#anne komnene

[gemsofgreece]

Which Byzantine figures do you consider underrated? As someone who has slowly started to learn more about Byzantium, names like Constantine the Great, Justinian the Great, Theodora, Irene of Athens, Anne Komnene, Nikephoros Phokas, Constantine Palaiologos, Tsimiski, Basil, Zoe and Theodora Porprhyrogennita and Theophano are familiar, but do you have any other recommendations (sorry if I misspelled some)?

Below are a few Byzantine historical figures I find very interesting currently:

Flavius Belisarius (c.500 - 565)

While Justinian the Great is one of the most significant emperors in history, his accomplishments would simply not be the same, if he did not have Belisarius as his military commander. He was of uncertain descent (possibly Thracian, Illyrian or less so Greek) but his mother tongue was certainly Latin. Belisarius reconquered Rome and Italy while severely outnumbered during the Gothic War, defeated the Sassanids in the Iberian War, conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, successfully repulsed the Huns and defended the empire from the Persians and the Arabs. The Byzantine Empire reached its largest surface mostly thanks to Belisarius. A more controversial point in his life was when he was commanded to suppress the notorious Nika riots against Justinian, which ended in a massacre of dozens of thousands civillians. Belisarius was above all a strategist; he didn't mind fleeing the battle or using trickery in order to win a war. Despite his analytical mind in battle, he resolutely wasn't one in the affairs of the palace. Belisarius was married and quite smitten with Antonina, who had the favour of Empress Theodora, and thus felt safe to be totally unhinged. Schemes happening in the palace would sometimes find a scapegoat in Belisarius, who was likely the most genuinely devoted person to the emperor. As a result, Belisarius was often not treated well by the emperor and the secretaries and he was cheated on by his wife. He was even led to trial for betrayal, although Justinian eventually pardoned him. According to legend, Justinian first blinded him and then pardoned him, although lately the historicity of this is questioned. What's certain is that Belisarius didn't receive the respect he deserved in his personal life but he earned the respect of the historians, who consider him one of the best military leaders in history.

Ioannis II Komnenos (1087 - 1143)

Known as Kaloioannis (John the Good / Beautiful), Ioannis is considered the best emperor from the Greek dynasty of the Komneni. Ioannis was not beautiful, he must have been rather unattractive actually, but he earned the title because of his noble character. He was the brother of Anna Komnene, he was the one she tried to poison so that she would ascend to the throne instead. Ioannis forgave her. Ioannis was very just, modest and pious and would only use his imperial luxuries during diplomat visits. He was married to Irene of Hungary. Whether it was because of his piety, his natural predesposition or a different orientation, Ioannis was not very interested in the joys of marriage. However, he remained devoted and faithful to her. It is notable that during his long reign, not a single person was sentenced to death or mutilation, at a time that this would have been the norm for criminals and traitors. Despite all that, Ioannis was actually a great military leader once need arose. His biggest goal as an emperor was to undo the damage from the Battle of Manzikert 50 years prior. Indeed he forced Seljuk Turks to assume a defensive stance and did expand the empire's power to the east again. The Byzantine population increased during his reign. It is certain that Ioannis left the empire significantly better than how he received it. Some sources suggest that Ioannis' noble character was an inspiration to the people of his empire.

Michael Psellos (1017 - 1078)

Psellos was a Greek man of great knowledge and intellect and a questionable character. He did it all; he was a monk, a writer, a philosopher, a judge, a music theorist, an imperial advisor and courtier and a historian. His skill in literally everything led him quickly to the position of the leading professor in the University of Constantinople and that of secretary in the imperial court. His political influence was immense and he saw many emperors succeed each other while he maintained his position as political advisor. Because a big part of his work is autobiographical, it is unclear whether some of his claims are entirely reliable; Psellos was prone to vanity and sarcasm against those who did not favour him. Psellos studied Plato thoroughly, so much so that at times his faith in Christian Orthodoxy was questioned. *Fun fact: Psellos was apparently good at everything except Latin. His Latin was so rusty he confused Cicero with Caesar!

He looks like a Greek Rasputin in his painting above lol Anyway, he was manipulative but he wasn't nowhere near as controversial as Rasputin, let me be clear.

