Social Stratification in Late Byzantium (Edinburgh Byzantine Studies)

Introduces the basic patterns, ideas and gestures that governed the system of social relations and the construction of social profiles and roles of Byzantine society Identifies the main traits of Late Byzantine society and the ideas of the Byzantines about their social system, the social values and the organisation of their society. Explores the use of modern sociological and anthropological theories in order to better understand Byzantine society. Provides thorough and up-to-date analysis of the different social groups in the Late Byzantine society (character, composition, relation to the economic, political and ideological resources). Emphasises the networks of patron-client relations and their effect on the structures of Byzantine society. Offers a new explanation of the collapse of Byzantine society and the state in the face of external threats. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the social structure of Late Byzantine society (mid 13th - mid 15th c.), including the norms and ideas that governed social relations, and the Byzantine perceptions of their society. It includes an analysis of all social groups, the social networks and the patron-client relations proliferating in this period, and the distribution of social and political power between the different social groups and the state. The deficiencies inherent in Byzantine society are recognised as one of the main factors behind the fragmentation and the collapse of the Byzantine empire.