Women’s journeys in the Middle Byzantine Era: an impulse to monasticism, an urge to meet holy men

For the contents of the present contribution to be defined and delineated, two accepted facts need to be mentioned beforehand. It was highly unusual for women in Byzantium to be out and about; that is, there was a widespread perception, to say the least, that women should not be allowed to leave the house, much less travel freely and on their own, especially during the Middle Byzantine period. Researchers of the history of pilgrimage are now in agreement over the fact that a dramatic change i..