Dark Age Women

In the January, 1992 issue of Working Women magazine, Gail Collins, the journalist who wrote

the endpiece enitled 'Outbox', commented on the fact that life would be a great deal more dismal

for women if the New Year they were facing was the year 1000 A.D. Though her piece was

humorous, there were some startling truths contained in it, and it is even true that, depending on

where you were at the time, 1000 A.D. was worse for women than 1000 B.C. During this, the

year 2002 of the calendar we use in the Christian world, women would do well to consider how

and why this happened, in order to make certain we never again fall into a religious dark age.

Helena (3rd century a.c.e.)

Mother of the Emperor Constantine, she was one of the first Christians to make a pilgrimage to

Israel. Daughter of King Coel of Colchester, it was likely she was raised as a Christian, since there

was a Christian church and bishop in Colchester at the time of her birth. A number of churches in

England are dedicated to her, in particular the church of St. Helena at Bishopgate.

Helena was married to Chlorus for nineteen years, but he divorced her in 293 a.d. and married

Theodora, the daughter of his patron, Maximian. It was then he was named Caesar and made ruler

of Gaul, Spain and Britain. When Chlorus died and Constantine became Emperor, he recalled his

mother to the court of Rome. When she was in her seventies, Helena superintended the building

of a church on Mount Calvary. She found what she thought to be the tomb of Christ, but a temple

to Venus had been erected on top of it. She had the temple destroyed and the tomb

excavated.

Helena was sainted by the Christian church for supposedly discovering the cross on which Christ

had been crucified. Her real contribution to history, however, lay in her talent for drawing people

to her cause, building churches to her religion, and working for the poor. She wasn't terrific at the

teaching of her son, however -- Constantine killed his eldest son Crispus and ordered his wife

Fausta to be suffocated in a heated bath.

Marcella, Melania and Paula (4th century a.c.e.)

I have grouped these three Roman sisters together because they were all involved with St.
Jerome, also known as Jerome the Humanist. Jerome was one of the early advocates of

monasticism and the ascetic life. According to Gibbon, probably the greatest historian ever to

write about Rome, "The profane title of 'Mother-in-Law of God' tempted this illustrious widow

(Paula) to consecrate the virginity of her daughter Eustochium". OK, so these early Christian

women were a little strange. Jerome, born in Rome but a natural wanderer, first turned up back in

his home city in 382, on the invitation of Pope Damascus. Jerome and Marcella founded the first

convent in Rome, using her palace on the Aventine. Jerome served as Secretary to the Pope, and

like a lot of people who preach an ascetic life, his morals were somewhat loose. He became the

lover of Paula, and possibly her daughter Blesilla also; it is definite that Jerome drove Blesilla to

her death by the extreme religious penances he imposed on her (seems like that would earn him a

conviction for psychological abuse, now).

Not surprisingly, Jerome was asked to leave Rome by the Bishop, none too politely, apparently,

and Paula went with him. They went to Palestine and established a monastery and religious school

which was co- educational. Jerome had charge of the boys, Paula of the girls; they attended

church every day together. Strangely enough, though perhaps proof that the Christian church was

not yet immured in its' dark age mentality, Jerome and Paula taught philosophy at their school,

including the famous Greek and Roman pagans.

Falconia Proba (4th century)

Jerome seems to have held most women in contempt, except those who accepted his teachings

and were willing to follow him. One of the women he wrote about in a satirical manner was

Falconia Proba, one of the early romantic poets. It was popular during this time to adapt Biblical

subjects to Greek and Roman literary forms; this was apparently an attempt to retain culture and

learning within the strictures of the Christian teachings.

The form began in 330, during the reign of the Emperor Constantine. The first romantic poet was

Juvencus, who published an epic poem of the first four gospels entitled 'Evangeliorum Libri IV'.

The poem actually took the gospel of St. Matthew and interwove stories from the other three

gospels -- the advantage of the epic form was that the writer was able to literally turn the

characters of the bible into Olympian, larger-than-life heroes.

Only one of Falconia's poems remains extant today; the idea of a female poet was somewhat

abhorrent to the culture and religious beliefs of dark age people, and during the chaos that

resulted in Byzantium, her remaining work was lost. The existing poem is known as a 'cento', a

poem produced by extracting parts from another writer's work and forming a new whole --

something like sampling in rap music today. Falconia was the first to use this form, which became

very popular during the next century. Her story was of the temptation of Eve, taken from the

work of Virgil.

Hypatia (4th and 5th century)

A noblewoman of Alexandria, Hypatia had the dubious honor of being a martyr to paganism. The

4th and 5th centuries a.d. were certainly the very heart of the Dark Ages, particularly in what had

been the highly- civilized middle-east. The onset of Christianity wiped out most learning and

intellectual pursuit (remember the burning of the libraries at Alexandria, which left only the one

'daughter' building, containing 'Christian' literature, standing?).

She was a philosopher, in the Classic Greek tradition, teacher and friend to Synesius, the

philosopher who became a bishop in 410. Synesius served as the bishop of Ptolemais from 410

until 414. This was a time of terrorism on the part of the church and those who served her.

