Celibate and Childless Men in Power

This collection explores the ways in which groups of men in a variety of pre-modern cultures were excluded from legitimate or physical reproduction, yet still remained an important feature of political systems based on dynasties. In bringing eunuchs and bishops into a common focus, this volume offers a new global perspective, which draws parallels between different chronological and geographical areas, while still recognising their unique and distinctive features. It also explores the ways in which they carved out an institutional space in which they wielded power over both men and women alike.