.</p> - -<p>The old Emperor detected the conspiracy, and made -an effort to check it. In the spring of 1321, on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">292</span> -morning of Passion Sunday, Andronicus was summoned -to the palace of his grandfather and was forbidden to -communicate with any person until he had seen the -Emperor. The message was alarming, but the messenger -was probably open to bribery, and the other conspirators -were hastily warned. They decided to bring -a troop of armed men into the hall of the palace, and, if -the old Emperor were heard to speak angrily to his -grandson in the inner chamber, rush in and despatch -him. It will be noticed that the Byzantine Court was -now but the shadow of its former greatness. The -thousands of watchful Scholarians and Excubitors had -long disappeared, even the stalwart and faithful English -and Scandinavian Varangians could be hired no longer -in any number, and a group of venal Cretan or Italian -guards alone protected the approach to the throne. But -the elder Andronicus, who had gathered the bishops in -his chamber to hear him charge and convict his grandson, -learned that a troop waited in the hall without, and -the conference ended in hypocritical embraces and vows -of mutual fidelity. The nobles, however, resented this -solution. In their respective provinces, to which they -were ordered, they raised their troops and concentrated at -Adrianople. When Andronicus saw that they had a -serious army he fled to join them, and they soon began -to march over the provinces toward the capital.</p> - -<p>Andronicus the elder was at first content to send a -regiments of priests and monks into the streets of Constantinople -with Bibles, making every citizen swear not -to desert their lawful monarch. The oath was taken -with the customary fluency, and the customary reserve; -but the insurgents came nearer and nearer over the roads -of Thrace, and a fresh peace had to be arranged. The -grandson was now to have Thrace for his personal -dominion, with Adrianople for capital, and the right of -succession to the whole Empire. The young Empress -Irene, who seems to have been little more than a spectator -of the stormy seas into which her marriage had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">293</span> -drawn her, joined her husband at Adrianople, presented -him with a baby, and lived for a few months longer to -witness his debauchery and infidelity. Before very long -her reckless husband attempted to seduce the wife of one -of his chief supporters, Sir Janni, and that commander, -already jealous of the greater favour shown to Cantacuzenus, -deserted to Constantinople and persuaded the -elder Andronicus to try the fortune of war once more.</p> - -<p>The Empress Maria, or the nun Xene, as she seems -to have become, took the part of her son in the quarrel -with the older Emperor. There is no evidence that she -was a sincerely religious woman; indeed, the fact that -she sided with her worthless son prevents us from supposing -this. She probably trusted to return to Court in -his train. She had remained in Thessalonica since the -death of her husband, and she endeavoured to secure -interest for her son in that province. The older Emperor, -however, sent his son Constantine to Thessalonica, and -Xene was arrested and shipped, in a very unceremonious -fashion, to Constantinople. Constantine was now in a -fair way to attain the Empire, and his “new Hypatia” -must have enjoyed visions of a very speedy accession to -power. But soon afterwards Constantine was captured -by his nephew’s troops and committed to prison, from -which he would never emerge. The unknown lady of -such remarkable beauty and accomplishments, Constantine’s -wife, now disappeared into the obscurity from -which she had come, and Xene returned to hope.</p> - -<p>The old Emperor was checked by the disaster of his -son and sued for peace. He sent Xene to negotiate with -him, and Andronicus and his friends were soon enjoying -themselves once more in the capital. Irene had set out -with him from Adrianople, but she died on the journey. -Her life must have been unhappy, but the widower -found consolation, and we find the earlier Irene’s -daughter, Simonides, included in the list of the noble -dames who consoled him. Simonides had entered the -world encircled by a halo of miracle, but she was not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">294</span> -destined to issue from it in a corresponding odour of -sanctity. Few did in mediæval Byzantium. She had, -as I said, returned from Servia after the death of the -Kral, and was living in the city, a comfortable widow of -thirty-three, when her handsome and profligate nephew -came back to Court, more wealthy and luxurious than -ever. There is no room for doubt that she entered into -a liaison with Andronicus, since the old Emperor himself -publicly referred to it as a notorious fact.</p> - -<p>Xene had remained in Thrace, where, after a second -marriage, which we will describe in the next chapter, -Andronicus joined her. The town of Didymoteichus -(now Demotica), about twenty miles to the south of -Adrianople, became at this point the seat of a royal -residence and a most important centre of intrigue in -Byzantine history. From that town Xene and her son -presently sent a most affectionate message to Xene’s -daughter Theodora, who had married the King of -Bulgaria, or two kings of Bulgaria in succession. The -ladies of the Paleologi family were almost all remarkable -for their adaptability to changes of domestic circumstances. -It was twenty-three years since Xene had sent -her daughter to Bulgaria, and she had not seen her -since; Andronicus had never seen his sister. They now -felt a sudden and most pressing desire to meet her, and -she and King Michael came to spend a week at Didymoteichus. -The real object was, of course, to arrange -an alliance with Bulgaria, to counterbalance the older -Emperor’s alliance, through Simonides, with Servia. -Michael, a man of loose life and coarse and repulsive -manners, was flattered by the liberal attentions of the -imperial nun, and when Andronicus gave him a more -substantial proof of their esteem, in the shape of a large -promise of money and territory, he went home to -mobilize his troops. In a short time the news reached -Constantinople that the banners of civil war were to be -raised once more. No one was surprised, as the year had -opened with unmistakable portents. A muddy pig had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">295</span> -scattered a procession of bishops, which accurately foreshadowed -trouble in the Church; and there had been two -eclipses of the moon in three months, than which there -could be no surer foreboding of trouble in the State.</p> - -<p>The senior Emperor had recourse at once to his futile -diplomacy and his synods of bishops. He drew up a -formidable indictment of his grandson, and submitted -to the Empire that a man who had seduced his aunt, -appropriated imperial funds, and committed many other -grave crimes, was unfit to wear the purple. In his -history of the time Cantacuzenus laboriously meets this -indictment, but his answers are feeble and evasive, and, -since he prudently overlooks the charge of a liaison -with Simonides, we have little hope of relieving her -character of that imputation. It does not seem to have -made any difference to Xene’s loyalty to her son, and we -must conclude that she was bent on returning with him -to the Court. However, after some months of mutual -incrimination, the troops were set in motion, Constantinople -was taken (23rd May 1328), and the long and -lively reign of Andronicus II. came to a close. Few -tears were shed, or ever will be shed, over the fall of -that selfish and incompetent ruler. He was granted a -generous income, and he continued to live, in complete -privacy, for four years.</p> - -<p>Xene remained at Didymoteichus, which had now -become an important centre of the shrunken Empire. -The success of her son brought her to realize that he -was surrounded by men and women who were bitterly -hostile to her, and she no doubt felt it more prudent or -agreeable to enjoy the tranquillity of the provincial -palace. This tranquillity was rudely disturbed two years -later, when Andronicus fell seriously ill at Didymoteichus, -and the members of the Cantacuzenus family and -faction betrayed their ambition.</p> - -<p>The picture of the scene which we have in the pages -of Cantacuzenus himself is just as affecting, and just -as mendacious, as Anna Comnena’s picture of the scene<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">296</span> -at her father’s death. The dying Andronicus—it was, -at all events, believed by all that he was dying—summoned -his wife and friends to his couch, and, putting -the right hand of the Empress in the right hand of his -faithful Cantacuzenus, entrusts to him her safety and -that of the Empire. When the mother of Cantacuzenus -(a quaint type of nun whose acquaintance we shall make -presently) asks him his wishes in regard to his mother, -he feebly murmurs that “there cannot be two rulers.” -Cantacuzenus weeps so copiously that he must retire to -wash his face, in order to hide his grief from his beloved -friend. Courtiers press him to seize the purple, and he -refuses. They urge him to put to death, or put out the -eyes of, the despot Constantine, Andronicus’s uncle, -who still lingers in his prison. Again Cantacuzenus -shrinks from the suggestion, and, in order to protect -Constantine from their murderous designs, he hides him -in an underground chamber.</p> - -<p>One feels that the whole story is a masterpiece of lying, -and it is not difficult to learn the truth. Round the bed -of the unconscious Andronicus Cantacuzenus and his -mother and friends pursued a desperate intrigue for -power. Anna was young and helpless, and might be -used for furthering their plan. Xene, however, watched -their intrigue with furious anger and fear, and pitted her -hatred against that of the mother of Cantacuzenus. Constantine -was thrust in a loathsome and secret dungeon by -Cantacuzenus, lest any faction should remember that he -was the real heir to the throne. Even the old ex-Emperor -at Constantinople was approached, and was offered the -alternative of death, exile or the monk’s tonsure. With -many tears he embraced the least painful of the three -proposals and adopted the name of Antony. The triumph -of Cantacuzenus seemed to be assured when, to -their astonishment and mortification, Andronicus -emerged from his stupor and returned to health.</p> - -<p>Xene at once appealed to her son to punish the -intriguers, but he was either deceived by the hypocritical<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">297</span> -professions of Cantacuzenus or not strong enough to -face his hostility. Xene now felt that she had incurred -their mortal vindictiveness and retired to Thessalonica. -There she induced the citizens to swear that they would -protect her, and she even adopted as her son the wily -and accommodating Sir Janni, who governed the province. -Sir Janni had not long to wait for his reward—the -fortune of his “mother.” She died four years later -(1334), and was buried at Thessalonica, having run a -strange course since she had nervously quitted her -Armenian home thirty-eight years before.</p> - -<p>The older Andronicus had died two years before, at -the age of seventy-two. Nicephorus Gregoras, our best -authority for the time, tells us how he spent a night in -pleasant conversation with the old man in February 1332. -Andronicus, or Antony, died the next day, and was -buried in his monkish robe. The same passage of -Gregoras gives us our penultimate reference to the -interesting Simonides. She was present at the conversation, -and we seem to be justified in inferring that she -“kept house” for her father. The last glimpse we have -of her is a fitting crown to her strange career. We faintly -discern her, some years later, as a royal nun in the Court -of her nephew and former lover.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">298</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XVIII" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XVIII<br /> - -<span class="subhead">ANNA OF SAVOY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="smcap1">The</span> first wife of Andronicus III., Irene of Brunswick, -had died prematurely five years after her -marriage. Andronicus had quickly recovered -from his grief, and plunged again into his customary -pleasures, but his grandfather insisted that the throne of -the Empress must not remain vacant. Whatever substitute -for an “Almanach de Gotha” the times afforded -was scanned once more, and it was discovered that the -young Count of Savoy had an eligible sister named -Jeanne. The little principality, which was destined to -have so important an influence on the fortunes of Europe, -had only recently been carved out of the German Empire, -and the name of the ruling house was in high esteem. -It was still, however, a mere patch of the hills and -valleys of Switzerland, and, when legates came from the -Byzantine Court for the hand of Jeanne, she was readily -yielded to them.</p> - -<p>Whether Anna, as the Greeks promptly christened -her, would find Constantinople equal to the reputation -of its splendour that still lingered in Europe may be -doubted. The majority of the gorgeous palaces in which -our earlier Empresses had moved were now heaps of -ruins. From the roofs of the public and imperial buildings -the copper had been torn to make coin, and the -marble from their facades and halls had gone to deck -the palaces of Venice and Genoa. Great stretches of -desolate, ruin-encumbered spaces existed within the -crumbling walls, and the streets no longer glittered with -a proud display of domestic treasure on the balconies as -a royal cavalcade passed along. Some gold and silver<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">299</span> -may still have lingered in the reduced palaces before the -disastrous civil war, but the display now made in the -imperial households and processions was largely a display -of imitation diamonds and gilded furniture. For -the first time, in fact, we find Constantinople itself -impressed by its visitors, even from the small Court in -Savoy. The Count had sent with his sister a large escort -of knights, and, as the marriage was deferred for eight -months, they had ample time to exhibit their skill in -tournaments. Why the marriage was postponed from -February (1326) to October must be left more or less -to the imagination. Cantacuzenus observes that Anna -was indisposed after her journey, but one may find more -enlightenment in his casual remark that Andronicus was -ill and, after receiving his betrothed, went for some -months into Thrace. It would probably be indelicate -and impertinent to attempt a diagnosis. He returned in -the autumn, married and crowned Anna, and permitted -her train of knights to return to Savoy.</p> - -<p>Since Byzantine history is too full of large and tragic -matters to recount the small details of domestic life, and -since the Empresses would in their early years, if they -were fortunate, be confined to these small domestic -interests, we pass lightly over the youth of Anna of -Savoy. In the spring after their marriage she accompanied -Andronicus to Didymoteichus, and would be -faintly interested in the conferences of Andronicus and -his mother with the King of Bulgaria. In the following -year Andronicus dethroned his grandfather, and Anna -found herself mistress of the Empire. The scene at -Didymoteichus during the illness of her husband two -years afterwards would complete her introduction to -Byzantine politics, and make her realize the importance -of Cantacuzenus and his friends.</p> - -<p>Andronicus was, however, still a comparatively young -man, and it was probable that he would outlive the older -intriguers about him. He was only thirty-four years old -at the time of his dangerous illness, and he returned to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">300</span> -his boisterous sports and gaieties. In 1332 Anna, who -was at Didymoteichus, gave birth to a son, and Andronicus -came on the scene in a mood of wild rejoicing. His -Olympic games and Western jousts alarmed and -scandalized elderly ministers, who shuddered to see the -sacred breast of an Emperor expanded boldly to meet a -lance. But he laughed at etiquette, told his courtiers to -put away the kind of silk-covered mitres that they had -hitherto been compelled to wear at Court, and allowed -them to have any dress or headgear they pleased. Fun -and good-fellowship were his ideals. He kept, to the -despair of the imperial treasurer, a vast number of -hounds, horses and hawks, and there was no better way -to secure a favour than to present him with a good dog -or horse.