Georgios Gemistos Plethon (c. 1355 - 1452/1454)

Gemistos Plethon was a scholar and philosopher of the late Byzantine era. He was the pioneer of the revival of Greek scholarship in Western Europe. He was secretly not Christian, he believed in the Ancient Greek gods. Plethon admired Platon too. (It's Platon in Greek.) So much so that he added "Plethon" next to his surname Gemistos, which means pretty much the same thing (full) except more archaic and more similar to Plato(n)'s name! He was imperial advisor to the Palaeologi dynasty who at the time were reigning from Mystras, as the empire was dissolving. Everyone suspected his pagan beliefs but he was so influential and important that nobody dared confront him about it. He taught philosophy, astronomy, history, geography and classical literature. He was invited to Florence, Italy to teach Plato and Aristotle and help Florentines understand the differences between the two philosophies. Plethon died in Mystras shortly before or after the Fall of Constantinople. We don't know if he lived enough to see the empire fall. Around 10 years later, some of his Italian followers stole his remains from Mystras and interred him in Rimini, Northern Italy, so that he could "rest amongst free men". Plethon's vision was the revival of the Byzantine Empire, founded on a utopian Hellenic (and not universal) system of government. In one of his speeches, he said "We are Hellenes by race and culture". He is at the forefront of historical studies exploring the connections between Byzantine and Modern Greek identity.

Laonikos Chalkokondyles (c. 1430 - 1470)

Chalkokondyles was an Athenian native, from a prominent old family of the city. He was a historian who witnessed the last years of the Byzantine and the early years of the Ottoman Empire. He was sometimes employed by the Byzantine emperors as a messenger to the Sultan Mehmed II, not without drama. Chalkokondyles wrote in detail about 150 years prior to his lifetime. He described the fall of the Byzantine Empire, he offered a profile of the Ottoman Turks, and he wrote about their conquest of the Venetians and Matthias the King of Hungary. He also explored the civilisations of England, France and Germany. I didn't know about him until I read a great Romanian biography of Vlad Tepes the Impaler (you know, the inspiration of Count Dracula). Chalkokondyles's input is extensive and invaluable for this book; he wrote about Vlad's ancestors and the fights of the Wallachian princes with the Ottomans. His style of writing was mostly clear and simple, styled after Thucydides. He called the Byzantines “Hellenes” and did not use the term "Rhomaioi" (Romans in Greek) for them.

[la-pheacienne]

one thing that i love about the way kim is written in better call saul is how much agency she has. like contrast better call saul to hotd where everything rhaeneyra and alicent do is the result of a man manipulating them or pushing them into it. whereas in better call saul all of kim’s choices, good and bad, are her own. obviously hotd is set in a feudalist society, but both rhaenyra and alicent have far less agency in hotd than they had in fire and blood. what’s interesting about bcs is that a lot of male characters in the show (chuck, kevin, howard before season 6), assume kim is some innocent damsel being manipulated by jimmy, but the show makes it clear how inaccurate and condescending this assumption is.

Even in real feudalistic societies there have been very very powerful female historical figures. You have Elizabeth of England. You have Catherine the Great. You have Hurrem Sultan (not in a feudalistic society but even worse actually, she was a slave), you have empress Theodora, Empress Irene of Athens and Princess Anne Komnene, all three in the Byzantine empire, and so many more women that I can't recall right now who were so powerful in their time, they literally changed history.

Some of them were child brides.

Also Kim is my absolute icon and girlfriend forever no question, I am so so happy that a fictional character like her exists in American TV.

[whencyclopedfr]

Anne Comnène

Anne Comnène (parfois transcrit Comnena ou Komnene, 1083-1153) était la fille aînée de l'empereur byzantin Alexis I Comnène (r. de 1081 à 1118) et l'auteur d'une longue biographie du règne de son père, l' Alexiade. Bien qu'il ne s'agisse pas d'une histoire impartiale, la position d'Anne à la cour, ses recherches approfondies des sources et une bonne dose d'observations et d'opinions perspicaces ont permis à l'Alexiade de rester l'une des sources primaires les plus importantes et les plus colorées de l'histoire byzantine.

Lire la suite...

