The Social History of Byzantium - 2008 - Haldon - Glossary of Byzantine and Medieval Terms

GL O S S AR Y O F B Y Z A N T IN E A N D
M EDI EVA L T E R M S
Adelphaton A type of annuity administered by monasteries which

provided (elderly) laity with a regular allotment of
food and other necessities in exchange for an initial
cash payment or donation of property
Aktemon A peasant with no property, no oxen or plough
Annona In the late Roman period, military rations issued from
taxation collected in kind; Gk. synonê
Apotheke A state depository for various goods and materials;
in the 7th–9th centuries the warehouse, and the district
to which it pertained, under the control of a
kommerkiarios
Archontes Holders of imperial titles or offices; provincial land-
holding élite dominating towns
Augustus Senior emperor of a group, either a college of rulers (e.g.
the tetrarchy) or within a single family
Autokrator Greek equivalent of the Latin imperator, emperor, used
especially after the 7th century to emphasize the emper-
or’s autonomous and God-granted rule
Basileus Formal title of the Byzantine emperor from the 7th
century
Boidatos A peasant farmer with one ox, generally paying only
50% of the tax owed by a zeugaratos
Book of the Eparch A regulatory guide issued by the office of the governor
of Constantinople in the late 9th or early 10th century
Brebion An inventory or list of lands, monastic furnishings or
donors to be commemorated
Caesar/kaisar During the tetrarchy, a subordinate ruler under the
authority of the Augustus; thereafter used of a junior
The Social History of Byzantium. Edited by John Haldon

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280 GLOSSARY OF BYZA N T I N E A N D M E D I E V A L T E RM S
emperor, and from the 7th century also the highest court
dignity, normally limited to the emperor’s sons, but
exceptionally granted to another
Capitatio-iugatio A formula relating land to labor power for the assess-
ment of taxation, 4th–7th centuries
Charistikiarios A person or institution that was granted administrative
responsibilities over a monastery for a restricted period
of time
Chôrion A village; in technical usage, a fiscal unit
Civitas Gk. Polis, “city,” understood as a self-governing unit
with its own territory and administration; the basic
fiscal administrative district into the 7th century
Clarissimus Lowest grade of senatorial rank
Codex Justinianus Codification of Roman law produced at the beginning
of the reign of Justinian I, and the basis for all later
Byzantine law
Colonus Peasant tenant cultivator; some coloni were bound to
the land they farmed, others retained their freedom of
movement
Confraternity A group of laymen, clerics, and monks linked to mon-
asteries and formed to honor particularly celebrated
icons and provide mutual assistance
Curia/curiales Town council and councillors, governing body of a
city
Demes Chariot-racing fan clubs, sometimes acting as foci of
political/religious violence or protest
Demosion The fisc, and by derivation also a public tax (often used
of the land-tax)
Despotes High imperial title in the later Byzantine period, gener-
ally reserved for members of the ruling dynasty; or des-
ignation for the ruler of a semi-independent imperial
territory
Diocese Lat. dioecesa, Gk. Dioikêsis, an administrative unit con-
sisting of several provinces; from the 4th century the
episcopal administrative unit of the church
Dioiketes Fiscal administrator responsible for the land-tax, usually
in a single diocese, from the 7th century
Dizeugites A peasant with two yokes of oxen
Dromos Cursus publicus – the public postal, transport, and relay
system
Dynatos Literally, a “powerful person,” so described because of
his position in the military or administrative establish-
ment of the state
GLOSSARY OF BYZANTI N E A N D M E D I E VA L T E R M S 281
Doux Originally in the later Roman period a commander of a