</p> - -<p>It is just to add that Andronicus made a sincere -attempt to improve the administration of justice in the -Empire, but apart from this one sincere and fruitless -effort at reconstruction he danced down the road of death -like all his frivolous subjects. A little war, the suppression -of a rebellion or two, and mighty hunting and -jousting filled the thirteen years of his single reign. The -Turk drew nearer and nearer, and received no very -serious check. The city of Nicæa had now fallen into -the hands of the Turks, and the crescent flashed on the -shores of the Sea of Marmora. Andronicus could do -little more than trust the old Byzantine weapon—intrigue, -ruse, diplomacy. His sister Anna, who -had married the Prince of Epirus, assassinated her -husband and invited her brother to annex the territory. -His daughter Irene, who had married the Emperor of -Trebizond and found him unfaithful, assassinated her -husband, and sent to Andronicus for a ruler. He was -endeavouring to profit by these assassinations when -death overtook him. Earlier in his reign the veteran -Sir Janni had rebelled. Andronicus, knowing the mettle -of his opponent, had fortified and victualled the palace, -where he left Anna and her boy, and gone out to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">301</span> -field; but he removed the danger in the end by deception -and assassination. At length, in the early summer of -1341, Andronicus became alarmingly ill. He shrewdly -put off his stained purple and retired to a monastery, in -preparation for death, and he passed away on 15th June, -leaving Anna with two boys of nine and four years. -Then began the romance of Anna of Savoy.</p> - -<p>The chief personæ of the romance, apart from the -Empress, are the ambitious intriguers we have previously -seen about the sickbed of Andronicus: the courtly and -cultivated Cantacuzenus, the meaner though less hypocritical -financier, Apocaucus, and the mother of Cantacuzenus. -Theodora Paleologina was, as her name implies, -herself a member of the Paleologi family. She was a -descendant of Martha, the sister and counsellor of Michael -Paleologus, the virile lady who had been put in a sack -with cats by Theodore Lascaris: a strong and able and -ambitious woman, although, since her husband’s death, -she had worn the robe of a nun. There was a complete -understanding between her and her less resolute son. -Apocaucus, on the other hand, an active, restless, unscrupulous -little man, who slept little at nights, was -prepared to ally himself with either Anna or the Cantacuzeni, -as seemed most profitable.</p> - -<p>We have no reason to doubt the statement of -Cantacuzenus that, when Andronicus lay dying, -Apocaucus urged him, directly and through his -mother, to seize the crown, and that he refused. -He was not in the habit of acting so promptly. He -went to the palace in which Anna wept with her boys, -assured her that he would protect them, and placed five -hundred guards about the palace. It may have occurred -to Anna that there was no one, except himself, from -whom they needed to be protected. Andronicus died on -the following day, and she went (as Cantacuzenus would -have foreseen) to spend the customary nine days in -mourning by the remains of her husband. What -Cantacuzenus might have done while she kept her dreary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">302</span> -vigil in the monastery we cannot say, for his plans were -interrupted. On the fourth day Anna surprised him by -breaking the sacred custom and returning to the palace. -It argues some strength of character in her that she -should take this step, though it was not an original -inspiration. Apocaucus had changed sides, and had -gone to warn Anna that his rival aimed at the throne -and she must return to watch him. But Cantacuzenus -was even more surprised and baffled when the patriarch -now came forward with the will of the late Emperor, -and read from it that he, the patriarch, was to be guardian -of the young princes and their Empire.</p> - -<p>The maze of intrigue that followed can very well be -imagined, and is fairly described in the chronicles. In -fact, Gregoras and Cantacuzenus profess to give verbatim -reports of the very lengthy speeches which, it seems, -took the place of conversation in those days. The three -aspirants to power besieged the chamber of Anna in -turns, and each spent many hours in assuring her of -his loyalty, and of the disloyalty of all the others. -Though the strain made the Empress ill, she seems to -have acted almost throughout with good judgment. The -patriarch was her safest supporter, since each of the -other two really aimed at the throne, and to the patriarch -she clung, only tempering his advice by a fear of angering -the two nobles and driving them to a coalition, -which would be fatal to her. The patriarch urged her -to crown her elder boy John at once; it would be an -effective step, but when Cantacuzenus and Apocaucus -protested that it could not be done in a time of mourning, -she thought it best to refrain. At last some kind of -settlement was reached. Cantacuzenus was to be the -Magnus Domesticus (or “major-domo” on an imperial -scale), and to lead out the troops to check the advancing -Bulgarians and Turks in Thrace.</p> - -<p>Apocaucus was dissatisfied, and, as soon as his rival -had departed, he made a bold attempt to seize power. -He had on the fringe of the city, by the seashore, a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">303</span> -strongly fortified house, or castle, in which he could -withstand an attack even of troops. It was impregnable, -except to a large force, on the land side, and a galley -waited always at its private wharf on the other side to -convey him by sea in case of need. His plan was to -carry off John to this castle and then dictate his terms to -the Empress. Anna, however, was warned in time. The -young prince was actually in the hands of the schemer, -when her servants were sent to the rescue and Apocaucus -fled to his fortress and barred the doors. Cantacuzenus -returned in haste to the city, and set a troop of soldiers -to watch the castle, but the Empress, on the advice of -the patriarch, refused to take extreme measures. As -long as the two deadly rivals were poised against each -other, her position was more secure. We must not, of -course, attribute this prudent policy entirely, or mainly, -to the inexperienced young Empress. The patriarch -was its chief author; and, though the patriarch was by -no means disinterested, he could not aspire to the throne. -There can be no doubt that, ill and weary as she was, -Anna acted with good judgment.</p> - -<p>Thwarted and exasperated, Cantacuzenus in his turn -now meditated a <i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">coup</i>, and it was only the singular -irresolution or hypocrisy of his nature and the boldness -of the patriarch that prevented it from being successful. -One day, while he was discussing the situation with -Anna, they heard a tumultuous rush and angry voices -in the hall without. Anna asked the cause, and Cantacuzenus, -professing that he did not know and going to -learn, lightly reported that a crowd of soldiers and young -nobles had penetrated the palace and were hectoring the -patriarch. They insisted, he said, that Cantacuzenus -should be allowed to enter the palace on horseback (an -imperial prerogative) when he called, and the patriarch -opposed them. He had, he told the Empress, scolded -the patriarch for even listening to the young fools, and -had driven them from the palace, and he advised the -Empress to admonish or punish them. It seems quite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">304</span> -clear that in this case a rather weak, but deliberate, plot -on the part of Cantacuzenus had been foiled by the -patriarch. The Magnus Domesticus then returned to -the field, leaving his mother to watch the Empress, and -threatening that he would punish any man who gave her -anxiety in his absence. Gregoras says that he took with -him an enormous sum of money, and we may conclude -that he went with a fairly clear intention to raise the -provinces.</p> - -<p>As soon as he had removed his troops to Thrace his -rivals set to work in deadly earnest. Apocaucus was -pardoned, at the instance of the patriarch, and promoted -to the dignity of Grand Duke and Prefect of Constantinople. -So far the policy was sound enough, but it was, -no doubt, impossible for the ailing young Empress to -maintain the equilibrium any longer in face of their -passion and the perfidy of their opponent, and they -plunged into civil war. Cantacuzenus was declared to -be deposed, and it was even understood in the city that -the patriarch promised the open gate of heaven to any -man who would assassinate him. His friends and -relatives were alarmed and fled to the deserted meadows -beyond the walls, where they passed the night; and, as -they learned in the morning that their property had been -confiscated, they hurried to the camp at Didymoteichus -with loud cries of “Cantacuzenus Emperor!” After a -becoming parade of real or feigned reluctance, the commander -of the troops consented to accept the purple and -prepared for civil war. An imperial outfit was hastily -made at Didymoteichus—so hastily that, as the vain -Cantacuzenus complains, the tunic was far too short, -while the mantle hung about him like a sack—and the -coronation took place. The ceremony gives us another -Empress of a not uninteresting character. Cantacuzenus -was married to Irene, daughter of a Court official of the -former royal family of Bulgaria; her mother had been -Irene Paleologina, daughter of Michael Paleologus and -Theodora. She remained, tearful and anxious, at Didymoteichus<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">305</span> -while her husband led out his troops, but she -would afterwards take a vigorous part in the struggle.</p> - -<p>Irene’s mother-in-law was the first victim of her own -and her son’s ambition, and of the hatred of his enemies. -Cantacuzenus, who always speaks with respect, if not -generosity, of Anna, tells us that the Empress was not -responsible for the barbarous treatment and death of his -mother. She was imprisoned in one of the palace cells -as soon as the trouble began, and from her dreary room -she could hear the rabble of Constantinople shouting -their customary obscene abuse of her and her son, and -acclaiming Anna and John V. The young prince had -been crowned at once by the patriarch. It was the early -winter, and the aged Theodora was treated with studied -insult and severity by her jailers. Her health soon -broke, and she died in the palace dungeon. Cantacuzenus -relates that a royal nun who had assisted and, -consoled his mother went to reprove Anna for the -brutality to which she had been exposed, but he adds -that Anna was ignorant of it and blameless. The close -of the career of Theodora Paleologina is one of the -many reminders that to the end the Byzantine Empire -did not lack <em>strong</em> men and women; what it lacked was -sound moral and patriotic feeling. The stock was not -“outworn” and “enfeebled,” as historical writers are -apt to say of decaying civilizations. Its strength was -tainted and misdirected. The royal nun, I may add, -who had visited Theodora in her cell was Theodora, -daughter of Andronicus the elder, and widow of Michael -of Bulgaria, who here is seen for the last time.</p> - -<p>The course of the long civil war need not be followed -here. It opened disastrously for Cantacuzenus. Anna, -Cantacuzenus tells us, longed for peace, and proposed -that he should hold the chief power in the Empire, -though not wear the purple, and that his daughter -Helena should marry her son, the Emperor John. It -would have been the best settlement, but it did not suit -the ambition of Apocaucus and the patriarch. Apocaucus<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">306</span> -urged the patriarch to live in the palace and bribed -Anna’s servants to watch her day and night, in order -to prevent her from communicating with Cantacuzenus. -Later Cantacuzenus visited the famous monks of Mount -Athos, and induced them to send a few of their community -to plead with Anna to arrest this shedding of -Christian blood. But the monks were intercepted by the -patriarch, and converted to his view of the situation, -before they reached the Empress.</p> - -<p>After three years of indecisive warfare Apocaucus was -assassinated. He had at the beginning of the war filled -the palace dungeons with prisoners, and he augmented -their number continually with nobles or officials who -ventured to dissent from his plans. In the summer of -1345 he was building a new and formidable prison in the -palace grounds, and the prisoners looked with concern -on the frowning edifice and readily believed that he was -going to inflict all kinds of atrocities on them. One -afternoon he went, without his usual company of guards, -to see how the work progressed, and imprudently entered -the yard where the prisoners were. One of them snatched -a heavy piece of wood and felled him, and the others, -seizing the axes and tools that lay about, ended his life -and exhibited his head to the guards on the other side -of the wall. Anna was alarmed and perplexed, and -allowed the wife of the dead minister to take a fearful -vengeance. The rowers of the fleet were armed and -discharged upon the prisoners, and it is said that about -two hundred of them were butchered.</p> - -<p>Cantacuzenus now sent fresh proposals of peace, which -were approved by the patriarch, and Anna made the -grave and somewhat obscure blunder of rejecting them. -Gregoras says that she was jealous of Irene, but -Gregoras, for theological reasons which will appear -presently, is not generous to the Empress. It is possible -that Cantacuzenus insisted on retaining his crown. -However that may be, the war continued for another -year, and began to turn in favour of Cantacuzenus, who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">307</span> -now detached a large body of Turks from the service of -the Empress. Anna’s conduct, in fact, now becomes -weak and blundering. She quarrelled with the patriarch, -and allowed herself to be influenced by the meaner monks -and bishops who opposed him. Apocaucus had so completely -relieved her of the work of administration that -she paid little attention to it after his death, and, as a -new heresy now entered Constantinople and won her -favour, she became absorbed in a theological quarrel, -while her enemy crept nearer to Constantinople.</p> - -<p>On 2nd February 1347 Anna convoked a large gathering -of bishops and monks at the Blachernæ palace. -They met to judge and depose the patriarch John, who -opposed the new heresy. Its tenets do not concern us, -but, as it will complicate the story of the Empresses -throughout the chapter, we may say that Palamism, as -it was called, had discovered a plurality of “divinities” -(in the sense of divine energies) in God, and its opponents -retorted that this was a return to Polytheism. The -discovery is said to have been made originally by some -of the contemplative monks on Mount Athos, whose -quaint device for raising themselves to a state of trance -cannot with delicacy be described here. On this second -day of February, therefore, Anna listened with delight, -in her Blachernæ palace, to the heated discussion of the -light which was seen on Mount Thabor and other phases -of the controversy. None of the gifted seers were able -to tell her that Cantacuzenus and his troops were only -a few miles away, and that he had already bribed some -of her soldiers to open the Golden Gate to him that very -night. The patriarch was deposed, and Anna and her -bishops sat down to a festive banquet and the making -of “not very modest jokes,” says Gregoras, about their -late archbishop. They were alarmed for a moment by a -messenger who rushed in to say that Cantacuzenus and -his army were approaching, but Anna concluded that -this was a ruse of the patriarch, and the banquet continued -merrily.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">308</span> -She was awakened in the grey dawn the next morning -to hear that Cantacuzenus was master of the city. He -had marched with a thousand picked men by an unaccustomed -route, had been admitted by the Golden Gate -at midnight, and was making for the palace. It was at -once closed and fortified, and such guards as there were -took up a position in its lower approaches. Anna had -returned from the light on Mount Thabor to a very -vigorous concern about earthly things. Cantacuzenus -sent to her a proposal that she should share the imperial -title with him; her name would come first in announcements -and acclamations, but the real administration -should be entrusted to him. She drove out his -messengers angrily and abusively, and sent her servants -to raise the citizens against him and bring over the -Italian soldiers from Galata. There was still a good -deal of loyalty to her, though her conduct during the last -year had alienated many, but the troops routed her -supporters and even began to storm the palace. They -were recalled by Cantacuzenus, who then sent the -bishops to persuade her to yield. Cantacuzenus behaved -with restraint and humanity in his hour of triumph. -He was, we may recall, a refined and cultivated noble, -though his singular mingling of ambition and moral -pretentiousness invests his conduct, and especially his -words, with a repellent hypocrisy. Anna refused the -mediation of the clergy, but, in the miserable night -which followed, she saw the hopelessness of her position, -called a council of her supporters, and decided to make -peace. The prisoners were set free, and the gates of the -palace thrown open. It is said that John, who was now -a boy of fifteen, strongly pleaded for peace and weakened -the determination of his mother.