Pueros story

[tjstill (imported)]

BYZANTINES β : CARZIMASIA

By: Pueros

Great story, well researched, great character development and all round pure entertainment. It must take a long time to write this type of historical tale and your knowledge of the subject must be extremely good. Thanks for your brilliant contribution

[JesusA (imported)]

Pueros latest story, Byzantines β (http://www.eunuch.org/Alpha/B/ea_195130byzantin.htm), is a remarkable work of historical fiction. While I am not an expert in Byzantine history, I read enough of it as a hobby to know that the basic historical data in this story is entirely accurate. Having spent a day with Pueros as he expertly guided me through the remains of the largest Roman encampment in Britain (as well as several pubs), I would expect that the historical part of the story is 100% accurate.

I would only like to add one additional historical bit to his wonderful work. In Chapter μ – The Export he begins with the quotation:

A well-known article of export [in al-Andalus] is slaves; boys and girls who have been taken from France and Galicia, as well as Slavic eunuchs. All of the Slavic eunuchs found on the face of the Earth come from Spain. They suffer castration in that country. The operation is done by Jewish merchants.

So wrote Ibn Hawqal, a 10th century Arabic chronicler, about trade from al-Andalus in what was then Moorish Spain. He was, of course, mistaken because many, albeit not all, Slavic eunuchs were created in Verdun. However, his error is understandable because all subsequently found themselves in Spain.

To this I would add a quotation from a 12th century grammarian, Ibn Hisham, who was concerned about misuse of the Arabic language word al-Saqlabi (“person of Slavic origin”). People use the word al-Saqlabi only to mean eunuch, whether he is a white or black. But his word should be related with the word al-Saqaliba, that is a group of Europeans. Its singular form is al-Saqlabi whether he is a eunuch or not. For blacks the word should not be applied, though most Saqaliba are eunuchs and for that reason non-Saqaliba eunuchs are also called by this name.

In other words, such a high percentage of Slavic slaves were eunuchs that the word “Slav” came to mean “eunuch” in popular Arabic. The word “slave” in English is also derived from “Slav” as the pagan Slavic lands of Eastern Europe were the origin of such a high percentage of western European slaves.

[John Sheraton (imported)]

Just to say it is always a treat when Pueros submits a story -- these days from time to time. Still he lights up the entire place, adds an extra pulse, baths us in antiquity richly stated along with doing certain "imminent deeds" that make your head spin and shortin your breath. A collosal mastery of infinity beauty stitched in the the most terrifying risks of our humanity.

[Unregistered (imported)]

This was great. Pueros, I wonder if you would ever consider writing a story about a Chinese eunuch. It might be a little outside you usual region, but I would love to read it!

[Paolo]

I very much enjoyed this story as well.

Quite a surprise, considering not once in any of my readings (in books bought at, say, Borders, etc.,) about the Byzantine Era were the Carzimasia ever mentioned.

However, one does regularly find the passage that says something like, "Black eunuchs, who had both penis and testicles removed, and white eunuchs, who had only their testicles removed..."

[Unregistered (imported)]

Paolo - Gary Jennings wrote a book called "Raptor" that goes into some detail about charismatics...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptor_(book)

It's an okay read. It was one of the first stories that fed my interest in castration.

[Pueros]

I sincerely thank for their kind comments about my latest story all of the above, who might be interested to know that the third and quite long instalment in the series, 'BYZANTINES γ : PORPHYROGENTIUS', in what has turned out to be a trilogy, should be posted within the next week!

PUEROS

[sailorboy (imported)]

As an historian, I enjoy when an author researches every detail about the time period in question. I know I had to do that when I wrote my two part story of a white boy castrated.

You have a detailed style of writing that involves the reader in the story! All I an say is "Keep up the good work."

Sailorboy

[Pueros]

Forgive me, but on reflection my earlier response in this thread appears to have omissions, which I’ll now attempt to clarify.

I actually have to perform little research for this ‘Byzantines’ series of stories, apart from reminding myself of certain factors such as precise dates, because I know the era and place well from other activities, including original work. This is why I’m able, when time and inclination permit, to produce a long but historically accurate sequel, as I am now in the form of the imminent ‘Byzantines γ’.

Such knowledge, however, does not extend to China and her past. In answer therefore to the enquiry of ‘Unregistered’ above, I would have to say that I would consequently have to do a lot of research and reading to produce a similarly historically accurate story with a Chinese theme. Unfortunately, I currently do not have the time or, I have to confess, the inclination to do this.

I believe that I’m better sticking to the European-centred history that is my specialism. ‘Unregistered’ might, though, be interested in learning that I have already attempted two short stories with a Chinese theme, namely ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and ‘Zheng He’.

As to Paolo’s point about carzimasia eunuchs, he is, of course, correct that they are rarely mentioned in histories of the period. I suspect, though, that this is because writers have preferred to concentrate on who eunuchs were and what they did rather than what type they were and what they had lost.

Nevertheless, reference to carzimasia eunuchs does appear in some historical tomes, most commonly in the quotation from Liudprand’s journals that I reproduced in chapter ξ of Byzantines β. For example, the quotation is repeated in John Julius Norwich’s definitive three-book history of Byzantium, in volume 2, ‘The Apogee’, chapter 11.

As for Paolo’s mentioned clear distinction, in terms of genital loss, between white and black eunuchs, that phenomenon was actually pertinent to the Ottomans rather than the Byzantines, as described in my recent ‘Ottomans I: The Mountain Flower’.

PUEROS