Kassia the Poet

Kassia was born to a wealthy family in Constantinople sometime between 805 and 810 CE. By 843 she had founded a convent and was its first abbess. This convent had a connection to the monastery of Theodore of Stoudios, who supported her work and was, like her, in favor of religious icons.

Her "work" was poetry and hymns. She is distinguished as the only woman whose hymns are part of the Byzantine liturgy, and she shares a distinction with Anna Comnena as the only woman of the early Byzantine Middle Ages who composed works under her own name. Her "Hymn of Kassiani" is chanted each year on Great and Holy Wednesday that commemorates the bargain made by Judas.

There is a tradition around this Hymn that, as she was writing it alone in her cell, the Emperor Theophilos rode to see her. Why would this be? The answer to that goes back to the year 830, when they were both very young.

In that year, the unwed Theophilos was presented with a "bride show" arranged by his mother of suitable woman from whom was supposed to pick a wife. His mother, Euphrosyne, had given him a golden apple to present to his choice. With his eye on the beautiful Kassia, he approached her with the apple but made a tactless remark to which she made a reply. The story is recorded by a few writers of that era, and the exchange went like this:

Theophilos: "Ἐκ γυναικὸς τὰ χείρω." (By a woman came bad things.)

Kassia: "Kαὶ ἐκ γυναικὸς τὰ κρείττω." (But out of a woman came better things.)

Theophilos was referring to Eve's transgression in Eden. Kassia's reply was referring to the Virgin Mary. Theophilos did not like this retort, and passed her by, choosing instead Theodora.

Back to the story: the tradition says that Theophilos never forgot the beauty of Kassia and wanted to see her again. She heard the noise of an imperial retinue arriving, and did not want to face the emperor and risk the temptation of breaking her monastic vows. She hid in a closet, and quietly observed Theophilos enter her cell alone. He cried at not finding her, saw what she was writing, and added one line to the Hymn: "those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise and hid herself for fear."

Kassia was in favor of religious icons at a time when Theophilos (and many others) were iconoclasts. Several contemporary historians wrote that she was exiled to Italy during the iconoclasm conflicts and died some time after 867. She was named a saint in the Orthodox Church with a feast day of 7 September. In 2022, her sainthood was embraced by the Episcopal Church.

Now, about Great and Holy Wednesday and the bargain of Judas, I know your mind went immediately to "30 pieces of silver." There's more to it, however, and tomorrow we'll look at legends of Judas in the Middle Ages.

Theophilos and Theodora

In yesterday's post we saw how Emperor Theophilos got his bride, Theodora the Blessed, in a bride show. Afterward, Theophilos' stepmother, Euphrosyne, who helped arrange the bride show (and maybe pre-picked the winner) retired to the Monastery of Gastria, which had been founded by Theoktiste, the mother of Theodora. The new husband and wife went on to have seven children.

Theophilos was an iconoclast, and Theodora an iconodule, which caused them to clash. The Monastery of Gastria supported the use of icons in religious worship, and Theodora would sometime send their daughters to Gastria to visit their step-grandmother. This secret was revealed when the two-year-old daughter Pulcheria mentioned to her father about the "beautiful dolls" kept in the monastery, and how the people would kiss their faces. Theophilos forbade the girls from seeing Euphrosyne ever again.

The marriage lasted 12 years, until Theophilos died of dysentery on 20 January 842. (The illustration, from the Manasses Chronicle, shows him on his death bed.) As his health was failing, he feared that his chosen successor would be supplanted by Theophobos, a general who had married Theophilos' aunt. Theophobos was invited for a stay in the palace at Constantinople. When Theophilos died, his officers had orders to immediately execute Theophobos, removing the potential rival.

This left his youngest child as the heir, with Theodora (and other advisors) named as regent for the two-year-old Michael III. Theodora turned out to be a capable leader in her own right. Although she had several advisors chosen by her husband before his death, coins minted right after his death show her and no advisors on one side, Michael III and eldest daughter Thekla on the other.

Theodora in March 843 at the Council of Constantinople did away with iconoclasm definitively. One step taken was to release the iconodule Methodios I, imprisoned by Theophilos, and make him patriarch of Constantinople to get rid of the iconoclast patriarch John the Grammarian.

When Michael III turned 15 (in 855), he took a mistress. His interests seemed to be in youthful pursuits rather than governance. Theodora arranged a bride show to find him a suitable wife, hoping this would help him settle down. The mistress, Eudokia Ingerina, was allowed to be present, but Theodora disqualified her because she was not a virgin. Michael was forced to marry a wife he did not want, so he decided to overthrow his mother and the regents. He had one advisor killed and proclaimed himself sole ruler on 15 March 856. Theodora did not fight back, retiring from power but living in the palace until Michael sent her and his sisters to Gastria. Our last recorded mention of Theodora was at Michael's funeral; she was buried at Gastria when she died.

Speaking of bride shows, it seems that Theodora might not have been Theophilos' first choice. Tomorrow I'll tell you about "the one that got away."

