The History of Byzantium Episode 63 - Byzantine Theodicy with David Gyllenhaal
Feb 3, 2015
David Gyllenhaal, a PhD student at Oxford University, dives into how the 7th century transformed Byzantine self-conception. He discusses the fallout from Justinian II's reign and the emergence of Leo III, highlighting the interplay between identity and political theology. Gyllenhaal examines moral accountability in leadership, particularly through Heraclius, while exploring orthodoxy's role in state stability. The episode also touches on the lasting influence of Jewish narratives on Byzantine identity, revealing the complex relationship between religion and governance.
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From Imperial Fault To Communal Theodicy
- Theodicy explains why collective misfortune can be reframed as communal sin rather than individual imperial failings.
- This shift reorients responsibility from the emperor's moral hygiene to the people's collective repentance.
Great-Man Theory Survives Christianization
- Late Roman ideology kept a 'great man' model: imperial virtue explained victory and vice explained disaster.
- Christianization kept the model but recast moral failure as unorthodoxy or impiety of the ruler.
Pulcher's Chickens As Moral Causation
- Robin recounts Pulcher throwing sacred chickens overboard to explain a naval defeat as impiety.
- This illustrates Romans locating causation for disaster in a leader's religious or moral failures.