[thetudorslovers]

"This Robert was Norman by birth, of obscure origins, with an overbearing character and a thoroughly villainous mind; he was a brave fighter, very cunning in his assaults on the wealth and power of great men;in achieving his aims absolutely inexorable, diverting criticism by incontrovertible argument. He was a man of immense stature, surpassing even the biggest men; he had a ruddy complexion, fair hair, broad shoulders, eyes that all but shot out sparks of fire. In a well-built man one looks for breadth here and slimness there; in him all was admirably well-proportioned and elegant... Homer remarked of Achilles that when he shouted his hearers had the impression of a multitude in uproar, but Robert’s bellow, so they say, put tens of thousands to flight." ~ Anna Komnene

The Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard, Count and Duke of Apulia (1016-1085), was the most famous of the Norman brothers, members of the Hauteville family, who entered the wars of southern Italy and carved out important principalities for themselves.

Of the early life in Normandy of Robert Guiscard, very little is known. In the 1030s his older brothers William, Drogo, and Humphrey went to southern Italy to serve as mercenary captains in the numerous wars between Lombards and Byzantine Greeks. Within 2 decades they had begun to establish themselves in castles and to carry great weight in the affairs of their adopted homeland. In 1046 Robert came to Italy to join them. Robert received no immediate benefits, and he, like other Norman knights ambitious for land and wealth in southern Italy, had to occupy himself in the many military campaigns and small battles that filled its 11th-century history. In 1049 Robert's brother Drogo offered him a castle in Calabria, and for the next 4 years Robert lived a life of brigandage and robbery, earning for himself the nickname Guiscard, the "Crafty One, " which he was to retain throughout his life.

Robert came out of Calabria in 1053, when a papal army, backed by the forces of the German emperor, threatened the Norman possessions in the south. In the battle of Civitate in that year, the forces of Norman-controlled Apulia crushed the armies of Pope Leo IX and won papal recognition for their conquests in the south. Robert spent the next 2 years completing the conquest of the last Byzantine lands in Italy. In 1057 Robert's brother Humphrey, Count of Apulia, died, and Robert, by now the most renowned leader of the Normans, succeeded him. To his younger brother Roger, Robert gave the task of driving the Arabs out of Sicily and adding the island to his possessions.

In 1059 Pope Nicholas II formally confirmed Robert's titles:Duke of Apulia and Calabria and Duke of Sicily, although the island had not yet been conquered. Robert, in his turn, swore an oath of loyalty to the Pope and agreed to pay tribute. In the brief space of 6 years the Norman-papal relations had been reversed. Instead of thieves and usurpers, the Normans were now loyal and faithful papal vassals, servants and allies of the Church. By 1060 Robert and Roger had expelled the Greeks from all of southern Italy except Bari, and they now concentrated upon the conquest of Sicily. This task took 30 years, years that Robert spent in suppressing revolts in Apulia and Calabria and in pressing the remaining Byzantine stronghold at Bari. In 1071 Bari fell to Robert, and the last Byzantine enclave in the West was lost. In the same year Norman forces finally captured Palermo, the capital of Sicily, and in 1072 Robert entered his new domains in triumph.

After dealing with yet another rebellion and surviving a protracted illness, Robert renewed his attempts to crush pockets of resistance to his rule. In 1077 he conquered Salerno, and in 1080, after years of disputes, wrangling over rights, and personal insults, Robert renewed his oath of loyalty to the papacy in the person of Pope Gregory VII and was in return confirmed in the possession of his lands. From 1080 on, Robert began to form another plan, this time to attack the Byzantine Empire itself, across Greece and the northern Aegean Sea to the very capital city of Constantinople. Throughout 1081 Robert assembled a massive fleet and army at the ports of Brindisi and Bari. In May 1081 Robert's fleet crossed the Adriatic. In a furious battle at Durazzo, Robert defeated the army of the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus and forced him to retreat. Alexius, however, had instigated a revolt in Apulia, and this revolt, along with an appeal from Pope Gregory VII for aid against the army of the German emperor, Henry IV, recalled Robert to the Italian mainland, where he spent 1082 and 1083 in suppressing the revolt in Apulia and preparing an assault on Rome to rescue the embattled Pope Gregory.

In 1084 Robert attacked the city of Rome, the German defenders fled, and the Normans entered the city and sacked and burned it, taking Pope Gregory with them. Gregory was installed in a palace at Salerno, where he died in May 1085. Several months earlier Robert had returned to the campaign in Greece. He resumed the campaign, which had faltered during his absence, and captured the island of Corfu. After wintering on Corfu, the Norman army was suddenly struck by a ravaging epidemic, possibly typhoid fever, and on July 17, 1085, Robert himself succumbed to it. He was buried at Venosa in Apulia.