</p> - -<p>When Cantacuzenus entered the palace he found Anna -and her sons standing under a picture of the Virgin -which adorned the hall. The Empress was sullen and -defiant, and probably expected some vindictive action on -the part of the victor, but that was never the way of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">309</span> -silken Cantacuzenus. He venerated the sacred picture, -kissed the hand of the young Emperor, and swore on the -Virgin that he had not, and had never had, any intention -of hurting the imperial family. A general amnesty was -granted, and the proposal to wed John and Helena was -renewed. It was agreed between them that Cantacuzenus -should have sole control of the Empire for ten years, and -should relinquish it to John on his twenty-fifth birthday. -These conditions were singularly moderate, and Cantacuzenus -assures us that some of the troops could hardly be -persuaded to subscribe to the new oath when it was found -to include the name of John. Anna and John, moreover, -were left in possession of the best palace, that at -Blachernæ, and Cantacuzenus repaired one of the decaying -palaces for himself and Irene, who was summoned -from Adrianople and graciously received at the -gate by Anna.</p> - -<p>Thus two royal families settled down once more to an -unstable peace on the ruins of the once mighty Empire. -The coronation of Cantacuzenus and Irene, which -followed on 13th May, served only to exhibit the poverty -and decay of Constantinople. St Sophia was partly in -ruins from the great earthquake of the previous year, -and there was no money to repair it. The ceremony had -to be performed in the chapel at Blachernæ, and in the -banquet dishes of pewter and earthenware had to serve -instead of the opulent gold and silver plate of earlier -times. A week later the royal children—John was fifteen -years old and Helena thirteen—were married, and a -glittering group of two Emperors and three Empresses -stood proudly on the balcony of the palace to receive the -applause of the dwindling population; but it was -commonly known that the stones which flashed from -crown and mantle were almost all spurious, and that the -apparent golden trappings were merely gilded leather. -The treasury was empty; the nobility consisted, not of -great lords of the land, but salaried officials; and the -Empire that had once spread, under the Roman eagles,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">310</span> -to the deserts of Arabia and the waters of the Euphrates -was now restricted, on the Asiatic side, to so narrow a -strip of the neighbouring coast that you could almost -see from the ramparts of Constantinople the victorious -crescent gleaming in the sun. On the west there still -remained the greater part of what we now know as -Turkey and Greece, but they were exhausted by the -unceasing ravages of Turk, Servian and Bulgarian, and -tens of thousands of Christian slaves passed yearly into -the harems and workshops of the East.</p> - -<p>In the midst of this desolation Cantacuzenus set up a -Court of cheap and showy and incompetent dignitaries. -Irene’s two brothers, John and Manuel, received the -title of Sebastocrator, and were added to the imposing -processions and the list of pensionaries. Money was -urgently needed, and Cantacuzenus summoned to his -palace all the wealthier citizens and eloquently appealed -to them to fill his treasury. They refused to make the -least donation. Cantacuzenus would have us admire the -restraint with which he declined to extort the money -from them, but we know that, if he shrewdly avoided -violence, he did not scruple to obtain money in other -irregular ways. A few years afterwards the Russian -Church sent a large sum of money for the repairing of -St Sophia, and Gregoras tells us that the Emperor -appropriated it for the payment of his Turkish mercenaries. -Two years later, again, when another army of -Turks had to be paid to defend his throne, he seized a -great quantity of the gold and silver vessels and jewels -that remained in the churches and monasteries.</p> - -<p>We may assume that Anna watched without concern -the troubles that now rained upon the head of the impolitic -Emperor. In the year after his coronation his -son Michael was persuaded to rebel, and set up a -sovereignty over part of Thrace. Irene was sent to discuss -the matter with him—Gregoras gives us a six-page -speech which she is supposed to have made to him—and -it ended in the father leaving his son in possession,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">311</span> -though without the imperial title. Anna’s supporters -naturally suggested that there had been collusion between -Cantacuzenus and Michael, though that is not at -all certain. When Irene returned from her mission, she -was pained to learn that the plague had carried off her -younger son during her absence. Even greater was her -pain, however, the historian says, that her husband -favoured the Palamite heresy. Gregoras was one of the -chief protagonists of orthodoxy against the heretics, and -it will give some idea of the superfluous confusion that -was brought upon the affairs of the distracted Empire if -I simply observe that some five hundred pages of the -remainder of his chronicle are devoted to the controversy.</p> - -<p>To this heretical taint Irene tearfully ascribed all the -calamities which affected her husband’s reign. He had -hardly arranged matters in Thrace, and was still detained -by illness at Didymoteichus, when he learned that the -Genoese of Galata had burned the fleet which he had -laboriously collected money to build, and had attacked -the capital. The Genoese had for some time farmed the -revenues—in plainer terms, pocketed about four-fifths -of the revenues—of Constantinople, and the Emperor -had endeavoured to lessen their profit. During his -absence they made a raid upon the shipping and the -city, and Irene is said to have shown great energy in -directing the defence. For the next year or two the -Bulgarians and Servians ravaged his little Empire, and -the Turks, whom he hired to meet them, could be paid -only by permission to loot in their turn and carry off his -subjects into slavery. In these circumstances Cantacuzenus -saw a tide of disaffection rising against him, and -the young Emperor John began to dream of independence.</p> - -<p>Writing years afterwards in his quiet monastic home, -Cantacuzenus says that Irene and he were weary of the -unprofitable conflict and were both disposed to abdicate -and take the black robe; that only the recurrence of -trouble in the West and the danger to the Empire kept<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">312</span> -them “in the world.” This statement is easily refuted -by his conduct. He built, not a monastery, but a stout -citadel or fortress near the Golden Gate, as if in expectation -of the time when John would claim his Empire, -and hired a strong guard of Turkish and Spanish -soldiers. Then when the Servian outbreak in the west, -of which he speaks, took place, he insisted that John -should accompany him. Anna vehemently protested. -The youth was too young to be left in Thessaly she said, -meaning that she distrusted the Emperor. Cantacuzenus -smoothly replied that it was necessary for her son’s protection; -that the sultan, wrongly thinking to oblige him, -had sent a eunuch to cut the youth’s throat. Anna must -have felt that the eunuch, if he existed, would have an -easier task in Thessaly than in the Blachernæ palace, but -Cantacuzenus refused to yield, and John set out with -him. John was now a good-looking and popular, if a -somewhat dissolute and entirely worthless, prince of -eighteen, and it would be dangerous to leave him in -Constantinople. The Genoese across the water were -partisans of the Paleologi.</p> - -<p>In the course of the following year, 1351, Cantacuzenus -returned to attack the Genoese, with the aid of their -mortal enemies, the Venetians. As he seems to have -intended from the beginning, he left John in Thessalonica, -with the young Empress Helena, but he was -alarmed and surprised in the following year to hear that -the young Emperor was corresponding with the Kral of -Servia. Gregoras says that, under pressure from the -Kral, John engaged to divorce Helena and marry the -Kral’s sister. When Cantacuzenus heard this, he went -with Anna into the venerable chapel of the Virgin at -Blachernæ, and swore that he would resign the crown -to John if he would abandon the Kral and bring Helena -to Constantinople. The oath was committed to writing, -and Anna herself conveyed it to Thessalonica. It says -something for the singular character of Cantacuzenus -that they implicitly trusted his oath, and the young<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">313</span> -couple returned to the capital. After a few weeks, -however, John distrusted his colleague and returned -to Thrace with Helena. Her father seems to have tried -to detach her from John, but she protested, Gregoras -says, that she would “rather die with John than live -with her parents.”</p> - -<p>In return, apparently, for this fidelity John made a -new compact with the Kral and received an army without -abandoning his wife. He at once attacked Matthew, the -Emperor’s son, in Adrianople, and let civil war loose -once more upon the surviving province of the Empire; -if, indeed, one can call “civil war” a contest in which -hardly a single Greek soldier was enlisted. For the -sake of rival Byzantine ambitions Turk fought Servian -and Bulgarian on land, and Venetian fought Genoese at -sea, and the decrepit Empire sank into its last stage.</p> - -<p>The Empress Irene once more endeavoured to make -peace between the combatants. She went to Thrace and -laid before the young Emperor a politic and admirable -scheme—admirable, at least, on the supposition that -Cantacuzenus is lying when he declares that he and Irene -were minded to enter a monastery, which would have been -the best solution. On the other hand, John does not command -our sympathy and respect. In three years’ time he -would be twenty-five, and might have laid claim to the -throne with perfect right and more success. Irene proposed -that John and Matthew should divide the western -territory, and that Cantacuzenus should hold the remainder -until his death. John refused the terms, Irene -returned to Court, and the Turks and Servians flew at -each other.</p> - -<p>It is only necessary to say that in a comparatively -short time John and Helena were flying on ships to the -island of Tenedos, and Matthew was declared Emperor. -The unceasing pendulum of Byzantine Court life had -now thrust the young Empress Helena into obscurity, -and brought a young rival into prominence and hope of -the succession. John and Helena were declared to have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">314</span> -forfeited the imperial title. Matthew and Irene Paleologina -(granddaughter of the elder Andronicus) were -crowned in 1354. But we have hardly time to glance -at the new Empress before the pendulum swings back -and Helena returns to the light and the throne. Cantacuzenus -was now detested by all in Constantinople. His -heresy, his broken oath, his feud with the Genoese, and -the consistent record of disaster during his reign, united -almost every class against him. Urgent appeals were -made to John to come and displace him, and it was -not long before a few ships were placed at his disposal -and, during an absence of the Emperor, he descended -on the capital. But Irene again vigorously defended the -cause of her husband, and, after sailing round the walls, -firing a few harmless volleys of abuse at the partisans of -the Emperor who smiled on the walls, and spending a -night with the Italians at Galata, John returned in -dejection to his wife and child. Then a quaint type -of wealthy adventurer chanced to touch at the port of -Tenedos and confer with John, and he returned to power -by one of the most singular of adventures.</p> - -<p>One stormy night in December (1354), when the -Emperor slept peacefully in his palace, the soldiers who -lived in the tower which guarded one of the gates by -the port were awakened by a heavy crash and loud cries -for help. They flung open the gate and descended the -stairs, and faintly perceived a few large vessels rolling -in the heavy sea. The sailors cried that one of their -vessels, which were laden with jars of oil, had been -dashed against the walls, and the soldiers went to the -water-edge to help them to moor the vessels. Scores -of armed men then rushed from the holds, killed the -guards, and occupied the tower; and before the citizens -could grasp what was happening, the enterprising -Genoese had lodged John in the tower, and were marching -through the streets at the head of two thousand men, -crying “Long live the Emperor John!” The citizens -swarmed to the Hippodrome in the faint morning light,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">315</span> -repeating the cry, and Cantacuzenus was awakened to -hear that his enemy was in the city with an army.</p> - -<p>It is worth while giving the explanation of this remarkable -change in the fortunes of John and Helena. -Their vigorous and resourceful ally was a Genoese noble -of some wealth, who, with a small fleet, had sailed east -in the hope of securing some fragments of the dismembered -Empire. John offered him the island of Lesbos -and the hand of his sister Maria if he would help him to -gain the throne, and he consented. Two large triremes -(galleys with two banks of oars) and sixteen uniremes -(with one bank of oars) were not the kind of fleet one -needed to carry Constantinople by storm, but Francesco -Gattilusio was a strategist. He emptied the oil from -the vessels on one of his boats, crept up to the wall in the -darkness, and bade the sailors fling the great jars against -the wall. This was the noise that awakened the warders -of the tower by the quay, and the stratagem succeeded -as happily as in a romance. I may add that John afterwards -carried out his compact, and Gattilusio became -Prince of Lesbos and brother-in-law of the Emperor.</p> - -<p>Cantacuzenus did not venture from his palace. He -explains that he could easily have scattered the intruders, -which is probably more true than he knew at the time, -but he conferred with Irene and they decided that the -time had come to enter a monastery. Gregoras says -that he was afraid to leave the palace, and, as he was -isolated from his citadel by the Golden Gate and would -hardly know the strength of his opponent, one prefers -this explanation. He was by no means anxious to enter -a monastery. Drawing up his guards at the entrance to -the palace, he entered into negotiations with John and -succeeded in getting a promise that the imperial power -would be divided. That solution, however, did not -please the people, and for several days he was assailed -with abuse and threats. He yielded to the “voice of -God,” abdicated his dignity, and, under the name of -Joasaph, retired to the monastic world, to write his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">316</span> -flowing and elegant and mendacious chronicle of his -times. Irene was now forced to take the veil, and her -robust personality was converted into the black-robed -figure of the royal nun Eugenia. We do not know when -she died, but some years later we find her, in her -monastery, guiding the education of her granddaughter, -Theodora. Theodora’s parents, Matthew and Irene, -continued the civil war for two or three years, but -Matthew was then captured and was sent, with his -ex-Empress, to spend the remainder of their lives in the -island to which they had driven John and Helena.</p> - -<p>Helena had followed her victorious husband and, with -warm and mutual embraces, joined him at the palace. -We do not know how long she lived to enjoy her -fortune. I find no further reference to her. Anna -is not mentioned further in the Byzantine chronicles, -but a little more may be gleaned about her from Italian -writers. Du Cange quotes the Franciscan historian, Luke -Wadding, as saying that she died about the year 1350, -and her body was transferred for burial to the shrine of -St Francis of Assisi, for whom she had had a great -veneration. I do not find this in Wadding—the reference, -at least, is wrong—but Wadding does in other -pages (at the years 1343 and 1349) refer to Anna. In -1343 she sent a Franciscan monk from the convent at -Pera to confer with the Pope in regard to the union of -the Latin and Greek Churches. It is clear that she -remained Latin at heart, and no doubt she had brought -with her from the West a veneration for the gentle saint -of Assisi. Then the civil war and the triumph of -Cantacuzenus put an end for a time to the project of -union, but the correspondence was renewed in 1349. -From a reference to her in one of the Pope’s letters -we may deduce that she still lived in Constantinople in -1349, and it is the last reference. An Italian writer says -that she died in that year, but I am unable to find in -Wadding’s “Annales” the statement that she was buried -at Assisi.