DUMBARTON. OAKS TEXTS
IV
THE LETTERS OF MANU E L 11 PALAEOLOGUS
CORPUS FONTIUM HISTORIAE BYZANTINAE CONSILIO SOCIETATIS INTERNATIONALIS STUDIIS BYZANTINIS PROVEHENDIS DESTINATAE EDITUM
VOLUMEN VIII
MANUELIS II. PALAEOLOGI EPISTULAE EDIDIT, ANGLICE VERTIT, ET ADNOTAVIT
GEORGE T. DENNIS SERIES WASHINGTONENSIS EDIDIT IHOR 9EVCENKO In aedibus Dumbarton Oaks Washingtoniae, D.C.
MCMLXXVII
THE LETTERS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
TEXT, TRANSLATION, AND NOTES by
GEORGE T. DENNIS
Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies Trustees for Harvard University Washington, District of Columbia 1977
All rights reserved by the Trustees for Harvard University The Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Washington, D.C.
In accordance with the rules adopted by the International Commission for the Edition of Sources of Byzantine History, the text and translation of this volume have been verified by Ihor 9evicenko.
Distributed by
J. J. Augustin, Publisher Locust Valley, New York 11560
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 77-14898; ISBN 0-88402-068-1 PRINTED IN GERMANY AT J. J. AUGUSTIN, GLUCKSTADT
FOREWORD Ten years ago Fr. Raymond J. Loenertz suggested that I undertake the task of editing and translating the Letters of Manuel II Palaeologus. With the. aid of a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, I was able to begin preparing a critical edition of the text and organizing material
for a commentary. The project, particularly the .work of translating the letters, proved more complicated than I had anticipated. Other problems, not all of my making, also caused delays, with the result that this book appears much later than I had hoped. Undoubtedly it is still imperfect, but to attempt to remove all the imperfections would cause further postponement of its publication. I should apologize, then, both for the delays and for the imperfections.
Whilethe importance of Manuel's letters for studying the history of Byzantium in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries has long been recognized, relatively little use has been made of them. The basic reason for this is that, as they stand, they are difficult to understand and to interpret. An edition; therefore, of the Greek text without. a translation into a modern language would be of limited use to scholars. Two problems concerning the translation should be noted.. The first is its accuracy in rendering the Greek original. In this regard I have done my best and received valuable help from others. Manuel composed his letters in a rhetorical Greek which is not always clear and at times seems deliberately obscure. Some words and passages, after lengthy study, still admit of two legitimate but different interpretations. Eventually though, only one can be chosen. I have generally pointed out such difficulties or given alternate translations in the notes. The second problem concerns the manner of translating the Emperor's artificial Greek into readable, modern English. A literal translation would have resulted frequently in meaningless phraseologies. Hopefully without distorting the meaning, I have had to take some liberties with the Greek;
leaving out, for example, all sorts of transitional words. When a phrase exactly translated made for an artificiality incompatible with the formal yet conversational tone of the original, I have not hesitated to redo it as a writer in English might have phrased it. At other times I have employed a more or
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FOREWORD
less literal translation for certain passages which I think were meant to sound pedantic or intended to be obscure or open to different interpretations. In the course of this decade I have had reason to be grateful to many people for their encouragement, assistance, or at least non-interference. First, I would like to express my gratitude to the John Simon Guggenheim Foun-
dation for financial aid granted me in 1964-65 to begin research on this book. My thanks are of course due to Fr. Raymond J. Loenertz, O.P., who, despite serious illness and other preoccupations, always generously gave of his time and advice. Thanks are due also to Fr. Joseph Gill, S.J., for his help
with the translation. I owe special thanks to Professor Ihor gev5enko of Harvard University, who devoted far more time and energy in going over the text and translation than his editorial duties required and whose suggestions have made the work much more accurate than it would otherwise have been. I am also much indebted to Professor Thomas West of the Catholic University of America for generously going over the translation in the final moments and helping to make it into readable English. I am grateful,
too, for the assistance and the suggestions of many others: the late Fr. Vitalien Laurent, A.A., Fr. Jean Darrouzes, A.A., M. Charles Astrue of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Professor Donald Nicol of the University of London, Professor Erich Trapp of the University of Vienna, Professor Leendert G. Westerink of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Professor Speros Vryonis, Jr. of the University of California at Los Angeles. I am grateful for the
support and understanding of my colleagues at Loyola University of Los Angeles and at the Catholic University of America, and in many ways, great and small, to the staff at the Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. Whether the results of my efforts prove satisfactory will be disputed by scholars. What I do here is present these results to provide further material from which the reader can more easily and better understand the author. of the letters, his friends, and the times in which they lived. George T. Dennis, S.J. Washington, D. C. 27 June 1974, 624 years after the birth of Manuel Palaeologus
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ....................................:..........
v
...........................................
xiii
PROSOPOGRAPHY ........................................
xxvii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................
lxi
INTRODUCTION
LIST OF SIGNS ............................................
lxiii
..................................
2
TEXT ......................................................
3
APPENDIX ................................................
219
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................................
228
TRANSLATION and NOTES
INDICES I. PROPER NAMES ....................................
232
II. TERMS and VOOASVLARY .............................
235
III. CITATIONS .........................................
241
IV. INCIPITS ..........................................
244
V. CHRONOLOGY .......................................
245
VI. GENERAL .........................................
246
DUMBARTON OAKS TEXTS IV
THE LETTERS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
INTRODUCTION 1. Manuel II Palaeologus, Emperor of the Romans
Manuel, the second son of Emperor John V Palaeologus and Helena Cantacuzena, was born in Constantinople on 27 June 1350.1 At the age of five he bore the title of despot and was already being used as a pawn in the old game of negotiating for Western aid, a game he would spend much of his life playing. At fifteen he learned another lesson when he was detained as a hostage in Hungary after his father's vain quest for aid there. At nineteen he had to put what he had learned into practice as governor of Thessalonica, the second city of the Empire. This marked the end of his formal studies in classical literature and writing. He was swept along, as he later remarked, from letters to other cares. "For many things, as though in league, rained upon me then in close succession; difficulties, wrestling with various misfortunes and all sorts of dangers. As though I had been caught up in a whirlwind, I was unable to catch my breath."2 Despite Manuel's penchant for exaggeration, these words are a fairly accurate description of his adult life. While he did find time for some reading and study, for scholarly discussions with Cydones, Cabasilas, Ivanko, and the Moslem Muterizes, and for pleasant literary gatherings, he lamented that they were just interludes, brief, enjoyable
moments snatched from a routine of administrative detail, meetings with ambassadors, quarrelsome prelates and monks, tedious journeys by ship or on horseback, and the harsh realities of war. Negotiations for military assistance led his father to Rome in 1369, where he made a Catholic profession of faith, and then to Venice, where he ran out of money. To his urgent appeal for help his oldest son, Andronicus, turned a deaf ear, and it was Manuel in Thessalonica who gathered the amount needed and in mid-winter 1370-71 sailed to Venice. After obtaining John's freedom, he remained for further negotiations with the Signoria, ' For the details of Manuel's life, see Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, and Barker, Manuel II, both of which contain abundant references. Further references are given in connection with the individual letters below. 2 This is from a theological essay addressed to Alexis lagoup: see Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 14; a longer excerpt has been translated by Barker, Manuel II, 410-13.
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INTRODUCTION
returning to Thessalonica in the summer or fall of 1371. In gratitude John V confirmed him in his rule over that city and granted him whatever other lands he might be able to occupy in Macedonia. While Manuel busied himself in Thessalonica, trouble was brewing in Constantinople. John V was cooperating more closely with the Turkish Emir, Murad 1, and their eldest sons, Andronicus IV and Saudji-celebi, were also cooperating, but in a slightly different direction. In May 1373 they joined forces to overthrow their fathers. Although Saudji fought on until the end of September, Andronicus was soon defeated and on 30 May taken into custody. For the succession to the throne John now looked to his second son, and on
25 September 1373, at the age of twenty-three, Manuel was proclaimed emperor.3
In the summer of 1376 Andronicus escaped and, with Genoese and Turkish troops, entered Constantinople. After some bitter fighting in which Manuel was wounded, John V and his two sons, Manuel and Theodore, were forced to capitulate. They were then subjected to a strict and harsh imprisonment in the Anemas Tower, which Manuel never forgot. Their own escape and recapture of the city in the summer of 1379 sent Andronicus fleeing to Galata, where he and his Genoese allies were besieged for almost two years by John V, who was aided by the Venetians and the Turks. In the peace treaty of May 1381 John V had to recognize Andronicus
as heir to the throne. Manuel, then at the Ottoman Porte, does not even seem to have been mentioned in the agreement, nor was there any mention of him in the subsequent Greco-Genoese treaty of 2 November 1382. His reactions are not recorded, but one significant step he took clearly indicated his feelings.
In October or November 1382 Manuel secretly sailed for Thessalonica and established himself as independent emperor. In opposition to his father's policy, he waged war against the Turks, successfully at first, but by November 1383 the Ottoman army had encircled the city. As he remarks in Letter 8, Manuel tried every expedient, every possible alliance, including ecclesiastical union with Rome, to fend off the Turks. None of these succeeded, and the grumbling and discontent of the citizens at the rigors of the siege increased daily. Finally in April 1387 Manuel and a small group of followers sailed away from the city, which then surrendered. They found temporary refuge on Lesbos, where Manuel wrote his Letter 67 to Cab asilas. Then, after some negotiations, he went to Brusa and made his peace with the Emir Murad. His rash adventure, however, was not so quickly forgiven by his father, who exiled him to the island of Lemnos. He was there about two years when John V, old and ill, urgently needed him back in Constantinople, for the son 3 His formal coronation by the patriarch does not seem to have taken place until 1392, after the death of his father. A detailed study of the sources is given by P. Schreiner,
"Hochzeit and Krbnung Kaiser Manuels II. im Jahre 1392," BZ, 60 (1967), 70-85, esp. 73-75.
MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
av
of Andronicus, John VII, was attempting to take over the throne. Manuel arrived too late to prevent him from occupying the city, but found safety with his father in the fortress by the Golden Gate. After some unsuccessful attempts, Manuel, with the help of the Hospitallers, was able to drive out the usurper on 17 September 1390. No matter how much the Byzantine emperors preferred to fight among
themselves, it was clear that the real power lay with the Turkish Emir Bajezid. The emperors were his vassals, and as such both Manuel and John VII led their contingents to aid Bajezid in combatting his foes in Asia Minor in the fall and winter of 1390. On 16 February 1391 John V died, and Manuel secretly fled from Bajezid's camp, raced back to Constantinople, and assumed power. But in June he again had to take part in the Ottoman campaign in central Asia Minor, a particularly difficult one lasting well into the winter, during which he found time to write a few of his more informative letters. Returning to his capital, he married the Serbian princess, Helena Dragas, on 10 February 1392, and on the following day they were solemnly crowned by the patriarch. In winter 1393-94 Bajezid had his Christian vassals assemble in Serres with the intention, so Manuel claimed, of disposing of all of them at once. They managed to escape, however, and Manuel's inherited policy of cooperation with the Turks was ended. In spring 1394 Bajezid began his long siege of Constantinople, which at times was so severe that Manuel even thought of abandoning the city. A Franco-Hungarian attempt to aid Byzantium ended in disaster at Nicopolis in September 1396, and was lamented by the Emperor at great length in Letter 31. As the situation grew more desperate, Manuel intensified his efforts to obtain military aid from the West. In 1399 a French force under Jean le Meingre, Marechal Boucicaut, arrived and achieved some minor successes. But more massive assistance was needed. At Boucicaut's suggestion, so it seems, Manuel decided to make a personal appeal to the Western rulers. He was reconciled to his nephew, John VII, whom he left to govern the city during his absence. On 10 December 1399 Manuel embarked on a Venetian galley to begin his remarkable journey to Northern Italy, Paris, and London. Although his quest soon proved fruitless, the Emperor did not give up easily and, long after it must have been clear that he would receive little but promises, he continued his negotiations. Not even the defeat of Bajezid by the Mongols at Ankara on 28 July 1402 made him hurry home. He did not leave Paris until the end of November and did not arrive in Constantinople until 9 June 1403.
On his return Manuel was faced with a complexity of problems. The disunity among the Turks after Ankara called for new policy formulations. Matters had to be settled with the Latin powers. The situation in the Morea was as bad as ever. The conflict with John VII flared up again, but he was soon allowed to go off and rule in Thessalonica. There were financial diffi-
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INTRODUCTION.
culties, and there was a serious controversy in the Church revolving around
Patriarch Matthew, alluded to in Letters 63-66. Perhaps the best general sketch of Manuel's preoccupations in the period following his return is given in Letter 44. Throughout the rest of his reign Manuel kept up diplomatic contacts
with the West, which centered on military aid and ecclesiastical union, although he came to be quite realistic about the latter. In 1407 he lost his brother Theodore, to whom he had been very closely attached. He. named his own son, Theodore, to succeed him in ruling the Morea and, about a year later, visited the region in the hopes of establishing order, a perennial problem, as he remarks in Letter 51. Apparently this visit was cut short by the news that his nephew, John VII, had died in Thessalonica on 22 September 1408. He hastened there to install another son, Andronicus, as governor. Back in the capital early in 1409 he found the Empire in proximate danger of being drawn' into the wars among the sons of Bajezid. After defeating Suleyman
in February 1411, Musa turned to besiege Constantinople. This critical situation, spoken of by Manuel in Letter 57, lasted until July 1413 when Musa, in his turn, was taken and strangled by his brother Mechmed. Manuel was now free to attend to some pressing problems within what little territory remained to the Empire. On 25 July 1414 he sailed for Thasos, occupied by Giorgio Gattilusio (see Letter 58), and after a siege of three months, returned the island to Byzantine control. He then devoted the fall and winter to administrative matters in Thessalonica. On 29 March 1415 he
landed at Kenchreai on the Gulf of Corinth and immediately set to work restoring the Hexamilion, the defensive wall built by Justinian across the Isthmus. The project was completed in less than a month, an accomplishment
that greatly impressed his contemporaries. He then directed his energies against the rebellious nobles of the Morea and, in a series of battles and sieges
lasting through the summer, managed to subdue them. His reflections on this campaign are expressed in Letter 68. In March 1416 Manuel returned to the capital and continued negotiating
with the Western powers, for he knew well that the peace with the Turks was but a temporary one. On the death of Mechmed in May 1421. the war party in Byzantium, including the heir to the throne, John VIII, determined, against Manuel's advice, to intervene in the Turkish struggle for succession. But they backed the wrong candidate, and when Mechmed's son, Murad II,
emerged victorious, he besieged Constantinople in June 1422. John VIII vigorously conducted the defense of the city until the Turks withdrew early in September. On 1 October 1422, while conducting diplomatic discussions, Manuel suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed. The business of government was carried on by John VIII. Manuel never really recovered and, as
the end approached, he assumed the monastic habit under the name of Matthew and died on 21 July 1425.
MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xvii
On Manuel as a personality and a literary figure, there seems to be little need to enter into detail in these pages.4 It should be sufficient to refer the reader to Manuel's own letters and to the notes given below. A complete listing and study of his extant writings still remain to be done," They represent the sort of literary endeavor 'one would expect of a well-educated Byzantine. There are the letters, of course, polished and revised for posterity. There are the usual rhetorical exercises: the supposed reply of Antenor to Odysseus, Tamerlane to Bajezid, a benevolent ruler to his subjects, to a drunken man, and so forth. Poetry is represented by his verses addressed to an ignorant person, to an atheist, and by an epigram on Theodore, but more characteristically by religious poetry in imitation of the Psalms and liturgical hymns. Other religious writings include prayers before communion and a meditation on recovering from illness (see Letter 68). In the classical manner he composed Counsels on Imperial Conduct to his son, John VIII, as well as seven ethicopolitical essays addressed to him. We also And an essay on the nature of dreams, a decision in a dispute about being and non-being (see Letter 54),
and a rhetorical description (ekphrasis) of a tapestry in the Louvre. His mother and himself are the discutants in his Dialogue on Marriage, which he
kept emending until it was entirely deleted (see Letter 62). Among his oratorical works are sermons on the Dormition (see Letter 61), on Sin and St. Mary of Egypt (Letter 52), on Holy Saturday, and the like. More important
are his Discourse to the Thessalonians (see Letter 11), his oration on his father's recovery from a serious illness (see Letter 12), and the lengthy Funeral Oration (epitaphios) on his brother Theodore (see Letter 56). He discussed the study of theology in an essay addressed to Alexis lagoup, and he also wrote a short work on the Trinity. As a result of his discussions with a Moslem scholar in Ankara in the winter of 1391, he composed a series of twenty-six Dialogues with a Moslem Teacher (see Letter 20). Finally, as a true Byzantine, he compiled a treatise on the Procession of the Holy Spirit; this was occasioned by a syllogism presented to him by a monk of Saint Denis near Paris in 1400-2, which the Emperor answered in 156 chapters and which still remains unedited.6 4 Cf. Barker, Manuel II, 395--439.
5 See J. Berger de Xivrey, "MBmoire sur la vie et lea ouvrages de l'empereur Manuel Paleologue," MgmAclnscr, 19,2 (1853), 1-120; L. Petit, "Manuel II Paleologue,"
in DTC, IX, 2 (Paris, 1927), 1925-32. Important corrections have been made by R. J. Loenertz, "Ecrits de Macaire Macres et de Manuel Paleologue dans lea mss. Vat. gr. 1107
et Crypten. 161," OCP, 15 (1949), 185-93 (= ByzFrGr, I, 71-79). Barker (Manuel II, 426-39) gives a survey of Manuel's writings based on the surviving manuscripts; to these should be added the coda. Vat. gr. 632, Vat. gr.1879, Urbinat.. gr. 80, Ambros. gr. L 74 sup. (487), Paris. gr.1253; Coislin. gr. 341, Marcian. gr. XI, 505 (coll. 767), Scorial. gr. 475 ('V-IV-1), 14 (R-I-14), 243 (Y-I-4), Collegio Greco, cod. 11. 9 Extant in cod. Vat. gr. 1107, fols. 1-130; this contains a number of corrections which have been incorporated into the copy of the treatise in cod.. Barberin. gr. 219. fols. 93-180.
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INTRODUCTION
2. The Letters of Manuel II
Manuel's writings are primarily of a rhetorical nature, intended to be
read aloud before a select literary circle. As such they reflect the worst characteristics of the rhetoric employed by the Byzantines.7 There is a fundamental dishonesty: while living in one world, they speak from another.
It is unimportant whether or not what they say is related to reality; how they say it is what matters. With the world crumbling about him, Manuel could devote himself to composing an oration in the style of Demosthenes or a dialogue in the style of Plato .8 With Turkish siege weapons pounding the city, he and his friends could calmly sit around in a "theater" and applaud a piece of rhetorical fluff being read to them. It all seems very unreal; yet for generations, indeed for centuries, this was the sort of thing they had been trained to value. Whatever the daily realities might be, it was the "authority of the ancients" that dominated their mentality in almost every sphere of life: law, political theory, philosophy, theology, even military science and medicines This was especially true in the realm of literature. To them the term Byzantine Literature was meaningless. If one could ask a fourteenthcentury Byzantine to list the outstanding authors of his literature, he would respond with names such as Homer, Plato, Demosthenes, and Xenophon. Classical Greek Literature was the ideal, and one's excellence as a writer depended upon how closely one imitated the classical authors. Originality, and even clarity, were not highly regarded. Excerpts and selected works of certain authors, reproduced in countless anthologies, were proposed to the Byzantine student as models of "fine" writing. In particular, four Hellenistic rhetorical handbooks seem to have formed the basis of all Byzantine writing: these were Apollonius Dyscolus and Herodian on grammar and syntax, Hermogenes of Tarsus on literary style and criticism, and, perhaps most influential, the Progymnasmata, or Rhetorical Exercises, of Aphthonius of Antioch io 7 For the present discussion the following works on Byzantine rhetoric may be useful: K. Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantintischen Literatur (Munich, 1897; rep. 2 vols., New York, 1958), 450-98; G. Bohlig, Untersuchungen zum rhetorischen Sprachgebrauch der
Byzantiner (Berlin, 1956); F. Dolger, "Der Klassizismus der Byzantiner, seine Ursachen and seine Folgen," Geistige Arbeit, 5 (1938), 3-5; rep. HAPAEIIOPA. 30 Aulsdtze zur Geschichte, Kultur and Sprache des byzantinischen Reiches (Ettal, 1961), 38-45; H. Hunger,
"On the Imitation (MIMHEIE) of Antiquity in Byzantine Literature," DOP, 23-24 (1969-70), 17-38; R. J. H. Jenkins, "The Hellenistic Origins of Byzantine Literature," DOP, 17 (1963), 39-52; P. Wirth, Untersuchungen zur byzantinischen Rhetorik des 12. Jahrhunderts (Dies., Munich, 1960). e Of. Jenkins, "Hellenistic Origins of Byzantine Literature," 44-45; he cites Manuel
II as the most remarkable example "of an intellectual malaise that was nearly universal." 9 The most concise study of this mentality or world view is found in F. Dolger, "Die Kaiserurkunde der Byzantiner als Ausdruck ihrer politischer Anschauungen," Byzanz and die Europdischen Staatenwelt (Ettal, 1953); R. J. H. Jenkins, Byzantium and Byzantinism (Cincinnati, 1963). io Jenkins, "Hellenistic Origins of Byzantine Literature," 434, with examples. Manuel's own dependence on Aphthonius is seen in Letters 3, 44, 67, and 68.
THE LETTERS OF MANUEL II
six
What has been said of rhetoric applies also to epistolography, for one displayed his rhetorical ability as readily in a finely polished letter as in a sonorous oration. The public reading of a letter was often compared to a performance in the theater; on several occasions Manuel compliments his correspondents on the applause their letters received when read before himself and his friends (Letters 9, 24, 27, 32, 34, 44, and 61). Byzantine letters
have been described as lacking every element which, ordinarily speaking, characterizes a letter.'1 Generally we expect a letter to convey a message of some sort, but the average Byzantine letter was about as concrete, informative,
and personal as the modern, mass-produced greeting card. Just as we have a wide selection of illustrated cards suitable for every occasion, so the Byzantine had his formularies of model letters. Most appear to be stylized variations on the theme that distance cannot really separate those linked by genuine friendship. Today we might select a particularly artistic reproduction of a Madonna and Child to convey Christmas greetings to a friend. The Byzantine would delve into his handbook of classical allusions and ornate metaphors to embellish an otherwise stereotyped text. In general, then, Byzantine letters tend to be conventional and impersonal and, one might add, terribly boring.
While personal letters, particularly those of prominent figures in government, are regarded by most historians as excellent primary sources,
the Byzantinist approaches the letters in his area with some hesitation, aware of the frustrations to follow. Even the best letters were written according to rules which abhorred proper names, precise dates, and concrete details.12 The criterion of a good letter was the "purity" of its Attic Greek, including such items as the dual, obsolete for over a thousand years. Words and terms designating a specific Byzantine institution or office are rare, for the vocabulary had to be such that a contemporary of Thucydides might understand it. If the Albanians, Serbs, or Turks were not written about in the fifth century B.C., they must be referred to as the Illyrians, Triballians, and Persians. Byzantine references to the Scythians, or simply to the Barbarians, often reduce the historian to sheer guesswork.13 Persons or places
may be identified only as "our common friend," "that man you know," "this once splendid city." If the letter was meant to convey a message, other than generalities about friendship, it was often formulated in such tortuous grammar and syntax as to be practically unintelligible. The real message, if any, was conveyed by the bearer of the letter, either for reasons of security u W. Schubart, cited by G. Karlsson, Ideologie et ceremonial dane l'epistolographie
byzantine (Uppsala, 1962), 14. On Byzantine letter writing, consult also the authors mentioned in note 7, esp. Jenkins, 45-46; also N. Toniadakes, BuZavt v ima-roxoypIXptn. Etaaymy-i, xetµeva, xor&Xoyoc 7CC6roXo'(J&9 v, 3rd ed. (Athens, 1969-70). 12 On the "deconcretization" of the Byzantine letter, see Karlsson, Ideologie et ceremonial, 14-17. 13 See G.Moravesik, Byzantinoturcica, II (Berlin, 1958), 13-17; idem, "Klassizismus in der byzantinischen Geschichtsschreibung," Polychronion. Festschrift F.Dolgerzum 75. Oeburtstag (Heidelberg, 1966), 366-77.
.INTRODUCTION
or because of the requirements of style.14 The letter itself was a gift to be treasured, not necessarily understood, by the recipient. Efforts to utilize these letters as historical sources can be maddening. Yet, if patiently studied, they can often be placed in their proper historical context and further data derived from them.15 This is particularly true of letters of the Palaeologan period, for a surprising number of those that have survived, while still enmeshed in archaic rhetorical forms, actually seem to be communicating something. The problem lies in deciphering the message. In some instances this may prove impossible, but in others a close scrutiny of allusions to persons, places, or. events, a careful analysis of terms, and a comparison with established facts may be rewarding. In addition, the student of Manuel's letters has one advantage, a relatively rare one; in many cases
the corresponding letter of Cydones survives and, as may be seen in the following pages, it often clarifies the Emperor's meaning. The letters of Manuel may be difficult to understand; nonetheless they are real letters, written to communicate real messages to real people. Some are trivial, others obscure, and many were subsequently edited for publication. The message is not always easy to extract from the verbiage in which it is buried. Manuel shares all the faults of the Byzantine rhetorician: his writing abounds in cliches, worn out proverbs, anachronisms, excessive (and sometimes unclear) allusions to classical authors, belabored and confusing meta-
phors, wandering parentheses, and what might best be called a studied obscurity. His meaning is often uncertain owing to his repugnance for proper names and his insistence on an archaic vocabulary. The syntax is sometimes so intricately twisted about as to be almost devoid of sense. Still, his letters
are actual letters and, written by the Emperor himself, they are historical sources of the first rank and contain a great deal more information about the man and the period than one might suspect. Berger de Xivrey long ago asserted that Manuel's collected letters had been carefully arranged in chronological order, a view admitted by Loenertz as a good working hypothesis.16 Examination of the dates proposed for each
letter in the present edition tends to confirm this assumption-with some qualification. Letters 62 to 68 were not part of the original collection, and do not fit into the general chronological framework. For a very few letters, e.g., 1 and 2, only a terminus ante quem can be established. A few others contain 14 Karlsson, Iddologie et ceremonial, 17-21. 16 See, for example, L. Robert, "Les kondakia de Nicee, le combustible de Synnada
et les poissons-scies. Sur les lettres d'un metropolite de Phrygie an Xe siecle, philologie et realit6s," JSav (1961), 97-166; (1962), 5-74; I. gevicenko, "Nicolaus Cabasilas' Correspon-
dence and the Treatment of Late Byzantine Literary Texts," BZ, 47 (1954), 49-59; Loenertz, Caldcas. 16Mdmoire sur la vie et les ouvrages de ... Manuel Paldologue, 60 note 3; R. J.
Loenertz, "Manuel Paleologue et D6metrius Cydones, remarques sur leur correspondances," E0, 36 (1937), 271-87.
MANUSCRIPTS AND EDITIONS
xxi
no chronological indications at all, but if one admits a general sequential order in the collection as a whole, one could cautiously assign a relative dating
to those according to their location. Of the first sixty-one letters some forty-one may be dated with certainty, at least as belonging to a particular year or a certain two- or three-year period. About six others may be given a highly probable dating, and another six a probable one. The reasons for proposing these dates are given in the notes. The chronological order of the letters, however, must be interpreted in. a broad sense; that is, one cannot prove that they have been arranged in a strict sequence, 1, 2, 3, according to the date they were written, although this is certainly true of some. Rather, we have to imagine the Emperor going through a packet or copybook of letters belonging to a certain period, for example, those he wrote in Thessalonica from 1382 to 1387 or those he wrote in Western Europe from 1400 to 1403, and selecting the ones he wished to publish.17 From the first "packet," then, we. have Letters 1 and 2 (perhaps 5), written before 1383.. The second
group, Letters 3 to 11, consists of letters written in Thessalonica from 1382 to 1387, but not arranged in strictly sequential order within that period. The third "packet," Letters 14 to 21, was written while Manuel was campaigning in Asia Minor in 1390-91. The fourth "packet," Letters 22 to 36, contains letters written in Constantinople from 1392 to the end of 1399. The fifth, Letters 37 to 42, consists of those dating from the Emperor's Western journey in 1400-3. The sixth "packet," Letters 43 to 50, derives from the years 1403-8.. The remaining letters, to 61, extend from the end of 1408 to about 1`4117. The general arrangement of the letters, then, is certainly a chronological one, but the ordering of each letter in a "packet" or grouping is not necessarily sequential. 3. Manuscripts and Editions The codex Parisinus graecus 3041 has long been regarded as the principal
manuscript of Manuel's writings, primarily because of the corrections made in it by the Emperor himself. This was first pointed out by Boissonade in
1844 in connection with the Dialogue on Marriage.' In 1853 Berger de Xivrey added to this observation. "The first part [of the manuscript] is laden with corrections and excisions drawn by a practiced hand, which is nevertheless no longer that of a professional copyist. This is evidently the
author, who himself retouches his work with a meticulous severity.... Not only phrases, not only entire pages, but all of one work, are ruthlessly 17 He may have kept copies of his letters in "books" or fascicles (TcTp&Sia), as did Cydones, who generally copied letters of one period into the same fascicle: R. J. Loenertz, Les recueils de lettres de Ddmdtrius Cydones, ST, 131 (Vatican. City, 1947). 1e Qui dialogus, post multas lituras et correctionum tentamina, f uit demum a capite ad ealcem totu8 cancellatus, manu, quis dubitet? ipsius auctoris augustissimi: Anecdota nova (Paris, 1844), 249 note 1.
xxii
INTRODUCTION
crossed out."19 Legrand in his edition of 1893 was also of the opinion that the
corrections "could only have been carried out by the august author of the letters."20 These judgments have not been disputed by subsequent scholars. Close examination of the manuscript reveals that the corrections, both in the Letters and in the Dialogue on Marriage, have been made by the same hand, which is that of a contemporary but not of a professional scribe.
Furthermore, while most of the emendations have to do with stylistic matters, some, as in Letter 1, are of such a personal nature that they could only have been made by the author himself as he prepared his work for publication.
In its present condition the manuscript is composed of two distinct parts. The first, fols. 1-136, contains works of Manuel and a few other items and, up to fol. 104, is written by one hand. The second part, from fol. 137 to the end, containing sections of Nicetas Choniates and George Acropolites, was not part of the original manuscript and does not concern us here. The manuscript (i.e., fols. 1-136) is composed of seventeen quires of unequal length, although most are quaternions, the quire numbered 2 ((3') beginning
on fol. 2. Each folio was numbered in red at the top right corner, but on most pages it has faded away or been cut off. The numbering which remains was almost certainly done by the same hand that wrote the text and numbered the Letters. Folio 1 of the present pagination was originally fol. 27, for the present fol. 2 is numbered in red as %-I'; the present fol. 104 (the end of the Dialogue on Marriage) bears the original number 130 (pX'). There are two watermarks on the paper, both similar to those attested on French and Italian paper from 1392 to 1427.21
The contents of the manuscript follow: 1. Fols. 1-lv. Fictitious Letters, that is, part of Letter 63, Letters 64, 65, 66 (see notes to Letter 63). 2. Fols. 2-37. Sixty-three Letters of Manuel. Letters 53 and 59 are not real letters and have been omitted in the Barberini manuscript and in this edition, although published by Legrand. Fol. 37" is blank. 3. Fols. 38-38". The Image of Spring on a Royal Tapestry. The title is in red, above which another hand has added: "In Paris," iv Hapuatcp. Ed. J. Lowenklau (Leunclavius), Praecepta educationis regiae (Basle, 1578); rep. PG, 156, cols. 577-80. is Mdmoire eur la vie et lee ouvrages de ... Manuel Paldologue, 3-4; trans. Barker,
Manuel II, 428. 20 Lettres, xii.
21 The first is a unicorn, similar to no. 9968 of C. M. Briquet (Lee filigranes, Dictionnaire historique de8 marquee de papier des leer apparition vers 1282 jusqu'en 1600, 4 vole. [Paris, 1907]), found in Gex, 1397; Damme, 1400; Paris, 1402; Le Puy, 1417. This mark is found on fols. 1-107, except for the third and fourth quires, fols. 22-37. The second watermark is a bow and arrow similar to Briquet, no. 791, found in Lucca, 1393; Pisa, 1392-95; no. 793, found in Palermo, 1424; Colle, 1427; no. 799, found in Paris, 1406; Turin, 1410-11.
MANUSCRIPTS AND EDITIONS
xxiii
4. Fol. 38v. What Tamerlane Might have Said to Bajezid. Ed. Lowenklau, op. cit.; rep. PG, 156, cols. 579-82; Legrand, Lettres, 103-4; English translation by Barker, Manuel II, 513-14. 5. Fol. 38v. On the Defeat of B4jezid in the Form of a Psalm. Ed. Lowenklau, op. cit.; rep. PG, 156, cols. 581-82; Legrand, Lettres, 104; English translation by Barker, op. cit., 514-15. 6. Fols. 39-46. What One Might Say to an Atheist. Eight hundred twelve political verses in two columns, unedited. 7. Fol. 46v. Prayer Before Communion. The title is in red, somewhat
faded; the text is written across the top of the page and down the left margin. Ed. Lowenklau, op. cit. ; rep. P G, 156, cols. 575-76; and with com-
mentary by S. Cirac Estopaiian, "La Eucaristia y la paz del alma en una poesia del emperador Manuel II Paloologo," XXXV Congreso eucaristico internacional. Sesiones internacionales del estudio, II (Barcelona, 1952), 713-26. There is also a three-line poem, unedited, in the middle of the page. 8. Fol. 46v. The Response of Antenor to Odysseus. Ed. J. F. Boissonade, Anecdota graeca e codicibus regiis, 11 (Paris, 1830), 308-9. 9. Fols. 47-51. Advisory Discourse to the Thessalonians When They were Besieged. Ed. B. Laourdas, in Maxe8ovixa, 3 (1955), 290-307; see Letter 11.
10. Fols. 51v-60. Consideration Regarding a Drunken Man. Ed. Boissonade, Anecdota graeca, II, 274-308.
11. Fols. 60v 65v. Epistolary Essay to Cabasilas. Letter 67 of this edition; see notes. 12. Fols. 66-72. Panegyric on the Recovery of His Father from Illness. Ed. Boissonade, Anecdota graeca, VI (Paris, 1844), 223-38; see Letter 12.
13. Fols. 72v 85v. Epistolary Essay to Alexis lagoup [On the Study of Theology]. Unedited.
14. Fols. 86-88. Epistolary Essay to Andrew Asanes [On Dreams]. Ed. PG, 156, cols. 87-92; ed. Boissonade, Anecdota graeca, VI, 239-46. 15. Fol. 88v. To Cydones. Letter 62 of this edition. 16. Fols. 89-104. Moral Dialogue, or Concerning Marriage. Unedited; see Letter 62. 17. Fols. 104-105. Canon to the Mother of God for Aid in the Present Situation. Ed. Legrand, Lettres, 94-102; see Letter 57. 18. Fols. 105-127. Synaxarion in verse (by Christopher?) of Mytilene. Not by Manuel, and in a different hand than the preceding works. 19. Fols.127 V 128. Prayer of the Stormtossed Adapted from the Psalms. Clearly attributed to Manuel in the Barberini manuscript; unedited. 20. Fols. 128-131. St. Athanasius Against the Jews. 21. Fols. 131-132v. On the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Whether this and the following work were written by Manuel is doubtful.
" INTRODUCTION
sxiv
22. Fols. 132x-133o..On the.Condemnation of Paul of Samosata. 23. Fols. 133V-134x. Excerpt from St. Augustine on the Liturgy. 24. Fols. 134x--136v. Liturgical Prayer on the Lord's Tomb for Holy Saturday. Perhaps by Manuel. Much of the codex Barberinus graecus 219 was apparently copied from
the Paris. 3041, for it incorporates the corrections made therein by ' the Emperor. Some of it was also copied from the cod. Vat. gr. 1107, since it includes corrections made in Manuel's treatise on the Holy Spirit. An early fifteenth-century manuscript, it is fairly ornate and may-have been an edition of the Emperor's works prepared as a gift. It is written in the same hand as the cods. Crypten. yr. Z.6.I., Vat. gr.1580, and Vat. gr.1619, which also contain writings of Manuel.22 It is composed of 23 quires of unequal size adding up to 180 folios.
It begins with the verses to. an atheist (fols. 1-9), as in the Paris manuscript, and continues with the Discourse to the Thessalonians (fols. 9-14), the Consideration Regarding a Drunken Man (fols. 14-23v), Letter 67 (fols. 24-29V), the Panegyric on his father's recovery (fols. 29v-36v), the Essay to Alexis Iagoup (fols. 36v--50), and the one to Andrew Asanes (fols. 50-53). The Letters are found on fols. 53"-88v, to the number of 62, numbers
53 and 59 of the Paris. 3041 being omitted. Immediately following (fols. 89-90V) and numbered consecutively are the "Fictitious Letters," i.e., Letters 63 to 66 of this edition. This is followed by Seven Proverbs (fol. 90v),
Antenor's Response to Odysseus (fol. 91), the Prayer of the Stormtossed (fols. 91V 92), and some verses addressed To, a Completely Ignorant Person .
(fol. 92). Finally is his treatise on the Procession of the Holy Spirit (fols. 93-180). The codex Coislinianus graecus 341 contains on fols. 3,56 to 361v a copy of Letters 1-5 and 7-9, the last being incomplete and followed by a fragment of the Discourse to the Thessalonians (fols. 362-363v). As may be seen in the
critical apparatus, these letters represent an earlier version than that of Paris. 3041, for they include readings which have been changed in the latter. Possibly, they may have formed part of the copybook from which the Paris
manuscript was taken. The codex is dated to the fourteenth century, one section apparently having been written in 1318. It is composed of five distinct sections, two by the same hand, but it seems that these sections were bound together fairly early and the quires numbered consecutively by a Slavic scribe on Mount Athos.... Other manuscripts containing individual letters of Manuel are.discussed
in the notes to those letters. They are cod. Vat. gr. 632, Letter 52; cod. 22 C. Giannelli, Codices Vaticani graeci 1485-1683 (Vatican City, 1950), 287.
MANUSCRIPTS AND EDITIONS
xxv
Vat. gr. 1879, Letter 54; cod. Scorial. gr. 475, Letter 62; cod. Crypten. gr. Z.B.I. and cod. 11 of the Collegio Greco in Rome, Letter 68. Finally, two other manuscripts should be noted, although they are now lost. Legrand in the preface (pp. viii-ix) to his edition of the letters mentions
that Theodore Avramiotis, a collector of manuscripts, purchased a miscellaneousGreek codex of unknown provenance in Ragusa in the spring of 1890. It was composed of eleven distinct sections. The ninth belonged to the fifteenth century and was made up of forty folios containing Letters 1 to 63 as
arranged in Paris. 3041. Although Legrand claims to have noted some variants, this manuscript was presumably copied from. Paris. 3041. The next item, also dated to the fifteenth century, contained, in 28 folios, Letters 1 to
42. According. to Legrand (p. x), in addition to some variants, this copy included annotations, apparently by a contemporary, to some of the letters, as well as notes in Latin by a certain Petrus Anconitanus, who seems to have known several of the Emperor's correspondents.
Nothing further is known of these two. Avramiotis manuscripts?s Legrand promised to reproduce the variants and the annotations of the second
one in his commentary, which has never appeared, if indeed it was. ever written. After Legrand published Manuel's Letters in 1893, M. Treu informed
him of the existence of the Coislin manuscript, to which he replied: "J'en ferai mon profit quand paraitra le second fascicule des lettres de Manuel Paleologue."24 This did not appear, though, and no trace of any material for such a commentary was found among the notes and books left by Legrand at his death 25 Although Legrand claimed to have studied the two Avramiotis manuscripts, his edition of the Letters of Manuel II in 1893 is.simply a transcription of the Paris. 3041. In the preface (p. xii) he promised to indicate the corrections in this manuscript, but he did not do so. He was also unaware of the Coislin manuscript and unable to locate the Barberini. His "edition" is, in general, a faithful copy of the Paris manuscript, but no more than that.
The present edition of Manuel's Letters is based on the cod. Paris. gr. 3041 (= P), as all editions must be, for the reasons given above. The first part of Letter 63, missing in P, has been taken from the cod. Barberin. 29 In 1965 M. Richard of the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique informed
me that he had had no success whatsoever in tracing these two manuscripts. 24 M. Treu, "Demetrios Chrysoloras and seine hundert Briefe," BZ, 20 (1911), 110 note 1.
25 Treu, be. cit., "... such in seinem Nachlass hat sich, wie H. Pernot die Giite hatte mir 1907 zu schreiben, zu diesem Teil kein Material vorgefunden." Apart from some
manuscripts given to the Bibliothr que Nationale, most of Legrand's notes and books became the property of H. Pernot; cf. his Notice sur la vie et les csuvres d'Emile Legrand (Paris, 1900).
INTRODUCTION
Xxvi
gr. 219 (= B); the variant readings in this and in the cod. Coislin. gr. 341 (= C) are given in the apparatus to the text. The other manuscripts containing copies of individual letters are noted in the apparatus to those letters (52, 54, 62, and 68).
The letters are arranged in the order in which they are found in P, with the few changes made in B, that is, Letters 53 and 59 of P have been omitted in B and in this edition. Letter 62, located apart from the other letters in P and published by Legrand as 64, is here, as in B, numbered in order. This is followed by Letters 63 to 66 of B, which do not form part of the
corpus of the letters in P. Letter 67 is regarded as a separate work in both P and B, but because of its genuinely epistolary nature has been added to form part of this edition. Letter 68 is not found in P or B, but its epistolary nature dictated that it be included. This introductory chapter is followed by a prosopographical survey of Manuel's correspondents and of certain other persons mentioned in his letters. The text, translation, and apparatus have been prepared in accord with the rules adopted by the International Commission on Byzantine Studies for the Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae.26 The notes to the translation offer an explanation of the dating of the letters and an identification of persons and places mentioned. They also include excerpts from the letters of Cydones and some historical notes in order to place Manuel's letters in their context and to make them more intelligible to the reader. An Appen-
dix presents a few unedited texts or portions thereof which are connected with the Letters of Manuel. The Bibliography is limited to those works which are of particular importance in understanding the letters or which have been used a number of times in preparing the notes. 20 Association Internationale des Etudes Byzantines, Bulletin d'in/ormation et de coordination, 4 (Athens-Paris, 1968), 24-31.
PROSOPOGRAPHY THE CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS AND PERSONS MENTIONED IN HIS LETTERS 1. Constantine Asanes
With the settlement of the deposed Bulgarian King John III Asen in Constantinople in 1280, together with his wife Irene, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, the Asanes came to be one of the most prominent and prolific noble families in the Empire? Their second son, Andronicus, had at least two sons, John and Manuel Raoul, who achieved distinction, and a daughter, Irene Asanina, who about 1318-20 married John Cantacuzenus, the future emperor.2 Their daughter Helena, in turn, became the bride of John V Palaeologus and the mother of Manuel II. The precise relationship of the Constantine Asanes to whom Manuel addressed Letters 18 and 30 is difficult to determine. In a patriarchal document of 24 August 1383 he is referred to as the uncle (6eZos) of Emperor John V.3 Among the Byzantines this term was loosely employed, often designating simply a cousin. He could only have been an "uncle" of John V by marriage, that is, as an "uncle" of Helena Cantacuzena, John's wife. He was much too young to be a brother of Helena's mother, Irene Asanina, born about 1300, but was
more probably her first cousin, the son of her father's youngest brother, Isaac, who died about 1351.4 Although called the "uncle" of Helena Cantacuzena and of her husband, John V, Constantine cannot have been much older ' See T. Uspenskij, "Bolgarskie Asenevici na vizantijskoj sluzbe v VIII-XV vv.," IRAIK, 13 (1008), 1-16; Loenertz, Calecas, 73-74; B. Krclcic, "Contribution a 1'6tude des Asanis h Byzance," T_'l1, 5 (1973), 347-55. In the Poem of Belisarius, the Asanes are listed among the leading Byzantine noble families: E. Follieri, "I1 poema bizantino di Belisario," :ltti del conoegao in.ternazionale sul terra "La poesia epica e la eua /ornrazione," Accademia. nazionale (lei Lineei, Problemi a.ttuali rdi scienza e it cultura, quad. 139 (Rome, 1970), 583-691, esp. p. 622, 53, p. 637, 313. 2 See D. Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kaitakoazenus (Crrrilacrrzt'nmm) ca.1100/1(i()..i (;enealogical and Prouopographical6'tud y, DOS, XI (Washington, D.C., 1968), 104-8. 'M-M, II, no. 361, p. 56.
See Loenertz, Calecas, 74 note 4. It is unlikely that he was the son of the third brother, Constantine, since Byzantine noble families did not generally give the son the same name as the father.
Xxvii;
PRO SOPO GRAPHY
than Helena, born in 1333, and may, in fact, have been younger. The appellation "uncle," which, when not used strictly, generally designated an older cousin, may simply have been given to him because he was a first cousin of Helena's mother. He seems to have been a young man when Cydones wrote to him in 1358 and was still active in the imperial government in 1409, for
in August of that year he took part in a synod and was described as the "uncle" of Emperor Manuel II." Quite possibly he was still alive in 1415, for in the Satire of Mazaris, Holobolos asked Mazaris on his return to the upper world to convey his greetings to the most noble and preeminent philosopher, the beloved uncle of the Emperor, Asan.e If he were definitely still alive in 1409 and perhaps in 1415, it is unlikely that he was born before 1330. The Asanes, as mentioned above, were a prolific breed and, as was common among the Byzantines, the same baptismal names recur constantly. In the sources, moreover, particularly in letters, persons are often referred to only by their last names, so that it is difficult to determine which Asanes
is meant or, for that matter, which Constantine Asanes. For example, in 1342 the regular renewal of the treaty with Venice was witnessed by a Con-
stantine Asanes, almost certainly not the correspondent of Manuel and Cydones, who would have been too young, but perhaps his uncle.? Almost all of our information about Constantine Asanes, the "uncle" of John V and Manuel II, is derived from the letters of Manuel, Demetrius Cydones, and Manuel Calecas.8 From each of the latter two at least six letters to him have been preserved. Those from Cydones, written between 1358 and
1381, depict him as a well-educated and prominent person, an advisor and companion to the Emperor (both John V and Manuel), an imperial envoy, and an anti-Palamite. Once Cydones refers to him as the uncle of the
Emperor, but does not specify which emperor, and on another occasion refers to Asanes, the uncle of Manuel II, but does not specify which Asanes.8 The letters of Calecas, written from about the early 1390's to 1400, present Asanes as his influential protector and benefactor (Letter 30 of Manuel II also does this), the owner of a library who loans and occasionally gives him books. He was listed as one of the principal adversaries of Pala.mism and twice had to make an official abjuration of the teachings of Barlaam and Acindynus, once under Patriarch Nilus (1379-88) and again under Patriarch Antony (13911397).10
5 Cydones, Letter 3; cf. Loenertz, Caldcas, 75; Tome of 1409, ed. Laurent, "Tristipiscopat," 134, 253. Mazaris, Jounce,, Into Ilades, 160. 7 MM, III, no. 26, p. 114. 8 Cydones, Letters 3, 71, 109, 155, 186, 426; Calecas, Letters 11, 35, 37, 50, 54, 69. Cydones, Letters 146:21; 212:4. 10 C. Mercati, \'otizie di Prucoro e I)e,,u'trio C'iilone, Manacle ('aleca e Teodoro Meliteniota ed altri appunti per la storia della teologia e della lettera.tl(ra bizaritir a del secolo X1 Y, ST, 56 (Vatican City, 1931), 222-23; MItI, II, no. 502, p. 267; he signed this simply as the servant (So5aoc) of the emperor.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xxix
2. Michael Balsamon
Another noble Byzantine family, prominent in ecclesiastical administration,
was that of Balsamon. During this period, in fact, there were three by the name of Michael; the first was a priest and grand skevophylax about 1380; the second, to whom Manuel addressed Letter 34, was a deacon, protekdikos,
and grand chartophylax about 1400; and the third was deacon and grand ecclesiarch in 1429 and grand chartophylax at the Council of Florence ten years later.1' The sources do not clarify their relationship to one another nor to others, such as Manuel and Demetrius, who bore the same family name. In February 1394 a Balsamon, probably the second Michael, appears in the patriarchal register as protonotary, a position he still held on 20 March 1397.12 In a document of January 1397 and in another apparently issued a few months later, the position of protekdikos was held by John Syropou los, who in October and November of the same year is listed as sakellarios.13 In
several patriarchal documents dated from December 1399 to May 1400, Michael Balsamon appears as protekdikos, a rank he must certainly have attained between May and October 1397 when his predecessor, Syropoulos, was promoted to the next higher rank.14 During his tenure as protekdikos, Michael Balsamon also held the post of universal teacher (8t8avxcAoS xocOo)ix6S, perhaps similar to the modern ordinary professor) and taught both profane sciences (E)J,,gwxa and theology. In Letter 34 Manuel has high praise for his rhetorical ability. Patriarch Matthew appointed him professor in the patriarchal school and,
at his order, Balsamon also instructed the notary, John Chortasmenos, in geometry. He was regarded by Chortasmenos with the highest respect for his learning and virtue.", Sometime after June 1400 Chortasmenos wrote to him apologizing for some poetry he had composed, which Balsamon had mocked.16 In June 1400 Balsamon was promoted to grand chartophylax, in which
function his name occurs frequently in the extant patriarchal registers to January 1402.11 After that date nothing further is known of him; he is not 11 J. Darrouzes, Pecherches snr les 'Opg1[xta de l'eglise byzantine (Paris, 1970), 286. The first of these may be identical with the priest, Michael Balsamon, who in August 1362 bore the title of exarch of the Great Church and taboullarios: 0. Theocharides, 0[ Ti;aµraaxoveS. 2:u.43oai1 e15 T7jv Bui;avrm,v Alaxe3ovtxijv rrpoaorcoypap[av ro5 IA' atwvoc, in blaxe3ovtx&, 5 (1961-63), 125-83, esp. 140-41. 12 MM, II, no. 461, p. 206; no. 512, p. 275. 13 Ibid., no. 508, p. 272; no. 518, p. 292; nos. 549, 550, p. 348. 14 Ibid., no. 536, p. 327; no. 559, p. 369; no. 505, p. 376; no. 569, p. 383; no. 570, p. 385; no. 575, p. 391. On the position of protekdikos, the defender of the accused in an ecclesiastical tribunal, see Darrouzes, Recherches set les 'Ocp(Pixia, 323-32. 11 Hunger, C'hortasieenos, 15 note 20. 16 Ibid., Letter 15, pp. 165-66. 17 AIM, II, no..579, p.396; no. 585, p. 409; no. 606, p. 438; no. 617, p. 453; no. 638, p. 485; no. 649, p. 498; no. 644, p. 507 (cf. Darrouzes, Recherches stir les 'Ocpp[xea, 351 note 1); no. 646, p. 512; no. 678, p. 557; no. 685, p. 566; and finally, H. Hunger, "Gu den restlichen inedita des Konstantinopler Patriarchatsregister inl Cod. Vindob. hist. gr. 48," REI3, 24 (1966), 60, 67-68. On the chartopllylax, see Darrouzes, op. cit., 334-53.
xxx
PROSOPOGRAPHY
to be identified with the Michael Balsamon who was grand chartophylax in 1439 and a correspondent of George Scholarios,18 3. Nicholas Cabasilas Chamaetos
The Cabasilas to whom Manuel TI addressed Letters 6, 7, 15, and 67 was Nicholas Chamaetos, known generally by his mother's maiden name of Cabasilas. Greatly respected for his learning, integrity, and deep spirituality by his contemporaries, as well as by later generations, much has been written about him, but very few facts of his life are actually known.19 Even these few facts have been long in gaining acceptance; for example, the fact that Nicholas was never archbishop of Thessalonica. Finally, some of these "facts" are still uncertain. This may be attributed largely to the confusion between Nicholas and his uncle, Neil Cabasilas, who did become metropolitan of Thessalonica. Neil was the name he assumed on becoming a monk, sometime between the end of 1354 and 1360, whereas his baptismal name was probably Nicholas.BQ is See Darrouzbs, Recherches sur lea 'Opq(xLa, 136, 286; Hunger, op. cit., 85-86. Cf. J. Gill, "A Profession of Faith of :Michael Balsamon, the Great Chartophylax," ByzF, 3 (1968), 120-28. "See H.-G. Beck, Kirche and theologische Literatur im byzantinischen Reich (Munich, 1959), 780-83; S. Salaville, Dictionnaire de la spirituality, If (Paris, 1932), 1-9; idem, "Quelquesprbcisionspour labiographiedeNicolasCabasilas,"Acts of the.. inchInter2wtional Byzantine Congress, Thessalonica, 1953 (= Hellenika, suppl. vol. 9, 3) (Athens, 1958),
215-26; J. Gouillard, in DHGE, XI, 14-21; P. Enepekides, "Der Briefwechsel des Mystikers Nikolaos Kabasilas," BZ, 46 (19:53), 18-46; I. Sevbenko, "Nicolaus Cabasilas' Correspondence and the Treatment of Late Byzantine Literary Texts," BZ, 47 (1954), 49-59; idern, "Nicholas Cabasilas' `Anti-Zealot' Discourse: A Reinterpretation," DOP,11 (1957), 79-171; R. J. Loenertz, "Chronologie de Nicolas Cabasilas, 1345-1354," OCP, 21
(1955) 205-31 (= ByzFrGr, I, 303-28); M. Lot-Borodine, 1'n .Maitre de la spiritualite byzantine au XI Ve siecle, Nicolas Cabasilas (Paris, 1958). One of the principal manuscripts of his writings is entitled: Tog oocpw-&TOu xai AoyLut&TOU xai Tolq UAOLS &YLwT&TOu xUP05
NLxoa&ou Kap&a0,a coy xai Xa sae-OU abyoL: cod. Paris. gr. 1213, fol. 1.
20 He was undoubtedly the Nicholas Cabasilas who was it candidate for the patri-
archate in November 1353, for it is unlikely that the synod would have proposed his nephew, Nicholas Chamaetos, then only about thirty years old. John Cantacuzenus later recalled that at that time Nicholas Cabasilas, surely the uncle, was still it private individual, ovTa TL L& -mr', that is, not in orders or not a monk (Hint., 4, 38:111, 275). The implication
is that he did sometime later enter religious life. One suspects that he did so about the same time as Cantacuzenus himself in December 1354. An undated patriarchal document,
probably issued in January-February 1361, mentions the hieromonk, Neil Cabasilas, metropolitan-elect of '1'hessalonica (MM, I, no. 181, p. 417), said it document of July 1361 again speaks of the metropolitan-elect of that see (ibid., no. 183, p. 429). That Neil's baptismal name was Nicholas was first suggested by R. J. Loenertz in 1948 in a communication to L. Thomas (RLB, 6 [1948], 117-21). This would aid in solving several problems. For example, the letter of Theodore Pediasimus, apparently written in 1332, would indeed, as it is in the manuscript, have been addressed to Nicholas Cabasilas, the uncle (cf. gevbenke, "Nicolaus Cabasilas' Correspondence," 56 note i ; also see his " `Anti-Z alot' Discourse," 86 note 22, for another instance). The more recent edition of Sphrantzes' Chronicon minus also makes it clear that it was Neil, the brother of Nicholas Chamaetos' mother, who was
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xxxi
Nicholas Cabasilas Chamaetos, the nephew, was born in Thessalonica
of a well established family, sometime about 1320-23, and received his education there. In the summer of 1345 the partisans of John Cantacuzenus seized power in the city and acclaimed him emperor. They then sent Nicholas and a man named Pharmakes as envoys to his son Manuel in Berroia to obtain
reinforcements, but these arrived too late to prevent the adversaries of Cantacuzenus from regaining control.21 Probably not long after the victory
of Cantacuzenus on 2/3 February 1347, Nicholas followed his uncle to Constantinople to pursue further studies, and from this period date several letters to his father in Thessalonica.22 While belonging to the entourage of Cantacuzenus, no specific office or title can be ascribed to him.23 In 1350, together with Cantacuzenus and Cydones, he proposed to enter the monastery of St. Mamas and then that of St. George in the Mangana, but nothing came of the project.24 In 1347-48 he participated in the trial of Niphon, monk of the Lavra, accused of Messalianism, and in September of 1350 he testified in his defense before the patriarchal synod together with two other domestics (oixe%ot) of the Emperor.25 At the coronation of Matthew Cantacuzenus in February 1354 he delivered the ceremonial oration.22 He was familiar with both ecclesiastical and civil law, and in some way was connected with the legal profession, apparently having been offered a judgeship.27 There are no indications that he ever became a monk, for the letters of Manuel II in 1387 and 1391 and those of Joseph Bryennios in 1390-96 are clearly addressed to Nicholas as a layman.28 The date of his death is not known, but it must have been not long after these letters, that is, sometime in the 1390's. metropolitan of Thessalonica (Georgios Sphrantzes Dlen?orii, 1401-1477, ed. V. Green [Bucharest, 1966], 18, 1-2, p. 32). 21 Cantacuzenus, Kist., 3, 94: II, 574; of. R. J. Loenertz, "Note our une lettre de Dumetrius Cydones ii Jean Cantaeuzene," BZ, 44 (1951), 40,5-8 (= Br1zFrGr, I, 279-83); idern, "Chronologie do Nicolas Cabasilas," 205-31. 22 Eel. Enepekides, "Der Briefwechsel," Letters 1-6, pp. 29-34, erroneously dated ca. 1320. In Letter 1 Cabasilas expressly says that it was his admiration for his uncle and his reputation that persuaded him to leave Thessalonica for Constantinople. According to
Cydones (Letter 87), he came to the capital at the personal invitation of Cantacuzenus. 23 F. Dolger, .1 us den Schatzka>nmere des heiligen Bergen (Munich, 1948), 64, suggests
that the Cabasilas bearing the title of grand papias in 1351 was Nicholas, but this is by no means clear: see eveenko, "'Anti-Zealot' Discourse," 87 note 26. 24 Cantacuzenus, Hist., 4, 16: III, 107; see Loenertz, "Chronologie de Nicolas Cabasilas." This does not mean that he intended to become a monk, but he might simply have wanted to join the community by acquiring an adelphaton, as Cydones later did. 25 MM, 1, no. 133, p. 298.
26 M. Jugie, "Nicolas Cabasilas, panegyriques inedits de Mathieu Cantacuzene et d'Anne Paleologine," IRAIK, 15 (1911), 112-21.
27 See Letters 6 and 15; Cydones, Letter 124:22-26; R. J. Loenertz, "Pour Is, chronologie des oeuvres de Joseph Bryennios," REB, 7 (1949), 17; P. Lemerle, "Documents
et problemes nouveaux concernant les juges generaux," Ac)-.Xpar.'Apx.`E-., 1 (1964), 37; ev6enko, "'Anti-Zealot' Discourse," 86-87. 21 Loenertz, "Pour la chronologie des oeuvres de Joseph Bryennios," 16-17.
PRO.SOPO GRAPHY
Cabasilas is best known and most highly regarded by both Eastern and Western Christians for his spiritual writings, which have earned him the appellation "The Mystic." The most famous of these are his Explanation of the Divine Liturgy and his Life in Christ.29 His other writings include sermons, theological treatises, religious poetry, and some philosophical works; notably
a refutation of Sextus Empiricus and a short treatise on syllogisms. Although belonging to the Palamite party and noted for his adherence to official Orthodoxy, he carried on the most cordial relationships with pro-Western Byzantines such as Cydones.30 The extent of his involvement in the antiLatin polemics of the period is still a matter of some dispute. The Mystic was also interested in social questions, at least, those of a
politico-ecclesiastical nature. As a young man he eulogized Empress Anne of
Savoy and addressed to her a treatise on usury.31 More important, perhaps,
is his lengthy "Discourse Concerning Illegal Acts of Officials Committed against Things Sacred," which had once been regarded as dealing with the Zealot regime in Thessalonica during the 1340's, but which has now been
definitely established as having no connection with the Zealot program or movement.32 Was the Discourse, then, directed against certain specific
authorities and, if so, under what circumstances? In answer to this question various suggestions have been made: perhaps it was aimed at imperial and
ecclesiastical officials in the 1340's, such as the Loyalist authorities in Constantinople (Alexis Apocaucus and John Calecas); perhaps it could be more accurately dated to the 1370's or 1380's; perhaps the writer had officials of Manuel II in mind.33 A careful study of the Discourse, however, indicates
that it was not directed against any specific individuals. The Discourse is concerned with unlawful acts in connection with sacred matter, primarily the secularization of church property and simony, which have been committed 29 Ed. PG, 150, cols. 368-492; 493-725; trans. S. Salaville, Nicolas Cabasilas, Explication (it, la divine liturgie (Paris-Lyon, 1943); J. M. Hussey and P. McNulty, A Com-
vnvdary on the Divine Liturgy (London, 1960); S. Broussaleux, La Vie en Jesus-Christ (Anuay, 1932); (-4. Hoch and E. von Ivanka, Sakramentalmystilc der Ostkirche (Klosterneuburg-Munich, 1958); see Lot-Borodine, op. cit.; R. Bornert, Les co,nmentaires byzantines
de la divine liturgie du VIII au XVe siecle (Paris, 1966), 215-44. 30 See Cyclones, Letters 87, 124, 125, 126, 213; also Appendix 1, ed. Loenertz, I, 169-73.
31 See 8,evirenl o, "Nicolaus Cabasilas' Correspondence," 54-55. 32 'I'llis has been clearly proven by Sevicenko, "'Anti -Zealot' Discourse." Also see
id,-)a, "A Postscript on Nicolas Cabasilas' 'Anti-Zealot' Discourse," DOP, 16 (1962), 4u3 -s, in which he examines several criticisms of his interpretation of the Discourse and finds, rightly, that none of them adduces any new information or invalidates his prilicipal conclusion. 31 See
ev6. enko, "'A nti -Zealot' Discourse," 161-71; idem, "Postscript," 403; Dennis,
90 note 30. Sevbenko ("Postscript," loc. cit.) points out reasons .llan'I,I in fi,r assigning a later date to the Discourse, to which one could add that the work itself jut set-nl t o be that of a young lean, as was Cabasilas in the 1340's, but that of a more niature iniud.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xxxiii
by persons invested with legitimate authority, but who misuse that authority. These persons must be the Emperor (or a sovereign despot) and a. prelate. Cabasilas supposes that their actions are due not to bad will but to error or
ignorance, and he sets out to enlighten them. To this end he refutes the arguments of those theoreticians who attempt to justify such acts, which Cabasilas regards as contrary to the divine law and the canons. These persons,
theologians, jurists, or moralists, are not named, although a few decades later George Gemistos Plethon would be their spokesman. It is possible, if not probable, that the Emperor was a friend of the writer and that this treatise was composed to advise him, perhaps at his request. In other words, the preoccupations of Cabasilas are not political or mercenary but of a higher intellectual and moral order; he is concerned with canonical and theological arguments and not with any specific adversaries. Finally, eighteen letters of Cabasilas, containing some biographical and historical information, are extant. The shortcomings of their edition have been pointed out, and several important corrections have been made.34 Two of the letters, though, merit further comment. Letter 17 is addressed simply To the Emperor, whom the editor identifies as probably (vermutlich) John VI
Cantacuzenus, and which he dates after 1341. A more attentive reading, however, makes it clear that the letter was addressed to John V Palaeologus in October or November 1364. The writer praises the Emperor for his philanthropy and his zeal for the common good which has led him to hold "meetings of wise men, both those of old and contemporaries, those who speak from books and those who use their tongues, and whose concern for the soul and for expression is equal." In particular, he is commended for devoting much time to these matters, time which has not been wasted. "By taking time from your labors on behalf of the common good, you have in another way benefited that common good by appointing a very deserving leader for us" (xaXXlw rcouov ilµdv Tov 7rpoar&Tn v). The "leader" is obviously
the same person who is referred to by the same word (7spoar&-r7)S, xoLvoS
npoa,ra'rric) in Letters 11:15; 12:8; and 13:14. He is Patriarch Philotheos Kokkinos, appointed for the second time in October 1364 after much hesitation
on the part of John V, clearly alluded to by Cabasilas in Letters 11 and 12. Letter 17, then, belongs to the same sequence as Letters 11, 12, and 13. Cabasilas commends the Emperor, John V Palaeologus, for convoking and apparently attending theological discussions in which patristic texts played a key role, and he thanks him for naming Philotheos patriarch. A more attentive reading of Letter 18, whose addressee is unknown according to the editor, clearly reveals that it was addressed to an unnamed emperor who is absent, apparently among the Turks, and whose valor and ''' Ed. Enepekides, "Der Bricfivechsel." Five letters are also published by Loenertz in his edition of Cyclones' correspondence, Appendix 1, I, 169-72. See the critical remarks of Loenertz, "Chronologie de Nicolas Cabasilas," and of SevCenko, "Nicolaus Cabasilas' Correspondence."
