Week 5 (2/21-2/23)
Dion C. Smythe's article "Middle Byzantine Family Values and Anna Komnene's Alexiad" explores Byzantine family values as recounted by Anna Komnene in her book about her father’s rule. Smythe does this to explore common themes and values in Byzantine families.
Anna Komnene’s book was written over a period of time where Anna and her female relatives were living in a monastery. Anna herself was a Byzantine princess who grew up under that assumption that she would one day rule the Byzantine empire (seeing as her parents had not yet born a son). However, her parents do eventually have a son, his name being John. Anna is frustrated by her sudden demotion, seeing as she had spent most of her life preparing for her ascension to the throne. Anna is also frustrated by her husband, who she feels has not done enough to assert their joint rise to power.
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In the book, she constantly mentions the fact that she is the daughter of the emperor and states that no other emperor could live up to her father’s rule. However, she describes her father as a particularly scary man. She attributes this to his strong leadership skills. She writes to serve the point that since she was so close to her father (a debatable fact), she is the most fit for leadership. Smythe writes that Anna’s account of her father’s rule as well as her family’s relationship with each other demonstrates the importance of loyalty and hierarchy in Byzantine