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">317</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 id="CHAPTER_XIX" class="vspace chap">CHAPTER XIX<br /> - -<span class="subhead">THE LAST BYZANTINE EMPRESSES</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap a"><span class="smcap1">A</span> hundred years of life still awaited the -Eastern Empire from the time when John IV. -returned to the throne, and half-a-dozen Empresses -were yet to play their varied parts on the imperial -stage. Had any impartial and sagacious observer reflected -on the condition of the Empire at the time, as -we have described it, he would hardly have promised -it a new lease of one hundred years’ tenancy of its -stricken domain. At Constantinople, of course, no one -foresaw the end. It is usually in fairly robust, not in -really dying, civilizations that we find an apprehension -of impending ruin: as in France and England to-day. -But the Byzantine Empire had shrunk to such proportions, -the Turks were closing round its capital with such -steady advance, and there was so little enlightenment -in its mind, or real patriotism in its heart, that it seemed -to be very near the end. No miracle was wrought in its -favour, but it was saved for a time by one of the accidents -of human history. The Tartars or Moguls attained the -height of their power under the famous Timour, and the -ambition of the Turk was distracted and enfeebled.</p> - -<p>There should be a peculiar interest in studying the -features of the Empresses who occupy the familiar -palaces during this hundred years’ grace of the doomed -civilization. We are so accustomed to finding the -character of a period reflected in the character of the -Empresses that the last representatives of the imperial -line should afford us an instructive insight into the final -life-phase of a civilization. The idea has become somewhat<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">318</span> -popular that nations grow old, as individuals do, -and die of loss of vitality; and that in their last years -they pass into singular convulsions or eccentricities. We -shall, unfortunately, be impeded in this interesting study -by the scantiness of the records. The ample chronicles -of Cantacuzenus and his theological rival close, and two -or three confused and ill-proportioned writers alone preserve -for us a fragmentary record of the last hundred -years. As in all such meagre records, the story of the -women suffers most. Still, enough is said to give us -an adequate idea of the remaining Empresses and their -times; and it may be said in a word that we find no -convulsions, or eccentricities, or increasing debility of -individuals, but the familiar and unfortunate Byzantine -character pursuing its selfish ambitions and passions -until the great broom of the Turk sweeps the degenerate -successors of the Romans for ever out of the East.</p> - -<p>John IV., now a young man of twenty-five, occupies -the throne for nearly forty years out of the remaining -century, but this reign is almost barren of interest for -us, and must be treated only as an introduction of his -children. Helena had brought with her from Tenedos -a young boy named Andronicus, and two brothers, -Manuel and Theodore, were added in the course of time -to the family. That is all that we find recorded of the -Empress Helena. She may have died early in her -husband’s reign, though the fact that he does not marry -again until old age, suggests, in the case of such a man, -that she lived to witness his amours and his political -ineptitude. The interest passes to her children.</p> - -<p>Andronicus, a pretty and spoiled boy, was betrothed -in his tenth year to Maria, daughter of Alexander of -Trebizond, who was about the same age when she became -the Empress-elect. However, the character of Andronicus -was to defraud her of the promise of the crown. We -do not know in what year they were married, but it must -have been before 1369, when John went to Italy, leaving -Constantinople in charge of Andronicus. The Turks -were again advancing, and John could see no escape<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">319</span> -except with the assistance of the Latins. He first visited -Venice, and received a most flattering welcome, but no -material help. Borrowing a sum of money from Venetian -bankers, he went on to Rome and opened negotiations -with the Vatican. It seemed to the Vatican an -excellent opportunity to convince the Greeks that the -Holy Ghost did proceed from <em>both</em> the Father and the -Son—the chief dogmatical point at issue between the two -Churches—and John hurriedly embraced that dogma, -and would have embraced any number of dogmas, in the -hope of being rewarded with an army. The reward was -very meagre, however, and, after trying a few more -princes with no more success, he returned to Venice to -re-embark for the East. Then the Venetian moneylenders -detained his imperial person as a common debtor, -and he appealed to Andronicus to seize sufficient Church -treasure to pay the debt.</p> - -<p>Andronicus was enjoying his short spell of power over -the shrunken treasury during his father’s absence, and -the demand was irksome. He sent word to Venice that -the clergy declined to allow him to seize their chalices -and reliquaries, and that, to his regret, he saw no way -of delivering his father from the debtors’ prison. He -was a true Paleologus: a selfish voluptuary, eager only -to have the sole right to the keys of the treasury. His -younger brother Manuel, however, professed indignation, -zealously gathered funds to meet the debt, and -hastened to Venice to release his father. He <em>may</em> have -been prompted by a sincere piety; but the natural effect -of his action was that, when John returned dolefully to -the city, Manuel began to wear purple boots, and the -chances of Andronicus and Maria occupying the throne -became slender. It appeared that, the less the Empire -became, the fiercer was the struggle for it. The Turks -had already reached and taken Adrianople, and Thessalonica -was now the only large town in the possession of -the Empire besides the capital. A few years later Thessalonica -went. Manuel, who governed it, and was a youth -of spirit and ambition, made a futile effort to break loose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">320</span> -of the Turks. He was pardoned by the Sultan Murad, -but he lost Thessalonica.</p> - -<p>After the return of John the pressure of the Turks -had been evaded by a voluntary subjection, and the -Emperor of Constantinople was now a vassal of the -Sultan, holding, under his sovereign lord the Turk, the -city itself and a few thousand square miles of poverty-stricken -territory to the west of the capital. He was -compelled to do homage, and to supply a hundred -soldiers, captained by one of his sons, whenever the -Sultan pleased. There was, however, still a fair revenue -from such sources as trade and port duties, and John -contrived to excite the envy of his elder son by the -luxurious dinners, the choice wines and the pretty -dancing-girls, which he could still afford to enjoy. It -is enough to say that John IV., in his desolate little -Empire, contracted a very severe gout, and Andronicus -was not unwilling to run the same risk.</p> - -<p>When, therefore, John was summoned to join the -Sultan’s army in Asia, and Andronicus was once more -left in charge, the foolish and egoistical youth made -another effort to secure his father’s income. Sultan -Murad had left his son Saudgi in charge of his European -possessions, and the two princes became close friends. -In 1376 the news reached the Sultan that they had -disowned their fathers and proclaimed themselves independent -sovereigns. The unhappy John was at once suspected -of collusion, though the Sultan came in time to -realize that John was not at all willing to leave the palace -to his son until he was compelled to do so. The conspiracy -was soon settled. As the Sultan’s troops -approached, the two youths threw themselves in Didymoteichus, -but they were compelled to surrender. Murad -put out the eyes of Saudgi, and sent Andronicus to his -father with orders to inflict the same punishment on him, -under pain of war. John directed that his sight should -be destroyed by boiling vinegar, and Andronicus was -confined in a tower near the Blachernæ palace. His son,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">321</span> -a boy of tender years, was punished in the same way, and -Maria sadly joined them in the dreary tower.</p> - -<p>For two years Andronicus and Maria lamented their -evil fortune in the tower of Anemas. In the course of -time it had appeared that the blinding was not complete; -Andronicus recovered the use of one eye, and his son -was merely afflicted with a squint. The Sultan Murad, -moreover, died, and Constantinople was not at all extravagantly -devoted to the ruling monarch. Andronicus -therefore found a means of communicating with the -Genoese at Galata, and, with their aid, the family were -stealthily delivered from the tower and taken across the -water. During his brief rebellion Andronicus had -promised the island of Tenedos to the Genoese in return -for their help, and they had, of course, no hope of getting -it from John. From Galata Andronicus made his way -to the camp of the new Sultan, and promised him several -hundred pounds of gold a year if he would lend him an -army with which to attack his father. The Turk had, -as we may see presently, a large and expensive establishment -to maintain, and he accepted the bargain. Of -moral or decent feeling there seemed to be a complete -absence at the time in all parties. The troops were put -under the command of the one-eyed fugitive, and he -drew cautiously near the city.</p> - -<p>He had the good fortune to find John and Manuel, -quite unsuspicious of his approach, in a suburban palace, -and the two, together with the younger brother Theodore, -were promptly lodged in the tower of Anemas, from -which Andronicus had escaped. The more thoroughgoing -Sultan urged Andronicus to put them to death, -but such conduct did not become a Christian monarch. -They were entrusted to the care of a corps of Bulgarian -guards, and Andronicus and Maria mounted the gilded -thrones. But their tenure did not last more than two or -three years, and we may close the series of petty revolutions -in a few words.</p> - -<p>John and Manuel communicated with the Venetians<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">322</span> -and offered <em>them</em> the island of Tenedos—one of the few -fragments of Empire that a Byzantine ruler might still -sell for a tawdry crown—if they would displace Andronicus. -The plot was detected in time, and the Venetians -were repulsed; though they consoled themselves with -taking Tenedos. In the third year of imprisonment, -however, the Bulgarian guards were duped by a half-witted -servant named Angel, and nicknamed Devil or -Devilangel, and John and his sons escaped to Scutari and -opened in their turn a deal with the Sultan. They offered -him twice the sum offered by Andronicus. He genially -sent an officer to learn <em>which</em> monarch the people really -did prefer, and would defend, and was informed that -Manuel was the favourite. Lest one should be disposed -to think Manuel much better than the rest of the family, -I may emphasize that Manuel had offered a vast sum of -money out of the poor revenue of the city, and had -promised to lead out two thousand troops every spring in -the service of the Turk, if the crown were conferred on -him. It was a sordid squabble for the last coppers of the -beggared city, and it ended in a compromise. John was -to occupy the throne; Andronicus and his son to be his -heirs. A more or less royal residence was found for -Andronicus and Maria at Selymbria, and on the revenues -of that and a few other towns they contrived to maintain -a tolerable state.</p> - -<p>As soon as Andronicus had gone John crowned -Manuel, in defiance of the treaty, and sought a fitting -wife for him; and his search had the effect of bringing -one more pathetic young Empress upon the scene. John -was now in his sixth decade of life, a prematurely aged -and very gouty man, hardly able to stand erect, but his -sensuous nature was not extinct. He sent to Trebizond -to ask Manuel for the daughter of the Emperor Alexis, -and Eudocia Comnena, the young widow of a Turkish -noble, proved to be so beautiful that the veteran libertine -decided to marry her himself. He was not an old man; -Du Cange puts the marriage, with some reason, about the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">323</span> -year 1380, when John would be fifty-one years old. But -he is described by the indignant chronicler as worn with -debauch and tottering with gout, and we must think -lightly of the lady who could accept his hand in order to -share his crown—the crown of imitation diamonds. We -have, however, no direct knowledge of Eudocia. She -shared John’s imperial poverty for ten years, and disappeared -at his death. We are disposed to suspect her -influence when we find John, in his old age, beginning -to restore the fortifications of the city in order to prepare -for the last conflict with the Turk. Sultan Bayezid -suddenly called on Manuel to appear at his Court, and -then ordered John to destroy the two marble towers he -had built beside the Golden Gate, or he would put out -the eyes of Manuel. The old Emperor obeyed, and -wearily lay down to die (1391).</p> - -<p>Andronicus had died before his father, and, by the -treaty of 1381, the crown should pass to his son John. -But Manuel had been crowned in 1384, and he determined -to seize the purple. He was still in the Court of -Bayezid when the news of his father’s death came. The -Turkish monarchs now had their capital at Brusa -(originally Prusa), a town about sixty miles from Constantinople -across the Sea of Marmora, which had been -famed for some centuries as a pleasure and health resort -on account of its warm springs. Here the later sultans -had gathered all the luxury which would in an earlier -age have passed to Constantinople. No imitation stones -flashed from the turban or the scimitar of the Sultan and -his nobles, for he had great stores of emeralds, rubies -and diamonds; a large park sheltered curious beasts and -birds from all parts of the known world; and the quiet -gardens and gorgeous halls were enlivened by the forced -song of the most beautiful boys and women that Greece, -Servia, Bulgaria, Hungary, and even more distant -Christian countries could supply. On this sybaritic -paradise the dreaded Timour was to fall in a few years, -but in 1391 the Tartars still lingered in the wilds, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">324</span> -the Turk dreamed of world-dominion. Manuel was one -mean vassal among a crowd, the captain of a hundred -feudal soldiers, in this glittering Court, and he decided -to fly to Constantinople and shut himself behind its still -formidable walls. They proved worthy of his trust, and -for several years, though to the great suffering of the -inhabitants, Manuel defied the Sultan.</p> - -<p>During the siege, apparently, Manuel married, so -that an Empress shared the straits of the long and -terrible siege. She was Irene (or Helene), the daughter -of Constantine Dragases, who governed a part of Macedonia. -Irene is rarely mentioned in the scrappy and -contradictory chronicles of the time, but she is one of the -few of whom we have a pictorial representation. The -miniature—found in a manuscript of the works of Denis, -the so-called Areopagite—is a very quaint, though not -very instructive, picture of Irene and Manuel and their -two sons, but he would be a bold physiognomist who -would venture to make a text of the flat and conventional -features of a Byzantine portrait. Her experience of -Byzantine life was dreary. During nearly seven or -eight years (including the brief respite) the Turks -swarmed round the walls of Constantinople, and were -only prevented by their lack of powerful rams and slings—to -say nothing of that new implement called a cannon, -which was just entering European warfare—from penetrating. -The great areas of desolation within the walls -became more desolate, and the scanty supplies of food -sold at appalling prices. With the Sultan outside could -be seen John, the son of Andronicus, whom Bayezid -affected to consider the lawful Emperor, and, although -Manuel was a brave and humane ruler, the weary citizens -were ready to acclaim John. But Manuel received the -aid of Marshal de Boucicault and two thousand men, as -well as a fleet of Venetians and Genoese, and held out -stoutly until, at the close of 1399, the appearance of -Timour the Tartar in the rear of the Sultan persuaded -him to make peace. John was admitted as co-Emperor,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">325</span> -and an effort was made to restore the stricken -city.