Theodora Raoulaina
Encyclopedia
Theodora Palaiologina Kantakouzene Raoulaina was a Byzantine
noblewoman, the niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
(r. 1259–1282). Widowed twice, she clashed with her uncle over his unionist religious policies
, and became a nun. She also restored the monastery of Saint Andrew in Krisei, to where she transferred the relics of Patriarch Arsenios Autoreianos. Highly educated, she was a prominent member of the capital's literary circles at the close of the 13th century.
, the third daughter of John Kantakouzenos and Irene Palaiologina. Her father was pinkernes
and later doux
of the Thracesian theme
, while her mother was the second daughter of the megas domestikos Andronikos Palaiologos and thus the sister of the future emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
(r. 1259–1282). After her husband died (some time before 1257), she became a nun by the name Eulogia. Theodora had three other sisters, Anna, Maria and Eugenia. Anna married Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas
, Despot of Epirus, and became regent after his death. Maria married Tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
, while Eugenia married the Cuman megas domestikos Syrgiannes, and was the mother of Syrgiannes Palaiologos.
In 1256, Theodora wedded George Mouzalon
in a marriage arranged by Emperor Theodore II Laskaris
(r. 1254–1258). Mouzalon was of humble origin, but had risen to the high office of protovestiarios
through the favour of the Emperor, whose childhood friend he was. The marriage, and similar ones for the emperor's other "new men
", was designed by Theodore as a means of raising the status of his low-born protégés. However, these unions, and Theodore's consistent anti-aristocratic policies, earned the hostility of the traditional noble families. At Theodore's death in August 1258, Mouzalon became the regent for the Empire and the young John IV Laskaris
(r. 1258–1261), but was murdered by soldiers along with other family members in a coup, organized by the aristocrats, only a few days later during a memorial service for the departed emperor. The driving force behind the aristocrats' conspiracy was Michael Palaiologos, Theodora's own uncle, who quickly succeeded Mouzalon as regent and was crowned co-emperor in early 1259. During the coup, Theodora alone reacted to the killings, going to her uncle and asking for her husband to be spared. Michael reproved her, and told her to be silent lest she too share his fate.
In 1261, following the recapture of Constantinople
by Michael VIII and his crowning as sole emperor of the restored Byzantine Empire
, Theodora was married again to the newly promoted protovestiarios
John Raoul Petraliphas
, a scion of the noble Raoul family
and senior military officer. Before his death in ca. 1274, she bore birth to two daughters, Irene and Anna.
.
Ever since the recovery of Constantinople, Michael VIII's position was precarious: the threat of a renewed Latin effort to take back the city was ever-present, and intensified with the rise of the ambitious Charles of Anjou to dominion over southern Italy and his intention to restore the Latin Empire
under his aegis. The only power that could avert such an attack was the Papacy, and thus Michael engaged in negotiations for the Union of the Churches, which finally bore fruit in 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon
. The Union however, and the concessions this entailed to the Papacy in matters of doctrine, were deeply unpopular amongst the Byzantines themselves, and aggravated Michael's already tense relations with the Orthodox clergy on account of his dismissal of the Patriarch Arsenios Autoreianos, who had excommunicated the emperor for his usurpation of the throne from John IV Laskaris.
Opposition to the Union emerged even within Michael's own family: among the most fanatic dissenters was Theodora's mother, Irene, once Michael's favourite sister. Theodora staunchly supported her mother, along with Manuel and Isaac Raoul, brothers of her late husband John. Because of their anti-unionist activities, mother and daughter were exiled to the fortress of St. George on the Black Sea
coast. Irene however was able to escape from her imprisonment to the court of her daughter Maria in Bulgaria, from where she even plotted a military coalition with the Mamelukes to overthrow her brother.
(r. 1282–1328) overturned his father's religious policies regarding the Union. The problem of the Arsenites, the supporters of deposed Patriarch Arsenios, who refused to recognize his successors, remained. Andronikos II tried to mediate, and convened a Church Council at Adramyttion in 1284. Both Theodora and her mother Irene participated in this, but it failed to alleviate the schism. Theodora herself was an Arsenite, but more moderate than her mother. Indeed she formed a close bond with the new patriarch, Gregory II, whose scholarly abilities she admired and who would become her spiritual father.
Theodora and her sister Anna returned to Constantinople after the council, while their mother remained behind at Adramyttion, where she died later in the same year. At about the same time, Theodora renovated the monastery of Saint Andrew in Krisei in Constantinople and turned it into a convent
. There she relocated the relics of Patriarch Arsenios (who had died in 1273) from the Hagia Sophia
, and spent the remainder of her life, devoted to her monastic duties and scholarly pursuits. In 1289, when her friend, patriarch Gregory II, resigned, she gave him refuge in the so-called Aristine mansion, which lay alongside the monaster of Saint Andrew.
