Domestic Servants and Maids Inside and Outside the Byzantine Household Microcosm

The study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the position and activity of female servants who worked in private households either as wage earners (θεραπαινίς, θεράπαινα, μισθάρνισσα) or as part of domestic servitude (δούλη, δουλίδιον, δουλίς, οἰκέτις, παιδίσκη, σθλάβα, σθλαβοπούλα). It also seeks to explore how gender and social status defined certain tasks performed by female servants in specific parts of a household. The domestic tasks performed by female servants conformed to prevailing gender norms and are best documented in imperial residences and the villas of the nobility. These contexts, however, can hardly be compared with the reality of “middle” or less wealthy households, where the scope and scale of domestic work were more limited. In elite households, female servants often extended their duties into the public sphere, acting as attendants who accompanied their mistresses. Especially during the Middle Byzantine period, their presence becomes more visible in the sources, frequently in connection with episodes of social, political, and religious tension.