military unit; commander of a unit of limitanei, or gar-
rison troops; in the middle and later Byzantine period
the title doux was re-introduced as a high military
rank
Ecloga “Selections” from Roman law, interpreted in the light
of its own time and codified as a handbook of Roman
law during the reign of Leo III (717–741). The basic
Byzantine law-book until the time of the emperor Basil
I (867–886)
Ekklesiarches The sacristan of a church, responsible for preparing for
services by setting out the appropriate liturgical vessels
and books, as well as the lamps and candles needed for
illumination
Emphyteutic lease Lease by which the tenant paid a fixed rent (in kind or
cash), the terms of which were transferable and were
often held in perpetuity and hereditarily
Ergasterion A workshop, also functioning as a shop
Ergodosia Imperial factory or workshop
Eunuch Castrated male who could occupy any position in the
imperial system; some offices were restricted to eunuchs
alone. Eunuchs often received special preference since
they were legally barred from imperial office and were
therefore regarded as trustworthy subordinates by the
emperors
Farmers’ Law See Nomos georgikos
Follis Low value copper coin worth 40 nummi: there were 288
to the gold solidus or nomisma
Gasmouloi Originally persons of mixed Greek and Latin race, paid
as mercenaries
Genikon (sekreton) The general treasury and main fiscal department of
government after the 7th century
Geoponika Ancient agronomical treatises
Gloriosus Gk. endoxos, high-ranking senatorial title introduced by
Justinian
Hegoumenos The superior of a monastery
Hesychasm Late Byzantine mystical approach to prayer and medita-
tion, especially popular in monastic circles
Hexagram Silver coin introduced by Heraclius, lit. “six grams,” 12
to a nomisma. Although issued in large quantities under
Heraclius and Constans II, its use dwindled until pro-
duction ceased in the early 8th century
Hieromonachos A monk in priestly orders
Hyperpyron The highest value gold coin from the reform of Alexius
I Comnenus
Iconoclast An opponent of image veneration
Iconodule (or Iconophile) A supporter of the veneration of images
Idikon (or eidikon) An imperial fiscal department and associated
warehouse(s)
Iconoclasm Rejection of the honoring of sacred images as a form of
idolatry. Condemned as a heresy at the Council of
Nicaea in 787, and again in 843
Illustris Until the middle of the 6th century the highest grade
of senatorial rank
Incubation The practice of spending the night in proximity to the
relics of a saint in the hope of attaining a miraculous
cure
Kapnikon Tax on “hearths” or households, introduced probably
during the later 7th or 8th century
Kastron “Fortress,” but after the 7th century also used to mean
“town” or “city”
Katholikon The principal church of a monastery
Kekolymena “Prohibited” goods, usually high-quality silks, strictly
regulated by the imperial court
Kephale Provincial military and civil governor, in charge of a
katepanikion, a military-administrative district, in the
14th–15th centuries
Kleisoura Small frontier command; district along/behind the
frontier (esp. later 8th–10th centuries)
Koinobion A type of monastery which emphasized a communal
lifestyle, including attendance at church services and
meals in the refectory
Kome A village settlement
Kommerkiarioi Fiscal officials responsible for state-supervised com-
merce and the taxes thereon. During the 7th and 8th
centuries had a much expanded role in the fiscal system
and (probably) the supplying of the armies; from the
middle of the 8th century reverted to chiefly commercial
functions
Komopolis A small town-like settlement
Kourator The manager or steward of an imperial estate or group
of estates
Kouratoria Imperial estates or lands managed by a kourator
Laura A type of monastery in which monks lived as solitaries
during the week, but assembled on weekends for the
celebration of the liturgy and a communal meal
Logariastes Chief fiscal officer following the reforms of Alexius I
Logothetes Fiscal official, lit. “accountant”; from the 7th century all
the main fiscal bureaux were placed under such officials,
who were often very high-ranking
Metochion A subordinate or daughter monastery under the author-
ity of a larger or more powerful monastic house
Miliaresion Lat. milliarensis, a silver coin worth one twelfth of a
solidus/nomisma. Originally struck at 72 to the pound,
from the 7th–11th centuries used of the basic silver coin,
struck at varying rates from 144 to 108 to the pound,
especially of the reformed silver coin introduced under
Leo III. Production ceased under Alexius I, but the term
continued in use as a money of account
Misthios Hired laborer
Mnemosyna Commemorative services celebrated on the anniversary
of the death of a donor to a church or monastery
Modios A unit of measure: of area, usually equated with about
1/10 ha.; of weight; and of volume. There were several
different modioi, including the annonikos modios, calcu-
lated at 26.6 Roman pounds (@ 320g:pound, i.e. 18.75 lbs
avoirdupois/8.7 kg); and the “imperial,” or basilikos
modios, of 40 Roman pounds (28.2 lbs/12.8 kg)
Mortê A sharecropping contract, or the rent derived
therefrom
Nomisma Lat. solidus, the gold coin introduced by Constantine I
which remained the basis for the Byzantine precious
metal coinage until the Latin conquest in 1204. Weigh-
ing 4.5g, it was reckoned at 24 keratia, a unit of account
(carat), and its fractions were 12 silver hexagrams or
milliaresia and 288 copper folleis. From the middle of
the 11th century increasingly depreciated, it was reformed
by Alexios I, and more commonly known thereafter as
the nomisma hyperpyron or simply hyperpyron
Nomos Georgikos The “Farmers’ Law,” a practical legal handbook regulat-
ing agrarian community relations, property issues and
so forth, derived largely from the Codex Iustinianus, and
dated variously from the 7th to the early 10th century.
Usually regarded as a later 7th-century or 8th-century
compilation
Oikonomos The financial officer of a large church monastery,
responsible for the management of its landed properties
and other assets; the term could also be used of the
bailiff or manager of a secular estate
Oikos A (family) household, a family unit or clan, by extension
a household-based fiscal unit, or an estate
Panegyris A market or fair held on the annual celebration of a