PROSOPOGRAPHY labors, it is hoped, as in the past, will benefit the city and the common good. The writer suspects that the addressee will not be free to return for some time and urges him to send a letter, or at least an oral message, by means of
a certain Boullotes. It is quite possible that this letter was addressed to Manuel II while he was on campaign with the Turkish Emir Bajezid in Anatolia in 1390-91, during which time Manuel sent his own Letter 15 to Cabasilas. The text of this letter, together with a translation and some comments, is given in the Appendix (p. 221-23). 4. Demetrius Chrysoloras The eight letters (33, 41, 43, 44, 46, 48, 50, and 61) which Manuel wanted
preserved from his correspondence with Demetrius Chrysoloras indicate the esteem in which he held his friend. In fact, even when Demetrius was in the service of John VII, the relationship between the two men seems to have been extremely close (see Letter 33). Probably about the same age as the Emperor, Demetrius belonged to the elite literary group at Manuel's court. He and the Emperor exchanged their compositions and engaged in literary pleasantries with one another; indeed, Demetrius was particularly noted for this. Manuel constantly expressed the highest praise of Demetrius' writings, although he had to reproach him for indulging in flattery (Letters 46, 48). The same high opinion of his rhetorical ability, as well as the charm of his conversation, is remarked on by others, such as John Chortasmenos and Theodore Potamios.35 He also shared the same Orthodox theological views as Manuel and belonged to the anti-Latin party in Constantinople. Unfortunately, there exists very little factual information about his life, and most of his writings remain unedited 36 His relationship with Manuel Chrysoloras, who addressed a piece of epistolary rhetoric to him, remains obscure, although it is clear they were not brothers.37 Apparently about 1384-85 Demetrius was sent by the Emperor, presumably John V, on an embassy to "the Barbarian," probably the Turkish Emir Murad I, which involved a third power, perhaps a Latin one 38 During the 1390's it is quite possible, if the interpretation given below of Letter 33 is correct, that he served in the court of John VII in Selymbria. It also seems that sometime before 1400 he had traveled to Western Europe, apparently to France, but when and in what capacity is unknown (see Letter 41). During Manuel's own journey to the West (1400-3) he remained in Constantinople with John VII '' See Manuel's Letter 45; Hunger, l'horlasmc.eos, 90-94; Potainios, Letter 8, Appendix, p. 226. an In general, see Beck, Kirche ,i, d theologische Literatur, 751; M. Treu, "Demetrios
Chiysoloras and seine hundert :Bride," BZ, 20 (1911),106-28; V. Lundstrom, "Ramenta 13vzantina 1'111," Cranos, (i (19o(i), 50-54; Caminclli, illannele C'risolora, 198--201; Hunger, ( h ,rEaneenu. , 91-98. 31 Cammelli, loc. cit.
38 Potamios, Letter 8, Appendix, p. 226.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xxxv
in some sort of official position and kept in regular contact with Manuel by letter 39 On 28 July 1403, shortly after the Emperor's return, he delivered an oration of thanksgiving on the anniversary of the battle of Ankara.40 Later in the year (October or November) he settled in Thessalonica to serve as mesazon for John VII until September 1408. During this period he continued
his literary activities, including his correspondence with Manuel II. In Letters 43 and 44 Manuel depicts Demetrius as somewhat sedentary and uninterested in hunting or military matters; he was apparently well off financially, although the public finances, with which he was concerned, were not in such a flourishing state. His public duties involved some connection with the law courts. About 1407 he was sent by John VII to Constantinople on some unspecified business 41 In August 1409, as a member of the senate
(auyx),yroc) and a domestic (oixrioq) of the Emperor, he took part in the synod which excommunicated the former bishops Macarius of Ankara and Matthew of Medeia, and spoke about peace in the church so eloquently that his words "would make a stone shed tears."42 He is last heard of as an imperial delegate to the synod of April-May 1416 held to elect a new patriarch and to clarify the rights of the emperor in the church.43
The extant writings of Demetrius have been well characterized by P. Gautier as neither very abundant nor very important.44 They comprise anti-Latin polemics, including a dialogue between himself, Cydones, Neil Cabasilas, and Thomas Aquinas, a number of homilies, some astronomical tables, court orations, and other rhetorical efforts, several of which are discussed in connection with the letters of Manuel addressed to him. 5. Manuel Chrysoloras
Approximately the same age as the Emperor and Demetrius Chrysoloras, Manuel Chrysoloras, the recipient of Letters 37, 38, 49, 55, and 56, was also an extremely close friend and trusted minister of the Emperor, playing a major role in diplomatic negotiations in Western Europe.45 In 1388 he must have
planned to accompany Demetrius Cyclones to Venice, for on 5 July of that 00 Manuel, Letter 41. If Hunger's alternate dating, 1402-3, of Letter 22 of Chortasmenos is correct, then he would appear to have held a prominent position as an archon: Chortasm.euos, 93.
10 Ed. P. Gautier, "Action des graces de Dembtrius Chrysoloras in Theotocos pour I'anniversaire do la bataille d'Ankara (28 juillet 1403)," REB, 19 (1961), 340-57. 91 Syropoulos, 3, 12, ed. V. Laurent, Les Mdmoires du grasul ecclesiarque de l'Eghse de Gbrwtantinople, b'yleestre b'vjroporlos, sur le enucile de Florence (Paris, 197]), 172-74; cf. Dolger, Kaiserregesteu., 3207, p. 77. 42 Tome of 1409, ed. Laurent, "1'risi+piscopat," 134, 136. 19 Syropoulos, 2, 3, ed. Laurent, 102.
u Gautier, op. cit., 340. .15 The basic work is Canunelli,.llantule Crisolora. Also see Loenertz, l.'alecas, 63-71;
Hunger, Chortos,nenos, 97-101; I. Thomson, "'Manuel Chrvsoloras and the Early Italian Renaissance," ORBS, 7 (11)6(i), 63-82.
xxxvi
PROSOPOGRAPHY
year both were named as executors of the will of John Laskaris Kalopheros in case they should be in Venice at the time 46 But it was not until 1390-91 that the two men actually arrived in Venice, and during their visit Manuel established contact with the Italian humanist circle of Coluccio Salutati, perhaps at this time giving some instruction in Greek to Roberto Rossi.47 In 1394-95 Manuel was again in Venice to request aid against the Turks. Back in Constantinople he gave lessons in Greek to Jacopo Angeli da Scarperia, who also followed his courses a few years later in Florence and who joined the Roman curia in 1401.48 Early in 1396 the city of Florence discussed inviting him to teach Greek there and on 28 March sent him an official letter of invitation. About the end of September, together with Cydones, Manuel left Constantinople for Venice and arrived in Florence on 2 February 1397 to begin a five-year teaching contract. A year later his salary was raised from 150 to 250 florins a year. But on 10 March 1400 he left Florence, citing the danger of the plague, although the real reason was undoubtedly the arrival
of Emperor Manuel II in Italy. The following day he joined his nephew, John Chrysoloras, in Pisa, and then the Emperor in Pavia. Most of the next three years was spent in Lombardy soliciting aid for Byzantium. He returned
to Constantinople, perhaps in the company of the Emperor in June 1403, but in December of 1404 was back in Venice as imperial envoy. His close contacts with the Latinophiles in Constantinople, particularly with converts to Catholicism such as Calecas and Cydones, made him suspect among the
Orthodox, so that John Chortasmenos called on him to make a public declaration of his orthodoxy.46 It is not certain when Chrysoloras formally became a convert to Catholicism, but about the end of 1405, while still in
Constantinople, he requested an indult from Pope Innocent VII to be ordained in the Roman rite with permission to say Mass in Greek. Although this was granted by the Pope on 19 February 1406, Manuel was never actually ordained. In Constantinople he continued teaching, his most appreciative and influential student being Guarino of Verona, who retained the fondest memories of his sojourn with Chrysoloras in the Byzantine capital. Early in 1406 he was in Venice and Padua and about the end of 1407 began a much lengthier mission for the Emperor which took him to Paris, London, perhaps Spain, and about May of 1410 to the papal court at Bologna. On behalf of the Emperor he presented to the monastery of Saint Denis in Paris a rich,
illuminated copy of the writings of Denis the Areopagite, containing a 48 A. Eszcr, Das abenteuerliche Leben des Johannes Laskaris Kalopheros (Wiesbaden, 1969), 96; Loenertz, Ddnadtrius Cydoues Correspondance, I, Appendix V, 10, pp. 191-92. 47 Loenertz, Caldcas, 54; Cammelli, Mccnuele Crisolora, 21-29; unless otherwise indicated the following remarks are based on Cammelli.
'8 Loenertz, Caldcas, 71-73; H. Weiss, "Jacopo Angeli da Scarperia (ca. 13601410/11)," Medioevo e 2i7wsciniento. Studi in onore di Bruno Nardi, II (Florence, 1955), 803-27. 49 Hunger, Chortasmenos, 100-1; Letter 29, pp. 179-80.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS xxxvii
portrait of Manuel II and his family and an inscription by Chrysoloras himself.60 In 1410 he returned to Constantinople, but in April of the following year was back in Italy and accompanied the papal court to Rome, remaining there for two years in an effort to negotiate ecclesiastical union and Western aid, an effort he soon came to realize was futile. Toward the end of 1413, in
the company of papal legates, he conferred with King Sigismund near Lugano and, after more travels in Northern Italy, possibly a quick visit to Manuel II in Thasos or Thessalonica, he arrived at Constance in the fall of 1414. The esteem in which he was held is shown by the fact that he was considered for election to the papacy. But he died there on 15 April 1415 and was buried in the Dominican convent. Apart from his diplomatic activity, Manuel Chrysoloras was best known for his teaching of Greek to the early Italian humanists. His method
in particular was admired and continued by such men as Guarino. For teaching Chrysoloras composed a sort of text, the Erotemata, or Questions.
His other writings are not many. There is a Discourse to Manuel II, a Comparison of Old Rome and New Rome in the form of a letter to John VIII,
translations of Latin liturgical prayers, a pro-Latin theological work, and twelve letters, primarily of rhetorical interest.61 6. Demetrius Cydones
The venerated teacher of Manuel II and one of his closest friends, to whom twenty of his published letters were addressed, was the prominent statesman and scholar, Demetrius Cydones. Primarily owing to the publication of his correspondence, some 450 letters, it is possible to put together a fairly clear picture of his life.52 Cydones was born about 1323 of a noble family in Thessalonica, where he made his studies under Neil Cabasilas. When his father died in 1341, on
returning from a mission to the Golden Horde, Demetrius became head of the family and was taken under the protection of John Cantacuzenus, who had himself been proclaimed emperor in October of that year. During the civil war of 1341-47 his support of Cantacuzenus earned him the enmity of the Loyalists, who forced him to leave the city in 1344-45, and he sought 50 Now in the Louvre in Paris, reproduced in Barker, Manuel 11, fig. 5, p. 101; fig. 20, p. 264. 51 See Cammelli, Afan uele Crisolora, 178-83. The Comparison of Old and New Rome is translated by F. Grabler, Europa 211E XV. Jahrltundert von Byzantinern gesehen (Graz, 1954), 109-41. Also see C. G. Patrinelis, "An Unknown Discourse of Chrysoloras Addressed
to Manuel II Palaeologus," ORBS, 13 (1972), 497-502. 52 No complete biography or study of Cydones has yet been written. See Beck, Kirehe end theoloyisehe L it eratu r, 733-37; R. J. Loenertz, Les recueils de lettres de Dimitrius
Cydonis, ST, 131 (Vatican City, 1947), 108-22; the section up to the year 1375 has now been superseded by his articles: "D6m6trius Cydones. 1. De la naissance a 1'ann6e 1373," OCP, 36 (1970), 47-72; "D6m6trius Cydones. 2. De 1373 11375," ibid., 37 (1971), 5-39.
PROSOPOGRAPHY refuge in Berroia with Manuel Cantacuzenus. The adversaries of Cantacuzenus seized power in Thessalonica and in August 1345 massacred a large number of his followers, an event which brought ruin to Cydones' family, and which he recalled on several occasions. After the victory of Cantacuzenus on 3 February 1347, Cydones entered his service, soon becoming his chancellor and chief minister. During this period he also seems to have instructed Cantacuzenus' daughter, the young Empress Helena, in Classical Greek language and literature. It was apparently about this time that Cydones began his religious and intellectual journey away from the hesychastic or Palamite positions predominant at the court of Cantacuzenus, a journey he was able to undertake without antagonizing his friends. This was a trait he
preserved throughout his life: the ability to retain the friendship of those
whose theological views he did not share. In 1350, together with Cantacuzenus
and Nicholas Cabasilas, he thought of entering a monastery, and it may have been about this time that he acquired an adelphaton at St. George in the Mangana. He disapproved of Cantacuzenus crowning his son Matthew coemperor in 1353 and of his rejection of the lawful Emperor, John V Palaeologus. But on 22 November 1354 John V entered Constantinople, and on 4 December Cantacuzenus abdicated and became a monk with the name of Joasaph, and Cydones retired to the Mangana. As minister for John Cantacuzenus, Cydones had learned Latin from a Dominican in Pera and begun his translation of the Summa contra Gentiles of Thomas Aquinas, which he completed on Christmas Eve 1354. During his retirement in the Mangana he began translating the Summa theologica, the
study of which accelerated his religious evolution, and led him, probably about 1357, to make a profession of the Roman Catholic faith. His religious development is documented by five "Apologies" on his conversion, his sincerity, his spiritual testament, on the authority of the Latin Fathers, and on St. Thomas Aquinas.13
His retirement did not last long, however, for John V Palaeologus soon invited him to the palace to become his chief minister or, properly speaking, mesazon, a position he was to hold for about thirty years. During the 1360's Cydones was intensely involved in the business of government, which came to entail more and more contact with the papacy. At the same time he kept up his literary interests, probably including the instruction of the Emperor's second son, Manuel, carried on a voluminous correspondence, and continued writing against the Palamite theology. Although the Patriarch Philotheos Kokkinos had promised not to liarrass the anti-Palamites, in the spring of 1368 he had Demetrius' brother, Prochoros, hieromonk of the Lavra on Mount Athos, condemned by a synod. Demetrius then wrote against the Patriarch and in defense of his brother. 53 The first three are edited by illercati, Notizie di Procoru e De,netrio Cidone, 359-435; German translation of the first by H.-G. Beck, inOKS, 1 (1952), 208-25; 264-82. The last two are unedited: cods. Vaat. gr. 614, 1103, and 1879, and cod. Viiulob. theol gr. 260.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xxxix
In 1369 he accompanied John V to Rome, assisting at his profession of faith, and then remained with him in Venice until March 1371. Profoundly impressed by Rome, as well as by Venice, both Emperor and prime minister were soon quite disillusioned about their chances of obtaining Western aid against the Turks. Although Cydones retained his position in the government, serious disagreements developed between him and John V after their return from Italy, as John came to follow a policy of cooperation with the
Turks.54
Cydones found himself unwelcome at court and spent some time in semiretirement at the Mangana and also on Lesbos. But he remained loyal to John and refused to serve Andronicus IV, who usurped the throne from 1376 to 1379. During the resultant civil war and the period immediately following, Cydones resumed his place at court, but his known sympathies for Manuel II, ruling independently and in defiance of his father in Thessalonica from 1382 to 1387, apparently led John to mistrust him. About 1385-87 he resigned from government service, and was excluded from the council called to determine the fate of Manuel.55 In the course of his flight from Thessalonica (April 1387) and his exile on Lemnos to 1389, Manuel received a number of letters from Cydones.b8 Probably not long after Manuel's return to Constantinople and his reconciliation with his father about the end of 1389, Cydones
sailed to Venice, a journey he had been planning for some time. He spent most of 1390 there, receiving in January 1391 the grant of Venetian citizenship, and in March returned to Constantinople.57 During the next year or so Manuel addressed a number of letters (14, 16,19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, and 26) to Cydones, who seems to have been occupying
himself in editing his correspondence and having copies made. It was during this period, too, that he entered into contact with Manuel Calecas. In late September 1396, along with Manuel Chrysoloras, he embarked for Venice, and it was probably there that he received from Manuel Letters 31 and 62. He then sailed to Crete, where he died during the winter of 1397-98.58
As far as the present work is concerned, it is clear that the most important of Cydones' writings are his letters, some eighty of which were addressed to Manuel II. These letters not only furnish significant factual information, but also enable one to discern the personality, the thoughts, and the feelings of the writer.58 Despite their divergent theological views, the 51 Dennis, 3laiauel in Thessalonnica, 26-37. 55 Ibid., 112-52.
51" R. J. Loenertz, "L'exil de Manuel 11 Paleologue a Lemnos, 1387-1389," OCP, 38 (1972), 116-40. 57 Loenertz, (:'alecas, 54. :.e Ibid., 56-57.
On the letters of Cydones, see Dennis, .11ate!tel in Thee,aloitica, 20-22; subsequently, 15 letters have been translated into German by Eszer, Das abeuteuerliche Leben des ... Kalopheros, 201-44; three into Italian by G. Fedalto, Siruone Atmnan,o, dlorueco di Studio, Arcivencovo Latino di Tebe,secolo 11 V (Brescia, 1968), 127-48; live into French by Loenertz, inOC'P, 37 (1971), 24-38.
PROSOPOGRAPHY
xl
Manuel and Cydones stands out clearly in a reading
close friendship linking of their letters. Whether Cydones instructed Manuel in rhetoric and literature in a formal manner is not certain, but Manuel definitely regarded him as his
teacher, constantly sought his advice, and spoke of him with the greatest veneration and affection.
7. David and Damian, Monks During the sojourn of Manuel II in Thessalonica from October-November 1414 to March 1415 a number of monks from Mount Athos took advantage of the occasion to have certain matters settled or to obtain certain privileges for their monasteries (see Letter 68). Whether in connection with such affairs or not, two hieromonks, David and Damian, presumably also from the Holy Mountain, visited the emperor and entered into close friendship with him.80 They expressed interest in a religious work he was composing, a meditation
before holy communion after recovering from a serious illness, and he promised to send them a copy of the completed work. Its completion took longer than he anticipated, and Letter 68 is his apology for the delay. Nothing else seems to be known about these two monks except that Manuel addresses them as priests and spiritual fathers and clearly held them in high regard.
8. Euthymius, Priest and later Patriarch Euthymius, the priest to whom Manuel addressed Letters 39, 40, 51, and 54, was born about 1340 of a wealthy family and educated in Constantinople.61
He embraced the monastic life at an early age and became noted for his learning, both secular and religious, and for his oratorical and polemical abilities. He was a very close friend of the Emperor and belonged to the literary circle at his court. Letter 54, for example, is concerned with a literary
work on which they had collaborated. He may well be identical with "the good Euthymius" sent by Manuel as an envoy to Pope Urban VI from Thessalonica in the spring of 1385.62 Cydones (Letter 314) describes him as 60 A&T6 1T6 P6(lXloVl XOCTa T6Va T6X71V '26V 6rro,W en:eSil ceiS
siV i7U8-Jlµo5am Tp T05
Calmmou xaaa(an1 noaem: cod. Vat. gr. 1107, fol. 315. A David was higounienos of Esphigmenou in 1357 and 1398: Dolger, Ans den des heiligen Berges, 51, p. 142;
Actes de l'Athos. II, Actes du Pantocrator, ed. L. Petit, suppl. to VizVrern, 10 (1903), 13, p. 43; a David was also protos of Mt. Athos in 1389: J. Darrouzes, "Liste des pr6tes de 1'Athos," Le Milldnaire du Wont Athos, 963-1963, Etudes et Didlanges, I (Chevetogne, 1963), 432. A Damian was higoumenos of Chilandari in 1384: Actes du Pantocrator, ed. Petit, 6, p. 15; another Damian was ecclesiarch of Karves in 1387 and 1395: Actes de Dion.ysiou, ed. N. Oikonomides (Paris, 1968), 207-8; as higoumenos of Menitze in 1394 and 1400: ibid., no. 8, p. 73; no. 9, p. 80. 81 J. Darrouzes, "Euthyme II," DHGE, XVI, 59-61. 82 Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 137-38. In the Synodikon of Orthodoxy read in Thessalonica Euthymius receives a lengthier encomium than the other patriarchs, as
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xii
playing a prominent role in the controversies against the Latins, as a monk and convinced Palamite, but also as a good friend, an articulate, intelligent, and virtuous man who would make a favorable impression in Rome. About 1390 he was named abbot of the monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople and given the honorary title of protosynkellos.63 In 1397 he was a candidate for the patriarchate, and during the long controversy instigated by Macarius
of Ankara and Matthew of Medeia he acted as the arbiter, whose moral authority was respected by all. When the Emperor refused even to look at what he felt was a libellous pamphlet, Macarius sent a copy to Euthymius, saying he would go along with his judgment.84 Although Macarius and Matthew were excommunicated in 1409, the disturbance in the church does not seem to have abated fully, and on the death of Patriarch Matthew in the
following year, the Emperor looked to Euthymius as best able to restore peace. He was consecrated and enthroned as patriarch on 26 October 1410.66 A serious conflict with Manuel regarding the Emperor's rights over the church was averted by his unexpected death on 29 March 1416; he was buried in the monastery of Stoudios.66 9. Frangopoulos
Frangopoulos, to whom Manuel II addressed Letter 24, was a common family name in the Late Byzantine period. One branch was prominent in the Morea, and the remains of a large house belonging to the family still exist in Mistra.67 Letter 24 was probably written in the years 1392-96, and the best
known Frangopoulos about that time was Manuel, who bore the title of protostrator and represented the despot Theodore I in concluding a treaty with Venice on 28 August 1394.68 A year later, his brother John, governor of Grevenon, was murdered at the orders of the metropolitan of Patras.69 After though he had some special connection with the city: J. Gouillard, "Le Synodikon de 1'Orthodoxie, Edition et commentaire," TM, 2 (1967), 105. es R. Janin, La geographie ecclesiastigne de l'empire byzantin. III, Constantinople, les e'glises et les Tn.onasteres, 2nd ed. (Paris, 1969), 433-34; Loenertz, Calecas, 104. In the early 1390's he received a letter from Joseph Bryennios: idem, "Pour la chronologie des oeuvres de Joseph Bryennios," 17-18. 84 'IIZ;tce.aa aTa),Yvat Tb (3L(3AiOV 7rp6C TbV 7raV0aL6TMT0V EV 1Epol40Vcx0L4 xal
SpLrgv Tou 2:TouStou xup E64R61.uov, xai rb Trap' a&rou SLarpt$Ev aripEo xai AUTO'S: cod.
Paris. gr. 1379, fol. 50"; see Laurent, "Trisbpiscopat," 44, 157. Os V. Laurent, "Les dates du patriarchat d'Euthyme II de Constantinople," BZ, 54 (1961), 329-32. 60 Ibid.; Janin, op. cit., 435; on the conflict, see Svropoulos, 2, 1-2, ed. Laurent, Les Mimoiree, 100-2. 3 A. Orlandos, T& Traa&TLa xal Ta m it z Tou Muotpa, in (1037), 3-114, esp. 106. Also of. V. Laurent., "Lttgendes sigillographiques et familles byzantines," EO, 30 (1931), 466-84, esp. 467-73; ibid., 31 (1932), 344-47. 08 D. A. Zakythinos, Le Despotat grec de 1.1oree, I (Paris, 1932), 138; II (Athens, 1953), 98. 84 Ibid., I, 129; MM, II, no. 493, p. 250.
PROSOPOGRAPHY the death of Theodore I in 1407, Manuel Frangopoulos governed the Morea during the minority of Theodore II.70 Some time later, the protostrator John Frangopoulos became the chief minister (xal&oaix6S
v) of the Despot Theodore II in Mistra, where
he founded the Pantanassa monastery and in 1444, according to a document of Constantine XI, bore the title of general (ysvsp&acs -rids paaastas 11ou).71 He seems to have been the protostrator who was sent on missions by the despot in 1428 and 1443, by John VIII to Murad II in 1430, and who was later in the service of the Despot Thomas in Mistra.72 An unnamed Frangopoulos is referred to as grand stratopedarch in the 1430's.73 10. Gabriel, Metropolitan of Thessalonica
Gabriel, to whom Manuel II addressed Letters 52 and 57, was the son of a priest, a diocesan official in Thessalonica, and at a tender age entered religious life under the direction of Macarius Choumnos.74 He also received a good classical education and apparently displayed the gifts of a good 70 Zakythinos, op. cit., I, 166. A young Greek cleric of the same name from Constantinople studied Latin in Rome during the 1370's at papal expense and served in the Mores, as secretary to John Laskaris Kalopheros: Eszer, Kalopheros, 63, 70, 146. A Frangopoulos is mentioned in May 1387 as owning property near Serres: Actes de i'Athos. III, Actes du Esphigminou, eds. L. Petit and W. Regel, suppl. to VizVrem, 12 (1906), 21, p. 42. 71 Zakythinos, op. cit., II, 98-99, 103. On the title xa,9o) r.xls see J. Verpaux, "Contribution A 1'etude de 1'administrationbyzantine: 6 µEaci o v," Byzantinoslavica, 16 (1955), 270-96; R. J. Loenertz, "Le chancelier imperial sl, Byzance an XIVe at au XVe siccle," OCP, 26 (1960), 275-300 (= ByzFrGr, I, 441-66). 72 Zakythinos (op. cit., I, 265; II, 99) mentions Leo and Nicholas Frangopoulos,
both protostrators, but these are clearly inventions of ?Macarius Melissenos (PseudoPhrantzes), whereas Sphrantzes himself (ed. Green, pp. 26, 66) speaks only of the protostrator Frangopoulos, who is probably John. 73 S. Lampros, flaaa!oa6yEt0C xai IIEaoirovvraeax&, I (Athens, 1912), 165. In the spring of 1391 the deacon, George Frangopoulos, signed a promise to the patriarch concerning his promotion to the priesthood: 1131, II, no. 420, p. ],51. Another George Frangopoulos is mentioned in a property settlement in Thessalonica on 4 April 1421: Dolger, Avs den Schatzlea7nnter72 den heiligen Bergen, no. 102; and also in an act concerning the monastery of Dionysiou in 1430: Actes de Dionpfsiovt, ed. Oikonomidk, no. 25, p. 149.
A Demetrius Frangopoulos attested an act of 1415: ibid., no. 14, p. 97. An unnamed Frangopoulos was a bishop of Nicaea: Mancuelis Philae carmine, ed. E. Miller (Paris, 1855-57), 11, 286; another was a leader of the anti-Cantacuzenus faction in Adrianople in 1315: Cantacuzenus, Hist., 3, 90: II, 556; still another was connected with a person punished for trying to destroy icons in 1393: 1111, II, no. 437, p. 171. 74 Much of the information on Gabriel derives from a panegyric composed shortly after his death: cd. L. S. Laourdas, 'Cyxci mcv Et; -.6,) &p7ic7:iaxozov 9E(Yaa).ovtx7jS rot'ill MaxEBovcx&, 4 (1955.60), 352-70. See also G. I. Theocharides, Duo via E- ypaya &popo0v-7. Et; -iiv NE.av ,Nloviv ibid., 3145-51; A. E. Bakalopoulos, '0 &p/ceaiaxo7rcS Ix(ip! ;n xul r` rpc5rq roupxtxi xa;oy-; v ; Oersaa),ovirg5, ibid., 371-73; 11. Laourd+ls,'0 Pa(ip:rn in'AOrva, 56 (1952), ] 99-214; 1'. Laurent, "Le metropolite de Thessalonique Gabriel et Ie couvent de la Nic 'EA),rvLx&, 13 (1954), 241-55.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
administrator and superior, for when Macarius was called about 1374 to become abbot of the monastery of Stoudios in the capital, he left his Thessalonican community, referred to simply as the New Monastery (Nice MovI), in the charge of Gabriel. There he remained until early in 1384, when he felt there was no hope of saving the city from the Turks and of avoiding slavery, and with several of the monks he fled to Constantinople.75 He was named abbot of the monastery of Chora and overseer of all the monasteries in the capital. In April 1389 he was named metropolitan of Chalcedon, a see which no longer had any faithful, but which possessed privileges and property in Constantinople that were to occasion several controversies. Sometime before January 1394 Gabriel returned to his New Monastery in Thessalonica as superior. On the death of Metropolitan Isidore Glabas, 11 January 1396, a long conflict arose over the succession, but in the summer of 1397 Gabriel
was named metropolitan of Thessalonica. He was remembered for his successful efforts in obtaining milder treatment for his flock from the Turkish conquerors, efforts which required energetic action and large sums of money.
After the city recovered its freedom in the summer of 1402, Gabriel concentrated on his pastoral and administrative duties, of which one manifestation is a collection of some sixty-six sermons delivered in Thessalonica, most of which remain unedited.76 He became involved in ecclesiastical litigation, for example, a conflict over the rights of the bishopric of Chalcedon and a long, drawn out property dispute with the Monks of Akapniou. Since
his appointment as metropolitan of Chalcedon, Gabriel had been at odds with Matthew, then bishop of Cyzicus, over the perquisites of Chalcedon. The hostility continued after Matthew's election to the patriarchate in 1397, and Gabriel joined the party led by Macarius of Ankara and Matthew of Medeia which sought to depose him. In fact, in the synod held the second week of June 1403, Gabriel, by his representatives, voted to depose Matthew from the patriarchate.77 Peace between the prelates of Thessalonica and Constantinople seems only to have been restored during the patriarchate of Euthymius, 1410-16. Gabriel's death occurred sometime in 1416-19.
The relationship of Manuel II with Gabriel raises some interesting questions. Gabriel's flight from Thessalonica in 1384 must have struck Manuel as desertion by a friend whose support was then urgently needed. Furthermore, Gabriel's opposition to Patriarch Matthew and his alliance with Macarius of Ankara must have been regarded by the Emperor as just short of treason. Yet Manuel's extant letters to him manifest a common intellectual See Dennis, Alamoel in Thessalonica, 97-98. ve Seven sermons have been published by B. Laourdas, Pmpp ila UE saxi.ovcxns oµ:i,ixa, in'AO-1vz, 57 (1953),141-78. The collection is found in cod.58 of the Theological School of Chalki: of. A. Ehrhard, Uberliefer n.g end Bestaed der hagiographischen mail hoiniletischeea
Literatur der griechischen Kirche (= Tl', 52, 5) (Leipzig, 1943), 714-17. "(. Dennis, "The Deposition and Restoration of Patriarch ;Matthew 1, 1402,-1403," By;?, 2 (1967), 104 note 19.
PROSOPOGRAPHY and religious concern between them.
and indicate that a most cordial friendship existed 11. Giorgio Gattilusio
Although it cannot be affirmed with certainty, there is reason to believe that Manuel addressed Letters 58 and 59 to Giorgio Gattilusio on Thasos during the summer of 1414. Apart from his seizure of the island, or at least the citadel, of Thasos at that time, all that is known about Giorgio is
that he was an illegitimate son of Francesco II Gattilusio, lord of Lesbos (1384-1403/4) and in September or October of 1397 was sent by his father on a mission to the duke of Burgundy, then at Constance.78 12. Guarino dei Guarini
The first of the Italian humanists to travel to Constantinople for the express purpose, of learning Greek was Guarino dei Guarini of Verona, to
whom Manuel addressed Letter 60. Guarino was born in 1374 and educated in his native Verona, Padua, and Venice.79 While in Venice, his "second fatherland," in 1403 he met Manuel Chrysoloras, who was accompanying
Manuel II on his return to Byzantium from Western Europe. With the encouragement and financial assistance of a prominent Venetian, Paolo Zane, Guarino sailed to Constantinople a few months later to study Greek under Chrysoloras. During the absences of Manuel, Guarino was instructed by his nephew, John Chrysoloras. He remained there until 1408 and always treasured the fondest memories of his instructors, particularly Manuel, and of his sojourn in Constantinople, recalling the Chrysoloras house with its pleasant courtyard and cypresses. He also performed certain official duties, for example, composing the Latin version of the Byzantine-Venetian treaty of 22 May 1406.80 Judging from some letters and exercises of his, Guarino 71 "George, file naturel de Frangois Gastelu, seigneur de Methelin, arriva aupr6 du Due a Constans, auquel it etoit envoih de la part de son pore, pour 1'asseurer que le Comte de Nevers, avec les princes et seigneurs etoient arrivez a 1'isle de Methelin." Prosper Bauyn, Mdrnoire du voyage fait en Hongrie: Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, MS. Collection de
Bourgogne, 20, fols. 357-58. On the Gattilusio family in general, see W. Miller, "The Gattilusij of Lesbos (1355-1.462)," BZ, 22 (1913), 400--47; rep. in Essays on the Latin Orient (Cambridge, 1921), 313-53; G. Dennis, "The Short Chronicle of Lesbos, 1355-1428," Aso vx&, 5 (1965), 3-22.
's On Guarino, see Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, esp. 131-39; W. H. Woodward, Vittoriruw da Feltre and Other Humanist Educators (Cambridge, 1921); M. Baxandall, "Guarino, Pisanello and Manuel Chrysoloras," 28 (1965), 183-204. The letters of Guarino, as well as further biographical data, are found in R. Sabbadini, L'epistolario di (Marino Veronese (Venice, 1915-19).
Si He signed the document: "Ego Guarinus de Guarinis de Verona, imperiali auetoritate notaries at canzellarius prefati domini ambassatoris et curie Venetorum in Constantinopoli." MM, III, no. 34, pp. 152-53; ef. Dolger, Kaiserregesten, 3311, p. 03. The original still exists in the State Archives in Venice; it is reproduced in Barker, Manuel II, 258-59.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
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seems to have learned Greek rapidly and well. On returning to Italy he taught first at Florence and then at Venice, Verona, and Ferrara. Noted for his educational methods, which he had learned from Manuel Chrysoloras, he was influential in the development of other Italian humanists. He died in Ferrara in December 1460. 13. Helena Cantacuzena Palaeologina, Empress
While Manuel certainly wrote a number of letters to his mother, the only one extant is that which he had placed first in the collection. Helena was born in 1333, the youngest daughter of John Cantacuzenus, and became the bride and empress of the sixteen-year-old John V Palaeologus on 28 or 29 May 1347 81 She received a good classical education, one of her instructors
apparently being Demetrius Cydones, who complimented her not only on her beauty and virtue, but also on her progress in studies and her literary talent 82 As empress, Helena played an important role in the religious and literary life of the capital. She also actively participated in its political life by advising her husband and her sons and at times meeting with foreign ambassadors. In 1376 when her oldest son, Andronicus IV, usurped the throne, she was caught in the middle and tried in vain to reconcile him with his father. During the subsequent imprisonment of John V with their two sons, Manuel and Theodore, she was accused of favoritism by both sides, and when they escaped in 1379 she was suspected of having planned it. Andronicus fled to Galata taking her, her father, and two sisters as hostages, subjecting them
to a rigorous and harsh imprisonment, made worse because of plague and famine during the siege of Galata. She was not released until May 1381 and was welcomed back by the people of the capital with great rejoicing. After the death of her husband on 16 February 1391, she determined to become a nun. She distributed her goods to the poor and provided special gifts for certain close friends, among whom was Cydones, who composed his lengthy Letter 222 in gratitude, to which Manuel's Letter 23 is the response. She
then entered the convent of Kyra Martha in Constantinople taking the religious name of Hypomone. Exactly when she took this step or how strictly she was bound by the cloister is not clear, for she participated with her son
Manuel in governmental activities at least until July 1392. She died in November 1396.83 81 On Helena, see Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos, 135-38, from which most of these details are taken. 12 To Helena, Cydones addressed Letters 25, 134, 143, 222, 256, 389; of these the lengthy Letter 222 contains a great deal of biographical information and has been translated into French by G. Cammelli, De,nelrius Cydones Correspondance (Paris, 1930), no. 28, PP. 68-77. 11 V. Laurent, "La date de la mort d'Helene Cantacuzene. Une precision," REB, 14 (1956), 200-1.
PROSOPOGRAPHY 14. Constantine Ivankos
Almost all that is known about Ivankos is derived from Letter 45 of Manuel addressed to him, one of the longest of his letters. At the time the letter was written, 1404-8, Ivankos was a venerable old man, and his career as a rhetorician and teacher had been a long and extraordinarily brilliant one. Probably a native of Thessalonica, he may well have received, as did Nicholas Cabasilas, some of his education in the capital. At some time, probably in the 1360's or early 1370's, he was Manuel's instructor in literature and rhetoric, although whether in Thessalonica or Constantinople is not clear. Manuel regarded him as an outstanding teacher and cherished fond memories of him. Ivankos was a respected rhetorician himself and prominent in legal and governmental circles. If the interpretation of certain passages in Letter 45 is correct, Ivankos provided firm moral support and counsel to Manuel during his troubled reign in Thessalonica from 1382 to 1387. The only extant writings of his are a monody on the death of Isidore Glabas, metropolitan of Thessalonica, presumably given in 1396, the year of the prelate's death, and a rather biting letter, written about 1410 or 1416, to Simon, Protos of Mount Athos, who had severely criticized some of his writings.84
Another student of Ivankos, apparently in the early 1400's, was a certain Katadokeinos, known as Katablatas, altered to Skatablatas in"a scurrilous and vulgar little pamphlet composed by a person named John sometime after 1423 or 1430; because of his erotic involvement with another pupil, however, Ivankos expelled him 85 This pamphlet also makes it
clear that Ivankos, together with the hieromonk Simon, Protos of Mount Athos, was a judge in Thessalonica, sometime in the period from about 1402
to about 1420, for the same Katadokeinos served as their secretary and perpetrated a rather crude prank upon Simon, in which Ivankos also joined.86 14 The monody and the letter are published by Legrand, Lettres, 105-12. Simon was protos of Mount Athos from about 1405 to some date before 1424: see infra, p. lv. In the letter to Simon (lines 47-49), Ivankos claims to have been honored by emperors, rulers, and by "the common leader, teacher and lord (To5 xoe1o5 7rpoa-&Tou xai BLSaaxa''AOU
xxi Seaaurou), the one who is now in heaven." These are terns one would apply to the ecumenical patriarch; so this letter must have been written shortly after the death of Matthew I in 1410 or after that of Euthymius II in 1416. In 1364-65 the governor of Lemnos sent a certain Ivankos to visit the Lavra on Mount Athos: Cydones, Letter 96: 51. "5 Cod. Vallicell. 86 (F 20), fols. 277-291v. This information and a transcription of the manuscript were kindly given to me by Professor N. Oikonomides, who is preparing an edition of the work. Fol. 281: 'AA),a yap iv TOUTotq div, &.'1& or Tov aopdv exeivov 67reA46v 'I(iayxJv, oux o18' 6irwq ehh (POLT71T'&C, eTEAeaac exeivou' 7 X ,,v &a).' iTEL&aE Y-4 1A)TO-, T TOU TrrLSOC, e7rt1Lc yr J.rVOV &px 7recpdpaxE, v yEW4 ixELOr' ey&Wac.
tl" Fol. 252v: '0-e µ v yap c&c 'I(3ayxh xai ZL( Lovt rots Twv OETTaXWV 8Lxaarals iroypaµµa-eiwv, Tire aU 'r6v 'lµova, ra's -roc'-J,9' Eeprv &ytpa xai Trs &yea71; Twv µovaycav, L).r raTOV &v-' e),aviacOU gv TLVt TLilV xptaLµoyp&pe v uroy&ypagpas. Sre xai Tdv 'I(3ayx6v TOUro `eaa&µEVOS 6,56q paaty exaTrvw. 'rriS xa1Ri8paS xai &roYepW Ka,}'f,=t TO cUVBtxacrou xxi Tiv epwµevov alTiav TSq &7roat&aewq, 65 oX6year6c Te el-% &xouaat xal at& Touro --qS xe&s8pc
exeivov &TroXwpi)aat, l i pipovra Trv EE auro5 cpepoµevrly &rocpopxv. 6 8e
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
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15. Theodore Kaukadenos
In Letter 27, Manuel granted Theodore Kaukadenos a tutorial position with the imperial family. All that we know about the man is that he had been trying to obtain a position at court for years. Probably sometime in the early 1380's Cydones wrote three letters (210, 215, and 357) recommending him for the imperial service as a good man, a skilled rhetorician, and one devoted to the Emperor. The Emperor, apparently John V, was persuaded by the first
letter (210) and granted Cydones' request by appointing Kaukadenos to some sort of position in the imperial bureaucracy with a modest stipend, which he confirmed by an official prostagma (Cydones employs the precise word twice in Letter 215). But certain officials kept trying to prevent him from actually obtaining the position. "They claimed it required further consideration and thought it well to ask you [the emperor] the same questions over again and, in general, they are destroying the man by their daily delays.
Although they say they used to love him, and they promised there was nothing they would not do at a mere nod from you, yet now even after the prostagma, they are lazy and on holiday and do not feel like paying any attention. Instead, on one occasion they simply sent him away when he came to discuss the matter, and on another presented him with riddles more obscure
than those of the Sphinx. Finally, they are devising a way of having him depart without obtaining your gift." Cydones then urged the Emperor to assert himself and show that he and his decree (prostagma) cannot be ignored (Letter 215). The letter seems to have been successful, and Kaukadenos obtained his position and stipend, but soon lost them, so that a few years later, about 1386, Cydones, no longer in favor with John V, wrote to his minister, the mesazon
Goudeles, to ask that Kaukadenos' former position and salary be restored (Letter 357). Apparently the same bureaucrats were continuing to intrigue against hint. "He has been harmed by insolent people who seek to increase their own position at the expense of the empire. They envied the small livelihood he was receiving from the emperor, and by depriving him of this, they have condemned him to poverty. So he sits at home with his wife and children with nothing coming into the house and spending what he has saved for so many years." Kaukadenos now wished to return to his former service E(Lo
vov 6XWa xaL µcuJ60Vra ToV 'I(iayxov u7ro),a(36v, EL 6; &X7)iEWC, TOLOUTOV a6T6V U7r vo a(;' C8E aaur6v, ETCLp poVTa, ExELVOS sU46S T6 T(0 9py p T05-CO 7Ck7rov ca , 8ELHV6C, T(il BaxTUX c) TOG (QTaLv, EvTaU9a OXOXearov xi, 6 8E r& IA'7rp6Ta 6nep.EL8(aoev, CO-' OUTCil ''O 6)6';(EU-0C kV LEpo LoV&XoL[" ate-,acrpagJELC xcL Taup7186v EVLBWV ao4, Troa).OLS ac xal ELUp(OLS TOLS aX6L(1.JCaty EpaaaE, LaLV6t
of yr0, 4418EV
ou8' ix-rap, aLpe), TLVa xaXwv xaL &Cpu`r xad µau.&xoupov, xal Tq) Twv ypaµµaTewv i (P'aaLV, ETL[30,X0VTL, EL µ TL yE LGTC0 Val 6aa yE L6TW auvepyeZ [fol. 283] Trpoa7rEpux6TaxaL vu xev av ae (.LLxpoU r&v xux).(y&Wv E icacrev, EL 1.7 cc r 6v KLxuv64ev 4c hyr v 6 8LS&axa),o4 'I(3ayx6c TepLTOLOUµevoq Tapaxav6aXe.
PROSOPOGRAPHY
alviii
(67Crpzaiav) and his modest salary. "With a good disposition he will give due the emperor and will not allow anyone to steal or service (AEvtoupyfav) to
embezzle public funds, as so many have been doing." Oydones was chief minister or mesazon for a long period and was careful in his use of terms such as prostagma, service, and public funds. Kaukadenos, then, held an official position in the government which, in some way, involved overseeing the finances. Whether he regained this position or not is unknown. In these letters Cydones also praised his rhetorical ability, which later impressed Manuel II enough to employ him as a tutor for his children. Nothing else seems to be known about him.87
16. Manuel III Comnenus, Emperor of Trebizond Letter 53 of Manuel II is addressed simply to the Emperor of Trebizond.
That this was his namesake and distant cousin, Manuel III the Grand Comnenus, is almost certain owing to the approximate date of the letter, 1409-10, and the reign of Manuel III, 1390-141798 By diplomacy, marriage connections, and a fair amount of luck, he managed to preserve his declining state in relative prosperity and to avoid being absorbed by the aggressively expanding empires of the Turk Baj ezid or the Mongol Timur. In 1404 the Castilian ambassador to Timur visited him and was impressed by his handsome and regal appearance.89 In 1395, after the death of his first wife, he
married Anna Philanthropena, distantly related to the Byzantine imperial family, and at the same time, his son Alexius married Theodora Cantacuzena of Constantinople 90
17. Theodore Potamios
Theodore Potamios, or Potames, to whom Manuel addressed Letter 47 about 1404-8, had died by 1414, for in that year Mazaris saw him in Hades and satirized him as an ancient old rhetorician with a formidable talent for invective.91 Practically nothing else has been known about him, except that he delivered a lengthy monody on the death of Emperor John Palaeologus 87 A certain Doukas Kaukadenos was the subject of a synocial decision in an uncanon-
ical marriage in March 1394 and in one involving the ownership of a vineyard in April 1400: MM, II, no. 457, p. 204; no. 567, p. 379. Cf. D. I. Polemis, The Doukai, A Contribution to Byzantine Prosopography (London, 1968), 133. Ne Both had Cantacuzene mothers; see Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos, 141-10.
81 Huy Gonzalez de Clavijo, Encbajada a Tamorlcmn, ed. F. Lopez Estrada (Madrid, 1943), 75; see W. Miller, Trebizond, The Last Greek Empire (London, 1926; rep. with introduction and bibliography by A. C. Bandy, Chicago, 1969), 71-79. °011t ta'ra Toy I Iavapsrou, Ilepi Tcly iMey&).wv KoµvrvcT v, ed. 0. Lampsides (Athens, 1958), 81; of. Nicol, The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos, 168-69. ".Journey Into Hades, 150; see M. Treu, "Mazaris and Holobolos," BZ, 1 (1892), 92.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
xlix
and that he wrote some letters.92 A careful reading of those letters, however, reveals much more information about the man. An inventory of manuscripts on Mount Athos compiled early in the eighteenth century lists twenty letters of Potamios in a manuscript, now located in the Monastery of Iviron (cod. 184).93 The manuscript has since been torn in places, and some pages are
missing, so that it now contains only thirteen letters, with a fraction of a fourteenth. Pertinent sections of these letters are given in the Appendix, to which subsequent references are made. Potamios wrote to Isidore Glabas, metropolitan of Thessalonica (25 May 1380-11 January 1396), in the hopes of renewing their old friendship, interrupted by the evils of the time (Letter 9). He recalls their studies together as youths. Isidore was born in 1342 and became a monk in 1375.94 Potamios,
then, as a contemporary of Isidore, must have been born sometime about 1340, which would make him about seventy-five when Mazaris depicted him as an ancient old man.
Letter 2 was written to renew his old friendship with Pothos, whose first name is not given, at a time when "the emperors have put an end to their former differences with one another," and "the beauty of peace has driven out all suspicion." Pothos' letter, to which this is the answer, reminded
him of their old friendship and the time they had spent together as boys studying literature. Potamios, though, regrets that he has lost his touch for fine writing and explains why. "In addition to the other evils which the past ten years have brought upon us and which have made us become like barbarians, we have, first of all, been living in constant contact with vulgar men and spending our time in places absolutely uninhabited by the Muse or by Hellenic culture, and then, deprived of all books owing to the disturbance of the civil wars, we were unable in any way at all to bring ourselves to do
some writing.... We recalled those earlier studies of ours, which at least helped a bit while we were not acquiring any of the better things in our flight from the fatherland. In fact, we happened to suffer the opposite. What we
had generously cultivated and gathered together from youth, this now, as we approach old age, we seem to have lost because of the harshness of fortune, not to mention the meanness of spirit of the rulers, which has been the cause of all our suffering." The peace between the emperors must be that between John V and Andronicus IV in May 1381 or its confirmation in the Greco-Genoese treaty of November 1382.15 It could not be that between John V and Cantacuzenus 02 The monody, probably on the death of Jobn VII in 1408, and excerpts from sonic of the letters, have been published by S. Lampros, l)s66wpoc 6 Ilo.iµcos xai r) dS 2 (1885), 48-62. 'lceavvr,v ^,Lv flanaLovY"v jJov(,)SLcc aUTO5, in 93 K. N. Sathas, MersxLCOVLxr I3L ,XLo }ii rr, I (Venice, 1872), 282; S. Lampros,
Catalojue o/ the Greek 31anascripts on 31omt Atho$, II (Cambridge, 1900), no. 4304, pp. 4.1-50. 94 See Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 16-17. 95 ]bid., 44-51.
PROSOPOGRAPHY
I
in 1354, for then Potamios would not be able to say that he was approaching old age. The evils of the past ten years and the mention of the civil wars are certainly applicable to the 1370's. The fatherland he fled from is not specified,
but it may well have been Thessalonica. At any rate, as he wrote this letter he had been ten years in a barbaric place, possibly one of the Latin states. In Letter 4, also to Pothos, he mentions that he is dwelling among people who speak a strange and barbarous tongue. More informative perhaps is his Letter 8, addressed to Theodore Cantacuzenus, the uncle of the Emperor (Manuel II). He speaks of being thirteen years in "this turbulent and miserable community." This letter, then, was written three years after Letter 2 to Pothos, that is, about 1384-85. Again, he laments the loss of some of his books during the civil wars and the loss of others to pirates who were constantly attacking the triremes sailing there. His place of exile, then, must have been a seaport or an island. He tells Theodore that their mutual friends, Chrysoloras, undoubtedly Demetrius, and a certain Bryennius, "on an embassy for the emperor to the barbarian,
because of the common nature of the negotiations, have arrived here." Pothos was also present for the pleasant conversation which ensued. The embassy presumably was sent by John V either to Murad I or perhaps to Khairaddin Pasha, then besieging Thessalonica.96 The place where Potamios was residing, perhaps a Venetian or Genoese possession, was also involved in whatever negotiations were in progress. A letter of Potamios to two young religious men, Gemistos and Atheno-
doros, perhaps monks, indicates that he belonged to the strict Orthodox party in Byzantium (Letter 7). He wrote two letters to Cydones, the second of which (Letter 12) conveys the news that "the two emperors (ro v (ict6Lagoiv)
have risen up against each other to the greatest detriment of the Romans, ... and like a flame have rekindled civil strife." His use of the dual, repeated later in the letter, makes it clear that he is speaking of just two emperors, who must be Andronicus IV and John V in their war of 1373, possibly that of 1385, for he would have been too young to write about the wars between John V and Cantacuzenus, and in the other dynastic conflicts during Cydones' life, more than two emperors were involved. Letter 13 is addressed simply To the Emperor, who is not named. In it he excuses himself for not being able, owing to illness, to travel to Constantinople to make a certain request
in person. From Letter 47 of Manuel, it is clear that he was a friend of Demetrius Chrysoloras and may have been in Thessalonica about the same time, 1403-8.
18. Pothos, Manuel Pothos
Letter 17 of Manuel is addressed simply to Pothos, while Letters 35 and 42 are addressed to Manuel Pothos. Whether these two are to be identified 90 Ibid., 129.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
1i
or not is a matter of conjecture, for Pothos was a common family name in the Palaeologan period. In 1341 a John Pothos, referred to as in the service of the pinkernis, Angelos, was one of the envoys sent by John Cantacuzenus to discuss peace with the Empress Anne of Savoy.97 He is possibly the same John Pothos, this time in the service of Cantacuzenus, whom Cydones wrote to in the Morea in 1352 (Letter 51). About five years later a Mark Pothos is also mentioned by Cydones (Letter 61). About 1380-82 Cydones' Letter 234
was addressed simply to Pothos, then in Constantinople, and concerned a sum of money due him from the Emperor. Four letters (2-5) of Theodore Potamios are addressed to a certain Pothos, an intimate friend with whom he had studied as a boy, whose writings he praised and who, most probably in the early 1380's, advanced to an influential position in the government. About 1384-85 this Pothos visited Potamios in his place of exile and carried on a long conversation with (Demetrius) Chrysoloras, then on a mission to the Turks (Potamios, Letter 8). In 1385 when Manuel II sent an embassy from Thessalonica to Pope Urban VI, Cydones amused himself by imagining the reaction of the anti-Latin party, particularly Pothos.98 No more is said
about him than that, but he must have been well known to both Cydones and Manuel and may have been in Thessalonica at the time. In 1391 Manuel wrote to thank Pothos for sending him so many letters, assured him that he hopes to return to Constantinople soon, and speaks of him as a competent judge. The Emperor was careful in his choice of words, particularly those which had a technical meaning, and his use of the word judge, both as noun and as verb (xpvdr , xpivr.v), afford solid grounds for believing that Pothos was or had been a judge. In Letter 35, probably written in the late 1390's, Manuel expressed his admiration of a literary composition of Manuel Pothos. From Paris in 1401 he encouraged the same person to continue his efforts in Constantinople, on behalf of the security of the Empire, which implies that
Manuel Pothos held a responsible position there (Letter 42). In 1408 he accompanied the Emperor to the Morea and there received a letter from Joseph Bryennios, which indicates that he belonged to the anti-Latin group at court.99 One is inclined to believe that Pothos and Manuel Pothos were the same person, but this cannot be proven. 19. Manuel Raoul
According to Letter 32 of Manuel II, written in 1396-97, Manuel Raoul was a Byzantine emigre in Cyprus, where he held an important position at the court of King James I de Lusignan (1382-98).109 The Emperor oompli97 Cantacuzenus, Hist., 3, 29: II, 183. 98 Letter 302; cf. Dennis, AManuel in Thessalonica, 139. ee Loenertz, "Pour la chronolgie des oeuvres de Joseph Bryennios," 24-25.
100 On the family, see S. Fassoulakis, The Byzantine Family of Raoul-Ral(l)es (Athens, 1973); A. Chatzes, Oi 'Paoua, 'Pxa, '116:aa.L 1080-1800 (Kirchhain, 1908);
PROSOPOGRAPHY
iii
mented him on being able to keep up his literary interests while involved in and recalls a visit made by him to Constantinople not public administration, 1395-96. During this visit it seems that Raoul also made the very long ago, acquaintance of Manuel Calecas, who in the course of the next few years wrote some five letters to him.'°' From these one learns that he was antiPalamite, probably pro-Latin, and, at least until about the end of 1402, still influential at the Lusignan court on Cyprus. 20. Theodore I Palaeologus, Despot of the Romans
Theodore, the fourth son of John V Palaeologus and Helena Cantacuzena, was probably born in the middle or late 1350's.102 In 1376 he was designated governor of Thessalonica, presumably with the title of despot, and in August and September of that year played a leading role in defending his father's palace against his oldest brother Andronicus IV and his Turkish allies. Although, according to Manuel, who was wounded in the fighting, Theodore was free to go to Thessalonica, he chose to remain in Constantinople, and after the victory of Andronicus in October was imprisoned with John V and Manuel in the Anemas tower. On their escape in June 1379 and upon obtaining Turkish aid, they recaptured Constantinople and besieged Andronicus and the Genoese in Galata. During this period Theodore issued a prostagma regarding some property in Thessalonica. Then, sometime between the death of the Despot Manuel Cantacuzenus on 10 April 1380 and May 1381, when the civil war ended, Theodore was named governor of the Morea, arriving there probably in the fall of 1382.103 The situation facing him there on his arrival may best be described as chaotic 104 Shifty Greek and Latin barons warred against one another and review by N. Veis, in BuZ ocvrtS, 2 (1911-12), 250-55; B. Mystakides, 01'P&a(a)ca,
5 (1928), 256-82. The family was listed among the nobility: Follieri, "I1 poema bizantino di Belisario" (supra, note 1), p. 622, 52; p. 637, 316. Manuel Raoul is not to be identified with Manuel Palaeologus Raoul of the Morea, whose letters have been edited by R. J. Loenertz, "Emmanuelis Raoul epistulae XII," 'E7r.'ET.Bu2;.Err., 26 (1956), 130-63. 101 Loenertz, Caldcas, 77-78.
101 That he was the youngest son is clear from Manuel's Funeral Oration: &v S`e r1 7pfvn 5o z oro
ri,>v &r6cacp&v: ed. S. Lampros, fl0Ca0CloA6yEla xai Ileao7rov1j7locax&, III
(Athens, 1926), 19. A papal letter of 6 November 1367 was addressed to the three older brothers, Andronicus, Manuel, and Michael, without mention of Theodore: 0. Halecki, l'it e 0 pereur rle Byzance it Rome (Warsaw, 1930),367. Barker (?l1anuelll, 6,273) mistakenly
refers to hint as the third son. On Michael, who was killed in 1376-77, see P. Schreiner, N'hulieu zu den 13l'AXEA XPONIKA (Munich, 1967), 151-55. :' Sec Dennis, lllauuel in. Thessalonica, 28-29, 42-43. The date of Manuel Cantaeuzenus' death is given in R.-J. Loenertz,"La chronique breve nloreote de 1423,"Melanges 1
Engine
lI (= ST, 232) (Vatican City, 1904), 399-439, no. 11, p. 404. Un 'T'heodore in the Morea, see Zakythinos, Le Despotat grec do Moree, I, 125-65;
I1, Ja.cnm; Dennis, lu uel in Thessalonica, 114-28.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
liii
acted in almost complete independence of any central authority. Pirates of various nationalities and mercenary bands of Navarrese and Turks spread terror and devastation throughout the land. Theodore's political and military attempts to assert his authority over the troubled region are too complicated to detail here. In general, though, his successes were almost evenly balanced by his mistakes and failures. Yet, despite some notable miscalculations, he showed himself to be a skillful diplomat, extended his territory, established his authority over his subjects to a limited degree, and repopulated deserted
areas with Albanian nomads. While it is true that he was faced with an extremely difficult situation and was very short on resources, one has the impression that, although intelligent and clever, he really did not measure up to his mission. In 1383-84 he had married Bartolomea, the daughter of Nerio Acciajuoli, lord of Corinth, but they had no son to succeed to the despotate. After
a long illness, Theodore died in 1407, probably on 24 June, assuming the monastic habit with the name of Theodoret.105 Manuel's affection for him is
expressed in Letter 9 and in the lengthy Funeral Oration he composed. Cydones also addressed six letters to him. 21. Triboles
As is clear from Letter 9 of Manuel, Triboles belonged to the Emperor's
literary circle. In Constantinople shortly before May 1381 he drew up the peace treaty between John V and Andronicus IV. Cydones informed Manuel of it in the following words: "You will also see Triboles, who has become more important than ever after the peace between the emperors. For it is he in reality who has reconciled the viewpoints of the two parties in writing and whose literary abilities have consolidated the truce for us."108 Two other letters of Cyclones (293 and 421), written in 1383 and 1389, locate him in Mistra as a secretary, perhaps chancellor, of the despot Theodore I. 22. Macarius, former Bishop of Ankara
The probable addressee of Letters 63 to 66 was Macarius, deposed bishop of Ankara, a canonist, a theologian of sorts, and, as far as Manuel was concerned, a restless, troublesome ecclesiastic.'07 A native of Thessaly, he became a monk and first attracted attention in Constantinople as an ardent defender of Palamism and an aggressive adversary of the Latinophiles, such
as Manuel Calecas. An irresponsible attack on Patriarch Antony, which earned him the enmity of the prominent metropolitan of Medeia, Matthew, 105 Loenertz, "La chronique breve moreote do 1423," no. 21, pp. 406, 425-26. 106 Dennis, illunuuel in 44-45. '° See the notes to these letters. For details, see Laurent, "Trishpiscopat," on which the following sketch is based.
liv
PROSOPOGRAPHY
resulted in his condemnation and deposition from the priesthood in September 1396. But Macarius had influential friends in the hierarchy, and during the
brief patriarchate of Kallistos (May-August 1397) he was not only rehabilitated, but was made metropolitan of Ankara. So angry was Matthew of Medeia
at this that he refused to take part in the episcopal assemblies. Then, in October 1397, another Matthew, bishop of Cyzicus, who had played a leading
role in having Macarius condemned and in opposing his elevation to the episcopate, was named patriarch. Relations between Macarius and the new patriarch remained strained, and would surely have become worse had not Macarius left the capital in December 1399 to accompany Manuel II on his journey to Western Europe. The Emperor undoubtedly wanted to prevent the quarrelsome prelate from causing further trouble during his absence. At the same time, he would need ecclesiastical advisors on his visits to the courts of the Catholic West. Macarius did, in fact, compose a long treatise against the Latins, which is characterized by a nearly complete lack of originality and organization. Returning to Constantinople on 9 June 1403, Macarius found that his old enemy, Matthew, had been deposed from the patriarchate by John VII,
largely owing to the machinations of his other old enemy, Matthew of Medeia. Their hatred of the Patriarch now brought these two together in close alliance. Manuel II was furious at what had transpired during his absence, but he seems to have underestimated the hostility of the bishops toward Patriarch Matthew and, implicitly at least, toward himself. A synod held a few days after his return only confirmed the Patriarch's deposition. It required six months for the Emperor to win the bishops over to his views. Another synod was held, this time in the imperial palace; Matthew was restored to the patriarchate, and concelebrated the liturgy with the other bishops, including Matthew of Medeia and Macarius. A synodal decree of reconciliation was drawn up and confirmed by imperial chrysobull about the end of 1403 or the beginning of 1404.
Macarius, together with Matthew of Medeia, continued to attack the Patriarch. Some calumnious pamphlets compiled by Macarius came to the attention of the authorities, including the Emperor himself. After returning from a mission to the Morea, Macarius was about to withdraw to Mount Athos when the Patriarch, with imperial consent, brought charges against him. He managed to delay matters for a while, but in September 1405 the synod deposed both Macarius and Matthew of Medeia. Macarius, however, continued his offensive against the Patriarch, and also directed his attacks against the Emperor as well. In particular, he composed a lengthy canonical treatise against the Patriarch. Manuel II made a number of attempts, ineluding personal interviews, to bring Macarius to cease these activities, but to no avail. It is in this context that Letters 63 to 66 were written. Finally, Macarius and Matthew were excommunicated by the synod in August 1409 and sentenced to exile.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
lv
23. Simon, Protos of Mount Athos
Letter 57 is addressed to the metropolitan of Thessalonica (Gabriel) and to the protos of Mount Athos. The letter is dated to 1411-12 (see the notes to the letter); the protos was Simon (Simeon?), who held that position from about 1405 to sometime before 1424. He signed a document for the monastery of St. Paul in November 1409, and in 1410 or 1416 was the recipient of a letter from Constantine Ivankos.108 Simon had been very critical of some writings of Ivankos, and the letter is an angry response to his criticism. Simon was also a colleague of Ivankos in the judiciary in Thessalonica, and was the victim of a crude joke in which Ivankos joined.'09 24. Antiochos
Antiochos, mentioned in Letter 44, is almost certainly the old man, apparently well known in Byzantine court circles, whom Mazaris visited in
his Journey Into Hades. The meeting is described in part as follows.l10 "Then, as though from a bed chamber, there hurried forth from a pile of excrement that famous old man, Antiochos, or rather, that crazy old wencher. Before embracing and hugging me, as was his wont, he first asked me, `Tell me, you, how is that most lovely girl friend of mine doing, she whom I have kept in my heart night and day, in Britain, in France, and everywhere, and
even now in Hades?"' Antiochos then identified her more closely as a beautiful, wealthy, and wine-loving lady who dwelt near the gate of St. Romanos. On hearing that both her beauty and her wealth had faded away, he exclaimed, "Alas, the most holy emperor had forbidden me to harry her." Mazaris then reminded him of his daughters and his son, whom he refers to by the name of Kakoalexios. This person is mentioned earlier as the nephew of Holobolos, probably Manuel, with whom Mazaris also spoke in Hades." Antiochos, then, seems to have been the brother or brother-in-law of Holobolos and, as is clear from the above citation, was also one of those who accompanied Manuel II to Western Europe.112 toe Darrouzes, "Listes des protes de I'Athos," 407-47, esp. 434. The letter is edited by Legrand, Lettres, 109-12. toe See supra, p. xlvi. 110 Journey Into Hades, 147-49. 111 Ibid., 130-31.
112 In 1453 a Demetrius Antiocllos was an aide to a,jucice: J. Darrouzes, "Lettres de 1453," REE, 22 (1964), 90, 115. The name is also found among Latins in the Levant. For example, a Venetian document of 2 August 1415 is concerned with Angelo Andiocho (Anthioco) of Negroponte: Venice, Archivio di Stato, Avogaria di Com.un, Raspe, VI, 2, fol. 91V.
PROSOPOGRAPHY
lvi
25. John Chrysoloras John Chrysoloras, mentioned in Letter 56, was born on 8 July 1360.113
Not much is known of his early life, except that he was the nephew of Manuel Chrysoloras and spent some time with him in Florence and Northern Italy about 1400; probably during that period he married Manfredina Doria of Genoa 114 From 1403 to 1408 he was in Constantinople, where he assisted his uncle in instructing Guarino of Verona in Greek. In February 1410 he arrived at the papal court in Bologna as the envoy of the Emperor (see notes to Letter 56). He was also sent on missions to the Morea (see notes to Letter 60) and to King Sigismund of Hungary. He seems to have died sometime before 1427.
