Thierry of Chartres 693Theology West and East (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian,
1996); Peter Biller and A. J. Minnis, eds., Medieval Theol-
ogy and the Natural Body (Rochester: York Medieval
Press, 1997); George Englert McCracken, ed., Early
Medieval Theology (Philadelphia: Westminster Press,
1957); John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical
Trends and Doctrinal Themes,2d ed. (New York: Fordham
University Press, 1979); Emmanuel Sivan, Radical Islam:
Medieval Theology and Modern Politics (New Haven,
Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985).
Theophano (Theophanu) (942–991) empress of the Holy
Roman Empire, wife of Emperor Otto II
While her parents are not really known, Theophano
was perhaps the daughter of the emperor Romanos II
(r. 959–63) and his wife, the scandalous and alleged
poisoner Theophano (d. 969), perhaps the niece of the
emperor John Tzimiskes (r. 969–76). The younger Theo-
phano married Otto II (955–83) on Easter Sunday 972,
according to an agreement between the emperors OTTOI
and John Tzimiskes. This agreement implied recognition
by the Byzantines of the Western emperor. She made of
her husband’s Saxon court an important cultural center,
supporting theologians, scholars, and artists. Court cere-
monies became distinctly more Byzantine and elaborate.
She had three daughters before she had a son. After Otto
II’s death in 983, she assumed joint regency with her
mother-in-law, ADELAIDE, for her son, the minor OTTO
III. This lasted until her death in 991.
Further reading:Adlebert Davids, ed., The Empress
Theophano: Byzantium and the West at the Turn of the First
Millennium (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1995); Romilly Jenkins, Byzantium: The Imperial Cen-
turies, A.D. 610–1071(New York: Random House, 1995).
Thessaloniki (Thessalonike, Thessalonica, Salonika)
A port city at the head of the Thermaic Gulf, Thessa-
loniki was an important stop on the Via Egnatia, between
DURAZZOon the Adriatic Sea and CONSTANTINOPLE. The
barbarian attacks of the third century increased Thessa-
loniki’s strategic importance. During DIOCLETIAN’s reorgani-
zation of the empire it became the residence for the
emperor Galerius (r. 293–305). There survive some
remains of his palace, a triumphal arch, and a rotunda that
was probably his intended tomb. Theodosios I (r. 379–395)
made Thessaloniki his official capital for the prefecture of
ILLYRICUMand a base for his wars with the VISIGOTHS.In
the city he issued in 380 his decrees that established
Orthodox Christianity as the Roman Empire’s official
state religion. Ten years later, after the populace of the
town rioted against his Gothic mercenaries, Theodosios
ordered the massacre of thousands in its HIPPODROME.
Thessaloniki enjoyed relative tranquility and pros-
perity for the next few centuries and became the second
city of the BYZANTINEEMPIRE. It had impressive churches
and strong walls, which, with the help of Saint Demetrius
(d. 231/232), the city’s patron saint, warded off barbar-
ians on several occasions. During the eighth century the
archbishopric of Thessaloniki, previously under the juris-
diction of Rome, was transferred to the see of Con-
stantinople. By the ninth century, Thessaloniki was the
capital of one of the new European imperial themes or
the military and administrative provinces of the Byzan-
tine Empire. Thessaloniki was captured and sacked in
904 by Muslim pirates led by Leo of TRIPOLI, but the city
revived and remained the second city. It was temporarily
taken by the Western crusaders but soon passed back
into Greek hands in the early 13th century. It fell to the
KOMNENOIdespots of EPIRUSfrom 1224 to 1239. In 1239
the emperor John III Vatatzes (r. 1221–54) of Nicaea cap-
tured the town as part of his plan to retake Constantino-
ple. From then on the city declined in wealth and
prestige until the OTTOMANTURKScaptured it in the 15th
century.
Further reading:Eustathius, Archbishop of Thessa-
lonica, Eustathios of Thessaloniki: The Capture of Thessa-
loniki,trans. John R. Melville Jones (Canberra: Australian
Association for Byzantine Studies, 1988); Georgios G.
Gounares, The Walls of Thessaloniki(Thessaloniki: Insti-
tute for Balkan Studies, 1982); James Constantine Ske-
dros, Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki: Civic Patron and
Divine Protector, 4th–7th Centuries C.E.(Harrisburg, Pa.:
Trinity Press International, 1999); Kalliopi Theoharidou,
The Architecture of Hagia Sophia, Thessaloniki: From Its
Erection up to the Turkish Conquest (Oxford: B.A.R.,
1988).Thierry of Chartres(Thierry the Breton)(ca. 1100–
1151)theologian, teacher, philosopher
Thierry was the brother of Bernard of Chartres (d. 1130),
another famous intellectual of the school of CHARTRES.
Thierry became one of the best known teachers of that
school. He specialized in the teaching of the SEVEN LIB-
ERAL ARTS. After teaching in PARISand surrounding area
in the 1130s, he became chancellor at Chartres in 1142, a
position he held until his death in 1151. One of his
works, the Heptateuchon,became a standard textbook for
the teaching of the seven liberal arts in the 12th century.
He also wrote commentaries on Cicero, the book of Gen-
esis, and BOETHIUSand a book on cosmology. He was
influential in transmitting the ideas of PLATOinto the
West. He was at the Council of RHEIMSthat condemned
GILBERT OFPOITIERSin 1148.
Further reading: Thierry of Chartres, The Latin
Rhetorical Commentaries by Thierry of Chartres,ed. Karin
Margareta Fredborg (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of
Mediaeval Studies, 1988); Richard W. Southern, Scholas-
tic Humanism and the Unification of Europe.Vol. 1, Foun-
dations (Oxford: Blackwell, 1995); Richard W. Southern,
Scholastic Humanism and the Unification of Europe.Vol. 2,