PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Program in Hellenic Studies

BYZANTINE HABITAT: CLASS, GENDER AND PRODUCTION
IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Saturday, May 3, 2003
106 McCormick Hall
Poster

This colloquium aims to explore the private life of the Byzantines in the eastern Mediterranean. Day to day activities, their physical settings and material trappings, and the interaction of different social groups engaged therein will be investigated. Areas as diverse as secular architecture, household furnishings, economic activities within the domestic unit, the treatment of mental illness, and the image of the slave in Byzantine society form the subjects of the papers to be presented here. By providing a platform for examining new documentation as well as for looking afresh at well-known material, we hope to contribute to a synthetic image of the Byzantine Habitat.

Morning Session - 10:00 a.m.
Welcome: Dimitri H. Gondicas (Hellenic Studies)
Amy Papalexandrou (Austin, Texas): "In from the Street: the Byzantine House Reconsidered" (abstract)
Veronica Kalas (Hellenic Studies): "The Byzantine House: A Sociological Approach to Architecture " (abstract)
Discussant: Slobodan Curcic (Art and Archaeology)

Lunch - 12:00 noon

Afternoon Session I - 1:30 p.m.
Maria Parani (Hellenic Studies) "'And They Set the Table with all its Trappings:' Byzantine Tableware and Eating Practices" (abstract)
Jennifer Ball (Hellenic Studies): "The Fabric of Everyday Life: the Procurement of Textiles in the Home" (abstract)
Discussant: Tia Kolbaba (History and Hellenic Studies)

Afternoon Session II - 3:30 p.m.
Youval Rotman (Yad Hanadiv, Jerusalem): "Exchanging Prisoners of War and the Paradox of Christian Marriage: Byzantine Identity in the Medieval Mediterranean" (abstract)
Margaret Trenchard-Smith (UCLA): "Maniacs, Melancholics and the Moonstruck: Situating the Aberrant in Early Byzantine Society" (abstract)
Discussant: Peter Brown (History and Hellenic Studies)

Reception - 5:30 p.m.

Organizing Committee
Peter Brown (History and Hellenic Studies)
Dimitri H. Gondicas (Classics and Hellenic Studies)
Jennifer Ball (Hellenic Studies)
Veronica Kalas (Hellenic Studies)
Maria Parani (Hellenic Studies)

Cosponsored by:
Department of Art and Archaeology
Department of History
Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies
Program in Medieval Studies

In from the Street: the Byzantine House Reconsidered
Amy Papalexandrou

The domestic quarters of the Byzantines have not fared well over the ages. Whether due to the ravages of time or the activities of modern archaeologists, or both, the original form and appearance of non-elite Byzantine houses are a) scantily known and b) negatively defined in the literature devoted to the subject. While the former problem is gradually being addressed and even rectified through proper excavation of new sites, the latter remains at issue. Indeed, a recent exposition on secular architecture serves to illustrate the commonly held view. Put simply, "...domestic architecture was poorly built and of little architectural interest." While the material record may not be as forthcoming as we might have hoped, one suspects that the scholarly assessments are not entirely fair, and that modern expectations of architectural pretension may account for the negative and often one-sided evaluations commonly seen in print. I propose to undertake an alternative and, I hope, more nuanced approach to the material wherein the "typical Byzantine house" is examined contextually. I wish to think not so much in terms of tectonics (i.e., form, structure and building techniques employed) as to turn to questions infinitely more elusive: What constituted the household? What determined the value of the house? What were some of the potential functions and divisions of internal spaces and to what extent might these have been determined (even pre-determined) by the activities of women? What can we say about the appearance of the house, especially its decorative component? What was the relationship of inside to outside, especially of the house to the (potentially uncivilized) street beyond? And how was the all-important transitional space of the courtyard perceived of and conceptualized by the Byzantines? In addition to the traditional source materials of archaeology and contemporary written records, I will also incorporate evidence from post-Byzantine sources and monuments as well as anthropological studies which elucidate modern-day domestic contexts and patterns of use. It is hoped that the latter material, although controversial in its application to Byzantine culture and society, might offer an alternative avenue of approach, one which will generate new dialogue concerning the Byzantine household environment.

The Byzantine House: A Sociological Approach to Architecture
Veronica G. Kalas

Until recently, our knowledge about the Byzantine house consisted of mere fragments. In the last few years, however, surveys have been conducted in Cappadocia, in central Turkey, a crossroads of civilization in the middle ages. At the border of three frontiers?Byzantine, Arab, and Transcaucasian?archaeologists and art historians working at separate sites suddenly realized that places formerly called monasteries were actually domestic complexes for rural aristocrats. High above the Peristrema Valley in Cappadocia, on a volcanic rock cliff, a medieval estate spreads over three thousand square meters. Once thought to be a monastery, this too is now recognized as one of a number of aristocratic domestic complexes that provide our first extensive information about the Byzantine house. By using this especially prominent site as a case study, I will examine the social structure of the Byzantine household and secular use of space. Of particular concern will be to determine whether considerations of class, gender, and production may have governed the organization and design of spaces within the household. By using a sociological approach to architecture, the house and household can be seen as an index of how society shapes itself.