26. lagaris
Iagaris, mentioned in Letter 34, whose first name is not given, was apparently well known to Manuel and to Michael Balsamon. Possibly he may be identified with Mark Palaeologus Iagaris, a domestic (oixecoS) of the Emperor, who in October 1400 was involved in some litigation concerning a garden, in which case Michael Balsamon, as grand chartophylax, also took part.116
Later he received the title of protovestiarites and then that of protostrator and was the envoy of John VIII to Sultan Murad II in 1422 and 1430, and in 1438, with the title of grand stratopedarch, to Pope Martin V.116 113 He has written the date himself in a copy of the works of Aristides: cod. Vat. gr. 1299; on fol. 263v is his name, 'Io &vvou Tou XpuaoXwp&; on fol. 264 his birthdate, and on the verso are three mono1i vi iouaa(ou rl', lV8LeTLivoS Ly', evTOUS condylia of his name. It also occurs twice, once in monoeondylion, in a codex containing works of Libanius: Leyde, cod. Vossian. GR F 77, vol. 2, fol. 214; vol. 3, fol. 139v. 114 See Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, 189-97. Manuel Chrysoloras several times refers to him explicitly as his nephew, &8eapL8o554, nepos: ibid., 189 note 1. 115 MM, II, no. 649, pp. 497-99. Andronicus lagaris, a rhetorician and diplomat, was sometime between 1422 and 1438 sent by the Emperor to Egypt (Dolger, Kaiserregesten, 3405, p. 110), in 1436 as ambassador to Trebizond and Iberia (ibid., 3458, p. 121), in 1437 to the Turkish emir (ibid., 3475, p. 124); he was present at the Council of Florence and in 1443 was an envoy to Pope Eugene IV (ibid., 3503, p. 129; of. Syropoulos, Les Memoires, ed. Laurent, pp. 162, 320, 630). See also G. Moravesik, "Greoeskaja gramota mamljukskogo sultana vizantijskomu imperatoru," VizVrern, N.S. 1S (1961), 105-15, esp. 110. Manuel Palacologus Iagaris (Iagros) was in the service of John VIII at the Council of Florence (Syropoulos, Les Alernoires, ed. Laurent, pp. 240, 260), and in 1449 was sent to Mistra for the coronation of Constantine XI (Oeorgios Sphrantzes, Memorii, ed. Grecu, 29, 4, p. 72). A Manuel Iagaris Doukas 'l.'yris was the copyist of cod. Paris. gr. 2305 in the year 1418: Polcmis, The Doukai, 122.
n9 See A. Papadopulos, Versuch einer Genealogie der Palaiologen, 1259-1453 (Munich, 1938), no. 185, p. 94; Guilland, Recherches, I, 227, 489, 511-12; Syropoulos, Les 9lernoires, ed. Laurent, p. 118.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
lvii
27. Kananos
All that is known about Kananos is derived from Letter 13: about 1390 he seems to have come from the Morea to assist Manuel II in Constantinople
and not long afterward to have returned to the Morea, presumably in the service of the Despot Theodore I. His first name is not given. In the Poem of Belisarius the name of Kananos is given a place among the leading families of Byzantium.117 But the only known individuals bearing this family name are John Kananos, who wrote a description of the Turkish siege of Constantinople
in 1422, otherwise unknown, and Laskaris Kananos, who wrote a brief account of his Northern European voyage about 1438.118
28. Demetrius Skaranos
Mentioned in Letter 49, Skaranos is almost certainly Demetrius Skaranos, referred to in autumn 1386 by Cyclones (Letter 359) as "the noble Skaranos," who was apparently a financial agent for John Laskaris Kalopheros. He is mentioned in the will of Kalopheros made in Venice on 5 July 1388, and after his death in 1392 took care of the family interests, probably as executor of his will.119 In this connection, he spent much of his time in the first decade of the fifteenth century sailing between Constantinople, Venice, Crete, and Cyprus. Both Constantinople and Venice claimed jurisdiction over settling the Kalopheros property, and the dispute lasted at least until 1410. He was in Venice probably in 1404, certainly in 1406-7 and 1410. He had been in Crete in 1399-1400, where he took part in the theological debate between Joseph Bryennios and Maximos Chrysoberges and probably wrote the letter
to Bryennios, erroneously attributed to Cydones, which accompanied the treatise by an unknown author published incorrectly under the title "Against Joseph Bryennios."120 From this it is clear that he was well educated, antiPalamite, and Catholic, as were his friends, Calecas and Manuel Chrysoloras. In 1411-12 he seems to have been in Rome and sometime before 1416 became an oblate in the Cainaldolese monastery of St. Mary of the Angels in Florence, the residence of Ambrogio Traversari. Thereafter he is frequently mentioned, usually as an old man (senex), in the correspondence of Traversari, Guarino, and Giovanni Aurispa. He died about mid-September 1426.121 14 Follieri, "II pocina bizantino di Belisario" (supra, note 1), 622, 53; 636, 314. 128 On John Kananos, see 111oravcsik, Byzantinoturcica, I, 320. On Laskaris Kananos,
see V. Lundstrom. Sndirre Byzantiska Skrilter, I (Uppsala, 1902), 14-17; German translation of his work by F. Grabler, Europa iln XV. Jahrhundert von Byzantinern gesehen
(Graz, 1954), 101-5. An archon named Kananos is mentioned in 1453: Darrouzes, "Lettres de 1453," 90. I'll On Skaranos, see Loenertz, Calecas, 86-89; Eszer, Das Leben des ... Kalopheros, 85, 114. Although no first name is given, it was probably this Skaranos who represented the Emperor at a synod in summer 1396: Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 55. 120 Loenertz, Calecas, 95, 339.
121 Ibid., 86-89; Eszer, loc. cit.; Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, 66, 193. The name Skaranos does not appear very often in the sources. About 1270-74 a monk,
PROSOPOGRAPHY
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To this information Letter 49 adds that Skaranos was a relative of Chrysoloras and that he was favorably regarded by the Emperor, who praised his competence. He had just been given some assignment, something in which he had had experience, perhaps connected with the Kalopheros legacy. He was in Venice in 1407, and it is likely that he then discussed with Chrysoloras the object of the request made to the Emperor. Whatever the task allotted to him, Manuel felt that it would indeed prove Skaranos to be an outstanding servant or minister of the Empire and his lord.122 The favors requested are not specified, but at least one involved some expenditure since, as Manuel remarks, Skaranos was well acquainted with the financial status of the Empire. In classical usage, which Manuel almost invariably follows, Xoyta s connotes a financial official such as treasurer, comptroller, or auditor. Skaranos, then, may well have held the position of aoyaptaa-ri4S auaijS, in two lists called the aoyLa-r*, treasurer or comptroller of the court. Perhaps he was in charge of what might today be called the payroll office. His duties comprised verifying the salaries of those serving at court, making up deficiencies, and seeing that they performed the services for which they were paid.123 Although the Emperor held a high opinion of Skaranos, others at his court did not. In a particularly vitriolic passage of his Journey Into Hades, Mazaris has some remarks to make about the imperial treasurer which both confirm and add to our other sources and, at the same time, present a few
more riddles to the Late Byzantine prosopographer. In Hades he met the Latin, Bartholomew de Langosco, who asked about his son, Mazaris' colleague
at court.124 Was he still involved in the salt administration as formerly, or Theodosius (Theodoulos) Skaranos made his last will and testament: Actes de Xeropotamou,
ed. J. Bompaire (Paris, 1964), no. 9. pp. 71-88. About 1344 a certain Skaranos had been offered a rich reward to assassinate John Cantacuzenus, but he did not do so and was praised by his intended victim: Cantacuzenus, Hist., 3, 79: II, 488-89. On this person, as well as on a George Skaranos, see V. Laurent, "L6gendes sigillographiques et families byzantines," EO, 30 (1931), 466-84, esp. 478-79. Finally, among the signers of the Synodal Tome of 1409 was Niphon, bishop of Rhaidestos, who added the qualification "formerly Skaranos": 6 ra7celvo; k7vlaxo7coq `Pac86orou N-;
123 J. Verpeaux, Pseudo-Kodinos, Traite des Offices (Paris, 1966), index, s.v., esp. 186, 323, 337.
124 Journey Into Hades, 152-53. In his edition (p. 152) Boissonade gives his name as N-reaXay&axoq and cites Hase's suggestion that it indicated his place of origin: Delagasco,
de la Gascogne. But the manuscript (cod. Paris. gr. 2991A, fol. 471) clearly has Nieaaayx&axoc. Bartholomew, then, belonged to the de Langosco family, descended from the Counts Palatine of Lomcllo near Pavia. Various branches of the family were located in Pavia, Piacenza, Vercelli, and Brescia. But it is not known to which branch this Bartholomew belonged or what he was doing in Byzantium. At any rate, it is clear from this conversation with Mazaris that he was a convert to Orthodoxy from Latin Catholicism, a teacher of some sort and well known to the Emperor. In January 1401 a certain Bartholomew, whose last name is not recorded, abjured Latin teachings and made an Orthodox profession of faith: Mill, II, no. 618, p. 454.
CORRESPONDENTS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
lix
was he merely acting as an interpreter between Latins and Greeks? Mazaris, r&), replied that he was performing both addressing him as professor
functions well, but that he had to face an audit of the salt accounts. Bartholomew then asked who was the current state auditor, the one in charge of the accounts (aoyt ouc) of the Romans. Mazaris explained, "Don't you remember the fellow who came from Babylon to the Golden place that time and stood
trial together with that senile Peloponnesian, Sophianos the Softhead, regarding that business of the imperial timber which was shipped to Alexandria ?"125
"You mean," the Latin replied, "that mangy Misael Mouskaranos, that slanderer, that despicable thief, that lewd sneak and pickpocket, who thinks he knows everything past, present, and future, but apart from a lot of impudence, he is nothing at all, that stargazer who cannot speak Greek properly, that Latin sympathizer, that circumcized one, who has been unfaithful both to the Triune God and to the emperor, whose friendship toward all others is not genuine, but mercenary, deceitful, and cheating. Are you telling me that this absolutely abominable, debauched, delirious madman wants to call my dearest son to account ?" He then requested Mazaris on his return to the upper world to convey secretly the following message to the Emperor. "He must not send this foul and filthy beast, this Latin sympathizer and enemy of the creed, who should be called Iskariot rather than Mouskaranos, as his ambassador to the podesta
in Galata. I can swear that it was on his advice that the podesta at one moment had the insolence to throw the imperial standard down to the ground like a barren tree, though the next moment he came to his senses, as though he had been drunk, and raised it up to its former position with all possible pomp and ceremony. Therefore, if the emperor does not tell him to go to hell, one of these days the podesta will do the. Queen of Cities no end of harm if he listens to the counsel of this deceitful, murdering ass-sticker. For he is the sower of weeds in the Great Church of God. He is the one who by his advice and continuous writing persuaded his son-in-law, that most wretched one,
Little Raoul the Ant, to purchase the pride of the Romans, the island of Thasos."
Mouskaranos, the cow-brained or dim-witted Skaranos, whom Mazaris describes as keeping the accounts (noyusu.otic), is clearly the accountant (Xoyt6-rr;c) of Letter 49. Here he is reviled for his Jewish origin and his inept '25 This incident, unclear as it is, is not otherwise known. Babylon could mean Baghdad or perhaps some other Moslem territory, but it was often used to designate Cairo, which would make more sense lure, since the timber was sent to Alexandria. The Golden place (cr Zp,)ejr,) could mean the Golden City, i.e., C'hrysopolis (Scutari, then in Turkish hands) or, more prohabl. y, the Golden ( ate of Constnntinople or the fortress constructed around it. The Sophiauos family was prominent in the Morea, but it seems idle to speculate here on which member of the family is Meant.
lx
PROSOPOGRAPHY
concentration on astrology. Apart from these and some more common insults, he is attacked for his adherence to Latin Catholicism, particularly the teaching on the Procession of the Holy Spirit (unfaithful to the Triune God, enemy of the creed). Yet, he does seem to have been an advisor and trusted servant of
the Emperor, as Manuel also indicates in his letter. The incident of the imperial standard in Galata is otherwise unknown; the text, incidentally, seems corrupt in places. The reference to the purchase of Thasos is more interesting, but just as obscure. In 1357 John V granted two brothers, Alexis and John, hereditary title to several places including Thasos and, after Alexis' death, John continued to exercise authority over the island until at least 1386, perhaps to 1394, when he died.12e Then, practically nothing is known about the island until its occupation by Giorgio Gattilusio and its recovery by Manuel II in the summer of 1414 (see Letter 58). Since it was just at that time that Mazaris claimed to be visiting in Hades, the sale to Skaranos' son-in-law must have occurred before July 1414, and it may or may not have had some connection with the venture of Gattilusio. The identity of Little Raoul the Ant, `Pao6?aoS Mupp.,IE, remains a mystery; it could be a translation of a Latin name, a nickname, or simply a derogatory epithet.
It would seem, then, that Skaranos retained his position as imperial treasurer or comptroller until the summer of 1414, when Mazaris dated his Dialogue. But the tone of the above passage leads one to suspect that by the time it was actually read before Manuel and his court, Skaranos must have left Byzantium, possibly in disgrace, for Italy. 126 P. Lemerle, PAilippes et laMacedoine orientale (Paris, 1945),200-12. A. Mompherratos, Ot llz)aio),6yoa &v 11eAonovv-haw (Athens, 1913), 35, asserts that the archons Asanes
Raoul and Branas had seized power over the island, and that their subjugation was the object of Manuel's expedition in 1414, but the source he cites, Phrantzes, says nothing of the sort. C. Hopf also states that a certain Raoul, lord of Thasos, was expelled by Manuel II in 1414, but he gives no source: Chroniques Greco-Romanes inedites ou peu connues (Berlin, 1873), table ix, 2, p. 502. See Letter 58.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 'ApX.Bui;.Mvlµ.`E?.: 'ApXeiov riiv But;avTI.v v Mvr)eelov T71S `EA]A&Soq
Barker, Manuel II: J. W. Barker, Manuel II Palaeologus (1391-1425). A Study in Late Byzantine Statesmanship (New Brunswick, N. J., 1969) BX: BpaXs'a Xpovtx&, eds. S. Lampros and K. Amantos (Athens, 1932) ByzF: Byzantinische ByzFrOr: R. J. Loenertz, Byzantina et Franco-Graeca, 2 vols. (Rome, 1970-72) BZ: ByzantinischeZeitschrift
Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora: G. Cammelli, I dotti bizantini e le origini dell' umanesimo. I, Manuele Crisolora (Florence, 1941) Cantaeuzenus, Hist.: loannis Cantacttzeni imperatoris historiarum libri IV, ed. J. Schopen, 3 vols. (Bonn, 1828-32) ; references are to book and chapter, then to volume and page
Cydones, Letter: the letters of Cydones as numbered in R. J. Loenertz, Ddmdtrius Cydones Correspondance, 2 vols., ST, 186, 208 (Vatican City, 1956, 1960) AeaT.Xptot.'ApX.'ET.: As).Tlov r ;
`Erce pe(ac L1eXT.'ET.`E).A.: DEATIov T7 q `Ie-optxcls xal 'E3voaoytxiq `ETatpeiz TY)c `EXA&Sos
Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica: G. T. Dennis, The Reign of Manuel II Palaeologus in Thessalonica, 1382-1387 (= OCA, 159) (Rome, 1960) DIIGE: Dictionnaire d'histoire et de geographie dcclesiastiques (Paris, 1912-
Dolger, Kaiserregesten: F. Dolger and P. Wirth, Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des ost.r6mischen Reiches von 56.5-1453. V, Regesten von 1341-1453 (Munich, 1965)
DOP: Dumbarton Oaks Papers DOS: Dumbarton Oaks Studies DTC: Dictionnaire de Theologie Catholique Is'O: Echos d'Orient. Revue d'histoire, de geographic et de liturgie orientales 'F.tsn pie 'E-atpeias But;av-tv&v ?'nou87)v
Guilland, Recherches: R. Cuilland, Recherches stir lee institutions byzantines, 2 vols. (Amnsterdani, 1967)
GRBS: Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies Hunger, Chortasvueaos: H. Hunger, Johannes (hortasmenos (ca.1370-ca.1436/37). Briefe, (iedichte und. Kleine Schriften. Einleitung, Regesten, Prosopographie, Text (Vienna, 1969)
I RAIK: Izv &tija Rasskago Arheologiceskago Instituta v Konstantinopol5
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS JOOBG: Jahrbuch der Osterreichischen Byzantini8chen Gesellschaft
JSav: Journal des Savants JWarb: Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes Karathanasis, Sprichworter: D. Karathanasis, Sprichworter and sprichworterliche Redensarten in den rhetorischen Schrif ten des Michael Psellos, des Eustathius and des Michael Chorviates, Bowie in anderen rhetorischen Quellen des XII. Jahrhunderts (Munich, 1936)
Laurent, "Trisepiscopat": V. Laurent, "Le trisbpiscopat du patriarche Matthieu Ier (13971410). Un grand procbs canonique h Byzance au debut du XVe siecle," RE B, 30 (1972), 5-166 Legrand, Lettres: E. Legrand, Lettres de l'empereur Manuel Paldologue (Paris, 1893) Loenertz, Caldcas: R. J. Loenertz, Correspondance de Manuel Calecas, ST, 152 (Vatican City, 1950)
Mazaris, Journey into Hades: &i .Xoyoc vexpnx64. 'Erci37) dm M&t;apL iv "ASou, ed. J. F. Boissonade, Anecdote graeca, III (Paris, 1831) 112-86
MdmAcInsrr: Mdmoires de l'Institut national de France, Acaddmie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres MM: F. Miklosich and J. Muller, Acta et diplomata graeca medii aevi sacra et pro fans, 6 vols. (Vienna, 1860-90)
OCA: Orientalia Christian Analecta OCP: Orientalia Christian Periodica OKS: Ostkirchliche Studien
Paroem. gr.: Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum, eds. E. L. a Leutsch and F. G. Schneidewin, 2 vols. (Gottingen, 1839-51) PG: Patrologia graeca, ed. J.-P. Migne (Paris, 1857-66)
RE: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, new rev. ed. by G. Wissowa and W. Kroll (Stuttgart, 1893REB: Revue des etudes byzantines
ST: Studi e Testi Suidae Lexicon: Suidae Lexicon, ed. A. Adler, 5 vols. (Leipzig, 1928-38)
Thiriet, Rdgestes: F. Thiriet, .llegestes des deliberations du sent de Venise concernant la Romanie, 2 vols. (Paris-The Hague, 1958-59) TM: Travaux et Mdmoires. Centre de Recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation byzantines T U: Texte and Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur (Leipzig-Berlin, 1882- ) VizVrem: Vizantijski Vremennik
LIST OF SIGNS cod. Paris, gr. 3041 cod. Barberin. gr. 219 cod. Coi8lin. gr. 341
cod. Vat. gr. 632 cod. Vat. gr. 1879 cod. Scorial. gr. 475
rl =
cod. Crypten. gr. 161
addita a scriptore in marg. vel supra lin. suppleta ab editore
LETTERS OF MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS
1. To his Mother the Holy Empress' 1365 -June 1383
This choice is said to have been presented long ago by an oracle to two lovers: choose either your own death or that of the person you love. Now the first reasoned that it would be far more difficult to continue living without his beloved than to end it all and die, and so he voted for his own death. The second, in turn, followed the same reasoning, but concluded that the other should die, saying, I would rather not force the worse decision upon the one I love. Although these choices were exactly opposite, still it should be clear to all that they were really in agreement according to the saying: "Death is better than life for those who have to live separated from their loved ones."
Now you have actually suffered the loss not merely of one of your loved ones but of so many, so good, and all so very young, dear to you not only because of their natural qualities and the ties of kinship, but because you shared so closely in their daily lives.2 You derived great pleasure from your efforts to raise them as you endeavored to form their characters, aware that good character is the proper attribute of men, and these labors of yours present no small evidence of the extent of true love. It is understandable,
then, that just as they have departed, so you too are eager to leave this world; at least, this is indicated by your actions. For what else, one might ask, is intended by your neglecting your health and paying practically no heed to its foes? Are you using your position as a defense? Is this why you do not obey the doctors in attendance? But certainly, you must obey the emperor, because he is your father and because of the habit he has long worn.3 As much as possible, he never ceases, whether by admonition or by command, to get you to protect your holy body, which still suffers from those misfortunes. But I feel I must speak with more boldness, so far as to remind your majesty that for the characters in the story, who were pagans, a different law prevailed; but for us who have been taught to give thanks in all circumstances and to rejoice always, "worldly grief produces death."4 I would suggest that thanksgiving, not grief, is the attitude expected of you, for you know full well that the souls of your dear ones dwell in the arms of their Creator, by His grace.
f. 2
a
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25
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1, 2
4
You must then, I believe, have pity on me, your needy suppliant, as if I were making use of every possible means of supplication, and, as far as it depends on you, you must be concerned about your good health, for I need this more than I do my very breath. i Helena Cantacuzena Palaeologina, the wife of John V Palaeologus and mother of Manuel. The death of Helena's father, the former Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus, on 15 June 1383 is the extreme date of this letter: BX, nos. 52, 50-53, p. 89. He had abdicated and become a monk, taking the name Joasaph, on 4 December 1354: A. Failler, "Note our is chronologie du regne de Jean Cantacuzi;ne," REB, 29 (1971), 292-302. But Manuel was only four years old at the time, so that this letter could not have been written earlier than a decade or so later. It is also possible that Manuel had it taken out of sequence and placed first in the collection as a token of respect for his mother. Around September 1388 Cydones (Letter 398) complimented Manuel on "the fine letter" he had sent to his mother, the empress, who in turn had shown it to him. But the date of the letter, which is certain, and the fact that Cydones refers to Manuel's health and not to that of his mother, rules out any connection with the present letter. 2 The identity of these children is uncertain. In the words he has deleted in the Paris manuscript (line 11) Manuel ascribes their death to his own sins. Perhaps they were illegitimate children of his who were raised by his mother. 5 Manuel uses the same word, aX%koc, to designate the position or state in life both of Helena and of her father. In medieval Greek this term generally refers to the monastic habit, but Manuel almost invariably employs it in the classical sense of position, rank, characteristic attribute. In this letter it must refer to Helena's imperial dignity, since it was written before 1383, and she did not enter the convent until after mid-February 1391: see p. xlv. Regarding John Cantacuzenus the term could be translated as: "his former position," i.e., as emperor, but it seems more likely that Manuel is speaking of his state in life as a monk. 4 I Thess. 5:18; Phil. 4:4.
2. To the Protosebastosl 1373-1390
If in jest you are able to attain your goals more efficaciously than others who are in earnest, could anything at all elude you if you were really in earnest about it ?
Your letter was so full of wit-it contained just the proper amount of playfulness-that, when we heard it, it quickly led us to turn from the serious concerns in which the present situation has us trapped and to burst into laughter. It was, moreover, so nicely phrased that what you refer to as it cheap little gift we regarded as a perfectly wonderful one which we much appreciated. Finally, the fact that at a time when I was suffering in body you managed by what you wrote in jest to draw my mind away from worry-
5
1, 2 30
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7raaLv uiaTr p
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1: 2-8: of. Xenophonem, Memorabilia, A, 2, 16. 25: II Cor. 7, 10.
9-10: locum non inveni.
26: I Thess. 5, 18; Phil. 4, 4.
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B f. 53v-54
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rp.ETapaAEiv1. yEvvn c 8' au ou-coq v iilo3" o au cpil; cpau?6v am 8wpov xocl aµtxpov w; lLEya 77E7.aat xai XplYTOV auv X&ptTt roui 10 r&XXO xai To xxp.vovr6; µOL TOU awpcToS acpraxuaat Tov vouv t-OXavaaaa' Twv &-o T=O; v6aou cppovTLBwv, oiS EypacpEq, Eu
21 3
ing about my illness might suggest to thoughtful people that you were after all in earnest. For the reaper at harvest time who stops reaping to sharpen his sickle cannot rightly be accused of idleness by his employer. But, since you have sent something to help me in my illness, I am in return sending you what I can to help an old man in his struggle against winter. 1 The Coislin manuscript contains a more elaborate version of the second half of this letter, most of which was copied into the Paris manuscript and then deleted (see critical apparatus). After Manuel's expression of gratitude for the gift sent by the Protosebastos, the Coislin text continues : "... since a person in our position must imitate as closely
as possible those whom you suggested we look upon as models, those truly excellent Manuel refers to the imperial dignity. This and the allusion emperors." By position, to imperial models indicate that he already possessed the title of emperor. This letter, then, was written after 25 September 1373, the date on which he was proclaimed emperor: BX, nos. 47, 49, p. 81; also in an astrological notice cited in the Bonn edition of Ducas, Historia Byzentina, ed. I. Bekker (Bonn, 1834), 12, 4, p. 555. If, as suggested below, the gift sent to the Protosebastos was a sheepskin from Lemnos, the letter might well have been written while he was actually on the island, 1387-1389, or before then, while he had easy access to it. After 1390 Manuel was so involved in problems in Anatolia and Constantinople that
a later date seems unlikely. Manuel's allusions to his illness and other preoccupations provide no sure chronological indications, for, as a perusal of his subsequent letters shows, he was frequently ill and constantly preoccupied. The identity of the Protosebastos, apparently an elderly gentleman, is unknown. At this period the title was merely an honorary one: R. Guilland, Recherches sur les institutions byzantines, II (Amsterdam, 1967), 283. The gift sent by the Protosebastos to Manuel is not specified, but in the Coislin text he speaks of it as follows: "Since you mentioned that your gift suits the nature of young men and will be helpful to us against the illness with which we are now struggling...." This could refer to some sort of medicine or, more probably, to wine. The Emperor's choice of a present which would aid his elderly friend in fending off the cold of winter may well have been a sheepskin coat. Cydones makes
several references to such garments, 6.cpliMpe, youva, as useful in winter and readily obtainable on Lemnos: Letters 232:6, 16; 397:24; 404:4; 427:22, 26.
3. To Cydones Constantinople Thessalonica, winter 1382-1383
What you were so fondly requesting you have, your Plato.' But we like to think that there is nothing strange in presenting the man as a gift to you. Actually, he has just as much reason to express his gratitude to us as you do on receiving hirn, that is, if one subscribes to his teaching that a living thing is better than a non-living thing. Now, something which does not move or act or speak could never he properly called alive in any sense at all. This, in fact, has been his condition for many years, since he did not fit in with the monks, who have long ago renounced worldly wisdom.2 But
7
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you now bring him to life and make him active again, and it is I who am the cause of this. If this is really how things are, then there is truth in our asser-
tion, strange though it might sound, that a person who has been sent as a gift and placed in a position of servitude should be grateful to the man who has done this. Why should I not phrase it more forcefully? If the only thing we caused him to experience was this, as if he had been a corpse to come to life again, his debt of gratitude would be a small one unless he also returned to life as a philosopher. But, since he has both, and what he would have prayed for has come about, should he not be full of gratitude for all that has been done for him? After all, if it is true that each man is like those whose company he enjoys, then one could reasonably assume that, since he has come to live with you, he is enjoying pleasant living and, what is more, living as a philosopher. Where else could he do this if not with you? I feel ashamed, however, when I look at this old man braving the seas now in the middle of winter, and then when I think of you paying no heed
to your fatherland and to us, dwelling in comfort there in the Manganafor I hesitate to say that you have been trapped there.3 Of course, we do not mean to imply that he is any better than you, except that time has long ago proven his worth, as it is now proving yours. Still, this good fortune seems to have been granted to his worthy Excellence, that he might fully enjoy your company by himself. If we were freed from our troubles, if things flowed more smoothly for us, right away our overwhelming desire would make the whole of life seem
as one brief hour, and every effort would be made to loosen the bonds holding you fast, so that each of us might be allowed to enjoy the company
of a friend. If nothing is more bitter than separation for those who most vehemently desire to be together, and if life becomes unbearable for those who know how to love in a fitting manner, what pleasure could equal their sharing each other's company again? According to God's will, however, the present moment is not working out well for us, the enterprises begun have
not yet come to term, and the outcome of our activities here is obscure. Isocrates it was who remarked: "The future is unseen."4 This led me to decide
that I alone should carry on the struggle, while you should be allowed to spend your time in relaxation; such was the dictate of friendship. But this does not mean that a person so favored may be unconcerned about the one who has done him this favor. Nor, because we preferred not
to share our hardships with you, ought you to make the same choice, but you should, it seems to me, interpret my silence as speaking louder than any words, and without delay quickly set out on the way to us. I know where
you will seek refuge and what excuses you might offer. But I recall the saying: Necessity is the mother of invention. Prove yourself a real friend by boarding the ship as soon as possible, and by entering the realm of Poseidonbut enough of fables-by setting sail with all dispatch toward us. These
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few words of ours now must suffice to cover a matter which could have entailed a lengthy discourse; you may be sure that they were not written without purpose, but with the idea of proving effective.5 If they should seem persuasive to you, then request provision for the journey, put aside every hindrance and start on the way at once, for one who has been convinced cannot just sit still. But even if you are not convinced, we do not believe that we must give up hope of your coming here. For if we have not given any truly good reasons and you still come, it will be clear that you come without having been forced to do so. Whoever does something for a person voluntarily does him a favor. In order, therefore, that we may be indebted to you for a favor, my arguments will be able to convince you all the more if they sound unconvincing, and so in either case we may expect to welcome you here. 1 In November 1382 Manuel had secretly sailed for Thessalonica, apparently not even telling Cydones, and there, in opposition to the policy of his father, John V, in Constantinople, he waged war against the Turks, achieving some successes in the autumn and
early winter of 1382: Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 57ff., and on this letter, 69-70. During the winter of 1382-1383 he found time to attend to such matters as obtaining the copy of Plato which Cydones had requested. The sequence of letters in this exchange seems to be as follows : 1. a lost letter of Cydones probably requesting the book; 2. Manuel's Letter 3; 3. Cydones' Letter 258, which he replaced by, 4. Cydones' Letter 276; 5. Cydones' Letter 259; 6. Manuel's Letter 4. None of these indicates which work of Plato was involved.
In a letter to Manuel's brother Theodore, despot in the Morea, in 1383 Cydones, after deploring the lack of literary interests among his contemporaries, wrote the following: "But the genuine interest which the wonderful emperor [Manuel] displayed in my regard was decidedly different, for, as soon as he heard that I wanted the copy of Plato, he hasten-
ed to have someone go and obtain it for me. Since he was unable to send it from his residence, he first had to send envoys to those who possessed it, to promise his friendship if they gave it to him and to threaten his enmity if they refused. Finally, just to do me a favor, he even endured dangers" (Letter 293:54-60). 2 All Manuel had done was to promise to obtain the book, and Cydones, who feared that the monks on Mount Athos would be reluctant to give it up, urged him to take steps to translate the promise into reality. "For those who have been once disappointed, after-
ward remain on their guard against deception. For myself now, if you were to tell me many things of this sort about Plato, I would certainly marvel at your words and praise your cleverness, but I will still not believe them before actually having it in hand. As a result, even though you generously send me thousands of such Platos, I still seem to be looking at images. Therefore, dispel this shadow and, by God, translate words into deeds and hasten to liberate the son of Ariston [Plato] from many Dionysiuses. For Athos is certainly not treating him more gently now than did Sicily, and perhaps they intend to betray him twice, as did the tyrant. Their emphatic reluctance without any real reason convinces me of this. For they wish to derive some profit from your interest, otherwise they would have thrown it away to someone who had not even asked for it. Now, if you approach them in a mild manner, they will call the transaction a sacrilege and will feign indignation. But if it is the emperor who demands it, and they realize there is no refusing, then you will see these men, who are now intransigent, giving in and thanking you for having asked. Only be insistent with these men, and you will soon have us see this old man [Plato] crossing not only Charybdis, but also the Aegean" (Letter 276:15-30). The reference is to Dionysius II, tyrant of Sicily (367-345 B.c. ), who twice expelled, or betrayed, Plato.
11
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8: 15-16: Euripides, Phoenix (fragm. 812, 7-9, ed. Nauck), apud Demosthenem,
De falsa legatione, 245 (= 19, 417); Aphthonius, Progymnasmata, 4 (ed. Rabe, 7). 33: 29: Aristophanes, Plutus, 969, at alibi. 26: of. Theocritum, Scholia, 12, 2. Isocrates, Ad Demonicum, 1, 8b.
41: locum non inveni.
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8 This may allude to the displeasure of John V regarding Manuel's action, which took the form of reprisals against Manuel's friends. The same idea seems to occur later in the expression, "the bonds holding you fast." In his reply Cydones confirmed these suspi-
cions. "It is not, as you say, the Mangana which holds him [Cydones]-to me this is a chain weaker than the spider's-but those adamantine shackles which you know and by which you yourself are still hindered in many ways. But if you are bound, what chance do I have of running away ?" (Letter 276:32-35; Cydones was apparently still in disfavor in 1387: Letter 342:111-21.) The Mangana is the monastery of St. George in the Mangana region of Constantinople: see R. Janin, La geographie ecclesiastigue de l'ernpire byzantin. III, Constantinople, les eglises et lea rnonasteres, 2nd ed. (Paris, 1969), 70-76. '' Ad 1, 86. 5 The Greek is ambiguous. The words 7rept ou 7ro),6S 6 ),Lyoq may mean: a matter [the situation in Thessalonica] which is much talked about; or, a man who is much talked about, that is, Cydones or Manuel.
12
4
4. To Cydones Constantinople Thessalonica, spring-summer 1383
What a magnificent tragedy you have composed about the manifold tribulations of that great man, I mean the son of Ariston,' for the tale truly deserves everyone's admiration. The perils he experienced vastly surpassed all horrors we hear of, and his overcoming them so resolutely clearly bespoke
his nobility. By the way you revealed the events in your letter, you practically made us eye witnesses, rather than mere listeners.
Suidas2 arrived here to find that we were in need of money, but, instead of money, he only made us rich in words. But bringing an owl to Athens did not take care of our needs.3 For it is not possible, I believe, it is not possible for anyone to rule over your fellow citizens if their views remain unchanged, unless he should first rain down gold on them as Zeus did for the Rhodians in the myth. They hold such a great swarm of words in reserve that you would not be wrong to call them all Suidases. On the other hand,
there is no doubt that they are almost all Iroses,4 and it is easy to count those who do not go to bed hungry. Indeed, we need either the wealth of Croesus or an eloquence above average to be able to persuade them to bear poverty in good repute rather than to desire a blameworthy wealth. They have to be convinced, moreover, that it is nobler and far less shameful to suffer willingly the lot of slaves for the sake of their own freedom than, after having become slaves in heart, to try to gain the rights of free men. But it is impossible either to rain down gold or to chance upon the treasures of Croesus.
Is the tablet full of all sorts of words, which need only an editor to arrange them? I know that it is. Now, since this is precisely the sort of task
you can perform better than anyone else, it is clear that you are the one needed. Become another Daedalus by springing to our side to help. Not only will we be grateful to you, but you will also make yourself happier. Now you are distressed for what I am enduring, although this is no help to either of us. But, if you should come here, your advice will aid in overcoming our troubles, with God's help, and you will be freed from your own distress. But if you try to make excuses, see that you do not employ your rhetoric on us, that rhetoric we require you to employ with others on our behalf. 1 Plato. This letter was written in reply to Cydones' Letter 259, which described the state of the copy of Plato sent to him by Manuel. The book arrived "all soaked through, all torn, the outside in disarray, the inside shrunk, dark stains all over, and in such a state that you would never have recognized it. If Homer had seen it, he would have said what he said of Ajax: Plato perished when he drank salt water. What makes the tragedy even more sorrowful is that after receiving his freedom he had to run into pirates and share the lot of prisoners."
13
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4: 9: Aristophanes, Aves, 301; Zenobius, Prov. 3, 6; Gregorius Cypr., 2, 11; Paroern. fir., I, 59; II, 359. 12: Pindarus,Olymp. 7, 34 et 50; Libanius, epist. 348, 11; declamatio 31, 200. 25: cf. Diogenem, Prov. II, 37; Paroem. gr. 15: Hmnerus, Od., 18, 6, 25.
II, 23.
14
41 5
2 More correctly Suds, the comprehensive Greek lexicon widely used in the Byzantine era. 8 Similar to the English: Bring coals to Newcastle. 4 Iros was the beggar in Homer's Odyssey, 18, 6, 26.
5. To Cydonesl
You said, as you know, and you said it very correctly: "For those who
have arrived at perfection nothing further can be added." Still, there are wise men who assert that nothing in life remains absolutely unchangeable. Granted that our friendship has reached perfection, and that you are right in saying that nothing further can be added, is it not likely that this friendship will of necessity decline? Your annoyance at having your offspring, your writings, remain with me and your demand for their return shows, I believe, that such a possibility exists. To defend your position by claiming that it is foolish for a man whose experience of literature is limited to pass his time reading serious works would strike me as rather weak. And why not? After all, on many occasions you thought it worthwhile to place your writings
in my hands, even though I was younger and understandably less experienced in literature than now. The study of literature, moreover, is more advan-
tageous for one who is not completely ignorant of writing than it would be either for rustics or for those thoroughly practiced in it. A lamp to be of any use must be given to one who is still capable of seeing, but is not in the direct sunlight. But, feel toward us as you like, we shall preserve our pure love for you. Although you may misunderstand us, your unwillingness to remain hidden will reveal your real disposition towards us.2 For you are not like those others you know, whose voice sounds sweeter than honey because they continually indulge themselves or, you could say, overindulge themselves in the figs of Lesbos.3 1 Apparently Cydones had asked Manuel to return some composition to him on the grounds that he considered it poorly written. Manuel claims that this indicates a lessening of his friendship, and he rejects an anticipated (?) argument of Cydones that a person with little literary knowledge would be wasting his time in reading such works. After all, he rejoins, when he was much younger Cydones had let him read his writings, and he does have enough literary competence to profit from it now. The general chronological order of Manuel's correspondence would place this letter in the period from 1383 to 1385. But Manuel (lines 2-3) cites an exact phrase from a letter (79:19-20) of Cydones written in 1371-1372. It is addressed: "To the emperor when he was still despot," therefore before 25 September 1373: see DSlger, Kaiserregesten, 3130, p. 60. An exact citation of this sort would be unlikely, although not impossible, some ten years later. One suspects that Manuel's letter was written within a year or so of Cydones' Letter 79, but no certain conclusion can be reached.
15
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YAuxkW p.EALTOS eXOUaL rh a686 T auveXEL p.ETaA*et, el 3E povAet, 20 T1i TWv Laxc8Wv TWv AEapLxwv. 6: 2-3: Cydones, epist. 79, 19-20.
B f. 55v-56 C f. 359 -360.
19: Homerus, Il., 1, 249.
1 Tw e rii codd. 11 6-6 rrpoa rjx-gv yevea,3aL aol o6Uv
ar-,EL'f6C, H. OCVxyx is xc.l (te to aL) Taint q elvca C 11 12 A6yc.V &yvlarl C 11 17 X a-n C 11 19 yAUXUTepOV C
2 The sense of this difficult phrase may be as follows: We will not be unmindful of your real disposition toward us for the reason that you misunderstood my position, but felt you had to say something in reply. Or, since the main verbs are in the future tense, Manuel could be saying that, in the case of future disagreements, Cydones' real disposition will be clear because, even though he may misunderstand Manuel, he will not ignore him
but will continue to write to him. 3 This allusion is not clear. Perhaps it was some sort of private joke between Manuel and Cydones.
16
6
6. To Cabasilasl Constantinople Thessalonica, 1383-1387
That you pour forth works of literature more copiously than the springs do water, while we are the only ones whom you cut off from the flow of your writing even though we have been thirsting for it, no longer leaves any room for speculation or conjecture, but it clearly compels us to view your concern for the fatherland and for us as slight and fading away. Yet, you used to think it right and good to love both, and you confirmed this in many ways. To show little concern for us, especially now, is simply to ignore
us, and to ignore us is certainly unjust. Perhaps this is exactly what you yourself would say, and you would not contest it. But being unjust is not like you. Far from it. It is true that you practice all manner of virtue; by your involvement you have adorned the laws rather than having been adorned by them. But
what greatly accentuates this injustice is the fact that you have been a friend of ours for so long a time; and on top of everything else, there is the present situation, which would lead even an enemy to change his position and be reconciled. For the state of affairs in the land which bore you and which now holds me,2 o Savior, has surpassed and overshadowed all tragedy. A heavier burden, though, and a greater cause of grief is the realization that the present evils are really a period of profound peace compared with those we expect to face very soon. This is the judgment we must form when we restrict our gaze to our own sin, for, as long as I have my wits about me, I would not say this when contemplating God's love for mankind, which I am certain overcomes all sin. So it is that your beloved native land is in a sorry state, and for our part we need some remedy to drive away the evils we face or at least to give us some courage. But you-for it is better to rescue a good friend by admonition than
to lose him and consider this but a slight loss-as though these events, unknown to you, were happening beyond the Cataracts or concerned some Paiones or Celts, you sit there unmoved. You relax, apparently sharing the
attitude of others who, on observing the situation-I hope I am wrong in this-will think that it is sufficient to gaze with awe upon the calamities which have befallen us and upon those still threatening, and in this way all obligations are finished with. This would be most unworthy of an intelligent
person like yourself. For this was the way we used to look upon the incredible events in the history books, since it was not possible to take any further steps or to follow a better course of action. After all, how could anyone ward off dangers which are no longer present? But we are alive, and
you still have the opportunity to help us, both by words and by certain actions. Will you not reason with yourself? Will you not honor what is just?
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Will you not make amends and compensate for your silence by sending us many and lengthy letters? Or rather, does it not distress you that you have been holding your hands at your side and keeping your tongue still, or that right now there is a pressing need for you, you who esteem justice, to set them in motion day after day to come to our assistance? If, however, you are really convinced that you have forgotten yourself in wronging us by not having kept up your former correspondence and having deprived us of your usual letters, then renounce the wrong you have done, and to those letters add three more, imitating Zachaeus, and to those three many more.3 For it would indeed be far better, I believe, and more just in every way for a person to be ready seventy times seven, as Christ himself said, to make amends and to come to the support of whomever he had wronged than simply to pardon those who have erred and who denounce themselves. If you do not agree with this, but view it differently, then state your reasons, by God and by the Guardian of the City, the all-conquering Deme-
trius, the giver of victory. But even though he now acts very slowly and delays in presenting himself as the victor, I would never be foolish enough to believe, as some people might, that he would ignore us to the end and allow the forces of evil to rush against us like rivers flowing upstream, as though he were unable to stem the tide and turn back in flight the foe drunk with violence. For he who has so often utterly destroyed the enemy, who by prayer made Lyaeus weaker than an infant, and who by killing the visible scorpion destroyed the mental one as well, who surely has the strength
to do all else with the aid and favor of God, and who remains absolutely undefeated, such a one will hardly wish to be overcome by our offenses only.4
It is for this that I am praying through him to God, either that I may obtain pardon, or at least that I alone may be punished. Still, in this regard it is better and more reasonable to believe that we shall obtain God's forgiveness and that we shall share in those good things which will greatly outweigh the difficulties we face.
But you, my dearest friend, I know well that your reverence for the truth will make you stop dealing in subtleties, and that you will not have to make apologies. Rather, you will seek out some way to pay back with full interest, aware that this alone will enable you to clear yourself completely of my accusations.
' The references to Cabasilas' native city and to its patron, St. Demetrius, place the composition of this letter in Thessalonica, and at a time when Manuel was in serious
difficulties. These facts and its position in the manuscript make it almost certain that the letter was written during the Turkish siege of Thessalonica, 1383-1387. Manuel's expectation that his troubles would grow worse suggests that it was written early in the siege, perhaps 1383-1384. See Dennis, lllanuel in Thessalonica, 77 ff. It is not found in the Coislin manuscript.
19
6
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xaAw;.
44: Math., 18, 22.
51: Euripides, Medea, 410; cf. Zenobium,
Prov. 2, 56: Paroeej. gr. I, 47. 54-55: Auaiov . . . &no8eii;a5: Passio S. Demetrii a Symeone Metaphraste, Acta Sanctorum, Oct. IV (Bruxel. 1856), pp. 88, 91-93, 98-100; Mrvaia T06 6Xou ev(auzou, I, Sept. et Oct. (Roniae 1888), in festo S. Nestoris, 27 Oct., ad vesp., pp. 538, 541, 543; in festo S. hemetrii, 28 Oct., ad vesp., p. 522, ad matut., p. 536. 55: vo yrl v - euvvexp6c;aq : Passio S. Dernetrii cit., p. 98; Menaion cit., pp. 538, 541, 518.
20
6,7,8 2 Thessalonica. 3 Luke 19: S.
4 According to the legend, Lyaeus was a favorite gladiator of the Emperor Maximian whom the Christian youth, Nestor, was to face in mortal combat. Demetrius prayed over the youth, who then slew Lyaeus. It is also said that he killed a scorpion (or a snake) in his prison cell, a symbol of the mental scorpion, error, pride, or sin: references in appa-
ratus to text.
7. To Cabasilasl
I do not think you ought to infer from my being out of touch with you for such a long time that I have forgotten you. For I have always placed more value on my association and constant companionship with you than those who are enslaved to gold put into hoarding it. To be sure, my concentration on the multitude of tasks to be done, both at home and abroad, might perhaps have made me somewhat sluggish in keeping in contact. But, unless I had completely forgotten myself, I would never at all forget that
good and virtuous man who loves me very much and whom in return I greatly love. Well then, I shall put down a few words for his sake. Whoever has come to know you and realizes what type of person you are by nature, and whoever knows the sort of people I am usually genuinely fond of, will immediately believe what I have just said. By no means, though, should you, my good friend, ask pardon because of your own silence; either you thought you had a right to bring charges, but were unable to do so, or you had no right to bring any charges, since you were at fault by being silent. 1 This letter may have been placed here simply because the addressee is the same as that of the preceding letter and the contents are similar.
8. To Cyclones' Constantinople Thessalonica, spring 1385
I have heard many people praise the view about poverty expressed by
Theognis, but now that it has met with your approval, how will anyone ever think that Theognis did not express it to perfection ?2 This is what first convinced me to take every conceivable means to avoid poverty. I also recalled what happened long ago to Neokaisarites, who lost his position in charge of the salt works, a position of no importance, but still a position.3
21
6, 7, 8
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8
22
Moreover, I thought it necessary, according to the proverb, to sow
rocks and to cast seed haphazardly on the sand and to expect a crop of grain
as from rich earth. For the present situation forces us to this extreme. Accordingly, with good hope of success we placed our trust in that man you know, one of those who prefer to speak falsehood rather than the truth, even though I have often been cheated of my hopes while trusting in the right people .4 But may God grant that I do not fall short of my hopes, at least this time. This is what we must all prophesy, or rather we should have
faith in those who have faith in Him who said: Whatever you ask, you will receive, if you have faith. If I did not have faith that I shall attain my goal, it is clear that I would not be spending so much on the embassy. When he fails to fulfill nothing of what the Lord has promised, then the person to whom I have sent the embassy would with reason be regarded as the undoubted vicar of the Lord.5
1 In his endeavors to defend Thessalonica against the Turks Manuel turned to the pope in the hope of obtaining military assistance: Dennis, Manuel in Tlaessalonica, 136-41. Early in 1385 Manuel designated his ambassadors, of whom the only one known by name is Euthymius, perhaps the later patriarch to whom Manuel addressed Letters 39, 40, 51, 55. About the end of the winter of 1385 Cydones wrote a long letter (302) to Manuel, which begins:
"You seem quite willing to listen to poets, since you paid close attention to what Theognis had to say. For that race is generally very clever and does not express itself in
words that are altogether clear, but after hinting at many things in a few words, it is finished, and a person pursuing the thought of the poet must not stop just at the words but must penetrate beyond to his mind and realize that the spoken word refers to everything to which it has a reasonable application and connection. Now, someone else who had heard the views of Theognis on poverty would perhaps have turned to money making and cheap taverns and would be persuaded to scatter seed over sea and rocks in hopes of obtaining money. You, however, regarded this sort of counsel as quite unworthy of a wise man. As an emperor you listened to his views and by your own greatness of character you have done honor to the poet. For you would think of advising a man to undertake even impossible tasks to obtain the greatest goals, not just ordinary ones. The greatest thing is freedom and not having to be subject to those inferior to oneself.... So it is, indeed, that you place living in freedom above all else, and in your earnest endeavors to preserve it for yourself and your subjects, you govern and send orders, you call in allies, you face dangers now by land, now by sea, you send embassies, make expenditures, and try to omit none of the
possible means.... It is clear that, with God favorably disposed, you will not miss the goal you aim at, nor will you be like those plowing the sea and sowing rocks.... I could have contributed a good deal to the present embassy if I had known about it when you were getting it ready. For I would have written ahead to my friends in Rome to facilitate the work of the ambassadors... . Nonetheless, I did not neglect persons of influence, but I made use of those sailing there to inform the director and the chorus about him [Pope Urban VI and his curia or cardinals] of the good things we know about you." Cydones expressed his disappointment that he had not been informed or consulted about the negotiations with Rome. To all this Manuel contented himself with this brief reply, and it is not clear why he failed to involve Cydones in the affair. s Theognis, I, 175-76. "Poverty subdues a good man more than all else.. .. To avoid it a man should cast himself into the abysmal sea or over a sheer precipice."
23
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8 Neokaisarites is found as a family name in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries:
see D. I. Polemis, The Dovkai. A Contribution to Byzantine Prosopography (London, 1968), 149-50. Philes speaks of the protoasecretis Theodore Neokaisarites: Manuelis Philae carmina, ed. E. Miller (Paris, 1855-57), I, 444-46. Michael Neokaisarites is mentioned in 1274: George Pachymeres, De Michaele et Andronico Palaeologis libri X111,
ed. I. Bekker (Bonn, 1835), I, 395. Another Michael held the post of grand adnoumiastes in 1318 and 1324: Guilland, Recherches, 1, 595. Gregory of Cyprus, Patriarch of Constantinople (1283-1289), addressed many letters to the protoasecretis Manuel Neokaisarites: ed. S. Eustratiades, in a-rLx-l (h&poS, 1-5 (1908-1910). The same name occurs in Nicephorus Gregoras, Byzantina historic, eds. L. Schopen and I. Bekker (Bonn, 1829-55), 8, 3: I, 293. John Doukas Neokaisarites was a well-known copyist, rzpt'coy whose dated manuscripts belong to the period 1334-1366: L. Politis, p(pALoyp&pou'Iw&vvou Aouxa Toe NzoxamaapzLTOU, in Etc µvr, i v Dr. H. A&µzrpou (Athens,
1935), 587-95; "Fine Schreiberschule im Kloster TE)v `08rywv," BZ, 51 (1958), 18-19; A. Guillou, Les archives de Saint-Jean-Prodrome cur is wont Menecee (Paris, 1955), 189.
The Neokaisarites of this letter, though, and the incident alluded to are not otherwise known. 4 This may be a reference to the Turkish Emir Murad or to an influential personage in Constantinople. 5 Pope Urban VI.
24
9
9. To Tribolesi
Mistra Thessalonica, 1383-1387
We made a serious effort to have your letter read before as many
people as you would wish, and you surely wished a large number to hear it,
confident in your literary skill and expecting to be praised for it. And this is just what happened. For the entire audience applauded and was full of admiration as the letter was read by its "grandfather."2 Nor was he able to conceal his own pleasure as the theater was shaken by applause and by praise for the skilled craftsman whose teaching has led you to become such a great rhetorician. But this made him blush so much that he was scarcely able to continue. So it was that what you succeeded in producing struck even your master himself, along with everyone else, with admiration and pleasure, and made him look particularly radiant. But while the others were
expressing their wonderment, I seemed to be the only one who was not doing so. Someone asked me how it could be possible that among the entire group I alone appeared unaffected, that is, uninspired and lacking in admi-
ration. "I too am greatly impressed," I replied, "for I cannot help being thoroughly amazed, not because a noble father brings forth noble children," referring to you and your writings, "but because the rest of you marvel at this as though you had unexpectedly come across something new." This is what I said, and I seemed to hit the mark, inasmuch as it brought the group to admire the very man whom I wanted to be admired. But tell me, by God, what in the world are those noble leaps in your writing where you thought it proper to "leap" while you were "sitting still."
For you said, as you know: "I sit here with a radiant countenance both leaping about and assuming a grave air." The last term then and the first one, the gravity, I mean, and the radiance, we pass over in silence for your
sake. But how, remaining seated, you practice leaping about, and over what distances, this I would very much like to learn. If you could teach me this very new science, I will profess a great debt of gratitude to you. For by making good use of this method, I mean those leaps of yours, I could effortlessly, while still seated, pass rapidly over town and country as I might wish, even as far as that land of Pelops where you now dwell. For that land holds my dearest brother and friend and son.' Can you imagine how much I desire to see it? You know how passionately I yearn to be able whenever I should wish to see him whom I regard as myself. If it were not possible to do it for gold, I would readily choose to purchase at the price of my own limbs either the harp of Orpheus or the arrow of Abaris.4 More than anything else
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9,10
I would choose never to be separated in body from him to whom I am
united in spirit night and day. But since, by God's good judgment, we have been apart for no short time in order to promote the common good of the Romans and not our own advantage, would anyone be surprised at my statement, anyone who knows what love really is and who knows how many things have united us and still compel us to love each other ?5 Do you really want to learn the reason for the comments we hurled at you regarding the "leaping about"? In making those remarks it was my intention, I want you to know, to bring you to defend yourself and to send more splendid letters here. Now, when I say "more splendid," understand that I am hoping for longer ones. For all your letters are sisters, and they are all equally perfect. The longer a letter is, then, the more splendid it is.
' The vague chronological indications in this letter and its position in the collection incline one to place it in the years 1383-1387, during Manuel's reign in Thessalonica, when Triboles served as an official of the Despot Theodore in Mistra: see p. Iiii. 2 In Byzantine literary circles the author of a composition was often called its father; in this case Manuel calls the teacher (perhaps loosely interpreted) of Triboles the grandfather of the work. A few lines later he refers to him as his master, but his identity is not known and, in any event, Triboles' letter does not seem to have survived.
' Theodore I Palaeologus, despot in the Morea: see Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 15. s The harp or lyre of Orpheus enabled him to charm men, animals, and the elements
of nature. Abaris, a mythical servant of Apollo, was able to travel everywhere with the golden arrow of the god. 6 Manuel and Theodore had been separated since 1382, the one in Thessalonica and
the other in the Morea, but had joined in an alliance against the Turks: Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 43, 58, 114-28.
10. To Cydones Constantinople Thessalonica, 1383-1387
Your letter arrived here bearing an indictment that what you had previously written was nonsense, and, at the same time, accusing us of compiling these letters of yours into a book.' But of course you said this in jest, since you must be well aware that you have not convinced us. "For I am not ignorant of Phaedrus unless I have also forgotten myself."2 But it has been your lot to suffer in fact what you claimed in jest to be suffering. For
it was destined, as it seems, my very good friend, that even in making pleasantries you did not depart from the truth. Since all of your writings are above reproach, this letter which accuses them of nonsense has itself been judged by all of them as guilty of the very thing for which it came and
27
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28
10,11 should not, then, press the charge of nonsense against denounced them. You your works, for by this expression you may be caught in the very trap you
are trying to escape. Neither should you feel free to make accusations against us in a matter in which you owe so many payments. Let these payments.be made by your willingness to fill up as rapidly as possible that place we have reserved in the volume for future letters.
1 While in Thessalonica Manuel had the letters received from Cydones copied into a special volume, with blank spaces left for future letters: Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 96. The copying was entrusted to Acacius, whom Cydones regarded as an intelligent and religious man: Letter 263:10-11. The present letter is in reply to Letter 326 of Cydones, which reads in part as follows:
"Apparently you feel I must be punished for my friendliness toward you, and so
you have compiled my foolish scribblings into a book. For apart from some fault of mine, I can see no other reason why you have condemned me to be made a laughing stock, not
only to my contemporaries, but also to future generations, who will read the words, or rather the mistakes, in it where one might find more solecisms than phrases.... A person might think it even more laughable that you call upon me to write more of this sort of thing, since you say you have prepared a place in the book for future letters." 2 Plato, Phaedrus, 228a.
11. To Cydones' Constantinople Thessalonica, fall, 1383
Being an accomplished speaker is clearly preferable to being wealthy; it provides something more pleasurable than all pleasure as well as a glory which is greater. But the opposite might well be true for those attempting to make speeches without having thoroughly practiced the art of rhetoric from childhood. A person who wishes to deliver a faultless speech must also consider first what will please his hearers and the topics which will make them
feel glorious and enviable. He must have natural ability in addition to practice; his desire must have the assistance of intelligence and, furthermore, of the proper occasion. Held back, therefore, by all these considerations, we thought it best to observe silence and to hold to it firmly. You know how long I have adhered to this decision, since you have not been receiving my custom-
ary letters. But since the great love and the equally great good will which I cherish toward your fellow citizens has completely overpowered me, I was unable to persevere in my resolve. For there was need of advice, and I spoke about what I believed would best aid the city.
29
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30
11,12 Of course, we are not hiding this "failure" of ours from you, and we
are showing you our composition. For if it is proper and prudent not to communicate something secret to those who are not one's friends, then it is quite improper and even dangerous to keep something secret from such a friend as you are to us. For our part, then, we reveal our "failure" to you and, in a certain sense, we denounce ourselves to you. But you will be indulgent,
I am sure, for I suspect that frequently, dominated by love, you have trampled on the precepts and laws which you yourself set down. Here then is the work; surely you know to whom you may show it if you think it is well composed and of such quality that it should not be hidden. Pluck then the sweet fruit for yourself, you who are the cause of it, for it was you who provided us with the seed, and it was by you that the plant was abundantly watered. If, on the other hand, it seems a work fit to be cast into the fire, do not expect to incur any penalty from us, since you are already incurring it, inasmuch as you sowed the seed of literature in us, and irrigated and cultivated it. 1 In late September or in October 1383 the commander of the Turkish forces closing
in on Thessalonica delivered an ultimatum. Before an assembly of the citizens Manuel delivered a formal oration advising them on the course of action they should take: Dennis, Manuel in Thesselonica, 78-85. He then sent a copy to Cydones accompanied by the present letter. The discourse is edited by B. Laourdas, '0 `Euµ(3ooXcortx6c np6q tio6q Oeaaa).ovLxeeS' ro5 IIaaawadyou, in Maxe&ovix&, 3 (1955), 290-307. There is a detailed
analysis and summary in Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 81-84; the letter is also translated by Barker, Manuel II, 415-16. On receiving this letter and the copy of the Discourse, Cydones wrote a rather effusive reply (Letter 262), praising his former pupil on his rhetorical performance, in which he found "a certain echo of Demosthenes." After continuing in this vein and refusing any credit for himself, he ends with a prayer. "Savior, grant to the emperor the occasion to compose and to deliver panegyrics instead of the counsel which he has just given. For him there will be more ambition in his eloquence, for myself more pleasure in listening. For at
the moment my pleasure has been considerably lessened because I see that my fellow citizens had need of exhortations when their own safety was at stake."
12. To Cydones' Constantinople Constantinople, fall 1389spring 1390
Now that you have the staters in your hand, will you believe that you have received them ? I feel sure you will. Be hopeful, therefore, about what we prophesied yesterday would follow upon the recovery of the emperor, who with God's help overcame an illness stronger than the skill of the doctors,
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and about the things which you yourself are hopeful about. He who gave you no hope that you would receive even one hundred staters has now unexpectedly poured out twice that amount, as Zeus once rained down gold upon the Rhodians through a cloud. Now, do not tell us that it is easy for an emperor to give a thousand staters and to give that amount frequently, when it is difficult for him to assert his power over the nation, which in a way he has been serving for quite some time.2 For that is the way things are by the nature of the situation. But if the creator and ruler of the nature of all things should only wish-it is to Him after all that the emperor looks and in whom he places his good hopes in trying to do all he can to benefit the people-then at once everything would seem easy, even those matters which now appear impossible.
Well then, now that you can be encouraged by good hopes, my good friend, you would do right, all things considered, if, even though you have obtained the provisions, you put off everyone inviting you to travel to a foreign land.3 You should cling to the fatherland no less firmly than the octopus to the rocks. It must also be obvious to you that the emperor is well disposed toward you; indeed you always placed this above everything
else. And to prove it, he has of his own accord, though not completely recovered from his illness, provided you with this gift.
Listen to me, then, and, as a recompense for what I consider good advice, give us your own promise to follow this advice, and put your own mind to rest by admitting that this is the only way you will be able, far from the waves of the sea, to bring order and joy to your fatherland and to support it by your counsels as it is battered by the tempest. For in time of trouble one must be blind to reasonings, a certain wise man has declared, whom I have very often heard you praising, and of all the things he said, not the least have you praised this very phrase. 1 After being forced to leave Thessalonica in April 1387, Manuel first found refuge on Lesbos and then spent a short time on Tenedos and in Brusa. Probably in September he returned to Constantinople, but was soon exiled by John V to the island of Lemnos: see Dennis, lblanuel in Thessalonica, 151-58; Barker, lllanuel II, 59-66; R. J. Loenertz, "L'exil de Manuel II Paleologue Lemnos 1387-1389," OCP, 38 (1972), 116-40. He remained on Lemnos for about two years; none of his letters have survived from this period. Exactly when his exile ended is not clear, but it was certainly before April 1390 and probably during the autumn of 1389: see Barker, Alan uel II, 67, esp. note 186. On 31 March 1390 Manuel was in Constantinople to support his father in the conflict with John VII; it is likely that be had arrived in the city earlier. The illness of John V, Manuel's oration on his recovery and the exchange of correspondence with Cydones all imply that Manuel had returned and been reconciled with his father before the uprising of John VII in March 1390. The strange dream-allegory of Cydones (Letter 411) does not speak of a reconciliation, but of a continued disagreement. After describing John's curious behavior, it states that Manuel "was in a tent outside the gates, since his father had not permitted him to enter," and that he did not have enough food for his own servants. Possibly he had returned from exile without John's permission, or this may refer to his earlier return in the summer or autumn of 1387.
33
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12: 7-8: Pindarus, Olyrnp. VII, 34 et 50; Libanius, epist. 348, 11; declamatio 31, 200. 26-27: locum non inveni. 19: Macarius, Prov. 7, 21: Paroem. gr. II, 203.
B f. 59-59v.
1 'cw au'ri1 codd.
Although precise dates cannot be given, the chronology regarding this letter seems to be as follows: illness of John V, Manuel returns to Constantinople from Lemnos, Cy. dones' Letter 410, recovery of John V, oration of Manuel on his recovery, Cydones' Letter 83, Letter 82, Manuel's Letter 12, Cydones' Letter 424. It is possible that John V was already ill when Manuel arrived; in fact, his illness, as well as the rebellion of John VII, was probably the principal reason for his return. Cyclones (Letter 410) complained that a serious illness had prevented him from greeting Manuel on his return after a lengthy absence, but he is consoled by the hope that Manuel will save the Empire. "All call upon him [Manuel] as the sick call upon the physicians. They were troubled by his delay and cursed the winds which did not allow their pilot to come to them more swiftly. But now, on seeing him, they seem to have come to life again and feel that with you bore they will more easily confront all dangers. Come then, and with God's help, fulfill the hopes of all,
12,13
34
for you know that nothing is more honorable than enduring danger on behalf of one's fatherland, particularly since it is not only on its behalf that you are about to take up weapons, but also on behalf of your father." Instead of the correct reading, rsaTpds, Cammelli has navr64 in his edition: Demdtrius Cydones Corre8pondance (Paris, 1930), no. 22, p. 51. Upon the recovery of John V, Manuel delivered a formal oration of thanksgiving before the court: ed. J. F. Boissonade, Anecdota nova (Paris, 1844), 222-38. Cyclones, who was present, then received a gift of money from the old Emperor (&pyupiov: Cydones, Letter 83:5; 200 aTwr:jpas according to Manuel). The next day Cydones wrote to thank
John V for the unexpected present: Letter 83. In Letter 386, apparently written about the same time, he thanked John V for a gift of 600 staters, but otherwise there is no connection with the present letter. At the same time Cyclones wrote to Manuel. After effusive praise of his rhetorical ability, he remarked: "This was the sort of feast you gave us yesterday when you professed your gratitude to the Savior for the health of your father the emperor, which he has recovered after having almost tasted death." He then commented on the generosity of John V and concluded with the remark that "yesterday's banquet was good in quite a number of ways" : Letter 82. It was on the same day that Manuel wrote the present letter to Cydones, as is clear from his reference to the prophecies made "yesterday," the recovery of the Emperor and the gift of money. 2 Perhaps this is a veiled allusion to the Turks or to the rebellion of John VII. 8 Despite Manuel's pleas, Cyclones did leave for Venice not long after this letter, apparently early in 1390: see Cydones, Letter 435.
13. To the holy Despot the Porphyrogennitus, his Brothers
Mistra Constantinople, 1390
This excellent man, Kananos, impelled by affection for you, cannot stand living in pleasure, although he could easily do so, while you are bearing
weapons in the field. So that he might share in your labors and dangers he pays no heed, as you know, to his own land, his friends, his relatives; he pays no heed to the imperial favor and good will which made him an object of envy. He has pushed aside public functions which used to be so effective in providing heroic beginnings for lovers of wealth and seekers of glory. He has sailed over the Aegean and found you for whom he was longing in the land of Pelops. Even though he experienced no wandering, he arrived at Ithaca as another Odysseus. So it is that you draw the whole man to yourself. You, I am certain, will not be unimpressed by all this, as you have made clear by your having treated him so well. He seems to be acting correctly, though, in letting his own good qualities be forgotten, but everywhere he has loudly proclaimed the benefits he has received from you, calling you a haven for your friends and a model for your subjects, and boasting that you have now caused your once fearsome enemies to tremble with fright. For he has only one concern: constantly to sing your praises.
35
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36
13,14 What more than anything else proves the vehemence of his devotion to you is that when he saw you freed from your troubles, and then heard exactly the opposite about us, he knew that it would please you if he could in some way manage to be of assistance to me, and so, having first obtained permission from you, he raced here. His love for you, however, did not permit him to adhere to his decision and to spend much time with us, although he certainly was not unaware that to serve me and to serve you are the same thing as far as you are concerned. He comes to you, then, more enthusiastically than sailors arriving in harbor from the high seas. Because he wanted to sprout wings, but could not, he blames fortune for not having made him another Daedalus. When we asked whether he desired a letter requesting that he might enjoy your good favor as formerly, he replied that he needed no more assurance than your own character. He would not accept a letter which might convey the impression that he was ignorant of the person whom, in fact, he knows very well. I commended him on the love and hope he cherishes in your regard, and since I was unable to fulfill his desire for a pair of wings, the least I felt I should do was to give him a horse so that he could present himself as soon as possible to the one he loves. To you, though, I am not suggesting how you are to receive him in a manner commensurate with your goodness and with his own eagerness to reach you. For in so doing I would seem to be ignorant of my brother, whose great goodness and kindness is manifest not only to Kananos, but to a blind man as well. 1 Theodore I Palaeologus, despot of the Romans, governor of the Morea, 1382-1407. This letter seems to have been written in the fall of 1390. Presumably, Kananos had come to help Manuel in suppressing the revolt of John VII and, when this was accomplished, had returned to the Morea.
14. To Cydonesl Constantinople
Asia Minor, summer 1391 Among my friends who possess some literary skill there are those who have written to us two or three times, but have received scarcely one letter in reply. But you, whether you keep your hands at your side or write, you still call upon us to write. Regarding the first point, then, the reason is not that I hold my friends in slight esteem or that I attach little importance to composing something which might please them. Never would I show so little concern for my friends. The reason is that it is not easy for us to write even when we have the time, for, as they say, it is only on our fingertips that we have had a
37
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13: 35: of. Macarium, Prov. 3, 29: Paroem. gr. II, 156.
