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Empress Theodora and the Origin of Women’s Rights
By Douglas A. Burton
There are many currents that flow into the story of
women’s rights. Many cultures are recognized for their egalitarian traditions
and we have countless examples of great women in power—from the pharaoh
Hatsheput to Queen Victoria to Eleanor Roosevelt. But one woman—Empress
Theodora— achieved such a decisive victory for women in her time that her
relative obscurity is breathtaking.
More than fifteen hundred years ago, Theodora helped
influence massive legal reforms aimed at improving the plight of women. During
her reign, she influenced parts of a legal codex known as the Corpus Juris
Civilis, which included a wave of specific rights for women. Historians credit
this body of Roman law as central source material to the legal tradition of
Western civilization. Whoa. Therefore, Theodora made direct contributions to a
legal system that survived into the American Constitution, English common law,
and even international public law. It’s rare to see such lofty legalism in the
early Medieval era, but rarer still to know the individual woman behind the campaign.
But who the hell is she? What laws did Empress
Theodora change? And how could such an influential woman be forgotten?
“Therefore, Theodora made direct contributions to a
legal system that survived into the American Constitution, English common law,
and even international public law.”
Abandoned by most Western thinkers throughout the
centuries, Empress Theodora came off as a salacious novelty, a Medieval prostitute-stripper
who made it to the top through a lucky marriage. The scandalous gossip[i]
of her past, which is handed down to us by a single male source, Procopius of
Caesarea, no doubt stirred the imaginations of Western historians through the
centuries. The general consensus throughout history is that prostitutes have
little historical value and make poor role models. But missing from this harsh
judgment is the fact that as a prostitute, Theodora was part of an institutional
system that marginalized women to an extreme. Her perspective was necessary for
addressing women’s rights because she had firsthand knowledge and experience
about the reality for women. She dared to articulate the specific problems
women faced at a time when no one cared or listened. Even so, Theodora insisted
on designing real-world solutions, defined in legal terms, to fix the problems
she knew existed.
Theodora’s personal ideas and solutions became law[ii].
And she didn’t eff around about it.
Under Empress Theodora, rape was made punishable by
death. This law extended to anyone present during the rape, regardless of
position or rank, and the rapist’s property was even transferred to the rape
victim[iii].
Theodora also saw to it that women could own and
inherit property[iv],
which is quite a breakthrough because it gave daughters and wives real social
power. A family’s wealth could now continue through a daughter, and should a
woman’s husband die, the wife could claim the property and fortune. This
greater legal right alone gave women throughout the empire real power in real
terms.
Unlike today, professional outlets for women were severely
restrictive. Besides the socially acceptable “work-from-home-and-raise-a-family”
jobs, such as weaving, innkeeping, or baking, the very concept of ‘professional
women’ as a large and recognizable class did not exist with one exception. A
large number of women worked in theaters and brothels. So, although this
professional class of women carried a huge social stigma, their industry was
one of the few places where women worked publicly outside the traditional
family structure and earned real income.
Therefore, laws that addressed legal matters for
this lowly and socially powerless group is bold and unashamedly supportive of
women in general. Theodora meant to treat the professional women of her
society, sex workers though they may be, as professionals. She understood that
these prostitutes, actresses, mimes, and singers earned money and could
technically sustain themselves independently. But brothel keepers had legal authority
over these women. So, Theodora shifted that legal authority back to women.
“These reforms should be regarded as revolutionary
since they
shattered the most powerful class barriers.”
Under the new laws, no woman could be forced into
prostitution[v].
If a woman willingly chose prostitution, but later wished to leave the profession,
Theodora’s laws made it illegal for a brothel-keeper to stop her. And Theodora
followed up relentlessly to ensure enforcement of the laws. When Theodora discovered
that brothel keepers undermined the new regulations by making girls swear oaths
never to leave the brothels, she responded by rendering such oaths illegal[vi].
