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What does orphan mean? |
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Anna Comnena - Author of the Alexiad |
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"One of the most distinguished men acts as guardian of this city with its many thousands of inhabitants, called the 'Orphanage,' because of the emperor's solicitude for orphans and ex-servicemen, but with special emphasis on the orphans. There are tribunals which deal with all these matters and accounts have to be rendered by those who administer the funds of these poor folk. Chrysobulls, moreover, are published to establish the inalieable rights of the persons maintained at the Orphanage. A large and impressive body of clergy was appointed to the church of St Paul, the great herald of our faith, and expensive lighting was provided for it. Were you to enter this church you would hear the antiphonal chants, for Alexius, after the example of Solomon, decreed that there should be both male and female choristers. The work of the deaconesses was also carefully organized and he devoted much thought to Iberian nuns who lived there; in former times it was their custom to beg from door to door whenever they visited Constantinople, but now, thanks to my fahter's solicitude, an enormous convent was built for them and they were provided with food and suitable clothing.... When you enter it, the sanctuaries and monasteries are on your left; on the right of the great church of St Paul stands the grammar school for orphan children drawn from all races, presided over by a master. Boys stand round him, some anxiously puzzling over grammatical quesion, others writing out gramatical analyses. You might see a Latin boy being trained there, A Scyth learning Greek, a Byzantine handling Greek texts; an illiterate Greek discovering how to speak his own language correctly - all the result of Alexius' profound interest in literary studies." The Alexiad of Anna Comnena - (1118-1123 AD) Book 15 (Penguin p. 494-495) |
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