- Theodote
Theodote (c. 780 - after 797) was the second Empress consort of
Constantine VI of theByzantine Empire .Family
Theodote was a member of a distinguished family of
Constantinople . Her brother Sergios was mentioned as ahypatos . Their mother Anna was a sister of Theoktiste and her brother Platon. Making Theodote a maternal first cousin ofTheodore the Studite , son of Theoktiste.Marriage
By 794, Theodote served as a "kubikularia" (
Lady-in-waiting ) of Irene. Irene was the widow ofLeo IV the Khazar and mother of his heirConstantine VI . Irene had served asRegent from 780 to 790 and still held the title of Empress.Constantine was married to
Maria of Amnia and the imperial couple had two daughters, Euphrosyne and a younger Irene. However according to the chronicle ofTheophanes the Confessor , Constantine had turned against his first wife at some point. Theophanes attributed the deterioration of the marriage to the machinations of Irene. The lack of a male heir following six years of marriage could also be one of the reasons. Whatever the case, Constantine took Theodote as hisroyal mistress .In January, 795, Constantine divorced Maria. Maria and both of their daughters were sent to a convent in the island of Prinkipo. In August, 795, Theodote was officially betrothed to the Emperor and proclaimed an Augusta. Maria had never been granted the title. In September, 795, Theodote and Constantine were married at the palace named after St. Mammas. Theodote had become the Empress consort within eight months of the removal of her predecessor.
Empress
The legality of the marriage sparked a religious controversy at least since the betrothal was announced. The initial divorce had met with disapproval in circles of the
Eastern Orthodox Church . The remarriage while Maria was still alive was seen as an attempt forlegalization ofadultery .Even supporters of the Emperor were keeping their distances. Imperial marriage ceremonies were typically performed by the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople . The current Patriarch Tarasios had reluctantly consented to both the divorce and the second marriage. But refused to officiate himself. The marriage was performed by a certain Joseph, a priest of Hagia Sophia. [T. Pratsch, "Theodoros Studites (759-826): zwischen Dogma und Pragma", 89-90.]In the so-called "Moechian controversy" (from the Greek "moichos", "adulterer"), her uncle Platon and her cousin Theodore, respectively the recently retired abbot of the Sakkudion Monastery and his successor, initiated protests against the marriage and called for the
excommunication of Joseph and everyone who had received communion from him. Implicitly including the emperor and his court. [Pratsch, "Theodoros", 98-101.] They seem to have voiced the sentiment of much of the monastic environment of their time.Constantine and Theodote seem to have attempted peaceful reconciliation with their detractors for the first two years of their marriage. However all such offers were rejected and at last Constantine lost patience. Early in 797, imperial troops were sent to the Sakkudion Monastery, and the community was dispersed. Theodore was flogged, and, together with ten other monks, banished to
Thessaloniki , while Platon was imprisoned in Constantinople. [Pratsch, "Theodoros", 107-10.] By that point, Constantine seems to have lost all meaningful support from theiconodule faction. The displaced Iconoclasts were already against Irene and her son since the restoration of the icons decided in theSecond Council of Nicaea (787).Irene was meanwhile organizing a powerful conspiracy against her son. The loss of support for Constantine arguably helped her efforts in finding supporters in both the court and the Church. Constantine was deposed and blinded in August, 797. His mother succeeded him.
Retirement
Theodote was allowed to retire to a private palace along with her blinded husband. There are contradictory accounts on how long he survived his deposition. Ranging from ten days to a decade. The residence was converted to a monastery while Theodote was still alive.
Symeon Metaphrastes identified this new monastic institution with the "monastery of Isidore", named after the patrician who had reportedly built the palace. This Isidore supposedly had leftRome withOlybrius following the Sack of Rome byGeiseric in 455.George Hamartolus reports that a few decades later Theophilos (reigned 829 - 842) converted the original building to ahostel and transferred the nuns to a new residence. Whether Theodote was still among them was not mentioned. [Lynda Garland, "Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience", 14-15. ]Children
Theodote and Constantine VI had two known children:
*Leo (
7 October ,796 -1 May ,797 ). Theophanes records his dates of birth and death.
*A unnamed son, born after the deposition of his father. Mentioned in the correspondence of Theodore the Studite. Uncertain fate.Footnotes
ources
*T. Pratsch, "Theodoros Studites (759-826): zwischen Dogma und Pragma"
*Lynda Garland, "Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience"External links
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=T4eMlP3nV4YC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=%22Theodote%22+%22Constantine%22&source=web&ots=mhKnFYUxGF&sig=i4Zio-THnu-3DdcOz2isLqIl7C8,, The page of Byzantine women dealing with her]
* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTIUM.htm#KonstantinosVIdied797 Her profile, along with her husband, in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.]
* [http://www.roman-emperors.org/irene.htm#N_Theodote_ Article about Irene by Lynda Garland, contains section on the marriage of Theodote]
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