Anna Comnena, Comnena also spelled Komnene, (born December 2, 1083—died c. 1153), Byzantine historian and daughter of the emperor Alexius I Comnenus. She is remembered for her Alexiad, a history of the life and reign of her father, which became a valuable source as a pro-Byzantine account of the early Crusades.
Anna received a good education, studying, among other subjects, literature, philosophy, history, and geography. She married the leader of Bryennium, Nicephorus Bryennius (1097), and joined her mother, the empress Irene, in a vain effort to persuade her father during his last illness to disinherit his son, John II Comnenus, in favour of Nicephorus. Later conspiring to depose her brother after his accession to the throne (1118), Anna was, however, unable to obtain the support of her husband; the plot was discovered, and she forfeited her property, retiring to a convent, where she wrote the Alexiad. This work, in Greek, provides a picture of religious and intellectual activities within the empire, reflecting the Byzantine conception of the imperial office. It suffers from a defective chronology and excessive adulation of Alexius I, but it is invaluable for its character sketches of the leaders of the First Crusade as well as others with whom Anna had direct contact. Continue reading from Encyclopedia Britannica
At least Anna’s forced seclusion allowed her to write her Alexiad (aka Alexias) history in peace and, with what turned out to be a sentence of 35 years, time was not a problem. The Alexiad was begun c. 1137 (perhaps not coincidentally the year her husband died) and was worked on steadily through the mid-1140s CE. It covers the period of Byzantine history from 1069 to 1118 CE. Principally a tribute to her father and his 37-year reign, the work is the only such book written by a woman in the Middle Ages. Continue reading from Ancient History Encyclopedia