<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a></p> - -<p>Manuel was the finest of the later Paleologi, and, -although we cannot admire many of the steps he took -to attain power, he made an excellent effort to use it for -the restoration of the Empire. It seemed to him that his -hope lay in enlisting the interest of the West against the -infidel, and he set out at once with Irene and her two -children. He left Irene in Greece, however, with his -brother Theodore and Bartholomæa, and thus no Byzantine -Empress was ever seen farther west than Greece. -Manuel took ship to Italy, where very little was to be -obtained, went to Paris, where he found Charles VI. -insane, and even crossed the sea to the little island which -had once sent so many Varangians to Constantinople. -This visit to England induces one of the later Byzantine -chroniclers (Chalcocondylas) to tell his readers something -of that country, and we are interested to learn that, in -the days of Henry IV., Englishmen shared their wives -in common when they travelled, and held it their first -duty to offer their wives to visitors; but he adds that -London is already the greatest city of the West, though -the strange island produces no wine and its inhabitants -speak a most peculiar language.</p> - -<p>Manuel obtained little money and few volunteers, and -was returning in dejection when he heard that Timour -had routed the Turks. Only a few years before Bayezid -had received legates from Timour in his palace at Brusa. -He had disdainfully shaved them and sent them back to -their barbaric master. Then the Tartars had swept over -Asia Minor, scattered all the pretty boys and ladies of -the Brusa pleasance, and compelled John of Constantinople -to transfer his alliance from Bayezid to himself. -Manuel confirmed the vassalage on his return, but he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">326</span> -sent John into exile and set about restoring his Empire -while the giants wore down each other’s strength. But -I pass over the next decade, during which the internal -troubles of the Turks gave Manuel an opportunity to -reform and reconstruct. Our historian, Finlay, speaks -somewhat contemptuously of his work, and, able and -well-intentioned as Manuel was, it may be admitted that -the work was too vast for him. In any case we lose -sight of Irene for several decades, after the return of -Manuel in 1405, and will pass at once to the next and, -as far as we know, last Empress of Constantinople.</p> - -<p>The introduction of Maria of Trebizond is preceded by -some romantic adventures in the private life of the Court, -of which the chroniclers give us a fairly ample account. -Irene had six sons, of whom the eldest, John, married -the daughter of the Grand Duke of Moscow in the year -1414. He was already twenty-four years old, and of -irregular life, but the hands of the princesses and princes -of Byzantium were no longer sought in the Courts of -the world. Anna was a child of eleven years, and we -may assume that John remained with his mistresses until, -three years later, Anna was carried off by the plague. -Again there seems to have been some difficulty in finding -a wife for the heir to the throne, but in or about the year -1420 legates were sent to Italy, and they returned with -two eligible young ladies. Cleope, the beautiful and -gifted daughter of Count Malatesta of Rimini, was -married to Irene’s second son, Theodore, and went to -spend an unhappy life with that restless prince in -Lacedæmonia. For John the legates had brought -Sophia, daughter of the Marquis of Montferrat, and -she and her husband at once received the imperial -title.</p> - -<p>The appearance of Sophia of Montferrat on the imperial -stage was brief and eventful. She was a tall and -very graceful young woman, with golden hair that fell -to her feet, a beautiful neck and broad round shoulders, -fine arms, and hands and fingers “like crystal,” says<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">327</span> -the chronicler. But nature had spoiled these many perfections -by misshaping her nose and giving a very careless -finish to her eyes and eyebrows. John disliked her, -kept himself coldly aloof from her, and pressed his -father to send her back to Montferrat. A more chatty -chronicler, however, gives a more serious reason for -John’s dislike. Sophia had been as virtuous as she was -beautiful until she came to Constantinople, but, whether -it was the taint in the atmosphere of the Court (most -of the Paleologi have natural children) or the example -of her husband, she quickly lapsed. There was a natural -son of her husband about the Court, and this youth she -incited into a most unnatural relation. A maid of the Court -caught them <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">in flagrante delicto</i> and told her lover; and -the lover informed John. By making a hole in the wall -of the bedroom John convinced himself of the truth of -the story and was very indignant. It may be stated on -behalf of Sophia that, when John spoke of the indignity -to one of the Court jesters, he was reminded that he had -himself some time before stolen his son’s mistress; it is -therefore not impossible that the seduction was on the -side of the youth and had a vindictive character.</p> - -<p>Such was the kind of life witnessed in the last ruins -of the Eastern Empire. John insisted that Sophia must -go home; Manuel, possibly conscious of the difficulty of -finding alliances, was reluctant to send her. Sophia -found her position intolerable, however, and decided to -run away, with the aid of the Genoese of Galata. They -moored a galley at the foot of the imperial gardens, and -Sophia, pretending to go for a stroll in the garden with -her Italian maids and young courtiers, walked to the quay -and was shipped over the water to Pera before her flight -became known. It was published in the city the next -day, and there was much buckling of arms and preparing -of boats to avenge this last outrage of the hated Genoese. -Manuel was, however, now overshadowed by his son, -and Sophia was permitted to depart quietly for her home. -The chronicler adds that she was received with great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">328</span> -honour and rejoicing at Montferrat, and ended her days -in a nunnery.</p> - -<p>The date of Sophia’s flight and of John’s third -marriage is difficult to determine. The plainest reading -of the contradictory chronicles is that the trouble occurred -in the last year of Manuel’s reign and the flight took -place a month after his death, but this is inconsistent -with the express declaration that the old Emperor intervened -in the dispute. Manuel died on 25th July 1425. -For some years the ambition of the Turk, who had -quickly recovered from the heavy blows dealt by Timour, -had fully revived and had given him great anxiety. A -young Sultan, Murad II., had succeeded to the throne, -and Manuel had imprudently recognized a pretender to -the succession. When the young Sultan vigorously -took the field, hanged the pretender, and drew up under -the walls of Constantinople, Manuel, now a feeble old -man of seventy-five, left the direction of affairs to John, -and retired to pursue that ardent study of the Scriptures -which absorbed him in his later years.</p> - -<p>John abjectly apologized, but the angry Sultan ranged -his machines against the walls and proceeded to batter -them. He was drawn off for a time by the strategy of -John, who had the Sultan’s brother conveyed to Brusa -and set up as Sultan, but Murad returned more angry -than ever, and one of the last earthly sounds to catch -the ear of the aged Manuel was the roar of the first -cannons that seem to have appeared at Constantinople. -The diffusion of knowledge at the time may be gathered -from the fact that one of the most learned of the -chroniclers, in discussing these “bombards,” observes -that he does not think they are of very ancient origin. -Before the end of the siege Manuel was warned by an -attack of apoplexy that his death was near. He donned -the black robe, became plain Brother Matthew, and died -two days—not two years, as Finlay says—afterwards, at -the age of seventy-seven. Irene also then retired from -the world and became the nun Hypomene, whom we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">329</span> -shall later find endeavouring to settle the quarrels of her -selfish children. She remained “mistress” (<i xml:lang="fr" lang="fr">despoine</i>) -of the Empire and watched its slow decay with concern.</p> - -<p>John was able, after the death of his father, to obtain -peace from the Sultan at the price of a heavy annual -subsidy, and the Empire entered upon its last quarter -of a century of melancholy decay. Long years of effort -had taught the sultans that their siege engines were not -powerful enough to crack the heavy shell in which earlier -Emperors had enclosed the city, and they were content -to hold it in vassalage and draw a large tribute from its -sinking revenue. The time had gone by for the last -serious effort to save the Empire. Its trade had passed -to the Italians, and of the provinces from which it had so -long extorted its rich supply of gold there now remained -only a few towns to the west of Constantinople, a part of -the Peloponnesus, and Thessalonica (which would soon be -sold to Venice for fifty thousand gold coins). The metropolis, -therefore, continued to shrink within its eighteen-mile -enclosure, and, as a severe pestilence fell on the -inhabitants for the last time in 1431, they were reduced -to something like one hundred thousand, instead of the -million they had once been.</p> - -<p>It was over this dismal little Empire that the last -Empress, Maria of Trebizond, was called to preside. -Whether the flight of Sophia came before or after the -death of Manuel, John V., who succeeded his father, -soon found it necessary to seek a bride. He married, in -1427, the daughter of Alexis of Trebizond, a handsome -woman of excellent character, and we are fortunate -enough to have a short description, from the pen of a -French knight, of Maria and her desolate surroundings. -Bertrandon de la Brocquière made a pilgrimage to the -Holy Land, and returned through Constantinople in the -year 1432. The plague had ravaged it in the previous -year, and Bertrandon sympathetically refers to the broad -spaces of ruin that half filled the enclosure within the -walls. He notes that the Greeks are still busy with their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">330</span> -processions, religious and imperial, and that they still -cherish in their churches such important relics as the -pillar at which Christ was scourged, the board on which -his body was laid out, the gridiron on which St Lawrence -had been martyred, and the stone on which Abraham had -offered food to his angel visitors. Apparently the credentials -of these relics had not been imposing enough to -convince Western purchasers, indulgent as they were.<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a></p> - -<p>When the knight heard that the Empress was about to -proceed to St Sophia, and on to the Blachernæ palace, he -went to the square to see the procession. We know what -the spectacle would have been at an earlier date. First -would come a corps of Excubitors or Varangians, with -shining axes and gold accoutrements, clearing a way -through the crowd. Then a regiment of pale-faced -eunuchs, their leaders dressed in white silk and glittering -with jewels, would precede a large body of maids and -dames, from foreign slaves to the greatest ladies of the -Empire, more superbly dressed than most of the queens -of Europe. And lastly would come the gold-plated, gem-encrusted -litter, drawn by four white horses, possibly -with one of the highest nobles in Europe at the rein of -each, the Empress sitting stiffly in her gold-cloth tunic, -over which spread the mantle of purple silk with deep -embroidered edges, and, if it were a solemn occasion, a -massive domed crown on her head, from which large -diamonds and pearls fell in long chains to her shoulders. -Very different was the spectacle witnessed by Bertrandon -de la Brocquière. Maria’s suite consisted of two ladies, -three eunuchs, and three aged ministers. With this poor -escort she was to drive the several miles of road to the -Blachernæ palace. She wore a high hat (probably a silk-covered -mitre) with three golden plumes, and she had -broad flat rings, set with a few jewels, in her ears. She -was young and fair; “I should not,” says the pilgrim, -“have had a fault to find with her had she not been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">331</span> -painted, and assuredly she had not any need of it.” The -paint seems to have been the one surviving portion of -the luxurious inheritance of the Empresses of Constantinople.</p> - -<p>Maria was a woman of tame and mediocre, if faultless, -character, and, as her husband was weak and incompetent, -the miserable Empire lay helplessly awaiting the -end. Patriotism was an extinct virtue. “The absence of -truth, honour and patriotism,” says Finlay, “among -the Greek aristocracy during the last century of the -Eastern Empire is almost without a parallel in history.” -The Western Empire had, even in its last years, had its -Symmachus, its Prætextatus and its Flavianus. Irene’s -sons could do no more than quarrel for their selfish -interests in the ruins. Andronicus, who had charge of -Thessalonica, which was restored to the Greeks for a -time, sold it to Venice, and went to enjoy his fortune in -the Peloponnesus. In that last fragment of the Empire -Theodore and Constantine were on the verge of civil war -owing to the clash of their petty ambitions. There -seemed to be no resource in the East, and John, leaving -the city in charge of his wife and mother, went to make -a last appeal to his fellow-Christians of the West to stem -the Mohammedan tide. It was now clear that the Greek -Church would, as the price of assistance, have to surrender -its independence to the papacy, and John took -with him the patriarch and his bishops.</p> - -<p>It may be read in history how, at the Councils of -Ferrara (1438) and Florence (1439), the Greek bishops -abandoned the positions they had fiercely maintained for -so many centuries against the Western Church and, with -one exception, signed the Roman claims. I will add -from the Byzantine writers only that, whatever arguments -were discussed in open Council, and however -pressing the need of the Empire, it was a secret and -generous payment of gold to the Byzantine bishops -which finally convinced them. They bargained, like -Syrian pedlars, for their signature. It may also be read<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">332</span> -in history how John returned in deep dejection to his -mother. Instead of the promised fleet, the Pope had -given him only two galleys and three hundred men and -a very moderate sum of money. His wife, Maria, had -died during his absence; the Sultan was pressing for an -explanation of this visit to Italy; and the people and -lower clergy of Constantinople were infuriated at the -surrender of their spiritual independence, and were now -treacherously joined by the corrupt bishops, who had -signed the decrees. John wearily sustained the attack, -assuring the Sultan that he had visited Italy only in -order to discuss certain details of the Christian faith, and -secretly pressing the Pope and the Western monarchs -to fulfil their promises.</p> - -<p>Hypomene, now an aged and venerable lady, sadly -watched the struggle of her sons, and endeavoured to curb -their selfish tempers. Demetrius, her youngest son, -recollected that he, unlike John, had been “born in the -Porphyra,” and disputed the shaking throne of his -brother. He gathered about him a ragged army of Turks -and looted whatever was left of the suburbs beyond the -walls, until his force melted away on account of the -poverty of the plunder, and he consented to be reconciled. -Theodore, the second son, complained that he had not -enough income to maintain his state in the town of -Selymbria, which he governed, and he demanded a share -of John’s. It was refused, and he in turn was about to -lead troops against the capital when John, in his fifty-eighth -year, was removed by a greater power (31st -October 1448) from the scene of his troubles.