Vocaţie religioasă şi opoziţie politică în Constantinopol în secolele IX-X. Cazul familiei Gouber
Vocation religieuse et opposition politique à Constantinople aux IXe-Xe siècles. Le cas de la famille Gouber

Summary/Abstract: The economic and military elite that emerged in the ninth-century Cappadocia, when the Byzantines conquered back this province from the Arabs, came to play an important political and religious role in the Empire. Thus, several members of the Cappadocian families moved to Constantinople, while others answered to a religious calling, entering different monasteries, some of whom even were proclaimed saints. The Life of Irene of Chrysobalanton (BHG 952) is a hagiographic source that illustrates the close association between the religious calling and the political position of the family. Irene was a member of the Cappadocian family of Gouber, which had an outstanding political and social climbing during the ninth century. According to her hagiographer, Irene miraculously interceded on behalf of one member of her family, which had been accused of treason by the emperor. A close analysis of this episode reveals how the Gouber family exploited the spiritual authority of one of its members, honoured as a saint, in order to find support for its political actions, including opposing the imperial power. This contention is supported by the comparative analysis between The Life of Irene and another hagiographic text from the same period, also referring to a Cappadocian family: The Life of Michael Maleinos.

• Details
• Contents