http://www.medievalists.net/2013/07/31/ ... -the-east/
With the new Viking series about to start the fourth season, I thought this would be an interesting read.
Vikings raided European Monasteries for Eunuchs To feed the Ottoman Empire.
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turbo2011 (imported)
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turbo2011 (imported)
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JesusA (imported)
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Re: Vikings raided European Monasteries for Eunuchs To feed the Ottoman Empire.
It's nice to see a reference to Mary Valente's article on the Vikings come around again. It was last posted on the Archive just about two years ago:
Vikings & Eunuchs
http://forums.eunuch.org/showthread.php ... mp-Eunuchs
The summary there includes some different details from her article than this one.
The Moslem Caliphate had need of a great many educated eunuchs. For the first centuries, the language of administration for their vast territories was Greek, not Arabic, and already educated eunuchs from the west were preferred over uneducated eunuchs. Raided churches and monasteries were the preferred sources for slave boys. The Venetians also provided some castrated boys from the southern Germanic realm.
Even after the Vikings ceased to export boys (and girls) from the lands surrounding the Irish Sea, slave raiding continued in the British Isles. As late as the 16th century, one of the most powerful individuals in the Ottoman court, Hasan Agha, was the former Samson Rowlie who had been kidnapped off the beach at Great Yarmouth, castrated and sold to the East.
The second most powerful person in the Ottoman Empire (after the Sultan himself) at the end of the 16th century, Gazanfer Agha, began life as an Italian boy who had been captured in a pirate raid and castrated.
Vikings & Eunuchs
http://forums.eunuch.org/showthread.php ... mp-Eunuchs
The summary there includes some different details from her article than this one.
The Moslem Caliphate had need of a great many educated eunuchs. For the first centuries, the language of administration for their vast territories was Greek, not Arabic, and already educated eunuchs from the west were preferred over uneducated eunuchs. Raided churches and monasteries were the preferred sources for slave boys. The Venetians also provided some castrated boys from the southern Germanic realm.
Even after the Vikings ceased to export boys (and girls) from the lands surrounding the Irish Sea, slave raiding continued in the British Isles. As late as the 16th century, one of the most powerful individuals in the Ottoman court, Hasan Agha, was the former Samson Rowlie who had been kidnapped off the beach at Great Yarmouth, castrated and sold to the East.
The second most powerful person in the Ottoman Empire (after the Sultan himself) at the end of the 16th century, Gazanfer Agha, began life as an Italian boy who had been captured in a pirate raid and castrated.
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turbo2011 (imported)
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Re: Vikings raided European Monasteries for Eunuchs To feed the Ottoman Empire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IARD01_FEq0
Jul 10, 2015 - AND LAGERTHA CUTTING SOME GUY'S COCK OFF?! OKAY ... Pls @ god. I'm sad she's not castrating Kalf though.
In the trailer of Season 4, Lagertha will castrate a man, but the identity of the man remains a mystery.
Short snippet at 0.56s on utube link above. ^^
Jul 10, 2015 - AND LAGERTHA CUTTING SOME GUY'S COCK OFF?! OKAY ... Pls @ god. I'm sad she's not castrating Kalf though.
In the trailer of Season 4, Lagertha will castrate a man, but the identity of the man remains a mystery.
Short snippet at 0.56s on utube link above. ^^
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Dirk1980 (imported)
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Re: Vikings raided European Monasteries for Eunuchs To feed the Ottoman Empire.
Valente's paper is excellent and I love that it highlights that eunuchs were a seriouse trade good in early middle age Europe. Especially, the focus on educated eunuchs is interesting as this business comes with its own historic constraints. Reading and writing were very rare skills at this time and a functional knowleadge of Greek and Latin was difficult to find. Considering this monastic schools are the perfect place to find eunuch candidates. The boys and young men there are already educated saving the slavers a lot of money. Additionally, many of them would have been destined to become priests and monks, so lossing the ability to father children should have not worried them too much.
An interesting question would be what age was prefered. It would make sense to chose young men who have already learned a lot over boys who have too little education. On the other hand it might be difficult for a mature candidate to accept that he needs to be castrated for his new role. There was probably a sweet spot to chose future eunuchs and experianced slavers might have become pretty good at selecting those whoe did not mind the snip. Nevertheless, the loss of the testicles could get one from a boring monastery in some European backwater into imperial service in Byzantium or with some oriental ruler. If I had lived in this time I would have been pretty keen for a viking raid.
An interesting question would be what age was prefered. It would make sense to chose young men who have already learned a lot over boys who have too little education. On the other hand it might be difficult for a mature candidate to accept that he needs to be castrated for his new role. There was probably a sweet spot to chose future eunuchs and experianced slavers might have become pretty good at selecting those whoe did not mind the snip. Nevertheless, the loss of the testicles could get one from a boring monastery in some European backwater into imperial service in Byzantium or with some oriental ruler. If I had lived in this time I would have been pretty keen for a viking raid.