Theodora's last public action came in 1295. Based on his successes against the Turks and the disaffection of the inhabitants of Asia Minor
with the Palaiologoi, the general Alexios Philanthropenos
had declared himself emperor. Theodora was sent by Emperor Andronikos II, along with her brother-in-law Isaac Raoul who had also been involved in a failed conspiracy and blinded
, to treat with him and persuade him to surrender. Her embassy failed, and Philanthropenos was soon after betrayed and blinded. Nothing further is known of her life until her death, on 6 December 1300.
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
noblewoman, the niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
(r. 1259–1282). Widowed twice, she clashed with her uncle over his unionist religious policies
Second Council of Lyon
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, France, in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by Byzantine emperor Michael VIII to reunite the Eastern church with the West...
, and became a nun. She also restored the monastery of Saint Andrew in Krisei, to where she transferred the relics of Patriarch Arsenios Autoreianos. Highly educated, she was a prominent member of the capital's literary circles at the close of the 13th century.
Family and early life
Theodora was born ca. 1240 in the Empire of NicaeaEmpire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
, the third daughter of John Kantakouzenos and Irene Palaiologina. Her father was pinkernes
Pinkernes
Pinkernes was a high Byzantine court position. The term, deriving from the Greek verb , signified the Byzantine emperor's cup-bearer. The position is attested in Philotheos's Kletorologion of 899, where a pinkernes of the Byzantine emperor and of the Augusta are listed amongst the eunuchs of...
and later doux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
of the Thracesian theme
Thracesian Theme
The Thracesian Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians , was a Byzantine theme in western Asia Minor , comprising the ancient regions of Ionia, Lydia and parts of Phrygia and Caria....
, while her mother was the second daughter of the megas domestikos Andronikos Palaiologos and thus the sister of the future emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
(r. 1259–1282). After her husband died (some time before 1257), she became a nun by the name Eulogia. Theodora had three other sisters, Anna, Maria and Eugenia. Anna married Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas
Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas
Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Nicephorus I Comnenus Ducas , was ruler of Epirus from 1267/8 to c. 1297.-Life:Nikephoros was the eldest son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas and Theodora Petraliphaina...
, Despot of Epirus, and became regent after his death. Maria married Tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Constantine I , which includes the shortened form of the name of his father as a patronymic), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277....
, while Eugenia married the Cuman megas domestikos Syrgiannes, and was the mother of Syrgiannes Palaiologos.
In 1256, Theodora wedded George Mouzalon
George Mouzalon
George Mouzalon was a high official of the Empire of Nicaea under Theodore II Laskaris . Of humble origin, he became Theodore's companion in childhood and was raised to high state office upon the latter's assumption of power. This caused great resentment from the aristocracy, which had monopolized...
in a marriage arranged by Emperor Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris was emperor of Nicaea, 1254–1258.-Life:Theodore II Doukas Laskaris was the only son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Eirene Laskarina, the daughter of Emperor Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos and...
(r. 1254–1258). Mouzalon was of humble origin, but had risen to the high office of protovestiarios
Protovestiarios
Protovestiarios was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs.-History and functions:The title is first attested in 412, as the comes sacrae vestis, an official in charge of the Byzantine emperor's "sacred wardrobe" , coming under the praepositus sacri cubiculi...
through the favour of the Emperor, whose childhood friend he was. The marriage, and similar ones for the emperor's other "new men
Novus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...
", was designed by Theodore as a means of raising the status of his low-born protégés. However, these unions, and Theodore's consistent anti-aristocratic policies, earned the hostility of the traditional noble families. At Theodore's death in August 1258, Mouzalon became the regent for the Empire and the young John IV Laskaris
John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea from August 18, 1258 to December 25, 1261...
(r. 1258–1261), but was murdered by soldiers along with other family members in a coup, organized by the aristocrats, only a few days later during a memorial service for the departed emperor. The driving force behind the aristocrats' conspiracy was Michael Palaiologos, Theodora's own uncle, who quickly succeeded Mouzalon as regent and was crowned co-emperor in early 1259. During the coup, Theodora alone reacted to the killings, going to her uncle and asking for her husband to be spared. Michael reproved her, and told her to be silent lest she too share his fate.