</p> - -<p>No one even now suspected that the next Emperor -would be the last—that in five years the crescent would -glitter over the imperial palaces—and the struggle for -the throne broke out afresh. Demetrius alone was in the -city when John died, and he noisily renewed his claim -to the purple, but his character was too well known for -him to find serious adherents. His mother united with -the citizens in preventing him from succeeding, and they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">333</span> -sent legates to ask the Sultan to allow Constantine, the -ablest of the brothers, to be crowned. He had lately -been opposed to the Sultan, but permission was given, -and to his “despotate” at Sparta the legates were sent -with the imperial ensigns. Constantinople did not even -enjoy a last coronation, as the new Emperor was crowned -at Sparta (6th January 1449) and would not have the -ceremony repeated. He favoured the union of the -Churches. He reached Constantinople in March, and -the royal brothers gathered in the presence of Hypomene -and such nobles as Constantinople could still boast to -swear resonant oaths of peace and loyalty.</p> - -<p>Constantine had been twice married and widowed -when, in his early forties, he ascended the throne. His -first wife, Theodora, daughter of the Count of Tocco, -had died in 1429; his second wife, Catharine, daughter of -Notaras Paleologus, had died in 1443, two years after -her marriage. There were no children of either marriage, -and Constantine made it one of his first duties to provide -a third wife and an heir to the throne. The historian -Phrantzes was entrusted with this delicate mission, and -he set out from Constantinople with an escort which, it -was thought, would impress the King of Iberia and the -Emperor of Trebizond, to whom he was sent. It was, -as he describes it, a weird mixture of monks, musicians -and medical men; their baggage consisted mainly of -musical instruments, instead of the superb robes and plate -that an earlier escort might have taken, and Phrantzes -says that they did impress and astonish the foreign -Courts. But they were unfortunately wrecked on the -way to Iberia, a country between the Black Sea and the -Caspian, and seem to have been detained for nearly two -years by lack of funds; and they then discovered that -the King of Iberia expected a gift <em>for</em> his daughter, -instead of presenting one <em>with</em> her, and returned unsuccessful -to Constantinople.</p> - -<p>In the meantime—apparently on 23rd March 1450—Hypomene -had brought to a close her long and troubled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">334</span> -life. With her death the series of Empresses of Constantinople -comes to an end, but their story cannot be -intelligibly concluded without a glance at the great catastrophe -which, three years later, swept away the tottering -thrones and made an end of Christian Byzantium.</p> - -<p>The Sultan Murad II., who had so long looked with -indulgent eye on the remnant of the Byzantine Empire, -died in 1451. His son and successor, Mohammed II., -was a young man of twenty-one years: a very able, -highly cultivated and extremely ambitious young prince. -To him the existence of this Christian island, the city -of Constantinople, in the ocean of Mohammedan conquest -was an intolerable anomaly. The Turks had long -since carried the crescent over what we now call Turkey -in Europe, and it was only by sea that Constantinople -could communicate directly with the other Christian -powers. To put an end to this Christian avenue into the -heart of his dominion and make the great city the -capital of the Mohammedan world was the early ambition -of Mohammed II. Probably every sultan for a hundred -years or more had desired this, but their siege machinery -had hitherto proved incapable of shattering the stout old -walls of that city.</p> - -<p>Constantine XI. underrated the young Sultan, and -very soon gave him a pretext for an attack. Mohammed -had signed a truce with the Hungarians, and gone to -settle certain disturbances in his Asiatic dominions, when -he received a most insolent and offensive message from -Constantinople. He must at once increase the pension -of Prince Orkhan (the nephew of Suleiman, then living -in retirement at Constantinople), or else the Greeks will -consider Orkhan’s claim to the Turkish throne. It was -the last blunder of the Paleologi. Mohammed courteously -heard and dismissed the legates, and proceeded -to pacify his Asiatic province. Constantine had grossly -failed to appreciate the young Sultan’s character. After -his coronation at Adrianople his Christian vassals—the -Emperors of Trebizond and Constantinople, the Duke of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">335</span> -Athens, etc.—had hastened to do homage, and had seen -only an accomplished, amiable and, in private life, -vicious young man, from whom they had little to fear.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards the Court at Constantinople was -alarmed to hear that a large army of Turkish workmen -had arrived at a spot on the Asiatic coast only five miles -from the city, and were, with great rapidity, building a -powerful fort which would command the entrance to the -Black Sea. Constantine sent a protest; Mohammed disdainfully -replied that he would do as he liked in his own -dominions. In time the Turkish soldiers of the district -fell to quarrels with Constantine’s subjects, and the -Emperor, ordering the gates of the city to be closed, -demanded some recompense. Mohammed at once declared -war, and went to Adrianople to concentrate his -forces and gather a more powerful armament than his -predecessors had used. The value of powder was now -realized, and, although they were crude objects of only -moderate effectiveness, immense cannons, which could -throw stone balls weighing more than a hundred pounds, -were associated with the old rams and slings and towers.</p> - -<p>Constantine quickly realized the gravity of his position, -and made every effort to patch the fortifications, -enlist troops and provision the town. An urgent appeal -was sent to Italy, and hundreds of volunteers and adventurers -were attracted; though the Pope was still mainly -concerned about the recognition of his supremacy, and -sent a cardinal who distracted the doomed city with fierce -religious controversy. When the hour came, Constantine -found that barely six thousand Greeks could be -induced to enlist in the last defence of their city, and -these, with other two or three thousand Italians, had to -hold fifteen miles of wall, with many gates, against -seventy thousand Turks and three hundred vessels.</p> - -<p>On 12th December 1452 the church of St Sophia rang -with its last great Christian celebration, the solemn union -of the Latin and Greek Churches, the price of that secular -aid which was destined never to arrive. Four months<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">336</span> -later the vanguard of the Turks was descried from the -walls, and day by day the endless regiments and engines -of attack and the monstrous cannons came from the line -of the horizon and took up their stations. For a time -the spirits of the besieged were maintained by those little -successes which so often precede a great catastrophe. -Four large Italian ships had fought their way through -the Turkish fleet and brought provisions: Mohammed’s -biggest gun had burst: a general attack of the enemy -had been repulsed. But the incessant rain of projectiles -made at last a ghastly breach in the stout wall, and on -29th May, before dawn, the dreaded Janissaries flung -themselves at the defenders. The last of the Paleologi -died like a man. Later in the day the victorious Turks -swept over his body and the bodies of some thousands of -his people, and the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire -was swallowed up in the Mohammedan tide. And the -relics of its culture passed westward and, meeting and -blending with the humanism of the later Middle Ages, -begot the new man and new woman of the Renaissance, -the heralds of modern times.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">337</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="footnotes"> -<h2 class="nobreak p1" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> Readers of Professor Bury’s incomplete “History of the Later -Roman Empire” may wonder that I continue to use the phrase -“Byzantine Empire” after Bury’s protest against that phrase. But -it seems to me that if “Roman Empire” means an Empire centred in -Rome, “Byzantine Empire” is the most congruous name for a -dominion that centres in ancient Byzantium and has, during the far -greater part of its story, no connexion whatever with Rome. Most -historians continue to speak of it as Byzantine.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> See, especially, J. Ebersolt, “Le Grand Palais de Constantinople.” -1910.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> There was no hereditary right to the throne in the Roman Empire, -though a father generally contrived to secure it for his son. “Born in -the purple” is, by the way, an inaccurate description of the imperial -children, though not uncommon. They were “born in the Porphyra,” -or porphyry-lined palace; but, as the Greek word <i>porphura</i> properly -means “purple,” it is mistranslated at times. There are those who -maintain that the imperial colour was rather red than what we know -as purple.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> The date of the marriage is much disputed. Chroniclers assign it -to various years, and, when the son of Ariadne and Zeno mounts the -throne, he is variously described as an infant, a boy of seven, and a -youth of seventeen. Professor Bury puts the marriage in 458 or 459. -I prefer the estimate of Tillemont, that it took place in 468, the year -of the disgrace of Basiliscus.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> It is a popular fallacy, as we shall frequently see, that the Romans -had abandoned these bloody spectacles in the days of Honorius.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> See, especially, the work of Débidour, “L’Impératrice Théodora,” -and a summary and approval of Débidour’s arguments in an article by -Mr Mallett in <cite>The English Historical Review</cite>, January 1887. Mr -W. G. Holmes’s learned work, “The Age of Justinian and Theodora” -(2 vols., 1907), is much too meagre in its references to Theodora.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> See the Latin translation (“Commentarii de Beatis Orientalibus”) -by Douwen and Land of this Syriac work (Amsterdam, 1889). John -also speaks of her as “a most astute woman,” and, although his work -teems with the immense services done to his Church by Theodora, he -never mentions her with more than stiff and formal respect.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> It is necessary to explain to the unfamiliar the “factions” of the -Hippodrome. In the chariot contests the rival drivers were distinguished -by their colours: white, red, blue and green. The white and red were -of little account, but the blue and green divided the populace of -Constantinople into bitterly hostile parties or “factions.” These parties -were almost in the nature of sporting clubs: they were publicly recognized, -and had their own premises, chariots, beasts, officers, etc. We -shall find the fate of dynasties almost turning at times on the struggle -of the “blues” and “greens.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn1"><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="fnanchor">9</a> This conversation (preserved in Theophanes) is sometimes described -as a free discharge of invectives against Justinian, and surprise is -expressed that the character of his wife is not included. The dialogue -is not at all a general attack on Justinian. It is, for the most part, a -sober and earnest demand of justice, and contains only one insulting -line—possibly an isolated cry of some more impetuous member of the -party.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> I have passed in silence an earlier charge against Theodora in the -“Anecdotes.” The Gothic queen Amalasuntha had appealed to -Justinian, and Theodora is said to have sent an officer to cause her to -be assassinated, lest her great beauty should seduce the Emperor. -Procopius gives a different version of the murder of Amalasuntha in his -“Gothic War,” and we have no serious reason to involve Theodora.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="fnanchor">11</a> Shorthand (<i xml:lang="la" lang="la">notatio</i>) was, of course, familiar to the Romans and -daily practised. It may not be superfluous to add that the dignity of -Cæsar was a semi-imperial rank conferred usually on sons or possible -successors of the Emperor, or King (<i>basileus</i>), as the eastern Romans -came to call their monarch.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> It should be noted that the organized factions were not nearly so -large as these incidents suggest. When Maurice had wished to arm -them against the usurper, he found that the blues numbered only nine -hundred, and the greens fifteen hundred. The entire population was -about a million.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> See Pernice’s “L’Imperatore Eraclio,” 1905, p. 25.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="fnanchor">14</a> Professor Bury gives his age as twenty-three, and assumes that he -was born in 615, but Nicephorus places his birth in the second Persian -campaign (623). The first son of Martina had died. His name (or -nickname) is spelt either Heraclonas or Heracleonas.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="fnanchor">15</a> The readers of Gibbon may often notice that words or speeches -quoted here differ materially from corresponding quotations in the great -historian. The reason is that Gibbon invariably paraphrases such -quotations. They are in this work translated literally from the Greek -chroniclers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="fnanchor">16</a> I have not been able to consult this interesting “Life of St -Philaretus,” and am quoting Diehl’s admirable work, “Figures -Byzantines.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> A monk of this monastery, Theodore of Studium, has left us a -number of letters and works, though they give little satisfaction to the -profane historian. One letter, however, is addressed to the ex-Empress -Maria, and we learn from it that her daughter, or one of her daughters -(Euphrosyne and Irene), pressed her to come and live in her palace. -Theodore sternly forbids her to return to that world of sin.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="fnanchor">18</a> Finlay rejects the story on the ground that Theodora could not -possibly have made her husband believe that sacred images were dolls -for her children. But that is not the story; Theodora denied that she -had any dolls at all.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="fnanchor">19</a> The mystery of the children of Theophilus is yet unsolved. Michael -was born, of Theodora, about 828, and we know that another boy, -named Constantine, was born. But the five daughters—Thecla, Anna, -Anastasia, Pulcheria and Maria—are a puzzle, to which the wretched -Byzantine chroniclers give us no clue. They make Thecla, the eldest, -a gay and dissolute woman thirty years afterwards, and they marry -Maria, the youngest, about 832; while they speak of the whole of them -as young girls, playing with their grandmother’s dolls, about the time -when the youngest of them marries Alexius. It is frequently suggested -that they were the daughters of an earlier wife of Theophilus, but this -is hardly consistent with the later gaiety of Thecla (down to 868) or the -doll story; nor, although we do not know the exact age of Theophilus, -can we easily admit that he had been married for twenty years—which -is necessary to make Maria fifteen in 832—before he chose Theodora -under the guidance of his stepmother.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="fnanchor">20</a> “Zwei Griechische Texte über die H. Theophano,” edited by E. -Kurtz, in the “Mémoires de l’Academie Impériale de St Petersbourg,” -viii. series, vol 3. Unfortunately, the legendary and partisan character -of the essays compels us to use them with discretion. I have also -taken much from the Greek life of the patriarch Euthymius, and have -been much helped by the notes of its editor, de Boor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="fnanchor">21</a> The mixture of palaces and monasteries may cause some perplexity. -The explanation is that for a long time it was a pious and very common -custom of wealthy Constantinopolitans to ensure prayers for their soul -by leaving their palaces to the monks, and even converting them into -monasteries before they died, so as to die in the ranks of the monks. -We shall find the next Emperor checking this practice, to the great anger -of the monks.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="fnanchor">22</a> G. Schlumherger. “Un Empereur Byzantin au Dixième Siècle.” -(1890); a very fine and ample study of Byzantine life.