She mandated that the provincial governor and the head bishop had the
responsibility to enforce this law, giving her direct oversight over a
manageable number of men in high positions. She chose two men to enforce,
because if the governor, himself, blocked a woman’s departure from a brothel,
then the bishop could override the governor. You see, Theodora had once been a
concubine in the service of one of these provincial governors. She knew only
too well the kind of power these men had over women. She curbed that power at
the highest levels.
And Theodora didn’t stop there. She helped to overhaul
the marriage laws of her time. These reforms should be regarded as
revolutionary since they shattered the most powerful class barriers.
For centuries, there was a ban on intermarriage between
the upper and lower classes[vii].
By law, a prostitute could never marry a nobleman. Such a rigid class system
was characteristic of a Roman world view that regarded high title and rank as
self-evident. Secondly, even under the new Christian perspective, prostitution
was regarded as immoral and sinful. Therefore, when Theodora helped to
facilitate the removal of the marriage ban, she did so without the support of either
the secular or religious tradition. Her personal world view alone guided the
legal reform. By removing the marriage ban[viii],
prostitutes could now marry into noble houses and gain legal status. Like it or
not, this represents unparalleled social mobility for women at the time. It
gave women access to power.
By having the marriage ban removed, Theodora saw to
it that her sister, her daughter, and numerous other theater friends all
married into noble houses. Just like that, several women crossed an impossible
barrier and gained incredible social power, and they achieved this change in
fortune seemingly overnight.
“Therefore, when Theodora helped to facilitate the
removal of the marriage ban, she did so without the support of either the
secular or religious tradition.”
Once, Theodora arranged a marriage between one of
her theater friends (an ex-prostitute) and a nobleman named Saturnitus[ix].
When Theodora heard that this Saturnitus complained that his prospective bride
wasn’t a virgin, she had the nobleman rolled in a blanket and flogged with a
cane. She asked Saturnitus just one question: why could he frequent the brothels
with impunity and dare demand virginity in his wife? Theodora didn’t believe in
double standards.
Other laws, too, applied to all women regarding
marriage. In Byzantium, there was a law of ‘mutual consent’ in divorce cases. A
divorce was granted only if both the husband and the wife agreed to void the
marriage. By the way, this legal concept is still practiced in some countries
today. If the wife seeks a divorce, but not the husband, she stays married
against her will. You might point out that this law works in both directions.
However, if a man was forced to stay in a marriage because his wife vetoed the
divorce, especially back then, he could easily visit a brothel, hippodrome,
amphitheater, or tavern and enjoy a full life outside the home. Wives did not
have this luxury. (They weren’t even allowed on the street without a male escort[x]).
So, the law of mutual consent worked disproportionately against women.
So, Theodora had the law of mutual consent struck
down.
Secondly, women of the time were expected to offer a
dowry to their grooms. By Theodora’s time, the custom had expanded to make it
fashionable for men to offer something minor in return. This minor offering was
called an “antenupital.’ Under the new laws, the antenupital had to be equal to
the bride’s dowry. Equal to the bride. Theodora’s message is consistent and
clear.
She also knew that prospective brides could
sometimes be pressured into a marriage. A woman might give consent initially
when put on the spot, but as the marriage date grew near, she might think
differently. Therefore, a new law came out that required the prospective bride
to give her consent twice—once at the original proposal, and then again before
the marriage took place. This allowed women to change their minds before
entering into a lifelong commitment[xi].
Finally, in what I regard as a remarkable example of
Theodora’s scope, sympathies, and real-world knowledge, she even dared to
protect criminal women. In the Sixth Century, protection for male criminals wasn’t
even a concern. That’s why I regard Theodora’s intervention on behalf of
criminal women to be truly groundbreaking. If a woman required prison time, the
new laws forbade her imprisonment in common jails where she had no protection
from male guards who could abuse these women without recourse. She saw to it
that criminal women were removed from common prisons and detained in a nunnery
(that she constructed), under the supervision of other women.
