Women in Purple by Judith Herrin
Women in Purple by Judith Herrin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a very readable book about the history of 3 strong women in Byzantine history - with an interesting comparison of their power with that of women in the western empires and kingdoms. I found the exposition on the wars about icons the least interesting, even though it was integral to their story.
This is the story of three Byzantine empresses who between 780 and 856 restored the veneration of icons, thus saving the Byzantine Empire from a purely symbolic and abstract decorative art, and ensuring its influence for centuries to come. Judith Herrin evokes the complex and deeply religious world of Constantinople - at that time the largest, finest and wealthiest metropolis of the known world - its monuments and palaces, its court ceremonies and rituals, the special role of eunuchs, the bride-shows and elaborate wedding ceremonies, as well as fanatical monks and warring patriarchs, sudden exile, assassination and murder.
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