Entertainment in the twelfth-century canonical commentaries: were standards the same for Byzantine clerics and laymen?

Abstract

In this article I analyse the twelfth-century commentaries of Aristenos, Zonaras, and Balsamon on canons that prohibited certain forms of entertainment to clerics and/or laymen. Only when their commentaries are studied as a whole, does a pattern in their treatment become clear: they sought to minimize any distinctions between laity and clergy found in the original canons. This gives us a rare glimpse into lay and clerical interactions and reinforces the view that the Byzantine Church did not wish to maintain clear boundaries between clerics and laymen.

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