Makrembolites

Makrembolites or Macrembolites (Greek: Μακρεμβολίτης), feminine form Makrembolitissa or Macrembolitissa (Μακρεμβολίτισσα), was the name of a prominent Byzantine aristocratic family. It was active particularly in the 11th–12th centuries, when it produced several high-ranking members of the civil bureaucracy, and one empress, Eudokia Makrembolitissa.

History

The Makrembolitai apparently originated in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople: the first attested member of the family lived there, and the family name seems to be derived from the Makros Embolos, the "Long Portico", a district of the city.[1]

The first influential members of the family was John Makrembolites, a brother-in-law to the Patriarch Michael I Keroularios.[1] His daughter, Eudokia Makrembolitissa, married Constantine Doukas and became Empress when the latter ascended the throne as Constantine X (r. 1059–1068); after his death she ruled as regent for her under-age sons until she re-married to Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071).[1][2]

The family remained prominent under the Komnenoi as high-ranking civilian functionaries: Theodore Makrembolites was bishop of Methymna in the early 12th century; Demetrios Makrembolites served as envoy to the Second Crusade in 1146–47; John Makrembolites was megas droungarios tes viglas in 1157; Eumathios Makrembolites was Eparch of the City later in the century; and Theophylact of Ohrid records another member of the family as archon of Prespa.[1] The late 12th-century writer Eustathios Makrembolites, sometimes equated with the contemporary Eparch, is known for his prose romance On Hysmine and Hysminias, which introduced several innovations in Byzantine literature.[3] Of the later members of the family the most prominent is the mid-14th century writer Alexios Makrembolites,[4] author of Dialogue Between the Rich and the Poor.

References
  1. Kazhdan, Alexander (1991). "Makrembolites". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1272. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
  2. Brand, Charles M.; Cutler, Anthony (1991). "Eudokia Makrembolitissa". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 739–740. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
  3. Kazhdan, Alexander (1991). "Makrembolites, Eustathios". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1273. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
  4. Kazhdan, Alexander; Talbot, Alice-Mary (1991). "Makrembolites, Eustathios". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 1272–1273. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
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