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> Basil was a natural son of Romanus I. and a Russian (or else -Bulgarian) slave. It is a curious mistake on the part of Gibbon, and -even of Schlumberger, to confuse the Basil whom she belaboured with -her own son Basil.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="fnanchor">24</a> In point of fact, a writer of the time, Michael Atteliates, says that he -had no wife. Flach (“Die Kaiserin Eudokia,” 1876) seems to have -overlooked this authority.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="fnanchor">25</a> Until recent years Eudocia was, as one reads in Gibbon, reputed to -have been the authoress of “Ionia,” but later writers have shown that -this was an error. She undoubtedly wandered in the fields of letters and -philosophy under the guidance of Psellus, and seems to have written a -little.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> <i>Sebastos</i> is the Greek equivalent of the Latin <i xml:lang="la" lang="la">Augustus</i>. It must -not be forgotten that, while I continue to use the words “Emperor” -and “Empress,” they were now more commonly called “King” and -“Queen,” “Lord” and “Lady,” or “Master” and “Mistress.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="fnanchor">27</a> Since the princess, or Cæsaress, has her apologists, if not admirers, -this may seem a hasty judgment. It is based simply on her narrative, -controlled by the accounts of other chroniclers. The last pages of her -history are superb in their mendacity, and she commonly suppresses or -perverts the facts. For the difficulties of her father’s position, and the -great services he rendered to the Empire, which must be put in the -scale against his duplicity and fraud, I must send the reader to historians.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> One or two remarks on the novel may not be without interest. It -is far the weakest of Scott’s historical romances. Byzantine antiquities -were little known in England at the time when it was written, and the -great novelist is reduced to a meagreness or inaccuracy of detail which -places the story in unfavourable contrast to his Scottish romances, and -he is forced to admit countless anachronisms. Anna Comnena was only -thirteen years old at the time, and did not begin to write her “Alexiad” -until twenty or thirty years later. The golden birds and lions, also, -which Scott puts beside the imperial throne, had been melted down by -Michael the Drunkard two hundred years before. I mention these -features only because Scott is usually so conscientious, even in romance.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="fnanchor">29</a> It may be well to repeat that the neater phrase in Gibbon is an -artistic paraphrase, not a translation, of the original Greek.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="fnanchor">30</a> “Typicum, sive Regula, Irenes Augustæ,” published by the Benedictines -of St Maur in their “Analecta Græca” (1688).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="fnanchor">31</a> The marriage of Alexis is placed by Finlay in 1178, but William of -Tyre, who was in Constantinople at the time, says that it took place in -the year of the death of Louis VII. and of Manuel. Nicetas also says -that Anna was “not quite eleven” when she married Andronicus (in -1183) and “not quite eight” when she married Alexis.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> Finlay, following Nicephorus Gregoras, wrongly says that Theodore -had left “no son” to inherit the purple. George Acropolites, the better -authority, says that he left “no mature son.” The son of Philippa was -eight years old, and seems to have lived under the cloud of his mother’s -disgrace.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> This lady is sometimes named Markesina, but the term is merely a -Greek attempt to speak of her as “the Marchioness.” Her real name -is unknown.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> Finlay declines to regard the dominion which was re-established by -the Greeks in 1261 as “the Byzantine Empire.” But as there had -never been any dynastic continuity, and as “Byzantine Empire” merely -means an empire which has its seat in Constantinople, or ancient -Byzantium (the name still commonly given to the city by its own -writers), I see no reason to discard the phrase.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> Manuel’s younger brother, Theodore, was never crowned and had -been crushed by the Sultan, so that his beautiful wife, Bartholomæa, -daughter of the Duke of Athens, does not enter our list; and as -Bartholomæa had no children (though her husband had several) there -was no complication of the new arrangement to be feared from that side.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="fn2"><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> Bertrandon’s interesting narrative may be read in English in T. -Wright’s “Early Travels in Palestine.”</p></div> -</div></div> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="index"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX</h2> - -<ul class="index"> -<li class="ifrst">A</li> - -<li class="indx">Acacius, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Æcatherina, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aetius, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agapetus, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agnes, wife of Henry of Flanders, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Alexiad,” the, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexis II., <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexis III., <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexis Angelus, <a href="#Page_240">240–249</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexis Comnenus, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202–215</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Alexius, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Amalasuntha, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Amantius, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anastasia (Ino), <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anastasia, wife of Constantine IV., <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anastasius, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Andronicus, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228–236</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Andronicus II., <a href="#Page_272">272–274</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276–295</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Andronicus III., <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295–301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Andronicus IV., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320–322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Andronicus Paleogogus, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna Comnena, the elder, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200–206</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna Comnena, the younger, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna of Hungary, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna of Moscow, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna of Savoy, <a href="#Page_298">298–316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna, wife of Alexis II., <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna, wife of Theodore Lascaris, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anna, wife of Vatatzes, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anthemius, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anthimus, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Antonina, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Apocaucus, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ariadne, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18–20</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arsenius, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Arsenius the Patriarch, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Artabanes, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Asper, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Athalaric, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Augusteum, the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">B</li> - -<li class="indx">Baldwin of Flanders, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bardas, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bardas, brother of Xiphilin, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basil the Chamberlain, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basil the Macedonian, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120–123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basil, son of Romanus I., <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basil II., <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Basiliscus, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bassus, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bayezid, Sultan, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Belisarius, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bertha, wife of Romanus II., <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bertrandon de la Brocquière, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bigleniza, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blachernæ Palace, the, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blues, the, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bogomilians, the, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bohemund, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boniface of Montferrat, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bucoleon Palace, the, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Buza, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">C</li> - -<li class="indx">Candidates, the, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Casia, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cathara, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Catherine Paleologina, <a href="#Page_333">333</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chalcedon, Council of, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chalke, the, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Charito, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Charlemagne, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Christopher, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cleope of Rimini, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Comitona, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Consistorium, the, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constans II., <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantina, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine, brother of Andronicus II., <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">338</span></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine Catepano, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine Copronymus, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine Delassenus, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine Ducas, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine the Paphlagonian, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine IV., <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine VI., <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine, brother of Michael IV., <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine Monomachos, <a href="#Page_176">176–180</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine Porphyrogenitus (VII)., <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantine XI., <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334–336</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantinople, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantinople captured by Latins, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantinople captured by Turks, <a href="#Page_336">336</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Constantinople recovered by Greeks, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Corippus, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crusaders, the, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">D</li> - -<li class="indx">Daphne, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Demetrius, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Demetrius, son of John VI., <a href="#Page_332">332</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Denderis, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drizibion, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">E</li> - -<li class="indx">Eclipses, Greek view of, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elpidius, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Epiphania Eudocia, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia Comnena, <a href="#Page_322">322</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, daughter of Constantine VIII., <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia Decopolitana, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia Ingerina, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia Macrembolitissa, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183–194</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, mistress of Andronicus, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, sister of Andronicus II., <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, wife of Constantine V., <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, wife of Heraclius, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, wife of Leo VI., <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, wife of Murtzuphlus, <a href="#Page_250">250–251</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253–254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudocia, wife of Theodosius, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eudoxia, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eulogia, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Euphemia, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Euphrosyne Ducæna, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244–255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Euphrosyne, wife of Michael II., <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Euthymius, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Evagrius, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Excubitors, the, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">F</li> - -<li class="indx">Fabia, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">G</li> - -<li class="indx">George Paleologus, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">George of Pisidia, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Germanus, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Greens, the, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gregoria Anastasia, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gryllus, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">H</li> - -<li class="indx">Harmatius, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hecebolus, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Helen of Bulgaria, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Helen, wife of John V., <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312–315</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Helena, daughter of Constantine VIII., <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Helena, wife of Constantine VII., <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heraclius, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70–76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heraclius Constantine, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heraclonas, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hieria Palace, the, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hippodrome, the, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hormisdas Palace, the, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hypatius, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hypomene, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">I</li> - -<li class="indx">Iconoclasts, the, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Illus, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ino, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">339</span></li> - -<li class="indx">“Ionia,” the, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene of Brunswick, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene of Montferrat, <a href="#Page_276">276–286</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene Paleologina, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of Alexis Comnenus, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207–215</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of Cantacuzenus, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311–316</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of John, <a href="#Page_283">283</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of