This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Greece, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Greek history on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.GreeceWikipedia:WikiProject GreeceTemplate:WikiProject GreeceGreek articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Middle Ages, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the Middle Ages on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Middle AgesWikipedia:WikiProject Middle AgesTemplate:WikiProject Middle AgesMiddle Ages articles
This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.Military historyWikipedia:WikiProject Military historyTemplate:WikiProject Military historymilitary history articles
This article has been checked against the following criteria for B-class status:
"Theodore became the lover of the dowager empress Anna, then aged 22; they did not marry because in marrying a commoner she would have lost her dowry."
I think this isn't correct. Theodore Branas' mother Anna Komnene Vatatzina belonged to the Komnenos family through her own mother Eudokia Komnene, daughter of John II Komnenos and his father Alexios Branas also was a Komnenos through his mother Maria Komnene, Alexios I Komnenos' great-niece. I don't think he can be considered a commoner with such ancestors, except if women couldn't pass down nobility when they married commoners (like in France). So I don't think that's the reason why Theodore Branas and Anna didn't marry. Maybe the above sentence should be removed.--Aziliz Breizh (talk) 16:49, 27 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Certainly one could say that he was a noble rather than a commoner!
I wrote those words ("because ...") a long time ago, and I can't now find that I had a source for them. There are sources for the statement that they became lovers, however, and that they married later at the urging of Baldwin I. I'll remove the "because ..." clause. OK? Andrew Dalby14:06, 28 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
OK, thank you for your answer. Indeed, it's funny to have two noble people, one a widow, the other a bachelor, living together without marrying in this era. Maybe they married in order to legitimize their daughter?--Aziliz Breizh (talk) 14:16, 30 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I picked up an implication somewhere that they married because Baldwin, having taken power as the result of a Christian crusade, wanted to have everything just right at his court. If so, he did not survive very long to enjoy it.
Illegitimate children of royals and nobles often did very well in life, so whether illegitimacy would have been a problem for their daughter I don't honestly know. You could be right, after all. Andrew Dalby10:24, 31 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
