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Chapter 1 - Michael Psellos

Writing like a Man, ‘Throwing like a Girl’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2024

Maroula Perisanidi
Affiliation:
University of Leeds
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Summary

Chapter 1 offers a radical reinterpretation of the gender of Michael Psellos, one of Romanía’s most well-known scholars as well as one of few figures from the Middle Byzantine period to have received extensive gender analysis. The chapter starts with biographical information about his education and personal life. It continues with the role that learning played in his self-definition and his depiction of others, especially in his many encomia. It argues that, in his writings, education and learning could act as ‘masculine capital’, which, when accumulated, could be used to allow for less masculine behaviours in other areas of life, both propping up and subverting hegemonic ideals of physical strength. Finally, it considers the implications of this for Psellos’ work, from his descriptions of hunting and warfare to his emotional life.

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Chapter
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Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
Scholars, Clerics and Violence
, pp. 18 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Michael Psellos
  • Maroula Perisanidi, University of Leeds
  • Book: Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
  • Online publication: 07 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009499781.002
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  • Michael Psellos
  • Maroula Perisanidi, University of Leeds
  • Book: Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
  • Online publication: 07 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009499781.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Michael Psellos
  • Maroula Perisanidi, University of Leeds
  • Book: Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
  • Online publication: 07 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009499781.002
Available formats
×