Transnational and Transcultural Traits in Female Literacy: The Phanariots and Boyars in the Ottoman Empire

At the turn of seventeenth century, the Phanariots (literally: light bearers) shaped themselves as an influential noble cast. They originated from Constantinople. At the dawn of eighteenth century, they occupied high administrative posts because most of them became governors in the Danubian Principalities where they made reforms that were decisive for the intellectual and historical advancement of the place. The Phanariot ladies enjoyed a high level of education, they showed transcultural traits and they demonstrated very good skills in their intellectual pursuits. The present chapter takes a nuanced look at the Phanariot ladies’ education and culture as well as at their active social undertakings. Moreover, it explores the boyar girls’ schooling and lifestyle in comparison with and in contrast to the Phanariot young women. The boyars shaped a social class of native noble men who lived in the Danubian Principalities. This chapter contributes much to the life of the Phanariots and of the boyars as this aspect remains underexplored—to my knowledge—because most studies examine separately the Phanariot ladies’ intellectual pursuits and the literacy of the boyar female aristocracy but not in comparison and contrast.