B f. 59°-60.
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38
14
taste of eloquence, and we have not danced with rhetoricians in the gardens of the Muses, and what is more, as you may well imagine, we have so many things to do, so many preoccupations and troubles. I have marched with the Romans from our own land to wage war with the Scythians in the land of the Scythians2 and to command troops for our enemies. What Demosthenes
would not be frustrated by this and find himself incapable of utterance? This then is my first point.
And the second must simply be attributed to your Sirens, whose singing overpowers their hearers, not only because of the pleasure they provide, but also because they make them better men. Even when they do not sing, they cast an even greater spell on those who have experienced their charms; for those wounded by love yearn all the more for their loved ones when they are absent. So it is that since I have not received your usual letters, I greatly desire them, and in the midst of war and strife, as I am about to mount my horse and make immediate trial of my weapons, which I have just put down, I do not hesitate to write to you, so that you may have cause to answer. But do you wish to learn exactly what circumstances we find ourselves in? I feel sure you do, and I would have satisfied your curiosity if the present
situation did not prevent us in every way. I think it is enough to say just this: we exchange fear for fear, danger for danger, labor for labor, small compared to the more serious ones, I mean, those we now undergo in league with the Persians3 compared to those we can expect from them if we do not fight along with them, just as the coins your companion Plato speaks of.4
1 In the fall or winter of 1390 Manuel was compelled to accompany the Turkish Emir Bajezid on campaign in Western Asia Minor. On hearing of his father's death on 16 February 1391, he raced back to Constantinople, arriving before 8 March, and secured possession of the throne for himself. Then on 8 June he left the capital to join Bajezid on a long and difficult campaign in the heart of Asia Minor, from which he returned early in
January 1392. See Barker, Manuel II, 84-10:5. While on this campaign he wrote eight letters, of which this is the first, probably dating from the summer of 1391. It has also been translated by Barker, Manuel II, 88-89. 1 In Byzantine usage "Scythian" is a loose designation, generally referring to the nomadic peoples of the South Russian steppes. At this time it was often used for the Mongols or the Tatars: see Gy. Moravesik, Byzantinoturcica. Sprachreste der Tiirkvolker in den Byzantinischen Quellen, II (Budapest, 1943) 282; idein, "Klassizismus in der byzantinischen Geschichtsschreibung," Polychronion. Festschrift F. Dolger znm 75. Geburtstag (Heidelberg, 1966), 366-77. But it is difficult to determine how precise Manuel intended to
be in employing the term. Possibly he is referring to non-Turkish peoples, or peoples not yet subject to the Ottomans, such as the quasi-independent emirates throughout Asia Minor, some of which were vassals of the Mongols. In Letter 16 he is more explicit. Turks. This is an obvious paraphrase, probably from memory, of a passage in the Phaedo (69a): "This is not the right way to purchase virtue, by exchanging pleasures for pleasures, and pains for pains, and fear for fear, and greater for less, as if they were coins."
39
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14: 8: of. Zenobium, Prov. 1, 61; Diogenem, Prov. 1, 29: Paroem gr. I, 24; II, 5. 15: of. Homerum, Od., 12, 188. 28: Plato,
8-9: of. Platonem, Ion, 534a. Phaedo, 69a.
B f. 60-60v.
15
15. To Cabasilas Constantinople,
Asia Minor, autumn 1391 A certain strange and unusual feeling came over me on reading through your letter. For you, because of your close friendship, have always attached great importance to receiving letters from us, and now that you have not received any, you are understandably distressed. My own reaction to this was one of sorrow as well as of joy, both of which I seemed to feel at the same time; both feelings mingled and came upon me, and I experienced neither one by itself. First of all, I was distressed because you yourself were distressed and because this was occasioned by me, a friend to a friend. At the same time, I was filled with joy because what distressed you, of all things, gave proof of the greatness of your friendship, which of course was not previously unknown. The astonishment of the others when they saw me reading your letter was something to see. They looked at one another, nudging, all the while glancing sideways at me; by their expression and every gesture they pointed out that I was both happy and distressed at the same time. This, then, is what I meant by that certain unusual feeling which so
strangely came over me. Now, you say that you would like to learn my opinion of your letters; you would like an apology for my not having written for such a long time; and you would like to learn about our present circumstances, since we have been away from home so long and, as you can guess, facing one danger and difficulty after another. You insist on knowing all the details.
First of all then, I can give no higher opinion about your most recent letter to us than that which you know we have already given about your previous ones. I do not believe this one is in any way more striking than the others, for it is like a sister to them. The reason for this is that they have all been brought forth by the same father; what is already perfect, moreover, cannot be improved on. Secondly, I think it only right, even if you had not insisted, to explain why I have not written. Actually, I was intending to remain silent, primarily because it was beyond my ability to give you an exact account of events here, for Xenophon, the general of the ten thousand, even with his power of narration and with sufficient time, would scarcely be able to do so. Further-
more, we had nothing pleasant to talk about, only extremely distressing topics. For the difficulties had not yet passed, and the time had not come to recount such matters as might give you reason to leap for joy with a cheerful countenance and to offer hymns of thanksgiving to God. Still, I do hope that
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15,16 with God's help we return you will be able to do this very soon, whenever and give you your fill of our customary jesting; we shall complain of your innate laziness, which always led you to aim at avoiding the judge's bench, a position which many desired and sought after, but which, when the opportunity presented itself, you could not bear to accept.' We have found ourselves in circumstances we would not be in of our own accord. It was this, o good friend, that kept my hand still and managed to keep my tongue numb until now. I suppose it might have been better to continue in my silence, except that you in your letter do not permit me to do this and it would be wrong to hold what you wrote in disdain. Either, therefore, be pleased at this letter because it comes from us, or, if you should be displeased because it bears worse tidings than you expected to hear, then either blame yourself or admit your gratitude.
1 See p. xxxi.
16. To Cydones' Constantinople Asia Minor, winter 1391
A great expanse of land has your letter traversed; after passing over mountains and fording rivers, it has finally found us here in a tiny, little plain, encircled by a chain of precipitous mountains, as a poet would say, so that it barely suffices as an encampment for the army. In appearance and in reality it is an extremely savage place. Apart from a little wood and some
murky water, it cannot provide us with anything. It has been deserted by the inhabitants, who have fled to the clefts in the rocks, to the forests, and to the mountain heights in an effort to escape a death from which there is no escape, a very cruel and inhuman death without any semblance of justice. For every mouth which is opened in answer is immediately closed by the sword. Nobody is spared, neither very young children nor defenseless women. For those whom old age or illness prevents from running away there is no
hope of escaping that murderous blade. What is even worse, the very respectful title accorded to the more revered among the Persian priests, Maula na (rogue would be a better name),2 assures him of no better treatment from his own people than from the Triballians, the Mysoi, or the Illyrians.1 These latter, in fact, believe that they are inflicting punishment in return for what they Suffered in the past at the hands of this people,4 and with loud cries that they are avenging Christ, they ceaselessly slaughter everyone they come
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upon. And they also-but I ought not to recount all this; you will probably hear it from others. So much then for this slaughter.
The small plain in which we are now staying certainly had some name when it was fortunate enough to be inhabited and ruled by the Romans. But now when I ask what it was, I might as well ask about the proverbial wings of a wolf, since there is absolutely nobody to inform me. To be sure, you can see many cities here, but they lack what constitutes the true splendor of a city and without which they could not really be termed cities, that is, human beings. Most of these cities now lie in ruins, a pitiable spectacle for the people whose ancestors once possessed them. But not even the names have survived, since they were destroyed so long ago. Actually, when I inquired after the names of these cities, and the people I asked would reply: "We destroyed
these cities, but time has erased their names," I was seized with sorrow although I bore it in silence, since I was still able to manage some selfcontrol. But as you can imagine, when someone having no idea of the ancient name of the city would instead call it by some barbaric and strange-sounding
name, I lamented loudly and was scarcely able to conceal my distress, although I really wanted to restrain myself. Admittedly, I seem unable to inform you clearly in what part of the world we find ourselves. For how can anyone spell out places which no longer have a name? Therefore, we shall have to try the next best way, that is, to take you as far as I can on an imaginary tour through the other places whose names have not been destroyed and in which we are spending some time.
You have heard of the city of Pompey,5 beautiful, marvelous, extensive; rather, that is how it once was, for now you can barely make out its ruins. It is situated on the banks of a river which is crossed by a stone bridge, adorned with colonnades, marvelous for their size, their beauty and their skillful construction. Indeed, this city and these magnificent remains offer no less evidence why the Romans bestowed on its founder the surname of "the Great" than the many victories which amply justified this title. Now, after leaving this city and then the city of Zeno behind us, with Sinope off to the left and the Halys on the other side, we have already been marching
for many days, using the sun for our guide.6 For we must head directly toward the rising sun if we are not to lose our way. Are you interested in learning why the leader' of the army decided to do this? He believes that a certain satrap, by name Peisha,8 who rules over the territory bordering on Sinope and Amnisus, as well as a few villages and a small number of men, should either be subdued or forced into an alliance. Then with Sinope too surrounded, he can either subject it to himself or else compel Isfendiyar,9 the ruler of Sinope, to accept and observe whatever
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oaths he might like him to swear. Finally, with all these trophies he will strike terror into the ruler of Sebasteia together with the Scythians 1O If all this proceeds according to his plans, then he will return home, they say, and, with the help of God, so shall we.
Obviously, it is not easy to bear all this, not to mention the scarcity of supplies, the severity of winter, and the sickness which has struck down many of our men, and which, as you can understand, has greatly depressed me. I could also enumerate the other difficulties, which the rules of letter writing exclude, as well as those which are likely to cause serious harm to our affairs at home, since we have already been absent for such a long time. It is unbearable, though, not to be able to see anything, to hear anything, to do anything during all this time here which could somehow contribute to the formation and betterment of our spirit. For this terribly oppressive time makes no concession to us who regard it of prime importance to remain
aloof from and to have absolutely nothing to do with what we are now involved in or anything connected with it, for we were not educated for this sort of thing, nor accustomed to enjoy it, nor is it in our nature. But it is on the present state of affairs that we must place the blame, not to mention the individual who ought to be blamed." The worst part of these terrible things which have managed to reduce us to this sad plight is that the illnesses and bad humors we daily experience
increase and become more intense than before. Certainly, no intelligent person will expect to be freed of these afflictions unless he first frees himself from those things the performance of which, while he was still healthy, led him to become ill.12 May God now deliver us from this terrible condition and enable us to enjoy good health once again. Indeed, everything considered, it is better to be optimistic, and accordingly, with these hopes in sight, to try whatever might be of some help. I know that I have exceeded the proper limits of a letter, but perhaps I have not exceeded your eagerness to learn about our present circumstances. While another person on reading this letter might believe he was listening
to Thersites giving a speech,13 you will say that it is laconic. But, good friend, do not pursue the unattainable by having me tell you about every one of the difficulties we have experienced, or how many incidental problems derive from them, which I must pass over in silence. Onto this sea your ship
must sail, since our own small bark cannot put out into the deep at all. In fact, this sea is so wide that my eyes would never gaze upon its further shores, and I must be satisfied with sailing along the coast hoping to chance upon a harbor before sunset and find some anchorage.'4 Owing to these problems, therefore, I have neither said everything nor held everything back. At any rate, I believe I have done the right thing by fulfilling my obligation to you-for friends who cannot be together have an obligation
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to take the effort to write to let each know how the other is doing-without stretching out a story which would only distress you. This is just what I am doing as I bring this letter to a close. For al-
ready I can all but make out the messengers inviting us to go off to the ruler.15 I suppose he again wants to drink a few toasts before dinner and to force us to fill ourselves with wine from his varied collection of golden bowls and cups. He thinks that these will assuage the depression caused by what we have been writing about, while, even if I were in good spirits, they would only fill me with sadness."
1 Because of its intrinsic interest and the surprising amount of information it contains, this letter has been commented on and translated several times: J. Berger de Xivrey, Mdmoire sur la vie et les ouvrages de l'empereur Manuel Paldologue, M6moires de
1'Institut de France, Academic des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres, 19, pt. 2 (Paris, 1853), 55-59; P. Charanis, "The Strife among the Palaeologi and the Ottoman Turks, 1370-1402," Byzantion, 16, 1 (1942-43), 310-11; R. J. Loenertz, "Manuel Paltologue et Dgmhtrius Cydones. Remarques sur leurs correspondances," E0, 36 (1937), 281; Barker, Manuel II, 90-93. It was written during the campaign of Bajezid against the rulers of Sinope and Kastamouni in the north central area of Asia Minor (ancient Pontus) in the second half of 1391. Although Manuel speaks of the severity of winter, this need not be taken literally, and since the rest of the campaign and subsequent letters have to be accounted for, this letter could be dated to the fall, perhaps early winter, of 1391. 3Maula na (µauXwva;) derives from the Arabic, mauls na, our master or lord (Turkish, mevlena) and was a customary title of address to revered religious leaders. A Dervish order in Asia Minor named after Jalal-al-din Rumi, known as mauls, n5,, was called the Maulauiyya (Turkish, Mevleviyye). The only point Manuel seems to be making here is that the Moslem religious leaders are not spared in the general slaughter and that they are just as brutally treated by their own people as they are by their Christian enemies. In other words, he is simply stressing the utter barbarity of the whole situation. See D. S. Margoliouth, "Mawlawiya," Encyclopaedia of Islam, III (London-Leiden, 1936), 418-19. The Mawlawis are discussed in detail and with abundant references by S. Vryonis, The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century (Los Angeles, 1971), 381-96.
3 The Triballians are the Serbs, the Mysoi the Bulgarians, and the Illyrians the Albanians. Manuel uses these names to refer to the Balkan vassals of Bajezid, such as the Serbian Prince Stephen Lazarevib, who, like Manuel himself and John VII, had to accompany the emir on his campaigns. The Turks.
Pompeiopolis (-riv IIoµmltou) was built in the western part of Pontic Paphlagonia on the river Amnias by Pompey the Great in 64-63 3.o. (modern Taakopru). Magnopolis on the river Lycus, which he also settled and named after himself, is too far to the
east: see A. H. 11. Jones, The Cities o/ the Eastern Roman Provinces (Oxford, 1937), 159-60; D. Magic, Roman Rule. in Asia Minor (Princeton, 1950), 368-72; Costantino Perfiroyenito, De themulibus, ed. A. Pertusi, ST, 160 (Vatican City, 1952), 7, 21, p. 72. 6 Zenopolis (-r ;v -rou
has not been identified. The cities of this name in
Lycia and Cilicia are too far south to fit Manuel's description. It must have been to the cast of Pompciopolis, for the army was marching due east from there with Sinope (modern Sinop) on the Black Sea to the north and the River Halys (modern Kizil Irmak) to the south.
49
16 yp&l.L.Laaty epyov ExeLV
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Ta xa&' au'OUS breL8av µ TYV atL y7)aLV e'7CL'Cel'.VeLV.
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oi6µevoc T-;lv & wv eip7lxaµev &&uµEav, 8L' civ, ocv et xai eu&up,ouv, &vLo av 470,rlpo6L v.
16: 4: of. Homerum, Il., 15, 273, 619; 16, 35; Od., 9, 243; 10, 88; 13, 196. 24: Diogenes, Prov. 6, 4; Michael Apost., Prov. 10, 80: Paroem. gr. I, 270; II, 509; Libanius, epist. 515, 3; 1184, 11. 86: of. Homerum, Il., 2, 212-44. 87: Homerus, Il., 17, 75.
B f. 61v-63.
99 xaMvovvas B
7 The Turkish Emir Bajezid. 8 Peisha is otherwise unknown, if indeed this be his name: see Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica, II, 250. Manuel's concern for exactness in foreign names was minimal, and this may simply be a combination of the Turkish titles, bey and shah. 9 Isfendiyar (E7rrs-r&pr15) is the name of the dynasty which ruled Sinope and Kastamouni (Qastamouni, modern Kastamonu) ; the name of the ruler at this time was Suleiman
II (1385-1392/93). Actually, it was not until the following year that Kastamouni and Sinope were taken by Bajezid, who had Suleiman murdered within a year after 17 November 1392: E. Zambaur, Manuel de gene'aiogie et de chronologie pour l'histoire de l'Islam (Hanover, 1927), 149; Charanis, op. cit., 311. Ducas (ed. Grecu, 19, 1, p. 123) also refers to the ruler of Sinope by the dynastic name, E7revTL&p. In April 1392 Bajezid was making
preparations for a naval attack against Sinope in which Manuel was supposed to participate, although it seems that he did not actually do so: Thiriet, Rdgestes, 813, 820. 1u The ruler of Sevasteia (Sebasteia, modern Sivas) further inland to the east was
Ahinad Qndi Burhunaddin Ghilzi, 1380-1398: Zambaur, op. cit., 156. The Scythians generally refers to the Mongols or perhaps their vassals in Eastern Asia Minor. 11 Undoubtedly Bajezid, whose name is never mentioned by Manuel. 12 11lanuel's illness has been caused by the rigors of the campaign, intensified by his state of depression, but he expects his health to improve when it is over and he has returned home. 19 Homer, Iliad, 2, 212-44. 16 illanuel is simply saying that a thorough account of his present circumstances far exceeds his meager literary ability. Rather, it calls for the skill of a master such as Cydones to sail safely out into such a vast sea of writing, whereas Manuel considers himself a simple amateur who dares not leave the coast line; the best he can do is deal with the matter in a very sketchy fashion. For Manuel's use of this metaphor, see E. Trapp, "Der Sprachgebrauch 31anuels II. in den Dialogen mit einem `Perser,"' JOBO, 16 (1967), 191. 15 Bajezid.
16 To this letter Cydones wrote a lengthy reply (Letter 432), which reads in part as follows:
50
16
"I read through that letter of yours, as beautifully written as it was long, which you so well said might perhaps strike others as lengthy, but which we would look on as laconic.... Your assumption was correct for, unlike others, I certainly did think that the letter was laconic.... I do not believe that your interest in writing was frustrated by the drink and the wide, golden cups and all that nonsense about your drinking companions .... But now, my sadness at what you recounted has expelled most of the pleasure I got from your letter. What could be more depressing for your friends than this long absence of yours, not to call it servitude? ... Your situation is indeed a sea of misfortunes which does not need, as you say, my ship, but rather the Muse of Homer filled to overflowing by the storm tossed waves breaking about you. For there is the struggle against the burning sun and the piercing cold, the drinking from muddied wells and the illness stemming from this, seeing your companions in arms suffering similar afflictions, finding no way to alleviate your discomforts, and all the rest which I shall not recall. Then too, it is not only the tongues of those returning here that tell of the suffering, but their very faces shout aloud
the illness.... But I myself had been convinced of this one thing, and I told everyone before hand that it would surely overpower you, and that is what you yourself mentioned as the most bitter and difficult of all, your living together with barbarians.... For you to have to live with these people and to be forced to share their company, you a religious man from way back, holding fast to the virtues of religion, a lover, as well as a craftsman, of Hellenic writing, who from childhood have never let yourself grow used to hearing or saying anything which did not tend toward virtue, this, I think, is a burden not even the mythical Atlas could bear.... As you said, the most grievous thing for you was to share the company of men from whom you might not hear anything of benefit to your soul. But even more than that, for an emperor of the Romans to see cities, which had of old been peopled by the Romans, now under the lordship of the barbarians, cities which have cast off the name given by their settlers and exchanged it for those ruins, who would not be dejected in spirit and fill his eyes with tears? It was this, as you admitted, which troubled your mind as you viewed the venerable possessions of your forefathers subjected to indignities by these offsoourings." In his Dialogue with a Moslem, Manuel recounts that after having spent the morn-
ing (December 1391) hunting with Bajezid, he returned at noon to find his Moslem friends eagerly waiting for him to continue their discussion. He remarked that it was difficult to carry on a calm dialogue. "How can I be calm when I am leading such a large army for so long a time now during winter in a foreign land, even though you might term it a friendly one? Added to this is the scarcity of provisions, and the terribly high price one must pay for them overwhelms the mind, since we have already spent so much in warfare away from home. For the men with me are strangers in customs, language, and faith, and in a well organized city they are barely able to purchase the leftovers of what is being sold in the marketplace. What are they likely to suffer, especially when they just about have to light against your men if they want to snatch some little thing from the hands of the hucksters ? In addition to this, think of the folly, the arrogance of those who occupy the highest rank before the satrap I Bajezid], their insatiable greed, their constant demands, their brutality, their jealousy of one another, the anger each one feels towards strangers, their turning away to avoid having to give up anything or return home completely naked. Above and beyond all this, should we not mention the daily hunting, the
51
16 dissipation at meals and afterwards, the throngs of mimes, the flocks of flute players, the choruses of singers, the tribes of dancers, the clang of cymbals, and the senseless laughter after the strong wine? Is it possible for those who suffer through all this not to have their minds dulled?" Dialogue 10, ed. E. Trapp, Manuel R. Palaiologos. Dialogs mit einem "Perser" (Vienna, 1966), 120-21.
52
17
17. To Pothos' Constantinople (?) Asia Minor, winter 1391
What you have been doing so consistently is without a doubt the action of a friendly and well-disposed man. Your snowfall of letters has enabled you to surpass many of those to whom we have personally written, yet the
fact that you have not received a like amount has not caused you to be distressed or even to insist on learning the reason. Since you were content
to yield to those to whom I did give the reason,2 you gave the clearest proof of your friendship, and you showed yourself an excellent judge. For it is
clear that you are competent not only to pass judgment on the wrongs wrought by men and to prevent them from continuing, but also to judge the wrongs wrought by circumstances upon men. This led you to attribute our tardiness quite correctly to circumstances, and to understand that we would never treat a friend with disdain.
There are not a few, however, including some who have not been particularly close friends of ours, who would immediately have denounced us: "We have been slighted," they would have cried, "the emperor has wronged us; we are of no account; indeed he has forgotten us very quickly, although he made it known that he regarded us kindly when he was here at home with us." This form of malice is frequent among us these days and causes the greatest harm. Now, since we do not know the reasons to which we should impute the misfortunes confronting us, there is a compulsion to hate the innocent. But when matters reach this stage, it follows that there are times when one should love even those who hate. And I do not think that you have to read about how this scourge has destroyed cities and peoples, for this is more obvious than the proverbial common notions, and the facts themselves bear witness to it. If you receive just this one letter from us now, much later and shorter than those sent to others, still, I think you should really value this one much
more than those longer and more frequent ones. For the object of your prayers, that you may soon see me return safely to you bringing as the reward of my labors and dangers the safety, as far as possible, of our fatherland, this is already conveyed to you by this letter. Its place in the collection and the allusion to Manuel's return and the safety of the fatherland date this letter to the winter of 1391. 2 Potho did not have to hear the reason, as did the others.
53
17
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20: Suidae lexicon,
54
18
18. To Constantine Asanes' Constantinople
Asia Minor, winter 1391
I know very well the kind of letter you love to receive, for it is the same I myself would long for were I still at home. If it were you who were absent, I am certain that you would love to get the same kind of letter. People suffering from the same affliction need the very same remedy, that is, lengthy letters full of lengthy reports. After all, when friends dwell far apart this is the only way to bring them together. Now then, there are many topics which provide me with the beginnings of a long letter, but those very topics which give me so much to write about do not allow me the opportunity to write. To the extent that they furnish material for writing, the tasks we are engaged in leave us with no free time and engulf us in a veritable blizzard of problems. Listen to what sounds like a riddle, but is nonetheless absolutely true. And I think this might enable you to see clearly in your imagination all the other circumstances in which we find ourselves. Not one enemy soldier has attacked this army of ours. As a matter of fact, the enemy is nowhere in sight and has not even made a sound from the woods. At least that much would be expected of most hostile forces in their own country when they are in a very weak position. Especially would this be expected of the Scythians, who behave like dogs; when they are afraid, they turn tail and run away, but keep barking in an effort to frighten their pursuers. So it is that now the once formidable Scythians tremble and allow their own land to be ravaged with impunity.
But the scarcity of provisions has taken the place of any damage the enemy could inflict upon us. For many days now, a person searching for barley might as well have searched for the proverbial wings of a wolf, and it would have been easier for him to find a white Ethiopian than barley. But now there seems to be some available here and there. Anyone who has the luck to uncover some of this precious commodity immediately finds himself prosperous and famous. Still, there is no grass around or anything green with which to feed a starving horse. For throughout this region the soil is without moisture and like sand. This has made a large number of our horses waste away and become useless. One man was forced to sell some of his horses
to buy barley. Now when he learned that he would receive only five silver coins for each horse, but would have to pay out forty-five coins if he should wish to fill just one horse with barley once, then the poor wretch came to realize that each day nine horses would go to furnish fodder for one horse, and he yelled louder than those who were being cut to pieces, and thus broadcast to everyone what has never, I believe, happened within a city under siege, much less in an army besieging a city.
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56
18,19
But you, I know very well, will be amused, and your soul will be stung by all this because we are forced to suffer the same trials as the others. 1 Its place in the collection and its contents date this letter to the winter of 1391. The Scythians may be the forces of the ruler of Sevasteia or perhaps those of Taherten, the emir of Erzincan and Erzerum, who was a vassal of Tamerlane. Possibly Bajezid's army may have attacked their lands east of the Halys. This letter has also been translated by Barker, Manuel II, 94-95.
19. To Cydones' Constantinople Asia Minor, winter 1391
You are the sort of person who knows how to evaluate times and places and, in general, how much pressure the so-called "circumstances" can exert in times of crisis. For our part, we find ourselves in arms and in constant
expectation of battle. Added to this is the terrible famine and cold, the fording of rivers, the crossing of mountains too barren to sustain even wild beasts, and other hardships still worse, all of which call for a historian, not a letterwriter. These difficulties, however, are common to the whole army, but for us it is especially unbearable to have to fight along with those and on behalf of those whose every increase in strength lessens our own strength.2
Now, if I had thought that you would feel wronged by my not having written to you for such a long time, obviously I would have wronged you. No doubt about it. But if you have the qualifications I mentioned above, we are the ones who find ourselves in times in which only God can help. Still, you may be sure that, even if I could find the time to write, I would hold back my hand because I have nothing to write except what would probably be better not to write about. Even now, we are just as much involved and busy as before, but the possibility of having something pleasant to write about has caused me to put all else aside and made me more eager to write to you.
57
18,19 Eu 8' Eu 018, 6T6 xat yEX&GErS E7rt To6ro6C, xai AV uxxv BrX4 014 r`jµiv TavT& TO% &XXois 7r&aXE6v &v&yxr;.
18: 22: Diogenes, Prov. 6, 4; Gregorius Cypr., Prov. 2, 96: Paroem. gr. I, 270-367. 23: of. Plutarchum, Prov. 52: Paroem. gr. I, 348. B f. 630-64.
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ao! ypzpµaTa, avTMpuc &v 8ixouv. 7rw; yap ou; s' ye au µEv olov Ep,+rv EI.7r6v, LEZS 8' Ev xaLpoZc Oeou L6VOU xp*' OUacv. &XX' Ei xai aXoXi;S 3jv &v TuXEZV cilaTc ypo' , EroaXEV S.V µo7 -."V XEIPOC, ell 15 tat&c, To µrBEV eXECV xai vuv o µ01 av &µc.vov jv .
Or' µZv &oXo?Aoc TE vai 7Tp&yµaTa o6X 7jTTov ' 7tpo-,ou. To 8' otc Eucppava: 86vaa9ac EXELV yp&pecv T&XXa 8E6TEpa $ka$ai 7re7roir)E 7r&v-a,
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58
19, 20
In fact, this is what I am doing now in a small tent and at night;
instead of sleep, which restores strength to a weary body no less than food, I have chosen to write a letter. It is as though I were hiding, for those who cannot bear to see me devote my time to literary interests when I am home would be far more vociferous in their criticism if they could see me doing
the same thing out here. While they really have themselves to blame for all the trials they have endured and are still enduring, they would turn things upside down and place the blame on literary studies, in the belief that I, and, quite obviously, perhaps you too, are not free of guilt. But I am returning to you safely and, with God's help, as soon as possible, and I shall bring back to our land all those whom I led forth from home. They have experienced hardships on this campaign far greater than any in the past, as is readily admitted by all the men who have grown gray
in military service. You can understand how happy we are now that we have all of a sudden been freed of these hardships. I suspect that if the Comedian were still alive and could see that man, he might compose a play as he once
did about Wealth.' Today he would portray Blind Fortune. In return for our dangers, labors, and constant expenditures, which that man thoughtfully admits have weighed the scales very much in his favor against his enemies, he promises to reward us lavishly. Yet, as long as I am of sound mind, I would consider it a lavish enough reward if he would not take away any more of the possessions we still have. Assuredly, if he should see fit to
improve our situation in any way, this must clearly be ascribed to God alone. May He who is good and holds all in his hands deliver us from this present evil and lead us back as swiftly as possible to the prosperity of our ancestors.
1 This letter indicates that Bajezid's campaign of winter 1391 was nearing its end. It is also translated by Barker, Manuel II, 95-96. z The Turks.
Aristophanes, Plutu.s; "that man" is Bajezid.
20. To Cydones' Constantinople Asia Minor, winter 1391
I ani sure you must have wondered why you have not received an answer for such a long time, and you have good reason to wonder, since in the past I have frequently written to you first, and now I do not even reply
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to your letters. But I must explain the reason for my tardiness. For by doing so I suspect that, while not putting an end to your wonderment, I shall fill you with no ordinary happiness. While we have been absent from the Great City,2 you have been acting in your usual fashion. The first person you chanced upon who was coming here-it was the servant of Asanes-you immediately handed a letter.3 But, as the bearer of your letter was just arriving at Ankara, the once marvelous city of Phrygia, we were off plundering the land of the Scythians,4 for it seemed more advantageous to make our attack at once. After we had crossed the Halys, the woods and thickets about the fords became infested with bandits. Anyone, then, who followed our line of march to find us in this hostile land soon found that the Halys had been changed into another Sicilian strait. Since it was not safe to cross the Halys, your man realized he could not proceed any further, and so he proved himself completely free of blame before his master, even though his master knew that seeing someone from home was very important for many reasons, but particularly because of the pestilence which was taking such a terrible toll in our city, while I was among you.b Finally then, on our return, at a time when friendship obsessed us, we were handed your letter-and for the reasons I have just mentioned it could not have happened otherwise. So much, then, for an apology; it should also give you grounds for rejoicing, because the news you will hear about us is somewhat better, I believe, than you may have expected. Of course, you may well imagine that I would really like to tell you about both things, that is, our journey here and our return journey, all of the hardships as well as the comforts, but my constant involvement in all sorts of tasks prevents me. Yet I can tell you one thing: I am returning to you safely and quickly, if God permits. I trust that you will prefer this one brief statement to a large number of letters.6 i This also dates from the winter 1391 and apparently refers to the same pillaging expedition as does Letter 18. 2 Constantinople.
3 Probably Constantine Asanes, addressee of Letter 18; the servant is unknown. 4 Certainly east of the Halys River (Kirzil Irmak), perhaps the mongol vassal states of Sevasteia, Erzincan, and Erzerum. 5 See notes to Letter 21.
6 While in Ankara Manuel engaged in a series of theological discussions with a Moslem teacher, Mouterizes, which he later compiled into lengthy book dedicated to his brother Theodore: edited by Trapp, Manuel II. Palaiologos. Dialoge mit einem "Perser"; one dialogue has been edited with a French translation by T. Khoury, Manuel Paleologae. Entretiens avec un nc eeulnaan, 7e controverse (Paris, 1966); cf. E. Voordeckers, "Les entretiens avec un 'Perse' de 1'empereur Manuel II Paloologue," Byzantion, 36 (1966),
311-17. In the preface Manuel briefly describes the circumstances. "At a time when it seemed advisable to wage war against Scythians in league with him who now employs these very people against us, and who were won over to his service at that time as a result of our toils and dangers, then it was that we had to spend a fairly long time in Ankara,
61
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that once prosperous city which now is not even rich in impiety. There I happened to be the guest of a certain old man" : Trapp, op. cit., Prooemium, p. 5, 9-13. Manuel must have spent about a month, probably all of December, in Ankara, for dialogues with Mouterizes occupied at least twenty days, during which a severe snow storm occurred: ibid., 54*-61*. The final discussions took place just as Manuel was about to leave Ankara for Constantinople (end of December 1391), for he concludes Dialogue 24 with the remark: "Yesterday the satrap [Bajezid] himself told me that we will very quickly take the road homeward": ibid., p. 285, 14-15.
62
21, 22
21. To Cydones Constantinople
Asia Minor, winter 1391-1392
I am certain that you could not have written your last letter without
tears in your eyes, and I want you to know, too, that when I came to read
it I felt exactly the same way.' I have the impression that, without your realizing it, the general misfortunes nearly dragged you away from the letter you were beginning to the composition of a tragedy, a reaction which I myself am now on the verge of sharing. But since this attitude will not really help, and can actually make matters worse, we must bid farewell to useless lamenting and, to quote you, turn to Him who has made this judgment from heaven against us because of our many sins. Grant then, Savior, that we may return quickly and without delay to you so that good fortune may
hasten back to us. 1 This was written in reply to Letter 431 of Cydones in which he bewails the plight
of the Empire and the pestilence in the capital. It was probably written not long after Letter 20, while Manuel was still in Ankara; it seems to refer to the same plague in Con. stantinople. There is a notice of the plague for the year ending on 31 August 1391, and it may have continued through the fall: BX, nos. 27, 24, p. 46; Ducas (Bonn edition), p. 516, 9.
22. To Cydones' Constantinople Constantinople, 1392-1396
I learned no more from your letter than what I had previously suspected. Your failure to visit us during the past several days made it clear that you were not well. But the fact that you had to write to me before I could send someone to find out how you were must be attributed to the present situation, which has given us so many things to do that we are not allowed to be our own masters.
Still, if you have not yet fully recovered from your illness, do not hesitate to write to us about your condition, and let us know if you need anything. But if you now enjoy good health, then forget about writing and with the light of day present yourself to us, assuring us by action as well as by word that you are well. 1 The general sequence indicates that this letter was written after Manuel's return to Constantinople, which took place during the first week of January 1392 at the latest.
63
21, 22
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64
22, 23 colony of Pera list an expense on 7 January 1392 for the Podest4 The accounts of the visiting the Emperor in Constantinople on the vigil of the Epiphany (5 January): L. T.
di documenti riguardanti Is, colonia di Pera," Atti dells societd Ligure Belgrano, "Prima eerie di 8toria patria, 13 (Genoa, 1884), 162. Since it is clear that Manuel and Cydones were in
the capital at the same time, the letter may be dated between 1392 and 1396, probably closer to 1392.
23. To Cydones Constantinople Constantinople, 1392-1396
On your behalf I myself read your wonderfully sweet letter to my mother the empress in which you spoke of her bitter destiny.' I was so completely overcome that I could not put it down until I had imprinted every word on my mind. What I was not unaware of before has now been more vividly impressed on me by your letter, and for this be assured that I was greatly pleased. Because everyone judged it to be a perfectly marvelous letter in which you virtually surpassed yourself, you succeeded in showing what you know very well, that your struggle consists in facing a truly great struggle. 1 After the death of her husband, John V, on 16 February 1391, the Empress Helena continued taking an active part in the government, acting as regent while Manuel was away in Asia Minor during the second half of 1391 and joining him in diplomatic negotiations as late as July 1392: see Loenertz, Ddmdtrius Cydones Correspondance, II, 444, 449; Thiriet, Rdgestes, 798, 820. Probably later in the same year she entered the convent of Kyra Martha in Constantinople, taking the name of Hypomone: see p. xlv. Before doing so she distributed her possessions to the poor and left a special gift to Cydones. In a long letter Cydones thanked her for this gift and for her previous benefactions: Letter 222; French translation by Cammelli, Ddmdtrius Cydones Correspondance, no. 28, pp. 68-77. It was this letter which Manuel read to her; he then wrote the present letter to Cydones. Parallel to the "sweet letter," one would expect to find "bitter letter," but this would not make much sense in the context, so that one probably has to understand a word such as fortune or destiny: -rill mxp&S [ruXrls]. The last line could be interpreted as: "You are pitted against a truly great adversary," that is, yourself, which would continue the notion of "surpassing yourself." But it is not unlikely that Manuel is using the word struggle (&y&v) in the sense of his mother's struggle against ill fortune, or perhaps in the
sense of her "having fought the good fight" (2 Tim. 4:7), and of the struggle or literary effort involved in Cydones' writing about it.
65
23
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24,25
24. To Frangopoulos' 1392-1396 (?)
When your letter was read, some people said it was laconic and some said it was not. Some simply concentrated on the compact manner in which your ideas were expressed, while others based their judgment on the fact that it enclosed great thoughts in very few words, in which they were closer to the rules of the art. At any rate, the ability to do this certainly demands no little skill, and since we do not possess this, it would be better for us
simply to acknowledge it and be done. Now then, since the present time does not allow me to say more, I shall say only this : if what we all prophesy should come about, then there will be no need to write. For why follow the second best course when the first is right at hand? Still, if you should prefer to remain at home, we shall answer you at greater length when we find the time.
' The position of this letter in the manuscript indicates that it belongs to the period, 1392-1396, before the battle of Nicopolis in September 1396. Possibly Manuel is alluding to the Turkish siege of Constantinople, begun in 1394, which may have prevented Frangopoulos from entering the city. With the lifting of the siege, perhaps by the crusade led by King Sigismund ("what we all prophesy"?), Frangopoulos will not have to write, but will be able to converse with Manuel in person or, if he remains at home, Manuel himself will have more time to write.
25. To Cyclones 1392-1396 (?)
For a long time I have greatly loved and admired that man with the golden tongue' or, if you wish, a golden soul, because of his virtuous way of life as well as his wisdom. I thought they had achieved the summit of perfection and could not be improved on, but now I realize I was mistaken. For I had such an exalted opinion of his qualities that when I compare the way I formerly felt with the way I now feel, I cannot say that I either loved or admired the man before. This is what came over me on reading through now for the first time his work, To an Unbelieving Father.' This brought me so closely in touch with
him that I almost thought I saw the great man alive and heard him discoursing. At any rate, whether others, too, consider this treatise to be as
67
24, 25
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5 "axaTOV &9LypLEVOLS, VUV EyV)V 7r .T7) L&VOc . xai yap ToaouTOV TauT' Ylu
Trap' & LOIL OaOV T& VUV To6S 7rp6akV 7rapapa&6V, oUx Ex(I) AeyELV
OTL 7rp.v 7FOL ECpLAOUV TOV &v pa
8L& %au.LMTOc jyov.
2Juvepr, 8e p,OL TOUTi EX TOU TOV 7rpOq &7CLaTOV 7raTepa 8LEAO'ELV VUV
;rpWTWS AOyOV EXeLVOU' OS OUT) (.L£ OAwS ELS EOLUTOV
i jp'r aaTO, wS
10 µovovou Boxezv Cvra, Te aUTOV Tbv µeycv 6p&V xai BLaXEyop.kVOU et yOUV xai &.AAOLC, o 'roq o' A6yoc o 'ro 8oxe6 %aupLaa-OS, aUTOL av &xouELV.
68
25, 26
admirable as I do, they themselves will know best. As for myself, while I regard everything written by that man as golden and fit for heaven, still I believe his other works are as inferior to this one as are the writings of others who have no very great passion for literature compared with his works. In my opinion, it requires no effort for anyone to arrive at this literary judgment. For if the man be regarded with so much admiration and respect because of his ability to persuade Christians and so bring the truth to light, should he not be regarded with all the more admiration and respect when,
unassisted by the weight of Scripture, he manifests this same ability in addressing himself to pagans ?3 I certainly believe everyone will agree with me. Still, if the reader should feel we have somehow exaggerated, then the author of this work will himself make excuses for us, since in his prologue he very clearly demonstrated the great difficulty of the undertaking. 1 St. John Chrysostom. Its place in the collection would date this letter to 1392-96. 8 "To an Unbelieving Father," IIp6q &7CLa rov varipa, comprises Book II of Chrysostom's Adversus oppugnatores vitae monasticae: PG, 47, cola. 331-48; D. Ruiz Bueno, Obras de San Juan Cris6stomo, Tratados asciticos. Texto griego, versi6n espan"ola y notes (Madrid, 1958), 404-444. The codex Vaticanus graecus 571, once possessed by Cydones, contains an encomium of Chrysostom written in Cyclones' own hand and a number of works of Chrysostom, this particular one being on fols. 37-52v: G. Mercati, Notizie di Procoro e Demetrio Cidone, 157-58; see also Cyclones, Letter 406. 3 Hellenes, i.e., pagan Greeks.
26. To Cydones Constantinople Constantinople, 1392-1396 (?)
You seem to be saying that your departed horse was not truly a good one. But in truth the horse was a good one, and after his death he has given you proof of his nobility. At least, when he was alive he caused you grief, but departed, he has caused you to rejoice more than when he was alive. He has offended you by just one thing: by being good to you, he has proven that you slandered him. For see now, this horse, even better and nobler than that other one, comes to you from us, and the one responsible for this is actually that dead one for whom you had no regard. From the dead horse comes the living one. This is in line with Plato's resurrection, which seemed a lot of foolish nonsense then and now to all who hear it, but which has already found a brilliant advocate in that noble horse of yours.1 I Cf. Plato, Pheedo, 71e-72d.
69
25, 26
EEBELev. EyW SE 7rorvTa p.EV r&vapGq Exe(vou xpua& TE ryoup.aL xat oupavc;w 7rpE7rovrc ,
roaou'rov p.ev'roL To& roU Too A6you EvBE v baov ExFLvwv of ETt pwv A6yoL, otS ou 7ruvu 7ro)A; 6 Tcov A6ywv pw5 EcTE. CSoxS p.oL 8E 15 (A.Y)BiV EpyOV EtvaE TLVa Ta.UT71VZ
v allyxpLCrLV. Ef', yap TCp v &A9ELcV &yELV ELS yroq EEC, TOLT' &ep1.Kroc ,9'c Loc' OC, xod ¶LL1.jq 6 &vYjp, BTav 'rx TV T 'V 86vap.Lv
t 6Vaa&c
7rEW&SLV Xp66'r oCVOti q, xad TauT'n '
7rp6c "E)aYpaS
(ilv
&7rb TCov Xoyk v Po7C1'1S, 7C
oU
4aup.aaL6,)TEpoc Ta6T-n xacl 'CLp.LGWTEpoS; EyW p.EV o 6v nwre6w 7cm'vTas
20 auvop.oAoyraeLV Ei.oL. Et' TL p.EVTOL
TLCRV 67rEppoA allT6C, 6 yp 4ca Tou'rov T6V A6yov 1')7re'p p.wV 7rapaLTYIaETa6, EpyWBeaTaTOV
Td EyxE(p 1.La etVaL AEyWV Ev 7rpooLpLLOL4 xod &7ro8ELxv1c cpavepws.
25: 8: S. Joannis Chrysostomi Ad. patrem in fidelem, seu Adversus oppugnatores vitae
monasticae, liber II: PG 47, 331-48.
B f. 66-66".
6 Ylu l8r1 corr. ex
P 1113-14 Exe(vwv of ETipoav corr. ex exe(vwv
Twv ETEpcov of P
xS
26. TC,> KuBwvp n p.EV T6V OEx6p.EVOV L7r7r0V 06 xaT& &AY,DELaV paEV]) xaAWV xaA6V' 6
E wv
xaAds xai pa'r& TO TE9VOLvc
a0L
T%
-1v OLpETY1V E7rE8EE aTO,
oEx6pevoc 8' EucppavaS paAAov r Wv. v rxLaTa psv ae Au7crlaac 5 TOUT6 act p6vov 7rpoc xpouaev, bTL aE TW Ell 7r0L'Ylaca auxolpOLVTYIV U78EL(EV. E805 yap VV M TOU T6V L7ctov TOM'
Trap' 'Y1pWV, OS
xai. (.l.EE"WV E7LEEVOU xcd xccAA'LWV Ea'c v, ExELVOS 84
OV OUx EiraLVELS
=TLOS. &7rb yap '700 TE9NEWT0C, 6 WV COL, xc v& T"V To3 fIA&TWvoC
cVc43LO.waw, r Arpos Ewa. 8ox0uaa xai cpAuap(a p.axpa ExTore xai ELq 10 80p0 ToLS a'x060UaLV 0C7raoL, Tbv ycvvctoV ExELVOV t'7c7rov aot Aap.7rpbv
r81 auveyopov Eup-7xsv. 26: 8-9: cf. Platonem, Plw.edo, 7le-72d. B f. 66".
1
-r.) au : cp codd. 11
8 Tout om. B
70
27
27. To Theodore Kaukadenosi
What you wrote was read before a small but not undistinguished audience. Its members were well versed in the art of speaking to the point, and their judgment counted for much among serious men of letters, Among
them, one admired the arrangement of the words, another the beauty of expression, and they were struck by the conciseness of the ideas and by the fact that so many of them were nicely enclosed within the compass of a few words. Everyone had something different to applaud, and all joined in applauding the whole work. I, too, found everything to be excellent, even though I sat in silence while the others stamped their feet and shouted with joy. But what particularly pleased me about your writing, and what I believe is your strongest point, is the value you set on moderation. Your desire to obtain what you were requesting in your composition was exceedingly great, as is only natural, yet at the same time you avoided all excess. You have indeed succeeded in convincing us, and your hope has been fulfilled. Now, our own hope will be fulfilled if you set yourself to supervise the instruction of the two youths. I am certain you will regard this as equitable and, at the same time, beneficial to them as well as to my daughter. This should not be a difficult task, I believe, if you set your mind to it. 1 In this letter Manuel says that he has been impressed by Kaukadenos' request and is appointing him to supervise the education of two young men and a girl. In his own letter Kaukadenos showed his appreciation of moderation (µ&rpov) and, as their tutor (rsow(ppowaarhS), can now teach them to value moderation. Manuel, it seems, is naming a tutor for his own children; the use of the definite article (Totv,') to mean "my" is common enough in
Greek, and the context seems to favor this interpretation. Who then are these children of Manuel? The letter's place in the collection would date it in the mid-1390s. Manuel's oldest son, John, was born on 18 December 1392 and the second, Theodore, sometime between 1394 and 1399: P. Schreiner, "Chronologische Untersuchungen zur Familie Kaiser Manuels II.," BZ, 63 (1970), 288-90 (less thorough is the discussion by Barker, Manuel II, 474-78, 494-96). A son, Constantine, as well as two daughters, were born between 1393 and 1398, but died before 1405. When Manuel left for Western Europe in 1399 they could scarcely be called youths (veoav) unless he is using the term in a loose or playful sense. If
this letter were written after his return to Constantinople in 1403, the term would apply more exactly to his two oldest sons. Manuel had at least one illegitimate daughter, Zampia (Isabella), probably born in the 1370s, who married the Genoese Hilario Doria about 1392: A. T. Papadopulos, Versuch einer Genealogie der Palaiologen (Munich, 1938), 70: of. Barker, Manuel II, 474.
71
27
27. Tw Kauxo
vc; xupc> OEoBc py
Ta elpip.&va cot e'v p,Lxpro [Av o6 cpa6acp a' ovveyv6aOrj .5,z, \ ) T ) / aav 8 ot xaL aeyELV iv allTlil ally au' v iupcc xal WV EV XOyw ToLS nepI X6youq 6v 6 t.ev T& LV, 6 8e To xa3J.oq 5 TCov 6vop.&T(6v at& %m6N.aTo; dye, To6S 8' " Twv v 7Cuxv6T7)s r c xai T6 =6,ra ov'r ToaauTa n&vu rot ppaxeaty 6v' ,Laat nEptxAEtea,'ar. xai &AXoS &XXo Tt exp6TEL xai n&vTES OCnav(' 6p5. E(toi 8E xai Tauza µEV &ptaT& yE n&vTa EcpatvETO ovx jTto aLW7c5VTL xai xaS-%tevw 31 Tots &X?,or.
nr)Mat a6
xai poi.
w 8E µaXXov
10 'aO v xaL 6 I.IAL xpeZT'rov t v aWv, 6TL TO (.I.kpov ETE[qacS 6neppa?6vTW5 yap e'pwv ou ypo'4as fTou TuyELv-7r c yap ou-7raaav &cc7t pEUyac.
6µ(6S
Ilenetxocq rotvuv xai
cants
TOUTO 8' Ea'
Y,(.tETepaS
or. EEeprq 6nWs 8E xa'& T& T1 L V To6v Veoty aauT6v ao ppoV6adv
15 E7rLa T'cocr . 8 8' 8ixatov ELnorS &v, F-6 of
-,e xai '
&uyaTp[- xai or X XEn6V ot(un
27: B f. 66v-67. a6Tav B
,
xad OC(A.a ye a. vot ov x&xetvorc E&v
pouAo(J.evW
or..
1 OeoSc p(p Tip KauxaSr)vi B 11 11 67<eppmXX6vtm5 B 1114 AA
72
28, 29
28. To a Certain Foolish Person1
Your rhetorical efforts have been even more forceful than those of Thucydides,2 particularly when you wrote that noble and lengthy letter of yours in which you omitted none of the usual examples, but not even you seemed to have any idea of what you were saying. How, then, can anyone go about putting together a systematic answer to your letter, when what you said followed no order and was full of contradictions. Surely, you are aware of this much, that none of it, as they say, was sound. But you relied on your great wisdom, which has made you so important, although I do not know where or how you have all of a sudden acquired it. You have come forth, as you have done for so long, armed by falsehood to struggle to your own detriment against the truth, that invincible athlete, to whom, I am certain, you will very soon pay the penalty for your audacity or, if you prefer, for your foolishness or complete lack of sense. I have therefore decided that it is superfluous for me to attack you in words, for I should not want to be laughed at while fighting at the side of that noblest of athletes, the truth, in the struggle against falsehood. Compared with truth, falsehood is clearly no stronger than an infant, yet it is your ally, fighting along at your side, in your never-ending battle. You always employ it as your model, your trainer and your teacher in preparing you for
combat. But then, you always provide the audience with a chance to jeer, inasmuch as you present yourself before all as a noble athlete.
1 There are no chronological indications in this letter, and it may be only a rhetorical
exercise. Still, as in the case of Letters 63-66, it may have had a basis in fact, although the addressee and the circumstances are unknown. 2 In the rhetorical handbooks used by the Byzantines, Thucydides was cited as one of the examples of 8ecv6rng, forcefulness or intensity, e.g., Dionysius of Halicarnassus, De coni.paratione verborum, 18; De Thucydide, 2, 53; Hermogenes, De ideis, 2, 0; Longinus, IIepi iSVous, 22-23.
29. To Cydones' Constantinople Constantinople, 1394-1396
Since you were prevented by illness from visiting your close friend-I refer to myself-you took the next best course by asking me to write to you,
oblivious of all the obstacles to my doing this. Some of the people here criticized you for choosing an inopportune moment, but I think they know
73
28, 29
28. TM Oau&pq "Eot c
xrj
86' Wv xaL OOUxu8L8ou 8eLV6Tepov EpprjT6peuaa4, v v
yevvafav xad Laxpav ExeLvrjv yp&4ac EnLa'cOX'jv ou8ev65 TWV eLS cpeLa4tevo5, I.LajBe w 'ro au stabo L aura Taut' & v°uv a&ycLS. npo5 e"7rOq 5 7r&S ouv paBLOV &AXov &(.LELp6j.1.Evov aou ToLq yp&j.L..c 6Te
TOLELV etXe T& £Lp7jj4eva &aaa xocL &Xk, XoLC Ej.L&XeTO;
µa".aaov 8E Tart p,Ev ota&a 6q o6hv uyLES cpaaL. Tp 8e noXX aopLa Te&a.pprjxdc, c EEanLvYjs oux o18' onws xaL 6.ev nenaouTrjxas 80 jv xat f. 15V
v XLx6a8E I yeyEvajaaL, 7tp0'1jXaljc TW gSu'aeL xa,&OnXLa,&CLS W xat n6p10 pw&ev r5 &XYj&LOC frtL &Y,v7,roq *a'YjT?j xaT& aaUTOU
xaL BLxrjv av'rLxa (L&aa TIC, ¶6a4'YjS EvrtastC eu oz8a, e4 8e (306)'C& ye, &voiaS rj b7rovOLas.
"Okv MI nepLepyov x&lLE ae a6yot4 vev6 i xa (LYjno rE xat yg),wza ocpaoLJIt &9arj r yevvaLO'r&Tw T &arj,&eLa 7rpoS Tav xa'ra r t.o 1
15 468ou4 auvc
&L8aov. 8 vrjntou BLacp6peLv j,19e'v T'pj npo5 Trjv
&X Ot av naps&EacL yvwpLZ;eTaL, w a6 ye aoL.
&eL
p,cv
Tov n&v ra Xp6vov
rou'rw xat na&a'
xad aaeLnTn xo
8L8(Xax&aw npos rok &ywvac Xpdµevoc, &eL 8E auptTTELV napEXwv To &
'rpov oiq yevva%oc &`'XYj )'
&naaLV
avapaivp.
28: 2: cf. Dionysium Halic., De comp. verb., 18; De Thucyd., 2, 53; et alibi.
7:
Plato, Gorgias, 524e.
B f. 67.
29. Tip KuMvrj
xV
EU jlEv TOV a6v e'pW(.l.Evov uno'r j v6aou PaEneLV ou a uyXwpo6(a.evoc,
Eµe 8 ).6yw, 67A -,6v BcU' cpov
-aouv xaL napaxaaeis
EMUTEaXULV, ari} V &T&VTwV aa(3cV T6V rOUTO np&TTELV eLpy6vrcv. Yjaav
5 <>' oL aou Twv 7rapeat x6Twv xaTEyvwaaV &xaLptav, jttxp& ELS67ES ot(aat
74
29, 30
little about friendship. My own attitude is so vastly different from theirs that, while I was not unaware of the greatness of your friendship before, now I have come to realize it all the more, and for this I am grateful to you. After all, unless you set the greatest store by your friendship, you would never be eager for letters completely devoid of Hellenic elegance, relentless as you are in your pursuit of them. Nonetheless, since I would like to obey you, and not disobey Solomon, who counsels that it is necessary to apportion the proper time for everything,2 I am writing this to fulfill my obligation. For even something small is not a small favor when friends are concerned. With God's help, I am about to march out to the aid of a certain small fortress under siege. It is a little place indeed and really of little value to the enemy, but if it should be taken, it would make them feel happier and more respectable. But take courage. For just as God has already sent their satrap away empty-handed when he began his assault, so will he also do the same now.3
1 The mention of the beleaguered fortress, otherwise unidentified, indicates that this letter was written after the Turks had begun their siege of Constantinople in 1394 and, since Manuel and Cydones were both in the city, it must have been written before the latter's departure in the fall of 1396. It has also been translated by Barker, Manuel II, 126-27. ' Eccles. 3:1-8, 17.
' The satrap is the Turkish commander, perhaps Bajezid himself. It seems that the last of Cydones' collected letters (Letter 450) was written in reply to this; it reads in full as follows: "Most assuredly, your letter was that of a soldier, showing that the writer was extremely busy and letting us know that we should not write at length. In fact, we realize that it would be burdensome to drag such a busy person away from his pressing tasks, and so we have made this letter quite brief, but what we would have included in it, we will now join to our prayers."
30. To Constantine Asanes1 Constantinople Constantinople, summer-fall 1396
On reading the letter, I realized immediately that although it was addressed to you, this was simply a stage effect and a mask. Everyone who listened to it made the observation that it was really sent not to you, but to me. Aware then of my obligation to send an answer, I thought it best not only to reply to the contents of the letter, but also to imitate the manner in which your friend sent it.2 So I am writing to you and passing over most of those points which someone else might answer in detail. For his letter was filled with reproaches and mocking insults, and, like those animals which give birth to large litters, by its very nature it provokes a man wishing to
75
29, 30
8e,
Toaov,rov &74X0 TauTOv exctvotc
waTe xat
7tptV aOU To cpLXTpov 5aov oux &yvo& , vuv p.aXXov yvwv xat x&pLV oZ3&
am. To&TOU. et p. yap p.eya xact 7toX6 To5TO jv 7tap& aoL, oux &v 7roTe ypaµp.&Twv rv r&vTY) x&pvroc O"vrco' &p.otpcov o 10 TOUTOL; xaT' tXvoc ETCOE.L£VOc. 70,YV aot Te rELa"WEL pouXbµevoc xat r ZoXo.L&vTL p.Y &7te&,I+eiv, k vep.ELV 8eiv rapa.Vei Toic 7tp&yp.aaL Touc xacpouc, 60-7tep ELe'v &cpoacoup.evoc yp&(pW ou yap p.LxpoV etc X&peV xat
Ta pLxpav rot; TLXouacv. "EEe:p.L 8E po"Y)&'Y)ao v, OEOU auvaLpop.evou, cppouptcp TLvt 7toXLopxou15 tk6V(p, p,Lxpcp p.EV xat p.Lxpa Toic 7zoXEp.toLc aUVo o r.v 8uva[1eV(P, et ye
xai
x7ly-t ei>) TLEL?)v 3E Tou rmL yap TOV TOUTWV a0CTp&77jV rccO
We
xdL VUV 3p&aeL.
29: 3: Diogenes, Prov. 2, 45: Paroem. gr. II, 24. B f. 67-67v.
&XX&
xeVdV Oeac Vtxa TOUTW 7tpoakpaAXe,
11-12: Eccl. 3, 1-8, 17.
11 &1 codd.
30. Up 'Aa&v7j xupw
Tv f. 16
&vayvouc eyvcwv E6,3,6c
X'
p.Ev e7rrypacpr To aov
aot pEV yap ou, ep,ot E tXEV 5vop.cc, v 8e' Tou'O 3p5p.a xai 8' Oaj.o,ws 75c TLc o 'zauTTjv &7rEq']VIXTO. 5 &pOLpaiav 3ELV 7rE4lf0(L yvouc, 3ELV pil 40'VOV ye Toic yp&pLµaaLV &p.etYaa,&aL Ta ErEaTaXp,EVa, &XX& xat Tov Tpo7rov 4Lp.7jaaa9c: xa&' ov o I
COL
ereaTaAxe. yp&cpco 8" am. Ta rXEtm 7rapetc wv &XXOc aV
Ei7rev &µELp6.L voS &xpcpwc. of p.EV yap rporrXaxLapot xai Ta oxw' FLp.c cc WV Eye4EV
e7rLCTOXY) roAuTOxoLC, EOLxE (,WOLc, xai.
yuae6 TOV
76
30
reply to compose an even lengthier answer. Yet I would be ashamed to react in this way, which I never cease to censure. Now then, as I mentioned, I am leaving out most of the details and writing just enough to acquit myself of my obligation. Still, do not ascribe the conciseness of this response to lack of ability; attribute it rather to good will and to my desire not to rush into those topics which others might readily do in venting their anger. I say that if he looks upon foreign lands as a common fatherland, by his changing over to those who dwell there3 and by manifesting the same attitude toward what is sacred,4 then, inasmuch as he has separated himself from us, he must necessarily regard his own land as a foreign one. At least, if this reasoning is correct, clearly no one should have difficulty in determining that it was not with weeping and mourning that he sang the Song of the Lord, but rather with great happiness .5 Whether this is praiseworthy or not is his affair. Still, not to grieve when it is proper to do so, I fear, is itself cause for grief. But it certainly is amazing that he has been joining in worship with
everyone under the sun, even with the inhabitants of the islands beyond Cadiz;6 either by some divine impulse they have all come together to pray with him, or else by a fortuitous and timely coincidence. Still, I really do not know why he thought he had to write to you about this or about how they all sang hymns concerning the cross and the passion with great reverence, the extent of which is not unknown to us.7 Of course, I believe it is quite true that they all view him with high regard and are prepared to offer him a prominent position among them. For they usually honor newcomers who change over more than they might deserve. Since, as experience shows, most of those who change over do so for the sake of honors and gifts, it is by honors and sometimes by gifts that they shrewdly attract them to prevent them from singing a recantation, like so many Stesichoroses.8 Certainly,
such enticements do not last for long, for whatever is not done with sincerity does not endure. But your friend speaks of the great silence, order, and reverence with which they perform their sacred rites, which are not at all inferior to our own
hymns and readings, and in some points may even be superior. He also exalts that truly wonderful and revered wise man and teacher as well as his thoughtful and intelligent disciples.9 Surely, his own actions are not inconsistent with his words, and as for myself he has freed me from both sorrow and care. For if I thought he was living there in sadness deprived of the dear and sacred hymnody he had known from youth, then truly I too should be sharing his sadness. And, as would be proper, I should never cease troubling those upon whom the task of healing has been enjoined.10 But now, as it seems, he is at peace and will not trouble us anymore, which means a great deal to me. For one who wants to be kind to everyone would find it unbearable not to be able to protect a friend who needs help.
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Undoubtedly, as I have just remarked, what he has been saying does not conflict with his actions. But on the other hand, to liken some people to drunks and swine, to use other epithets, and to call them liars and imposters
-I do not know what reasons he has to think they will bear such insults meekly-this does not strike me as right for a man seeking to pursue philosophy, especially since of all means of insulting he chooses a form of speaking
which he pretends is prayer. Now, we are not unaware of the good will he says he cherishes toward us, just as I am sure that he has not forgotten how highly we have always regarded him. And, because of his respect for the truth, I do not believe he would deny that his love is less than mine, or at least not greater. So then, if he will listen to me, let him be persuaded by his friend the rhetorician who says that uttering insults, as he himself knows
better than I, is an accusation against those who do so, and not against those who are being insulted." Finally, let him prove himself a philosopher by his deeds and realize that one ought not shake the proverbial bean tree.12 But, if he has given in to some involuntary impulse, then let him straighten
out matters by good counsel and by his prayers to God, and not try to remedy evil by another evil. 1 The following letter was certainly written in the fall (probably October) of 1396, and this one seems to have been written shortly before that. The unnamed friend is most probably Manuel Calecas, a teacher of literature and rhetoric, a friend of Constantine Asanes and of Cydones, highly regarded by the Emperor, who in the summer (perhaps fall) of 1396 had fled to the Genoese colony of Pera, where he was soon received into the Roman Church: see Loenertz, Calecas, 16-46. It seems that he resided in a Dominican convent in Pera, and a few years later he entered the order in Mytilene. As a disciple of Cydones (1391-1396) he would have become familiar with the writings of Aquinas, and he himself translated some of his works into Greek: Loenertz, Calicas, 7-14. Because of his anti-Palamite writings, Calecas was summoned to subscribe to the so-called Tome of Palamas, the statement of official orthodoxy promulgated in 1351. When promises and threats failed to get him to sign, he was actively persecuted, and to avoid this he fled to Pera. Probably in the summer of 1396 he wrote a long and bitter letter to Constantine Asanes, his friend and protector, with the expectation that it would be
brought to the Emperor's notice, as indeed it was. This first letter is not found in the collection of letters preserved by Calecas, who possibly in a calmer moment thought it unworthy of himself, or who may have taken Manuel's criticism to heart. About the same time he composed and sent to Manuel a more objective and rational Apology: ed. Loenertz, Calecas, 308-1S. On reading this, Manuel invited him to come and discuss the matter in Constantinople, an invitation which he politely declined: Calecas, Letter 14, ibid., 186-87. 2 That is, since your friend wrote to you the letter he really intended for me, so I
am writing to you the answer I really intend for hint. 3 Pera (Galata) or the Nest in general. 4 The Byzantine Church. 5 Ps. 136 (137):4: "How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land ?"
Proverbial for the ends of the earth. Perhaps the Vexilla regis and b'tabat mater. " Stesichoros, a poet of Himera in Sicily, was blinded for lampooning Helen of Troy, but on writing an encomium of her, the recantation, his eyesight was restored.
79
30
'AAAa Ta3Ta p.ev A6ywv o68ev Tot auTw nsnpocyp,6v%t 50 si7c v, A6yst p.axdp.evov. To 8e p.s&uouat xa.i xoipots
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xiwi
TOGVUV &.LO
netae'el'.'1, 7Ce016Tw T05TOV o T'Lxoc, p"ro p, os cpyaty, ws xat
a&r6S 0V4LewOV 0188, TO 6ppG(,sLV TO)V TOUTo noto6VToV 06xt T3v
60 p.6vwv EyxXjp.a ytveTat. xat 8' 8etxv6Tw TOv yLA6ao9ov Epyots, xat p. Tbv &v&yupov, 6 yam, np67re6V yztaM xtve6V. &)A', st Tt xat 6U'06nsaev auTG) To)V pouAi 8topkwa&Tw xat Tats 7Cp6q 066 e6xaZS
xat p xaxcil r6 xax6v. 30: 20: Psalm. 136, 4. 24: cf. Miehaelem Apost., Prov. 16, 19: Paroem. gr. II, 661; Karathanasis, Sprichworter, 82, p. 54. 34: Plato, Phaedrus, 243a-b; Suidae lexicon, E 1095 (ed. Adler, 4, 443); Paroem. gr. II, 210. 58: of. Demosthenem, In 61: Aristophanes, Lysistrata, 68; Libanius, epist. 80, 6; of. Midiam, 42, 45, 185. Karathanasis, Sprichworter, 214, p. 102.
B f. 67v-68v.
66: of. Herodotum, 3, 53.
1 Kwvarav'rtvc;.) 'rw 'Aa&.v-,q B 1125 auvc
6Seiacev oodd.
0 St. Thomas Aquinas and the Dominicans. 10 The Byzantine bishops. On the use of Repmnela, &epanc6w, etc. in the sense of spiritual healing, pastoral care, reconciliation, see G. Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford, 1961-68), s.v. 11 Cf. Demosthenes, In. Midia,n, 42, 45, 185.