In 1261, following the recapture of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
by Michael VIII and his crowning as sole emperor of the restored Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, Theodora was married again to the newly promoted protovestiarios
Protovestiarios
Protovestiarios was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs.-History and functions:The title is first attested in 412, as the comes sacrae vestis, an official in charge of the Byzantine emperor's "sacred wardrobe" , coming under the praepositus sacri cubiculi...
John Raoul Petraliphas
John Raoul Petraliphas
John Raoul Komnenos Doukas Angelos Petraliphas was a Byzantine noble and military commander during the reign of Michael VIII Palaiologos .- Life :...
, a scion of the noble Raoul family
Raoul (Byzantine family)
The Raoul was a Byzantine aristocratic family of Norman origin, prominent during the Palaiologan period. From the 14th century on, they were also known as Ralles . The feminine form of the name was Raoulaina ....
and senior military officer. Before his death in ca. 1274, she bore birth to two daughters, Irene and Anna.
Clash with Michael VIII
Following the usual practice for noble women of the time, when her second husband died, Theodora retired to a monastery. It was at this time however that she came to public prominence through the issue that divided Byzantine society: the question of Union with the Roman ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
Ever since the recovery of Constantinople, Michael VIII's position was precarious: the threat of a renewed Latin effort to take back the city was ever-present, and intensified with the rise of the ambitious Charles of Anjou to dominion over southern Italy and his intention to restore the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
under his aegis. The only power that could avert such an attack was the Papacy, and thus Michael engaged in negotiations for the Union of the Churches, which finally bore fruit in 1274, at the Second Council of Lyon
Second Council of Lyon
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, France, in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to act on a pledge by Byzantine emperor Michael VIII to reunite the Eastern church with the West...
. The Union however, and the concessions this entailed to the Papacy in matters of doctrine, were deeply unpopular amongst the Byzantines themselves, and aggravated Michael's already tense relations with the Orthodox clergy on account of his dismissal of the Patriarch Arsenios Autoreianos, who had excommunicated the emperor for his usurpation of the throne from John IV Laskaris.
Opposition to the Union emerged even within Michael's own family: among the most fanatic dissenters was Theodora's mother, Irene, once Michael's favourite sister. Theodora staunchly supported her mother, along with Manuel and Isaac Raoul, brothers of her late husband John. Because of their anti-unionist activities, mother and daughter were exiled to the fortress of St. George on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast. Irene however was able to escape from her imprisonment to the court of her daughter Maria in Bulgaria, from where she even plotted a military coalition with the Mamelukes to overthrow her brother.
Activities under Andronikos II
Theodora's exile lasted until Michael's death in 1282. His son and successor, Andronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
(r. 1282–1328) overturned his father's religious policies regarding the Union. The problem of the Arsenites, the supporters of deposed Patriarch Arsenios, who refused to recognize his successors, remained. Andronikos II tried to mediate, and convened a Church Council at Adramyttion in 1284. Both Theodora and her mother Irene participated in this, but it failed to alleviate the schism. Theodora herself was an Arsenite, but more moderate than her mother. Indeed she formed a close bond with the new patriarch, Gregory II, whose scholarly abilities she admired and who would become her spiritual father.
Theodora and her sister Anna returned to Constantinople after the council, while their mother remained behind at Adramyttion, where she died later in the same year. At about the same time, Theodora renovated the monastery of Saint Andrew in Krisei in Constantinople and turned it into a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. There she relocated the relics of Patriarch Arsenios (who had died in 1273) from the Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
, and spent the remainder of her life, devoted to her monastic duties and scholarly pursuits. In 1289, when her friend, patriarch Gregory II, resigned, she gave him refuge in the so-called Aristine mansion, which lay alongside the monaster of Saint Andrew.
Theodora's last public action came in 1295. Based on his successes against the Turks and the disaffection of the inhabitants of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
with the Palaiologoi, the general Alexios Philanthropenos
Alexios Philanthropenos
Alexios Philanthropenos was a Byzantine nobleman and notable general of the early Byzantine-Ottoman wars, scoring some of the last Byzantine successes against the Turkic emirates in Asia Minor.- Early life and family :...
had declared himself emperor. Theodora was sent by Emperor Andronikos II, along with her brother-in-law Isaac Raoul who had also been involved in a failed conspiracy and blinded
Political mutilation in Byzantine culture
Mutilation in the Byzantine Empire was a common method of punishment for criminals of the era but it also had a role in the Empire's political life. The mutilation of political rivals by the Emperor was deemed an effective way of sidelining from the line of succession a person who was seen as a...
, to treat with him and persuade him to surrender. Her embassy failed, and Philanthropenos was soon after betrayed and blinded. Nothing further is known of her life until her death, on 6 December 1300.