Empress Theodora was known to hold court in her
opulent imperial bedchamber. There, surrounded by a retinue of her most trusted
women and eunuchs, she ruled over what has been described as an almost “parallel
government[xii].”
Many women (and men) came directly to Theodora to plead for justice, and the
formidable empress meted out justice with purpose. The scene in Theodora’s
bedchambers must have mirrored the impressive throne room of the Byzantine
Empire, just a few hundred feet away. In the words of James Allan Evans in his
book about the empress, “In the eyes of the upper-class beholder, what Theodora
represented was revolutionary.”
What’s more about this incredible woman is that she
acted out her beliefs on equality. She inspired an unprecedented partnership
with her husband, Justinian. Far from a great woman who ruled in the absence of
a male ruler, Theodora ruled right alongside Justinian the Great, who is
considered one of the greatest emperors in Byzantine history. When he addressed
the Byzantine court in the throne room, Theodora sat exactly beside him, which
was not typical. Theodora was free to address whomever she pleased. The emperor
did not grow angry when she disagreed with him before the court. Instead, they
actively debated the merits of different policies openly. She and Justinian
were also faithful to each other. Their relationship was considered bizarre by
their contemporaries, but I see it as a shining example for any of us. Theodora
insisted on being treated as an equal, and Justinian unapologetically treated
her an equal.
“The scene in Theodora’s bedchambers must have
mirrored the impressive throne room of the Byzantine Empire, just a few hundred
feet away.”
Theodora’s mark on history is a powerful, immovable
example for us. The body of laws that came into being during her reign is known
as the Corpus Juris Civilis and, according to Wikipedia: “The Corpus continues
to have a major influence on public international law. Its four parts thus
constitute the foundation documents of the Western legal tradition[xiii].”
Uh, wow. If this is true…if the corpus is at the heart of the Western legal
tradition, then Theodora stands front and center to the tradition of women’s
rights. Official credit goes to Justinian for the Corpus, and he deserves
plenty of it. But no historian can doubt Theodora’s presence in the laws that
pertain to women. History, it seems, remains uncomfortable with Theodora’s
sexualized past. But it’s time to recognize the crucial connection between her
early life experiences and the incredible legal reforms she oversaw as an
empress.
Our culture is taking a second look at history and
rediscovering the many contributions of women throughout the ages. I say, look
further eastward, beyond Europe, and deeper into the past. In my view, Theodora
should finally take her place among the Pantheon of our greatest women in
history.
Douglas A. Burton is on a crusade to introduce
Theodora to as many people as possible. His award-winning novel, Far Away Bird, which details Theodora’s early life, is available in paperback (Amazon, Barnes
& Noble) and as an amazing audiobook (Audible.com, iTunes, Author
Republic). Learn more at douglasaburton.com.
Buy the book
[i]
The Secret History, Procopius [9. p15]
[ii]
The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[iii]
Codex Justinianus [Book IX Title 13]
[iv]
Novellae 5.2 cf. Evans (1996a), pp 209-10
[v]
Codex Justinianus [I.4.33]
[vii]
The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[viii]
Codex Justinianus (Book V Title 4-23)
[ix]
The Secret History, Procopius [17. p24-26]
[x]
Constantinople: Birth of an Empire
[xi]
The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire p. 27
[xii]
Theodora: Empress of Byzantium p.175
[xiii]
Wikipedia ‘Corpus Juris Civilis’
[1] The
Secret History, Procopius [9. p15]
[1] The
Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[1] Codex
Justinianus [Book IX Title 13]
[1]
Novellae 5.2 cf. Evans (1996a), pp 209-10
[1] Codex
Justinianus [I.4.33]
[1]
Novellae 51
[1] The
Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37
[1] Codex
Justinianus (Book V Title 4-23)
[1] The
Secret History, Procopius [17. p24-26]
[1]
Constantinople: Birth of an Empire
[1] The
Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire p. 27
[1]
Theodora: Empress of Byzantium p.175
[1]
Wikipedia ‘Corpus Juris Civilis’
