Kassia

Composer

0810 – 0865

5

Who was Kassia?

Kassia was a Byzantine abbess, poet, composer, and 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 books. 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", for example, "I hate the rich man moaning as if he were poor."

Kassia is notable as one of only two Byzantine women to write in their own names during the Middle Ages, other being Anna Comnena.

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Born
0810
Constantinople
Also known as
  • Kassiane
  • Kassiani
  • Casia
  • Ikasia
  • Cassia
  • Cassiane
  • Kassiana
  • Eikasia
Nationality
  • Byzantine Empire
Profession
Died
0865
Kasos

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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