saint’s feast day
Paroikos Peasant tenant on private or state land, paying rent as
well as tax. Byzantine equivalent of colonus
Polis See Civitas
Praetorian Prefecture The largest administrative unit of the empire from the
time of Constantine I, under a praetorian prefect (origi-
nally a commander of the praetorian guard). Each pre-
fecture was divided into dioceses, then provinces, and
had its own fiscal administrative and judicial structure
Praktikon Document drawn up by fiscal officials listing obligations
of tenants on an estate or estates
Prokathêmenos Town/fortress governor of the Komnene period
Pronoia Attribution of fiscal revenues, usually to a soldier in
return for military service. Appears first on a limited
basis in the 12th century; eventually included lifelong
and heritable grants
Prosalentai Oarsmen in the imperial ships who appear to have been
given lands in certain coastal regions and islands to
support their service
Prôtonotarios Chief fiscal administrator of a theme from ca. 820–mid-
11th century
Psychika Gifts made to monasteries in exchange for the monks’
commemoration of the donors and/or their relatives
after their deaths
Res privata Imperial treasury, originating in emperor’s private
finances. Subsumed during the 7th century into the
department of imperial estates
Roga Originally a salary paid monthly, quarterly, or annually;
from at least the 9th century also a court pension attached
to various ranks and titular posts, awarded in return for
a substantial down-payment
Scriptorium A writing bureau or clerical copying establishment,
usually associated with a monastery, or with the impe-
rial court
Stasis A landholding, a fiscally-identifiable property
Strateia (1) State military service, but generally used of any state
service whether military or not
(2) Service in the army
(3) The obligation to support a soldier/a property whose
tenant/owner was subject to such an obligation
Strategos A general; in Byzantine times usually the governor
of a military district or thema, and commander of its
soldiers
Stratiotes A soldier; by derivation from the 10th century a holder

of “military” land, subject to the obligation to support
a soldier
Stratiotikon logothesion Fiscal department which dealt with recruitment, muster-
rolls, and military pay from the 7th century
Stylite A type of monk who mortified his body by living atop
a column or pillar
Synodikon An inventory in a church or monastery that registered
items donated and the commemoration day of the
donor
Synonê Until the later 7th century = coemptio, compulsory pur-
chase, also applied to the annona. Thereafter applied
to part of the land-tax
Tagmata (1) Elite field units recruited by Constantine V. They
formed the core of imperial field armies until the elev-
enth century
(2) Any full-time “mercenary” unit – used especially of
foreign mercenary troops in the 10th–12th centuries
Thelematarioi “Volunteers,” soldiers/watchmen who served on the
basis of grants of land given by the emperors, in the
region of Constantinople
Thema A “theme,” from the early 9th century the technical term
for the district across which soldiers were quartered, and
from which they were recruited; an administrative unit;
the army based in such a region. Before this such regions
were known simply as “commands” – stratêgiai
Typikon Document setting out the rules and regulations for the
administration of a monastic community
Tzakones (or Lakones) From the southern Peloponnese, they served as light-
armed troops
Zeugaratos A peasant farmer with a pair of oxen
Zeugarion A yoke of oxen and plough, or an area of land that can
be tilled by a yoke

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GL O S S AR Y O F B Y Z A N T IN E A N D

Adelphaton A type of annuity administered by monasteries which

The Social History of Byzantium. Edited by John Haldon

Doux Originally in the later Roman period a commander of a

Panegyris A market or fair held on the annual celebration of a

Stratiotes A soldier; by derivation from the 10th century a holder

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