Theodote
Encyclopedia
Theodote was the second Empress consort of Constantine VI of the Byzantine Empire
.
. Her brother Sergios was mentioned as a hypatos. Their mother Anna was a sister of Theoktiste and her brother Platon. Theodote was thus a maternal first cousin of Theodore the Studite
, son of Theoktiste.
(koubikoularia) of Irene. Irene was the widow of Leo IV the Khazar
and mother of his heir Constantine VI. Irene had served as regent
from 780 to 790 and still held the title of Empress.
Constantine was married to Maria of Amnia
and the imperial couple had two daughters, Euphrosyne
and a younger Irene. However according to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
, Constantine had turned against his first wife at some point. Theophanes attributed the deterioration of the marriage to the machinations of Irene. The lack of a male heir following six years of marriage could also be one of the reasons. Whatever the case, Constantine took Theodote as his royal mistress
.
In January, 795, Constantine divorced Maria. Maria and both of their daughters were sent to a convent in the island of Prinkipo
. In August, 795, Theodote was officially betrothed to the Emperor and proclaimed an Augusta. Maria had never been granted the title. In September, 795, Theodote and Constantine were married at the palace named after St. Mamas
. Theodote had become the Empress consort within eight months of the removal of her predecessor.
of adultery
.
Even supporters of the Emperor were keeping their distances. Imperial marriage ceremonies were typically performed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The current Patriarch Tarasios
had reluctantly consented to both the divorce and the second marriage. But refused to officiate himself. The marriage was performed by a certain Joseph, a priest of Hagia Sophia.
In the so-called "Moechian controversy" (from , "adulterer"), her uncle Plato and her cousin Theodore, respectively the recently retired abbot of the Sakkoudion Monastery and his successor, initiated protests against the marriage and called for the excommunication
of Joseph and everyone who had received communion from him. Implicitly including the emperor and his court. They seem to have voiced the sentiment of much of the monastic environment of their time.
Constantine and Theodote seem to have attempted peaceful reconciliation with their detractors for the first two years of their marriage. However all such offers were rejected and at last Constantine lost patience. Early in 797, imperial troops were sent to the Sakkoudion Monastery, and the community was dispersed. Theodore was flogged, and, together with ten other monks, banished to Thessaloniki
, while Platon was imprisoned in Constantinople. By that point, Constantine seems to have lost all meaningful support from the iconodule faction. The displaced Iconoclasts were already against Irene and her son since the restoration of the icons decided in the Second Council of Nicaea
(787).
Irene was meanwhile organizing a powerful conspiracy against her son. The loss of support for Constantine arguably helped her efforts in finding supporters in both the court and the Church. Constantine was deposed and blinded in August, 797. His mother succeeded him.
Symeon Metaphrastes
identified this new monastic institution with the "monastery of Isidore", named after the patrician who had reportedly built the palace. This Isidore supposedly had left Rome
with Olybrius
following the Sack of Rome
by Geiseric in 455. George Hamartolus
reports that a few decades later Theophilos
(reigned 829 - 842) converted the original building to a hostel
and transferred the nuns to a new residence. Whether Theodote was still among them was not mentioned.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
Family
Theodote was a member of a distinguished family of ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Her brother Sergios was mentioned as a hypatos. Their mother Anna was a sister of Theoktiste and her brother Platon. Theodote was thus a maternal first cousin of Theodore the Studite
Theodore the Studite
Theodore the Studite was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios monastery in Constantinople. He played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantine monasticism and of classical literary genres in Byzantium...
, son of Theoktiste.
Marriage
By 794, Theodote served as a lady-in-waitingLady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
(koubikoularia) of Irene. Irene was the widow of Leo IV the Khazar
Leo IV the Khazar
Leo IV the Khazar was Byzantine Emperor from 775 to 780 CE.Leo was the son of Emperor Constantine V by his first wife, Irene of Khazaria , the daughter of a Khagan of the Khazars...
and mother of his heir Constantine VI. Irene had served as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
from 780 to 790 and still held the title of Empress.
Constantine was married to Maria of Amnia
Maria of Amnia
Maria of Amnia was the first Empress consort of Constantine VI of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Maria was born in Amnia, Paphlagonia. The name of her father is unknown. Her mother has been identified as Hypatia by Christian Settipani. Her maternal grandfather was Saint Philaretos, a magnate from...
and the imperial couple had two daughters, Euphrosyne
Euphrosyne (9th century)
Euphrosyne , a daughter of Byzantine emperor Constantine VI, the last representative of the Isaurian dynasty, and Maria of Amnia.- Life :...
and a younger Irene. However according to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, Constantine had turned against his first wife at some point. Theophanes attributed the deterioration of the marriage to the machinations of Irene. The lack of a male heir following six years of marriage could also be one of the reasons. Whatever the case, Constantine took Theodote as his royal mistress
Royal mistress
A royal mistress is the historical position of a mistress to a monarch or senior Royal. Some mistresses have had considerable power. The prevalence of the institution can be attributed to the fact that royal marriages were until recent times conducted solely on the basis of political and dynastic...