John Comnenus, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of Leo IV., <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85–100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of Manuel I., <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of Manuel III., <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irene, wife of Vatatzes, <a href="#Page_259">259–261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Isaac Angelus (II.), <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Isaac Comnenus, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">J</li> - -<li class="indx">Joannina, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John Camateros, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John Cantacuzenus, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301–318</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John Comnenus, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215–219</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John Ducas, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John of Cappodocia, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John of Constantinople, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John of Ephesus, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John the Eunuch, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John the Fat, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John Vatatzes, <a href="#Page_259">259–262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John Zimiskes, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John V., <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_310">310–315</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318–323</a></li> - -<li class="indx">John VI., <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Joseph Bringas, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Joseph the Patriarch, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Julius Nepos, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Justin, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Justin II., <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56–59</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Justina, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Justinian, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28–29</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Justinian II., <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">K</li> - -<li class="indx">Kathisma, the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">L</li> - -<li class="indx">Leo Phocas, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leo the Armenian, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leo Sgurus, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leo the Deacon, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leo the Isaurian, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leo IV., <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leo VI., <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123–131</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leontia, wife of Marcian, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leontia, wife of Phocas, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leontius, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Liberatus, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">M</li> - -<li class="indx">Magnaura Palace, the, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Manuel I., <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222–225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Manuel Paleologus, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Manuel, uncle of St Theodora, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Manuel III., <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323–328</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, daughter of Eulogia, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, daughter of Manuel I., <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria of Armenia, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287–297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria of Trebizond, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329–332</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, wife of Constantine VI., <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, wife of Isaac Angelus, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, wife of Leo, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, wife of Manuel I., <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, wife of Michael VI., <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maria, wife of Theodore Lascaris, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maraptica, <a href="#Page_236">236</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marcian, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Martha Paleologina, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Martina, <a href="#Page_70">70–80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Martinacius, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mary, wife of Baldwin, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maurice, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Melisend, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mese, the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Methodius, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael I., <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael II., <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael III., the Drunkard, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113–118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael IV., <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166–170</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">340</span></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael V., the Caulker, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael VI., <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael Angelus, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael Cathara, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael Paleologus, <a href="#Page_263">263–272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Michael Psellus, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mohammed II., <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Monophysites, the, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morality of the Eastern Empire, <a href="#Page_136">136–137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Murad, Sultan, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Murad II., <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Muzalon, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Murtzuphlus, <a href="#Page_250">250–252</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">N</li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephoritzes, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephorus Blemmydas, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephorus Botaneiates, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephorus Bryennius, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephorus Diogenes, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephorus Melissenus, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephorus Phocas, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146–153</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicephorus, son of Eudocia, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nicholas the Patriarch, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nikin, Bishop of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">O</li> - -<li class="indx">Oath, the, at Constantinople, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">P</li> - -<li class="indx">Palace, the Imperial, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Palamism, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Patricius, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paul, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pepin the Frank, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peter Barsymes, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Philagrius, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Philaretus, St., <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Philippa of Antioch, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Phocas, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Photius, son of Antonina, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Phrantzes, <a href="#Page_333">333</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Polyeuctes, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Porphyra, the, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Porphyrogenitus, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Priscus, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Procopia, wife of Michael, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Procopius, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pulcheria, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pyrrhus, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">R</li> - -<li class="indx">Raymond of Tripoli, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Relics at Constantinople, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Robert Guiscard, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Romanus I., <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Romanus II., <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Romanus Argyrus (III.), <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Romanus Diogenes, <a href="#Page_184">184–191</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">S</li> - -<li class="indx">Samonas, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saudgi, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scholarians, the, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Scott, Sir Walter, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sclerena, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sergius, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shorthand in ancient times, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Silverius, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Simonides, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sir Janni, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Solomon’s Throne, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sophia, <a href="#Page_52">52–63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sophia of Montferrat, <a href="#Page_326">326–328</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stauracius, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St Daniel Stylites, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Strategopulina, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St Simeon, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St Sophia, church of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">St Stephen, church of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stylianus Zautzes, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Synadenus, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">T</li> - -<li class="indx">Tarasius, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tartars, the, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thecla, daughter of Theophilus, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Thecla, wife of Michael II., <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theoclistos, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">341</span></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, daughter of Constantine VIII., <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199–162</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173–180</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, mistress of Manuel I., <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora Paleologina, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, St, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106–119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora of Tocco, <a href="#Page_333">333</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, wife of Baldwin III., <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, wife of Justinian, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28–51</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, wife of Justinian II., <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, wife of Michael Paleologus, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269–275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, wife of Romanus, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodora, wife of Zimiskes, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodore, Abbot, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodore Guniazitza, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodore Lascaris, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodore Synadenus, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodosia, wife of Leo, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodosius, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodosius, son of Maurice, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theodote, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theophanes, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theophano, St, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theophano, wife of Romanus II., <a href="#Page_140">140–157</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theophano, wife of Stauracius, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theophilus, <a href="#Page_106">106–110</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Theophobos, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tiberius, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trascallisseus, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tribonian, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Triclinon, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tzantzes, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">V</li> - -<li class="indx">Valentine, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Verina, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12–18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vigilius, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">X</li> - -<li class="indx">Xene, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Xiphilin, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Y</li> - -<li class="indx">Yolande, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Z</li> - -<li class="indx">Zeno, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zenonis, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zoe Carbonopsina, <a href="#Page_128">128–135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zoe, daughter of Constantine VIII., <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159–178</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zoe, daughter of Zautzes, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Zonarus, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> -</ul> -</div></div> - -<p class="p2 center small wspace">THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH</p> - -<p> </p> -<hr /> - -<div class="chapter"><div class="transnote"> -<h2 class="nobreak p1" id="Transcribers_Notes">Transcriber’s Note</h2> - -<p>Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made -consistent when a predominant preference was found -in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.</p> - -<p>Simple typographical errors were corrected; unpaired -quotation marks were remedied when the change was -obvious, and otherwise left unpaired.</p> - -<p>Footnotes, originally at the bottoms of pages, have -been collected and moved to precede the Index.</p> - -<p>The index was not checked for proper alphabetization -or correct page references.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_106">106</a>: A duplicate image was removed; the -correct one remains, following <a href="#Page_138">page 138</a>.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_116">116</a>: The appearance of the transcription of -Greek in the illustration will vary according to -the fonts installed on your reading device.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_315">315</a>: “Two large triremes (galleys with two banks -of oars)” was printed that way; should be either -“biremes” or “three banks”.</p> - -<p><a href="#Footnote_22">Footnote 22</a> (originally on page 143): “G. Schlumherger” should be “G. Schlumberger”.</p> - -<p>Cover created by Transcriber and placed in the Public Domain.</p> -</div></div> - - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EMPRESSES OF CONSTANTINOPLE***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 60938-h.htm or 60938-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/9/3/60938">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/9/3/60938</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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