Power, Infirmity and ‘Disability’. Five Case Stories on Byzantine Emperors and Their Impairments
Power, Infirmity and ‘Disability’. Five Case Stories on Byzantine Emperors and Their Impairments*

Summary/Abstract: Based on fi ve case stories, this article deals with the relation between power and infirmity in the Byzantine empire. It appears that to deal with imperial imperfection practical solutions were often preferred. The idea that a healthy state needed a strong emperor was thus to a certain degree negotiable. At the same time, this study explores the subject of disability and Byzantine emperors. Accusations of impairment often were fl uid and rhetorical. Though the anecdotal character of the evidence presents us with real-life evidence on living with a disability, it is primarily the rhetorical and metaphorical aspect that needs to be taken into account.

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