12 Proverbial expression similar to: Do not rock the boat.
80
31
31. To Cydones
Northern Italy (Venice?) Constantinople, October 1396
No sooner had you put out to sea than the king arrived in port-' While his coming made us glad, his arriving in such circumstances deeply saddened those who had been longing to see him. But, I suppose this was
decreed by fate, just as was your sailing away on the same day in the middle of winter, paying no heed to illness and old age and trying to outdo the birds who frequently are already in flight before they know what they are doing. I do not know what to think. Is this the doing of ill fortune or of God, who disposes all for the best? Certainly, our endeavors for the common good would have proceeded far better if you had been here to help-I am not saying this merely to be
pleasant-with your linguistic ability, your understanding and everything else. And so, the fact that you were not here was an unkind and obviously grudging act of fate, because you alone missed seeing a good and noble man, a man who has tried to the best of his ability to rescue the Christians from
slavery, and a man whom you wanted to see probably more than anyone else. All this, I am afraid, will cause you the greatest distress and discouragement, and the reports of this disaster,2 which cannot be sufficiently lamented, will pierce you like arrows. But when I consider myself, as well as any intelligent person, who may
complain more than ever about the human condition and regret that we did not give up our spirit with our first outcry when, before it was witnessed, this incredible event came to be known, now, on seeing what actually happened, I am willing to change my views and look upon your sailing away,
which I disapproved of at the time, as due to the protecting providence of God. For if we who are in good health find ourselves, on being struck by this unexpected blow, no better off than if we were sick, if we feel half dead and keep denouncing life itself, how would you feel if you had been present to see and hear all this, you who have been struggling against old illnesses from which you have never fully recovered ? For thoughtful men life is not worth
living after that thunderbolt, that deluge, which, although not engulfing the whole world, was worse than the first one in that it bore away men nobler than those of that time. Then there was that savagery, that resounding and abominable din, those thunderclaps coming one upon the other, all so horrifying. Like a dense mass of clouds all these calamities gathered towards a single point of evil, not by the force of the wind and the impulse of increasing sin, but beyond all expectation, just as the sky was bright and clear, the sea appeared calm, and we thought we were sailing along with a good wind and just about inside the harbor-then this terrible disaster
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82
31
struck us with the utmost violence and tore up by the roots all the fairest hopes in the minds of men. To be in expectation of finding a release from the ills that have so long oppressed our people, and of having those who have
been enslaved for a long time now enslaving others and, to sum it up for those who understand, of having the whole battle line on the point of gaining
back the advantage, and then all of a sudden to see exactly the opposite happen-what Hercules, what giants, would not be toppled by this? What sort of adamantine soul could manage to stand firm and not be thoroughly cast clown? Yet God "will heal the one he has wounded." For it is better for us, who still hold to our good hopes, to speak this way and to have faith. He who alone is good-for one only, God, is good-will not be angry forever with those who
have gone astray, nor will he, I am confident, allow the rod of the impious to strike the inheritance of the just, that of the faithful, without cessation.
But together with those earthen vessels, those men who have nothing spiritual about them but are made of clay, pinned down to the flesh as they
are, intent on what is perishable and in their minds enslaved to earthly things, that rod too will indeed be shattered by the rod of iron, which David has prophetically forged,3 and which our God and Father has placed in the hands of his Son so that he may reduce the illusory glory of the foe to fine dust and dirt, and may thus prepare a glory which is not meant for us. For we who are saddled with the heavy burden of sin and shame have no claim to glory; rather it belongs to the name of Him who before the world came into being possessed ineffable glory with the Father. Wherefore, remembering
his mercies from of old, God will, I am certain, smash the teeth of those whose mouths, overflowing with blasphemy, are raised against heaven and whose speech makes that of the pharisees seem moderate, and he will display to all their tongues walking through the earth.
But now when I see the road of the impious smoothed for their progress-I do not know why, although God certainly does-I am like the deaf and no words of refutation come to my lips. Still, I know full well and am convinced that there will certainly be a reckoning so that the impious will come to realize they are but men, so that every mouth will be stopped, and they too, as Paul says, will be answerable to God.4 If I may say something that seems rather bold, he has a certain obligation, as it were, to refute the belief, or what is really the folly, of the unbelievers, and show the foolishness
and falsehood of the teaching which Mohammed, the pupil and general of
Satan, gave as a sign of error to his initiates and disciples. To them he guaranteed and foretold, inasmuch as he is actually regarded as a prophet by those abandoned ones, that they would always be fully victorious over Christians. Indeed, by God's hidden judgment, this continually happens, and not only does it not bring them to give up their vain belief, even though they have, as the saying goes, nothing sound to offer by way of defending
88
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their cult against attack, but it also impels to blasphemy many men more unsound in their faith and unaware of the wealth of God's goodness, forbearance, and magnanimity. You may observe that some of them willingly deny the light and let themselves be nailed down to darkness, and even quite unabashedly, alas, expose our cause to ridicule. For if that self-styled prophet should not be refuted, and God who keeps the bow taut should never let fly the arrow, and he who bears the sword of which Paul speaks should polish it without purpose,5 and the God-haters should continue to run their present victorious course until the time comes when, according to the same apostle,6 their worth will be made known by fire, then they might be able to present some sort of defense at the judgment, although not altogether a very good one, by alleging that they did not regard their teacher as a liar, but thought that he was helping them. If this is the sort of thing they believe, they would not have come close to the truth in any way, but since these people, being uneducated barbarians, follow falsehood wearing the mask of truth-I believe this is true if you carry your thoughts all the way back to their forefather Ismael-their mouths will not be completely shut at the time of judgment, which is what those servants with whom the Lord will then speak must undergo. For a long time these people have been acting wantonly, blaspheming and mocking what is holy in an unbearable manner, and feasting on blood and massacres, and for this they have hardly received any punishment, let alone an appropriate one. If no one should
ever punish them and in so doing refute that madman and anti-Christ, Mohammed, that imposter, not a prophet, then until the dawning of that day without an evening, which will bring an end to repentance and which will manifest what is hidden, those people will have, I imagine, the elements of an apology and a means of defending themselves in judgment, but no intelligent person would call it reasonable. I believe I was right in remarking that God will heal the one he has wounded; he will bring forth his own brilliant bearers of victory, and he will convince those who praise falsehood to change their tune, those men who
are amassing a hoard of evil for themselves in the day of anger and just judgment. For so will He be fully victorious in the judgment, and in His every word will He be justified. I am certain, then, that this will come about for the reasons I have just given and for many others, which a thoughtful man would have given at leisure. But then for us to write all this to a man as full of wisdom as yourself, for whom it suffices to give a more suggestion, is precluded by the rules of letter-writing, my many preoccupations, and my having to write this on the spur of the moment. And so it is not easy or timely to embark on the sea of writing. Not only would I strongly maintain what
I have stated above, but I would also be willing to stake salvation itself, which means everything to Christians, instead of anything else of value, that God will necessarily do as I have said because He is just and good.
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Whether He will do it sooner or later, He alone knows. For as the Savior ;7 our role is to pray that says, it is not for us to know the times and seasons we may see this. 1 After the defeat of the French and Hungarian Crusaders by the Turks at NicoKing Sigismund of Hungary fled down the Danube, and at polis on 25 September 1396, taken aboard Venetian galleys and conveyed to Constantinople, the mouth of the river was all told, a journey of a few days at the most: see A. S. Atiya, The Crusade of Nicopolis (London, 1934), esp. 94; partial translation of this letter in Barker, Manuel II, 133-37, who gives additional bibliographical data. Sigismund, then, must have arrived in the Byzantine capital about the end of September or the beginning of October, and he remained there until at least 11 November. For, on that date he wrote to the Grand Master of the Hospi-
tallers, Philibert de Naillac, from Constantinople: letter published in 1896 by H. V.
Sauerland and reprinted by Barker, Manuel II, 482-85, with translation and commentary; of. also 136 note 22. Cyclones had sailed from the city, never to return, shortly before Sigismund's arrival, probably sometime during the last two weeks of September. Manuel gives the impression that the two ships passed each other outside the Golden Horn, but this may be exaggerated. His expression, "in the middle of winter," need not be taken literally; for a rhetorician this simply means that it was no longer summer, or he may have been using it metaphorically or in the sense of stormy seas. Despite Manuel's assertion that he wrote this letter in a hurry, it is not likely that he composed it the very day of Sigismund's arrival, so that it can reasonably be dated to early October. 2 The battle of Nicopolis, 25 September 1396. S Ps. 2:9; David is called Oeon&rc p, ancestor of God, i.e., of Christ. 4 Rom. 3: 19.
5 Not St. Paul, but St. John in Apocalypse, 19, 15, 21. 6 1 Cor. 3:13. 7 Acts 1: 7.
32. To Manuel Raoul' Cyprus Constantinople, 1396-1397
I so enjoyed reading your letter that I was unable to conceal my pleasure from anyone, for it so fully overpowered me that my very expression made it obvious to those standing about and who reacted in the same way.
They were beaming with joy and almost leaping about in their desire to applaud and praise the rhetorician and his many splendid and lengthy letters. Their astonishment and joy kept them from going any further. For you appeared as a wonder-worker by making even Cyprus speak to us in Attic Greek.
Now, how can this make sense or be at all likely? For the most illustrious king2 does not have any interest in our literary activities. And how could he, when even the language hinders him in this regard? Rather, his work concerns arms and their care, practice and exercise. His pleasure is found in various sorts of hunting, which night somehow barely brings to an
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81: 22: Plato, Phaedru8, 243a-b. 44: of. Mantissam, Prov. 2, 28: Paroem. gr. II, 763. 46: Luc. 18, 18; Matth. 19, 17; Marc. 10, 18. 47: Psalm. 124, 3. 49-51: II Tim. 2, 20; I Cor. 15, 47-48. 53-54: Psalm. 2, 9; Apoc. 2, 27; 12, 5; 19, 15. 54: 58: Psalm. 72, 9. Psalm. 113, 9. 59: Psalm. 57,7. 60-61: Psalm. 72, 9. 66: Rom. 3, 19. 65: Psalm. 9, 21. 74: Plato, Gorgias, 524e. 81: non S. Paulus sed S. loannes in Apoe. 19, 15, 21. 83: I Cor. 3, 13. 96-97: Rom 2, 16; I Cor. 3, 3, et alibi. 101: Plato, Phaedrus, 243a-b. 113-14: Act. 1, 7. B f. 680-70V.
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end and, while sending him home, does not even permit him to enjoy some
little rest or to have some free time. Certainly, a man concerned about so many things as Homer says, "must not sleep the whole night through," 3 but rather by the advice and deeds expected of him must always see to the well-being of his subjects as best he can, with the result that labors follow upon labors, those of the night the day's. Then too, the circle of dear ones and the prosperity which you described to us when you were here do not allow a man to pass his time on trifles. And as for you, your foremost and strongest obligation is to accompany and to follow your lord, and then, if you are to please him, to imitate him as best you can. For those upon whom he bestows greater honor attach more importance to this, and even should they fail constantly, he will more readily pardon them. For there are many compelling reasons-it is not easy to list them all-to love, to watch over, and to hold in honor those whom one has, as it were, received by patrimonial
inheritance. But by what means can a stranger avoid being hated and regarded as a burden unless he should consistently and eagerly do what might please his lord?
Although this is the way things are, and you really must be concerned with what we have mentioned and spread yourself among many tasks and neglect your literary interests, still you write letters superior to your previous ones, demonstrating that a wise lover never forgets what once overpowered him. Is it surprising that those who should receive such letters from you should be pleased and full of wonder? For those you have now been sending give evidence both of the force of your good character and of the good disposition of the most illustrious king toward you. For, if you did not hold a very prominent position at his court and if he himself did not calm the waves of distress arising from your being in a foreign land, then a single day would swiftly take away all your literary enjoyment. May your next letters be still better so that by sending better ones here you might fill us with better joy.
1 This letter depicts a well-educated Byzantine who had emigrated to Cyprus, where he held an important position at the court, and who had visited Manuel in Constantinople. Its place in the collection, immediately after Letter 31 of October 1396 and before Letter 36, written before 1398, leads one to date it during the last two months of 1390' or early in 1397. In 1398 Manuel Calecas wrote to an educated Byzantine emigr6, prominent at the court of Cyprus, with whom he had conversed sometime before autumn 1390, apparently in Constantinople, almost certainly Manuel Raoul: Letter 46, ed. Loenertz, Calecas, 231-33; see also 77-78, 127-28. The picture given of King James of Cyprus
in this letter is remarkably similar to other contemporary sketches, which stress his hospitality, his cordiality, and especially his love of hunting: see 0. Hill, A History of Cyprus, II (Cambridge, 1948), 445. a James I de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, 1382-1398. Iliad, 2, 24, 61.
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33. To Demetrius Chrysolorasi Sel ymbria (?) Constantinople, 1397
On reading your fine letter, I was of course pleased to observe the striking harmony in the choice of words and their composition, and at once, I longed to do some writing. Even though by study and hard work I may have once achieved some sort of competence in this, I have now been deprived of almost all of it by the cruel and envious fate striving to overturn everything. But I certainly felt a strong desire to write something, as you
may imagine, for your voice was a real stimulus for me to do so, and it brought me to forget completely the present situation, one which would truly have incapacitated even Demosthenes and Thucydides for any literary production. Thought about the work at hand, however, was almost dragging my mind away and was strongly militating against composing a reply of the length called for by your letter. A person who wished to answer it in detail would surely be able-bear with me, o noble friend, since the truth speaks boldly-to refute it with ease and show it for what it is. For your letter did not, I believe, originate from irrefutable positions or premises already admitted, but inasmuch as it was based wholly on elegance alone and employed mere plausibility, a person would find no great difficulty in endeavoring to show that its complicated twistings were just a spider's web. Certainly, in this regard the blame would have to be placed, not on you, but on the substance of the matters for which you are compelled to plead as best you can. For I believe you are well aware that plausibility by itself does not merit much respect, and that it is usually extremely hazardous for people to make it the basis of their actions. Suppose that, as in a play, plausibility should come on stage deceptively wearing the mask of truth; it might somehow be able to deceive children for a while, since the plausible
is not completely unlike the truth, but in presenting itself before grown men it simply provokes laughter. As I have said, then, it would require no effort for people armed only with the proverbial common notions to tear apart the weavings of those trying their hand at rhetoric. With reason, then, I mean to avoid launching the ship of my reply into a sea of words, which would be the case if I really wanted to reply in detail to each point raised in your letter, for winter is here and with it a tremendous blizzard of problems. Still, since I am torn in two by these con-
siderations, I thought that I should take the middle road and that, since you first wrote to us, I will not be discourteous by not writing you in return, but shall make my reply brief, and so be done with it. Therefore, I will make
just one remark: on the one hand, what you say is said very beautifully, but, on the other hand, you should have applied it to those whom it fits,
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and in this way persuade these people too to distinguish between myself, inasmuch as I am a father, and the enemy, or, if you wish, to distinguish between those whom it is right to trust and those whom it is right to distrust. But right now on seeing everything just the opposite, would I be wrong in lamenting bitterly rather than engaging in pleasantries? For if the hand of God will not dispel this darkness, all effort would be in vain, and there would never be an end to this battle in the night. Let all of us, then, willingly run to Him who is able to accomplish this, for I am certain that if we do so, He will come from afar to meet us with great joy. But as long as this present darkness prevails, there is nothing left but to weep, which indeed we are doing. Still, we have not completely cast away our good hopes, for we look forward to better things given freely from the Treasury of Good.
1 The place of this letter in the collection inclines one to date it in 1397. The last paragraph describes Manuel's desperation in a particularly critical situation, probably the intensification of the Turkish siege of Constantinople from the winter of 1396 through the spring of 1397: see Barker, Manuel II, 142-49. On 4 February 1397 the Venetian senate considered the possibility that Constantinople and Pera might already be in Turkish hands: Thiriet, Rdgestes, 925. About the same time, Bajezid tried to have Manuel replaced by John VII, who had actually aided him in besieging the city, and there seems to have been some support for John within the walls: Ducas, ed. Grecu, 14, 2-3, p. 83. In fact, the Venetian senate on 7 April rejected Manuel's desperate offer to cede Constantinople itself to the Signoria and gave the Captain of the Gulf certain instructions in case, by the will of Bajezid, John VII should have ascended the throne: Thiriet, Rdgestes, 932. Quite possibly it is within this context that the present letter belongs. Demetrius Chrysoloras had written a lengthy plea, the contents of which are not specified, which Manuel rejects on the grounds that, while beautifully composed, his arguments are not persuasive, based as they are on mere plausibility. Chrysoloras had to resort to complicated but weak argumentation because the request he was forced to make was not solidly based. Manuel then concludes that he should have addressed his arguments, not to him, but to those to whom they really applied, for he should realize that Manuel is a father, and he should also realize the intentions of the enemy and should know whom to trust and whom
to distrust. It seems, then, that what Manuel is really saying could be paraphrased as follows: John VII has asked, or compelled you (Chrysoloras) to request that I agree that he should succeed to the throne (either immediately or upon my death). But, although you phrased them very nicely, your arguments are not convincing, largely because of the very nature of the request. The reasons you gave for yielding the throne apply better to him than to me. For I any a father with a son and heir (John VIII, born in 1392). Moreover, you should be aware of the real intent of the enemy (Bajezid, who plans to use John in taking over the Empire for himself). In other words, you should know whom you should trust and whom you should distrust, that is, you should not trust Bajezid. The association of Demetrius Chrysoloras with John Vii in Thessalonica from 1403 to 1408 may have begun earlier in Selymbria, where John ruled during the 1390s, and it may have been in sonic official capacity that he made the proposal on behalf of John. One can only speculate about the details of the proposed agreement. Was John to ascend the throne in Constantinople immediately, or was he to succeed Manuel at his death and in
turn be succeeded by Manuel's son, as they had agreed to do in 1393 and would again
93
33 7raTkpa(; &wrc g 14 re Tov eX&pbv ayvoety, ei sE PouXEL, 7rpoa1 XeL,
Nu' &v'rL Tou
oC
olC 7rLrre ctv
a7rLatELV
gE To6vocv r(ov &7raV 6pCVTa 7c6ou' StxaLOV 7VLxp6V GTEV&C eLV
ei Its Yap T6 axovoS T68e xetp BLaaxe&.aEL OeoS,
40 p.&TaLoq 7raaa a7rou0'Y) xo L T6 'r j vux'ro(A.axtac T&Oo oLx 6Cv 7coTE cr otrJ. O'EV E7r).'t
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µaxp6S'EV & t v'r aEL xatp(V 7r&VTWS, EU otsa. EO)C, 8' &v TouTL To ax6TOC, xpoc' j 066EV &XXO aoLTr6V Yi &xXp6ELV, 0 3 xa6 7ror05p,eV, oU
AV
&Xt(6a 7ravTEAWC, &7roppttllavre
Ta yap P0,TECO
45 7rpoaaox6 (lLev 7rpoGxa 7rapa ro5 TWv &yACov 47iaaupou.
200).
26: Suidae lexicon, K 2551 (ed. Adler, 3, 33: 14: of. Platonem, Theaet., 159c. 40: of. Thucydidem, 3, 22. 42: of. Luc. 15, 20.
B f. 71-72.
1 Kupw om. B J1 36 yp&(pETaL xal ours S et 81 (306),EL, [L1,91' oTq 7cL6Te6CLV (.O)W
OT(; &7rLaTe6V 7rpoa-9 xe µL 7 )3o9.
BLaLpeiv scr. mg. P ab ipso scriba, om. B
agree in 1403 ? See R. J. Loenertz, "Une erreur singulicre de Laonic Chalcocandyle," REB, 15 (1957), 183-84 (= ByzFrGr, I, 383-92); Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, Embajada a Taxnorldn, ed. F. L6pez-Lstrada (Madrid, 1943), 56. At the time he wrote this letter Manuel had at least one son, John VIII, and was thus in a more advantageous position than his nephew, John VII, apparently still childless: see G. Dennis, "An Unknown Byzantine Emperor, Andronicus V Palaeologus (1400-1407?)," JOBG, 16 (1967), 175-87;
N. Oikonomides, F,77µciwi.a ye& Tov 'Av6p6vLxo E' llaXoa6?.oyo (1390), in O7)aauplop.zrz, 5
(1968), 23-31. In any case, Manuel clearly rejected any agreement with John VII in this carefully worded composition which he wanted to preserve for posterity; undoubtedly he had already rejected the proposal in less classical and less complicated language.
94
34
34. To Balsamon the Protekdikos, later the Great Chartophylaxl Constantinople
Constantinople, 1397-1399
After some time your companion arrived with your letter, which even before it came was expected to be a beautiful and splendid one, for excellent
things, it has been said, come from excellent people. Expectation of it, therefore, caused joy, but when it actually arrived it greatly exceeded our expectations and dimmed the joy that was in us, just as the sun hides the brightness of the stars, so brilliantly did it shine. I will not speak of all the applause which came from those inspired by the Muses, nor will I mention how Iagaris, acting in your stead and reading the letter, was so overjoyed that he was unable to continue.2 For the rules of letter-writing do not permit me to stretch things out beyond measure. But one remark, I believe, will make everything clear. There was a certain person in the audience who did not know the source of the letter or its purpose. It struck him so forcibly that he was quite ready to believe it could not be a product of our present literary poverty, for he was reminded of some of the ancients, whose names are preserved even after death by their writings. But for a person of your ability to tell yourself to regard these recitations with trembling is to act somewhat as though one were to advise Timothy not to play the flute or Orpheus to hold his hands down at his sides, afraid that he might cause annoyance by playing the lyre.3 Do not, therefore, let yourself become a retiring sort of rhetorician, or allow timidity to overcome the strength of words, for the rhetorician limps along unless courage adorns his skill. Let Themistocles and his contemporaries convince you of this. Now, then, that you have shown your ability to speak, hasten to show yourself actually doing so. And in this way discard a view which is foolish, yet quite prevalent, namely, that those dancing in the gardens of the Muses are lacking in courage. 1 Michael Balsamon, a deacon of Hagia Sophia, held the position of protekdikos in the patriarchal curia from the summer or fall of 1397 to May or June of 1400, when he was named great chartophylax: see p. xxix. This letter, then, was written between the middle or end of 1397 and December 1399, when Manuel sailed for the West. 2 On Iagaris, see p. lvi. 3 Timothy of Miletus (ca. 450-360 a.c.), famous poet and flutist, was supposedly the favorite musician of Alexander the Great. The lyre of Orpheus was reputed to charm even savage beasts.
95
34
f. 21
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oL ea&A& yap, &pr TLS,
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5 7rpoa3oxio S &7CE'q-jvc x«i r v evouaav eOppoauvjv N.mupwaev, rJXLoS 6EaTpwv xp67tTwv muy9v 05T(OS raTpm7CTe. xpOToU5 3' or. 7Cap& TG.)V uao), 7rTWV eY &vovro xmi Ws oOBE xw P e6v u (p' 8oV s o 6 s re v 6 r& qs e7CLaToA&4; &vmyvouS -CA a& oixEioc 7CoLo6tkevoS, 'I&ympLS ouToS v, aLwirro.
oiBE yap o T6V e7rta'TOA6V V.OL auyXWpet v6p.oc O7rEpsxTE6VEaRaL' Ev 10 3', 01tiou, (pp&amS To 7rav so . yjv TLS 'r6v &xpox & v &yvowV 6 ev TE T('X Yp&(J.ELmT'a xmi &v&' 'TOU TmuTm YJYPm7r'ro
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,
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15
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34: 3-4: Theognis, I, 35.
16: of. Suidae lexicon, T 620, (ed. Adler, 4, 556).
21-22: of. Platonem, Ion, 534a. B f. 72-72°. 1 'rw µey&arq Xap'ropu),ax: B 114 post ouv in ras. 7«S ote ... P 1110 post v in ras. S,j P 1111 post 5-rou in ras. aliquid illegibile, post 7reiaat in ras. 7naru... P
A3'
96
35
35. To Manuel Pothos1 1397-1398 (?)
You have rivalled the bees, whose wisdom and labor everyone praises, at their own work. In a short time you have thoroughly searched out every flower in the meadow of legends, you have nicely gathered together what is useful for the present subject, and you have harmonized and arranged these things in a very orderly manner.2 I was, therefore, filled with admiration, as you can imagine, when I read through the work, and, wishing to praise it, I felt it sufficient to remark that it was written by you. After all, a person would show more regard for a painting of Apelles by announcing that Apelles did it than by calling it beautiful and skillful, for there are many other beautiful paintings, but only one Apelles is celebrated.s This device of mine, however, was unnecessary. For I found that the audience had discovered the father of the writing from the beauty of the words and the rapidity of its rhythm. Still, the fault I must find with your writing is not a small one; namely, I am unable to deal with it, for I am not really in a position to write about what you wrote about, and joining your work to my own would be full of danger. For you know the divine command which prohibits the conjoining of something new to something old as inappropriate.4 But since from far back it seems almost to be my fate to be presented with the choice, not of
what is more beneficial, but of what is less harmful-this is clearly the fruit of sin-I am observing this ancient law of mine even in the present case. What the Savior has forbidden I believe has to be avoided, but then I must accept the other danger. For those who have to pass through the Sicilian strait may escape Charybdis, but there is no way in which they can also escape Scylla.
1 This letter contains no chronological indications, but its place in the collection
would locate it in 1397-1398. 2 Legends: in Classical Greek X6yLa generally referred to the legends and myths of antiquity, but among the Byzantines the word was often used for the "Sayings" of Scripture
and the Fathers, as in Letter 25. It is not clear which sense is intended here. 3 Apelles was the famous painter from Colophon and later Ephesus (fourth century s.c.), best known for his Aphrodite of Cos and his portraits of Philip, Alexander the Great, and others. 4 Matt. 9:16; Mark 2:21; Luke 5:36.
97
35
f. 21V
35. Kupip Mavoo?X Tw II6&ca
AE
Fill 8e xai To VeXVrTwV Epyov E7ti aoppia TE xai Tw 7rovsiv 7rap& 7r&vTwv 486µEVOV oSTw xaaws p.ev Xp'vcp f paxei 7rav E rjpE6vrjaoc &'40q 'r05 TWV AOY''.wV XEL(.LOVOS, xaaws 8'
cUVEGAE aS To 7rp6q To
5 7rpoxeip.Evov Xp"atp.ov, auv x6ap.w 8e Tauroc 7roXAw 5pp.oa&S Te xai T6Taxoc. tijy&ak& jv p.ev ON, 7rwc otEt, To 7r6vrjp,a &EA9'6v, xai E7raLVEiv
(iouA61kEvoS &pxEiv zlmdv yrja&µrjv aov Elvou. e7ret
rot xai
'A7rEAXo 3 p.&AAov av TLS TLkaEtev, e,xeivou Ta6Trjv ezvoa &M8 mS , xa), jv 10
trcV Etvat xai TEXvt d v 7roXAai p.ev yap xai aaaat xocAai, EtS 8e SpLVYjrat &AA& xai TOUTi 7rEpkkpyov v. eupov y&p aurouc e6prjx6TaS &7r6 Tou x&AAouS TwV 6vO L&Twv xai Tou pu,&µou xai Tou T&Xouc Tov r- wv YEYPOt.L.L&Vwv 7rocT6pa.
'0 8e To6TOLS EXw WS 06 ap.txp6v ou8e yap EXw 7rwS aurotS ao(,Lat, 05-re YaP e[Ie YPa40Ct 7rEPt wv auroS a 971S 7r&vu 15 yLyV4LEVOV, xai To Toz( ep.o"tS auveipaL To aov x4v86vou pear6v. yap Tov 9eiov Xpr)ap.ov 8S &7rayopc6Et TYjv xatvou 7rp0'4 To a c pov xotvwviav WS ou auj.Lpmtvouaav. &AA' e7ret p.ot aXeBov &a7rEp TLS xX7jpoS avow&EV x&TEL6LV OUX alto rwv 690,ip.Owv To xpELTTOV &?X' &7ro Twv PXOCPEpwV To -,To,) exa&yea;&aL-aµap'r oc 8e 7r&VTWq TOUTO xap7r6S-Tov 20 avw&ev p.OL v6jov x&7-,\L Tou 7rc po'vro4 Trjpwv, o p.ev 6 Ewrrjp a7rrjy6peuce
yeuxT6ov etvat
ro'v eTepov 8e xiVBuvov avc & op.at. otg yap
&v&yxrj ToV ELxEAtxov 7rop,91[Lav BLapc vaL T ]V X&pu38LV YeLYOUatV 06x
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85: 16-17: Matth. 9, 16; Marc. 2, 21; Luc. 5, 36. B f. 72v.
7 post poua6p.evoS del. roiq
P 1114 Ecp-js: corr. ex gepa7iS P
98
36, 37
36. To Cydonesl
Northern Italy Constantinople, 1397
Granted that I am already in your debt because I had once promised to write to you, good friend, still, it was of my own volition that I was inscribed in the list of your debtors. So, while it would be well for me to
hasten to make payment, it would be proper for you not to insist so urgently. Take the case of a person who had loaned a genuine coin and received a
counterfeit one in return; he would restrain himself and bear the inconvenience in silence, aware perhaps of the poverty of the debtor. You, however, are patently almost violent in your insistence, not even willing to allow us the least delay in fulfilling what we had promised out of friendship. It seems that if you ever decided to marry, you would force your prospective father-in-law to search for a noose because he might have promised to give you more than he had, even if he had given you all he had. But I have completely given up the idea of paying back, since I receive more letters from you than I send. I must not even try to pay you back, but I must pray to be
able to see you. And then, perhaps, if I could use my tongue as a pen, I would pay you back, even with interest. 1 As is clear from the last few lines, Cydones was away, probably in Northern Italy, when he received this brief letter. From there he sailed to Crete, where he died in the winter of 1397-98: Loenertz, Caldcas, 56-67.
37. To Manuel Chrysoloras' Northern Italy Paris, summer, 1400
I have frequently wanted to write to you, but my hand was held back because I had nothing to report which would have pleased you. For the journey was difficult, and there was little to enjoy along the way. Then there was the difference in language, which did not allow us to converse, as we had wished, with really good men who were extremely anxious to show us favor.
But now that we have arrived in France, my hand has begun to move of its own accord and hastens to make clear to you by letters what would better be done by the tongue, if the people were present, and I could thus surpass the limits of a letter. My hand has begun to move all right, and has started to write, but really, it would seem to attempt an unending task, if
99
36, 37
f. 22
36. Tw Kuad v7) 'AAA' EL xai ev roZq 6gsLAouaLv
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5 a7r6SELV, a01, 8' av 7rpoar %E I, NLETOL a(po8p6 r roc &7raLTE4v. v6p.Lo.La PLEV Y&P TLS XP7IaaS axL(3 Xov E6TLV 03 Aa(3wv ou ToLOUTOV veaXETO, xai To 7rpayp.oc rlveyxc aLyp, 7rcvLav i o c t S 6(pELAovrt auvELBtc. a' ak TLS (3Lc LoS El aocg8q, pq8e' youv &vox&S YII.LGv eWAwv 8L86vat To q E &y&7rrIS eoLxas 8E xai Tov 7roTE (3ouA-j8-Eic 10 (3p6xov &vayx&aa6 7rXEL(O p.ev Laws u7reaxr)4evov cot F(JaELv 6v EZx;, 86v-ca 8e &7rcp Eixsv. &yd 8e' 7rp6c Trly exTta.v TEAECilC, a7rELprlxa, 7rAEL0u4 7rc p&
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86:4: of. Libanium, epist. 790, 1; 1215, 3. B f. 720-73.
37. Tep XpuaoAo pa xupca Mavow A
5
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100
37, 38
it sought to enumerate every detail. For, first of all, many are the services provided for us by the most illustrious king,2 and many, too, the things from his kinsmen, and not few in number those from his officials and from everyone.
All of this certainly gives evidence of their nobility of soul, their friendship toward us, and a constant zeal for the faith. But now I would like to sum it all up : unless the usual malice of evil fortune should oppose us, and some terrible and unexpected obstacle should occur, we have good reason to hope that we shall return to the fatherland soon, which is what we know you are praying for and what our enemies are praying against. 1 Leaving Constantinople in the charge of his nephew, John VII, Manuel sailed for the West on 10 December 1399 and on 3 June 1400 was magnificently received by King Charles VI of France at Charenton outside Paris. The basic work on Manuel's journey is still A. A. Vasiliev, "Putesestvie vizantijakago imperatora Manuila Palaeologa po zapadnoi Evrope (1399-1403),"gurnal ministerstva narodnago prosve Reniia, N. S. 39 (1912), 41-78, 260-304. A summary account with references is given by Barker, Manuel II, 165-99. Manuel was lodged in a palace on the site of the modern Louvre and, probably shortly after his arrival, wrote this letter to Manuel Chrysoloras in Northern Italy. This letter is translated by Barker, Manuel II, 174-75; into French by Berger de Xivrey, Mcmoire, 102-3; into Russian by Vasiliev, "Putesestvie Manuila," 70. The splendor of his reception and the kindness shown to him by Western rulers deeply impressed Manuel and gave him grounds for optimism in his quest for military aid. His first discussions with the French king and his advisors must have been encouraging, for he expected to complete his mission and return home soon. In fact, they had agreed to support a force of 1200 men under Boucicaut's command for another year: Vasiliev, "Putesestvie Manuila," 70-71; Barker, Manuel II, 174. 2 Charles VI, king of France.
38. To Manuel Chrysolorasl
Italy London, January-February 1401 I suspect that when you received my letter conveying the good news, you immediately got up and, full of suspense, looked for a second one following upon the first which would inform you that things were still going well,
then again, a third letter much better than the second, and still another better than all of tlieni, and perhaps even longer and more frequent ones, the latest always containing something more. To expect the opposite, however, would actually not be unreasonable. After that first letter you could have expected to see neither frequent nor lengthy letters, but myself, your correspondent: I would no longer encourage you by hope alone, but would make you rejoice at the very sight of the object of our hope.
101
37, 38 ExaaTx poUAOLTO. 7roa?a p.EV yap 'r& 7rap& Tou Aa(t7rpoT&TOU pry?S ELS -%4&q u7rrjpyµkva, 7tOAAa 8e xai Ta 7rapa T(AV auTw xwT& yEVOs TL 7rpoarf. 22V
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87: B f. 73-73v.
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102
38
But now that some time has gone by, and you have received a number of letters from us discussing other matters but with no mention whatsoever
of an army and the other forms of aid in which rests the salvation of our city, I imagine that you have the proverb on your lips: "Our treasures have turned to ashes." While this might possibly be applicable to your situation, my own reason for being silent was not that I had been deceived in my hopes, but that I considered what I wrote sufficient and that my silence was a way of letting you know I had nothing new to say. This, then, was the real reason for my silence. Now what is the reason for the present letter? A large number of letters have come to us from all over bearing excellent and wonderful promises, but most important is the ruler with whom we are now staying, the king of Britain the Great,2 of a second civilized world, you might say, who abounds in so many good qualities and is adorned with all sorts of virtues. His reputation earns him the admiration of people who have not met him, while for those who have once seen him, he proves brilliantly that Fame is not really a goddess, since she is unable to show the man to be as great as does actual experience. This ruler, then, is most illustrious because of his position, most illustrious, too, because of his intelligence; his might amazes everyone, and his understanding wins him friends; he extends his hand to all and in every way he places himself at the service of those who need help. And now, in accord with his nature, he has made himself a virtual haven for us in the midst of a twofold tempest, that of the season and that of fortune, and we have found
refuge in the man himself and in his character. His conversation is quite charming; he pleases us in every way; he honors us to the greatest extent and loves us no less. Although he has gone to extremes in all he has done for us, he seems almost to blush in the belief-in this he is alone-that he might
have fallen considerably short of what he should have done. This is how magnanimous the man is. Now, if the rules of letter-writing require conciseness, let us say this. This man is good in what he begins, and he is also good in completing the course, becoming better each day, struggling at all times to outdo himself in what concerns us. In the end he has given even greater proof of his nobility by adding a crowning touch to our negotiations, worthy of his character
and of the negotiations themselves. For he is providing us with military assistance, with soldiers, archers, money, and ships to transport the army where it is needed.
' During his first sojourn in Paris Manuel continued diplomatic negotiations with other Western powers, including a personal visit to the king of England, Henry IV (13991413): see Vasiliev, "Putesestvie Manuila," 74-78; Barker, 11 anuel 11, 177-81, with a translation of this letter. On Manuel's visit to England, see now D. M. Nicol, "A Byzantine Emperor in England, Manuel II's Visit to London in 1400-1401," University of Binningharn
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38, 39 Historical Journal, 12 (1971), 204-25. He crossed the channel early in December and was magnificently received in London on 21 December, remaining there until the middle of
February. Henry IV promised military assistance and provided some financial aid to Manuel: Vasiliev, op. cit., 264-66; Barker, Manuel II, 180. 2 Henry IV, king of England.
39. To the Priest Euthymiusl Constantinople Paris, spring-summer 1401
While I have received many letters from you, which must have been composed in collaboration with the Muses, for they were truly beautiful both in thought and in expression and written by one who knew how to show his friendship properly and who was able to offer useful advice, and while, as
you can imagine, I often wanted to reply in like manner, I was never able to bring myself to take the necessary steps. The reason was not my inability to compose a suitable answer, although this might well be the case with those who pride themselves on their skill in writing and who wish to avoid being put to the test. But as for me, I was consoled by the very fact that competition is absolutely beyond my reach ;2 after all, I am certainly not distressed at being unable to fly. It was not fear of defeat,3 then, which led me to deprive you of what was your due. Should anyone want to know what held me back, he will find that my explanation is quite reasonable. For I have been constantly busied with such tasks as would blind the eye of the soul, and I have had an incredible number of things to do, capable of dulling the wits not only of someone such as myself, but even of a sharp writer, and besides, to cite Plato, a bird does not sing when it is sad.4 Now, as long as our negotiations were stalled at the stage of favorable promises, and these from men who make them most readily, the awareness that your salvation depended upon deeds, not words, made me completely numb, hand, tongue, and mind, although I wanted to intone the hymn of victory. Above all, I had been afraid that, quite unawares, I might be overcome by grief if I should try to sing a happier song to you. For any slight suspicion could drag a soul trembling with fear for our nation more readily toward the former than could excellent promises toward the latter. But now that your hopes have at last been realized; now that our negotiations are moving along very smoothly in every respect; now that the military commanders have already begun work on those tasks which should make then become in actuality what they are called; and now that nothing else
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39,40 is needed except the coming of the day appointed for setting out on our return journey to you-for a day had to be determined and also a place in which the troops of the Britons and the other allies should assemble-I immediately began to write. But since the problems urgently demanding attention do not allow me time to write at length, instead of the many pleasant bits of news I have to tell you, I will say just one thing. Not very far behind the present message of good news we ourselves expect to arrive. Then you will see, with the help of the Mother of God, an army following us composed of all sorts of troops, specially chosen and assembled from all over, an army capable of really accomplishing the purpose for which it comes and, to sum it up, I believe, an army vastly surpassing your hopes.
1 About the end of February 1401 Manuel returned to Paris and continued his negotiations with the Western rulers, including those of Portugal, Aragon, and Denmark, and with both the Roman and the Avignonese popes: see Barker, Manuel II, 181-90; this letter is translated on pp. 184-85. On his relations with Queen Margaret of Denmark and the Roman Pope, Boniface IX, see G. Dennis, "Two Unknown Documents of Manuel II Palaeologus," TM, 3 (1968), 397-404. Through the spring and summer of 1401 he apparently continued to receive what he regarded as reliable assurances that the preparations for a military expedition to aid Constantinople were proceeding well, and his optimism is expressed in this and the next three letters. 2 That is, competing with you in fine writing. 8 Fear that my writing would be considered inferior to yours. It Phaedo, 85a.
40. To the Priest Euthymius' Constantinople
Paris, spring-summer 1401
I know that, because of your loving disposition toward me, you are glad to hear news about me, for this also made the son of Laertes long for the smoke of home.2 In my desire to delight you all the time, I have made you glad with the hopes for our people, and now I also make you glad with this composition of mine. So that you may have a third motive for rejoicing, be informed that I am in good bodily health, and perhaps my soul will sometime be in the like good state as you continue to intercede on its behalf with the One who died for the condemned. 1 On the date of this letter, see notes to Letter 39; it has also been translated by Barker, Manuel 11, 186. 2 Odysseus.
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41. To Demetrius Chrysoloras' Constantinople Paris, spring-summer 1401
You certainly must be, as they say, the fastest from the starting line in the race to find out the cause of my silence up to now, and you are also competent to deliver an appropriate decision about it. Indeed, I believe not only that you do not want to bring any charges against me, but that you are willing, if need be, to speak in my defense. The evidence is this: although you have written to us frequently without receiving any sort of answer at all, you did not stop writing nor did you even think it necessary to ask the reason for our silence. This might be expected of a person who understood, before hearing anything about it from me, exactly what has been holding back my tongue and my hand. Certainly, we cannot expect this of everyone; only of such men as yourself. For you are shrewd, you know us, you understand the times in which we live, you are by no means without experience of these particular western regions and, in a word, you are not ignorant of the circumstances of a case, which are discussed at length by legal experts. Now if this is the way things are, and our good Demetrius shows that his nature is better than any skill, and the sagacity of Nestor proves superior to the prophetic power of some Calchas,2 then Demetrius himself will quite clearly understand the reason which has impelled me to write now, and it would be superfluous to explain it to him. Nonetheless, it will be explained, and it will be gratifying to those who will listen, for they will be pleased by the tidings it announces.
I am aware that your salvation requires deeds, not promises. Now, I have received the most wonderful promises, but I was very dubious about their fulfillment, since this requires time in which many things could happen, and so I was informing you of conditions here in letters written by another hand.3 But just recently the negotiations we have been engaged in have been progressing according to our intention. For one thing, the ambassadors who had been sent everywhere have accomplished what we were praying for. And here, to my joy, the commander has been announced: he is the NIarechal,4
who was selected in preference to many candidates who are kinsmen of the king.- 'He is now hard at his task. All that remains to be done is to assemble in the designated place the forces being readied for us by several sovereigns and there to distribute the pay to the soldiers, a very easy matter when the money is at hand, particularly when those about to receive their pay are so eager that they are willing to pay themselves, if only they should be provided with a, just cause for taking up arms.
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For these reasons, then, my tongue and my hand, as though freed from the chains of doubt regarding our prospects, have immediately gotten moving, as you can imagine, and they hasten to their appointed tasks. And so, in an effort to make you happy and at the same time to discharge the debt incurred by my former silence, I am sending the present letter, the product of an uneducated hand and of an even more uneducated tongue, but still of one dear to you. Goodbye, now, and expect us soon, perhaps not very long after this letter. And you will see that we are stronger than you hoped or, at any rate, not weaker, but well able to accomplish what we are coming for, as long as He who is truly strong joins with us in our efforts and struggles on behalf of those for whom He himself died. 1 This letter was probably written in the spring or summer of 1401 when Manuel
was still optimistic about obtaining aid. The nomination of his old friend, Marechal Boucicaut, to head the expedition must have reassured him about the reality of the aid he had been promised. Yet, for a number of reasons, not all of which are clear, the aid did not materialize, and the troops did not assemble. In August 1401 King Martin of Aragon regretfully announced that the ships he had promised could not be readied in time; the English troops were more urgently needed in Wales; most disappointing of all, in Sep-
tember or October Boucicaut was named governor of Genoa, entering the city on 31 October: see Barker, Manuel 11, 188-90; this is translated on 186-87. This letter, then, was certainly written before that date. 2In Constantinople Demetrius Chrysoloras held some post in the government of John VII. Perhaps it was he who informed Manuel about his critics at home and the prophets who foretold doom, as Calchas in the Iliad (1, 69, 105). 8 Apparently letters written by secretaries or some other person in Manuel's entourage. 4 Jean le Meingre, dit Boucicaut, Marechal of France. Manuel simply transliterates his title, so Demetrius would have no doubt. 8 Charles VI, king of France.
42. To Manuel Pothos' Constantinople
Paris, 1401
The letter you wrote was certainly well suited for the purpose of stirring up one who is delaying, but this is like inviting a Lydian into a plain.2 Cease, then, exhorting people to hurry and do what they are already doing and take hold of those tasks which will prove salutary to our affairs. But see, I have reacted just as you did by urging you on to what you have been doing all the time. Beyond this, what can I tell you that would add to my own eagerness to return ? If anything can possibly be added, do something gratifying to me and at the same time to yourself and to the city.' Play the
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42, 43
man. Outdo yourself in nobility, not only by doing your own work better but also by calling upon the more sluggish to do the same, so that our labor
may bear fruit and-may this not happen-that you do not perish needlessly while those coming to defend you are standing before your gates. 1 The tone of this letter is less enthusiastic than that of the preceding ones, and it may have been written after Manuel had come to realize that Western promises of military aid were deceptive. Still, he does allude to an army coming to defend Constantinople, so that it may reasonably be dated to 1401. It is also translated by Barker,Manuel II, 190-91. 2 That is, asking someone to do what he does naturally or is already doing. 8 Constantinople.
43. To Demetrius Chrysolorasl Thessalonica Constantinople, 1403-1408
I hear that you have acquired a noble horse befitting a warrior. Now, did this happen just by chance or by a stroke of good luck? Indeed, I cannot imagine that you have deliberately chosen to become proficient in another
branch of learning, that which is called horsemanship, which you have always regarded as a waste of time. Nor did you obtain the thing to fit your
life style, for you are not interested in luxuries; in fact, you freely give away your own possessions in the expectation that this will give you a chance
for fame. But if you have thought it necessary to bid farewell to science and, now that you have had this stroke of good luck, to exchange the life of a philosopher for that of arms, spoils, and wars, shooting at wild beasts, raising dogs, and doing all those things which you once despised as continual stupidity, then hold on to that horse and inform us of your decision so that
we, too, might supply you with a spear and all other military gear, with whatever a proficient archer and an experienced hunter require and, in addition, a second horse which would be far superior to the first one. For I think that just as it is proper for your close friends to furnish you with what is suitable for a bridegroom, should you be planning on marryingand you surely will be planning to do so right away; it may even be that the present letter will reach you after you have gotten married-so it is with what is suitable for a warrior. But if, on the other hand, you remain in your station, and your serious concern continues to be with books and then with labors in the public interest, labors on behalf of friends, struggles on behalf of justice, and strenuous
efforts to make the truth prevail universally, then how could that horse help you? For everything is within the walls; there you may walk about if
113
42, 43
ri-
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42:3: Libanius, epist. 617, 2; 1183, 1; 1426, 6; Paroem. gr. II, 509. Phaedo, 61a.
B f. 75i'.
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43
you desire without hurting your feet, whether you wish to relax, play, take a breath of fresh air, or enjoy the beauty of the flowers; and so there is no need for you to ride about on a noble horse. Then, too, the gardens just
outside the city, the fountains, and, in short, the surrounding area will satisfy your needs. But the woods, the marshes, the mountains, and the plains, where a good horse might give proof of his speed, his strength, and his
other qualities, what sort of recreation would these be for you? "Nothing sacred," as they say, since these places are full of brambles, swamps, and oaks.
At any rate, either send us that horse, which is of no use to you, so that we can put him to proper use, if you do not intend to wrong both me and him, or else admit that the horse is a poor one, and then you may justify using him for yourself, and nobody will blame you for making use of an animal perfectly suited for you. Permit me, then, to include some humor in my letter so that you might not think we have forgotten what you love so much. 1 Manuel remained in Paris long after it must have been clear that he was not going to receive any Western aid. He continued his negotiations with Venice and other European powers, but he also found time to compose rhetorical and theological works: see p. xv; Barker, Manuel II, 191-99. Even the news of the Turkish defeat and the capture of Bajezid by the Mongols at Ankara on 28 July 1402 did not persuade Manuel to hasten back to Constantinople. Various dates have been given for his departure from Paris. The Chronicle of the Religious of Saint Denys, which Vasiliev cites ("Putegestvie Manuila," 288), states that on 21 November Manuel decided (decrevit) to leave Paris. Barker (Manuel II, 220) takes this as the date of his actual departure. Thiriet (Rdgestes, 1083), apparently following Iorga, dates it to 14 November. In fact, Manuel was still in Paris on 23 November, for on that date in Paris he signed an imperial letter to Queen Margaret of Denmark: Dennis, "Two Unknown Documents of Manuel II," 401. On 7 December the Venetian senate informed the envoy of Suleyman celebi that they presumed he had already set out on his journey: ipse rationabiliter debet else in via: Venice, Arohivio di Stato, Senato, Misti, 46, fol. 58v. On 29 December the senate discussed Manuel's departure from France for Italy: recessum suum de partibus Francie pro veniendo ad partes Italie: ibid., fol. 60. Thiriet (Regestes, 1088) takes this to mean that the Emperor had arrived in Italy. But it was not until 22 January 1403 that he was welcomed in Genoa: Giorgio Stella, Annales Genuenses, ed. L. A. Muratori, Rerum italicarum scriptores, XVII (Milan, 1730), 1196. Manuel continued his journey at a leisurely pace and finally arrived in Constantinople on 9 June 1403; the date is given by Macarius of Ankara, who made the journey with him: Loenertz, Calecas, 44 note 1. By about the end of October the more pressing domestic and foreign problems seem to have been settled, and the Empire enjoyed a period of relative calm; the sons of Baj ezid conspired and fought among themselves, and John VII went off to rule in Thessalonica until his death in 1408. He was accompanied by Demetrius Chrysoloras, who served as his chief minister, mesazon. This and the following few letters envision Demetrius in Thessalonica and must belong to the period from autumn 1403 to autumn 1408.
115
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44
44. To Demetrius Chrysoloras' Thessalonica Constantinople, 1403-1408
The multitude of tasks I have to do, by diverting me to still others, just about forces me to keep away from those things which are essential for survival. I have lost track of the time for meals and have little thought for food, whatever might be served. I have shaken sleep from my eyes, and often my bed receives me only at dawn, just when those sweeping the whole house and all the domestic servants have to get up out of bed and dutifully go about their appointed tasks. These people are most annoying as they buzz about the doors; then there is the shouting of the judges, plaintiffs, and defendants, and all the other things which I need not mention, since I would be speaking to one who knows what it is like. Moreover, the clamor of the
attendants resounding throughout the house where I would like to sleep would easily awaken Dardanus himself or even someone much sleepier than he.2
And then, there is our own Antiochos,3 the old man who loves sleep so much that he falls asleep on horseback and who would give up everything for sleep. When the tumult at the door prevents him from snoring along in his usual fashion, he curses the noise makers, puts on some kind of shepherd's cap, stuffs his fingers into his ears, and fits his head into the deepest corner, and only then gets some semblance of rest. Everything, then, is filled with turmoil, which the continual need for service makes it impossible to prevent.
I have tended to neglect the diet prescribed by the physicians; ill though I am, I have had to do things that would cause a healthy person to become ill. For it is impossible to excuse oneself from seeing the people outside, the people within, and whoever is oppressed with some serious problem. But here stands a Latin, a Persian,4 a citizen, a foreigner, not least of all a monk, each one demanding something different and shouting that he would be unjustly treated if his request is not granted immediately. So it is absurd to think of enjoyment, absurd to think of repose. The only thing I welcome is whatever offers some hope of respite from the discomforts of the day.
Such are the things I must tend to, things full of difficulties. What adds to these difficulties is, I suppose, common to both of us, there and here.' I mean the lack of money which causes harm to each individual as well as to the affairs of state, for I know that you too are seriously affected by it. May
God soon free us from this problem and grant us the prosperity of our ancestors. How excessively busy I have been should also be clear from this: I have shaken off my eagerness for books and every literary activity, as well as the gratification I derived from them, a gratification, as you well know,
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highly profitable to men's souls. While I realize my loss and almost bemoan it, I cannot rectify the situation if I want to observe what is expected of my position. For the present time does not allow any leisure, and my search for assistance does not suffer any delay. These problems have driven me so far away from any literary endeavor that I am really unable to set my hand to
the composition before me, which I am sure you long to receives But, although unwillingly, you must bear not having it, just as I must bear not having completed it. It might seem strange, that I should have managed to carry on the bulk of this sort of labor in a foreign land,? where we had to cleave the seas, ford rivers, fear the assaults of bandits, endure the hardships of a long journey, and many other things beside, while now that I am back here at home in our native land, rid of all those difficulties and anxious to complete this bit of writing, I should be unable to find the time. But since, anxious though I am to have our affairs in the best state, obstacles arise from all sides, I have concluded that I should entrust my
difficulties to God, who together with better fortune may grant us the opportunity of some leisure and eventually the possibility of being our own master, which is what any intelligent person wants. For as things now stand,
we are a slave to the cares oppressing us rather than master of our own desires.
All this weighs heavily upon us. Nonetheless, it is consolation enough for me to keep in mind that perhaps the toil of the ruler will be of benefit to his people. They have therefore become pleasant to me, these struggles by day; and these cares by night, which keep me from sleep and drive me to
carry out my duties, cause me joy no less than sorrow. For, as it seems, sorrow does not come by itself for those who want to mix their cup, just as you "cannot find a life without sorrow among any" of those who appear to be most blessed.8
This, then, is how things are. And the veritable blizzard of things to be done might have made me think it would be easier to sprout wings than to write a letter. But, on the other hand, just one letter of yours surpasses even the charms of Orpheus; as soon as your letter appeared it immediately drew to itself the eye and the mind of those who were not unaware of its author. These people requested that it should be opened at once and, when this was done and your letter read, those who have some literary competence leapt with joy and applauded loudly. All their comments on it and their numerous praises I pass over in silence, since this is not the right time to stretch things out. But for me it was a real incentive which, against my will, roused me to write. Realize, then, by the receipt of this letter the compelling force of your own writing. For I believe that it is no mean accomplishment to get me to return to writing so very quickly when I had become so benumbed. And I felt the same as those who have had their share of some unpleasantness or their fill of sorrow and cannot even recall a melody; from their
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lips, while others are singing with true musical skill, the tunes flow spontaneously whether they will it or not; and even an old man jumps about as
though he had forgotten himself, while others are dancing in rhythmic harmony. In brief, if there is any power which of its very nature compels imitation, for each person imitates what he admires, that power is infused into your letters, so that the story about that harp can no longer be called a myth by anyone who could see my own reaction now to your charms.9
For this feeling I am grateful to you. Truly I would have completely forgotten whether I still had any literary ability unless you had stimulated me by your frequent as well as beautiful letters. In fact, write to me still more often and please me both by letting me enjoy the refreshing flow of your words and by having them rouse me to what you consider to be better, for friendly advice is of no small assistance. And if you should not find someone to bear your letter here, then, as you generate compositions for us, keep these wonderful children at your side and send them when you can. May your offspring be good and more frequent. We will never be satiated with your writings, neither by having a great number of them nor by frequently having them read nor even by sharing them with persons unable to fathom their profound thoughts.
I realize I have stretched out this letter too much in my desire to please you by the superabundance of your own favorite things, by which I mean anything that comes from me. But you will feel that my letter is extremely succinct, for I am sure you are the most unsatiated of all my readers. For this reason, I held my hand back, eager though I was to please you, for since I felt that your desire surpassed my own ability, in my despair I abstained from writing. 1 This letter gives the impression that Manuel had returned recently, so it could be dated early in the period from 1403 to 1408; it is partially translated in Barker, illanuel II, 403-5. 2 Dardanus was the legendary son of Zeus and Electra and the founder of Dardania or Troy. The classical myths do not depict him as particularly sleepy, but this allusion is probably a typical bit of Byzantine etymology, that is, deriving the name Dardanus from the verb, 8ap3&vw, to sleep, and so making him the example of sleepiness par excellence. 8 On Antiochos, see p. lv. ° Turk. 5 Thessalonica and Constantinople. ° This must be a literary or theological work which Manuel had begun and promised to send to Chrysoloras.
Western Europe, particularly France. Menander, fragment 341 (411). ° The harp or lyre of Orpheus was reputed to charm even savage beasts.
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45. To Ivankosl Thessalonica
Near Thessalonica, 1404-1408, spring
They say that the white down blossomed on the chin of Erginus, thickened and grew into a snow white beard, so that there was no time in which he had the sort of beard proper to a young man, for the hairs grew and at the same time turned as white as the feathers of the swans.2 Before adolescence you displayed the qualities of a rhetorician, and when you reached the age of those attending the lessons of a teacher, you were already capable of giving lessons yourself. While your contemporaries gave their attention to playing, you behaved in a manner befitting grown up and wise men, and alone among the young men you escaped the mocking, the rod, the whip, and the piercing glance of the experienced schoolmaster. When you became a teacher yourself and were called such by everyone, you did not dishonor the name, and the profession, venerable in itself, you made more honorable by your keen insights and your flow of words. In fact, from the starting line, that is, from the time of your youth, you were numbered among men noted for their rhetorical ability, but you did not give them cause for envy, for they prided themselves on your natural talent; that they called you their child and confirmed this by their actions made it
apparent not only that they were not jealous but that they looked with favor on your superiority to all others. As a result, honors came and invitations to the council, to the academies, to the courts themselves; these people wanted to listen to your opinions and to have all those of the highest rank make way for you with pleasure. But you, the youngest, must have blushed at being seen in the first place among men of such an age. And frequently you must have regretted being present at the assemblies of your learned colleagues, but the dignity could not be refused; you were not allowed any leisure, and you had to undertake labors with sophists, with teachers, with legal scholars, with philosophers, with rhetoricians, with those introducing
the poets to the souls of youth, and you had to persevere in struggling alongside each of these, struggles full of sweat and toil, or else be regarded as a deserter. And so, compelled to be present at their assemblies and led by them to the first place, you resisted and turned away with embarrassment and loud protestation. But they would not permit this at all, and dragged you on to the highest chair. As you endeavored to escape once again from the hands of those pushing you forward, you were just short of running the risk of suffering that for which you would readily have exchanged death itself, for you resembled a man who had committed some horrible crime and was trying to escape punishment. Now, both are evil, and it is not easy to judge which of the two is worse.
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Realizing, indeed, that unjust blame was being inflicted on you, a blame for which you did not bear the remotest responsibility, you determined
to bear it meekly, preferring reality to appearance. In that way, you might seem to have committed some accidental fault in the eyes of men who were deceived about you. But acting as you did, you showed yourself a man of truly noble character to those who knew you, and to your genuine exaltation of soul was joined a modesty in manner. For noble men the mere appearance of being evil is more shameful than for evildoers to be such in reality. But you have always loved what is appropriate and despised what is improper, no matter how profitable it might be for you. Thus, you do everything at the proper time, thus you were pursued by honors, and thus, out of respect for your elders and friends whom you had as teachers and whom you addressed as fathers, you avoided being honored prematurely. For it would be terrible,
you thought, terrible for you, who taught others to observe proper order, to be seen doing just the opposite, and for a boy who was being taught his lessons yesterday and the day before to be seated high above men with white hair, beards, and staffs. But still, you were not able to overcome the insistence of so many people, and out of weariness you gave in; you were quite right in doing so, by the way, since it was not the best course to persist in refusing, nor did it seem at all proper in fleeing from fame to insult those who wanted to honor you. So, granting what was proper to them as well as to yourself, you did comply at last, although you gave the impression of being in headlong flight. Then, on returning home you did not give yourself up to luxury as you
could have, and you rejected the relaxation you could have indulged in. Instead, you toiled at those tasks which befitted a pupil of Hermes,3 and you
continued living your life with Plato and Demosthenes, and briefly you concentrated on those disciplines on which a good mind would pride itself. After having attained such a level of education as you might have prayed for, you confidently employed your skill, and your worthy speech added splendor to our fatherland and its citizens. For you thought it neither good nor holy to conceal your superior qualities in silence and to be regarded as ungrateful toward your country and its children who so vehemently love you; rather, you have been fulfilling your obligation to it, both by being
what you are and by serving as a model for your contemporaries in the acquiring of what is truly good. In addition, you had the most beautiful manner of planting the flower of literature, as one might say, in the souls of youth with great gentleness by a concise method which you yourself had discovered after much toil. Further-
more, you were involved in other matters you knew would benefit our country, defending the laws whenever they were attacked, giving advice whenever it was needed, and providing firm support to certain persons who
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were oppressed by a swarm of unspeakably difficult problems. Somehow you managed to hold together a mind unstrung by a multitude of preoccupations, and you provided strength to a spirit despairing in the protracted struggle against terrible forces 4 And, in general, when everything was cast down or just about to fall, you did all you could to straighten it up, offering grounds for more excellent hopes, and in your own writings arguing that evil is but transient, and that being unable, as Plato says,5 either to reach to the heavens or to perish, it must wander about this mortal world; that nobody is always above evil, and nobody is always and constantly tried by it. For its state, it seems, is never to be stationary or, you could say, never without movement. Undoubtedly, then, the good is the exact opposite of evil, and it is impossible for opposites to join together. What is especially to your credit is that you were accomplishing all this in the city,6 which could justly be termed the Mother of Rhetoricians, or rather, the fount of literature in fact and in appearance. Made fruitful
by the sagacity and seriousness of her inhabitants, she has always had numerous offspring of this sort. These men, knowing that their fathers, their fathers' fathers, and even their more remote ancestors were lovers of literature and glory, imitated their ways. They could not bear to think that they might be inferior to their forefathers, whose prayers, because of their descendents' inferiority, might come to naught. They believed it would be most shameful if the praise bestowed on their own ancestors were measured by the shoddiness of their sons, and that it would be a far worse evil for the sons to be less distinguished than their fathers than for an Olympic contender to he defeated by the strength of his opponent. Indeed, these men, engrossed
in learning the highest of noble subjects, expended their lives and their substance in the pursuit of this, and steadfastly drinking of the bitter root of education they then gathered in its fruits, delectable for their noble qualities. You, an ardent admirer of these, have surpassed those whom you admired.
It is clear that you are another Erginus-the example is now becoining more obvious-since you displayed the qualities of the elderly in your youth. But that prodigy of your youth, while certainly extraordinary, is by no niean.s to be revered; everything inseparably connected with your natural gifts is extremely enviable and a cause of wonderment. That prodigy, though, does not imply any virtue of body or soul, for it comes about of its Own accord, whereas what you have since achieved, the result of toil and gives proof of a real man and bears witness to a soul brimming over with virtue, always preferring better things to lesser, condemning ease and praisin,c har,l work. That wonder, moreover, disappears with old age. Who wonl,l marvel at white hair on an old man? In your case, however, the wonder no less now than before, for having arrived at such an advanced is agr Vii have not passed your prime in literary composition. The letter you hug
nr « sent to us makes this clear, charming as it is with the bloom of
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artistic beauty and its overwhelming power of persuasion. If this letter of yours had not been so full of your magic spells and of
such great compelling power, it would not have persuaded me to reply immediately upon receiving it at a time when I was surrounded by so many things to do and after I had convinced myself that there was another time for writing, while the present called only for deeds. But now the voice of the teacher is a piercing goad, the beauty in his letter a magnet attracting the iron, the gracefulness flowing through it all an invitation to imitate it; its forcefulness became an exacting tyrant commanding and compelling us to write immediately, as you can imagine. At any rate, it permitted no delay, and, for many reasons, it was neither possible nor proper to disobey. I rose, then, from my chair, for at the moment your letter was read to me I was seated there in the presence of a large number of people; I left more quickly than usual, and as soon as I got inside I started writing. You would have received this letter long before this if your own letter more than anything else had not become a hindrance to my hand. Of course, I am well aware that the contradiction in this statement, taken as it stands, would be puzzling to anyone who heard it, for it surely seems like a riddle to say that your letter was at the same time an invitation and a sort of hindrance. The truth of the matter is this : looking at your letter I seemed to be looking at you, its author, at the same time, and my mind formed an image of your character, and at the seeming vision of the one I love my hand understandably became motionless, so that the vision was both an enchantment and an obstacle. But the enchantment prevailed, and the obstacle did not prove to be absolute. Furthermore, you appeared to the eyes of my mind quietly with that pleasant smile of yours trying to guess from my expression, as has always been your wont, whether I wanted you to recite something from my favorite writings. They would be instructive, too, those writings composed by men who are distinguished in works of distinction, whose virtuous ways keep their names alive to the present and will rightly keep them alive forever, since virtue is immortal. Then you seemed to take hold of your accustomed method of instruction, and your speech was not devoid of pleasantry. I imagined that you were also doing this, asking a question and skillfully discussing it with a great deal of charm and without a trace of arguing, then, when others were at a loss, again being there to offer a solution. This, indeed, was your habitual way of doing things, which became my usual fare. These thoughts made me long to get together with this wise man and to converse with him, grasp his hand and hold tightly to him until he should share with me some of the ideas he has treasured up, which he might not share with everyone. This was my quite understandable reaction to your letter. For words are images of the soul; a passionate lover cannot look at them without also desiring the prototype of his love. In fact, this is the main point of my letter, that is, to write: write no longer, but, as they say, run
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here with all speed.' Now, at the very least, be assured that when you come here to us after so many years you will look upon a face quite dear to you, and at the same time provide us with an equal pleasure. Of course, I am saying this in assuming that you are not suffering from any bodily impediment, and that no external obstacle should stand in your way; I shall not speak of old age in case that term should offend you who, it is said, still give evidence of vigorous health. Yet what could I possibly say that would not be pleasing to you? For to one who knows how to be a friend, even the jibe of a friend is pleasant. So now, with feet growing old run here as quickly as possible. You will, for one thing, show yourself as a man ready to obey; for another, as a real lover who knows just when to stay still and when to move, who avoids what is too hasty but also hates what is too slow, who knows well what is the exact opposite of wickedness.
