Eudokia Ingerina
Encyclopedia
Eudokia Ingerina (c. 840 – c. 882) was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Basil I, the mistress of his predecessor Michael III
, and the mother to both the Emperors Leo VI
and Alexander
and Patriarch Stephen I of Constantinople
.
guard in the emperor's service. Her mother was a Martinakia and a distant relative to the imperial family.
, the Empress Mother Theodora
strongly disapproved of them. About 855 Eudokia became the mistress of Theodora's son, Michael III, who thus incurred the anger of his mother and the powerful minister Theoktistos. Unable to risk a major scandal by leaving his wife, Michael married Eudokia to his friend Basil but continued his relationship with her. Basil was compensated with the emperor's sister Thekla as his own mistress.
Eudokia gave birth to a son, Leo, in September 866 and another, Stephen, in November 867. They were officially Basil's children, but this paternity was questioned, apparently even by Basil himself. The strange promotion of Basil to co-emperor in May 867 lends some support to the possibility that at least Leo was actually Michael III's illegitimate son. The parentage of Eudokia's younger children is not a subject of dispute, as Michael III was murdered in September 867.
A decade into Basil's reign, Eudokia became involved with another man, whom the emperor ordered to be tonsure
d as monk. In 882, she selected Theophano
as wife for her son Leo, and died shortly afterwards.
Michael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
, and the mother to both the Emperors Leo VI
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
and Alexander
Alexander, Byzantine Emperor
Alexander , sometimes numbered Alexander III, ruled as Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 912–913. He was the third son of Emperor Basil I and Eudokia Ingerina...
and Patriarch Stephen I of Constantinople
Patriarch Stephen I of Constantinople
Stephen I was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 886 to 893.Stephen was the son of Eudokia Ingerina and, officially, Emperor Basil I. However, at the time when he was conceived, Eudokia was the mistress of Emperor Michael III...
.
Family
Eudokia was the daughter of Inger, a VarangianVarangians
The Varangians or Varyags , sometimes referred to as Variagians, were people from the Baltic region, most often associated with Vikings, who from the 9th to 11th centuries ventured eastwards and southwards along the rivers of Eastern Europe, through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.According...
guard in the emperor's service. Her mother was a Martinakia and a distant relative to the imperial family.
Life
Because her family was iconoclasticIconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
, the Empress Mother Theodora
Theodora (9th century)
Theodora was a Byzantine Empress as the spouse of the Byzantine emperor Theophilos, and regent of her son, Michael III, from Theophilos' death in 842 to 855...
strongly disapproved of them. About 855 Eudokia became the mistress of Theodora's son, Michael III, who thus incurred the anger of his mother and the powerful minister Theoktistos. Unable to risk a major scandal by leaving his wife, Michael married Eudokia to his friend Basil but continued his relationship with her. Basil was compensated with the emperor's sister Thekla as his own mistress.
Eudokia gave birth to a son, Leo, in September 866 and another, Stephen, in November 867. They were officially Basil's children, but this paternity was questioned, apparently even by Basil himself. The strange promotion of Basil to co-emperor in May 867 lends some support to the possibility that at least Leo was actually Michael III's illegitimate son. The parentage of Eudokia's younger children is not a subject of dispute, as Michael III was murdered in September 867.
A decade into Basil's reign, Eudokia became involved with another man, whom the emperor ordered to be tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
d as monk. In 882, she selected Theophano
Theophano, wife of Leo VI
- Family :She was a daughter of Constantine Martiniakos. Her further ancestry is uncertain. However, Theophanes Continuatus, a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor by writers active during the reign of Constantine VII, records the story of a possible ancestor during the reign...
as wife for her son Leo, and died shortly afterwards.
Children
Eudokia and Basil officially had six children:- Symbatios, renamed Constantine (c. 865 – 3 September 879). Co-emperor to Basil from 6 January 868 to his death. According to George Alexandrovič Ostrogorsky, Constantine was betrothed to Ermengard of ProvenceErmengard of ProvenceErmengard was the only surviving daughter of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 876, she married Boso, from the Bosonid, Count of Vienne, who declared himself King of Provence in 879....
, daughter of Louis II, Holy Roman EmperorLouis II, Holy Roman EmperorLouis II the Younger was the King of Italy and Roman Emperor from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was imperator augustus , but he used imperator Romanorum after his conquest of Bari in 871, which led to poor relations with Byzantium...
and EngelbergaEngelbergaEngelberga was the wife of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor, from 5 October 851 to his death on 12 August 875. As empress, she exerted a powerful influence over her husband. Her family, the Supponids, prospered during Louis's reign...
in 869. The marrital contract was broken in 871 when relations between Basil and Louis broke down. - Leo VILeo VI the WiseLeo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
(19 September 866 – 11 May 912), who succeeded as emperor and may actually have been the son of Michael IIIMichael IIIMichael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
. - Stephen IPatriarch Stephen I of ConstantinopleStephen I was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 886 to 893.Stephen was the son of Eudokia Ingerina and, officially, Emperor Basil I. However, at the time when he was conceived, Eudokia was the mistress of Emperor Michael III...
(November 867 – 18 May 893), patriarch of Constantinople, who may also have been a son of Michael III. - Alexander (c. 870 – 6 June 913), who succeeded as emperor in 912.
- Anna Porphyrogenita (d. 905/12 or after). A nun the convent of St Euphemia, Petron.
- Helena Porphyrogenita (d. 905/12 or after). A nun the convent of St Euphemia, Petron.
- Maria Porphyrogenita (d. 905/12 or after). A nun the convent of St Euphemia, Petron.
Sources
- The Oxford Dictionary of ByzantiumOxford Dictionary of ByzantiumThe Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. It contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzantine Empire. It was edited by the late Dr. Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991...
, Oxford University Press, 1991. - Cyril MangoCyril MangoCyril Alexander Mango is a British scholar in the history, art, and architecture of the Byzantine Empire. He is a former King's College London and Oxford professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature. He is the brother of Andrew Mango.One of his major works The Mosaics of St...
, "Eudocia Ingerina, the Normans, and the Macedonian Dynasty," Zbornik radova Vizantoloskog Instituta, XIV-XV, 1973, 17-27.