Castrato - History of Castration

History of Castration

Castration as a means of subjugation, enslavement or other punishment has a very long pedigree, dating back to ancient Sumer (see also Eunuch). In a Western context, eunuch singers are known to have existed from the early Byzantine Empire. In Constantinople around 400 AD the empress Aelia Eudoxia had a eunuch choir-master, Brison, who may have established the use of castrati in Byzantine choirs, though whether Brison himself was a singer, and whether he had colleagues who were eunuch singers, is not certain. By the 9th century, eunuch singers were well-known (not least in the choir of Hagia Sophia), and remained so until the sack of Constantinople by the Western forces of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Their fate from then until their reappearance in Italy more than three hundred years later is not clear. It seems likely that the Spanish tradition of soprano falsettists may have "hidden" castrati. Much of Spain was under Muslim rulers during the Middle Ages, and castration had a history going back to the ancient near east. Stereotypically, eunuchs served as harem "guards", but they were also valued as high-level political appointees since they could not start a dynasty which would threaten the ruler.