I think that if you yield to my request, you will not encounter any difficulty. In fact, quite the contrary, as soon as you leave the citys and take the road leading here, you will see how pleasant it is; whether you ride or stop and get off your horse and refresh yourself at the cool springs, and when you sleep under the shade of the leaves rustling above and whispering something pleasant as they are blown by the breeze. Everyone would say that
the most wonderful lot has fallen to you, and that as a result, the most wonderful things have swiftly come together, those I have just described and others far superior. For you will have left the city in peace; it is not lacking any necessities; it is not deprived of anything which a flourishing city might enjoy; it already possesses great things and hopes for greater, and even these it regards as small compared to the still greater things hoped for. For it has an excellent charioteer who knows how to drive a chariot and a pilot seated at the tiller at whose nod all obey, which more than anything
else is needed to keep a ship afloat.9 Not only that, but the fact that the road is clear of bandits is not a small thing; equally important now is that the season, or if you wish, the best of seasons, the queen, some wonderful man might term it, is able to furnish things from her own storehouse. Right now she will present you with rivers so wild and swollen as to be navigable, so calm as to allow horses to ford them without having to swim, a road free of swamps, clouds of dust, cold, burning heat, and slippery mud. For this season, being temperate, avoids those conditions which could cause distress. And what will you think, tell me, of the wide variety of flowers, beds of violets, lilies, rosebushes, and many others like these, gratifying one's sense of smell
with their own natural and inimitable fragrance? For whatever is not contrived is clearly superior to something artificially prepared in imitation of it. Bear in mind, too, the pleasant grass, gleaming like emeralds, providing
abundant nourishment for the flocks, a brilliant feast for the eyes and a soft bedding for weary bodies; the plain stretching into the distance, the nurse of herds of beasts which bound about, run, contend with one another
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as though they were doing everything deliberately in order to escort wayfarers along in good spirits. We could also mention the springs, the wells, the water bubbling up from the rocks, and the limpid, racing stream which seems deep as it reflects the vault of the clear sky. You can see some fish feeding in the pools of the streams and at times leaping above the surface of the water to catch insects. How could you not long for such a feast? All of this gives great joy and pleasure. Then too, whenever you call to mind some of the sweet-singing birds, swallows, nightingales, blackbirds, jays, and many others chirping on all sides, you will prick up your ears; you will call people in the country extreme-
ly happy, and you will just about commiserate with those who stay at home in the spring. Indeed, spring, the source of all this, will furnish still other pleasures for you; such as the trees standing tall, covered with leaves of green, a pleasing sight, and at the same time beating off the strong rays of the sun with their thick foliage. The manner in which the trees allow the sun to shine gently upon whomever its rays fall is beneficial in all respects, for they permit it to spread its warmth in moderation and prevent the discomfort caused by excessive exposure. But your happiness certainly will not stop here for, in addition, the fruits which plants bring forth in spring will become your fare, and edible herbs will present you with an unexpected repast. People should not think, however, that we are writing a work in praise
of our teacher and a description of the lovely spring rather than a letter, for it was not my intention to do this; but out of love for the former and out
of joy in the latter, I raced on and then found I could not quickly turn around, since I was held back by love for both. So that we might not wander too far off the right path, therefore, I shall say only this much and be done. The queen of seasons will fill all your senses with discreet pleasure; she alone must be blamed for what I have written; she must be deeply loved, and she must be warmly thanked because of her many charms. She herself, in sum,
will gratify you to the utmost on your journey here, and she will be your gentle guide on your return home; she will safely return the joyful citizen to the joyful city, where he will sing a hymn of thanks to the emperor.10 For he makes it resplendent both by his presence and by maintaining it in peace through his daily concern. He also causes it to flourish anew with the laws and customs of the Romans by which the city had been ruled before it was subjected to barbarian servitude like a body decrepit with age.11 This gives me a twofold cause for gladness: the city dear to me is prospering and the one effecting this prosperity is also most dear to me. If indeed you should have Chrysoloras as a traveling companion-for I hear he intends to come here-a man who knows how to speak, how to be silent, how to act, how to relax, even how to be a bit playful, and all at the
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proper time and with reason, Hercules, how happy you will be in his company!12 Everyone would say that good and favorable fortune has become your lifelong companion. Indeed, this is what I previously alluded to, for without this good fortune everything would not go so smoothly for you. I know I have stretched out this letter too long, and I would like to ask pardon if there should be any criticism. Still, perhaps something not completely unreasonable was said, but it seems more fitting to entrust any dispute about this to you, and so I think I should stop now. Defend me, if need be, before all men, so that you do not have to be punished for our failings. For I believe you could rightly say, if this letter should be applauded, that you were the first to enjoy it; whereas if the opposite occurs and it is poorly received, it is you they will laugh at, since more than anyone else it was you who provided us with the seed of writing, and so either you did not do a good job of sowing good seed, or you did not sow it where you should have sown it or when you should have, or somehow or other you did a poor job of providing that seed. Let me also address myself to those who criticize lengthy letters, who regard as sheer nonsense every excusing circum-
stance which a person who has not written most laconically might put forth. I should have written frequently to the man who set me on the path of writing, but I have not done so at all; I was prevented, alas, by calamities which befell all of us. But now the most ruinous fate has passed on, and we can make our thoughts known to each other. As a form of compensation, therefore, one must send many letters to him who has received none at all for so many years. It follows that by writing so many, when I could write even more numerous and more lengthy ones, I err on the side of conciseness; if this is the case, then those people would be in the wrong who would accuse the present letter of excessive length.
1 The reference to the Emperor in the city and its recovery from barbarian servitude (lines 219-25) make it certain that this letter was written while John VII ruled in Thessalonica from 1403 to 1408. Since he settled there in the fall of 1403, the references to spring place it in 1404 at the earliest. 2 Erginus, one of the Argonauts, the son of Clymenus, was ridiculed by the women of Lemnos because, although young, his hair was white, yet he won the foot race in full armor: Pindar, Olympian Odes, 4, 19-28; see also Scholia vetera in Pindari carmina, ed. A. B. Drachmann, I (Leipzig, 1953), 135-37. Libanius (Epist. 300, 3) compliments one of his correspondents: "not because what befell Erginus, the white hair in youth, also befell you, but because you lived in an adult manner before you left childhood." A student of oratory. Most probably this refers to the support given by Ivankos to Manuel during his ill-fated reign in Thessalonica, 1382-1387. e Tlaeaetetus, 176 a.
a Apparently Thessalonica, which had indeed produced a long line of literary men and rhetoricians, including two of Manuel's teachers, Ivankos and Cydones. There is no record of Manuel's being away from Constantinople from mid-1403 to 1408, yet it is clear that this letter was written in the countryside not far from Thessa-
135
45
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45: 2: Pindarus, Otymp., 4, 19-28; Paroem. gr. II, 421; cf. Libanium, epist. 300, 3.
14: Macarius, Prov. 2, 18: Paroem. gr. II, 145, et alibi. 149-50: Michael Apost., Prov. 12, 63: Paroem. gr. II, 557.
76: Plato, Theaet., 176a. 154: Plato, Leges, 840b.
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lonica; for he invites Ivankos to visit him for the afternoon and he hopes that Demetrius Chrysoloras will be able to join them. 8 Thessalonica.
8 John VII Palaeologus, emperor in Thessalonica, 1403-1408. 18 John VII Palaeologus. 11 Thessalonica was under Turkish rule from April 1387 to mid-summer 1402. 12 Whether Demetrius Chrysoloras intended to visit Manuel privately or on official business is not clear, but about 1407 he did travel to Constantinople on behalf of John VII: DSlger, Kaiserregesten, 3207, p. 77.
136
46, 47
46. To Demetrius Chrysoloras' Thessalonica Constantinople, 1403-1408
As I set out to praise you for your ethopoeia, I had a thought which held me back. It was this: I did not want it to look as though I were making such praise apply to myself. As a lover, you admired the person whom you love, myself, and for me to praise the literary ability of the one who employed that ability to admire me would be to praise myself. Still, since it was love that carried you away, the composition was worked out in collaboration with the Muses. I decided, then, that I should remark on the excellence of your writing in all brevity, and I say: they are your offspring. Let this be their adornment; indeed, it is adornment enough for the sons of heroes to hear just this, namely, who they are. Others, though, will criticize you for being extravagant in your praises, which, if you listen to me, you should curtail.
1 This letter, too, probably belongs to the period of Chrysoloras' service in Thessalonica, 1403-1408. The ethopoeia or character delineation composed by Chrysoloras cannot be more precisely identified.
47. To Potames' Constantinople, 1403-1408
I would have praised your writing-since I did marvel at its beauty
and power-if I did not disbelieve what you wrote. For regarding the praises bestowed on me with which your work was filled, I would rather trust myself than you and all other men. Now, as it would be right for me to distrust myself if I should admire my own qualities, so it would also be right to trust myself, rather than all others, when I find fault with them. If you will pay any heed to me, therefore, continue to write and gladden
us by the writing itself, for I would gladly listen to whatever you, a man adorned with wisdom and intelligence, might say. But spare the praises, as we also counsel Chrysoloras, who knows the meaning of friendship.
1 The reference to Chrysoloras' praises of Manuel place this letter in the context of Letters 46 and 48 and in the same period, 1403-1408.
137
46, 47
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47: B f. 82V.
138
48
48. To Demetrius Chrysoloras' Thessalonica Constantinople, 1403-1408
Do not spend your old age making unjust accusations, especially when it concerns someone very dear to you, for you never did this when you were young, neither to an enemy nor to a friend, nor could you bear taking refuge in silence when anyone else did this terrible thing. What has brought about such a change ? What has convinced you to distort your character or your principles? Will you not confess your wrong? Will you not make amends yourself? By God, be yourself the judge. If you are not proven to be a sycophant, may I be declared one and be guilty of the very thing of which I am accusing you. Did I, who cherish your writing more than the miser his gold, order you
to be silent? How can it be? Who would believe it? Who would say this when he knew the truth? But if, in fact, you interpret our advice-which I thought was good advice-not to overdo your praises of us as an order to be silent, then you are mistaken. The mere elmination of this particular subject does not make it impossible for a person who wishes to write letters to find other subjects. Your excessive praises, which are those of a lover, will not move me to forget myself. For it is generally agreed that the testimony given by lovers in favor of their loved ones is inadmissible in court, and that the vote they cast does not count. Now, in my own affairs I would not accept anyone as more trustworthy than myself, and so I would be ashamed for both of us if you should marvel at me for things which ought not to be cause for marvel. The sort of thing, therefore, which you have been accustomed to say about us, say no longer. For those things have vanished, along with those excellent men and emperors whose names have not been buried by time, which consigns everything to oblivion-we would love to see even a slight trace of their virtue. But continue to write and gladden us in two ways: by the writing itself and by writing about such topics as will not make us blush or make you appear to be suffering from a lack of perception induced by a love charm. 1 Undoubtedly written about the same time, 1403-1408, as the two preceding letters,
this might well have been written in reply to Chrysoloras' response, no longer extant, to Manuel's Letter 46.
139
48
48. Tip Xpuaoawpa xupip A-%Lj- pEp M auxop&vrEL YEY7jPax6S xoct rauT& COL µ4acL cpLXovpevov, 8S o68' Ev vc6' n c TOO nenotrjxocq ouBE npoS EX8 p6v (aYjrot yLXov, o68' &AAou ye notouvroS To BeLVov %uToc Y'jv&axou aLyj xa),6 ou. Tt ra 5 rotoc6TIv r'jv puaLv e'pyaa&p,evov; rE To neiaav napa npoatpeaLV; o6x oµoaoyijastS T&Stx w.a; ou 8txrjv au ye X aauTOU; np64 OEou, yevou xat EEL (L. 8UXSth c auxopavr6v, ELYjV Eywye T05T0 np4TTWV, x&xetvw cpavepwS &Xo6S ou as vuv ypa96µE&x.
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48: B f. 82V-83.
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140
49
49. To Manuel Chrysolorasl Northern Italy Constantinople, 1407-1408
The letter you wrote came from your soul. It suffices to say this rather than words of highest praise. If it be granted that you are a good man, which
no one will deny; that, as the saying goes: "Excellent things come from excellent men" ;2 and that the letter read was your child, how could it not be necessarily and completely good? As you know, a person intending to praise a painting could limit himself to remarking that it was done by Apelles.3 And so, as I said, it is enough merely to state that the letter is yours and this will bring about praise of it. Skaranos, now, has a good mind, and he has good experience in those tasks he has been assigned to do.4 What remains is for him to be willing, so that, if he should be, your kinsman and friend would then be the best among the ministers both of his fatherland and of his lord .5 At any rate, you know that such men find it smooth sailing here with us, and rightly so. But what
you ask that we do for him involves two things, neither of which is easy, and he himself knows this better than anyone else, since he is our financial official and is well aware of our straits.' But for your sake one of the requests, and that the more important one, will be granted to him now, while the other will probably be granted later on, and the time in between should not cause him any harm since he possesses my good favor. 1 Although it contains no clear chronological data, its place in the collection would locate this letter about 1407-1408. 2 Theognis, I, 35. S The famous painter of antiquity. 4 On Skaranos, see p. lvii. Perhaps his assignment had to do with the estate of John Lascaris Kalopheros (died 1392), of which he seems to have been the executor. 6 Lord (Ssan6r, ) must here refer to Manuel himself, or possibly to the deceased Kalopheros. It is certainly not a reference to the despot in the Morea, as suggested by Barker (Manuel 11, 277 note 133), who also translates the second part of this letter. 6 His office apparently was similar to that of treasurer, comptroller, or auditor of the court: see p. lviii. The two requests are unknown.
141
49
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142
50
50. To Demetrius Chrysoloras Thessalonica Constantinople, 1407-1408
"I am convinced that you must not have much to do, for otherwise you would not find so much leisure for writing letters,"1 especially for sending
so many almost at the same time, all of them quite outstanding, all quite lengthy, just as beautiful as they are long, not without your customary playfulness, and, what is most difficult of all, treating of a subject intrinsically ignoble and not funny at all. For the bite of a miserable little insect has become the theme of your letters, more in jest, I suspect, than in anger.2 This sample of yours gives further evidence of your ability to speak with abundance, beauty, and power, and your momentary suffering resulted in a superior product. As for myself, just as I shared with you the pain caused
by the insolence of the beast, I rejoice with you right now, as you can imagine, at the praise you are receiving for your ability to speak in a manner appropriate to any occasion whatever. This is the way you are; whereas Fortune, raging more savagely than the wild beasts, and the evils both at home and abroad appear to you more bearable and to have become completely transformed and more auspicious, or at least to have somewhat abated and calmed down. The sure sign of this is the very amount of writing, the arrangement of the words and an elegance noticeable throughout your work, all of which is possible only with a certain
degree of leisure and tranquillity. But as for us, this letter by itself bears witness to how busy we are, for in other circumstances I would never have decided to steal the beginning of another letter simply to make it easier to connect that beginning with what would follow as I went on.3 Actually, I did not employ the word properly, for it is not stealing to make some use of the writings of the common teachers, but justified borrowing, nor can those works be regarded as another's property which the author had given to belong to everyone. Like a public well, those men offered themselves and the
results of their efforts to everyone, so that those drinking from it are not thieves, but fulfill the very purpose for which the well had been dug. If I really hit the mark, however, in believing that you had withdrawn
from practical occupations and that you were keeping aloof from their turbulence when you sent those admirable letters, it would be clear that it is you who are really worthy of admiration. What is completely good does not lose that quality for lack of obstacles on its way to becoming good. "If, on the other hand, that is false, and you do have much to do, still you manage to do both."4 Look, again I have indulged in stealing something to which I am entitled. But you, while carrying out your duties, keep writing as though
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50, 55
you apportioned your time for this alone, and though you are serious in your writing you are full of humor-how could it be otherwise-and habi-
tually laugh in the face of troubles, which of course reveals the cheerful side of your soul. If, then, in the face of so many obstacles you are able to continue
with ease to produce writings which another person could hardly do with sweat and much time, what would you be like if there were no longer any obstacles? Take the case of Phidias, acknowledged as the greatest of the ancient sculptors. Quite rightly he has always been admired for his skill whenever he fashioned a statue or something else from good, workable material, but we would have more cause for amazement if he showed the same skill with cheap and unyielding material. It follows that you are another Calchas, according to Homer, not, I believe, because of any prophetic gift, but because your writing is "by far the best."5 For if a biting little ape furnished you with material for letters of outstanding form and polished beauty, what in Heaven's name would you have accomplished if you had taken hold of serious material which of itself would provide a starting point for a letter writer? 1 Libanius, Epist. 143. This letter also seems to have been written while Chryso. loras was in Thessalonica, probably about 1407-1408. Demetrius has been sending letters to Manuel regularly from another city where life seems peaceful. The Emperor, however, complains of increasing problems at home and abroad, a reference perhaps to the death of his brother Theodore in the Morea in 1407 and to the conflict between the Turkish princes. 2 The still unedited composition of Demetrius dealing with the bite of a flea is found in two manuscripts, one in the Escorial and the other in Madrid. It is entitled: "Encomium you Xpuaae pa Too veaci ovof a Flea by Demetrius Chrysoloras the Mesazon," ToS 6)a-j6 iyx6 iiov. Inc. 'FUAAa w6v kaa an&vTwv aenv6Tepov: cod. Scorial. gr. 164 (T. 111. 4), fols. 107-110v; cod. Matrit. gr. 19.193, fols. 89-104. The title indicates that he wrote it while mesazon in Thessalonica, 1403-1408.
' Manuel "stole" the beginning of this letter and another line further on directly from Letter 143 of Libanius to Priscian, in which he praises him for being equally at home with the Muses and with Justice. 4 Libanius, Epist. 143.
'Homer, Iliad, 1, 69.
51. To the Priest Euthymius, later Patriarch of Constantinople' Constantinople
The Morea (?), summer-/all 1408
You have been my friend, one of the best, I am sure, and you will always remain one. As for myself, nothing pleases me more than writing to my friends, for what pleases them also pleases me. I know they are glad
145
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B f. 83°-84.
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43-44: Homerus, It., 1, 69.
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51
whenever they happen to receive a letter from me, however insignificant it be. Even when there is nothing urgent to write about, I still feel compelled to do so. Certainly it is a gracious thing: by this one action we are able to please both our friends and ourselves. For this reason, the amount of work
to be done never held my hand back from writing. Our present concerns, however, are so much more numerous than in the past that I have been unable to write to you for such a long time. It seems that of old the land of Pelops2 was destined to look on its inhabitants' fighting with one another as preferable to peace. And nobody is so simple that in the absence of an occasion provided by his neighbor he cannot fabricate or invent one by himself. Everyone wishes to indulge his nature by making use of arms. If only those people had made use of them where they should, things would have been much better for them.3 And, since I have a detailed knowledge of the entire situation, I regard nothing as more important than their being at peace with one another. These cares have kept me from meals and the proper amount of sleep, and I suppose I have very much neglected the necessities of life.
This is the reason why you have been deprived of my customary letters. And you must bear it meekly; rather, you should be pleased if what has hindered us from writing for your enjoyment should turn out to be a work pleasing to God, and also gratifying to ourselves. For I am gratified by the way in which the matter has been progressing, and I hope that it will be completed in a manner which would be desired by any man who rejoices at the prosperity of his fellow men. Be assured also that everything else is proceeding according to our intentions, and may it continue to do so, as we now have reason to hope from what has already taken place. 1 Theodore I Palaeologus died in Mistra in the summer of 1407, and Manuel's second son Theodore, only about ten years old, was designated to succeed him: see Barker, Manuel II, 272-77; D. A. Zakythinos, Le Despotat grec de Moree, I (Paris, 1932), 164-66.
Both give partial translations of this letter, although Zakythinos (174) dates it to 1415. Manuel was gravely concerned about the situation in the Morea, and about a year later, probably late in the summer of 1408, made a brief visit to the region: see Barker, Manuel 11, 275 note 132; Zakythinos (loc. cit.) does not even mention this visit. After the death of John VII, 22 September 1408, Manuel sailed to Thessalonica, remaining there until December. This letter, then, must have been written in the summer or autumn of 1408, probably before the death of John VII. 2 The Peloponnesus or Morea.
3 That is, if they had fought against their real enemies, the Turks, rather than against one another.
147
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52. To the Metropolitan of Thessalonica, Lord Gabriel' Thessalonica Constantinople, 1408-1410
They say that a peasant from the country once saw the imperial palace and was so struck by its beauty that he came to loathe the hovel in which he was living and set it afire. Of course, this is absolutely absurd; the reasonable way of acting for a man would be not to censure what is his own, should it have some worth, just because what belongs to someone else is far superior. While marvelling at those splendid possessions, he should still be content with his own which are not of the same quality, just as a parent would not hate his own children for being less handsome than those of his neighbors. Well then, my awareness that my own literary ability cannot compare with those who are highly esteemed in this regard will not distress me or make me decide to remain silent. To be sure, I would not inscribe my name in the list of those who enjoy a good reputation in the field of writing. For to
quote Plato, the son of Ariston, "I am not ignorant of Phaedrus."2 So, I would never pay heed to others who want to seduce me into having too high an opinion of my abilities. Yet, it strikes me as very foolish to take the results of our toil which seem to be of some usefulness and completely blot them out simply because they are not absolutely wonderful. What is more, if it should
be made a law, that because there are superior authors the inferior ones should be silent, why then, there would not be one person among the present generation, I believe, who would dare open his mouth in view of the clear
preeminence of the ancients. But this would be most unfortunate. It is certainly a good thing that those who try their hand at writing should strive
with all their might to look to those who have become perfect in the art and take them as their models. But they must also recognize very clearly that they are not attaining that level, and they should feel no shame at all in being surpassed by those men, nor should they find it unbearable that their own writings fall far short of those of Demosthenes, Thucydides, and people like these. For the achievements of the past have flown beyond the grasp of the men of today. Surely, if you place the writings of the ancients beside our modern ones, you will be comparing "gold to bronze."3 For so inferior are our writings today that if it were obligatory either to write as did those disciples of Hermes and the Muses or not to write at all, not one person now living would produce a single word, since it is simply impossible to speak as those men could. But, if we should thus refrain from writing, the fruits of our education will disappear to such an extent that we will not even be able to understand clearly the dogmas which enable us to be truly orthodox.
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With all this in mind, my good friend, I continue to do some writing,
not as much as I ought, but as much as the time permits, in order that I might be an example to my subjects of the love of letters, so that as they mingle so much with barbarians they might not become completely barbarized. From us, then, an offering from the fruit of our labors comes to you .4 And if something worthwhile should be found in it, you may show it to the right people and not keep it to yourself. If, on the other hand, it should be judged as quite worthless, "It will be remedied by the sponge," as Aristides said; and as I say, "Either hand it over to Hephaistus5 or let absolutely no one look at it." But I do not want this to apply to the good Macarius, a really close friend and distinguished for virtue.6 1 This letter was written between summer 1397 and 1416/19, the period of Gabriel's pontificate in Thessalonica; its place in the collection inclines one to date it after Manuel's visit to Thessalonica in autumn-winter 1408 and before autumn 1410. It has also been translated by Barker, Manuel II, 422-23. See R. J. H. Jenkins, "The Hellenistic Origins of Byzantine Literature," DOP, 17 (1963), 46. 8 Phaedrus, 228a.
8 Homer, Iliad, 6, 236. 4 The composition of Manuel which accompanied this letter is most probably his oration, "On Sin and Penance or About St. Mary of Egypt," which is found together with this letter in cod. Vat. gr. 632; both are in the same hand, which differs from the others in
the manuscript. Inc. '0 a6yo5 o5roq 6 vie 6ola4 3;µiv. The oration is on fols.336-3500 and the letter to Gabriel on fols. 350' 351v. The manuscript consists of works of Manuel selected from ten or eleven manuscripts and bound together. Fols. 336-351v are by one hand, distinct from the others, indicating a previous connection between the oration and the letter: see R. Devreesse, Codices Vaticani graeci 604-866 (Vatican City, 1950), pp. 41-42.
5 Burn it. 5 This Macarius has not been identified. The spiritual father of Manuel was named
Macarius, but he was a monk of Xanthopoulos in Constantinople from about 1397 to 1431: see Loenertz, Caldcas, 85.
53. To the Emperor of Trebizond' Trebizond
Constantinople, 1409-1410 (?)
When you requested this book it had not yet been completed, but was still being pieced together, and for this reason it did not come to you right away or even shortly thereafter as we had promised. It certainly ought not to have come half finished; but the delay was caused by the times, not us. Right now, though, it has been completed and has bravely crossed the sea to you. May it correspond to your hopes, and may it prove of some usefulness for this life. This it may very well do if you concentrate solely on the thoughts
contained in the work and seek nothing further. But if you scrutinize the
151
52,53
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52: 2-4: locum non inveni. ii., 6, 236; Plato, Convivium, 219a.
12: Plato, Phaedrus, 228a.
26: Homers,
38-39: XLVII Ad Cepitonenn, 2, 419.
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152
53, 54
arrangement of ideas or expect precision in the choice of words or, in general, any of those graceful, stylistic elements which an essay of this sort might be expected to present, then it might, I fear, impress you as "empty bliss," and you may proclaim : "Our treasures have turned to ashes."2 Yet do not wonder why I am sending this work of mine to you, if I have such an opinion of it;
I do so because in my desire to please you, I have decided against what might have been the better choice. 1 Its place in the collection would date this letter to the years 1409-1410. The emperor of Trebizond was Manuel III Comnenus, who ruled from 1390 to 1417: see W. Miller, Trebizond, the Last Greek Empire (London, 1926; new ed. by A. C. Bandy, Chicago, 1969), 71-79. The work sent to him by Manuel is not specified, but it was lengthy enough to be called a book ((3c(3XLov), perhaps a collection of essays or orations. 2 Common Byzantine proverb.
54. To the Priest Euthymiusl Constantinople Constantinople, 1409
The present work is the child of both of us-it is yours and mine-not only because "friends share their possessions," but also because it belongs almost as much to you as it does to me.2 While I gave birth to it, you it was who helped it grow by adding your ideas. Now if a being, once born, must be provided with nourishment if it is to survive, then its ownership is shared both by the one who has brought it into being and by the one who raises it. You may therefore do what seems best for it just as I would. At your discretion add or remove whatever you wish.3 1 There is some confusion regarding the date of this letter. Euthymius was consecrated as patriarch on 26 October 1410: V. Laurent, "Les dates du patriarchat d'Euthyme II de Constantinople," BZ, 54 (1962), 332. In the Paris manuscript the letter is addressed to the Patriarch Lord Euthyrnius, tcp icazpiapxp xupy, E d)i lu, which was copied into the Barberinus graecus 219 (E63uµlc 'rw naTpc&px-r,), whereas the cod. Vat. gr. 1879 has simply, To the Priest Lord Euthymius, -ry nanaxupc;r Eu,4uµly, which reading is followed in this edition. Vat. gr. 1879 contains a copy of the work sent along with this letter, the letter itself and the reply of Euthymius. This literary grouping seems to reflect the original and more authentic state of these writings. The entire collection of Manuel's letters was put together long after Euthyrnius had been named patriarch, in fact, after his death. This letter was then copied into the Paris manuscript independently of Manuel's composition and Euthymius' letter, and either by mistake or by accident, or simply because the editor (Manuel probably) could not recall whether the original had been written before or after Euthymius became patriarch, was addressed to him with this title. Furthermore, the following letter (55) appears to have been written in 1409; so the basic chronological arrangement of the letters would also place this one in 1409, and certainly before 26 October 1410.
153
53, 54
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53: 11-12: Lucianus, Hermotimus, 71; Navigium, 11; Paroem. gr. I, 32.
nobius, Prov. 2, 1: Paroem. gr. I, 32. B f. 85v.
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gr. I, 106, et alibi. B f. 85v; cod. Vat. gr. 1879, f. 328-328v (= Va).
1 inscriptio ex Va: TW 7rarpL&p7.71 xvpii E64&UIIICp P, EUi}uu[(,) TW nccTpL&pX11 B II ve' P 113-4 6a7rep eµOl Va 11 6 1SeaT4: EZ6V V IL
a The work which Manuel attributes as much to Euthymius as to himself is the Ernperor's decision or clarification (aagilveLa) in a debate between Demetrius Chrysoloras and Antonio d'Ascoli on the question: If it is better to be than not to be, how could Christ say of Judas that it would be better for him if he had not been born (Matthew 26:24) ? Inc. TauTi oXe86v w 7rap6vTes. This still unpublished work is not listed by Berger de Xivrey or by Petit. It is found together with the statement of Chrysoloras (inc. aoL ws sTretS To ov) and the reply of d'Ascoli (inc. "Iaws &Xprv (Le ao¢:;olaE'+c;i a(JL) in cod. Vat. gr. 1879, fols. 322-28, along with the letters of Manuel and Euthymius. It exists without these two letters in a richly bound manuscript of Grottaferrata, manuscript it gift of (51rdina0 of the Bessarion to the monastery, coil. Crypten. Z.S.I., fols. 82-89v; and in a de Macaire hlaeri's et Collegio Greco in Rome, cod. 11, fols. 59-93v: see Loenertz, "Ecrits de Manuel Paldologue," 193 (= ByzFrOr, I, 78-79); Barker, Dlanuel II, 5I9-20. 'l'hceu
154
54, 55
works are listed in the cod. Vindobor. phil. gr. 98, but have long since disappeared from it: P. Lambeck and A. F. Kollar, Commentariorum de augustissima bibliotheca Caeearea Vindobonensi libri octo, VII (Vienna, 1781), 337-40. In the cod. Vat. Urbin. gr. 80 there have
been inserted two pages (fols. 8-9v), not part of the original manuscript, which contain the decision of an emperor on the same question (inc. 'Eµol 8oxouaLv of rrepl ro5 g,6vou ).6yovrec & ep6&repo4), followed by two letters concerning the decision. The first begins:
Hjnoµpas µiv au.rb5 hµiv rev aav a6yov, c",) paaraeu, ebcpp&v= re µ& v 5µou xal nL kiaoa (ioua6µevoc. The second is the same as that in the Vat. gr. 1879, which begins: T6v a6yov ,ro5sov, &pLare (iaaLaeu. These pages are covered with poorly written corrections, appar-
ently by Euthymius himself, and must be, as Mercati has pointed out, the first draft of Manuel's decision in the debate, a draft of Euthymius' reply and its final version: G. Mercati, Notizie di Procoro e Demetrio Cidone, 517 note 1. 8 The answer of Euthymius, addressed to My Lord the Emperor, is published infra
(Appendix, p. 221) from the cod. Vat. gr. 1879. In it Euthymius disclaims any credit for this valuable judgment of Manuel, which he praises for its power, its clarity, its charm, and the truths it contains. He knew it was the Emperor's legitimate offspring (yv c ov ylvviwr , Manuel: bykvv)1aa Iyd), and he knew the nature of the one who had brought it into being (puaty tou (p6aav ros, Manuel: cp6wa ... r jS puaavn). He marvelled at its brilliance. Finally, he cannot find anything to add or to remove, nor does he think anyone else will ij &p p6aews, Manuel: rrpoari&e4 xal &pa(pet). be able to do so
55. To Manuel Chrysolorasl Western Europe Constantinople, 1409
I was, of course, pleased to receive your letter, for there is surely nothing of yours which is not pleasing to me. I opened it right away and read it-I had reason to expect it to contain such news as would lighten my terrible burdens. But on quickly reading through it I was distressed, as you can imagine, and I declared everything in it to be but "empty bliss," and this is what all of us have suspected for quite some time. It contained nothing at all of what we were hoping for. And even great promises would not have been enough. For now there is need of deeds which will bring help, and not of
words and promises which have been the usual thing for so long. When a person is at the critical point of his illness, and such is now our condition, he needs medicines able to cure him and not excellent promises which always involve putting things off.
But as to what you claim was said by the exalted ruler, whose very position enables him, or if you wish, whose rank demands that he both manifest concern and provide for all needs, this rather lessens than increases our good hopes. For that explanation of yours, I mean that conditions there still need to be arranged better, will not excuse him for having done nothing whatsoever regarding what was needed. While it may be true that his own waves of trouble have not completely subsided, his present state is like an unbroken calm compared with the storms and tempest he previously endured.
54, 55
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156
55
And, I think, he should at the very least have been willing to show in small and quite easy ways that he had the intention of fending off the threatening enemies of our common faith when the time was right.2 A small contribution from him would certainly seem considerable to us, partly because our circumstances have become altogether straitened, partly because people would see it as a sign of better things to follow, and finally because it would inject an element of conjecture into the calculations of the enemy. For I suspect that this would not be so much an encouragement for us as an arrow aimed at them. The fact that for such a long time no aid of any sort, not even late in the day, has come from anywhere to help us in our troubles leads the enemy
to the utmost boldness against us; in like manner, opposite actions will bring about opposite results. I could have drawn out this letter, but in writing to a man like you, it suffices to say just so much. I know well that you will give thought to the means by which some succor might be sent to us from there at the right time, for nothing, no matter how fine, is of any help when it comes too late. But if-may it not come about-we should be cheated of our hopes, at least bring yourself back and give yourself to your fatherland and to the one who loves you, I mean to myself; and this will surely be no small thing for us. 1 The two major problems involved in interpreting this letter are closely connected: its date and the identity of the exalted ruler (-riv dixpov &pxov ra). The preceding letter was written in 1409-1410 (before 26 October), and the following letter can be dated to the end of 1409 or early January 1410. Its position, then, would place this letter sometime in 1409.
In this case the exalted ruler is most probably King Henry IV of England, for it was precisely in 1409 that Chrysoloras visited London as the Emperor's ambassador. He could have written this discouraging report while still in England or on his way from there to Spain. On his itinerary during 1407-1413, see Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, 143-59; also
Barker, Manuel II, 263-71, who translates this letter on pp. 266-67 and discusses it further on pp. 519-24. Manuel gives an accurate assessment of Henry's circumstances at the time, for, while he was never without difficulties, he had overcome the major threats to his rule. It is not clear why he uses the term "exalted," unless lie is simply being sarcastic. The term, ruler (&pgo v), is a general one employed by Manuel for Turkish emirs (Letter 16: 60, 99), for himself (44:55) and once, coincidentally, precisely for Henry IV (38:20). If this letter is not in chronological order, it would have to be dated before 15 April 1415, the date of Chrysoloras' death, and probably before 5 July 1413, the date of Mechmed's victory over Musa, which ended any immediate Turkish threat to Byzantium. The other rulers whom Chrysoloras visited do not seem to fit the description in Manuel's letter. In 1408 Chrysoloras was in Paris, but it is not known whether he spoke with King Charles VI, who in any case was quite insane by this time: Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, 146. Chrysoloras was given a letter of accreditation by Manuel to King Martin I of Aragon dated 23 October 1407, which was concerned only with relics, but he does not seem to have arrived there until early in 1410, the year in which Martin died. The letter is published in A. Rubio i Lluch, Diplomatari ale l'Orient Cataliz (Barcelona, 1947), no. 694, pp. 716-18. Rubio i Lluch also refers to a document of 7 April 1407 attesting to Chrysoloras' presence in Catalonia, but this is difficult to reconcile with other extant data. In fact, a visit of Chrysoloras to Spain cannot be clearly proven: Cammelli, Manuele Criso-
157
55
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xat Tout' p-Lv 06 r Lxp6v. 56: 5: Lucianus, Hermotinrus, 71; Navigium, 11.
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lora, 147. The other candidate put forth is Sigismund, King of Hungary, but Chrysoloras
did not visit him before 13 October 1414, and the negotiations were concerned with ecclesiastical union and the coming Council of Constance: Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, 162-63; Barker, MM2anuel 11, 522-23. Finally, there is the pope. From about May of 1410 until his death in 1415 Chrysoloras spent a good deal of time at the court of Pope John
XXIII: Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, 147-65. He carried on negotiations concerning union of the churches and military aid against the Turks, but by August 1413 realized that it was a complete waste of time: ibid., 145. Still, one has the impression that Manuel does
not refer to a pope, particularly John XXIII, whose troubles were just beginning. It is interesting, though, that Cydoncs applies the term, &pxwv, to Pope Urban V : Letter 39: 15, 29. All things considered, it seems most likely that this letter was written in 1409 and that the ruler in question was King Henry IV of England. 2 This is a clear reference to the conflict between the Turkish princes, Suleyuian, Musa, and Mechmed, which posed a direct threat to Byzantium from 1409 to July 1413: see Barker, Manuel II, 281-88.
158
56
56. To Manuel Chrysoloras
Italy Constantinople, December 1409-January 1410
I am sending you the funeral oration on my brother, which I composed more by weeping than by writing.' If the qualities of the departed were so great that his death would touch a heart of stone-when he left us he took with him the greatest of his possessions, himself and the support he provided -what do you think I suffered in composing this oration? Nor can I write this brief note without tears. It is not possible for me or for others who knew the man well to picture him in our memory without pouring forth a fountain of tears. So excellent was he in every respect. After his departure to God, therefore, I laid down a rule for myself not to attempt any more oratorical works. As a result, those compositions which I was formerly obliged to undertake I left in a more or less half finished state. But I was unable to observe this rule to the end. For my love for my brother was so great that it did not permit me to remain silent and to allow time to consign his noble deeds to oblivion, but as it compelled us to give a eulogy and to lament over him, so it also forced us to recount his deeds in detail, and this clearly means to praise him. For we consider it exactly the same thing to give a detailed account of the life of a good man and by that very fact to adorn him with praises directly. That praise, to be more precise, which the account of a person's deeds evokes is undoubtedly greater than the simple statement that the man in question was brave, intelligent, and possessed of all other virtues. But this booklet comes to you not for mere display, as Apelles and Lysippus showed their works to each other, but in the spirit in which others brought their works to them for correction, paintings to Apelles and statues to Lysippus.2 And the bearer of this work is one whom you cherish above all
others, your nephew, who is also your son and brother by birth, training, and manners.3 He is an excellent man and whenever I give him a command, even by a mere nod, he longs for wings so that he might execute it with all dispatch. This is actually due to you, who yield to nobody among the high officials in being well disposed toward me. You, therefore-it is your duty to help me in every way-erase what is superfluous in the present composition; do not shrink from making changes in it and additions of your own as well; for I know that it stands in need of all these.4 1 Mention of the funeral oration on Theodore and the fact that the nephew of C hrysoloras conveyed it and this letter to Italy enable one to establish the date with some precision. Theodore I Palaeologus died in Mistra in 1407, probably in June: see Barker, 31anuelII, 272 note 126. About a year later Manuel journeyed to the Morea and then to
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56, 57
Thessalonica, returning to Constantinople early in 1409. Probably he did not complete the funeral oration, epitaphios, until some time in 1409, for he speaks of it as of a work recently finished. The bearer of the oration and of this letter, John Chrysoloras, arrived in Bologna on 29 February 1410: Cammelli, Manuele Crisolora, 190-91. He must, then, have left Constantinople, and this letter must have been written in December 1409 or perhaps early January 1410. The lengthy funeral oration on Theodore, A6yoc 'Einr&cpio5, has been edited by S. Lampros, Ilaaaroadyna xal IleaoTrovvriaiax&, 3 (Athens, 1926), 11-119; also in PG, 156, 181-308. A new edition by J. Chrysostomides is in preparation. Manuel had apparently planned to deliver it on the second anniversary of his brother's death, but was prevented from doing so by the Turkish civil wars. Instead, he had it read by the monk, Isidore, later metropolitan of Monemvasia: see references in Barker, Manuel II, 525-27. A shorter version of this oration, apparently revised by Manuel himself, exists in the cod. Scorial. gr. 14 (R-I-14), fols. 257-270. 8 The famous painter and sculptor of antiquity. 8 John Chrysoloras, seep. lvi. Nephew, son, and brother is an expression of affection, just as Manuel speaks of Theodore as his brother, friend, and son (Letter 9).
4 The reply of Chrysoloras, still unedited, is discussed by C. G. Patrinelis, "An Unknown Discourse of Chrysoloras addressed to Manuel II Palaeologus," ORBS, 13 (1972), 497-502.
57. To the Metropolitan of Thessalonica and the Protos of the Holy Mountain' Thessalonica and Mount Athos Constantinople, 1411
People for whom there is no place in the imperial palace or easy access to the rulers roam about seeking someone who will plead on their behalf for whatever they might need. Not only that, but some of them will not converse even with these intermediaries directly, since they do not deem themselves worthy to do so. In fact, I have now come to feel this way myself. For I was distressed because of him who was in debt to us for very many good things and who, on the other hand, gave living proof of very many evils, which turned things upside down, and as a result has, by divine Providence, met
with an end quite worthy of his ways.2 But you know the man from experience, as well as the madness of that person toward everyone. Practically no hope was left for nie and since I myself did not dare to approach the One able to bring salvation, I fled instead to His Mother. And to her I sang a few hynuis, for my conscience did not permit me to speak more boldly. We are sending these hymns to you so that you may convey them to her in a sincere spirit. For we thought it best to make use of mediators to the mediatrix, of you to the Mother of God, since it would not be right for us, defiled with so many evil passions, to plead directly with the Pure One. But if you think it appropriate, arrange that on one day of the week in each of the oratories these suppliant odes be sung until God should grant
56, 57
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162
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us full relief from these horrible dangers and, encouraged by what happens,
we might from a joyful soul sing joyful hymns of thanksgiving. In a way, the present situation seems to resemble the plight of a person who has just been released from a fit of terrible suffering but is afraid that his oppressive affliction might return and finding the body still weak might in all likelihood overcome it more easily. 1 The metropolitan of Thessalonica was Gabriel (1397-1416/19): see p. xlii. The protos of the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos, was probably Simon: see p. lv. The person whose death Manuel laments is described in what appears to be a deliberately obscure sentence. To establish the chronology of this letter, then, it may be better to begin with the hymn the Emperor composed in honor of the Mother of God, which accompanied the letter. This is surely the canon (xavwv napaxX ,cLx6S) "To our most holy Lady, the Mother of God, for aid in the present circumstances." Inc. "Anaaa r&i;ic = 1 XwEa nia-r&v: ed. Legrand, Lettres, 94-102, from the cod. Paris. gr. 3041, fols.104-104v, but with the final two stanzas inverted. It is also found in cod. Crypten. Z.S.I., fols. 72-74V; Collegio Greco, cod. 11, fols. 82-84; cod. Vindob. phil. gr. 252, fols. 60v-61 (incomplete); and was formerly in cod. Vindob. phil. gr. 98. It is published in PG, 156, 107-110. See T. Stratmann, "La Theotokos, premises des justifies," Irdnikon, 27 (1954), 122-41. In this lengthy hymn Manuel calls upon Mary to save God's people from impending disaster and to grant victory to her city. He asks her to drive away "the other hostile Khan (Xay&vov) who horribly threatens your chosen people, as [you did] formerly to his father" (lines 6-10). The rest of the hymn deals with the terrible dangers the Byzantines face and their hopes that, despite their sinfulness, they will be saved by the intercession of Mary. The reference to the Khan, certainly Musa Celebi, and to his father Bajezid, as well as to the hostile army outside the city, clearly place this hymn, and consequently this letter, during Musa's siege of Constantinople in 1411-12. For details, see Barker, Manuel II, 281-88. The duration and the intensity of the siege are not known, but it probably began in the spring of 1411 and may have lasted through the summer of 1412. In fact, this entire sequence of events needs further study. 2 The person whose death distressed Manuel must have been Suleyman Qelebi, Musa's brother. To defend himself against Musa, he had entered into an alliance with the Byzantine emperor, becoming more or less dependent on him. This may be what Manuel means by the one "in debt to us." Because of his support of Suleyman, however, Manuel was drawn into the Turkish civil wars and earned the enmity of Musa. The end, "worthy of his ways," may be meant ironically, for Suleyman was captured and strangled by Musa on 17 February 1411. Shortly afterward Musa laid siege to Constantinople, so that this letter was probably written in the spring of 1411. Exactly how the metropolitan and the protos knew Suleyman "from experience" is not clear, but he had a reputation for being well disposed toward Christians, and they may have had some personal dealings with him. The "madness of that person" (v? v bxelvou µav(av) may be an oblique reference to Musa; it could also be translated as "his [Suleyinan's] vehement love for all," since Manuel elsewhere employs the word in this sense.
163
57
µ&Twv 7rapax?okwmT &7r6 aaOCL xapca'r pious. c 5 vuv 8oxeL 7rwS Ta 7rp&yµoc'r eo.x&vat roZ4 7rept68ou th' 8ewou To"u
&7ralaayZTCL, 8eMaL 8' ouv 6V,( S Ft T6 7rijaav v6a7jlloc, 26 xat a tr Aov E176 T6 awt,a eix6Tws eupav paov a6TOU 57: 8: Euripides, Medea, 410; of. Paroem. gr. I, 47.
B f. 87-87V mut.
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164
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58. To Giorgio Gattilusio on Thasos1 Thasos Thasos, July-September 1414
Clearly you are presumptuous in what you are now doing, for if you knew anything about moderation or, if you will, if you knew yourself at all, you would not undertake things above your station. But then, the facts them-
selves demonstrate that this particular evil becomes so intense in those afflicted by it that it is unnecessary for them to undergo any other punishment than that of living with this sort of illness. Your undertaking has
become as Scylla and Charybdis to you. If you remain within, you are lost, I believe, for you can see that the fortress, which you seized like a tyrant and now occupy, is utterly weak and unable to withstand the siege weapons
outside its gates as well as the continuous action of war. If on the other hand circumstances should force you to come out, you will certainly be saved, but you will have to live in unending shame. The result is that you "set your mouth against the heavens, but your tongue walked through the earth,"2 and your boasting words have come to mean just the opposite of what you intended. i In the Paris manuscript no addressee is given for this letter, and in the Barberini 0&vca. This may originally have read: I'aTEacoui;w, Gattilusio. The first name is not given, but Legrand in his edition of this letter (p. 89) gives the addressee as: rewpytc) raTeaiouTi;p, vlxa aTu-
copy part of the page is torn off, so that it reads: ... Xioi e T(j ev
To Giorgio Gattilusio when he unlawfully seized power over Thasos. Since p&vvec Ti 5q this is not found in the Paris. 3041 from which he copied the letters, one can only assume that he derived it from one of the Avramiotis manuscripts then at his disposition and which have since been lost: see Introduction, p. xxv. It is on this assumption, then, that the Gattilusio on Thasos may be identified as Giorgio. This letter has also been translated by Barker, Manuel II, 299, with some comments. The date of this letter is certain. According to the nearly contemporary testimony of Mazaris, Manuel II sailed from Constantinople on 25 July 1414 with one large ship and five triremes for the island of Thasos, then in a state of rebellion, and spent three months reducing the island to his authority: Journey Into Hades, 177. George Sphrantzes also mentions Manuel's departure in July and his capture of Thasos in September, although he mistakenly gives the year as 1413: Georgios Sphrantzes, Memorii 1401-1477, ed. V. Grecu (Bucharest, 1966), 4, 1, p.4 (= PG, 156, col. 1026b). Manuel then sailed to Thessalonica and on 28 November 1414 informed King Ferdinand I of Aragon that his voyage to the Mores, had been delayed because of the problems on Thasos. Vacavirnus circa recuperationern cuiusdarn nostre inside nominate Thassu, a quodam nostro ernulo occupate, quarn Deo dace recupera-
viiuus et immediate nostram civitatern Salonicharn accessirnus: C. Marinescu, "Manuel II Pali,ologue et lee rois d'Aragon. Commentaire sur quatre lettres inedites en Latin, expddides par in chancellerie byzantine," Academic Ronmaine, Bulletin de la section historique, 11 (1924), 200-1; rep. S. Cirac Estoparian, La union, Manuel II Paleologo y sue recuerdos en Espa,ia (Barcelona, 1952), 69-70; see Dolger, Kaiserregesten, 3343, p. 100. From the text it is clear that the letter was written during the siege of Thasos, that is, between the end of July and the end of September 1414.
165
58
f. 36''
58.
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5 Toaourov baov µ'18e 8e oo. TourouS e1C6pocv 8&x-qv 8&86vaL'1 T6 avvoLxov gxEav -rotokov 7r&&oS, aura T& 7rp&yµara 8e(xvua.. Ex6AAa yap aoL y6yovc xai X&pup8L5 r6 EyxeLpj .oc &v 're yap 1z.dvpq gv6ov &t6Xcoaas, 0140CL, o* yap To cppoupLov o 8 xaT6xeLS ap7r&aac rupavvcxi,!S 64 E
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pupa&EV µ gxav&S xai 'r v
auv6xcL0LV- &v TS E L&vaL pouX6aY1 aurots ro q np&Y1.LaaL
wv pLcc 6µevoc, ac4rlaj µev 7ro 'rc S, adax6vY 8E cuCr 6LV1vexd. aou "T6 ar4ta g&ou r2S oupavo,v, ya%caaa 8e ate?,, ev e7ri TY1S Yip,;," , xa( aoL Ta x647rou pY1f.LaTa 7rp?S Tou'vawr'Lov &vv6cTpa7rrou.
58: 12: Psalm. 72, 9. B f. 87v, inc. mut.
1 inscriptio (mut.) ex B, anep. P II t' P
Exactly how Gattilusio had got control of Thasos is not clear; perhaps he was already on the island as a Byzantine vassal of some sort. Mazaris asserts that the inhabitants had rebelled, whereas Manuel speaks of its being occupied by an enemy. At any rate,
the Gattilusio family did acquire Thasos some years later, perhaps as early as 1420, certainly by 1434: W. Miller, "The Gattilusij of Lesbos," Essays on the Latin Orient (Cambridge, 1921), 330. Manuel's mention of siege engines (µrfXavoq) is confirmed by Mazaris (7re7:po(i6),6)v
This letter seems too rhetorical an exercise to have been composed during a siege in mid-summer. It is more likely that we have here an example of Manuel's polishing up for the benefit of posterity what was probably a rather blunt note in plain, intelligible medieval Greek. 2 Psalm 72 (73):9.
vrj
166
59, 60
59. [To Giorgio Gattilusio ?]l
[Thasos Thasos, summer-fall 1414?]
This, too, is the fate of an emperor, Alexander is reported to have said, that when he confers benefits he hears himself spoken ill of.2 So then, we find nothing new in what those people you mention did to us, but it is the same old story. Let me add that the same goes for the harm done to our affairs, which has brought them down to this unfortunate state; this makes me grieve of course, for I love the common good and at the same time I love the wrongdoers themselves. That people of this sort are moved against us we will bear without difficulty, you may be sure, as we recall this particular expression of Alexander. If this man, so outstanding in his position of rule and domination, so outstanding in his benefactions to all, abounding in so many virtues, assaulting and conquering so many peoples, was spoken ill of by those he treated well, and yet bore this, how much more ought we to bear it meekly if those who should be ready even to give up the spirit on our behalf, afflicted as they are both by the evils of the day and by the arrows of fortune, unjustly pour forth their anger against us, reacting in the same way as those wild beasts who, on being hit by an arrow, rend asunder all that they encounter, since they cannot easily do it to the person who has wounded them. 1 Again no addressee is given in the Paris manuscript, although a later hand has
added vii a' r , which is also found in the Barberini manuscript. Apparently for this reason Legrand addressed this letter, too, to Giorgio Gattilusio. Perhaps it was written shortly after the preceding letter, but nothing more can be said about it with any certainty. 2 Plutarch, Life of Alexander, 41, 1.
60. To Guarino the Italian' Venice
Constantinople, summer 1417
This book, imperfect though it be, has been composed not with any idea of ostentation, but out of vehement love for my brother.2 This it was which first set my hand to the task, as any reader can see from the introduction itself. Actually, it was not put together with the idea of currying everybody's favor and practically clamoring to be read; it was meant to be presented first to him for whom it was really put together, and then to the best of our friends. Now, since you are a man of good character as well as a
167
59, 60
59.
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7roto5vra xaxac &xoucty war' ou8ev xatvav ilp,ty ucp' Wv ye cp auras i a8 y6yovev &XX' EkW-&6C, Tt xai 7CaXat6v. 8' &t. xai 8 Toty 5 7rp&yp.aat Xupt uvop,EVOV d ro5ro auaTUxiac roc"ura xaT'yaycv o µe, 7C&; oUt, Xu7ret, rotAoSVra Ve'v To xotvov, cpLXoSVra 8E xai TOUS &8txo5vrar,
aurO6S. aura yap ToSro, Ta rotourouS bvras xa&' ilp.wv cpipEa&at, otaoNthv ye Eu La&t, rourwvi rcov p-jµ&rcov. ell yap 0 TocroUToq p.EV rav Till &pXilS xai Tupavv(BoS oyxov, 10 roaov coq 8E rats 7rp6s 7C&VTas e6epyeaiat5, To ao&Tc t sE 7Ceptppe6EtaVOS &peratc, TOaa-UTOC 8e xai E7raX,4c v xai Tpo7cwa&µevo4 UN-1, xoUE (L V ye U7r6 TWV xmxC)C, Ell 67C' ocko3 7r£7rovk'ro v, 7'1v Lxero 8' OllV, 7Co?) 67Ce'p jp.iav E6 05 ye Xpi1 xai Tile FtaXXOV at 7cp&ciS 8ejaoCV 'ZMWS 7rpo6a,&ott, of 8' 676 Toy xatpou xai TWV Till ruXnq f cA&v 15 TErpCOVjvot T"v opyily xai' il(a.WV M'&X()c E'XXe'OUat, Kaurov ye ro.S exc'Lvots 7c&aXovTEc, a 8 8E &µeva (36Xoc r& 7rp0aKUXOVKa ay)pCO a7rOtp&Trouaty wS ollx OV EUXEpES TOV Tp6000VT0C.
59: 2-3: Plutarchus, Vita Alexandri, 41, 1. B f. 87v-88.
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good writer, not ignorant of friendship, and you are always kindly disposed toward us-I am absolutely certain of this because of your actions and your conversation when you were present here-we are sending this work to you in addition to the other things you requested. For it is incumbent, I think, on those who love to provide their lovers with more than they ask for, and to some degree share secrets with them.
In return for the favor I am doing you, read it and then show it to those you know if you believe it could add to the author's reputation. You could also translate it into Latin or, if you will, into your own language.3 But if it is the sort of work which should be done away with, something we did not do, you do it in our stead; even in this way you will show your kindness. 1 Guarino dei Guarini of Verona. The date of this letter is derived from one of Guarino written in January 1418: Epistolario di Guarino Veronese, ed. R. Sabbadini (Venice, 1915-19), I, no. 94, pp. 172-74. Guarino tells his friend that a Venetian fleet has recently returned from the Morea bringing with it a letter from his former teacher, John Chrysoloras, who would have come to Italy had the Emperor not sent him to settle certain problems in the Morea. It seems that the Emperor's son (actually both John VIII and Theodore II) had attacked Patras and other towns, involving themselves in a war with the archbishop of Patras, Stefano Zaccaria, and the prince of Achaia, Centurions Zaccaria, his brother. These events took place in the summer of 1417 and were discussed by the Venetian senate on July 19 and 25: Thiriet, Regestes, 1661, 1665-1667. Chrysoloras, then, was sent to the Mores and from there wrote to Guarino, apparently during the summer or autumn of 1417. In his own letter, cited above, Guarino, after mentioning the letter from Chrysoloras, also acknowledges having received a letter from Manuel II, together with a copy of the funeral oration for Theodore. This letter of Manuel, then, must have been written at about the same time, probably before October 1417: G. Mercati, "Letters di un Isidoro, Arcivescovo di Monembasia e non di Kiew," Bessarione, 20 (1916), 205. 2 Manuel's funeral oration on his brother Theodore, a copy of which he had previously sent to Manuel Chrysoloras (see Letter 56), who may well have shown it to Guarino. a There is no indication that Guarino ever undertook the formidable task of translating it into Latin. In his letter to a friend, cited above, he expressed his great pleasure on receiving this letter and the oration from Manuel, but said he would pass on the oration to Ambrogio Traversari in Florence. Ipse etiam imperator humanissimam quandam ad me misit epistulam et funebram pro eius /ratre orationem quam ipse con f ecit; oratio est persuavis copiosa et miro contexta verborum et sententiarum ornatu.... ad fratrem Ambrosium nostrum
mittam. Among the other works Manuel sent to Guarino may have been his Praecepta educationis regiae, which is found in the cod. Vat. gr. 1619, fols. 188°-210v, with marginal
notes by one individual, almost certainly Guarino, the teacher of Francesco Barbari, to whom the manuscript later belonged: C. Gianelli, Codices Vaticani graeci 1485-1683 (Vatican City, 1950), 287.
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60: B f. 88.
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170
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61. To Demetrius Chrysolorasl Constantinople Constantinople, 1417
The hundred letters you recently sent to us brought much applause and many words of praise from those who do not know your abilities.2 Some marvelled at their number, some at the rapidity of movement in each, some at other properties, and everyone at their richness. But for me all the letters were cause for wonder, both on account of what impressed the other people and for other reasons as well. To be sure, they were truly brilliant in all respects. In one thing, however, we cannot praise you: when you could have sent ten thousand, you sent only a hundred. Someone else, not unaware of your facile pen, might even criticize you for laziness. Owing to the numerous tasks which prevented me from answering your
letter right away, I did not intend to do so. But just now I have composed an oration to the Mother of God, which I am sending you in place of the reply I was planning to write.3 You will not, I am sure, take it ill and assume that your letters have been surpassed by this oration, for the preeminence of the Immaculate does not allow you to feel that way. Rather, on reading through the work, add to it if something necessary is missing, and remove whatever is superfluous. 1 This was written about 1417, for the E6yxptc of Chrysoloras, the source of his "Hundred Letters," was composed after Manuel's journey to the Mores, in 1415, since it refers to the building of the wall across the Isthmus. s The "Hundred Letters" of Chrysoloras is actually a collection of so-called laconic letters of about sixty to seventy words each, comprising one long letter. It was entitled Etq rbv a6roxp&ropa x6pav MavouilX rov Ilaaacoa6yov Or)µqrp(ou rou Xpuaoaup& 17rLa ro),at
p' b p' U ra: To the Autocrator Lord Manuel Palaeologus 100 Letters of Demetrius Chrysoloras on One Topic. Leontares had accused Chrysoloras of writing a tactless letter to the Emperor which made him angry. Chrysoloras then apologized, asked the Emperor's pardon, and praised him effusively in what is really a series of a hundred sentences, each one beginning: &pmre (iaaiaeu. The majority of these is taken almost word for word from a composition of Chrysoloras entitled E6yxpLCLs 7raawwv &pX6vrcov xai vbou ro5 vuv auro-
xp&ropos: A Comparison of Previous Rulers with the Present Autocrator, a description
of the ideal emperor replete with praise of Manuel: ed. Lampros, IIaaatoa6yeca xal IleaonovvrlaLax&, III, 222-45. On the "Hundred Letters" and its relationship with this work, see M. Treu, "Demetrios Chrysoloras and seine hundert Briefe," BZ, 20 (1911), 106-28.
3 The only extant oration to the Mother of God clearly attributed to Manuel is on the Dormition, composed after he had recovered from a serious illness: inc. 'U Oeou Mprep, xaaov y&p olµm xai µ&Aa X&ptev &7ro xpe(rvovbs ae npoa, yop(a. It is found in the cod. Vat. yr. 1619, fols. 1-14; ed. M. Jugie, Ho?nelies mariales byzantines, P0, 16, 543-66; a Latin translation only is given in PG, 156, cols. 91-108.
171
61
V
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172
62
62. To Demetrius Cydones' Northern Italy Constantinople, 1396
There comes to you the customary offering, some writing to the father
of writing. This is our work which the dangers now threatening us have spurred us on and compelled us to write. More than any of my previous writings I know that this discourse will bring you joy because it arrives bringing with it persons engaging in dialogue with you, as you dwell in a foreign land, persons whose voice you loved to hear and whose sight you used to say was a real pleasure, and whose company you said you would not put second to wealth.2 I should hope that the present dialogue will make you glad not only because it does this, but also because it might surpass everything I have written up to now. Now then, if it should attain the success I am aiming at, the credit is yours. For, as your comrade says: "He who supplied the seed is responsible for the crop."3 If, however, my prayers should not be answered, and you
come to think that, in addition to not having shown any improvement, I simply do not have the mind for producing good writing, then I shall fall back on the argument that the times are difficult and things of that sort, and perhaps it will be a good excuse.4 But someone else might not unjustly place the blame on the gardener who has out off the water. Obviously, I mean you
who have preferred a foreign land to your own; even that foreign land, which in its greed is now detaining you, urges you to help your own by every means at your disposal. This proves very clearly that you do not love as you should the land that bore you. Do not imagine that you are fulfilling your obligations toward it by loudly lamenting its fate while you stay out of range of the arrows. In its time of crisis you must come and share the dangers and, as much as you can, aid it by deeds if you have any interest in proving yourself a soldier clear of indictment for desertion.5 1 In the Paris manuscript this is not found with the other letters, but is placed before the Dialogue on Marriage, which it accompanied. But in the Barberini manuscript it is included as number 62 of the collected letters. There is also a copy in the Escorial, cod. Scorial. gr. 475 (`l'-IV-1) fols. 337V-338v, a miscellaneous codex from Cyprus.
Cydones left Constantinople for Venice in September 1396 and, after some time in Northern Italy, he sailed for Crete, where he died in the winter of 1397-1398: Loenertz, C'alecas, 25, 55-57. The allusions in the Dialogue to the siege of Constantinople place its composition after 1394, and from the context it is clear that it was written before the death of Manuel's mother, November-December 1396: see R. J. Loenertz, "Une erreur singuliere de Laonic Chalcocandyle: Le pretendu second marriage de Jean V Paleologue," REB, 15 (1957), 176-84; V. Laurent, "La date de la mort d'Helene Cantacuzene, femme de Jean V 1'al6ologue: Une precision," REB, 14 (1956), 200-1. (This letter has been translated by Barker, Manuel II, 418.) The composition, then, of this, the last known letter of Manuel to his elderly friend, may reasonably be dated to the autumn or early winter of 1396.
173
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20: of. Karathanasis, Sprich62: 11-12: Demosthenes, De corona, 159 (280). 23: Plato, Leges, 12, 943d; Demosthenes, In Midium, 547.
w6rter, 176, p. 90.
B f. 88v-89; cod. Scorial. gr. 475 ('1,-IV-1), f. 337°-338v (= S).
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174
62, 63 2 This is Manuel's Dialogue on Marriage, Ot&aoyos oex6q i3 crept y&g.ou, which
remains unpublished. It is found in the Paris. gr. 3041, fols. 89-104, and the cod. Vindob. phil. gr. 98, fols. 112-125v. The persons whom Cydones will hear speaking to him in this are Manuel himself and his mother, the former empress.
s By ,Your comrade" in letters to Cydones Manuel usually means Plato, but this citation is taken directly from Demosthenes, De corona, 159 (280). 4 Manuel's customary disclaimer that his work might not be a literary masterpiece apparently carried some conviction, for he himself later went over the composition, made innumerable corrections and finally ended up by crossing out the whole thing: see p. sai. 5 Manuel's reproaches that Cydones has deserted his fatherland in a time of danger need not be interpreted too literally. On considering the entire history of their friendship, it is difficult to conceive of its ending on such a sour note. While Manuel is clearly serious, it does not necessarily follow that he is angry or harsh.
FICTITIOUS LETTERS'
63. [To Macarius, former Bishop of Ankara] Constantinople,1408-1409
Life today has made many men into slanderers who have invented a great variety of wickedness, but I have the impression that they have been led to this by some urgent pressure and threatening fear. I have actually heard some of them blaming fortune for having driven them to such an extreme that they look upon these shameful acts as something fine on which they pride themselves. At any rate, what you are now engaged in would hardly be undertaken even by a madman. Either, therefore, put a stop to these activities or, at least, show some shame for what you are doing, so that you will not be regarded with contempt, or will provide some people with grounds for hoping that you will recover from your affliction. When a person is not even ashamed of his vile deeds, there is really no reason to hope that he will reform. 1 This and the three following comprise a series of four letters to the same person on one subject and should be studied as a whole: see G. Dennis, "Four Unknown Letters of Manuel II Palaeologus," Byzantion, 36 (1966), 35-40; for a detailed study of this entire controversy, see V. Laurent, "Le trisepiscopat du patriarche Matthieu let (1397-1410). Un grand proces canonique A, Byzance an debut du XVe sir cle," REB, 30 (1972), 5-166. In the Paris manuscript these letters are incomplete, the first and part of the second being lost. They are found on folios 1 and Iv (originally numbered as fol. xc), preceding the collected letters of Manuel, which begin on fol. 2. Although clearly in epistolary form, they had been regarded simply as a rhetorical composition or a florid preface to the collected letters. However, they were copied into the Barberinus gr. 219, almost certainly during Manuel's lifetime, as part of the collection and numbered consecutively, 63 to 66, under the
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heading: "Fictitious Letters," rov 06TO5 In6aroXcd 4E 6ao,94aews elp7)c von. Their position and numbering in the Barberini manuscript, as well as their contents, make it clear that they were originally real letters, whether later revised or not. The title and the suppression of the addressee's name may have been prompted by personal or political considerations. Owing to the absence of proper names and precise details, the addressee and the circumstances of these letters cannot be identified with certainty, but there exist good reasons for believing they were written to Macarius, the former bishop of Ankara, in 14081409. These reasons derive largely from two texts, which had remained unpublished until recently: 1. An extremely confused canonical treatise written by Macarius shortly after his deposition in 1405, found in cods. Paris. gr. 1378 and 1379, excerpts of which have been edited by Laurent, op. cit.; 2. The synodal tome of August 1409 which excommunicated Macarius and his fellow conspirator Matthew, former bishop of Medeia, found in the cod. Vat. gr. 1858, fols. 28-42v, now edited in full by Laurent and here cited as Tome of 1409.
