Gender was a key social indicator in Byzantine society, as in many others. While studies of gender in the western medieval period have appeared regularly in the past decade, similar studies of Byzantium have lagged behind. Masculine and feminine roles were not always as clearly defined as in the West, while eunuchs made up a 'third gender' in the imperial court. The present collection of essays uncovers gender roles in the imperial family, in monastic institutions of both genders, in the Orthodox Church, and in the nascent cult of Mary in the East. It puts the spotlight on flashpoints over a millennium of Byzantine rule, from Constantine the Great to Irene and the Palaiologoi, and covers a wide geographical range, from Byzantine Italy to Syria.

Bronwen Neil is Senior Lecturer and Assistant Director of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at the Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia; Lynda Garland is Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of Ancient and Medieval History at the University of New England, Armidale, Australia.

Questions of Gender in Byzantine Society