Pulcheria and Nestorius: the imperial feminine and Basileia during the nestorian controversy (428-431)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30612/rehr.v21i40.17988Keywords:
Aelia Pulcheria (399-453), Nestorius of Constantinople (428-431), Nestorian controversyAbstract
We seek to discuss the actions of Empress Aelia Pulcheria (399-453) in the context of the beginning of the Nestorian controversy, up until the eve of the Council of Ephesus (431), based on the construction of a space of its own power that we can call, alongside with Judith Herrin, “imperial feminine”. We argue that, being the sister of Emperor Theodosius II (408-450) and despite not holding any official public position, Pulcheria shared with her brother of what we call basileia – that is, the prerogative of exercising public government functions based on precepts of dynastic legitimacy. However, against the traditional model of female basileia built on the idea of marriage and the childbearing, Pulcheria legitimized herself through a public vow of chastity and involvement with doctrinal issues. In the context of the doctrinal quarrel about the Theotokos, the construction of this “imperial feminine” was sometimes considered by recent historiography as an attempt by the empress to associate herself with the Virgin as a model of female basileia. In light of the documentation present both in the so-called “acts of the council of Ephesus” and in the narrative of these events by Nestorius (bishop of Constantinople between 428 and 431), we argue that Pulcheria’s protagonism and the construction itself of its “feminine imperial” need to be contextualized based on the expectations then in force regarding the role of women in the public space without losing sight of the functioning of the social and influence networks in the late antique Empire
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