A Quick Guide to Life in Byzantium

[TheFlax]

How about booze?

Did they drink beer? wine? what kind?

Since so many wish to role-play drunken lushes, I figure it might be helpful.

I found little information about that, only wine was mentioned and it seemed quite common.

"Wine of varying quality accompanied most meals."

As for what kind, this is all I found.

"Distinct vintages came from all parts of the Empire and a well-stocked cellar would include wines from all around the Aegean."

My book did mention that in earlier periods Byzantine were fond of wine from Syria and Palestine. But there is little info about what kind of wine it was.

I've never seen beer or ale mentioned, although that does not mean there wasn't any.

[flyd]

Well, we're not known for following history exactly, and I already wrote a story with beer in it, and you can't undo that. Don't get me wrong though, I like wine too.

[TheFlax]

I'm planning to write another post soon, but I can't decide on what topics. The choices that have caught my attention are the following:

- Grooming and Personal Appearance, Hygiene and Household Medicine
- Sex, Family Planning, Childbirth
- Marriage, Children, The Extended Family

Any suggestions or preferences?

(Zim is supposed to do the social classes eventually )

[deguerra]

Number 3, but only on condition that you do the others as well!

[TheFlax]

I will, I'll do all of them eventually. This is more because I can't decide where to start and to gauge people's opinion on what they would like to read about.

[Privateerkev]

From seeing the posts on the forum I would guess that people would like to read about number 2.

[TheFlax]

((I had already started #3 after Deguerra's reply, so I'll do #2 next.))

Family

Marriage:

The Byzantine family was based on the joining of a man and a woman in a new legal entity. Civil and religious laws reflect the state's interest in maintaining social stability. Marriages could not be contracted between close biological or spiritual relations, which generally extended to the seventh degree of consanguinity. Bethrothals could take place at an early age, sometimes even in infancy. The minimal statutory age for marriage was set at 15 years for boys and 12 or 13 years for girls, but those thresholds were overlooked when convenient. Both sets of parents took a hand in arranging the union, with the mothers assuming an active rôle in planning the wedding and setting up the new household. There were many considerations in negotiating a marriage. Such relationships usually involved members of similar background and social status, and often reflected the parent's interests in forming useful alliances and preserving ancestral property. Chastity was expected, and a midwife might be asked to verify the girl's virginity.

The financial investment of both families took the form of an exchange of money and property. The bride's parents offered a wedding dowry (proika) that was matched by a gift from the family of the groom. In most cases the dowry included the practical necessities for setting up the new househod, such as the woman's personal trousseau, with linens, furnitures, and domestic ustensils. More importantly, the dowry fonctionned as long-term insurance against financial troubles for the couple and any future children. Depending on the family's status, this might include land, houses, shops, jewelry, or other tangible assets that could not be easily squandered. Village families contributed gardens, orchards, wooded groves, and livestock. Details were negociated before the wedding and spelled out in a written contract signed by both parties. Even families of modest means provided a dowry for their daughters. A respectable marriage was nearly impossible without one.

The wedding day was a defining moment in the lives of most people. The bride underwent an elaborate process of bathing and dressing before receiving the groom in the home of her parents. The couple formalized their marriage with the clasping of hands and the exchange of rings and other jewelry. Several well-know gold rings carry a brief inscription invoking the blessing of peaceful harmony (concordia or homonoia) on the new couple; others depict the husband and wife joined by Christ. Such formalities were followed by a noisy procession to the couple's new house, where family and friends celebrated through the night with feasting, singing, and dancing. More elaborate wedding ceremonies developped over time. By the tenth century marriages were being sanctified by a priest, usually in a church. Later weddings continued to involve the joining of hands, exchange of rings, and sacramental crowning of the couple. They were invariably accompanied by celebrations at home.

Marriage brought the new wife certain protections. Medieval divorce was restricted to circonstance like female adultery, leprosy, murderous assault, or male impotence. Byzantine law characteristically recognized adultery and madness as grounds for seperation only on the part of the wife. In case of annulement or divorce the man kept his wedding gift while the woman retained her dowry. Upon the death of the husband the family's assets were assigned to the widow, who was responsible for raising and arranging marriages for her children. A young divorced woman might feel pressured by her neighbors to take a second husband, but for an older widow remaining single had clear advantages: neither virgin nor spouse, she stood outside normative expectations of women. Widowhood, moreover, often brought financial independance, with new opportunities to support the church and its charitable activities. In the case of remarriage the woman retained her dowry and wedding gift, with the rest of the estate reverting to the husband's family. If there were older children the estate was divided between them and the widow. Subsequent marriages were discouraged with lesser or greater force by civil and canon law. After the Tenth century it was illegal to marry yourself a third time.

Children:

Bearing and raising children were essential parts of Byzantine family life. No household was considered complete without children, preferably boys, and infertility was seen as cause for shame. Childless couples might seek out holy men or women, pray certain saints, or pursue folk remedies when trying to conceive a male child. Pregnant mothers were particularly vulnerable to Gylou, a much-feared female demon believed to cause miscarriages or stillbirths. The state's interest in reproduction is clear from the legal protection it granted to children. The use of contraceptives was discouraged by the church, and abortion was denounced as an offense against the husband. While unwanted children had been routinely given away or abandonned in earlier times, Byzantine tradition condemned both pratices. In the case of second marriages the adption of stepchildren was requiered.

Birth and christening brought much celebrating. Nearly all children were born at home with the assistance of a family member, nieghbor, or midwife. Within the first week the infant was taken to a local church to be baptized and named by a priest. Naming traditions changed over time. Children often were called after parents, grandparents, or other family members. During the medieval period it was common to name a child after the saint on whose feast day he or she was born. John, Peter, Paul, Demetrius, George, Nicholas and Theodore were frequently used for boysl Anna, Chryse, Eleni, Kale, Maria, Zoe, and derivative names like Georgia, Ioanno, Theodora, and Theophano were common among girls. The imperial family helped popularize such names as Alexios, Basil, Constantine, Leo, and Manuel. Distinctive family names based on a trade or place of origin became widespread in the late period. These usually but not always came from the father's side.

The mother invariably took charge of raising and educating her children, emphasizing basic communication skills and proper behavior. At the age of six or seven most boys and some girls were sent during the day to study reading and writing with a tutor (didaskalos) outside the home. Bethrothals might be contracted between neighboring families at an early age, especially when significant amounts of property were involved. Most children had married and left their parents' home before turning 20.

The Extended Family:

The nuclear family was the heart of the Byzantine household. (oikos). Around this was a network of other relatives who visited regularly even if not actually residing under the same roof. Grandparents took an active interest in the welfare of parents and children. Uncles and aunts were frequent guests in the home, as were their own children. Most members of this extended family spent their lives in the same village, town, or valley.

Adoptive godparents were a special part of the extended family. At the time of baptism the parent identified an adult sponsor to look after their child's spiritual interests and upbringing. This could be either a man or a woman; he or she might be a relative or come from another family. The choice of a godparent was influenced by any number of practical concerns, including the desire to build alliances with neighbors or business associates. Either way, the new relationship represented a significant expansion of the family and created a bond of supportive friendship and coparenthood (synteknia) among the adults. The godparents had different but equally important responsabilities: to watch out for the youngster's well-being, to provide religious instruction and counseling, and to offer life-long moral guidance. If the parents died the godparents assumed full responsibility for raising, educating, and arranging a marriage for the child. This durable institution of adoptive kinship survives in the figure of the koumbaros still found in Greek and Cypriot families.