ABSTRACT
It is now widely recognised that the analysis of male-dominated societies should not be undertaken as if men alone counted in their histories. Women can play a significant role economically and culturally, even if it is only the exceptional individual - usually the wife of a ruler — who manifests overt political power. Female influence is doubly veiled from us: it is often silent, unvoiced by the women themselves, and frequently ignored, either deliberately or as a matter of course in the sources written by men. A full theory of the potential role of women in large pre-industrial societies will require evidence drawn from many in such a fashion that systematic comparisons can be made. The nature of the source material means that this will have to be a collective effort, mounted on the basis of different specialist contributions. Here I will examine some of the roles of women in early medieval Byzantine society, hopefully in a manner that will make contrasts with other social formations a future possibility.