[madamelamarquys]

Byzantine History Meme - Anna Komnene

 Anna Komnene was born on December 1083 as the eldest child of emperor Alexius I and Irene Doukaina. She was called porphyrogenita, a name given to every child born during their fathers’ reign. Rumor has is that the Imperial Palace had a chamber called “Porphyra” where empresses gave birth to their children.   Until the birth of her brother, Anna was heir apparent to the Byzantine throne and as an imperial princess was betrothed at a young age to Constantine Doukas, son of Michael VII and was proclaimed co- emperor for the second time. Anna grew up in his mother’s household and studied greek literature and history, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and medicine.                                       In 1087 her brother John II was born and replaced her in the line of succession frustrating Anna. Ten years later her fiance died so she was once again betrothed and then married to general Nickephorus Bryennius with whom she had four children. Despite Anna’s tireless efforts to make her husband emperor, her brother succeeded Alexius and Anna was sent into exile after losing all of her fortune. In the monastery where she spent the rest of her life she wrote Alexiad and became the first female historian.  

[lstdraemr]

Anne Komnene Physician, Historian emperor's daughter

mmk, Byzantine Princess

[pilibdc]

JOMP BPC June 17: Female Author

I may have gotten carried away with the amount of books. However I felt that I should demonstrate that female authors run the gamut of genres and time periods. The authors range from the 970 AD to the present day. Bellow is a list of the books

Pile 1

Darkover Landfall: Marion Zimmer Bradley (I am aware of her personal life and issues)

Deryni Rising: Katherine Kurtz

The Word for World is Forest: Ursula K LeGuin

The Shadow of Murder: Charity Lee Blackstock

Oroonoko: Aphra Behn

Ice: Anna Kavan

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley

Kallicain: Karin Boyle

The Mysteries of Udolpho: Ann Radcliff

The Alexiad: Anna Komnene

The Bloody Chamber: Angela Carter

The Haunting of Hill House: Shirley Jackson

Circe: Madeline Miller

Pile 2

The History if England: Jane Austen

Thyra: Anne R Bailey

The Secret Lives of Married Women: Elissa Ward

Choke Hold: Christina Faust

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days: Nellie Bly

A Woman in Arabia: Gertrude Bell

The Heptameron: Marguerite De Navarre

The Book of Margery Kempe: Margery Kempe

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Holgerrson: Selma Lagerlof

The Book of the City of Ladies: Christine de Pizan

Revelations if Divine Love: Julian of Norwich

The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon: Sei Shonagon

Mary and Maria: Mary Wollstonecraft / Matilda: Mary Shelley

Selected Writings: Hildegard of Bingen

Pile 3

Murder in the Mews: Helen Reilly

Dragonwyck: Anya Seton

Gate of Ivrel: C.J Cherryh

The Pale Horse: Agatha Christie

Daughters of Earth: Judith Merril

Assassin’s Apprentice: Robin Hobb

The Wayfarer Redemption: Sara Douglass

Seraphim: Michelle Hauf

Kushiel’s Dart: Jacqueline Carey

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

Master Post - Members who married into a royal or noble house

Disclaimer: If a person married someone from the same house as they were born into, I have not listed them in this list. Please look at the list sorted by birth for them. Houses that rule(d)/reside(d) in other countries but originally came from German and/or Austrian territories and/or are generally regarded as belonging to this cultural room are listed among the German & Austrian Houses.

German & Austrian Houses

House of Babenberg

Princess Eudokia Laskarina of Nicaea, The Hereditary Duchess of Austria

Princess Theodora Angelina of Byzantium, The Duchess of Austria & Styria

Princess Theodora Komnene of Byzantium, The Duchess of Bavaria & Austria

House of Castell

Baroness Ottilie of Faber, Countess of Faber-Castell

House of Coburg (Cadet branch of the House of Wettin)

Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1st marriage)

Princess Mary of Teck, The Queen of the United Kingdom & British Dominions, The Empress of India

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (wife of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)

House of Faber

Ottilie Richter, Baroness of Faber

House of Habsburg (incl. Habsburg-Lorraine)

Anna Plochl, Countess of Meran

Princess Charlotte of Belgium, The Empress of Mexico, Archduchess of Austria

Infanta Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress, The Archduchess of Austria

Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress

Elisabeth in Bavaria, The Empress of Austria

Princess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress

Queen Joanna of Castile, León and Aragon (Consort of Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Austria and The Duke of Burgundy)

Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, The Archduchess of Inner Austria-Styria