Michael's Bride Show

I mentioned yesterday that Euphrosyne arranged a "bride show" for her step-son Theophilos (c.813 - 842) in 830 CE. Euphrosyne herself had been pulled out of a convent to marry Theophilos' father, Michael II, who needed her as the daughter of a previous emperor to help add legitimacy to his own reign.

There was no similar candidate immediately available, so Euphrosyne sent people out to the province to gather a collection of beautiful and well-born females. Theophilos was very keen on the whole business, and had it take place in the Triclinium of the Pearl (a new hall he had prepared) in the Great Palace in Constantinople. (The illustration is a 20th century depiction of the event.)

Between 788 and 882, there were five bride shows held in order to find a suitable Byzantine empress. The marriages that resulted were not always happy. Constantine VI divorced his winner and married again, causing controversy. The offspring of Theophilos, Michael III, would simply ignore his bride and keep a mistress. Leo VI "the Wise" went through four disastrous marriages, starting with a bride show. The ultimate efficiency of finding the "right wife" through a bride show is questionable.

A later Byzantine chronicler—much later, but he seemed to have access to a source closer to the event itself—named Symeon Logothete offers details about 830. Euphrosyne gave her step-son a golden apple to hand to the woman he chose, signifying her as his new bride. Symeon tells that Theophilos, while surveying the potential brides, approached a particular beautiful one named Kassia and remarked that evil had come to man through a woman (referencing Eve in the Garden of Eden). Kassia promptly replied that better things had also come to man from a woman (referring to Christ's mother, the Virgin Mary). Theophilos did not like her retort, and passed her by.

Theophilos then went on to choose Theodora, daughter of an army officer. Theodora was known to be devout; after her coronation, she donated 15 pounds of gold to the Patriarch of Constantinople (Antony I at the time) and to the clergy. The couple had seven children, including the future Emperor Michael III. Theophilos took great interest in his daughters as well as his sons. He had coins struck with two of the daughters on each side.

The couple were on opposite sides of an important Byzantine issue. Theophilos was an iconoclast like his father; Theodora was an iconodule, one in favor of religious icons, like Euphrosyne (some think the show was rigged and Euphrosyne picked Theodora to win because of their similar positions). This affected the way they raised their children. Tomorrow I'll delve into their family life.

Because I like to link each day's blog post to the previous and the following, I have to make choices about which direction to take. I'm going to "pre-load" a link, so to speak: after tomorrow, I'll come back to the "one that got away" at the bride show, Theophilos' first pick of Kassia. I really think you should meet her.

The Empress Euphrosyne

Yesterday's post mentioned the desperate and failed attempt of Constantine VI to get a male heir. His legitimate daughter, however, went on to sit on a throne in Constantinople.

Euphrosyne was born c. 790 to Constantine and his first wife, Maria of Amnia. Constantine divorced Maria and sent her and his daughters to a convent so that he could marry his mother's lady-in-waiting, the teenage Theodote. Constantine succumbed to a palace coup arranged by his own mother. Maria never left the convent, but Euphrosyne had a grander life ahead of her. To understand, we have to introduce the man she married.

Michael II (770 - 829) started his career as a soldier, a companion of a man who rose to be emperor himself (in 813), Leo V the Armenian. Michael actually helped Leo overthrow the previous emperor, Michael I Rhangabe. Leo, in an act of ingratitude years later, decided that his friend was too accomplished at managing palace coups, and sentenced Michael to death. Michael therefore managed to arrange a conspiracy and had Leo assassinated at Christmas in 820.

Michael then took the throne, but spent the first few years dealing with revolt of another military commander, Thomas the Slav. Having finally put down the revolt, he decided he had to shore up his reputation as a fit emperor. He had originally married Thekla, the daughter of a general, by whom he had a son. Sadly, Thekla died c.823.

Michael decided that he could enhance his legitimacy as emperor by marrying into the family of a previous emperor. The ideal candidate was Euphrosyne, in her early 30s and completely devoid of any romantic entanglements since she had been raised in a convent. She was brought to court, married to the emperor, and became empress. (They are pictured above from a later German history text.)

They had no children. When Michael II died on 2 October 829 (kidney failure is deemed to be the cause), his son Theophilos was only 16/17, so Euphrosyne aided him in the early years. She arranged a "bride show" (as her grandmother Irene had done for Euphrosyne's father). Michael chose the teenage Theodora the Armenian from the line-up by handing her a golden apple.

With this step-motherly duty done, Euphrosyne decided to return to the convent. She stayed in touch with the doings of the court and her step-son, however. When rumor reached Constantinople that Theophilos had been killed during a campaign in Anatolia, senior officials began to pick a successor without waiting to confirm the rumor. Euphrosyne sent a letter to Theophilos urging him to return at once. He did; the rumor was false. Michael Synkellos (c. 760 – 4 January 846), who later was made a saint, records that while he was imprisoned Euphrosyne offered him food and drink. That is the last we hear of her in any written record.

This is the second time in a few days that we have heard mention of a "bride show." Tomorrow I'll tell you about Michael's bride show, and the one that got away (probably wisely).