Theodora died, possibly from cancer or gangrene, on june 28, 548, in constantinople. Theodoras meager beginnings as the daughter of a bearkeeper could not ha. Theodora became a character in popular greek legend who possessed many of the qualities of a hero. This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. The extended wings represent theodoras ability to expand her own role in byzantium and to create freedoms for women during her time. She became empress upon justinians accession in 527 and was one of his chief advisers. Theodora is a beautiful, naive witch who is protected by her powerful sister evanora the wicked witch of the east. Her papers are housed at the college of staten island library, cuny, whose web site has a detailed biographical study. Theodora was the daughter of a bear trainer and a dancer and an actress. December 1, 10831153 was a byzantine princess and scholar, daughter of the byzantine emperor alexios i komnenos and irene doukaina. Along with her spouse, theodora is a saint in the eastern orthodox church, commemorated on 14 november. Christophers son michael lekapenos may have been associated as coemperor by his grandfather. Im not sure why, after several years, i suddenly picked it up to read.
She is considered as one of the most powerful women in the history of the byzantine empire. When theodora was 16, she accompanied a syrian official called hecebolus to the libyan pentapolis, as he was appointed as governor of that province. It occurred to me that there have always been selkie women. In the last few years she has been dedicated to the creation of art jewelry and artistic objects that complement daily, as well as artistic clothing in movies and theater. She famously championed womens rights and mitigated the ongoing persecution of the miaphysite sect. This book is a gripping, longoverdue biography of one of the most intriguing and powerful female figures of western history. The first that i ever came across empress theodora was when i was a sophomore in high school, and we read her speech from procopiuss history of the wars, where she is said to persuade her husband to stay rather than fleeing by saying, purple is a noble shroud. The book basically covers the life of the empress theodora, as the title pretty much gives that away.
Her well developed characters are approachable and active. Theodora was the wife of the byzantine emperor justinian i. Theodora du bois theodora du bois wrote mysteries, historical fiction, short stories and childrens literature. Theodora the wicked witch of the west disney wiki fandom. Gillian bradshaw is one of my favorite historical writers.
It is said that she used her influence over the king to endorse policies related to religion and social issues which served her interests. With her natural gaze, she truly believes that oscar diggs is the great and powerful wizard theyve been. The empress theodora and her courtiers depicted in a mosaic in san vitale, ravenna. World history, family history, history books, american presidents, american history, american legend, us presidents, american civil war. She passed strict laws to prohibit the traffic in young girls. Theodora byzantium born theodora was born in 874, at birth place. London immortals the londoners library by benson, theodora and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. She also altered the divorce laws to give greater benefits to women. Her pose, dress, and surroundings resemble the painting the empress theodora at the colosseum by jeanjoseph benjaminconstant, and her crown resembles one from a mosaic portraying her in the basilica of san vitale in ravenna, italy. Biografia da imperatriz theodora, feminista bizantina. By mary naples one of the most influential and powerful empresses of late antiquity, theodoras c 497548 life reads like a melodrama where she plays many roles. Algunas fuentes mencionan como su emperatriz reinante con justiniano i como su coregente. Civilization v leader theodora of byzantium youtube.
Theodora i is the leader of the byzantines in civilization v. Theodora is a main character, but later the secondary antagonist in the 20 fantasy film oz the great and powerful. Ruthlessly criticized and reviled by her contemporaries, theodora, the beautiful wife of emperor justinian, began her life as the daughter of a bearkeeper and rose to be justinians partner in politics as well as in life, ruling from 527 to 548. Theodora is said to have worked as a prostitute and performed on the stage in constantinople. Theodora the wicked witch of the west is the secondary protagonist, later antagonist of disneys 20 fantasy film oz the great and powerful. Accomplishments empress theodora accomplished a lot when she was empress.
Theodora spent much of her reign trying to end religious persecution. Because i did not know much about her, it was fascinating how she rose up from humble beginnings to become an empress of the byzantine empire. It was borne by several saints and by the beautiful ninth wife of the emperor justinian, who became the. See more ideas about byzantine, byzantine art and justinian i. Theodora, empress, consort of justinian i, emperor of the. Anna komnene from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. By his marriage to theodora who died in 922, romanos had six children, including. Theodora at first only wants peace to come to the land of oz. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The empress theodora at the colosseum by jeanjoseph benjaminconstant, 18451902 wikimedia. Definitely the best novel about theodora i have read though the total is only 3. Theodora is one of the most revivalworthy of the charmingly oldfashioned victorian valentine names, softly evocative but still substantial, as is the reversedsyllable dorothea. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. Theodora has always been a interesting historical figure and depending on who you ask is either a great woman of history or some one who should be ignored.
She was the wife of justinian, the emperor of the byzantine empire. Explore historical records and family tree profiles about theodora byzantium on myheritage, the worlds family history network. Theodora wife of justinian i research papers academia. Join facebook to connect with theodora and others you may know. Datasets available include lcsh, bibframe, lc name authorities, lc classification, marc codes, premis vocabularies, iso language codes, and more. Because of her intelligence and political savvy, she was justinians most trusted adviser and used her influence to promote religious and social policies in line with her interests. Actress, empress, whore is a sexy, captivating novel that resurrects an extraordinary, littleknown figure from the dusty pages of history. I n september 2006, in a nearempty church in ravenna, in northeast italy, i. Her most remarkable accomplishment was she gave women rights. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your watchlist and rate your favorite movies and tv shows on your phone or tablet. Despite the title, theodora is not the main character in this book. It was one of the first gillian bradshaw books i read, and it was a happy reminder of just what a good storyteller she was in her early novels. View theodora wife of justinian i research papers on academia.
The magical animal woman is, or can be, a metaphor. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. The name theodora is a girls name meaning gift of god. The collection also contains copies of theodora du bois 33 plays for adults and 75 plays for children, as well as many of her short stories. Though her background was considered disreputable, she married justinian, who became emperor, allowing her to wield considerable influence. Theodora was baptized on month day 1854, at baptism place. And if you did not fit into those notions, in some sense you werent a woman. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Christopher lekapenos, coemperor from 921 to 931, who was married to the augusta sophia and was the father of maria renamed eirene, who married peter i of bulgaria. Theodora, byzantine empress known for her intelligence and political acumen. Campbell says that heroes are partly defined as protectors and defenders, attributes that are shown in theodoras character, and she was also wise and beautiful, qualities often attributed to classical heroes. The linked data service provides access to commonly found standards and vocabularies promulgated by the library of congress. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Empress of byzantium is a very comprehensive biography of empress theodora.
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