From the hand and the watermark, this must be a contemporary copy of the Tome; a sixteenth century copy exists in cod. Vat. gr. 1152, fols. 185-203. After returning from Western Europe with the Emperor on 9 June 1403, Macarius was compelled to assist, or so he claims, at the restoration of Matthew to the patriarchate: G. Dennis, "The Deposition and Restoration of Patriarch Matthew I, 1402-1403," ByzF,
2 (1967), 100-6. But within the year both he and Matthew of Medeia resumed their verbal and written attacks against the Patriarch, claiming that they had been forced by the Emperor to sign the document of his reinstatement, and they demanded that a synod be held to judge the Patriarch: Tome of 1409, ed. Laurent," Tria6piscopat," p. 130. Despite the efforts of the other hierarchs to dissuade them, they continued attacking the Patriarch, Macarius, in particular, compiling his accusations in pamphlet form. Finally, probably in summer 1405, the Emperor addressed a decree (horismos) to him which reads in part: "What I have previously suspected about you I now see written down in your booklet. For in a way you are saying nothing less than: `Give me leave to quarrel, insult and anathematize, and if I win out, I shall have achieved what I want, if not, I shall do penance and so atone for this.' Now, this is not right or praiseworthy, but what is it, since you are anxious to bring it forth and to say what you have to say in a synod 7 If your victory, then, consists in the deposition of the people you accuse, then the same must necessarily be applied to you if you end up defeated.... What I am decreeing is simple: go off to the
synod and there prove what you wish.... Do not trouble me any longer.... I cannot suffer any more annoyance of this sort, and I also have many other things to do." G. Dennis, "Official Documents of Manuel II Palaeologus," Byzantion, 41 (1971), 54, no. 20;
Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 114-15. Manuel then explained to the Patriarch that he had delayed convoking a synod in the hope that Macarius might reform, but since he had not, the synod should meet and judge him: Dennis, op. cit., 55, no. 21; Laurent, "Trisepis-
copat," 113-14. Macarius and Matthew of Medeia were then deposed by the synod in September 1405: Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 122-25. For three years then, according to the Tome of 1409, they pretended to live as monks, but secretly they continued their campaign against the Patriarch, calling him a heretic, not a priest, a prince-bishop, a parricide, a tyrant, a Simon Magus, a Judas, and so forth. One particularly calumnious letter of Macarius fell into the hands of the Emperor, who kept it to himself, since they were still officially silent, and he did not wish to embarrass them. They continued their slanderous writings, including attacks on the Emperor himself. Soon they more openly accused the Patriarch of heresy and requested that another synod be convened to judge him. According to the Tome, the Emperor went out of his way to treat them kindly, especially Macarius, but to no avail. Finally, in the summer of 1409 he convoked the synod they had been requesting, which in August excommunicated and exiled them.
It is in this context that these four letters seem to belong. In the last of the series (66) Manuel declares that he is finished with the affair; and about this time he convoked the synod. Was this the synod of 1405 or that of 1409 ? The decree cited above refers to
177
63
the synod of 1405. However, before 1405 there is no mention of their directing their attacks also against the Emperor, whereas the Tome makes it very clear that they did so in 1408-
1409, and it is these attacks on himself that Manuel deals with in Letters 64 and 65: Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 127, 131-33, 139, 143. In Letter 64 he speaks of a particularly abusive letter, which must surely be the same as that mentioned in the Tome. Manuel also alludes to the serious difficulties the Empire was facing at the time, which would better apply to the period of the Turkish civil wars about 1409 than the relative calm of 1405. Finally, a decree of Manuel convoking the synod of 1409 appears closely related to Letter 66, in which connection it is discussed in more detail. These four letters convey the impression of having been written rather closely to one another and could, therefore, be dated from about summer 1408 to summer 1409, or more probably, during the first half of 1409, Letter 66 being written very shortly before the synod of August 1409.
178
64
64. [To Macarius, former Bishop of Ankara] Constantinople, spring 1409
By claiming to be good and honorable you lied twice, for you are really base and wicked. Your audacity has no limits; since you believe that making jests is a sign of nobility, you felt terrible unless you directed your attack against us as well. In your impudence, you try to outdo yourself in slander
and attempt to ascribe to us something that is altogether your own, but utterly alien to us. Such has been your concern for speaking the truth. What is more, you looked upon the present wretched time as a Godgiven opportunity, you have been puffed up with conceit, and you have fallen so far from propriety that you think it is not right for you to spare even one single person. Because, moreover, you regard the general worsening situation as an opportunity for plunder and enrichment, you dance for joy, when you should be weeping. And, in fact, what is happening to you deserves tears: since you have no perception at all of the evils in which you are implicated, you yourself bring grief to those who have some consideration for their fellow men. In a word, you believe that your good, your very good fortune has come to dwell with you just because better men are now being tried by worse fortune. And so you have drawn out your discordant notes
endlessly; you have no idea of what you are and of how great an evil a blasphemous tongue is to its owner. But the most shameful thing of all is that you are endeavoring to attribute to us that which everyone attributes to you in good measure. Having cast away shame like a curse, you are acting
recklessly. After all that, pompous and overbearing creature, do you not blush? How could you, considering that you take pride in such things? I would have reason to be ashamed, however, were I to reply in detail to this unintelligible nonsense, which one might call the ravings of a Thersites.' It is really beneath me to let loose my tongue upon you, who are so
obviously out of your mind. At any rate, that brief jest of ours may have already aided in bringing you to your senses, if such a thing is at all possible.
Certainly what had to be said has not been passed over in silence. You, whose effrontery surpasses all evil, did not succeed in avoiding a fate you deserved. While some grieved over you, others laughed, but everyone joined in jeering at you when your letter was read,2 and they marvelled at your
spirit so finely and beautifully polished-you wanted a large number to attend the performance, and for your sake so it turned out, those present being men of. letters-they bestowed the appropriate honor on you and plaited a crown for you, a perfect fit for a head which has never, even now,
accomplished anything at all deserving honor except to give speeches detrimental to itself. In this marvelous manner the contest was concluded and brought about universal insults as your fitting reward.
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1 Homer, Iliad, 2, 212-44. 2 This may well be that particularly calumnious letter of Macarius, which, according to the Tome o l 1409, fell into the hands of the Emperor. In his decree convoking the synod (see Letter 66), Manuel states that he had kept that letter to himself in the hope that Macarius and Matthew might reform. But since they did not, the implication is that he will now make it public. Apparently he did so to the great discredit of Macarius. This abusive letter was also brought before the synod. "Therefore, that abusive letter of theirs
against the patriarch, in which they also attacked the holy emperor, was read, and it must be regarded as either slander or nonsense. When it had been read, the entire assembly censured them for foolishness and for so much falsehood." Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 139, lines 437-40. Manuel's letter does not seem to refer to this synodal reading, but to a previ-
ous one, perhaps shortly before the synod met, sometime then in late spring or early summer 1409.
65. [To Macarius, former Bishop of Ankara]' Constantinople, June-July 1409
What is persuading you to act shamelessly in such an unrestrained and obvious manner? Why in the world are you trying to prove that what has become as much a part of your soul as the skin is of the flesh really belongs to others? What is the source of this superior ability and knowledge of yours by dint of which your mere wish is sufficient to make anything come about? Perhaps you believe this, but you will never convince anyone else, despite your oaths and strong assertions that this is within your power, not even if you provided yourself with "ten tongues,"2 not even if you fully transformed yourself into a tongue and, more exactly, a loud voice. You do not possess such powers of persuasion, nor are you so clever a sophist as to convince anyone to change an opinion which has been firmly established by the facts themselves.
Now is there anyone at all who is unaware that you are attempting to graft on us what in fact is implanted in you, namely, engaging in all sorts of plunder and seeking to profit by every means? Indeed, this is how you have changed from an Iros into a Kallias and suddenly become another pompous Chremylus;3 you have grown rich while others weep, and you all but make their tears into a hearty laugh for yourself. You know full well that their misfortunes have made your wallet bulging, an object of envy, a thing once empty, but now chock full. Now that you have become prosperous without having done any work, are you more thrifty with your own or,
to be more precise, with other people's possessions? Not at all, for when a person gains something without having made an effort, he will never really fight to hold on to it. As a result, in your desire to appear generous you have run aground on the reef of prodigality and so effortlessly and nicely squandered the goods of the poor that your manner of living is probably more
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luxurious than that of the Roman general-Lucuilus, I think, was his name .4
This is living in sybaritic luxury, surrounded by obscenities uttered by parasites, mimes, and dancers. So much for buffoonery, assuming that the person being insulted should be capable of it.
This is your way of life, this is your existence, and it takes precedence over all other things which honorable people look upon as leading to distinction. You, who have adopted wickedness as your lifelong companion, are never satiated. This encourages you to act even more shamelessly and, as is to be expected, in your intoxication to go on to open insolence. What bridle could prevent a man to whom such wickedness is second nature from plunging still lower, especially when the times seem to be cooperating with him
and permit him to think of doing anything he wishes without restraint?
Carry on your business, then, just as a madman, without any regard for the
circumstances, and from all quarters you will heap up praises for your
clever accomplishments. But we, at least, shall sigh bitterly over you and if you should ever regain your sanity, as we wish-which is not impossiblewe shall gladly see you, always observing what is proper for ourselves and for this our position.5 1 Probably written shortly after the preceding, this letter implies that Macarius was not without sympathizers in his attacks against the Patriarch and the Emperor. Macarius and Matthew, in fact, had requested four archons in particular, presumably friendly to them, to be present at the synod, but their names are not given. "They had asked for only four of the archons by name to be present at the inquiry, but now instead of four there are twenty, including those whom they had named": Tome of 1409, Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 133 lines 229-31. One thinks of the faction, to which these two apparently belonged, which had favored John VII against Manuel. 2 Homer, Iliad, 2, 489. 3 Iros, the beggar in the Odyssey (18, 6, 25), and Kallias, the spendthrift in Aris-
tophanes, The Birds (285), are contrasted in Libanius, Epist. 143, 4; Chremylus is a character unexpectedly become rich in Aristophanes, Wealth (336). s Plutarch, Life of Lucullus, 39-41. s Macarius and his companions had asked to speak openly to the Emperor: Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 131. At the end of this letter Manuel grants their request and invites them, or Macarius at least, to visit him personally.
66. [To Macarius, former Bishop of Ankara] Constantinople Constantinople, July 1409
For replying to your previous letters with a few words in an effort to instill better sense in you, I have no cause to praise myself, for how would anyone teach a crab to walk a straight line ?1 And now, it seems to me that
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this jest would be applicable to me if, not content with my first three letters, I should send you a fourth one in addition, containing an admonition and some biting words, a medicine of sorts for sensible souls. True, certain of your companions and friends were begging me to do this very thing, employing every device to induce me against my will. Still, I do not think they will overcome my justifiable reluctance, for it is not proper to give in whenever a person demands something unattainable and superfluous. And in the past you yourself showed that the requests made by those people were of this kind, for every attempt to bring you to your senses had only made you worse instead of better. As a result, I am now finished with the matter, which is the right thing to do and something which I should perhaps have done long ago. As for you, continue making your silly noises, as long as we have the chance to listen to the cicadas of summer.2 1 Aristophanes, Peace, 1083. In this letter Manuel says that he will not waste his time by writing another letter to Macarius, since the three he did write have accomplished
nothing, that is, they did not bring Macarius to reform. Actually this is a fourth-and final-letter to the former bishop. Macarius and his friends had been urging the Emperor to convoke a synod in which they could voice their charges against the Patriarch; Manuel of course was unalterably opposed to this. Continued discussion of the subject, he came to realize, served no purpose and was only making things worse. In this letter Manuel brings the discussion to a close and states that he has finished with the matter. The way was now open for a synod in which Macarius and Matthew would be the accused, not the accusers. His official decree convoking the synod reads in part as follows: "Although before now I have had many things to say about your pouring forth insults against the patriarch and myself, and I have had reason to bring you to trial to give an account of these actions, nonetheless, I have passed over these matters. Seeing I appeared not to see, and hearing I pretended not to hear, since my intention was really to win you over, and out of kindness
and gentleness to bring both of you back to peace and to remedy evil by good. Now, therefore, as long as it was all a matter of insults, such was our intention, and I kept that abusive letter quietly by myself awaiting a change in you. But since you now assert that heresy has snuck into the Church of Christ and that the patriarch is a heretic, from which you imply that I myself, the bishops, and every Christian share in his heresy, either because they concelebrate with him or because they receive the holy gifts and the blessing from him, indeed, a synod will be assembled whether you want it or not. For both of you, either personally or in writing, for almost a year have been requesting the convocation of a synod to busy itself again and again with the same questions. But, the synod will be convened for this reason, to give you a chance to speak on those matters about which you make insults and to explain what is the heresy which has sneaked into the church. And, if you should not be able to substantiate all the insults you spew forth against the church and the patriarch, you will definitely be subject to the. penalties set down in the revered laws." Dennis, "Official Documents of Manuel Palacologus," 57, no. 25; Laurent, "Trisepiscopat," 132-33.
In August 1400 the synod did assemble and condemned the two former bishops to confinement in a monastery or to exile, according to the Emperor's decision. 2 That is, do whatever you want, I plan on enjoying the summer.
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67. Epistolary Discourse to Cabasilasl Constantinople Lesbos, summer 1387
It is the height of summer, and at this time we have been compelled to make our sojourn on Lesbos; everybody knows how stifling is the heat of summer there, even people who might happen to be quite unfamiliar with the island. And in the little place where we are now residing we do not even have a roof above us, but must make do with tents. For one thing, since the whole island is rocky, this place too is rocky; for another, it has no covering of trees. It is quite barren and exposed to the sun as soon as it rises, around
noontime, and until it finally sets. As you can imagine, this makes it an unbearable and oppressive place. There is one remedy which Lesbos does have for this affliction, just as Egypt has the Nile, that is, the northerly winds of summer, although lately they have not been blowing here as they usually do.2 And I am afraid someone in a vision might realize that the climate in
your city would be healthier if it alone were to enjoy all these winds, and some contraption might be built for this purpose around the Mangana and the Arkla; thus even in the matter of the winds you will be better off than we are .3 For us, though, there is no word, no concern, no notice from youperhaps for some good reason. Yet here we are warring against this stifling heat outside which we can feel beating right down on us, while within is the added struggle we must engage in with our own stifling thoughts, which have contended against our good hopes and give no sign of an end to our troubles.
For it seems that I have been destined to live with continuous war, with every kind of war. When I had to dwell in the Great City I warred, as everyone knows, against those attempting to take it by war, and never failed in a single one of my duties. Then, in your native city I kept on fighting against the enemies of the faith.4 But those on whose behalf I chose to face death each day and night ought to have responded in like manner or, at the very
least, been grateful because of the dangers I underwent for them; such should have been their intention and purpose. But these same people were fighting along with the enemy, not so much because they neither thought nor did anything noble or sound, but because they gave themselves to weaving subtle intrigues against us who were "tyrannizing" over themindeed this was their constant accusation-and were not allowing them to betray their own freedom in a vile manner.5 But I have said enough about these distressing topics. Why must I waste time on such problems here by myself, especially when I ain addressing you, a wise and perceptive man? But so you can turn your attention to one of the ways in which God provides some consolation for us, I ani going to tell you about it now. For it is by no means a good thing, nor is it pious and pleasing to God, for a person to
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reveal the terrible effects of divine chastisement and then to pass over in silence those things which afford him consolation. "But," some people who consider it a great and admirable achievement
never to have indulged in literature will remark, "Why should a writer spend his time on pleasantries when he is fighting against problems which merit a tragedy ?" And they will want to indict me for "inopportunity," to put it mildly, because I so much as mentioned the matter of literature. We must, therefore, first speak to them and show them that if there does exist a time in which it is necessary for a man to indulge in some sort of pleasantry,
that time is none other than that which constrains him to live in adversity, the very time which brings tears to those splendid fellows who hold the opposite view. But before dealing with them, you must excuse me if I make a brief digression to avoid leaving your reasoning in utter confusion. For I am aware that you might begin to wonder at the fact that we have started our account of a tragedy with a pleasantry, that business about the winds. Perhaps you will think that we are mixing together what cannot be mixed. But we would have wronged a genuine friend, I suspect, if we had composed this in a different way. If we were to observe the laws of friendship, it was our duty to inform you of the fortune it is now our lot to share; but, since after hearing about it, your wounded soul could have done no more than
lament bitterly-for I had no joyful news to offer you-I thought that mixing some pleasantry into the narrative might not be out of place. For it would surely be out of place and quite puzzling if I had first wounded you by tales of misfortunes thicker than blizzards, and then, being able to apply a medicine to the wound, had decided not to apply it. But what we have said will not, I think, strike you as mere pleasantry, for there is something serious mixed in with it. To put it another way, it is something serious which includes a bit of pleasantry. In a way the introduction of some lightness into my discourse is first of all a means of upbraiding you-although it were better to be silent about such things-and then a device for telling you that I have not been drowned, as might be expected of one whom adversity has tossed into the midst of the tempestuous sea. For such was the verdict of God, who knows how to arrange everything for our benefit. Even though I never learned to swim, I am floating on the surface, and am writing this so that you may not become frantic or be dragged under yourself. This much we have told you to defend ourselves, as it were, for having mixed pleasantry with tragedy. But now our discourse returns to those who easily find fault with anything and everything. When people who are serious about being able to write wish to indulge in a lighter vein, I would not say they are simply making jests, for this would not be true. But I would certainly assert that those who come forward with pronouncements of this sort
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are annoyed and angry for no other reason than that not all of us want to emulate their ignorance, not to call it irrationality. I suppose that since ignoble pursuits are clearly exposed to be such when placed side by side with the more excellent, it is like a hangman's noose to them for anyone to appear
to pursue something worthwhile. But let them tell-and I would be happy to ask them-whether it is their judgment that pleasantry must once and for all be censured, or that there is a certain time for lightness and that it should not be excluded from all those matters for which the most wise Solomon apportions a time.6 But I do not suppose we need a spoken answer from them, for they are answering by their deeds, in which they show themselves more playful than serious. We must now examine what is the proper time for pleasantry, whether it be when things are going well or at a time when things are going poorly. I imagine that most people will say: "A time when things are going well." But for myself, although it may sound paradoxical, I think the right time is when
things are going poorly. Why is this? I say that whenever life flows along smoothly for a man, then he either has many things to do and is compelled to work away, or else he finds himself freed from work and able to enjoy a great deal of leisure and free time. Now if he has to work, he must display a seriousness commensurate with the tasks and would have no room at all for playfulness. If, on the other hand, he is not burdened with any really toilsome occupations since Providence has willed to favor him so that he sails along with a good wind and finishes his voyage without trouble, such a person needs a sort of adamantine and vigilant soul to avoid relaxing the discipline of his mind and thereby riveting himself to pleasures. If this is the way things are, how can a person impelled by many motives to luxurious living engage in pleasantries and yet not relax his discipline? And how, if he does this, can he avoid giving himself up fully to luxury ? The savage beast, luxury, should not be provided with more fodder, the relaxation that comes from pleasantry. At any rate, this is not what a prudent man would do, unless the charioteer is supposed to spur on the undisciplined horse down a steep hillside, when he should really restrain and rein him in. So then, when a person has received the highest gifts from God and continues in prosperity, lie must at that time put away playfulness, whether he be at leisure or not. On the other hand, when a person happens to fall on hard times, involving difficulties of all kinds, then indeed, and only then, is the time for him to appear as an athlete anointed with the right amount of playfulness as though with oil. But it should be more than sufficient for me to say this to the enemies of letters. How, in the name of God and of truth itself, or for what earthly reason is literary endeavor to be equated with pleasantries? There is, to be sure, a certain amount of pleasure and, as it were, a certain delight in writing, so they say, just as there is in pleasantry;
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for whatever a person enjoys is his delight, no matter what it is. It surely follows that if pleasantry is enjoyable, so is writing. It would not be off the mark to refer to a writer as a man who makes pleasantries. Without realizing it, you are falling into a logical trap yourselves, even though you are trying to catch us in one. What is pleasant is not always blameworthy, for you would not reproach a person who has chosen to live a life of continence by saying: "But he surely derives pleasure from what distresses him." On the other hand, to involve oneself in difficulties deliberately, but to no good purpose, is not worthy of praise. For would you, my good fellow, think it right to praise a person who would condemn himself to the very worst and abominable troubles? To condemn oneself to things of this sort would be unlawful. But let these people, my dear friend, walk along their own sweet way and not hesitate to exalt absurdity. And this is as it should be; for it behooves those who have "nothing sound" to them to exalt things which have "nothing holy" to them, inasmuch as the two are related. But it is high time for us to be finished as soon as possible with these wonderful gentlemen, something which we should perhaps have done sooner.
Now, I am about to fulfill my previous promise to you. What do I mean by this? I mean to inform you of the consolation by which God has seen good to assuage our profound grief, thus manifesting His great love for men. Just imagine how great a love for men He shows, when He does not abandon in this time of trial those whom He wished to chastise, but in many ways remembers, cares for, and comforts them. But I suspect you will
be pleased to hear about that consolation, for you have certainly been waiting for it, and that for a long time. We have managed to keep you in suspense by writing in such a discursive manner instead of telling you what it was right at the beginning. You, however, who are always providing many
people with rich and variegated fare at the table of literature, you are to feast sumptuously today as an honored guest. For look, it is I who give the banquet for you, setting before you something more prized and desired than any feast, something by which, along with many other things, God blunts the barbs of tribulation. This it is which He provides, not so much as a splendid consolation, but as a clear proof that He does "not rebuke us in His anger or chasten us in His wrath," and that He might show that we are not "bastards but true sons."' Now have a look at the consolation itself. I shall attempt to describe it to you in words, even though my words cannot do it
justice, for my constant obligations, my concerns, and the specter of ill fortune are such as not only to rob my mind of whatever I have appropriated from literature with much love and labor, but to sap the strength even of a rhetorician. The consolation, finally, is as follows. There is an oak right near the place in which we have pitched our tent. Reaching to a great height, this oak is thick with foliage, and we pluck its shade with much more pleasure than if it were weighed down with the most delicious fruits. Under the oak
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are a spring and fountains, full flowing streams, clear, sweet, and cool, in which you can see fish swimming about, some of which you can catch and pull out with a hook and, if you are dextrous, often enough with your hands. And nests have been built in the tree by various song birds who, while the nestlings chirp in the tree, fly about singing and gladden us with their songs. See God's goodness toward us. Jonas sinned but a little, whereas for us life itself, so to speak, is a continuous sin. His chastisement was both severe and unusual; ours, too, is not a light or a simple one, but compared with that of Jonas it is quite bearable. The consolation for such an elderly man, frail and weakened by time, by life and its tribulations, was a plant.8 As for the consolation which we ourselves have received, while with God's aid we are in sound bodily health, we have not attained the same age as this old man-for we are just entering upon middle age9-as for that consolation, we have described it to you. The plant favored Jonas with its shade only long enough to make him grieve when it withered away. But God continues to preserve our consolation for us. The sinner of that day was a prophet; his sin pardonable, his chastisement hard, the consolation slight, and the time it lasted very brief. But in our case neither our station nor our sin nor our chastisement nor our consolation nor its duration are equal to those of the prophet. We behold, then, the good God chastising us and we possess Him consoling us, and at the same time granting us the favor of thanking Him, both for the chastisement and for the consolation, and for the very act of professing our gratitude for everything. But, what is most surprising
and most abundantly manifests His goodness toward our race is that of His own will He places Himself in the position of owing us eternal rewards, if only we present Him with the offering of our gratitude, even though it is from Him that we receive "every good endowment and every perfect gift."10 For He it is who is at work in us "both to will and to work for his good plea-
sure," as Paul says,11 and grants us everything which we bring to Him, though as our lord He had no need of this. Although He is the creditor, He acts on behalf of the debtors and pays back their loan with great interest. Who does not know that He alone does away with the interest? For God rejoices more in always giving us the best of His gifts than we ever do in receiving them from Him. If I must say something that resembles a riddle, but which is nonetheless true, between God and ourselves giving and receiving have exchanged their places. For God is in want of nothing; He is good, the creator; He holds all in his hands; He it is who provides everyone with good things, and He never stands in need of anything. So receiving from us He only seems to receive, but in truth He gives us the Kingdom of Heaven. When in appearance we give to God in turn both the other things
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by which men serve Him and also, as you know, that most loving and appropriate gift of our very selves, it turns out that by giving we are actually receiving unending life and the lifegiving crowns. For God, then, receiving is the same as giving, whereas for man to give something to God must, I think, be regarded as the same as receiving. But now our discourse must go back to the tree and a certain question discussed there. I was sitting as usual near the fountain, and many of my companions who have been granted the privilege sat by me. Several of them proposed a number of questions, so that quite a discussion ensued, free from the evil tricks of quarreling and extremely peaceful, not without its share of secular topics, but concentrating more on religious subjects than on others. Finally, one of the group said: "What do you here say it is that, more than anything else, seems able to add to a man's misfortunes, strangling and suffocating the person who has experienced them, closing the gates of consolation and making comforting words sound so empty to the afflicted ?" The others were silent for a long time, pondering the problem by themselves, I guess. Then the one who had proposed the question spoke again. "Well, I suppose I should give my opinion, and one of two things will surely happen: either we shall resolve the question for you, or we shall merely end the silence. I claim, in fact, that a person might find many things of such a nature as to add to his misfortunes, just as a strong wind rushing down on a still smoldering fire, to all appearances just about out, will cause it to blaze up high. But what I think is absolutely the worst of all is for a man to undergo protracted suffering for something in which he knows of no evil deed on his part." When he had said this, another person remarked, "Not having anyone to offer consolation makes the misfortunes more grievous for the sufferer." According to another, it was never being able to hope for an end to the evils oppressing him, while still another believed it was not being able to look at any precedent for his misfortunes. Others gave still other opinions. For it would be easy to make many comments of this sort. Now, two of the griefs under discussion seemed
more intense than the others and most apt to make the sufferer's sorrows overflow like a river, submerging him and sweeping him along: first, for a person afflicted by misfortune not to be conscious of having done anything deserving of it, and second, for a person not to be aware of any precedent for his suffering. After these two griefs had won out, the two who had proposed them looked at me and with a cheerful expression and a quiet smile said, "We would be happy to hear your opinion on the question, but if you should not have one or, having one, should not wish to explain it, then at least be the judge of our opinions. We must acquiesce in whatever decision you wish to make, for surely it will not be disputed. For everyone knows that you are by far the best judge of such matters, since inasmuch as from childhood to the present you have struggled with wretched times and difficulties. So you must let yourself be persuaded to put an end to this discussion and this problem of ours."
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When I heard this, I immediately thought of you and said, "If only a certain person were here with us," supplying your name, "who is able to decide not only on matters of this sort, but also on those much loftier and more difficult ones. Nonetheless, I yield and will not hesitate to tell you whatever I think or know from experience, regarding what you have already said as well as the opinion which I hold about this particular question. We
must not, however, accept whatever I might say as authoritative, but the man whom I have just mentioned must hear all this, and we must acquiesce in whatever he might decide. Everything therefore which all of you have mentioned, and perhaps many other things besides, would be likely to aggravate the suffering of a man in the grip of some calamity, but what I am going to disclose to you right now strikes me as more despotic than anything you have said. Let us now address ourselves to what you have been saying. "Indeed, not being conscious of having committed any evil could by itself console a person and steel his mind to endure suffering. For in addition
to bearing the waves of misfortune, one after the other, from without, a suffering man who knows he has done evil is also bereft of his own internal
tranquility, and thus the seas mercilessly break over him from all sides. The worst horror is that if he is still only under suspicion, he is afraid and trembles and each day, so to speak, is pricked by his conscience; but if he has been exposed and faced with the proof of his wrongdoing, he is full of shame
and without any hope at all. Now, the person who suffers but is not conscious of any evil does indeed suffer, albeit unjustly, but in no way at all does he share any of those other things we have mentioned with the man continuously pricked by his conscience." "This is true," someone said, "but the man free of wrongdoing would not prepare himself to experience distress, while the man who knows he is not innocent of having done evil is likely to do so. Indeed, in this respect it must be assumed that a guiltless person is far less able to bear distress and afflictions than the guilty one. For the nature of these afflictions is such that if they
find the person they are about to attack is well prepared, they can do very little, but if they attack him unexpectedly, they may overthrow even a man respected for nobility of character." "I agree, my dear companion, that when evils fall upon a man unexpectedly they are able to cause great affliction, but little when expected. But it would be quite puerile of me to grant that this occurs because a person is conscious of wrongdoing, especially since you yourself do not appear to be convinced by your own argument. For you seem to be trying to mislead us, and to wish perhaps to display by this device your great ability in debating. A good man has resources permitting him to suspect the onset of troubles; the ignoble man and the wicked have opportunities for Hoping that they will not be noticed and that for their failings nothing will be exacted of them
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and they will not undergo the punishment they deserve. Now, leaving out the prophets, apostles, and, in short, all the saints who partook of every virtue to the greatest extent and bore up under just about every trial, the good man is able to look to the Savior. Since He has the fullness of the godhead dwelling in Him bodily, by nature He neither says nor does anything which is not clearly most noble, loving, and beneficial; and yet He was
hated by many and slandered, and a people He had treated so well-oh, what ingratitude or what most wicked requital-condemned Him to death on the cross; nor was even this enough for them, but they also mocked Him and heaped all sorts of injuries on Him. "How then can anyone of sound mind, even the most guiltless of men, not expect evils if he acknowledges Christ as his model and example and, as the leader of Christ's apostles said, should follow in his footsteps ?12 But a wicked man who is conscious of his wickedness could point to a multitude of other wicked men who have escaped from the hands both of their victims and of the judges. How many murderers, as we know only too well, and others engaged in every form of wickedness have paid no penalty at all, but have died peacefully, to all appearances at least, and in advanced old age? Readiness, then, to confront hardships with courage does not come from the consciousness of guilt; rather, I believe it comes from superiority of mind
and sound judgment, which surely those people possess who are drawn toward a blameless way of life. If, therefore, the guiltless are vastly superior in knowledge to the more wicked; if, furthermore, it is those who are superior
in knowledge who are ready and prepared for the struggle against hardships; then those not conscious of any wrongdoing are better able to prepare
themselves for the struggle against troubles. It further follows that those conscious of having done evil grieve more than the guiltless whenever disasters set upon them, even when the onslaught of tribulations and the struggle against them come to them as unexpectedly as it does to the good. Apart from this, we are well aware of the valiant exploits of people conscious of having done evil, such as fitting the noose and jumping off a cliff and the other means which men employ to become suicides. One of these was Judas, the first and chief of them, although not chronologically. But if you want to
tell me that you have heard of, or perhaps known, a man who appeared to be living blamelessly, but who having been falsely charged with theft or murder, slit his own throat because he could not endure slander, I would reply in effect that this person who, as you said, appeared to be a good man was not such in reality. It is not possible, it is not possible for a person who commits suicide not to have been filled with all sorts of other passions. For the suicide would be quite prepared to pay no heed to the laws of God, and he does not seem to place any value on his own good reputation. Indeed, that person slit his own throat not because he was being slandered, but because his mind was blinded by a swarm of passions. Those who wish to be free of
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passions must be granted the virtue of endurance; if it is not given to these, it would surely not be given to those pursuing ease and preferring what is pleasant to what is good. Enough of this. "The other argument, now, that having to do with not being able to point to a precedent, strikes me as more grievous than the previous one. As far as I can see, though, there is not a single thing which a person could not adduce as a precedent, if he should so desire. Granted, you have suffered something which nobody else has suffered. Do you therefore think that no one else has suffered some terrible affliction which nobody else has suffered ?"
"I can think of quite a number," he said. "Then, there are others who somehow share with you in patiently enduring what nobody else has endured. So you have, whether you wish it or not, a precedent to look to, no matter what terrible thing afflicts you. Indeed, I would be able to make many points in answer to your questions, but since what I have said seems to be enough, I will pass them over so as not to stretch things out to no purpose. "What remains for me is to pay my debt to you, that is, to express my own opinion here before you. Our guides of truth and teachers decree that men endowed with reason should never be distressed, except when they perceive that they have given in to sin. When a person who has faced life's troubles, whatever they may be, gives way to sorrow, these guides are as far from praising him as they are close to reproaching him with the utmost severity. They make it clear that the more serious the troubles, the greater should be the joy and exultation; while a man who has not experienced tribulation at all and for whom things flow along smoothly is pitiable and deserving of tears. If, therefore, our discussion were concerned with defining what it is that should constitute the only reason for grief for those pursuing the path of truth, what it is that makes tribulations more painful to men of character, it would be easy to dispose of these matters right away by having recourse to the saints, who explicitly teach about them and proclaim them in
a resounding voice. But, since our discussion today has turned out to be about transitory things and seems quite empty of more divine concepts, our discourse will follow your,, and will proceed along the same path. I say, therefore, that when a person is quite clearly treated despitefully by some man who,13 to all appearances, would not choose to offend unjustly, and when the
offended party burns with great love for the offender and prefers him to himself, and for that reason is unwilling though able to brush off the affronts, since it would be impossible to cleanse the offender of his offense, even if the one who has been oii'ended wished to wash them off-when this happens to
someone, why must he live, if he conies to look upon being free of these affronts as worse than bearing the affronts about with hint, and upon death as a far better fate than wandering about after being affronted?"
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These words, o best of friends, were judged by the audience to have been most elegant indeed, and to adhere strictly to the truth, but unless they obtain your approval as well, I will not trust in that of the others.14 1 The date and the circumstances of this letter are certain. It was first edited, with a brief commentary, by R. J. Loenertz, "Manuel Pal6ologue, 6pitre h Cabasilas," MaxeSovixa, 4 (1956), 35-46; of. Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 151-58. Since autumn 1383 Manuel had led the defense of Thessalonica against the Turks, but the inhabitants of the city, unwilling to bear the rigors of the siege or the "tyranny" of Manuel, had turned against him, as he makes clear in this letter, which is confirmed by other sources: see Letter 4; Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 85-88. Manuel realized he would be forced to leave Thessalonica and, after considering several possibilities, made plans to sail to Lesbos, which was ruled by his cousin, Francesco II Gattilusio, to whom Cydones had written recommending the fugitives. Finally, in April 1387 Manuel and his followers set sail for Lesbos, and Thessalonica capitulated to the Turks. Although granted permission by the ruler of Lesbos to spend some time on the island, two months at least, he was not allowed to take up residence within the walls of Mytilene, possibly because of the large number in his entourage or because Gattilusio did not wish to irritate the Turkish Emir Murad. Not long after their arrival, one of Manuel's companions, Rhadenos, sent a brief note to Cydones in Constantinople. To this he replied with a lengthy letter, part of which reads: "Your letter contained nothing at all about what you know I am interested in learning. But you raced through all those things as though they were newsworthy, and as though everyone had not been talking about them on the street corners for some time, I mean your informing us about the sad fate of Thessa. lonica and of your arrival on Lesbos, where you have found refuge.... How could I be ignorant of your sailing to Lesbos and of the kindness shown to you by the inhabitants? For it was I who wrote to persuade them to let you stay there.... Indeed, it was I who wrote to the lord of the island commending you very highly, and I persuaded him to show you kindness and hospitality." Letter 350:40-53. How long Manuel remained on Lesbos is uncertain, but his expression, "the height of summer," makes one think of July at least. From Lesbos later in the summer or in the fall he went to Tenedos, Brusa, briefly to Constantinople, and then to exile on Lemnos until late 1389 or 1390: Dennis, Manvel in Thessalonica, 157-58.
In the manuscripts this letter is entitled: Discourse in Epistolary Form, 'E,navoacltaio5, which would indicate a didactic or literary essay with the epistolary form as a simple convention, and Manuel did not include it among his collected letters. But on reading through it, and despite its length and occasionally didactic character, it does seem to be a personal letter and should form part of the collection. 2 Manuel's encampment must have been on the coast of the island, which is, as he remarks, rocky and mountainous, although there are fertile valleys in the interior. The island is exposed to the force of the cold winds coming down from the Dardanelles: see Burchner, "Lesbos," RE, 12 (Stuttgart, 1925), 2107-2133. 3 The Mangana was the quarter in Constantinople in which was located the arsenal, containing the machines of war which gave it its name. Situated in the easternmost section of the city on the slopes between the ancient acropolis and the sea walls, it was a well populated, bustling section with several important buildings and monuments, such as an imperial palace and the monastery of St. George: R. Janin, Constantinople Byzantine. Developpernent vrbain et repertoire topographigi-e (Paris, 1964), 295-99. Arcla is the name given to a tiny island in the Bosporus just off Scutari (i.Yskudar), on which Manuel Com-
nenus had built a small fortress, whence its name (Latin, arcula, diminutive of arx). Between this and the Tower of the Mangana (Demirkapi) a chain was supposed to have been fixed to bar the entrance to the Bosporus. The Mangana and the Arcla, then, being right on the Bosporus, would receive the full force of the winds from the North: ibid., 491.
205 67
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67: 2: of. Aphthonium, Progymnasmata, 21. 10: of. Herodotum, 6, 140; 7, 16847: Libanius, epist. 10, 1325. 39: Plato, Leges, 929e; Aristophanes, Nubes, 1482. 116: Plato, Gorgias, 524e; 74: Eccl. 3, 1-8. 81-82: of. Platonem, Bespub., 492c.
134: Psalm. 6, 2; 37, 2. Paroem. gr. I, 140, 288; Suidae lexicon, 0 798 (ed. Adler, 3, 577). 171: Phil. 2, 13135: Hebr. 12, 8. 169-70: Jac. 1, 17. 154-58: Jonas, 4, 6-10. 276: I Pet. 2, 21. 268: Col. 2, 9. 273: Mat. 27, 29; Marc. 15, 20; Luc. 23, 11. B f. 24-29V. Te B
12 M&yxava codd. 1121 4-g8eru6norc: µq3bvor B 11 283 aLTLar. B 11 292 ye:
d First in Constantinople against Andronicus IV and his allies in 1376 and 1379-1381; then in Thessalonica, Cabasilas' fatherland, against the Turks from 1382 to 1387. s Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 85-88, 151. e Fcclesiastes 3:1-8. 7 Psalms 6:2, 37:2; Hebrews 12:8. s Apparently the castor oil plant; see Jonas 4:6-10. 9 Manuel was thirty-seven years old on 27 June 1387. to James 1:17. 11 Philippians 2:13. 12 1 Peter 2:21. 13 John V Palaeologus: see Dennis, Manuel in Thessalonica, 151-58.
1' Cabasilas apparently held on to this letter for some time before showing it to Cydones who, on reading it, wrote to Manuel: Letter 380 (translated by Cammelli, Demetrius Cyclones Correspondance, no. 21, pp. 48-50). After praising his ability to combine serious writing with pleasantries, Cydones continues. "I have now come to realize this nlorv clearly on reading through your discourse, as beautiful as it was long, and which ought to have been given to me sooner, for I would have had more time to relish the pleasure it provided. But the excellent Cabasilas was able to enjoy it before me, to whom it should rightly have been given earlier. Although in other respects he is a just man, he thought little of depriving me of something which was rightly mine."
206
68
68. To the most holy Hieromonks and Spiritual Fathers, [David and Damian]' Thessalonica (Mount Athos?) Constantinople (?), 1416
I know that this fruit of my labors comes to you much later than you had expected. The reason is that it ripened so late, inasmuch as the season
did not provide it with air of the right temperature. So it has remained unripe for a long time, but now that it has just shaken off what was preventing its coming to maturity, it arrives to fulfill its promise. No sooner had it ripened than it sped to you as if on wings, for it would have been of no use
to you had it become overripe. But I do not think it should be surprising that the book was not completed sooner; the surprising thing is that it has been finished at all, even after such a long time. For, as by agreement, many troubles of all sorts set upon us and left us absolutely no free time. It would take too long to relate each one; nonetheless I ought not to pass over all of them, for I know you are anxious to hear news about me. I should, therefore, give you a reasonable explanation of some of the things that happened at that time. Well then, we had scarcely set sail, when right away we ran into troubles that gave us reason to believe that our voyage would continue in like manner. And this is just what happened, even though, owing to God's favorable judgment, it ended up favorably for us in other respects. For that rough, outbound voyage was terribly long and stormy, and there was no end of thunderclaps echoing in our ears, an ill-omened sound, and bolts of lightning incessantly flashing in our eyes, along with raging rainstorms and occasional snowstorms. When all of these join together at once, they penetrate to the depths of men's souls and make their hearts tremble and fill then with alarm and confusion, as those who have experienced these things know very well. Frequently enough, also, the winds blew upon us from all sides. They dashed upon the slips with tremendous fury, if we may so describe it, changing directions each moment, and threatened us with a horrible shipwreck in the middle of the sea. Huge waves formed and crested above the decks of the ships, a fearsome sight if you could bear to look at them, but even more fearsome to hear for they filled our ears with a savage din as they crashed one after the other against the ships. In fact, the storm threat-
ened, almost as though it could speak, to sink the vessels with all hands. To sum it tip, the sailing was just the thin; to Lear out our best hopes by the roots. There was no relief from any of these horrors, and I was still trembling, as you can imagine, when I stepped ashore in port.
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This, then, is how our expedition began. What happened after the landing? Well, there is that one thing which is enough to confuse and confound the mind and the reasonings of any ruler on earth, a pressing need for as much money as possible, for when money is missing, "nothing that is needed can be done," as the rhetorician says.2 But of this we have little, and what we have will not burden the hand of him who carries it off. What can we say about what followed? There were veritable blizzards of tasks to be done for the common good. Above all, there was that task which most people thought was absolutely futile, the fortification of the Isthmus so that, with the aid of God's grace, we might favor all those dwelling therein with freedom from fear. In comparison with these tasks, what mighty swell of troubles would not be but a glassy calm? These matters and others like them, and the worst of our problems, the stubbornness and ingratitude of certain men, kept us from relaxing at all, for I had to devote all my attention to the pressing tasks at hand. How
could I, hemmed in by so many and such great problems, easily turn my thoughts to something else? Added to all this was one other thing, a very bitter one and quite capable of preventing the mind-even, I think you could say, that of Demosthenes or Plato-from doing any writing: plotting and deceit on the part of those who owed me the greatest debt of gratitude. The great variety of machinations they fabricated against us defies all description. This is how they fittingly repaid me for their deliverance from
danger-for they were on the very brink of disaster and ran the risk of having their cities laid waste at the first onslaught of the enemy-and for those blessings they were able to enjoy in abundance. For they could now till the fields without fear, reclaim woodlands and sow where trees had once stood, and look with pleasure upon the billowing
crops and with still greater pleasure reap them, attend to plants that had been neglected, replant the vineyard that had been left dry and plant new crops besides, and feast their eyes, as well as a friend, on the fruits of all these and luxuriate to satiety. What is more, they were able to sell their surplus at a high price if they wished. Even better, or by no means worse, they were able to fatten herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and their other livestock. For since they no longer lived in fear of barbarian incursions, nothing hindered them from making use even of the outlying borders, cultivating them as they wanted, be it in the plains or in formerly inaccessible places. Summing it up, I really believe that they and those from whom they derived their income were able to engage in all kinds of labor beyond what, even in their dreams, they would have expected. No longer were these people forced to seek some cave or fortress to shut themselves in at night, or precipitous places accessible only to wild goats
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or some thicket deep enough to hide them and keep them from becoming the prey of their enemies. Now they believed that they had no need to seek for such places and that they no longer had to be as frightened as were those whose minds had been deranged by terrors and whose souls had never been at peace. For once the ancient walls had been raised up, it would be sheer madness to endure long and pointless periods of distress once again, to live in trembling when they could do so without fear, to be frightened by the rustling and the shadows of the leaves, and in the dead of night to quit the places where they were and to seek safety in some deep holes and lairs of wild animals, which is what they had grown accustomed to doing. Now, they certainly could, very much so, live in a manner just the opposite of that in which they had been accustomed to live when their fears were at their height, and in compensation for their previous distress could enjoy the fruits of a good life. So sudden was the turn which everything took for the better, so free from fear were they now, that they who had been more cowardly than hares did not hesitate to light huge fires and to lie down beside the springs and snore away, having welcomed, as a poet might say, "sweet sleep to their gentle eyes,"3 whether in the fields or on the hills or anywhere.
This, then, was the lot of those ungrateful people. To tell the truth, though, not all of them were ungrateful, nor is it right that the wickedness of some men should harm the guiltless. I shall therefore speak in defense of those whose discontent was well founded, but this does not mean an indiscriminate defense of everybody, since not all were the same in their attitudes and their actions; they differed vastly from one another. So, as the saying goes, in order to avoid "having all things become mixed up,"4 I should defend as vigorously as possible those I have mentioned, but waste not one word of
defense on behalf of the worse faction, since none can be found, no matter how much we would like to. Now, I think some distinctions should be made that will clarify the differences among these people. Whether they be officials or those wearing the habit of consecrated men, natives or foreigners, they fall into three categories. First of all, those who are superior in character
and wisdom-and these may be counted very quickly-strongly approved the idea of not leaving themselves constantly exposed as easy spoils and prey to the hands and mouths of their enemies; they eagerly desired to exchange obvious and familiar dangers for those which might not come at all or would pass away. All the swarms of Illyrians5 thought and said the same, inasmuch as they suffered more serious damage from the enemy, for they did not dwell in cities but were accustomed to spend their lives in the fields and in tents. Once they had freely made their decision, therefore, all those men who were of sound judgment immediately set to work as, indeed,
every one of them ought to have done, and they did not spare their feet, their hands or their entire body as night and day, to put it briefly, they
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brought in whatever was needed to raise up the walls. Obviously, there is no need to speak in defense of men such as these. How could I, for they really deserve to be rewarded? But then, there was another category, people yielding in rank to no one among the highest, but certainly inferior in their judgment, who neither
intended nor did anything at all befitting their station and reputation of long standing, and who in their madness left no stone unturned in their efforts to destroy our undertaking. Although these were few in number, they managed to spread their contagion to a large number of the more unsophisticated, not to say more stupid. While they were priding themselves on their success, they only impressed me as choking on their bile and losing their wits in the midday sun.
For everyone knows that they preferred the least to the greatest and the worst to the best, namely the freedom to plunder and to commit outrages on the most valued possessions of free men. And if only this terrible thing were all that was going on! But now other things, just as wicked, are happening. For these people think nothing of slaying their brother for no reason whatsoever except that he might have something which their Excellencies might desire for themselves. For they seemed to think it a matter of no consequence at all that they had become partners, both in the reckless crime and, in some way, in the sad remorse and constant dread of him who in the beginning had
invented murder, that of his innocent brother.6 Why were they so out of their minds? I will explain. From longstanding malice and their unwillingness
to refrain from their accustomed wanton violence, they dashed headlong into stupidity without realizing it. This is understandable. For most natural phenomena are generally subject to change, especially when they attain their highest point, as the Physician says while philosophizing about good health.' "The inability of anything human to attain stability or to remain in the same state or, for that matter, to make progress whenever it actually reaches the absolute, makes being in top condition treacherous." Surely, the wise man spoke very well and soundly on this point. For if there actually does come a point in our lives at which no further progress can be made and if at this point it is impossible to stay still, then we have to move backward or, at times, change to the opposite. Perhaps some would like a still clearer explanation of the reasons for such folly and for the apparent blindness of these people who deemed themselves sharper than Themistocles in discerning what was beneficial.8 Everything can be attributed to one cause, their desire not to be within those walls,
those on the Isthmus, I mean. For this was a veritable noose around their necks, inasmuch as it completely prevented them from continuing to perpetrate their former outrages and from manifesting their loyalty to the despot,9 not by deeds, but by the mere claim to be well disposed toward him. It forced them into the position of having to confirm by their actions
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that they were, in fact, what they only professed to be. The wall, of course, would tilt the scale in favor of the despot and enable him to compel them to act according to their profession. Understandably, they were not very fond of their chastener. For a person who does not wish to be virtuous naturally hates whoever will not permit him to be evil. Then too, whoever compels another to act virtuously, against his natural disposition, would fill him with joy by departing this life. As a result, those people did not recognize their real enemies who, like wolves, were pursuing them with gaping mouths,1° nor did they listen to very persuasive and helpful counsels that cited examples
from the past, by which we gauge the future. They were unwilling to heed any of these arguments and to change for the better the views they had held for a long time; thus they practically called down on themselves their own destruction, as though they simply hated their own prosperity. For anyone who willingly does anything that inescapably leads to evil consequences is doing just about the same as hating his own prosperity. Surely not even their parents would intercede on behalf of such men. As for these, then, who from foolishness turned to malice, unless it were better to phrase it the other way around, God did not allow their views to prevail, but by bringing low their vain presumption and pride in their shameful deeds, He made them a bit wiser and caused their admirers to retract. All this was as it should have been. But now may He show His mercy toward them. And I am certain that He will, since in imposing judgment on them He tempered it with kindness.
Finally now, something should be said about the remaining category, for whom some words of excuse seem to be in order. Certainly, I do not think it is right to be hard on this group, which for a long time was having serious
misgivings, and indeed with reason. For I myself was not without uncertainty and was not firmly confident about the outcome of our activities. I must therefore speak on behalf of this group of men, who, while depressed, and not without reason, by the apparent futility of the construction and, owing to many factors, the uncertainty of its completion, nonetheless followed us and cooperated with all their might. By so doing I shall fulfill my original purpose. Perhaps some people will regard this as a sort of digression, but on
looking more closely they will see that it might be the best way of dealing with our subject, apologizing for my tardiness. What seems to be a turning off our path here does not strike me as that at all. Speaking in defense of others also does not detract from the subject at hand. Rather, the defense will also prove to be my own excuse, just as if we were writing these words with this purpose alone in mind. Very much the same thing happens to people burning incense, for they are the first to enjoy its fragrant odor. In
fact, the anxiety of those men at that time and in those circumstances surely seems pardonable, since what we were then undertaking, to all appearances without divine favor, involved so many difficulties as to confound any good expectations, and there was every reason to believe that
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anyone putting his hand to this task would swiftly suffer evil consequences. For the arduous nature of the task, or maybe you could say its magnitude, or perhaps both, required no less than the hand of the Creator, so terribly difficult and fearsome a thing was it to undertake. But the task had to be done quickly, and how quickly I will explain.
One particular sentiment inspired these men, and the same resolve spread itself among all, that since the right decision had been made and the construction had somehow begun, all that remained was to continue in rivalry with the ever flowing springs and never to let up in their work. They equated deliberate slowness with not wanting to breathe. For that hostile beast,u even though he gave the appearance of agreeing to the project, did not really do so in his soul and in his actions. Neither he nor his satraps, both those on our borders and those about him, seemed able to endure the sight of what they had not expected. They believed we were likely to need a considerable amount of time if we were going to complete any of the building.
In expecting to fool us, consequently, they have fooled themselves by feigning indulgence. But when they saw the walls going up spontaneously, as it were, and not as slowly as they had expected, just limping along and an easy prize for them to take whenever they merely wished, then, no matter how much they wanted, they could not conceal their anger, or if you prefer, their wild madness or fury or whatever else worse than these can be named. They spewed forth the poison buried in their souls and claimed they had been deceived and were unable to endure this injury which had been compounded by shame.
This, I believe, should be a reasonable apology on behalf of those who had th it reasonable misgivings about the undertaking, and also on behalf of ourselves for not having discharged our obligation to you more swiftly, as you had hoped. For we needed a period of leisure to finish what we wished, but the tasks to be done left no room at all for such leisure. If you think we
have been acquitted of the accusations, I will quote your verdict when anyone brings up the charge of tardiness against us, and right away, I am sure, I shall be free of any reproach.
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1 During his sojourn in Thessalonica from October 1414 to March 1415, Manuel was visited by a number of monks from Mount Athos, who took advantage of the Emperor's
proximity to expedite various matters for their monasteries. Among these may have been the two hieromonks, David and Damian, with whom Manuel entered into close
friendship. They had seen him composing a religious work, a sort of meditation along the lines of a general confession after recovering from a serious illness, and had requested a copy of the work when it should be completed. The Emperor promised to comply with their request, but it was about a year before he was able to do so. The present letter ex-
plains the reasons for the long delay. It has been edited and commented on by R. J. Loenertz, "Epitre de Manuel II Paloologue aux moines David et Damien 1416," Silloge Bizantina in onore di Silvio Giuseppe Mercati = SBN, 9 (1957), 294-304; also cf. Barker, Manuel II, 301-20, for an English translation and commentary. The religious work in question is found in the cod. Crypten. Z.S.I., fols. 11V 65v, accompanied by a preface in epis-
tolary form, fols. 1-10v, which is also found, without the religious work, in cod. Vat. gr. 1107, fols. 315-325. The Grottaferrata manuscript gives the names of both monks, David and Damian: see Loenertz, op. cit., 297, and his "lilerits de Macaire Macros et de Manuel
Pal6ologue," 190-93 (= ByzFrGr, I, 75-79). A fifteenth-century copy of the Grottaferrata manuscript is in the Collegio Greco in Rome, cod. 11. After a stormy voyage from Thessalonica, Manuel arrived at the port of Kenchreai on the Saronic Gulf, about four or five kilometers south of Isthmia on the eastern side of the Isthmus of Corinth on Good Friday, 29 March 1415: R. J. Loenertz, "La chronique breve moreote de 1423," in ST, 232 (1964), no. 25, p. 407; further details on pp. 429-32; Barker, Manuel II, loc. cit., and his article, "On the Chronology of the Activities of Manuel II Palaeologus in the Peloponnesus in 1415," BZ, 55 (1962), 39-55, which includes translations of excerpts from the sources. On 8 April Manuel began work on a project he had long intended to undertake, the restoration of the Hexamilion, the defensive wall across the Isthmus dating from the time of Justinian. As this letter makes clear, he was anxious to complete the work before the Turks could realize what had happened. In fact, it was completed in twenty-five days according to Mazaris: Journey Into Hades, 177-78. Resentful of the financial exactions of the Emperor and fearful for their own freedom of action, a number of the local Greek nobles rebelled. Manuel, of course, does not give their names,
but Mazaris identifies two of their leaders as Krokondylis and Eleavourkos. Manuel defeated the bulk of the rebel army on 15 July and then spent the next few months in reducing their fortresses. Several of the leaders were taken captive and later imprisoned in Constantinople. It was not until March 1416 that the Emperor returned to the capital. Probably soon after his return, he wrote this letter to the monks David and Damian. Rather than give an account of his activities in the Morea, he wrote down his reflections on the situation and his analysis of the attitudes of his adversaries. 2 Demosthenes, Olynthiacs, 1, 20 (15). 9 Cf. Odyssey, 5, 492; 13, 80. 1 Anaxagoras, cited by Plato, Phaedo, 72c. 5 Albanians. 6 Cain and Abel: Genesis 4:8. Hippocrates, Aphorisms, 1, 3. s Cf. Aristophanes, Knights, 884; Paroem. gr. 1, 373, Theodore II Palm ologus, the son of Manuel II. 'o The Turks. 11 Sultan lMeohmod I.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
221
I.
Letter of the Priest Euthymius to Manuel II Palaeologusl Cod. Vat. gr. 1879, fols. 328v-329 f. 328v
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APPENDIX
222
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To an Emperor
We are hoping that even this road you are taking will result in great benefits for the city, just as what always profits the common good is due to your labors. But fulfill these hopes of ours, since the valor of the emperor has also caused us to experience good things. It is with this valor that you always come, as is natural, to be of help in the common tasks. May God, therefore, bring the present situation to an excellent end. But for us, if you shall come here, you will be everything to us, and you shall not miss anyone who knows how to be of service or to cause pleasure. If, however, you still have to spend a little more time there, why then, one would have to make use of letters. If indeed you had some leisure, and I were missing a hand, it would be the business of your hand, not just of your voice, to write them, so that they might cause happiness from both sides. Now, however, since I believe that events do not permit this, merely command, and Boullotes will bear the burden, even if it has to wear down his shoulder. But, if he has changed over to the customs of the Persians and wears boots and loose trousers and the
other things which turn a man into a savage, and as a military expert he looks down on using one's hands to write, then, at the least, remember to send an unwritten message so that those coining from there might bring some word to us from you.
Comments. It is clear that the addressee of this letter is an emperor who is absent, apparently on some military undertaking, since the writer hopes that his valor and labors, as in the past, will benefit the city (Constantinople, one presumnes) and the common good. The phrase, "even this road you are taking," implies that there is something unusual, or perhaps unpleasant, about his present journey. This way of describing it, the writer's suspicion that the emperor will not be free to return for some time, and the mention of the Turks (Persians) in a context which is not hostile, but implies some familiarity, or even friendship, with them, incline one to conclude that
APPENDIX
223
the emperor in question is off someplace together with the Turks on some business over which he has no control, but is subject to "events," perhaps a delicate way of saying he must obey the Turks. The reference to his valor and labors and to Boullotes' military expertise indicates that the business is of a military
nature. All of this is certainly applicable to the situation of Manuel II on campaign in Anatolia with the Turkish Emir Bajezid in 1390-1391, during which he wrote his own Letter 15 to Cabasilas. However, since other imperial correspondents of Cabasilas, John VI Cantacuzenus and John V Palaeologus, also found themselves at times in similar circumstances, one cannot definitely
assert that this letter was sent to Manuel II. This could only be clearly established if Boullotes were to be more precisely identified. The sources do
not mention anyone of this name in connection with either John VI or John V, but in treating of late Byzantine history an argument ex silentio is extremely hazardous. The person in question, though, may well be Demetrius
Boullotes, an important official of Manuel II, listed as a domestic of the emperor (o'tYCGog) in 1401-1404. In June 1401 he testified before the patriarchal
synod regarding the inheritance of his wife's cousin, Irene Apokauchissa, and a month later regarding the possession of an icon of the Virgin, a case which also involved the emperor.3 On 29 September 1404 he was sent by Manuel on a very important mission to the Turkish prince, Suleyman Qelebi, to Mount Athos, and to John VII in Thessalonica to settle affairs in that region which had recently been returned to Byzantine rule .4 About 1414 Mazaris recalls
having accompanied "the most wretched Boulotes" on missions for the
emperor.5 Both the mission of 1404 and the remarks of Cabasilas imply that he was a prominent official, a trusted friend of the emperor, and had some familiarity with Turkish customs and institutions.e 3 111M, II, no. 509, p. 655; no. 513, p. 658. There are slight variations in the spelling of his name. He is not listed among the domestics of the emperor present at the synod of August 1409 in Constantinople. BouXe v kepi `Ayiou "Opouc, 4 A. Vatopedinos, BaatXtx 8twr y Wpbs in Pp7)y6ptos 6 HcO.o xs, 2 (1918) 449-52; cf. Dolger, Kaiserregesten, 3301, pp. 90-91. Journey Into Hades, 147. Manuel Tarchanciotes Boullotes, a friend, perhaps a pupil, of John Chortasmenos, was probably too young to be the Boullotes of this letter; see Hunger, Chortasmenos, 82-83, for information on him and other members of this family. A Demetrius Boulotes from Thessalonicaa, is mentioned in an astronomical manuscript, cod. Vindob. phil. gr. 115, fol. 2, but the writing is barely legible and the context is not clear.
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APPENDIX
227
xoct To"LS xaxotS ast xaxa xat ToZS Ea&TTOUat npoaTtMaa naVrjyupty µ%V xax& V E dyarE, xat 8 XMIL To"uTO xaxc Xuxev... . NLELS 8E Twv TE xotvwv a6yc v x&pLV Wv nenat8E6p9'a TES TE xp7ja' c 90"LocS v Eu0`us Ex naLBwV n&vTWV npOEaTrja&(ceO'a, aoU TE 8i1 xat Twv
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Letter 12. To [Demetrius] Cyclones, 1373 (1385?) (f. 128)
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f. 126v
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Letter 13. To the Emperor (f. 127)
Tw BocatXd
Ly'
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Sources
c Xpovtx&, eds. S. Lampros and K. Amantos (Athens, 1932) Cammelli, G., Ddmdtrius Cydones Correspondance (Paris, 1930) Cantaeuzenus, Ioannis Cantacuzeni imperatoris historiarum libri I V, ed. J. Schopen, 3 vols. (Bonn, 1828-32) Bpce
Clavijo, Buy Gonzalez de Clavijo, Embajada a Tamorlan, ed. F. L6pez Estrada (Madrid, 1943)
Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum, eds. E. L. a Leutsch and F. G. Schneidewin, 2 vols. (Gottingen, 1839-51) Ducas, Istoria Turco-Byzantind, ed. V. Grecu (Bucharest, 1958); Ducae Michaelis Ducae nepotis historic b yzantina, ed. I. Bekker (Bonn, 1834) Enepekides, P., "Der Briefwechsel des Mystikers Nikolaos Kabasilas," BZ, 46 (1963),18-46 Gregoras, Nicephori Gregorae Byzantine historia, eds. L. Schopen and I. Bekker, 3 vols. (Bonn, 1829-55) Hunger, H., Johannes Chortasmenos (ca. 1370-ca. 1436/37). Briefe, Gedichte and Kleine
Schriften. Einleitung, Regesten, Prosopographie, Text, Wiener Byzantinische Studien, VII (Vienna, 1969) Lampros, S., lIaXamoa6yeLa xal lleaozcovvjataxci, 4 vols. (Athens, 1912-30) Lacurdas, B., '0 «Euµ(3ouaeurtx6c 7rp6q ro65 Oeaaa>,ovExnt s rou Mavouila IIc)atoa6you, in Maxe3ovtx&, 3 (1955), 290-307 Legrand, E., Lettres de l'empereur Manuel Paleologue (Paris, 1893)
Loenertz, R. J., "Chronicon breve de Graecorum imperatoribus ab anno 1341 ad annum 1453 e codice Vaticano graeco 162," 28 (1958), 204-15 "La chronique breve Mor6ote de 1423," Melanges Eugene Tisserant, II (= ST, 232) (Vatican City, 1964), 399-439 Correspondance de Manuel Calicas, ST, 152 (Vatican City, 1950)
Ddmdtrius Cydonis Correspondence, 2 vols., ST, 186, 208 (Vatican City, 1956, 1960)
"Epitre de Manuel II Paleologue aux moines David et Dauiien 1416," Silloge bizantina in onore di Silvio Giuseppe Mercati (= SBN, 9 [1957]), 294-304 "Manuel Paleologue, bpitre a Cabasilas," Maxc3ovax&, 4 (1956), 35-46 Mazaris, Ot&aoyoc vexptx6S. 'Eirn6-jjcLa M&i;apt iv "Mk), ed. J. F. Boissonade, Anecdote graeca, III (Paris, 1831), 112-86; also with German trans. by A. Ellisen, Analekien der ndttel- and neu-griechischen Litcratur, IV (Leipzig, 1860), 187-314; new ed. with English trans. and comm. under the direction of L. G. Westerink (Arethusa Monographs, V [Buffalo, 1975]) Miklosich, F., and Miiller, J., Acta et diplomata graeca medii aevi sacra et profana, 6 vols. (Vienna, 1860-90) Sabbadini, R., L'epistolario di Guarino Veronese, 3 vols. (Venice, 1915-19) Sphrantzes, Georgios Sphrantzes ill emorii, 1401-1477, ed. V. Grecu (Bucharest, 1966)
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Charanis, P., "The Strife Among the Palaeologi and the Ottoman Turks, 1370-1402," Byzantion, 16 (1942-43), 286-315 Darrouzes, J., Recherches sur les'Ocppp(xLz de l'dglise byzantine (Paris, 1970)
Dennis, G., "The Byzantine-Turkish Treaty of 1403," OOP, 33 (1967), 72-88 "The Deposition and Restoration of Patriarch Matthew I, 1402-1403," ByzF, 2 (1967), 100-6 "Four Unknown Letters of Manuel II Palaeologus," Byzantion, 36 (1966), 35-40 "Official Documents of Manuel II Palaeologus," Byzantion, 41 (1971), 45-58 The Reign of Manuel II Palaeologus in Thessalonica, 1382-1387 (= OCA, 159) (Rome, 1960) "Two Unknown Documents of Manuel II Palaeologus," TM, 3 (1968), 397-404 Dolger, F., Aus den Schatzkammern des heiligen Bergen (Munich 1948) "Der Klassizismus der Byzantiner, seine Ursachen and seine Folgen," Geistige Arbeit, 5 (1938), 3-5; rep. in IIAPAEIIOPA, 30 Aufsdtze zur Geschichte, Kultur and Sprache des byzantinischen Reiches (Ettal, 1961), 38-45 and Wirth, P., Regesten der Kaiserurkunden des ostromischen Reiches von 565-1453. V, Regesten von 1341-1453 (Munich, 1965) Eszer, A. K., Das abenteuerliche Leben des Johannes Laskaris Ifalopheros, Schriften zur Geistesgeschichte des ostlichen Europa, III (Wiesbaden, 1969) Fassoulakis S., The Byzantine Family of Raoul-Ral(l)es (Athens, 1973) Guilland, R., Recherches sur les institutions byzantines, 2 vols. (Amsterdam, 1967) Halecki, 0., Un enapereur de Byzance b, Rome (Warsaw, 1930) Hunger, H., "On the Imitation (MEµr)aiS) of Antiquity in Byzantine Literature," DOP, 23-24 (1969-70), 17-38 Reich der neven Mitts (Graz, 1965)
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Karathanasis, D., Sprichworter and sprichworterliche Redensarten in den rhetorischenSchri f ten des Michael Psellos, des Eustathitus and des Michael Choniates, sowie in anderen rhetorischen Quellen des XII. Jahrhunderts (Munich, 1936)
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Karlsson, G., Icldologie et cdrdmonial dans l'dpistolographie byzantine (Uppsala, 1959)
Krumbacher, K., Geschichte der byzantinischen Literatur (Munich, 1897; rep. 2 vols., New York, 1958) Laourdas, B., `O Ta(3paia Oeaaaaovlxric, in'A,rjv&, 56 (1952), 199-214
Laurent, V., "La date de la mort d'He15ne Cantacuzhne, femme de Jean V Paleologue: Une precision," REB, 14 (1956), 200-1 "Les dates du patriarchat d'Euthyme II de Constantinople," BZ, 54 (1961), 329-32 "Le mhtropolite de Thessalonique Gabriel et Is couvent de la N60C Movi,`EX.tlvtxa, 13 (1954), 241-55 "Le trisbpiscopat du patriarche Matthieu Ier (1397-1410). Un grand proces canonique a Byzance au debut du XVe siecle," REB, 30 (1972), 5-166 Lemerle, P., Philippes et la Macddoine orientale (Paris, 1945) 2 vols. (Rome, 1970-72) Loenertz, R. J., Byzantine
"Chronologie de Nicolas Cabasilas, 1345-1354," OCP, 21 (1955), 205-31; rep. ByzFrGr, I, 303-28 "Demetrius Cydonc s. 1. De is naissance >i, l'ann6e 1373," OCP, 36 (1970), 47-72; "Demetrius Cydones. 2. De 1373 it 1375," ibid., 37 (1971), 5-39 "Ecrits de Macaire Macrr s at de Manuel Paleologue dans les mss. Vat. gr. 1107 et Crypten. 161," OOP, 15 (1949), 185-93; rep. ByzFrGr, I, 71-79 "L'exil de Manuel II Paleologue A. Lemnos, 1387-1389," OCP, 38 (1972), 116-40 "Manuel Palhologue at Demetrius Cydones. Remarques sur leurs correspondances," E0, 36 (1937), 271-87; 37 (1938), 107-24 Les recueils de Lettres de Ddmdtrius Cydones, ST, 131 (Vatican City, 1947) Mercati, G., Notizie de Procoro e Demetrio Cidone, Manuele Caleca e Teodoro Meliteniota ed altri appunti per la scoria delta teologia a delta letteratura bizantina del secolo XI V, ST, 56 (Vatican City, 1931) Moravcsik, G., Byzantinoturcica, 2 vols. (Berlin, 1958)
Nicol, D. M., "A Byzantine Emperor in England. Manuel II's Visit to London in 14001401," University of Birmingham Historical Journal, 12 (1971), 204-25 The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) ca. 1100-1460, DOS, XI (Washington, D. C., 1968) Ostrogorsky, G., History of the Byzantine State, trans. J. Hussey (New Brunswick, N. J., 1969)
Papadopulos, A. T., Versuch einer Genealogie der Palaiologen, 1259-1453 (Munich, 1938; rep. Amsterdam, 1962) Petit, L., "Manuel II Palhologue," DTC, IX, 2 (Paris, 1927), 1925-32 Schreiner, P., "Chronologische Untersuchungen zur Familie Kaiser Manuels II.," BE, 63 (1970), 285-99 "Hochzeit and Kronung Kaiser Manuels II. im Jahre 1392," BE, 60 (1967), 70-85 Studien zu den Bpayia Xpovuui (Munich, 1967)
Sevbenko, I., "Nicholas Cabasilas' 'Anti-Zealot' Discourse: A Reinterpretation," DOP, 11 (1957), 79-171 "Nicolaus Cabasilas' Correspondence and the Treatment of Late Byzantine Literary Texts," BE, 47 (1954), 49-59 Thiriet, F., Rdgestes des deliberations du sent de Venice concernant la Romanie, 2 vols. (Paris-The Hagtte, 1958-59) Thomson, I., "Manuel Chrysoloras and the Early Italian Penaissance," ORBS, 7 (1966), 63-82 'Ibntadalces, N., Bui;av TWi E^,taro),oypz pie. Eiaayooyil, xellteva, xaT&Xoyoc E7mLeT0),oyp0'LCPWv
(Athens, 1955)
'1'rapp, E., "Per Sprachgebrauch Manuels II. in denDialogen miteinem `Perser,"' JOBO, 16 (1967), 189-97 Treu, M., "Demetrius Chrysoloras and seine hundert Briefs," BE, 20 (1911), 106-28 "Mazaris and Holobolos," BE, 1 (1892), 86-97
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Vacolopoulos, A. E., Origins of the Greek Nation, 1204-1461, trans. I. Moles (New Brunswick, N. J., 1970) Vasiliev, A. A., "Putegestvie vizantijskago imperatora Manuila Palaeologa po zapadnoi Evrope (1399-1403)," Zurnal ministerstva narodnago prosveReniia, N.S. 39 (1912), 41-78, 260-304
Voordeckers, E., "Les entretiens avec un `Perse' de l'empereur Manuel II Peieologue," Byzantion, 36 (1966), 311-17 Vryonis, S., The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century (Berkeley, 1971) Wirth, P., Untersuchungen zur byzantinischen Rhetorik des 12. Jahrhunderts (Munich, 1960) Zakythinos, D. A., Le Despotat grec de la Morde, 2 vols. (Paris, 1932; Athens, 1953)
INDICES I: PROPER NAMES Pappir;A, metropolitan of Thessa-
"ApapLq (myth.) 9.34. <"Ape?> (bibl.) 68.132.
lonica
67.2.
