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Famous Courtesans Part 2 – The Empress Theodora

This is a great story…

Theodora was the wife of Justinian I who was crowned Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 527 AD. As his wife, she ruled by his side, as his partner, and her intelligence helped to advance the Empire.

The exact place of her birth has not been agreed upon. While some historians say she was born on the island of Crete off the coast of Greece, others speculate that she might have been born in Syria. Whichever the case, she was brought up as the daughter of a bear trainer who worked at the Hippodrome (a huge stadium-like circus), in Constantinople. She worked there as a mime, and later as a full time actress. At the time, acting was not a highly esteemed occupation especially for women. While on stage she was remembered for her daring entertainment skills, off stage however, she lived a normal youthful life and was most remembered for her wild parties.

At the age of 16, she traveled to northern Africa as the companion of an official. (A Courtesan) She stayed there for 4 years before returning to Constantinople. She stopped by Alexandria, the capital of Egypt and here she adopted Monophysitism. This was a form of Christianity that believed that Jesus Christ was wholly divine and not both human and divine as was the orthodox Christian belief. Monophysites were thus not liked by orthodox Christians since their teachings did not conform to those of the orthodox church. On conversion to Monophysitism, she gave up her former lifestyle, and upon reaching Constantinople in 522, settled down as a wool spinner in a house near the palace of the Emperor. It was while in this humble lifestyle, at the age of 20, that she drew the attention of Justinian, then a government official.

Theodora was not only beautiful, but intelligent, witty and amusing, which is perhaps why she won Justinian’s love so much that he appealed against an old Roman law that forbade officials from marrying actresses in order to marry her. Justinian and Theodora were married in 525. In 527, Justin, the emperor of Byzantium, and Justinian’s father died. The couple assumed control of the Empire and were crowned Emperor and Empress on 4th April of that same year. They ruled unofficially as joint monarchs with Justinian allowing Theodora to share his throne and take active part in decision making.

Throughout her life, Theodora and Justinian transformed the city of Constantinople, building it into a city that for many centuries was known as one of the most wonderful cities in the world. They built aqueducts, bridges, and more than 25 churches, the most significant of these being the Hagia Sophia – ‘Church of Holy Wisdom’. To women, Theodora may well be considered a noble pioneer of the women’s liberation movement. She passed on laws prohibiting forced prostitution and established homes for prostitutes, passed rights that granted women more rights in divorce cases, instituted the death penalty for rape and established laws allowing women to own and inherit property. She also provided safe shelter for Monophysite leaders who faced opposition from the majority orthodox Christians, even though her husband Justinian was an orthodox Christian.

Empress Theodora died on 28th June, 548. Her body was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostle, one of the splendid churches that she and Justinian had built in Constantinople. Beautiful mosaics in Empress Theodora’s remembrance exist to this day at the Church of San Vitale at Ravenna in Northern Italy (see pic above). Even after her death, her spirit lived on, and in this way she was able to have influence on the Empire. Through what she had begun, Justinian was able to bring harmony between the Monophysites and the Orthodox Christians, and the status of women in the Byzantine Empire was elevated high above that of the women in the Middle East and Europe.

Ref: http://www.thenagain.info/webChron/EastEurope/Theodora.html

Here’s a beautiful picture of Theodora.  I love it!

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Famous Courtesans Part 1 ~ Catherine ‘Skittles’ Walters

Do you find this as fascinating as I do?

Catherine “Skittles” Walters (13 June 1839 – 4 August 1920) was a fashion trendsetter and, along with Alice Keppel, was one of the last of the great courtesans of Victorian London.

Walters was rumoured to have had leaders of political parties and a member of the British royal family amongst her benefactors. She was born the third of five children at 1 Henderson Street, Toxteth, Liverpool and moved to London before her twentieth birthday. Her father was Edward Walters, a customs official, who died in 1864. Her mother was Mary Ann Fowler.

Her nickname is thought to have originated from her working at a bowling alley in Chesterfield Street near Park Lane. (Skittles is the game which evolved into bowling.)

Her classical beauty was matched by her skill as a horsewoman, for which she was almost equally renowned.

In the 1860s the fascinating sight of Catherine riding on Rotten Row in Hyde Park drew huge crowds of sightseers. Aristocratic ladies copied the cut of her perfectly fitting “Princess” riding habit, and she was well known as a trendsetter. She was depicted in Sir Edwin Landseer’s 1861 painting “The Taming of the Shrew,” as a young woman controlling a frisky horse.

A letter written to the The Times in July 1861 described in detail the fever of anticipation caused by Catherine’s waiting admirers:

“Expectation is raised to its highest pitch: a handsome woman drives rapidly by in a carriage drawn by thoroughbred ponies. The driver is attired in the pork pie hat and the Poole paletot [a kind of loose-fitting cloak] introduced by ‘Catherine’, but alas!, she caused no effect at all, for she is not ‘Catherine’; she is only the Duchess of A-, the Marchioness of B-, the Countess of C-, or some other of ‘Catherine’s’ many imitators.” At last their patience was satisfied and Catherine herself appeared; she threaded her way through the throng, “commented upon by the hundreds who admire her and the hundreds who envy her”, speaking to a chosen few along the way. This done, “she turns, and drives back again towards Apsley House, and then away into the unknown world, nobody knows whither”.

She counted among her lovers Spencer Cavendish, the Marquess of Hartington (later the eighth Duke of Devonshire), whom she pursued to New York during the American Civil War; Napoleon III; the future King Edward VII; and the first love of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who remained infatuated with her for the rest of his life.

During her life as a courtesan, her discretion and loyalty to her benefactors became the focal point of her career. There were many rumors about her being involved with certain wealthy men of the time, but she never confirmed nor denied these. This gave her great weight in the courtesan lifestyle, and made her a sought after commodity. This also gave long life to her career, and helped her to retire a wealthy woman of society around 1890.

She died of cerebral haemorrhage at her home at 15 South Street, Mayfair, and was buried in the graveyard of the Franciscan Monastery at Crawley.

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