From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I question the section in the artcle which states that the Byzantines invented the veil for women. The Wikipedia article on Veil ascribes it much, much earlier to the Assyrians in the 13th century BC (see here). The Byzantine illustrations I've seen show women with a veil wrapped around their hair (in conformity with the Biblical injunction of Paul I Corinthians 11:10), but not with their faces covered. Ancient Roman noble women were also often depicted with their heads (but not their faces) covered. I've read that the Middle Eastern tradition of women covering their faces dates back to the Persians, and from there it was adopted by Muslims. I also question the statements about women's movements being restricted. Byzantine women enjoyed the right to own property, and they had sometimes very strong influence at court (see Theodora, etc.). At a time when rule by women was rejected in the West, the Byzantines had several women who ruled as regents, or even in their own right (see Empress Irene). I think this section is in error (it is certainly unsourced) and should be removed--but I'm not enough of an expert to feel comfortable removing it myself. Does anyone have any helpful input on this subject? MishaPan (talk) 18:55, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
- The veil article is useless for this purpose as it makes no attempt to distinguish between head veiling and face-veiling, which is what this article is talking about. Byzantine women only wore veils in the street, and are therefore unlikely to be depicted with a face veil - plus artists don't like doing this. I can't remember the sourcing situation & will look into it - it certainly came from somewhere. I don't really see a contradiction in the general statements about womens' position - Empresses are always likely to be in a different position. Nor is "At a time when rule by women was rejected in the West" entirely accurate. Do you have any sources youyrself? Johnbod (talk) 20:25, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
- Refs now added. The Angold should be available online, and is worth reading. Johnbod (talk) 20:55, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
