ANST - Byzantine

[Vicki Marsh]

And Greetings to you all,
Mistress Meadhbh honored me thusly:
>
> Talk to HE Zara Zehna (baroness of Elfsea), she does a lot of Byzantine
> clothing.

Most of the original costuming I have done was based on the mosaics of Justinian and Theodora, which dates from the fifth century.  However, the high court regalia didn't change much over the ensuing centuries until the influence of the Turks began to be felt in the 12th -14th c.

I have come across some other web pages that you might find of interest:
Gallery: Byzantine Images : http://www.bway.net/~halsall/images.html
SCA Byzantine :  http://www.netaxs.com/~blktauna/byzantine.html
Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine: http://www.doaks.org/Byzantine.html
Byzantine and Medieval Web Links: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/medweb.html

I also have written some supporting documentation for some of my clothes that I am willing to share with anyone who asks for it.  I also have documentation and sources for Byzantine names.  The Academy of St. Gabriel has a good web page for Byz. names also, but I have located more feminine names than those they have listed.

It was an amazing empire - one that was comprised of many different cultures, and stretched over more that a millenium.  If you wish to have a Byzantine persona, and do it well, you really need to nail down a time and region of the Empire you would have lived in.  It really helps (I'm still working on that!!). At one point, the Empire stretched from Spain to North Africa, Egypt and all around the Mediterranian. Which religious sect would you have belonged to, the Arians, the Metaphysites, or the Niceans?  If you lived in Constantinople, which of the Circus Factions were you aligned with, the Blues or the Greens? Or were you Jewish, Turkish, etc..? Did your family come from a certain guild? They had a strong guild system.

The University of Texas at Arlington has a lot of books on the subject, and I feel like I am just scratching the surface. Please write to me at zarazina at flash.net or vam1554 at utarlg.uta.edu if you want to get more information.

Baroness Zara Zina Theanos

"Go Byzantine."
"Keep your kids off artificial colors."
"Life is Good in Elfsea."

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