Everyday Life in Byzantium

248 Pages·1987·40.506 MB·English

by  Tamara Talbot Rice

TAMARA
TALBOT
RICE
—
The Christian heirs of pagan Rome, rlie
Byzantines flourished for over a thousand
—
years from ad 330 when Constantino
proclaimed Byzantium the capital of the
RomanEmpire,renamingitConstantinopile
to the sack ofthecity by theTurks in 1453,,
To those who think of Roman civilization
asbeingobliteratedbythebarbariansduring
the 'Dark Ages', Tamara Talbot Rice's
picture of the Byzantine Empire will come
as a revelation. The influence ofByzantium
onEuropeanhistoryhasbeenprofoundand
its legacy can be seen most clearly in the
culture and religion ofeastern Europe.
Theauthordescribeswithknowledgeand
enthusiasm what it was like to live in
Byzantine times. Individual chapters cover
the foundation and growth of the capital;
the daily ritual of the imperial court; the
church and its impact on everyday life; the
work of the officials who administered the
vast, diffuseempireandofthearmedforces
who defended its frontiers; merchants,
town-dwellers and countryfolk; family life
andpastimes education,scholarship,music
;
and the arts. Carefully related to the text
—
are over 100 illustrations drawings based
on original sources and photographs
which vividly portray the life, work and
religion ofthe Byzantines.
Tamara Talbot Rice has acquired a wide
knowledge of Byzantine society through a
study of its art, on which she and her
husband, Professor David Talbot Rice, are
acknowledged authorities. Her most recent
publicationhasbeenon TheAncient Artsof
CentralAsia.
—
3 1111 01071 7815
DATE DUE
o
r\r~
v:
_i_-.
r~ -i ^ ^aa!
v
'J
—
V-hp £ '
nAK 9-
IQfics
NOV 1 7 2ifl
NOV
7 2(OS

Everyday Life in Byzantium
1 The Emperor Constantine the Great (306-37)
From afourth-centurybronze
Everyday Life in
BYZANTIUM
TAMARA TALBOT RICE
Drawings by Helen Nixon Fairfield
DORSET PRESS
New
"fork
©
Text copyright 1967 Tamara Talbot Rice
©
Drawings copyright 1967 B.T. Batsford Ltd.
All rights Reserved
First published by B.T. Batsford 1967
This edition published by Dorset Press,
a division ofMarboro Books Corporation,
by arrangement with B.T. Batsford Ltd.
1987 Dorset Press
ISBN 0-88029-145-1
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
M987654321
To David, with love andgratitudefor his unfailing help