This book explores understudied aspects of eunuchs in Byzantium from the sixth through mid-eleventh centuries, with a particular emphasis on the imperial attitudes toward eunuchs and castration reflected in imperial legislation. Eunuchs were key figures in the empire, known especially for their close relationships with emperors as chamberlains of the imperial bedchamber, imperial administrators and military commanders of imperial troops. They attracted the interest of various contemporaries because they played an important role in the political, military or religious spheres. Furthermore, their infertility and physical characteristics set them apart from most people. This book revisits and enlarges the history of eunuchs in the Byzantine empire through comprehensive source analysis, focusing particularly on Byzantine legal sources codified and promulgated in the name of the emperors.

Considers the position of eunuchs in Byzantine society Examines the legal, political and religious roles of eunuchs in Byzantium Focuses on eunuchs in light of Byzantine imperial law codes

Autorentext

Yuki Kontani is Postdoctoral Fellow at Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan.

Klappentext

"With this monograph, Kontani breathes new life into a topic that at first glance seems to have been exhaustively studied in recent decades: the Byzantine eunuch. Through the careful and minute examination of legal texts, which are always put in their respective societal Sitz im Leben, Kontani manages to tease out Byzantine notions about virility, sexuality, gender and marriage. Her book serves as a model for future studies of Byzantine legal history, in particular as an example of the evolution of Late Roman ideas about law in the Middle Byzantine period."
Zachary Chitwood, Professor of Byzantine Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany

This book explores understudied aspects of eunuchs in Byzantium from the sixth through mid-eleventh centuries, with a particular emphasis on the imperial attitudes toward eunuchs and castration reflected in imperial legislation. Eunuchs were key figures in the empire, known especially for their close relationships with emperors as chamberlains of the imperial bedchamber, imperial administrators and military commanders of imperial troops. They attracted the interest of various contemporaries because they played an important role in the political, military or religious spheres. Furthermore, their infertility and physical characteristics set them apart from most people. This book revisits and enlarges the history of eunuchs in the Byzantine empire through comprehensive source analysis, focusing particularly on Byzantine legal sources codified and promulgated in the name of the emperors.

Yuki Kontani is Postdoctoral Fellow at Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan.

Inhalt

Chapter 1. Introduction: Byzantine Eunuchs and Law.- Chapter 2. The Law of Justinian I and the Law of Leo III.- Chapter 3. Penal Mutilation and Mutilation of the Penis.- Chapter 4. Legal Reform and Codification Projects of the Macedonian Dynasty.- Chapter 5. The Imperial Position on Castration: NL. 60.- Chaper 6. Eunuchs as Disabled People? Adoption by Eunuchs in NL. 26.- Chapter 7. Prohibition of Eunuchs' Marriage in NL. 98.- Chapter 8. Two Decisions of Basil II concerning Property of Native Eunuchs.- Chapter 9. Conclusion: Rejection and Acceptance: Eunuchs in Roman and Byzantine Law.