"And They Set the Table with all its Trappings:" Byzantine Tableware and Eating Practices
Maria Parani

Tableware serves an obvious utilitarian function in the consumption of food and drink. Yet, the material out of which eating and drinking utensils are made, their size, shape, decoration, and actual usage are rarely determined by practical considerations alone. Cultural- and social-specific dietary habits and eating manners, the particular context of individual meals, the social and economic status of the diners, even the aesthetic values prevalent at a particular period, can dictate not only the appearance of tableware but also the manner in which the various vessels and utensils are set on the table and are used. The objective of this paper is the discussion of Byzantine tableware through a survey of the relevant archaeological, written, and artistic evidence. An attempt will be made to trace regional as well as chronological diversification in the use of the various types of utensils investigated. Furthermore, the enquiry into the typology of Byzantine tableware will serve as a starting point for the exploration of the cultural and social implications of its use that clearly went beyond its functional nature to its becoming a sign of status, wealth, and refinement.

The Fabric of Everyday Life: the Procurement of Textiles in the Home
Jennifer Ball

Much scholarly attention has been devoted to the extensive textile industry in the Byzantine world; studies of imperial and commercial production and sales of textiles, particularly silks, are numerous. What is not known, however, is where a typical Byzantine obtained clothing, furnishings and other textiles. Surviving market regulations in texts such as The Book of Eparch suggest that merchants at fairs sold textiles "wholesale" to tailors and the like but did not sell "retail" to ordinary people. Through an examination of literary, art historical and archaeological data, this paper seeks to uncover evidence for textile production in the home and explore to what extent the average Byzantine bought ready-made new and used clothing, linens, and other textile items at the market.

Painted representations of Byzantines, especially women, suggest that weaving in the home was common. Coupled with archaeological finds of distaffs, whorls, needles and other sewing implements, there is strong evidence that many people outfitted themselves and their homes with textiles of their own making. In addition,
a second-hand market for textiles must have existed, especially to meet the demand for textiles among non-elite classes. Finally, while the sources tell us of tailors and cloth merchants who purchased goods at large fairs, their activities in smaller local markets and towns have been largely ignored; eventually merchants whether at a store front or neighborhood market sold textiles and dress directly to Byzantines. It is this everyday production and exchange of textile goods, outside of the large commercial industry, that this paper will investigate.

Exchanging Prisoners of War and the Paradox of Christian Marriage: Byzantine Identity in the Medieval Mediterranean
Youval Rotman

In a world where "the vanquished belong to the conquerors" the later hold literally the life of the first in their hands. If they decide not to kill them, the captives become their property. This is why in Antiquity war was always a major source for slaves. Nevertheless, in classical Roman Law all captives (Roman or not) have the status of slave. The free Roman captured by the enemy is thus considered a slave under Roman Law and loses his/her matrimonial status along with his/her other rights as a free person. This situation is changed in the sixth century when a new law dealing with Christian marriage determines that the captive's marriage will no longer be dissolved. In the eighth century new laws establish all other rights of free persons for Byzantine captives. A new dichotomy thus arises between the Byzantine captives and the captives by the Byzantines. The real catalyst in this evolution is the institution of the Christian marriage which gives a new identity to the free Byzantine - a religious one. Moreover, this process sets the legal basis to introduce a new custom on the Byzantine international scene - the exchanging of prisoners of war. Nevertheless, Byzantium finds itself unable to control the political and military scene in the Mediterranean. A new type of piracy not only places Byzantium in a defensive position, but also costs many Byzantines their freedom. This situation has major implications on everyday life and on the image of the slave in Byzantine society.

Maniacs, Melancholics and the Moonstruck: Situating the Aberrant in Early Byzantine Society
Margaret Trenchard-Smith

What was the place in Byzantine society of those who were held to be aberrant? This question is meant literally. The situation of persons within three categories of aberration: maniacs, melancholics and the moonstruck (epileptics, seleniakoi), will be examined. The surroundings and treatment of these persons differed according to their familial and social status, the intensity of their symptoms and behavior, and how their condition was defined.

Medical writings from late antiquity through the early medieval period describe ideal therapeutic environments and regimens for the maniacs, melancholics and epileptics. The foods appropriate to alleviate each disorder are listed in detail, as are regimens for exercise and for bathing. In fact, total environments proper to these persons are proposed in medical sources, particularly with respect to the appropriate degrees and kinds of stimulation they should receive, whether tactile, visual, aural or social. While medical writings indicate that the typical site of care was the private household, other evidence suggests that ecclesiastical and imperial philanthropic institutions (e. g. xenodocheia, nosokomeia) were also involved.

Context determined the identity and etiology of these disorders, each of which could be redefined as demonic possession when medicine failed. Hagiographic sources provide invaluable evidence for the loci of spiritual healing, which differ greatly from medical settings.

The above situations for the aberrant will be examined in turn. But what were the circumstances of those who were outside the protection and/or control of the Byzantine household or philanthropic institution? Largely, I think, their lot was to face rejection, social opprobrium and a vagrant existence. The "non-habitat" of the aberrant, too, will be considered.