Marginalization and subculture groups in Byzantium (6th - 12th century)

The research aim is to explore the phenomena of social marginalization and subculture groups in the context of a pre-modern society situated on the intersection between East and West and between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, namely Byzantium between the sixth and twelfth century, taking as examples three different but functionally and spatially closely interrelated types of outsider professions, i.e., tavern-keepers, prostitutes and actors. On the basis of these specific groups, the present project intends to answer a set of crucial questions lying at the heart of almost all socio- historical studies devoted to outsiders and marginalized people. Working hypothesis: In order to develop a versatile and wide-ranging approach to the phenomenon of marginalization in Byzantium, this project will explore the subcultural groups in question under the light of four thematic subunits, which can be subsumed under the following headings: 1) mechanisms of marginalization; 2) social interactions between normal and outsider groups; 3) typological categories of outsider behaviors; 4) perceptions and identities of marginalized groups. The working method is based on an analytical reading of the written sources from the sixth to the twelfth century, supplemented by artistic representations of the time and the few material testimonies. The collected material will be processed into a comparative synthesis and interpretation of the information. In this process, the source information will be scrutinized and evaluated with the help of theoretical approaches and methods that modern sociology, social psychology, and social anthropology provide. The expected results will break new ground in the field of Byzantine studies and offer special emphasis on the social history of the Eastern Mediterranean world in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, with a strong interdisciplinary focus on the use of the analytical tools and methods of modern social studies. The project elucidates a central aspect of Byzantine social attitudes and perceptions and, more generally, of the history of mentalities in the medieval period. It will create a sound basis of source material, terminological definitions, and interpretations regarding the social structures, behaviors, and rules governing the relationship between socially marginalized groups and the main body of society along with its political, intellectual, and religious elites. A source-oriented analysis of tavern-keepers, prostitutes and actors, as intended by this project, gives us important insights into the world of Byzantine amusements and entertainment services as an important aspect of Byzantine daily life. The results of this project can be contextualized within the broader field of studies on mentalities, mindsets, and everyday life in Southeast Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Christian Near East.

The aim of the project was to explore the phenomena of social marginalization and subculture groups in Byzantium between the sixth and the twelfth century, taking as examples three different but functionally and spatially closely interrelated types of outsider professions, i.e., prostitutes, actors, and tavern-keepers. On the basis of these specific groups, the present project tries to answer a set of crucial questions lying at the heart of almost all socio-historical studies devoted to outsiders, subcultures, and marginalized people. The project completed an exploration and systematic analysis of 1) mechanisms of marginalization; 2) social interactions between normal and outsider groups; 3) typological categories of outsider behaviors; 4) perceptions and identities of marginalized groups. The starting point for the investigation into the Marginalization of outsider groups was to make up by the process of marginalization. As regards the process of marginalization of outsider groups in Byzantium and other societies, we can distinguish between two different phases or levels. The first one is related to official attitudes expressed in statements, judgments, and regulations issued by public secular or ecclesiastical authorities, i.e., the two chief pillars on which the administrative organization, as well as the cultural and political cohesion of Byzantine society, is based. The second results from social conventions and behavioral patterns prevailing among normal people and the way the latter position themselves vis-à-vis various outsider groups. The definition of these factors leads us to a better understanding of the mechanisms used by Byzantine society at the official and the informal level in order to impose predominant social norms and to exclude different categories of marginal groups. The available texts, according to the views and attitudes propagated by secular and ecclesiastical authorities, underline the existence of clearly recognizable social and spatial divides between normal people and outsiders and stress the mental separation between the spheres of the pure and the impure. Another goal of the project was to examine the social interactions between normal and outsider groups and the re-integration process of marginalized groups into society. In everyday practice, the re-integration of prostitutes into society was complicated. The texts testify that many people questioned the conversion of marginalized groups. Byzantine society hesitated to accept "its new members" as equal and to forget their past. Every misstep until relapse could destroy the achievements so far. From a sociological point of view, it can be assumed that learning the new patterns of behavior of the decent was not easy for the prostitutes and that they experienced many ups and downs during the process of integration until they gained stability or eventually failed. Byzantine authors develop a certain typology of recurring characteristics and behavioral patterns that appear in the context of the three outsider groups in question and allow us to gather rich information about the terminology used in the narrative presentations of these groups and about prevailing social stereotypes, clichés, and prejudices articulated in the available accounts. These features partly reflect the perception of contemporary social realities and partly form the continuance of ideas and literary conventions rooted in the Christian patristic tradition or late antique rhetoric.