ECONOMIC LIFE OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE 6r
III. INDUSTRY
In the Byzantine Empire industry occupied as important
a place as did agriculture. But its forms underwent much
fewer disturbances; and, in general, Byzantine industry
presents much fewer historical problems than Byzantine
agriculture.
THE CHARACTER OF BYZANTINE INDUSTRY
Given the density of the urban population, it is probable
that the manufacture of articles of common use employed
infinitely more hands than the manufacture of luxuries.
Nevertheless, if Byzantine industry is usually associated
with the idea of the manufacture of luxuries, this is not due
solely to the fact that Byzantine articles de luxe (owing to
their artistic character) have a special interest for modern
students, but also to the fact that such articles undoubtedly
had in the Byzantine world an importance relatively greater
than they have in our own times. As a matter of fact, such
articles, much sought after by the Churches of the West and
by foreign grandees (both Christian and non-Christian),
constituted the most important item of Byzantine exports.
On the other hand, the home demand for such articles was
also very great. The numerous ceremonies of the Byzantine
Court have aptly been compared to a succession of theatrical
representations (Kondakov); they required an enormous
quantity of costumes, fabrics, vases, and ornaments of all
kinds. The monuments and ceremonies of the Church
demanded an even greater supply; for while there was only
one Court, there were tens of thousands of churches, monas-
teries, and chapels; the treasures of the richest of them
literally dazzled the Westerners, but even the smallest con-
tained many objects of great value.1
The descriptions given by travellers and the lamentations
of Church Fathers prove that luxury was very widespread in
society. Benjamin of Tudela tells us of rich Byzantines clad
in sumptuous fabrics; they also loved to live in grand houses
and to adorn their tables with gold and silver ware.2
1 Cf. O. M. Dalton, Byzantton, vol. i (1924), p. 595.
2 This custom prevailed to the very last [cf. R. GuiUand, 'Le Palais de Theodore
M&ochite', Revue des Etudes grecques, vol. xxxv (1922), pp. 82-95]. For the