The Palace and the Royal Life
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Emperor's dining room
According to many sources, Vasilevs (the Emperor) used to have meal
(except on holiday occasions or planned meetings) like most of his court
- with his family. The high title haven't stopped him in his regular family
activities. On the contrary, the relation with the rest of his family
was pretty much "democratic" and wasn't filled with rituals
at all. The situation in the Blacehrnae Palace was particulary warm and oriented towards a family, because the late Dynasties were members of almost every official Imperial body and they all lived in the Palace. Emperor's meals and meals of common people of the City didn't
differ much. Ioustinian's meals were ascetic: he never ate
meat nor did he drunk wine. He used to eat herbals preserved in citrus
and vinegar. He also used to fast very often. Nikiphoros Fucca, who
lived ascetic life, ate meat only if his spiritual father had aggreed to. Vasilios II also lived common
military life, being member of the military Dynasty and usualy on the front with his soldiers.
What was very interesting with customs of the royal family is that
Emperors used to have meal with the Empress and their children. They
also often invited their subjected people to meal together. Michael
III had dinner with his horsekeeper, Vasilios, who become an Emperor
in the years after. Leo VI invited Constantine
Ducca in the most beautiful part of the Palace, to dinner, after the
latter escaped from Bagdad prison where his father Andronikos Duccas
was murdered. During the meal, it was common to listen to theological
discussions of John the Crizostomos or to biographies of Saints because
all the time, an Emperor played the role of the Prime Christian Ruler, the New David or Solomon of the New Israelite people, the Romaeans (Byzantines). Even during his meals..
Byzantine Emperors also took care of the poor people, like Manoilo
III who saw a poor woman and stood with her on the dinner. He even helped
her prepare it, and after that returned to Palace by foot. Those were Byzantine Emperors. Both divine and humble, willing to share the problems with their subjects.
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