.
In January, 795, Constantine divorced Maria. Maria and both of their daughters were sent to a convent in the island of Prinkipo
Büyükada
Büyükada is the largest of the nine so-called Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, with an area of about two square miles...
. In August, 795, Theodote was officially betrothed to the Emperor and proclaimed an Augusta. Maria had never been granted the title. In September, 795, Theodote and Constantine were married at the palace named after St. Mamas
Mammes of Caesarea
Saint Mammes of Caesarea ; is a semi-legendary child-martyr of the 3rd century. He was martyred at Caesarea. His parents, Theodotus and Rufina, were also martyred.-Life:...
. Theodote had become the Empress consort within eight months of the removal of her predecessor.
Empress
The legality of the marriage sparked a religious controversy at least since the betrothal was announced. The initial divorce had met with disapproval in circles of the Church. The remarriage while Maria was still alive was seen as an attempt for legalizationLegalization
Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal.Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which one example is the consumption of illegal drugs .Those...
of adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
.
Even supporters of the Emperor were keeping their distances. Imperial marriage ceremonies were typically performed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The current Patriarch Tarasios
Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople
Saint Tarasios was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from December 25, 784 until his death in 806.-Background:...
had reluctantly consented to both the divorce and the second marriage. But refused to officiate himself. The marriage was performed by a certain Joseph, a priest of Hagia Sophia.
In the so-called "Moechian controversy" (from , "adulterer"), her uncle Plato and her cousin Theodore, respectively the recently retired abbot of the Sakkoudion Monastery and his successor, initiated protests against the marriage and called for the excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
of Joseph and everyone who had received communion from him. Implicitly including the emperor and his court. They seem to have voiced the sentiment of much of the monastic environment of their time.
Constantine and Theodote seem to have attempted peaceful reconciliation with their detractors for the first two years of their marriage. However all such offers were rejected and at last Constantine lost patience. Early in 797, imperial troops were sent to the Sakkoudion Monastery, and the community was dispersed. Theodore was flogged, and, together with ten other monks, banished to Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, while Platon was imprisoned in Constantinople. By that point, Constantine seems to have lost all meaningful support from the iconodule faction. The displaced Iconoclasts were already against Irene and her son since the restoration of the icons decided in the Second Council of Nicaea
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is regarded as the Seventh Ecumenical Council by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches and various other Western Christian groups...
(787).
Irene was meanwhile organizing a powerful conspiracy against her son. The loss of support for Constantine arguably helped her efforts in finding supporters in both the court and the Church. Constantine was deposed and blinded in August, 797. His mother succeeded him.
Retirement
Theodote was allowed to retire to a private palace along with her blinded husband. There are contradictory accounts on how long he survived his deposition. Ranging from ten days to a decade. The residence was converted to a monastery while Theodote was still alive.Symeon Metaphrastes
Symeon Metaphrastes
Symeon the Metaphrast was the author of the 10 volume medieval Greek menologion, or collection of saint's lives. He lived in the second half of the 10th century...
identified this new monastic institution with the "monastery of Isidore", named after the patrician who had reportedly built the palace. This Isidore supposedly had left Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
with Olybrius
Olybrius
Anicius Olybrius was Western Roman Emperor from April or May 472 to his death. He was in reality a puppet ruler, put on the throne by the Roman general of Germanic descent Ricimer, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.-Family and...
following the Sack of Rome
Sack of Rome (455)
The sack of 455 was the second of three barbarian sacks of Rome; it was executed by the Vandals, who were then at war with the usurping Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus....
by Geiseric in 455. George Hamartolus
George Hamartolus
George Hamartolos or Hamartolus was a monk at Constantinople under Michael III and the author of a chronicle of some importance. Hamartolus is not his name but the epithet he gives to himself in the title of his work: "A compendious chronicle from various chroniclers and interpreters, gathered...
reports that a few decades later Theophilos
Theophilos (emperor)
Theophilos was the Byzantine emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty, and the last emperor supporting iconoclasm...
(reigned 829 - 842) converted the original building to a hostel
Hostel
Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...
and transferred the nuns to a new residence. Whether Theodote was still among them was not mentioned.
Children
Theodote and Constantine VI had two known children:- Leo (7 October 796 – 1 May 797). Theophanes records his dates of birth and death.
- A unnamed son, born after the deposition of his father. Mentioned in the correspondence of Theodore the Studite. Uncertain fate.
Sources
- T. Pratsch, Theodoros Studites (759-826): zwischen Dogma und Pragma
- Lynda Garland, Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience