“Something Is Rotten in the State of Denmark” – Diseases of Emperors and Prominent Persons in Byzantine Historical Narratives as an Expression of Turmoil in the Empire
Authors: Pavlović Bojana 
Published: December 2024

The Byzantine emperors and officials suffered from the diseases. Information about them was employed in Byzantine historical texts as a literary motif in order to express corruption of the ruling class in the Empire and criticism of imperial policy. This motif can be dated to the earliest centuries of Christian literature. At that time it was used to illustrate the just punishment of God inflicted upon the persecutors of the Christians. A commonly held belief was that those who did not adhere to the canons established at the first Church councils were also susceptible to illness. The writers of the early Byzantine period exploited this motif to express the criticism of the imperial policy and to assert that certain emperors were undeserving of the Byzantine throne. This trend persisted throughout the Middle Byzantine period. The iconoclastic emperors, Leo III and Constantine V, succumbed to severe illnesses as a consequence of their transgressions against the Church. The development of Byzantine political thought is especially perceived in the historical work of Michael Psellus. In his Chronographia the criticism of the imperial policy reached its zenith. Psellus employed the metaphor of illness to illustrate the pervasive decline of the Empire under the rule of unsuitable emperors in the 11th century. On occasion, the affliction was associated with certain individuals. In this manner, Byzantine historians depicted these figures as antiheroes. Such was the case with John II Comnenus in the Alexiad, a historical account written by his sister Anna Comnene. Byzantine intellectual Nicetas Choniates also narrates about emperors and prominent political figures who suffered from certain illnesses. The overall condition of these characters would invariably deteriorate concurrently with the occurrence of significant political developments. The literary motif of “diseases” persisted until the 15th century. In the Late Byzantine period, the same literary device was utilised by the Byzantine historians to censure the rulers and to expose the “heretics” at the time of the hesychast controversy. The illnesses that befell the prominent political figures in the Byzantine Empire were not fictionalised. This assertion can be substantiated by other sources pertaining to the narratives in question. In this manner, Byzantine historians ensured the veracity of their accounts. The literary motif was employed as a convenient means to serve the purpose of the authors. Lastly, the research demonstrated that there are few examples of illnesses being used to express the sufferings of the dethroned emperor Romanus IV Diogenus. In the works of Michael Attaleiates and Scylitzes Continuatus, Romanus IV was perceived as righteous Job. Thus the motif of diseases was also employed in a favourable manner, as a metaphor to illustrate fortitude and perseverance in the face of significant adversity. The article consists of the following sections: Introduction; Methodology; Results; and General Remarks; as well as Early Byzantine Period; Middle Byzantine Period; Late Byzantine Period; The Trial of “righteous” Job; and Conclusion.