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2018 - Volume 1 - Number 1

Woman’s Position in Byzantine Society

Marina Nasaina * mnassaina@gmail.com * ORCID: 0000-0002-8244-8399
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Philosophy (The author is employed at the Music Senior High school of Argolida, Greece.)

Open Journal for Studies in History, 2018, 1(1), 29-38 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojsh.0101.04029n
Online Published Date: 9 August 2018

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)Woman’s Position in Byzantine Society

KEY WORDS: woman, family, religion, education, daughter, divorce, widowhood, slave, Augusta, society.

ABSTRACT:
Although Byzantine society was a society of inequality both between the social strata and the rights of the two sexes, woman in Byzantine times plays an important role. She directs business, participates in the church as a nun or church clerk, and plays an active role in political affairs. It also has equal rights with men to bequeath and inherit their property. Of course, it is still excluded from public offices with unique, perhaps allowed, occupations of engaging with family, religion and charity. Basic attributes of the perfect woman and husband are virginity, silence and tolerance. Byzantine education has ensured elementary education for many girls. The Byzantine woman married early and was considered the head of the family and the protector of her children especially if she was a widow and her children were still very young.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Marina Nasaina, Parodos Agiou Adrianou 89, 21100 Nauplio, GREECE. E-mail: mnassaina@gmail.com.

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