Female Founders Beyond Byzantium: Models, Patterns, Motivation

This paper gratefully recalls the volume that emerged in Vienna, Female Founders in Byzantium and Beyond (Böhlau Verlag, 2011/2012), and explores how the study of female patronage can deepen our understanding of medieval religious culture and social practices. From founding monasteries, churches, and chapels to sponsoring exquisite manuscripts and printed editions, female patronage reveals itself as a multifaceted phenomenon. A desire for visibility and remembrance, coupled with a strong commitment to social care, characterizes the approach of women founders and patrons. They cultivated networks within monastic and ecclesiastical circles that enabled and supported their endeavors. The primary focus of this research lies beyond Byzantium, specifically in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe during the late medieval and early modern periods. Central to the inquiry is the question of what role Byzantium—and the memory of Byzantium—played in shaping the motives and models of female patronage in these regions. While regional practices and local traditions were highly influential, the legacy of Byzantine religious and cultural ideals may have persisted, subtly guiding the forms and functions of female-sponsored foundations. Within the framework of this paper, my monograph Stifterinnen und ihre Stiftungen auf dem Balkan des Spätmittelalters (Harrassowitz, 2023) will be introduced as a case study to illustrate these dynamics in greater detail.