"Aytos "Opos, Mount Athos "Ayxupa 20.11; 63.2. 4.9. AiyoCw4, Aegean Sea 13.8. AiyunToc 67.10. Atk&toi, Ethiopian 18.23.
'AX& av3pos, Alexander the Great 59.2, 8. "AauS, Halys River 16.50; 20.13, 15, 17. 'Atuvaoc
16.56.
'AvTio;tos, imperial official
44.13.
52.1; <57.1>. 30.24. PaAaTta, France 37.7. Tapivoc, Guarino of Verona 60.1. Pe6pytoc>, Giorgio Gatelusio 58.1; 59.1? P&8eupo, Cadiz
4.25; 13.25. Daµcavo, monk 68.1. AatBocXos (myth.)
Dap6avoS (myth.) 44.10. (bibl.) 31.52. DauL8, monk 68.1.
St. Demetrius 6.48. see Ku86vrS, XpuaoAw-
ancient painter 35.8, 10; 49.6; 56.22, 24. paS
'ApLaTetBrs 52.39. <'ApiaTo pavrc> 19.32.
'ApLQTwv, father of Plato 52.13.
4.2;
"ApxXa, island in Bosporus 67.13. 'AaavrS, KwvaTavrZvoS 18.1; 20.9,
53.
`EX v , empress Helena, mother of Manuel app.
<15>; 30.1.
see n yLa5i c c> BaAaaµwv, protekdikos 34.1. <13ouatx&>, Marshal Boucicaut 41.25. 13peTav'm
14.10; <30.58>; 33.8; 45.58; 52.23; <62.12>; 68.<41>,
tey&Ar, Great Britain
38.20. Bpe-ravot, English
39.28.
<1.1>; <23.2>;
62.<6>,
1.24; 25.18. 29.9. <`Evptxos), King Henry IV of England 38.20-42; 55.12-22? 'Epyivos (myth.) 45.2, 97. `Epµi7S (myth.) 45.57; 52.28; "EAArvEq, pagans
`EAarvixos, classical Greek
64.31.
PROPER NAMES Eu, tuoq, priest, patriarch
39.1;
40.1; 51.1; 54.1. ZaxXeLos (bibl.) 6.42. Ze6S (myth.) 4.12; 12.7.
city of Zeno
16.49.
233
'Ic (bibl.) 31.89. 'Iaoxp&'njc 3.33. 'ItiaXeS 60.1.
Emperor
<'Iw&vvrjr,
John VI
1.20.
Emperor
IIaXoc oX6yoc>,
<'Iw&vvrjS
John V 12.4, 13, 20; 13.6; 67.335.
`Hpax?djS (myth.) 31.41; 45.229. "Hcpata-ros (myth.) 52.39.
O&ao5
Emperor John 33.35; 45.172-74, 219-25.
<'Iw&vvrjc>,
St. John
<'Iw&vvrjs Xpuao'a-roj.Los>, Chrysostom 25.2-22.
'Iwvas (bibl.)
58.1.
VII
67.151-63.
34.20; 68.146.
O"
Oe6yvLs
8.2.
, Despot
Ka(3&&0,a4,
Theodore I 9.30; 13.1; 56.2-21; 60.3. , Despot Theodore II 68.150, 153. Oe68wpoq, see Kauxa8rjv6s. Oe6S passim. Oepat'rrjc (Iliad) 17.86; 64.22.
15.1; 67.1. (bibl.)
< zacrLOovLxeLC>
4.11; 11.13;
67.23-29. <3.19>; <6.6, 22, 48>; 11.16; <43.25>; <44.29>; <45.61,
OeaaaAovixrj
69, 83, 162, 168, 169, 219-23>; 52.1; 57.1; <67.22>. Oouxu82rjq 28.2; 33.8; 52.23. , Thomas Aquinas 30.40. 'I&yapLS, courtier
34.8.
6.1; 7.1;
68.132.
30.7 ss. Ka?AtaS (Iliad) 65.13. K0,Xa4 (Iliad) 41.15; 50.42. ,
Kavocv6S, official
13.2, 35.
, King Charles VI of France
37.11; 41.27. Ka-rocpp&x'raL, Cataracts of the Nile 6.25. Kauxa3rjv6S, Oe68wpos, imperial official 27.1. KeXTeS
6.26.
Kpoi6os, legendary king 4.16, 21. Ku86v7jS,
3.1; 4.1;
,
5.1; 8.1; 10.1; 11.1; 12.1; 14.1; 16.1; 19.1; 23.1; 25.1; 36.1; 62.1.
20.1; 26.1;
21.1; 22.1; 29.1; 31.1;
<'I&xwpoc>, King James of Cyprus 32.11-36. 'I(3&yxo5, rhetorician 45.1.
Ku7rpo(; 32.9. Kwv61r0Cv'rLvo67coALC, <13.5>; <19.28>;
13.10. 'IAAuproi, Albanians
<20.8, 20); 51.2; <67.12, 19>. Kwv6-rav,ivor,, see'Aa&v-%.
16.17; 68.107. '1o68ocq (bibl.) 67.295. <'I7r7oxp&1rrjS> 68.137. TIpos (Odyssey) 4.15; 65.13. Isthmus of Corinth 68.45, 148.
Aasp-rrjS (Odyssey)
40.3.
Aa'rlvo 44.23; 60.16. Ae6(3Lx6S
5.20.
INDICES
234
67.2, 9.
Akapo4
AovxouAos, Roman general AuaioS, gladiator 6.54. AuBoc, Lydian 42.3.
A6=rno4, ancient sculptor 56.22, 24.
M&yyava, monastery in Constantinople 3.20; 67.12. 52.40. <Max&pioc), metropolitan of Ankara Mocx&ptos, monk (?)
63.1; 64.1; 65.1; 66.1. Koµvr;v6c>, Manuel Komnenos, emperor of Trebizond 53.1. MocvourA, see IIollos, `PaouA, XpuaroAwpas.
<Mapia), Virgin Mary 39.32; 57.13, 16; 61.12, 15. <Mexep.e&r), Sultan Meehmet I 68.202.
i (myth.) 4.9; 34.23; 39.2; 44.72; 46.6; 52.28.
Mot5c
MuaoE, Bulgarians 16.17. Mw&µe&, Muhammed 31.70, 85, 95.
NetXos, Nile River 67.10. NeoxaiaapE-rjS, unidentified N6a-rwp (Iliad) 41.15.
6.26.
IIaEoves
65.22.
apostle 31.66, 81, 67.172. Ha 5S, Turkish ruler 16.55. Hcc Xos,
83;
IIEA4: Tou IIeAonoc, Peloponnesus 9.29; 13.8; 51.11; 68 passim. Il&paoc, Turk 14.27; 16.15; 44.23. ;
14.28; 26.8; 39.14; 45.58, 76; 52.13; 68.54.
ll?oi.roS (Aristophanes) 19.33. H6 os, correspondent of Manuel 17.1.
Ho os, MavoujA, correspondent of Manuel 35.1; 42.1. os, Pompey 16.46; city of 16.42. IloaetUov (myth.)
3.42.
Ho,r4r;s, correspondent of Manuel 47.1.
`PaouA, Mavou'A, official in Cyprus 32.1. 'P6 LoL, Rhodians 4.12; 12.8. `PwµaZot, Byzantines 9.37; 14.10;
16.23; 45.221; ancient Romans 8.5.
16.46; 65.22. 31.70. EepaaTeia 16.60. Eey7;vsq (myth.) 14.14. <E6y:aEw5vToc>, King Sigismund of EaT&v
evop i
15.27.
'O8uate6q "Op.rjpos
13.9; <40.3>. 32.16; 50.43.
'Opcpeus (myth.) 9.34; 34.17; 44.62.
Hungary
SultanBajazid 16.54,
75, 99; 19.32, 35; 29.17;
33.36.
of Mount Athos
57.2.
Ewt
16.50, 56, 58, 60. imperial 49.7-17. 14.10; 17.61; 18.17, 19;
Exa.p&vos,
official 62,
31.2-15. 20.15; 35.22.
EtxeXcxo nop& 6o <EEµwv), protos
ExUAIaa
20.12. ExOAAa
35.23; 58.6.
TERMS and VOCABULARY EoXojzwv (bibl.) 29.11; 67.74. Eoutaocq, dictionary 4.8, 14. <EouAsit,t&vrjc>, Turkish emir
235
correspondent of
I payy6rcouAos,
Manuel
24.1. Phrygia 20.11.
57.8-11. E-xev-r&pr)s, Turkish ruler 16.59. ETnatXopoc (myth.) 30.34.
ancient musician 34.16. 6.52; 12.9?; 14.12, 27; 16.15, 18; 19.9; 29.15; 31.38, 47, 62,
65, 68,
82; 37.19; 55,20;
67.22; 68.59, 77, 105, 108, 157, 204, 213.
35.22; 58.7.
X&pu(3&
Xpep.uAos (Aristophanes) 65.13. XptaTtavot 25.16; 31.14, <47>, 72, 111.
<6.15>; 6.44; <8.15,
XptaT6S
18,
19>; 16.19; <21.9>; 31. <53, 56>, 72, <91, 114>; <35.20>; <40.7>; <57.12>; 67.<267-73>,
<41.41>; 275.
53.1. TpLpocXAot, Serbians 16.17. Tpt(36X7)4, official in Morea 9.1.
T6X-q, fortune personified
cai8pos (Plato)
19.33.
10.5; 52.12.
(DetBtaS, ancient sculptor
XpuaoXe pas, 14; 43.1;
33.1; 41.1,
44.1; 45.226; 46.1;
47.11; 48.1; 50.1; 61.1. <XpuaoAcop&c, 'Iw&vw c> 56.25-32. 37.1; 38.1; XpuaoAwpas,
49.1; 55.1; 56.1.
50.38.
II: TERMS and VOCABULARY &(3kTo 6 (3toS
3.19.
&ytoS, saint 67.266, 330; (of empress) 1.1; (of despot) 13.1. aywv, commander (Bajazid) 16.54. &BeAcpi (of letters) 9.13; 15.22. &BeApt8o5S (nephew of Manuel Chrysoloras) 56.25.
68.128; (Theodore, brother
&8aAp6s
of Manuel) 9.30; 13.1, 34; 56.2, 13; 60.3; (Abel, brother of Cain) 68.132. At,to4 Aeux65 (proverb)
&x(Xr'r
18.23.
µi
16.87. axpo5 apXo.wv (King Henry IV) 55.12. foreign land 44.42. &AAo,rpta, foreign land 30.16, 18;
32.36; 62.17. &A(;: &pXv) Twv &Acwv, supervision of
the salt works
8.6.
&pocl,st; (Moslems) 31.88. &µapTia Lapp.; 6.19, 21; 31.32,
55; 67.151, 160, 322. 68.63. 2.12. &.Luv6µevot 44.9. &V.70, 6v
&Iq 4p &v&yvo
LS, (Latin) liturgical reading
30.38. &v&yupov xtvsZv
30.61.
&v*'p (Chrysostom) 25.7, 17; (former emperors) 48.21; (John Chrysoloras) 56.27; (Kananos)
13.10; (Plato) 3.2; 4.2, 5; (King Sigismund) 31.13; (Theodore Palaeologus) 56.8; (Western Europeans)
37.5.
&v,paxes of raaupot 38.14; 53.12. &v,pwnoc (servant of Asanes) 20.16; (Suleyman)
57.10.
INDICES
236
&vTExpLa,roc (Muhammed) 31.95 . avw zroTapwv 6.51; 19.24; U.S.
ygvoc (Byzantines)
a7rLaroc (Moslem) 31.68; (pagan)
67.167. ye pwv 2 . 16 ; 44 . 14 , 74 ; 45 . 98 , 107 ; (Jonas) 67.156; (Plato) 3.18.
25 . 8 .
15.17.
aTro?as (of Albanians) &t paapLBoc & 7r o ypalL h
&pyuprov, coin &pp.a
68.108.
yXcdi
4.9.
ES
yp&cpsLv y. 67.39.
41.2.
45 . 14 .
Wvroq 4.18. 3EazroLVa (empress)
18.30.
2.app.; 45.172. 32.18.
&pX6.LcvoL, subjects
68.39; (King Henry IV) 38.20; 55.12; (Manuel II) 44.55; (Turks) 16.60, 99.
31.47, 62, 65. &aTu (Thessalonica) 45.162. &TTLxti;w 32.9. ocaEpELs
auToµoAsty 30.17. auT6µoaoq 30.31.
suicide
1.1; 23.2. (Christ) 8.19; (Asanes) 20.18; (King of Cyprus) 32.20, 27; (despot Theodore I) 13.1; (Theodore II) 68.150, 153; (Manuel II or Kalopheros) 49.11. 8EuT6pa olxouµ vr;, Great Britain 38.21. Sr&tcpoc 76,o54 16.39; 24.9; 29.3. Sr; uoupy6S, God 1.28; 12.12; 67. 8eo-n&,rj,;
&pxwv
auT6xELp,
67.293, 301.
180. 8L&xovoc, civil servant 49.11. 3L&XEx-roc
p&ppapoc
16.34; 31.88; 52.35;
68.69.
20; 1.20; (John VII) 45. 219; (ManuelII) 17.13; 62.app.; (John VI)
(of Trebizond) 53.1; (predecessors) 2.app.; 48.21. paaLALx6S
4.10.
13.6; 59.2. spring
paaiXLaaa Twv 215.
xoLvoi S. (classical authors) 50.22. 44.9. &x&,ov-ES
10.3, 13; 43.18; 44.33; 53.2; 56.22; 60.2; 68.10.
poux6),La 68.67. pouXEu-c"piov 45.20.
44.9.
13.20; 43.11; theological doctrine 52.31.
Uyl.La, decision ,36pu
45.176,
3.faiov
Sou):oc
43.12.
4.19, 20; 31.91.
FpEravev 2.13. Spur 67.140, 142, 144, 147. Suv&rs-r;;,
Western ruler
oixoua.
of
U-Ep
30.24.
41.29.
17.18; 59.11; (Byzantines or Turks) 12.9; (Turks) 16.18;
4$vos
(Jews) 07.271. P&6ELpa:
62.9.
28.18; 45.7, 8, 12, 26, 47, 115, 209; (church fathers) 67. 321; (Thomas Aquinas) 30.40;
Fi L8&axaao;
paaLXELa, palace 52.2; 57.3. focaLXEUS (John V) 12.4, 9, 13,
(3aaLXEUELv
(Latin?) 31.11; 32.12;
37.4. &ck?,oyoc (nept y&p.ou)
52.35.
pappapouv
31.37;
ypmyP, indictment 10.2; 62.23;
67.265.
&7r6a-roxoq
12.13;
39.22; 40.4; 44.54; (human race)
-r&
P.
vY1couc
EXEU`JEpia ?,Eb9&Epos
4.20. 4.21.
TERMS and VOCABULARY 9t;w,4ev A6yo!, secular topics
67.193. 67.1. 97n, 4ytoS, funeral oration 56.2. 67riuToAt i ocios
EntTpo7ros TOU EwTi1Poc (pope) 8.17. &aa'A& &n' ea8? & v 34.3; 49.4. eankpic [t6p7],
Western Europe
41.12. 6TatpoS (Demosthenes) to)
14.28; (unidentified) Ta
£x5p65
6.14,
34.2.
54;
1.20; 12.5; 44.20; 611. (Hippocrates) 68.137.
kspe6S (-r& v flEpa& v) (Moslem reli-
gious leader) 16.15. iepop.ovax6S
68.1.
innix' p.&ir;ns 43.4.
13.13;
18.16;
(Turks)
14.12;
14.20;
18.
11, 13, 24, 28; 45.163, 178; 67.95. taTOpix6S
52.32.
13.31;
26-28, 30-33; 26.2, 6, 10; 43.2, ia'opta
3.41.
67.102;
48.3;
iaTp6s
iirnoS 2.app.;
62.12; (Pla-
VgGtaL, north winds 67.10. eux-rr pmv, chapel 57.20. &Uaepely, be orthodox
237
6.30. 19.7.
taX&3c Aeapixat 5.20. iX05s 45.193; 67.145. iwvi& 45.182.
31.54; 33.36; 55.20, 24; 67.22, 26; 68.59, 77, 105, 108, 157.
x&&e8pa
xapxtvos
46.2. 16.4.
vjS onoLta J'XipaTOS
ilvtoxoc
67.96; (JohnVII) 45.172.
i1po sc 13.7; 46.9. (of an imperfect ,rr
45.32, 120. 66.4.
xevil p axapta 53.11; 55.5. x7lnoi Mouawv 14.9; 34.23. xtTTa 45.197. common weal xoLva np&ypLW ,
43.14; 44.30.
composition)
11.16, 20.
xoiv& T& r &v ptawv 54.3. Evvoiai 17.19; 33.26.
xoLvoi 8i8&ax00,oi (classical authors) 50.22. UccTpov -r6
9.7; 27.2; 28.19. (the Byzantine Church)
30.17. ,'c,[& Twp, mother of God 39.32; 57.16; 61.12. ,'eov.6aci.c (Turks) 31.82. peoncTwp (David) 31.52. 9epocncta, pastoral 9'. Ecpe%TaL 8pav
,4p 50.10, 14;
care: ci T& Till (bishops) 30.45. (Sultan Mechmet)
67.154, 158. xopupazo; (St. Peter) 67.277. x&rrupoc 45.197. xp&-roc (of empress) 1.24. xpaTCilv (God) 12.12; (ruler) 57.4 xpclhcd
18.22, 29, 31.
45.182. 17.7; 48.7. xupLoc, 6 (God) 30.20; (Christ) 31.91.
xpivwvi&
18.17; 43.10. xwµ.x64, 6 (Aristophanes) xuwv
19.32.
68.202. &i;pa 32.13; 43.12; 45.94, 194. 4rptiov
19.5; 43.9; 45.188; 50.7;
59.16; 67.93; 68.84. po'voq Tou xptvcr,v 15.34. ,uywrr p (of Manuel) 27.16.
Aaµnp6Ta,OS (king of Cyprus) 32.11, 35; (king of England)
38.26; (king of France)
37.11.
INDICES
238
Xsc'roupyta, public service 13.6. 20.14; 44.43; 45.174.
13.13, 24; 16.93; 31.2, 34; 38.29; 68.35.
25.18. A6ycoc AoycaTr q, financial official 49.13. Aoc65 20.19.
35.4; (scripture)
68.157;
Auxoc
Auxou 7rrep& (prov-
erb) 16.24; 18.22. 45.116.
.Cayvj'rc5
y c i (Dominicans)
V.oc
ing) 11.22; 16.67; 31.107; 34.9; 38.36; (norm, rule of life) 2.25; 35.20; 52.9; 56.10, 13; 67.48. voaety o xacp6s 3.31. voarJj 16.77; 31.26; 55.10; 57.19. voaos 2.11, 15; 12.5; 16.65, 80; 22.8; 29.2; 31.5; 44.21. vuxTo axta 33.40.
30.41.
tavta 57.11; 68.80, 211. l.avcxk, vehement 3.28; 13.16; 45.63. piapcax&AxoS, marshal
27.14; 45.9, 28, 67, 99, 30.24; (Lesbos) 67.4, 6. 14.23; 36.5. v6.uoi voµoS, law 6.11; 45.26, 69, 221; (of God) 67.302; (of letter writvko5, youth
45.29. Aec7ro,atou ypacp 62.23. Aec7ro'r&xrrjs
kvos
32.26; 44.24; 68.102.
tcpoq
16.11.
41.25.
t.auXe vas (title of Moslem religious leader)
16.15.
6 8uvc s or, ac c v (Christ)
16.14. preys j 7r6A.S (Constantinople) µ&xacpa
67.19.
34.1. p.eat'res, intermediary (Virgin Mary) 57.16. (.6yac xap'rocpuAaE
E.c'J8ev lep6v
µgaiv 6yci4
67.116. 31.74.
Wrl'r4 (of Christ)
57.13; (of Manuel)
1.1; 23.2. 57.1. rZavr;, siege engine 58.9. µcp W, flea 50.44. iov 6S 3.7; 44.24. (.6'qTpo7roAA r
1.1.ouarGov
µ61oS
pea, liturgical rites
vaucycov vauc
32.12;
41.32; 43.9; 51.14. 38.41.
45.197; 67.147. is oS 45.62; 67.34; 68.1. ou6Ev iepov 43.28. o68EV uytk 28.7; 67.116. opvcs
45.20.
3.43; 4.13.
p.ue,aywy6S (Muhammed) tLua
otxerjS 20.9. oixtaxov 52.3. olxos 44.7, 11. oixouµevr 31.28; 38.21. olvos 16.100. oitAoc 13.3; 14.20; 19.4; 67rXt'tr
Ec7'I)p PrJT6pwv (Thessalonica) 45.83.
57.12.
68r;y6; 'vas &Arfle(as (religious teacher) 67.320.
31.85. 30.38.
68.28.
3.41;
16.90;
33.29;
45.174; 68.27, 29, 32.
38.42;
7r4aoS: avu Lvouv 'r& 7r&&r;
(passion
of Christ, Stabat mater?) 30.28. 7tac8eta (education, training) 1.13; 45.60, 94, 138; 52.31; (chastisement) 67.35, 123, 161, 162, 165. pwv, physicians 16.70; 67.151.
nocZ8eS .7@v is
7rat8eumq
1.19.
TERMS and VOCABULARY
nat&&, pleasantry, humor 2.6; 43. 33;
45.138;
50.5; 67.41-106. na6Cw, engage in pleasantries, jest
18.35; 29.14.
noALopxeiv 7co XL;
239
9.29; 16.25-27, 30, 34;
17.18; 18.35; (Ankara) 20.11;
2.2, 11; 10.4, 6, 7; 33.39; 43.23; 45.228; 50.34; 67.37, 65, 76, 91,
(Constantinople) 20.8,20; 37.13; 42.8; 67.12, 19; (Thessalonica)
103, 107. (Christ) 31.53; nai8es (writings) 5.7; 9.15; 44.86; 54.2. naMwp8iav 48ew, retract 30.34; 31.22, 101; 68.169. nav&4w os (Virgin Mary) 61.15. 7cav' oupybs: xetp n. (of God) 68.194. naa&C, priest 39.1; 40.1; 51.1; 54.1. n&nno4 (teacher of rhetoric) 9.6.
6.48; 11.15; 43.25; 45.83, 168,
7c&-Ls
nm-r!p 45.91; (author) 9.16; 15.23; (teacher) 45.47; (God) 31.53, 57; (John VI) 1.20; (Manuel II) 33. 36; (treatise of Chrysostom) 25.8; a6ywv n. (Cydones) 62.2; 7cveup,a-rLxoS n. 68.1. na,rpLapxr;S 51.2; 54.app. na-rp(S (Byzantine Empire)
12.18,
26; 17.25; 19.28; 37.18; 49.11; 55.33; 62.17; (Constantinople) 13. 5; 44.45; (Thessalonica) 3.19; 6.6, 22; 45.61, 69; 67.22; t.xovv' (foreign lands) 30.16. ne8tov 16.3, 22; 42.3; 43.26; 45.187; 68.71. neaayoc
3.19; 13.23; 31.2; 44.42;
53.6; 67.58; 68.28; n. X6ywv 16.90, 91; 31.108; 33.28. n&Tpac 6neipew 8.8. 7rryai &evvao. 68.200.
(Christian) 31.76; 37.15; 55.20; 67.22; (Moslem) 31.68, 74. rrw"oL (Christians) 31.48. rLcT
na&vr; 7zstpav (nzipav) 13.9; 16.53. noip.v:a 68.67. noAep.toq 1.18; 18.14, 21; 19.35;
20.15; 29.15; 37.19; 43.12; n.
169, 219, 222; (inMorea) 68.59; (Pompeiopolis)
16.46, 49.
44.24; (of Thessalonica) 4.11; 11.13; 46.61, 219.
noakT-%
noaunouS
12.19. 20.16; 35.22. oc (Despot Theodore I)
nop,&µ6S (EaxsXt.x6S)
noppupoyevv 13.1.
6.51; 16.2, 44; 18.6; 44.43; 45.177; 67.213.
noTcN.6s
nveu(I.aTGxoC, na-njp
68.1.
18.25. npsa(3eia 8.17, 18. npea(3E6S 41.24. nba
7rpoyovoi (ancestors of Byzantines) 19.41; 44.32; 45.90. npbvoLCX (divine) 67.87; (imperial) 13.5. upon&-rwp (of Moslems, Ismael) 31.89.
npopr
67.265; (Jonas) 67.160,
(Muhammed) 31.71, 79. npe'rb xoc 34.1. npcc oc (of Mount Athos) 57.2. npwTOae(3aaT6S 2.1. 163;
pg, king (of Cyprus) 32.11, 35; 38.20; (of France)
(of England)
37.11; 41.27; (of Hungary) 31.2. pr;Topela
4.30.
9.8; 14.8; 32.6; 34.18, 19; 45.6, 27, 83; 67.140; 6 p. (De-
p7)Twp
mosthenes) po8wvL&
30.58; 68.41.
45.182.
D'1p (sultan Mechmet I) 68.202. n6azp,oS 14.19; 19.4; 43.9; 45.225;
58.10; 67.19, 20.
aaTp&nrS (Turkish leader)
29.17; 68.205.
16.55;
INDICES
240
axacpoy 16.90. axr1v1 33.22; 67.5, amvE&OV 19.19.
6.2; 10.13; 33.8; 44.87; 45.85; 46.8; 49.4;
T6xos (A6ywv), writing 141; 68.109.
62.10, 14; 68.53. 38.41.
6.55.
axopnEOV
3.5; 25.4; 28.7; 31.106; 35.2; 47.9; Toy x6cr ou 3.8. aopLaT'4 (teacher of rhetoric) 9.7, 10; 45.26, 143; (Thomas Aquinas)
aocpk
30.40.
Tpayq c 4.3; 6.16; 67.38, 45, 63. u3pL r.v 30.59; 45.53; 65.24; 67.
336, 337, 339, 342; 68.126. 6(ipLS
52.38. 12.2, 6, 9.
onoyyL& iaaeraL aTOLTdjp
67.272; avup,vouv (Vexilla regis ?) 30.28.
a-raup6s
a,rpaTnyetty
hammed) aTpa'r y6S 65.22.
Tov
a.
14.11; 67.25; (of Mu31.70. 15.27; 39.25; 41.25;
16.5, 55; 18.14, 35; 19.8;
arpaTL&
38.12, 42; 39.32. a,rp ct c rr;S 41.30; 43.2, 17; 62.23. auxocpavTrjc
auµµaxEa
30.52; 50.11; 64.35; 65.28;
67.338, 339, 341.
26.5; 48.7; 63.3. 38.41.
ui65 (Theodore I) 9.31. uµvoc 15.31; 30.<27>, 38. upvgBic 30.43 papLanLoc 31.59. pOAav,'fpwnia 6.20. ytXoaopEa 30.53. cpLA6aopoc (-wc) 3.14,
17; 30.60;
43.8; 45.27.
y0 ro roL, dear ones (of Empress Helena) 1.11, 28; (of king of Cyprus) 32.19.
auµµaxoL 39.28. auvtijyopoc, advocate
26.11. auvr&rjs (Manuel Kalekas) 30.7. 67.162; 15.12; 45.25; aX p.a 68.118; (imperial dignity) 1.19 (21?); 2.app.; 44.37; 65.36; (royal) 38.26; 56.12; (monastic)
1.21 (?); (of a judge)
15.35; a.
Twv iepwµdvwv (clergy) 68.102. 6.15; 8.18; 21.9; p (Christ) 31.114; 35.20; 67.267. awppoVLaT-ijc (teacher) 27.14; (chastiser) 68.154. E&r
cppoupLOV
29.14; 58.8; 68.74.
cpuAa (rr6Aecc) (St. Demetrius) 6.48. pwv>7 AarEvwv, Latin language 60.16. 29.9.
XapLc &AAX;vLdj
XapTop6Ax , FLeyxq 34.1. Xeiµwv 2.17; 3.18; 16.65;
31.4;
33.29; 38.30; 68.20.
XeLp: of uno X. (imperial subjects) 52.34. yeAL3c v
45.197.
4.8, 9, 16; 38.41; 41.31; 44.29; 68.40.
XprjpLaTa, money xpuaea XaAxe'oLs
68.44.
Teixoc (wall across Isthmus of Corinth) 68.80, 113, 147, 208. 4AOS:
of dv T&?rL,
officials, nobles
XpuaLOV
52.26.
7.4; 9.34.
4.12, 21; 25.2, 12; 48.10.
XPua6c
37.13; 68.101. T&TTL
66.14.
(P) Kupiou
30.20.
12.8;
16.101;
CITATIONS
241
CITATIONS BIBLE
Actus Apostolorum 1.7:
Genesis 4.8:
68.132
Psalmi 6 . 2:
31.53-54 67.134-
9 . 21:
31.65
37 . 2: 57 . 7:
67.134 31.59
72.9: 113.9:
31.58, 60-61; 58.12
124. 3: 136.4:
31 . 47
2.9:
Ad Romanos 2.16:
31.96-97
3.19:
31.66
1 ad Corinthios 3 3: .
31.54 30.20
31.113-14
3 . 13: 7 . 10:
31 96-97 31 . 83 1 . 25 .
31.49-51
15.47-48:
Ad Colossenses 2.9:
67.268
Ad Philippenses Ecclesiastes
3.1-8, 17:
29.11-12; 67.74
Jonas 4.6-10: 67.154-58
Matthaeus 9.16: 18.22: 19.17: 21.22: 27.29:
35.1.6-17 6.44 31.46
8.15-16 67.273
2.13: 4.4:
1 ad Thessalonicenses 5.18: 1.26
2 ad Timotheum 2.20: 31.49-51 Ad Hebraeos 12.8:
2.21:
35.16-17
10.18:
31.46
11.24:
8.15-16
15.20:
67.273
67.135
1 Petri 2.21:
Marcus
67.171 1.26
67.276
Epistola Jacobi 1.17:
67.169-70
Apocalypsis 2.27; 12.5; 19.15: 31.53-54, 81
Lucas 5.36:
35.16-17
15.20:
33.42
18.18: 19.8:
31.46 6.42
23.11:
67.273
OTHER
Aesopus
336 (ed. Chambery): 66.14
INDICES
242
Dionysius Halic. De comp. verb. 18; De Thucyd. 2, 53: 28.2
Anaxagoras fragm. 1: 68.97
Aphthonius Progymnasmata, 4:
3.15--16;
44.58-59; 68.40-41 Progymnasmata, 21: 66.14; 67.2
Aristeides
XLVII ad Capitonem, 2, 419: 52.38-39
Herodotus 3, 53: 30.66 4, 36: 15.33 6, 140; 7, 168:
Hesiodus Opera 582:
Aristophanes Aves 285: 65.13 301: 4.9 Equites 884: 68.146 Lysistrata 68: 30.61 Nubes 1482: 67.39 Pax 1083: 66.4 Plutus 87-91:
Euripides Medea 410: 6.51; 19.24; 57.8 Phoenix, fragm. 812, 7-9: 3.15-16
19.32-34
336:
65.13-14
969:
3.29
Aristoteles Metaph. 8, 6, 5-10 (1045A): 39.25
Cydones
Ep. 79, 19-20: 5.2-3 Demosthenes De corona 159 (280): 11.25; 62.11-12 De /alsa legatione 245: 3.15-16 In Midiurn 42, 45, 185: 30.58 547: 62.23 Olynth. 1, 20 (15) : 68.40-41
67.10
66.4
763-64:
38.24
Hippocrates Aphorismi 1, 3:
68.138-40
Homerus Iliad 1, 69, 105: 41.15; 50.43-44 1, 249:
5.19
2, 24, 61: 32.17 2, 212-44: 16.86; 64.22 2, 489: 65.7 6, 236: 52.26 15, 273, 619: 16.4 16.35: 16.4 17, 75: 16.87 Odyssey 1, 58-59: 40.3 5, 492: 68.90 9, 243: 16.4 10, 88: 16.4 12, 188: 14.15 13, 80: 68.90 13, 196: 16.4 18, 6, 25: 4.15; 65.13
Isocrates Ad Dernonicum 1, 86: 3.33
CITATIONS
Joannes Chrysostomus Ad patrem infidelem: 25.8
243
Plato Convivium 219a: 52.26 Gorgias 524e: 28.7; 31.74; 67.116
Libanius Declam. 31, 200: 4.12; 12.7- 8 Ep. 10: 67.47 80 , 6: 143 ,
1:
143 , 2: 1 4 3, 3 : 143
,
4:
300 , 3: 348, 11: 515 , 3:
30 . 61 50 . 2-3 50 . 31 9 .34; 15 . 33 65 13 45 . 2 .
4.12; 12.7-8
16 . 24 617 2: 42 3 790 1: 36 4 1183 , 1: 42 . 3 1184 , 11: 16 . 24 1215 , 3: 36 . 4 ,
.
,
.
1325:
67.47
1 400,
6 4 .31
7: 1426 , 6:
Sententiae 3:
Ion 534a: 14 . 8-9; 34 . 22-23 Leges 840b: 929 e: 94 3d :
Lysis 207c: Phaedo 61a:
69a:
45 154 .
67 . 39 62 . 23
54.3 42.3-4
14.28
71e-72d: 26 . 8-9 72c: 85a:
68 . 97
39.14-15
Phaedrus 228a: 243a-b:
10.5; 52.12 30.34; 31.22 , 101;
Respub . 492c: Theaet. 159e: 176a:
42.3
68.169-70 67 . 81-82 33.14 45.76
Plutarchus
68 . 40-41
Lucianus Hermotimus 71; Navigium 11:
Vita Alexandri 41 , 1: 59.2-3 Vita Luculli 39-41: 65.22
Polybius 1, 82, 7: 19.3
53.11-12; 55.5
Proverbia Menaion, Oct. 27-28:
6.54-55
Menander fragm. 341 (411) : 44.58-59
Pindarus Olymp. 4, 19-28: 7, 34, 50:
45.2 4.12; 12.7-8
Corp. Paroemiogr. Gr. 1. 24: 14.8 32: 33: 47: 59: 106: 140: 270: 348: 373:
38.14; 53.12 41.2 6.51; 19.24; 57.8 4.9 54.3 67.116 16.24; 18.22 18.23 68.146
INDICES
244 II.
5:
Symeon Metaphrastes Passio S. Demetrii (Acta SS.,
14.8
23: 4 . 25 24: 24.9; 29.3 48: 8.8
Oct. IV, 88-100) :
6.54-55
Theocritus Scholia 12, 2: 3.26
140:
43.28
145:
45.14
156:
13.35
202:
8.8
203:
12.19
210:
30.24
359:
4.9
421:
45.2
509:
16.24; 42.3
557:
45.149-50
611:
8.8
661:
30.24
756:
17.17-18
763:
31.44
Theognis I, 35: 34.3-4; 49.4 I, 175-76: 8.2, 6-7
Thucydides 3.22:
Xenophon Memorab. A, 2, 16:
1.2-8
Unidentified :
Sprichworter, Karathanasis
6 '&avaT0q i q o1S 7rp0'xrcrw. Twv cpLAou.Levwv XWpLS: 1.9-10 iv Tw TETap&X OC!. To6q A0yLgt0u'
82:
30.24
&pLeLvWV
176:
62.20
(3Louv
214:
30.61
Suidae Lexicon
K 215 (3, 17): K 2550 (3, 200): K 2551 (3, 200): 0 798 (3, 577): E 1095 (4, 443): T 620 (4, 556):
33.40
65.13 54.3 17.19; 33.26 43.28; 67.116 30.34 34.16
12.26-27 &v&yxr; 3.41 eup'xavov u7rocv Tb cpaaL TLva -crov Ev &ypoig 'v oL'xjoLv 7cOLou ivcoV paaLASL& 7ro'S 1&Eaa&µsvoV ouTWC, Ex7cAayilvOL T TOUTWv Wpq. WC, TOV OL%Laxov Ev
xar&Alle
µuailaaL 're xa. 7rapc o5vca rcupi: 52.2-4
IV: INCIPITS A'pEaLV :rung.: && 'AxouW 'r7ro' EuyCV=q aw.
'A).?.' ol5 l.Ev '
v epL).Wv
'AA),a aU ELEV T( LGUTOy GLUS
14
59 Ps'yovs Tb pLP)d0v TouTL 60 r- v -,v ,,xx v Era)i mn c 16
BU.aLALxbv xa. To5T' EtvaL
1
43 'An),' EL xaL ev T(Z; &pELnoua:v
3r
EYEUaco xanoxayo o'v 64 'Eycw xai 6-"' aou T& 7 pLv 66 'Ey6 Tbv Zpuao5v Tnv yXO TTav 25 (b&XXOV 2 EL uE xcd 'Eµo. 31 7-A, oC 7rpayp,xTWv 44
At7 &iw
19
"AvTLxpu; &o 7rpoS av6pc4 17 .Apa ELnrtpEVa6 TLa'.cUaEL 12 A6-(,c arv yc pLv &v.yvwv 23
sic r6 n4Aayo4 31 II&vu cot xoX& Ta EnearocXV.6va
"Eocxas SL' 6v xal Oouxu3E3ou 28 'EnaLvcLv as 2-i 1 aonoLLaq 46
Oux
47 'Enl roco6Twv am ;'-Iv enLaro),Yv 9 cps otalora xoci AEav 5 `Hyo5µaE as 38
Hap& pLev rcov oux cE3orcov 61 µL j noXX& eZvai aoL 50
'E7r vouv #Cv am Ta yeypoct46voc
'Hxe Wk xpovou 34 'HxsL am Ta cEw&ora XOyoL 62 'Hxev p,Zv enLaroX> 10
rily &vocyvou Oaup,&acov rL n&11oS xocE 15
IIoA,&xcs e(3ouXopa7jv cot yp&4cc
37
IIoAX&S aou 8e3ey4vos e'MaroX&S 39
E& Te xai Till ails 4u) 32
Oepouc axµil xal pctS 67 24
Kul Aaxwvcxily T]lv Kaa as tk l &v 3axp6wv
42
21
M auxop&vreL yey ipaxtc 48
49
ET4XX6) aOc rov 7rp6q rbv &3eXy6v 56 Eu 3' 6'rL (.ciV cppoveZ 58 16 as xoc ana PocXf3E8oc 41 16 3e xoc 2-6 ccXcrr6v 35 16 [hv ey&vou (.Loc CpEXOc 51 Eu p.ev rov OExop.eVOV innov 26
16 µev r 6v abv Epd(levov
29 luxop&vra; p,ev noXaous o 3 oS 63 Ta eipj c&va roc iv ccxpw 27 &vayvousyvwv 30
to aoyoq ouroq natS aFLpo r&poLS 54 ExeLS 3 '0 pLawv to xpjarbs ouroal Kavav6 13 Ola oto n47ov v &vi)p 4 013a (ipoca repov rwv 6µer4pwv 68 Ma & c az eucppo,tvcL 40 018a wS e,'fa' ataaaS 20 OlS iv paaLaeioLs oux earl 57
TE as To 7EEZ40V &vaLaxuvrcZv To p,ev A4yecv Eaxuecv 11
"Ore T05TO To (3L3AEOV en"yyEaacc
Ta µev napeveyxe%v as
53 Ou 8siv as vop.E,ecv 7 O63ev n?4ov papa Toy yp&p jtxroS
Tw p.ev ouv 'Epyivy pocc v 45 'aa1 rcva rwv e'v &ypots 52 22
T'jv enLaro?,hj Set&pLevoc t,4v
Tily xaaily encaroaily &vayvouc Tily nepi neviav W'rsZaav 8
'SZv p,ev au ye e'pgS
55 33
65
6
18
V: CHRONOLOGY 1371-1373? 1365-June 1383 1373-1390
5
1382-1383, winter
3
1
1383, fall
11
1385, spring
8
1383-1387
6 7 9 10 67
1389, fall-1390, April 12 1390, fall 1391, summer
15
1392-1396
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
13
14
161718 1920 21
2
1383, springy summer 4
1387, summer
1391, fall 1391, winter
1392-1396? 1394-1396
1396, summer-fall 1396, October 1396, fall 1396-1397 1397 1397-1399
29 30 31
62 32 33
3435 {?)
INDICES
246
1397-1398 1400, summer
1409, summer 1409, July
36 37
1409
1401, January-February 38
1409-1410
1401, spring-summer 39 40 41
65
66 55 54
42
1409, December-1410, January 56
1403-1408
4344 45 46 47
1411
57
1414, summer
58
1407-1408
48 49 50
1408, summer-fall
51
1416
1408-1410?
52 53
1417, summer
1401
1414, summer-fall? 59
1408, summer-1409, summer 63 1409, spring-summer 64
1417
68 60 61
VI: GENERAL (References are to page numbers)
Acacius, 28 note 1 Acciajuoli, Bartolomea, liii
- Nerio, liii Achaia, 168 note 1 Acindynus, xxviii adelphaton, xxxi note 24, xxxviii adnoumiastes, 23 note 3 Adrianople, xlii note 73 Aegean, 10 note 2, 34 Akapniou, monastery, xliii Albanians (Illyrians), xix, liii, 42, 48 note 3, 210
Andronicus (see Asanes, lagaris) Anemas Tower, xiv, Iii Angelos, li
Ankara, xv, xvii. liv, 60, 62 note 1, 114 note 1
Anna Philanthropena, empress of
Anconitanus, Petrus, xxv Andiocho, Angelo, Iv note 112
Trebizond, xlviii Anne of Savoy, empress, xxxii, li Antiochos, lv, 116 Antiochos, Demetrius, lv note 112 Antony, patriarch, xxviii, liii Aphthonius of Antioch, xviii Apocaucus, Alexis, xxxii Apollonius Dyscolus, xviii Aquinas, Thomas, xxxv, xxxviii, 76, 78 note 1 archon, xxxv note 39, lvi note 118, lx note 126, 156 note 1, 182 note 1 Aristophanes, 58 Arkla, island in Bosporos, 186, 204 note 3 Asanes, Andrew, xxiii, xxiv
Andrew (see Asanes) Andronicus IV Palaeologus, emperor,
- Andronicus, xxvii - Constantine, xxvii, xxviii, 54, 60,
xiii-xv, xxxix, xlv, xlix, 1, Iii, liii, 205 note 4 Andronicus Palaeologus, despot, xvi
- Isaac, xxvii - John, xxvii
Alexander the Great, 94 note 3, 96 note 3, 166 Alexandria, lix Alexis, lx (see also lagoup, Apocaucus) Alexius Comnenus, emperor of Trebi-
zond, xlviii Amnisus, 44 Anatolia (see Asia Minor)
74, 78 note 1
GENERAL
- Manuel Raoul, xxvii Ascoli, Antonio d', 153 note 2 Asia Minor, xv, xxi, 6 note 1, 36, 38 note 1, 40, 42, 48 note 1, 49 note 10,
52-58, 62 Athenodoros, 1, 225 Athens, 12
Athos, Mount, xxiv, xxxviii, xl, xlvi
xlix, liv, lv, 10 note 1, 160, 162 note 1, 206, 218 note 1 Aurispa, Giovanni, lvii
Babylon, lix Baghdad, lix note 125 Bajezid, Turkish emir, xv-xvii, xxiii, xxxiv, xlviii, 38 note 1, 46-50, 58, 74 note 3, 92 note 1, 114 note 1, 162 note 1, 223
Balsamon, Demetrius, xxix
- Manuel, xxix, lvi - Michael, xxix, xxx, lvi, 94 Barbari, Francesco, 168 note 3 Barlaam, xxviii Berroia, xxxviii Bessarion, cardinal, 153 note 2 Bologna, xxxvi, lvi Boniface IX, pope, 106 note 1 Boucicaut, Jean le Meingre, marshal, xv, 108, 110 note 1 Boullotes, xxxiv, 222, 223 Bosporos, 204 note 3 Branas, lx note 126 Brescia, lviii note 124 Britons, 106 Brusa, xiv, 32 note 1, 204 note 1 Bryennios, Joseph, xxxi, xli note 63, li, lvii Bryennius, 1, 226
247
xxiii, xxx-xxxiv, xxxviii, xlvi, 16, 20, 40, 186-204, 205 note 14, 221 Cadiz, 76 Cairo, lix note 125 Calecas, Manuel, xxviii, xxxvi, xxxix, Iii, liii, lvii, 74-78, 88 note 1 Camaldolese, lvii Cantacuzena (see Helena, Theodora) Cantacuzenus, Theodore, 1, 226 Cantacuzenus (see John, Manuel, Matthew) Catalonia, 156 note 1 Cataracts (of Nile), 16 Celts, 16 Chalcedon, xliii Chamaetos (see Cabasilas) Charles VI, king of France, 100, 108, 156 note 1 chartophylax, xxix, lvi, 94 Chilandari, monastery, xl note 60 Chora, monastery, xliii
Chortasmenos, John, xxix, xxxivxxxvi Choumnos, Macarius, xlii, xliii Chrysoberges, Maximos, lvii chrysobull, liv Chrysoloras, Demetrius, xxxiv, xxxv, 1,
li, 90, 92, 108, 112, 116, 132,
135-38, 142, 153 note 2, 170, 226
- John, xxxvi, xliv, Ivi, 158, 160 note 1, 168 note 1
- Manuel, xxxiv-xxxvii,
xxxix, xliv, xlv, lvi-lviii, 98,100,140,15458, 168 note 2 Chrysopolis, lix note 125 Chrysostom, St. John, 66, 68 Comnenus (see Manuel III, Alexius) Constance, xxxvii, xliv, 157 note 2
Bulgarians (Mysoi), xxvii, 42, 48 note 3 Burgundy, xliv
Constantine XI Palaeologus, em-
Cabasilas, Neil, xxx, xxxv, xxxvii - Nicholas Chamaetos, xiii, xiv,
Corinth, Isthmus of, xvi, 208, 212,
peror, lvi note 115 Constantine (see Asanes, Ivankos) Constantinople, passim 216, 218 note 1
248
INDICES
Crete, xxxix, lvii, 98 note 1, 172 note 1
Cydones, Demetrius, xiii, xix, xxvi, xxviii, xxxii, xxxv-xl, xlv, xlvii, 1-liii, lvii, 4 note 1, 6, 10-14, 20, 22 note 1, 26-36, 42, 49 note 16, 56, 58, 62-68, 72, 78-80, 86 note 1,
98, 157 note 1, 172, 204 note 1, 205 note 12, 227
- Prochoros, xxxviii Cyprus, li, Iii, lvii, 86, 88 note 1, 172 note 1
Damian, monk, xl, 206, 218 note 1 David, monk, xl, 206, 218 note 1 Demetrius, St., 18, 20 note 4 Demetrius (see Antiochos, Balsamon, Chrysoloras, Cydones, Frangopoulos, Skaranos) Demosthenes, xviii, 30 note 1, 38, 90, 124, 148, 172 note 3, 208 Denis the Areopagite, xxxvi Dionysiou, monastery, xlii note 73 domestic, xxxi, xxxv, lvi Dominicans, xxxviii, 76, 78 note 1 Doria, Hilario, 70 note 1
- Manfredina, lvi Dragag (see Helena)
ecclesiarch, xxix, xl note 60 Egypt, lvi note 115, 186 Eleavourkos, 218 note 1 Erzerum, 56 note 1, 60 note 4 Erzincan, 56 note 1, 60 note 4 Esphigmenou, monastery, xl note 60 Eugene 1V, pope, lvi note 115 Europe (Western), xxxiv, xxxv, xliv, liv, lv, 118, 154
Euthvmius, patriarch, xl-xli, xliii, xlvi note 84, 22 note 1, 104, 106, 144, 152, 154, 221
exarch of the Great Church, xxix note 11
Ferdinand I, king of Aragon, 164 note 1
Ferrara, xlv Florence, xxix, xxxvi, xlv, lvi, lvii France, xv, xxxiv, lv, 86 note 1, 98, 114 note 1
Francesco II Gattilusio, ruler, xliv, 204 note 1 Frangopoulos, xli, xlii, 66 Frangopoulos, Demetrius, xlii note 73
- George, xlii note 73
- John, xli, xlii - Leo, xlii note 72 - Manuel, x1i, xlii - Nicholas, xlii note 72 Gabriel, bishop of Thessalonica, xlii, xliii, lv, 148, 160, 162 note 1 Galata, xiv, xlv, Iii, lix, Ix Gattilusio, Giorgio, xvi, xliv, lx, 164, 166 (see also Francesco) Gemistos, 1, 225
general, xlii Genoa (Genoese), xiv, xlix, 1, Iii, lvi, 110 note 1, 114 note 1 George (see Frangopoulos, Gattilusio, Plethon, Scholarios, Skaranos) George, St., monastery, xxxi, xxxviii, 11 note 3 Glabas (see Isidore) Golden Gate, lix note 125 Goudeles, xlvii Great Britain, lv, 102 Grevenon, x1i
Guarini, Guarino dei, xxxvi, xxxvii, xliv, xlv, lvi, lvii, 166 Halys, river, 44, 56 note 1, 60 Helena Cantacuzena, empress, xii.i, xxvii, xxxviii, xlv, lii, 2, 4 notes 1 and 3, 64, 172, 174 note 2 Helena Dragas, empress, xv Henry IV, king of England, 102, 104 note 1, 154, 156 note 1 Hermogenes of Tarsus, xviii Herodian, xviii
GENERAL 249
higoumenos, xl note 60 Hippocrates, 212 Holobolos, xxviii, lv Homer, xviii, 50 note 16, 88, 144
liii, 10 note 1, 11 note 3, 30, 32, 38 note 1, 64 note 1, 202, 223
John VI Cantacuzenus, emperor,
Hospitallers, Knights, xv, 86 note 1 Hungary, xiii, xv, lvi, 86 note 1, 156 note 1
Hypomone (religious name of Helena Cantacuzena) Iagaris, lvi, 94
xvi, xxxiv, xxxv, xlviii, liv, 32 note 1, 34 note 2, 36 note 1, 48 note 3, 92 note 1, 130-34, 146 note 1, 223
Iagaris, Andronicus, lvi note 115 - Manuel Palaeologus, lvi note 115 - Mark Palacologus, lv i Iagoup, Alexis, xiii note 3, xvii, xxiii,
John VIII Palaeologus, emperor, xvi, xvii, xxxvii, xiii, lvi, 70 note 1, 92 note 1, 168 note 1
John XXIII, pope, 156 note 1
John III Asen, king of Bulgaria,
xxiv
Iberia, lvi note 115 Illyrians (see Albanians) Innocent VII, pope, xxxvi Irene Asanina, empress, xxvii
Irene Palaeologina, queen of Bulgaria, xxvii Isaac (see Asanes) Isfendiyar, Turkish ruler, note 9
4.1,
49
Isidore, bishop of i lonenivasia, 160 note 1
Isidore Glabas, bishop of Thessalonica, xliii, x1vi, xlix, 220 Isocrates, 8 Italy, xv, xxxvi, xxxvii, xxxix, xliv, xlv, lvi, 80, (18, 100, 111 note 1, 140, 158, 168 note 1, 1i'_' Ivankos, Constant xiii, xlvi,1v,122 Iviron, xlix
James I de Lusilinan. kin, of Cyprus, li, 80, 5 Jean le 3leingre (So, liouci(eant) Joasaph (religious Hams' of luhn Cantacuzenus)
John V Palaeologus, xiv,
xxx, xxxi, xxxiii, xxxvii, xiii note 73, xlv, xlix, 1, li, lviii note 121, 2, 4 notes 1 and 3, 223 John VII Palaeologus, emperor, xv,
x 11,
xx111,
xxvii,
xiii, xxviii,
xxxiii, xxxiv, xxxviii, xxxix, xlv-
xxvii John Calecas, patriarch, xxxii John, xlvi, lx (see also Asanes, Chortasmenos, Chrysoloras, Frangopoulos, Kalopheros, Kananos, Pothos) Joseph (see Bryennios) Justinian, emperor, xvi Kakoalexios, lv Kallistos, patriarch, liv
Kalopheros, John Laskaris, xxxvi, xiii note 70, lvii, lviii, 140 note 4 Kananos, lvii, 34, 36 Kananos, John, lvii
- Laskaris, lvii Karycs, monastery, xl note 60 Kastamouni, 48 note 1, 49 note 9 Katadokeinos (Katablatas), xlvi Kaukadenos, Doukas, xlviii note 87 - Theodore, xlvii, xlriii, 70 Kenchreai, xvi, 218 note 1 Khairaddin Pasha, 1 Krokondylis, 218 note 1 Kyra Martha (see Martha) Langosco, Bartholomew de, lviii, lix Laskaris (see Kalopheros, Kananos)
250
INDICES
Latin, 116, 168 Lavra, monastery, xxxi, xxxviii, xlvi note 84
Lemnos, xiv, xxxix, xlvi note 84,
6 note 1, 32 note 1, 204 note 1 Leontares, 170 note 2 Lesbos, xiv, xxxix, xliv, 14, 32 note 1, 78 note 1, 186, 204 note 1 Libanius, 134 note 2, 144 note 3 Lombardy, xxxvi Lomello, lviii note 124 London, xv, xxxvi, 100, 104 note 1, 156 note 1 Louvre, xvii Lucullus, 182 Lugano, xxxvii Lusignan (see James) Lyaeus, 18
Macarius, bishop of Ankara, xxxv, xli, xliii, liii, liv, 114 note 1, 174-84 Macarius, 150 (see also Choumnos) Macedonia, xiv
Mamas, St., monastery, xxxi Mangana, xxxi, xxxviii, xxxix, 8, 11 note 3, 186, 204 note 3 Manuel II Palaeologus, emperor, passim
Manuel III Comnenus, emperor of Trebizond, xlviii, 150 Manuel Cantacuzenus, despot, xxxi, xxxviii, Iii Manuel (see Asanes, Balsamon, Calecas, Cantacuzenus, Chrysoloras, Frangopoulos, Iagaris, Pothos, Raoul, Tyris)
Margaret, queen of Denmark, 106 note 1, 114 note 1 Mark (see Iagaris, Pothos)
Martha, Kyra, monastery, xlv, 64 note 1
Martin V, pope, lvi Martin I, king of Aragon, 106 note 1, 110 note 1, 156 note 1
Matthew Cantacuzenus, xxxi, xxxviii
emperor,
Matthew, bishop of Cyzicus and patriarch, xvi, xxix, xli, xliii, xlvi note 84, liv, 176 note 1, 184 note 1 Matthew, bishop of Medeia, xxxv, xli, xliii, liii, liv, 176 note 1, 182 note 1, 184 note 1 Matthew (religious name of Manuel II Palaeologus) Maula na, Turkish title, 42, 48 note 1
Mazaris, xxviii, xlviii, xlix, lv, lviii, lx, 164 note 1, 218 note 1
Mechmed, Turkish emir, xvi, 156 note 1, 157 note 2, 216 Menitze, monastery, x1 note 60
mesazon, xxxviii, x1ii, xlvii, xlviii, 114 note 1 Messalianism, xxxi Michael VIII Palaeologus, emperor, xxvii Michael Palaeologus, despot, lii note 102
Michael (see Balsamon)
Mistra, xli, x1ii, liii, lvi note 115, 4, 26 note 1, 34, 146 note 1, 158 note 1 Mohammed, 82, 84
Mongols, xv, 38 note 2, 49 note 10, 114 note 1
Morea, xv, xvi, xli, x1ii, li, lii, liv, lvi, lvii, lix note 125, 24, 26 note 5, 34, 140 note 5, 144, 146, 158 note 1, 164 note 1, 168 note 1, 170 note 1
Moslem, xiii, xvii, lix note 125, 50 note 16, 60 note 6 Mouskaranos, lix, lx Mouterizes, xiii, 60 note 6 Murad I, Turkish emir, xiv, xxxiv, 1, 23 note 4, 204 note 1 Murad II, Turkish emir, xvi, xlii, lvi Musa, Turkish emir, xvi, 156 note 1, 157 note 2, 162 note 1 Mysoi (see Bulgarians) Mytilene (see Lesbos)
Naillac, Philibert de, 86 note 1 Navarrese, liii Negroponte, Iv note 112 Neil (see Cabasilas) Neokaisarites, 20, 23 note 3 Nestor, St., 20 note 4 New Monastery, xliii Nicaea, xlii note 73 Nicholas (see Cabasilas, Frangopoulos)
Nicopolis, xv, 66 note 1, 86 note 1 Nile, river, 186
Nilus, patriarch, xxviii Niphon, bishop of Rhaidestos, lviii Niphon, monk, xxxi
Padua, xxxvi, xliv Paiones, 16
Palaeologus (see Andronicus, Constantine, John, Manuel, Michael, Theodore, Thomas)
Palamism (Palamite), xxviii, xxxii, xxxviii, xli, Iiii, lvii, 78 note 1 Pantanassa, monastery, xlii papias, grand, xxxi note 23 Paris, xv, xvii, xxii, xxxvi, 98, 104, 106, 110, 114 note 1, 156 note 1
Patras, xli, 168 note 1 Paul, St., 82, 84, 196 Paul, St., monastery, Iv Pavia, xxxvi, lviii note 124 Pediasimus, Theodore, xxx note 20 Peisha, Turkish ruler, 44 Peloponnesus (see Morea) Pera, xxxviii, 64 note 1, 78 note 1 Persian (Turk), xix, 38, 42, 116, 222
Peter, St., 200 Pharmakes, xxxi Philotheos Kokkinos, patriarch, xxxiii, xxxviii Phrygia, 60 Piacenza, lviii note 124 pinkernis, li Pisa, xxxvi
Plato, xviii, 6, 8-12, 38, 68, 104, 124, 125, 148, 172 note 3, 208 Plethon, George Gemistos, xxxiii Pompey, 44, 48 note 5
Pontus, 48 note 1 Portugal, 106 note 1 Potamios (Potaines), Theodore, xxxiv, xlviii-1, li, 136, 224 Pothos, xlix li, 52, 224, 225
Pothos, John, li - Manuel, 1, li, 96, 110
- Mark, li Prochoros (see Cyclones)
prostagma, xlvii, xlviii, Iii protekdikos, xxix, 94 protoasecretis, 23 note 3 protonotary, xxix protos of Mount Athos, xl note 60, xlvi, Iv, 160 protosebastos, 4, 6 note 1 protostrator, xli, x1ii, lvi protosynkellos, x1i protovestiarites, lvi Raoul, Asanes, lx note 126
- Manuel, li, lii, 86, 88 Raoul the Ant (Myrmix), lix, lx Rhadenos, 204 note 1 Roman, 26, 38, 44, 50 note 16, 132, 182
Romanos, St., gate, Iv Rome, xiii, xiv, xxxvii, xxxix, xli, xlii note 70, Ivii, 22 note 1 Russia, 38 note 2 sakellarios, xxix Salutati, Coluccio, xxxvi Saudji, Turkish prince, xiv Scarperia, Jacopo Angeli da, xxxvi Scholarios, George, xxx Scythians, xix, 38, 46, 49 note 10, 54, 56 note 1, 60 Selymbria, xxxiv, 90, 92 note 1 senate, xxxv
252
INDICES
Serbians (Triballoi), xv, xix, 42, 48 note 3 Serres, xv, xlii note 70 Sevasteia, 46, 49 note 10, 56 note 1, 60 note 4 Sigismund, king of Hungary, xxxvii, lvi, 66 note 1, 80, 86 note 1, 156 note 1
Simon, abbot, xlvi, lv, 160,
162
note 1 Sinope, 44, 48 note 1, 49 note 9 Skaranos, Demetrius, lvii-lx, 140 - George, lviii note 121 skevophylax, xxix Sophianos, lix Spain, xxxvi, 156 note 1 Sphrautzes, George, 164 note 1 Stephen Lazarevi6, Serbian prince, 48 note 3 Stoudios, monastery, xli, xliii stratopedarch, x1ii, lvi Suidas, 12 Suleiman, Turkish ruler, 49 note 9 Suleyman celebi, Turkish emir, xvi,
114 note 1, 157 note 2, 160, 162 note 2 Syropoulos, John, xxix
Theodore II Palaeologus, despot, xvi, xlii,146 note 1, 168 note 1, 212, 214 Theodore (see Cantacuzenus, Kaukadenos, Pediasimus, Potamios) Theodoret (religious name of Theodore I Palaeologus) Theognis, 20, 22 notes 1 and 2 Thessalonica, passim Thessaly, liii Thomas Palaeologus, despot, xlii Thomas (see Aquinas) Thucydides, six, 72, 90, 148 Traversari, Ambrogio, lvii,168 note 3 treasurer, lviii, 140 note 6 Trebizond, xlviii, lvi note 115, 150 Triballians (see Serbians) Triboles, liii, 24, 26 notes 1 and 2 Turks, passim
Tyris, Manuel lagaris Doukas, lvi note 11.5
universal teacher, xxix Urban V, pope, 157 note 1 Urban VI, pope, xl, Ii, 22, 23 note 5 Venice (Venetian), xiii-xv, xxviii, xxxv, xxxvi, xxxix, xli, xliv, xlv, 1, lvii, lviii, 34 note 3, 80, 86 note 1,
taboullarios, xxix note 11 Taherten, Turkish einir, 56 note 1 Tamerlane ('Tinnlr), khan, xvii, xxiii, xlvlll, 56 note 1
92 note 1, 114 note 1, 168 note 1, 172 note 1 Vercelli, lviii note 124
Tatars, 38 note 2
Wales, 110 note 1
Tenedos, 32 note 1, 204 note 1
Thasos, xvi, xxxvii, xliv, lix, lx, 164, 166 'l'henlistocles, 94, 212
Verona, xxxvi, xliv, xlv, lvi, 168 note 1
Xanthopoulos, monastery, 150 note 6 Xenophon, xviii, 40
Theodora Cantacuzena, empress of Zaccaria, Centurione, 168 note 1 Trelizond, xlvlll - Stefano, 168 note 1 Theodore I Palaeologus, despot, xiv, Zampia, daughter of Manuel II, 70 xvi, xviii, xli, x1ii, x1v, lii, liii, note 1 Ivii, 10 note 1, 24, 26 notes 1, 3, Zane, Paolo, xliv and 5, 34, 60 note 6, 144 note 1, Zealots, xxxii 146 note 1, 158, 166
Zeno, 44
