Monasticism in Late Byzantine Constantinople (1261–1453): urban, social, and institutional history
Creators: name: Neyzi, Elif
Publisher: name: The University of Edinburgh
Year: 2024
Subjects: Byzantine studies
Byzantine monasticism
Palaiologan period
Byzantine Constantinople
urban studies

description: This thesis examines monasteries in late Byzantine Constantinople, and their manifold connections and interactions with the world around them. Previous studies on monasticism in late Byzantine Constantinople have primarily focused on the foundation and building activities up until an arbitrary point variously set in 1321, 1328, or 1341, with little attention given to the monastic cityscape thereafter. In contrast, this thesis analyses monasteries throughout the Palaiologan period as essential socio-political tools and assets for the emperor, the patriarch, and the founders. To accomplish this, it draws on a wide range of written sources, including histories, the registers of the patriarchate, canon law, typika, saints’ lives, travellers’ accounts, letters, and poems. The thesis aims to answer questions such as how monasticism in Constantinople was revived after the reconquest by Michael Palaiologos in 1261, and what transpired within the city’s monasteries after the mid-fourteenth century. The project also re-examines the conditions and individuals involved in founding a monastery in Constantinople after 1261 when the emperor claimed all property in the newly conquered capital. Additionally, it investigates the factors contributing to the durability of a monastery and explores the correlation between a monastery's longevity and its imperial status, thereby examining imperial patronage of monasteries in Constantinople. To explore these multifaceted aspects of monasticism, the thesis is structured into four thematically ordered chapters. Chapter One focuses on the presence of monasteries within the cityscape and identifies a total of eighty-one foundations, with more than fifty monastic establishments active in the second half of the fourteenth and the early fifteenth centuries. Chapter Two delves into the patterns of foundation and presents a profile of founders. It argues that the Byzantine understanding of a founder encompasses more than individuals who initially founded a monastery, shedding light on the nuanced perception of founders and the complexity of the terminology. The chapter also reassesses the backgrounds of founders, introducing new interpretations regarding the monastic patronage of Palaiologan emperors, patriarchs, the high aristocracy with military roles, bureaucrats who rose to the top echelons of the social elite, aristocratic women, and common individuals who were not part of the dominant elite. Chapter Three examines the eighty-one foundations to provide a historical account of late Byzantine monasteries in Constantinople. By understanding the founder’s death as a turning point in a monastery’s history, the chapter explores how monastic institutions were conceptualised, envisioned, and managed during the founder’s lifetime and how they prepared for the challenges that awaited them after the founder’s death to ensure the survival of their foundations. Finally, Chapter Four clarifies the elusive category of imperial monasteries in Constantinople, and by investigating the Palaiologan emperor’s approaches to monastic patronage in the capital, reveals how distribution of monasteries became a tool of statecraft for the emperors. Overall, this thesis paints a vivid picture of a monastic cityscape throughout the Palaiologan period.