An Inconvenient Saint: Empress Irene and Legacies of Power in Medieval Byzantium Open Access
Dennington, China (Spring 2022)
Abstract
During the 8th century, Irene of Athens rose to power as the first woman to rule the Byzantine empire alone. A unique confluence of circumstances allowed Irene to create space for herself to function as a female emperor in what had previously been a role limited to men, with minimal censure from within the empire on the basis of her gender. Irene was not even of royal blood, which makes her accomplishments all the more impressive. Irene married into the imperial family as a teenager. Following the demise of her iconoclast husband Leo III (775 – 780 CE), Irene asserted her own pro-iconophile beliefs during her rule as regent for her son Constantine VI (780 – 797 CE). Her efforts led to the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 CE, during which worship using the physical images of saints was confirmed as the true doctrine of the Church. By declaring an end to iconoclasm, Irene secured her place as an iconophile saint. While she ruled for years as regent, she ascended to the throne and ruled on her own for five years after blinding and killing her son Constantine VI in 797 CE. Proponents of iconophile beliefs, like the historian Theophanes, had no choice but to continue to champion her as a successful iconophile, despite her brutality against her son. Irene did not fit neatly into the narratives of her contemporaries, which results in an unusually nuanced portrait of her in the Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor that still often reveals the framework projected onto her as a Byzantine woman.
Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….…….1
Chapter I. The Historiography of Gender & Power in Medieval Byzantium………….3
Chapter II. A Human Icon: Irene, Icons, & Imperial Intercession………………………………18
Chapter III. Empress Irene in the Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor………………………...35
Chapter IV. Irene’s Imperial Legacy…………………………………………………………….69
Sources…………………………………………………………………………………………...77
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