246 eunuchs
Savoy (1383–1451) between 1439 and 1449. A man of
acknowledged moral integrity, asceticism, and purity of
life, Eugenius sacrificed reform but managed the even-
tual victory of papal monarchy over the conciliar ideas.
A friend of NICHOLASof Cusa and BERNARDINOof Siena,
he employed illustrious artists such as Fra ANGELICO,
Pisanello (ca. 1415–16), DONATELLO, and GHIBERTI.He
died back in Rome on February 23, 1447.
See alsoCONCILIARISM AND CONCILIAR THEORY.
Further reading: Joseph Gill, Eugenius IV: Pope of
Christian Unity (London: Burns and Oates, 1961);
Joachim W. Stieber, Pope Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel
and the Secular and Ecclesiastical Authorities in the Empire:
The Conflict over Supreme Authority and Power in the
Church(Leiden: Brill, 1978).
eunuchs They were males castrated either in childhood
or when they were adults who played important roles in
court as patriarchs and government officials for the
Byzantine Empire. They were usually not emasculated.
From the reign of Constantius II (337–361), they held
high positions in the state civil and military administra-
tion and within the Eastern Church. They were supposed
to be without family concerns and totally dependent on
the emperor, possibly explaining the great, but often mis-
placed, confidence and authority given to them. The staff
of the imperial household was in part made up of
eunuchs who prepared the emperor’s bed and clothing,
served his meals, and planned his personal schedule.
Among more high-ranking eunuchs were Eutropios
(d. 399), Samonas (ca. 875–ca. 908), Joseph Bringas
(d. 965), and John the Orphanotrophos (d. 1043). In the
court of ALEXIOSI KOMNENOS, for example, there were 12
high-ranking eunuchs, several eunuch personal servants,
and a patriarch. Other eunuchs, often sainted patriarchs,
were Germanos I (r. 715–730) in the eighth century and
Methodios I (r. 843–847) and Ignatios (r. 847–858,
867–877) in the ninth century. The most famous eunuch
general was the competent and successful Narses (ca.
485–574), who served JUSTINIANI. Many schemed politi-
cally, such as John the Orphanotrophos, who managed
his brother’s accession to the throne as Michael IV
(1034–41). Nikephoritzes (d. 1078) ran state affairs for
Michael VII (r. 1071–78) and achieved great power but
also a strong reputation for corruption and greed. In
Islam eunuchs were valued as servants.
See alsoORIGEN.
Further reading:David Ayalon, Eunuchs, Caliphs and
Sultans: A Study of Power Relationships(Jerusalem Magnes
Press, 1999); Liz James, ed., Women, Men, and Eunuchs:
Gender in Byzantium(London: Routledge, 1997); Shaun
Elizabeth Marmon, Eunuchs and Sacred Boundaries in
Islamic Society(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995);
Shaun Tougher, ed., Eunuchs in Antiquity and Beyond
(London: Classical Press of Wales and Duckworth, 2002).
Eusebios of Caesarea (Eusebius, Eusebius Pamphili)
(ca. 260–ca. 339/40)historian, Christian apologist, bibli-
cal exegete, bishop of Caesarea Marittima
Eusebios was probably born about 260. His Church
History, begun about 300, has remained of singular
importance for the history of early Greek Christianity. It
described in detail the Great Persecution in PALESTINE
under the emperor Maximinus Daia (r. 310–313), who
sought to revive paganism. His Life of Constantineis fun-
damental for any attempt at understanding a complex
emperor whose reign Eusebios even called the high point
of human history and the happy beginning of a Christian
imperial power. In it was the famous story the emperor
was supposed to have told Eusebios about a vision he saw
in the sky at his victory at the Milvian Bridge near Rome
in 312 of a glowing cross and the words “By This Con-
quer!” Eusebios’s other works included the Chronicle,in
which he demonstrated how deeply in antiquity the
prophecies and roots of Christianity lay. He also produced
two apologetic works, the Preparation for the Gospeland
the Proof of the Gospel.He initially adhered to ARIANISM,
but he renounced it on its condemnation at the Council
of NICAEAin 325. He died a respected bishop in 339/40.
Further reading:Eusebios, The History of the Church
from Christ to Constantine(Baltimore: Penguin Books,
1965); Eusebios, Life of Constantine,ed. Averil Cameron
and Stuart G. Hall (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999);
Timothy D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius (Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1981); Robert
M. Grant, Eusebius as Church Historian(Oxford: Claren-
don Press, 1980).Everyman Everyman was one of the most austere,
solemn, and famous MORALITY PLAYS. Its principal theme
was the necessity of an acknowledgment of sin before
DEATH, accompanied by a full and willing participation in
the church’s prayers and liturgy for that inevitable
moment. The genre of the ARS MORIENDI(art of dying) liter-
ature used a similar series of injunctions. The play showed
how all humankind at the point of death is deserted by all
good fortune and the gifts of the world, such as wealth,
status, friends, strength, and the physical senses. There-
fore, with little support from anything except the hopefully
long cultivated VIRTUESof FAITH, HOPE, and CHARITY, one
must trust in and hope for God’s mercy.
The text of Everymanitself was either a translation in
the 16th century into English of a Dutch play on the
same theme, Elckerlijk, or the original, of which that
Dutch play was a translation. No manuscript of Everyman
can be found to suggest a date of composition or a name
for an author. Our first copy was printed about 1515. Its
central story was about a man forsaken by all his friends.
Another copy can be found in collections of moral stories
from the 12th century. The moral and allegorical form of
Everymanwas typical of the later Middle Ages. This play