Maria Beatrice d’Este, The Duchess of Massa & Carrara, Archduchess of Austria

Mary, The Duchess of Burgundy

Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria

Countess Sophie Chotek of Chotkowa and Wognin, The Duchess of Hohenberg

Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, The Crown Princess of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia

House of Hanover (Cadet branch of the House of Welf)

Princess Adelaide (Adelheid) of Saxe-Meiningen, The Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover

Princess Caroline of Ansbach, The Queen of Great Britain

Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, The Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover

Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Great Britain, Ireland and Hanover

Frederica (Friederike) of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Hanover, The Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale (3rd marriage)

Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, The Duchess of Kent (2nd marriage)

House of Hesse

Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland, The Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

Princess Christina of Saxony, The Landgravine of Hesse

House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Princess Feodora of Leininigen, The Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

House of Hohenstaufen

Irene of Byzantium, The Queen of the Germans, The Duchess of Swabia

House of Hohenzollern

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, The German Empress

Princess Augusta Victoria (Auguste Viktoria) of Schleswig-Holstein, The German Empress

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, The Queen of Prussia

Princess Elisabeth of Wied, The Queen & Princess of Romania

Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, The Queen of Prussia

Frederica (Friederike) of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Princess Louis Charles of Prussia (1st marriage)

Princess Hermine Reuß, “German Empress”

Jadwiga Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Prussia

Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, The Queen in Prussia

Princess Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland, Princess Royal, The German Empress

House of La Marck

Jeanne d’Albret, The Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg

House of Limburg-Luxemburg

Elizabeth of Pomerania, Holy Roman Empress

House of Nassau

Princess Sophie of Württemberg, The Queen of the Netherlands

House of Oldenburg

Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, The Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

Princess Juliane of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, The Queen of Denmark and Norway

House of Supplinburg

Richenza of Northeim, Holy Roman Empress

House of Thurn and Taxis

Helene in Bavaria, The Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis

House of Welf (without the British Hanover branch)

Princess Elisabeth of Brandenburg, The Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen

Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg aka Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia

House of Wettin (without the Coburg branch)

Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, The Queen of Saxony

Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, The Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, The Queen of Saxony

Sibylle of Cleves, The Electress of Saxony

House of Wittelsbach

Elizabeth Stuart, The Queen of Bohemia & Electress Palatine

Kunigunde of Austria, The Duchess of Bavaria-Munich

Princess Louise d’Orléans, Princess of Bavaria

Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, The Electress of Bavaria

Princess Marie of Prussia, The Queen of Bavaria

The House of Württemberg

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg

Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis, The Duchess of Württemberg

The Ottonians

Adelaide of Burgundy, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Italy

Theophanu, Holy Roman Empress

Foreign Houses

House of Bourbon

Jeanne d’Albret, The Queen of Navarre and The Duchess of Vendôme

Archduchess Maria Antonia “Marie Antoinette” of Austria, The Queen of France

House of Braganza

Archduchess Maria Leopoldina, The Empress of Brazil, The Queen of Portugal and the Algarves 

Byzantine Imperial Family

Konstanze “Anna” of Hohenstaufen, The Empress of Nicaea

House of Ivrea

Elisabeth “Beatrix” of Swabia, The Queen of Castile, León & Galicia

House of Lorraine

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, Princess of Lorraine and Bar

The Archduchess Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia) of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (marriage formed new House of Habsburg-Lorraine)

House of Medici

Archduchess Johanna of Austria, The Grand Duchess of Tuscany

House of Radziwiłł

Princess Luise of Prussia, Princess Radziwiłł

House of Romanov (incl. Romanov-Holstein-Gottrop)

Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine aka Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia

Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia

Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, The Empress Regnant of Russia aka Catherine the Great

House of Tudor

Anne of Cleves, The Queen of England

House of Valois

Elisabeth (Isabeau) of Bavaria, The Queen of France

House of Vasa

Princess Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, The Queen of Sweden

Minor Nobles

Anna Constantia of Brockdorff, The Imperial Countess of Cosel

Helene Baltazzi, The Baroness of Vetsera

Maria Anna Mozart, The Imperial Countess Berchthold

Marie Karoline of Mollard, The Imperial Countess of Fuchs to Bimbach

Sophia Botta, The Dark Countess of Hildburghausen

Sophie of Pannwitz, Countess of Voß

[hurremsultanns]

The Nosy One

Thank you @pastellarts for tagging me!