Beginning in the 380's, religious violence was an every day occurance -- in 388 monks burnt a

synagogue at Callinicum near the Euphrates. During the same year they terrorized a series of

temples in Syria. In 391 Theophilus, the Patriarch of Alexandria (patriarchs were religious leaders

-- there were many, just as each city had its' own 'pope' during this chaotic period) called in a band

of mercenary-monks to vandalize and destroy the Serapeum, a shrine to Serapis. Bands of

religious thugs called 'Circumcellions' walked the streets armed, in search of pagans to beat and

rob.

Hypatia fell victim to one of the mobs of mercenary-monks in 415, the year her friend Synesius

left his bishopric. She was dragged from her house and lynched, for not being a Christian. Also, of

course, for being an educated woman who could teach philosophy. Ignorance was the by-word of

the times, particularly for women -- the more ignorant the better, because the easier to

control.

Pulcheria (5th century)

During the middle years of the Dark Ages, most women of learning and power were centured

around Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire. Not that it was easy for them even there, but at least

they still had the advantages of education and culture. Their fierce drive and determination is well

demonstrated by Pulcheria, elder sister of the Emperor Theodosius II, who was not, by classical

standards, particularly well-educated (which wouldn't have mattered, since few women were

educated up to those standards anyway). Pulcheria, who was two years older than her brother,

was proclaimed Augusta at the age of fifteen, and managed the affairs of the empire for thirty-six

years -- the remainder of Theodosius' reign.

Pulcheria and her two sisters, Arcadia and Marina, were depressingly and overbearingly pious,

and obsessed with the rebuilding of the cathedral of St. Sophia. The Byzantine court, which had

been a place of culture and intellectual activity during the life of their mother, Eudoxia, became

more like a cloister, filled with monks and priests, playing nothing but holy music. Theodosius

ignored most of this, and the affairs of the country as well, until the age of nineteen. Then he

decided to find a wife.

Actually, he asked Pulcharia to do this for him. She presented him with Athenais. Both she and

her two sisters had decided to never marry and to remain virgins forever; a sort of lay-nuns. It was

certainly necessary for the Emperor to wed, however -- to secure the succession.

Athenais/Eudocia (5th century)

Athenais was a young Greek woman, reputed to be of startling beauty. She arrived at the court to

seek the aid of the Emperor against her two brothers. Daughter of a Greek professor (Leontius) at

the university of Athens, her brothers had refused to share their father's estate with her after his

death, refused her a dowry and cast her out. Pulcheria took her to Theodosius, who fell in love

with her at first sight and determined to marry her.

Athenais was a pagan, but agreed to become a Christian in order to marry Theodosius. She was

baptized into the faith and changed her name to Eudocia. She and Theodosius were married on

June 7, 421. If Pulcheria had hoped to have no other star eclipse her at court, she chose the

wrong wife for her brother. Athenais was classically educated, and brought a note of intelligence

and learning to the dismal court of Pulcheria and her sisters. The year after marrying Theodosius

she gave birth to a daughter. He named his wife Augusta as well as Pulcheria, which didn't sit well

with his sister, who was beginning to realize the mistake she had made in introducing Athenais to

Theodosius. Athenais became a force to be reckoned with in Byzantium, particularly in the areas

of learning and intellectual pursuits. She had the university begun by Constantine enlarged and

refined, and assisted Theodosius in the compilation of the Theodosian Codex. It was begun in

429, and took nine years to complete. In February of 438, it was adopted by both the Eastern and

Western Emperors.

Through the intervention and machinations of Pulcheria, Athenais was accused of adultary

(though never tried, and it wasn't proven) and left Byzantium to live in Jerusalem. She died there

in 460, never reconciled with Theodosius, who lived the remainder of his life under the sway of

Pulcheria.

Theodora (6th century)

By the time Justinian became Emperor of Byzantium, the way had been prepared by his

predecessors for a division between the Western and Eastern churches. As Western Europe fell

more and more into decline, the East became the last bastian of civilization. Justinian, as heir-

apparent to the throne, married a (by one account) highly educated courtesan from a family that

owned racing stables or (by another) the daughter of a bear-keeper in the amphitheatre who was a

burlesque artist, or the historical equivalent thereof. Whatever her profession, Theodora would

prove to be one of the most effective Empresses Byzantium ever knew.

Justinian succeeded to the throne in 527, and one of his first acts was to reorganize the confused

Roman law. In 532 the Nika Riot caused half the city to go up in flames, but the uprising wasn't

against Justinian, but his old, aristocratic ministers, who took no interest in the plight of the

common man. Only Theodora was able to rouse her husband to confront the rebels, by telling

him, 'The purple is a glorious winding-sheet'.

Justinian survived, and unfortunately decided it would be prudent to become a Christian fanatic.

Thus he was able to direct his people's energies away from their own problems toward the

supposedly ever-present threat of pagans in their midst. Theodora took more of an interest in the

lives of women in Byzantium, and particularly in Constantinople. She founded hostels for

reformed prostitutes and runaway girls, and schools for women. Though she attempted to better

the fate of the women under her rule, Justinian's fanaticism was simply the signal of the end of an

era in Eastern culture and learning; the end of civilization in Byzantium -- it was ready to join the

rest of Europe in the Dark Ages.