Background
Christopher was born in Constantinople, and lived in the neighbourhood Sphorakiou for most of his lifetime.
Christopher was born in Constantinople, and lived in the neighbourhood Sphorakiou for most of his lifetime.
He was an important official, holding high ranks such as patrikios, protospatharios, and krites (judge) of the themes of Armeniakon and Paphlagonia. Events described in his poems suggest that he started writing in the reign of Romanos III (1028–1034), but most poems can be dated to the reign of Constantine IX (1042–1055), an emperor who favoured culture and literature.