There has been some debate as to whether the
Alexiad was in fact written by Anna Komnene. It is largely agreed that Anna Komnene was the author. Mentions in the text of her engagement, her role as a wife and the commentary on her female modesty that influences her writing make Anna's authorship of the
Alexiad "unmistakable", according to some scholars. The predominance of military matters is argued to match Anna's choice to write history in the epic genre, reflecting the cultural influence of her family. She certainly could have written about military affairs, since she was able to accompany her father, the emperor, on military campaigns. She names her sources explicitly as "those who accompanied the emperor on campaign", as well as Alexios Komnenos and
George Palaiologos, so that "[i]t is not necessary to imagine that she left out a reference to her most important source". Many scholars believe that the great detail about her father's home life and military style, combined with her experiences and mentions of femininity, provide a strong case for her authorship of the
Alexiad. The few passages in the text that can be identified as the author's subjective commentary, aside from emotionally charged references to her husband, hardly betray the author's gender or any other aspect of her background. This feature was seized on by
James Howard-Johnston who argued, controversially, that the
Alexiad could not have been written by a woman. Drawing attention to the extensive military sections of the
Alexiad and suggesting that Anna was merely working from her husband's field notes, Howard-Johnston proposed to rename the work "
Nicephoros's
Alexiad". However, as Peter Frankopan pointed out, no comparable work by a woman survives from the Byzantine period and "there is no reason why this author should conform to a model set out by the reader" (i.e. to contemporary assumptions about gender).
Representations of Emotion Women of the aristocracy had more opportunities to pursue higher education, in comparison to those of humble origins, whose education was mainly learning to write and read, memorizing psalms and studying the scriptures. Some female aristocrats had an interest in literature and would be praised for their depth of knowledge by contemporary writers. Despite that, Komnene's high education and expertise in secular literature – the study of which was typically discouraged – remained exceptional. In the
Alexiad, Anna Komnene portrays the human condition with vivid imagery: Orpheus, indeed, could move stones, trees, and all inanimate nature, by his singing; Timotheus, too, the flute-player, by piping an "orthian" tune to Alexander, incited the Macedonian thereby to snatch up his arms and sword; but the tale of my woes would not cause a movement in place, nor rouse men to arms and war, but they would move the hearer to tears, and compel sympathy from animate, and even inanimate, nature. Verily, my grief for my Cesar and his unexpected death have touched my inmost soul, and the wound has pierced to the profoundest depths of my being. All previous misfortunes compared with this insatiable calamity I count literally as a single small drop compared with this Atlantic Ocean, this turbulent Adriatic Sea of trouble: they were, methinks, but preludes to this, mere smoke and heat to forewarn me of this fiery furnace and indescribable blaze; the small daily sparks foretold this terrible conflagration. Oh! thou fire which, though unfed, dost reduce my heart to ashes! Thou burnest and art ever kept alight in secret, yet dost not consume. Though thou scorchest my heart thou givest me the outward semblance of being unburnt, though thy fingers of fire have gripped me even to the marrow of my bones, and to the dividing of my soul! However, I see that I have let my feelings carry me away from my subject, but the mention of my Caesar and my grief for him have instilled devastating sorrow into me. Now I will wipe away my tears and recover myself from my sorrow and continue my task, and thus in the words of the tragedian: "I shall have double cause for tears, as a woman who in misfortune remembers former misfortune." To have as my object the publication of the life of so great and virtuous a King will be a reminder of his wondrous achievements, and these force me to shed warm tears, and the whole world will weep with me.
Writing Style Anna Komnene's unusual style is noteworthy in that it included a history of her father's actions during the First Crusade and her reactions to some of these events. Her opinions and commentary on particular events in an otherwise historical text have been assigned to her both positively and negatively. This interpretation of her histories is known as a "autobiographical history", meaning it is the history of Alexios and her own life in her style, which is not seen in male authors. While the English historian
Edward Gibbon saw this "gendered" narrative to betray "in every page the vanity of a female author". Other scholars claim this style might be indicative of Anna's mentor,
Michael Psellos. Some take this even further to suggest that Anna used Psellos'
Chronographia as a model for her narration in her history and took his style even further, suggesting it was not her gender but her influences that led to her writing style. Anna Komnene is considered unique for her time in the intensity by which she integrates her personal narrative yet does not focus on personal details. For some modern scholars it is an early example of inverted "gender roles", with a woman taking the lead of a story rather than the typical limitation as a quiet supporting role. Her style can be understood from her belief that intelligence and wisdom are far more important and so she does not view her history as overstepping gender roles, a view still finding agreement today:
because, on the face of it, war, diplomacy and high politics have not been explicitly about [gendered] relationships, gender seems not to apply and so continues to be irrelevant to the thinking of historians. ==Manuscripts==