Book contents
- Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
- Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on Transliteration and Names
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Michael Psellos
- Chapter 2 Ioannes Tzetzes
- Chapter 3 Gregorios Antiochos
- Chapter 4 Hunting Churchmen
- Chapter 5 Fighting the Good Fight
- Conclusions
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 1 - Michael Psellos
Writing like a Man, ‘Throwing like a Girl’
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 November 2024
- Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
- Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on Transliteration and Names
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Michael Psellos
- Chapter 2 Ioannes Tzetzes
- Chapter 3 Gregorios Antiochos
- Chapter 4 Hunting Churchmen
- Chapter 5 Fighting the Good Fight
- Conclusions
- Bibliography
- Index
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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- Masculinity in Byzantium, c. 1000–1200Scholars, Clerics and Violence, pp. 18 - 42Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024