Rules: tag nine people you want to get to know better!

Top 3 ships: OK I’m not much of a shipper at all so I’m going to have to go with Michelle and Henriette (Allo Allo - also, I was 11 at the time I saw this show), Patrochilles, and Anne Lister and Ann Walker (Gentleman Jack). 

Last Song: Delilah by Florence and the Machine

Last Movie: Horrible Histories: Rotten Romans (it’s funny but definitely for kids, particularly in the humour, which  annoyed me a little bit)

Currently Reading: The Alexiad by Anna Komnene

What food are you craving right now: Latkes (I’m missing making them with my Nana now we’re in quarantine)

Tagging: @daughterofdungeonbat @thehistoryfangirl12 @antonomase @uncarnetmaisvirtuel @street-light-phenomenology @kyriea @petroc-n-pelagius @pointless-like-a-circle @mrsroxelane

[historicwomendaily]

Hey😊 do you know any important woman figures of the 11th century? 😊😊

I’m not as well versed in the 11th century as others, but I’d have to say Emma of Normandy, Empress Matilda, Matilda of Flanders, St. Margaret, Anna Komnene, Theodora and Zoe Porphyrogenita, Anne of Kiev, and Zaida of Seville.

- Julia.

[theinquisitxor]

Anna Komnene’s The Alexiad. I read this Byzantine history for my course paper in my history class. I enjoyed it more than I though I would and Anna is one of my historical faves.

Alessandro Barbero’s Charlemagne: Father of a Continent. This is a recent biography of the Frankish king, and I read this because I am a Medieval History nerd.

Samuel Johnson’s and James Boswell’s A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland and a Tour of the Hebrides. This is a travel journal that I read for a history class, I don’t have much else to say about it other than I liked it more than I expected

Stigmata by Phyllis Alesisa Perry. This is a neat little novel about a woman haunted by the past women in her family and the horrors they went through as slaves.

Some honerable mentions that have just a little over 1,000 ratings but that I love too much not to include:

-Anne LaBastille’s Woodswoman. This is the autobiography of a ecologist who built her own cabin on a lake deep in the Adirondack wilderness. It’s the story of her adventures and survival and it’s really beautiful.

-The Dream of the Unified Field by Jodrie Graham. This is a poetry collection that I really enjoyed.

-Traveler of the Century by Andres Neuman. One of my favorite novels. Traveler Hans stops for the night in a small Prussian city, but finds he can’t leave until he finishes a philosophical debate. Enter Sophie, a young woman starved for someone with a mind equal to hers. I Love this novel so so much!

Let’s share some love for lesser-known books! Reblog this with a book you’ve loved that has less than 1,000 ratings on Goodreads 📚✨

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

Master Post - Members by birth

Disclaimer: Houses that rule(d)/reside(d) in other countries but originally came from German and/or Austrian territories and/or are generally regarded as belonging to this cultural room are listed among the German & Austrian Houses.

German & Austrian Houses

House of Ascania

Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst aka Catherine the Great

House of Coburg (Cadet branch of the House of Wettin)

Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, The Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess of Württemberg

Princess Charlotte of Belgium, The Empress of Mexico, Archduchess of Austria

Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, Crown Princess of Austria, Hungary & Bohemia

Princess Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland, Princess Royal, The German Empress

Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, The Princess of Leiningen, The Duchess of Kent

House of Griffin

Elizabeth of Pomerania, Holy Roman Empress

House of Habsburg

Archduchess Johanna of Austria, The Grand Duchess of Tuscany

Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, The Electress of Bavaria

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, Princess of Lorraine and Bar

Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, The Electress of Bavaria

Archduchess Maria Antonia “Marie Antoinette” of Austria, The Queen of France and Navarre

Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria, The Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal & the Algarves

Maria Theresia, The Archduchess of Austria, Holy Roman Empress

Archduchess Sophie of Austria

House of Hanover (Cadet branch of the House of Welf)

Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, The Queen in Prussia

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Empress of India

House of Hesse

Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia

Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia

House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, The Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein

Princess Feodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, The Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen

House of Hohenstaufen

Elisabeth “Beatrix” of Swabia, The Queen of Castile, León & Galicia

Konstanze “Anna” of Hohenstaufen, The Empress of Nicaea

House of Hohenzollern

Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia

Princess Caroline of Ansbach, The Queen of Great Britain & Ireland, The Electress of Hanover

Princess Elisabeth of Brandenburg, The Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen

Princess Luise of Prussia, Princess Radziwiłł

Princess Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, The Queen of Sweden

Princess Marie of Prussia, The Queen of Bavaria

Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia, The Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

House of La Marck

Amalia of Cleves

Anne of Cleves, The Queen of England

Sybille of Cleves, The Electress of Saxony

House of Leiningen

Princess Feodora of Leiningen, The Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

House of Liechtenstein

Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, Countess Esterházy de Galantha

House of Mecklenburg

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Great Britain, Ireland & Hanover

Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg aka Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia

Friederike (Federica) of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Hanover

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Queen of Prussia

Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, The Princess of Thurn and Taxis

House of Northeim

Richenza of Northeim, Holy Roman Empress

House of Oldenburg

Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, German Empress

Princess Cecilie of Greece & Denmark, The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

House of Reuß

Princess Hermine Reuß of Greiz, “German Empress”

House of Thurn and Taxis

Princes Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis, Duchess of Württemberg

House of Welf

Adelaide of Burgundy, Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Italy

Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, The Queen of the United Kingdom & Hanover

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, The Queen in & of Prussia

Princess Juliane of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, The Queen of Denmark and Norway

House of Wettin

Adelheid (Adelaide) of Saxe-Meiningen, The Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German Empress

Princess Christina of Saxony, The Landgravine of Hesse

Princess Luise (Louise) of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, The Countess of Pölzig and Beiersdorf

House of Wied-Neuwied

Princess Elisabeth of Wied, The Queen & Princess of Romania

House of Wittelsbach

Princess Alexandra of Bavaria

Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, The Queen of Saxony

Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress

Elisabeth “Sisi” in Bavaria, The Empress of Austria

Elisabeth (Isabeau) of Bavaria, The Queen of France

Princess Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, The Queen of Prussia

Helene “Néné” in Bavaria, The Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis

Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, The Duchess in Bavaria

Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, The Archduchess of Inner Austria-Styria

Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, The Queen of Saxony

Marie in Bavaria, The Queen of Two Sicilies

Baroness Marie Louise of Wallersee, Countess of Larisch

Mathilde in Bavaria, The Countess of Trani

Sophie in Bavaria, The Duchess of Alençon

Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria

House of Württemberg

Mary of Teck, The Queen of the United Kingdom & British Dominions, Empress of India

Princess Sophie of Württemberg, The Queen of the Netherlands

Minor Nobles

Anna Constantia of Brockdorff, The Imperial Countess of Cosel

Katharina von Bora, Mrs Martin Luther

Baroness Louise Lehzen

Baroness Marie “Mary” of Vetsera

Sophie Botta, The Dark Countess of Hildburghausen

Sophie of Pannwitz, Countess of Voß

Foreign Houses

House of Albret

Jeanne d’Albret, The Queen of Navarre, 1. The Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and 2. The Duchess of Vendôme

House of Aviz

Infanta Eleonor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress

House of Bourbon

Princess Louise d’Orléans, Princess Alfons of Bavaria

Byzantine Imperial Family

Princess Eudokia Laskarina of Nicaea, The Hereditary Duchess of Austria

Irene of Byzantium, The Queen of the Germans, The Duchess of Swabia

Princess Theodora Angelina, The Duchess of Austria & Styria

Princess Theodora Komnene of Byzantium, The Duchess of Bavaria & Austria

Theophanu, Holy Roman Empress

House of Chotek

Countess Sophie Chotek of Chotkowa and Wognin, The Duchess of Hohenberg

House of Este

Maria Beatrice d’Este, The Duchess of Massa & Carrara, Archduchess of Austria

House of Jagiellon

Jadwiga (Hedwig) Jagiellon, The Electress of Brandenburg

House of Stuart

Elizabeth Stuart, The Queen of Bohemia & Electress Palatine

House of Trastámara

Queen Joanna “The Mad” of Castile, Léon & Aragon, The Duchess of Burgundy, Archduchess of Austria

House of Valois

Mary, The Duchess of Burgundy, Archduchess of Austria

Commoners

Fatima Kariman aka Maria Aurora (von) Spiegel

Helene Baltazzi, The Baroness of Vetsera

Louise Rump, Mrs Ebert

Margot Großmann, Mrs Sauerbruch

Maria Anna Mozart, The Imperial Baroness Berchthold

Maria “Mizzi” Kaspar

Ottilie Richter, Baroness of Faber

Sophie Scholl