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Anna Komnene’s Use of Personal Intrusion in the Alexiad THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jessica Doyle, B.A. Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2012 Master's Examination Committee: Timothy Gregory, thesis advisor Nathan Rosenstein, program advisor Gregory Anderson Copyright by Jessica Doyle 2012 Abstract This thesis examines Anna Komnene and her use of authorial intrusion in the Alexiad. The goal is to demonstrate that Anna’s intrusions represent a conscious and deliberate attempt to construct her own persona, and therefore legacy, for posterity. Based on an extensive analysis of the Alexiad as a primary source, I argue that Anna’s intrusions defending her role as historian and lamenting her misfortune allow the author to portray herself as both an admirable historian and dutiful daughter, roles Anna specifically chose to emphasize. Much of the previous scholarship on Anna focuses on her gender, often to the exclusion of her other characteristics. The present study places Anna within the tradition of Byzantine historiography to demonstrate her emulation of her predecessors as well as her innovations. Drawing from cultural and intellectual developments which arose during the so-called Byzantine “humanism” of the 11th and 12th centuries, Anna effectively incorporates these concepts as she creates her personality through her intrusions. ii Vita 2004 ........................................... Red Hill High School, Bridgeport, Illinois 2008 ........................................... B.A. History, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana 2010 ........................................... Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Classics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2010 to present .......................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Fields of Study Major Field: History iii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Vita.................................................................................................................................................. iii Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Background of Anna’s Life and Times .......................................................................... 4 Chapter 3: Overview of Authorial Intrusion .................................................................................. 10 Chapter 4: Historiography of Anna and her Alexiad ...................................................................... 14 Chapter 5: Personal Intrusions in the Alexiad ................................................................................ 22 Chapter 6: Anna’s Justification of her Role as Historian ............................................................... 29 Chapter 7: Anna’s Lamentations ................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 8: Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 51 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 53 iv Chapter 1: Introduction In the preface to the Alexiad, Anna Komnene1 establishes her purpose for undertaking the history of her father when she writes: But the tale of history forms a very strong bulwark against the stream of time, and to some extent checks its irresistible flow, and, of all things done in it, as many as history has taken over, it secures and binds together, and does not allow them to slip away into the abyss of oblivion.2 This passage calls the reader’s attention to the importance of history writing in general and Anna’s particular rationale behind authoring the Alexiad. The events and personalities of the past will inevitably be lost, unless they are preserved for the future by diligent historians. By writing the history of her father’s reign, Anna ensures that his memory will survive. Although this is her explicitly stated intent, Anna’s text ultimately serves a greater, and more personal, goal. In addition to asserting her intent to preserve her father’s legacy, Anna also introduces in the preface what will prove to be a common thread running throughout her narrative: maintaining authorial presence to express 1 For a helpful and succinct overview on Anna and the Alexiad, see A. Laiou, “Introduction: Why Anna Komnene?” in Anna Komnene and her Times, T. Gouma-Peterson, ed. New York: Garland Publishing (2000), 1-14. 2 Alexiad Preface I.1, p.3: Ἀλλ' ὅ γε λόγος ὁ τῆς ἱστορίας ἔρυμα καρτερώτατον γίνεται τῷ τοῦ χρόνου ῥεύματι καὶ ἵστησι τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἀκάθεκτον τούτου ῥοὴν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ γινόμενα πάντα, ὁπόσα ὑπερείληφε, ξυνέχει καὶ περισφίγγει καὶ οὐκ ἐᾷ διολισθαίνειν εἰς λήθης βυθούς. Note: All Greek footnotes are from Vaticanus gr. 1438 (ca. a. 1565) Teubner 1884, and all translations and page numbers are from E. Dawes’ translation, New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc, 1957 1 personal emotion.3 Toward the end of this section, Anna exclaims, “having written so far, dizziness overwhelms my soul, and tears blind my eyes,” and continues a few paragraphs later, “now I will wipe away my tears and recover myself from my sorrow and continue my task.”4 Anna’s personality and emotions are unmistakable in passages of this type. The author consistently includes them throughout her text, even though these digressions do not directly advance the course of the narrative. Through the use of such first-person intrusions into the larger text, Anna is able to establish herself as a consistent presence in her narrative. An analysis of Anna’s frequent use of authorial interjection demonstrates that this technique ensured that Anna, like her father, would not be lost to the “stream of time” by providing her with the agency over the creation and preservation of her own legacy. Through authorial intrusions purporting to defend her role as a historian and emotional interjections both praising and lamenting various aspects of the narrative, Anna is able to establish a cohesive persona in which she presents to the audience an individualized, but carefully constructed, version of herself for posterity. In this thesis, Anna’s use of personal intrusion is carefully examined in its proper social, historical and historiographical context. Beginning with Chapter II, Anna’s life is considered in light of the political and social climate of the 11th and 12th centuries in Byzantium, with a particular emphasis on the humanistic developments of the period. Chapter III provides a general overview of the use of authorial intrusion, particularly by Byzantine historians, as well as the application of individualization and personalization to 3 See below Chapter III, overview on authorial intrusion 4 Alexiad Preface IV.1, 4: Ἐγὼ δ' ἐνταῦθα γενομένη σκοτοδίνης ἐμπίπλαμαι τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ῥείθροις δακρύων περιτέγγω τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς…. Ἀποψήσασα οὖν τὸ δάκρυον τῶν ὀμμάτων καὶ ἐμαυτὴν ἀναλεξαμένη τοῦ πάθους τῶν ἑξῆς ἕξομαι 2 the genre of history writing. Chapter IV outlines the major historiographical approaches taken by historians of Anna and the Alexiad, beginning with Buckler in the early 20th century and culminating with the collection edited by Gouma-Peterson one hundred years later. Chapter V outlines my approach and criteria for examining personal intrusion in the Alexiad, as well as introduces the categories for analysis: Anna’s justification of her role as historian and Anna’s lamentations. Chapters VI and VII present each of these categories in turn, focused on the examination of numerous relevant passages. Through this analysis, it is also my intention to provide an interpretation of Anna which incorporates, but is not limited by, gender and feminist theory. Recent scholarship on Anna has been dominated by such analysis, and while this has served to reinvigorate study of Anna and the Alexiad, it has simultaneously caused an overly narrow preoccupation with gender at the expense of Anna’s other unique qualities and characteristics. The present analysis seeks to integrate these issues while focusing on Anna’s roles as historian and daughter in order to provide a broader understanding of Anna as an individual. 3 Chapter 2: Background of Anna’s Life and Times Anna Komnene, a Byzantine princess, was born on December 1, 1083. As the eldest daughter of Emperor Alexios I and Irene Doukaina, Anna enjoyed a position in the highest strata of Byzantine society. While still an infant, Anna was betrothed to Constantine Doukas, son of Maria of Alania.5 The young man was to be the heir to the Byzantine throne, with Anna as empress. In 1087, however, a son was born to Alexios and Irene, effectively replacing Constantine as heir. This event marked a difficult experience for young Anna, as she was passed over in favor of a direct male heir. Anna eventually married a young aristocrat named Nikephoros Bryennios, with whom she would have four children. Some historians speculate that Anna, aided by her mother, continued to vie for the throne through her husband following the death of her father. In any case, her brother John succeeded his father Alexios to the throne. Following the death
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