The orphans of Byzantium: child welfare in the Christian empire

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

THE ORPHANS OF BYZANTIUM THE ORPHANS OF BYZANTIUM Child Welfare in the Christian Empire TIMOTHY S. MILLER The Catholic University of America Press Washington, D.C. Copyright ©  The Catholic University of America Press All rights reserved The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,  .—. ∞ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Miller, Timothy S. mmThe orphans of Byzantium : child welfare in the mChristian empire / Timothy S. Miller. mmmp. cm. mmIncludes bibliographical references and index. mm --- mm. Orphanages—Byzantine Empire. . Child welfare— mByzantine Empire. . Alexius I Comnenus, Emperor of mthe East, –. . Guardian and ward—Byzantine mEmpire. I. Title. m .  m.'—dc m For my wife, Vicki, and our two sons, Justin and Matthew. Many times they have rescued The Orphans of Byzantium. Interest in the ancient civilization of Greece and Rome and in the Christian world of the Middle Ages has declined in recent years. Most of my students find the names Demosthenes and John Chrysostom more difficult to remember than Lao Tzu and Montezuma. In such an atmosphere, I was especially delighted to discover that a group of physicians and independent scholars had organized the Hellenic Society Paideia of Virginia , a branch of a national organization founded in , to encourage the study of Greek civilization from its beginnings in the Bronze Age to the present. This organization helped to support my research for this book and has also assisted many other scholars and students in reaching their academic goals. It is especially appropriate that the Hellenic Society Paideia put down strong roots in Virginia where more than two hundred years ago serious study of classical civilization gave birth to the ideals of a new nation.  July  Salisbury, Maryland ...