Kassia 438950 220333853 2008-06-19T10:28:55Z Angusmclellan 203730 unlink [[Constantine]] :''This article concerns the Byzantine hymnographer. For the plant ''Cinnamomum aromaticum'', see [[Cassia]]. For other uses, see [[Cassia (disambiguation)]].''. [[Image:Santa Kassia.jpg|right|250px|Saint Kassia]] '''Kassia''' (also '''Kassiane''', '''Kassiani''', '''Casia''', '''Ikasia''', '''Cassia''', '''Kassiana''', or '''Eikasia'''; between [[805]] and [[810]] - bef. [[867]]) was a [[Byzantine Empire|Greek]]-[[Byzantine Empire|european]] [[poet]], [[composer]], and [[wiktionary:hymnographer|hymnographer]]. She is one of the first medieval composers whose scores are both extant and able to be interpreted by modern scholars and musicians. Approximately fifty of her hymns are extant and twenty-three are included in Orthodox Church [[liturgical book]]s. The exact number is difficult to assess, as many hymns are ascribed to different authors in different manuscripts and are often identified as anonymous. In addition, some 789 of her non-liturgical verses survive. Many are epigrams or aphorisms called "[[gnomic]] verse". An example: <blockquote>I hate the rich man moaning as if he were poor.</blockquote> She was born between 805 and 810 in [[Constantinople]] into an Irish family. Three Byzantine chroniclers--[[Symeon Metaphrastes|Pseudo-Symeon the Logothete]], [[George the Monk]] (a.k.a. George the Sinner) and [[Leo the Grammarian]]--claim that she was a participant in the "[[bride show]]" (the means by which Byzantine princes/emperors sometimes chose a bride, by giving a golden apple to his choice) organized for [[Theophilos (emperor)|Theophilus]] by his mother (rather, grandmother) Euphrosyne. Smitten by Kassia's beauty the young emperor Theophilus approached her and said, "Through a woman trickled forth the baser things [referring to the passions coming as a result of [[Eve (Bible)|Eve]]'s transgression]." Kassia responded by saying, "But by the birth of a woman was the birth of a new nation [referring to the blessings resulting from the Incarnation of Christ]." His pride wounded, Theophilos rejected her and chose [[Theodora (9th century)|Theodora]] as his wife. When next we hear of Kassiani ist that in 843 she founded a [[convent]] in the west of Constantinople near the walls of Constantine and became its first [[abbess]].<ref>[http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/kassia.html "Other Women's Voices"]</ref> Although many scholars attribute this to bitterness at having failed to marry Theophilos, a letter from [[Theodore the Studite]] indicates that she had other motivations for wanting a monastic life. It had a close relationship with the nearby monastery of [[Stoudios]], which was to play a central role in re-editing the Byzantine liturgical books, in the [[9th century]] and the [[10th century]], so were important in ensuring the survival of her work (Kurt Sherry p. 56). She wrote many hymns for the Christian liturgy; the most famous being the ''Hymn of Cassiani'' which is sung every [[Holy Wednesday]]. Tradition says that later Emperor Theophilus who was still in love with her wished to see her one more time before he died so he rode to the [[monastery]] where she resided. Kassiani was writing her ''Hymn'' when she heard the Emperor looking for her. She was still in love with him but now she was devoted to God and she hid away because she did not want to let her passion overcome her religious feelings, but she left her unfinished ''Hymn'' on the table. Theophilus found her cell and entered it alone. He looked for her but she was not there; she was hiding in a closet, watching him. Theophilus felt very sad, cried, and regretted that for a moment of pride he rejected such a beautiful and intellectual woman; then he noticed the papers on the table and he read them. When he was done reading he sat on the chair and added one line to the ''Hymn'' which Kassiani had started writing and then he left. The line attributed to the Emperor is the line ''those very feet whose sound Eve heard at the dusk in Paradise and hid herself in fear'' Legend says that as he was leaving he noticed Kassiani in the closet but he did not speak to her; he just left. Kassiani emerged when Theophilus was gone and she read what he had written and she finished the hymn. The ''Hymn of Kassiani''; chanted during [[Holy Week]] at the Orthros of [[Holy Wednesday|Great and Holy Wednesday]] which is traditionally served on Tuesday Evening of [[Holy Week]]: :Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord, :a woman of many sins, :takes it upon herself :to become a [[myrrhbearers|myrrh-bearer]] :and in deep mourning :brings before Thee fragrant oil :in anticipation of Thy burial; crying: :"Woe to me! For night is to me, :a dark and moonless madness :of wild-desire, an eros of sin. :Receive the springs of my tears :Thou Who gatherest the waters of the oceans into clouds, :bend to me, to the sorrows of my heart, :Thou who bendedst down the heavens :in Thy self-emptying[[Incarnation]], :I will kiss with my lips Thine immaculate feet :and dry them with the locks of my hair; :those very feet :whose sound Eve heard at the dusk in Paradise :and hid herself in fear. :Who shall count the multitude of my sins :or the depth of Thy judgment, :O Saviour of my soul? :Do not ignore Thy handmaiden, :O Thou whose mercy is endless". ==See also== *[[Byzantine music]] ==References== <references/> ==Other Sources== *Diane Touliatos. "Kassia", ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]]'', ed. L. Macy (accessed [[February 12]] [[2006]]), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access). *Anna M. Silvas, "Kassia the Nun," in Lynda Garland (ed) ''Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience 800-1200'', Ashgate, 2006. [[Category:9th century births]] [[Category:9th century deaths]] [[Category:Byzantine composers]] [[Category:Women composers]] [[Category:Medieval composers]] [[Category:Women of the Byzantine empire]] [[Category:Eastern Orthodox saints]] [[Category:Christian nuns]] [[Category:Women writers (9th century)]] {{Euro-composer-stub}} [[es:Kassia]] [[it:Kassia]] [[nl:Kassia (componist)]]