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the pope receives the treaties and the oaths of Robert and sends an embassy to him, attempting to form an alliance. And indeed at the same time Henry also sought an alliance, having sent messengers, setting out against most ancient Rome. But to Robert, each of them then seemed foolish for seeking such things; and he answered the king in another way and unwritten, but to the pope he composed a letter. The contents of the letter were something like this: “To the great high priest and my lord, Robert, duke in God. Having heard about the attack of enemies made against you, I did not pay much attention to the report, knowing that no one would dare raise hands against you. For who would attempt anything against so great a father, unless he were mad? But know that I am arming for a most serious war and against a nation hard to conquer. For they are Romans against whom the war is, who have filled every land and sea with trophies. But to you I owe faith from the depths of my soul, which I would provide when the time calls.” Thus he, having put off the ambassadors of both who were calling for an alliance—the ones with this letter, the others with some persuasive words—sent them away.

1.14.1 But let us not pass over the things done by him in Lombardy before he arrived at Aulon with the army. For he was in other ways a tyrannical and most bitter man, but then he also imitated the madness of Herod. For not being content with the men who had served in the army from of old and knew how to arm themselves for battle, he makes a newly-levied army, sparing no age; but having gathered from all sides both the over-aged and the under-aged of Lombardy and Apulia, he drew them to himself. And it was possible to see both boys and youths and pitiful old men, who had never seen a weapon even in their dreams, then dressed in a breastplate and holding a shield and drawing a bow altogether clumsily and poorly and falling on their faces whenever it was time to march. 1.14.2 These very things were a cause of unceasing disturbance for the land of Lombardy, and everywhere was the weeping of men and the wailing of women, and the ties of kinship were being divided for them. For one of them mourned a husband unsuited for military service, another a son inexperienced in war, and another a brother who was a farmer or occupied with other tasks. These things were, as I said, a direct manifestation of the madness of Herod, or even more than Herod's. For that one raged only against infants, but this one against both children and old men. But although these men were untrained, so to speak, he both trained and organized the bodies of the new recruits each day. 1.14.3 These things happened to Robert in Salerno, before he arrived at Otranto. For he had sent forth there a very considerable army to await him, for when he had settled all matters in the land of Lombardy and made the appropriate responses to the ambassadors. However, he added this much for the pope, that he instructed his son Roger, whom he had appointed ruler of all Apulia, and his brother Boritylas, that whenever the throne of Rome should summon them for aid against King Henry, they should go to him most eagerly and bring what help they could. 1.14.4 However, Bohemond, the younger of his sons and in all things resembling his father in daring and strength and nobility and irrepressible spirit (for this man was wholly the stamp of his father and a living impression of his nature) he sends with a very heavy army to our territories to attack the places around Aulon. And he immediately, with threat and unstoppable force, like some swooping thunderbolt, seized Kanina and Jericho and all of Aulon, and was always taking and burning the neighboring places as he fought. And he was truly a most pungent smoke before the fire and

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λαμβάνει ὁ πάπας τὰς συνθήκας καὶ τοὺς ὅρκους τοῦ Ῥομπέρτου καὶ διαπρεσβεύεται πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰς συμμαχίαν ἀποπειρώ μενος. Καὶ δὴ κατὰ ταὐτὸν καὶ ὁ Ἐνέριχος συμμαχίαν ἐζήτει πέμψας κατὰ τῆς πρεσβυτάτης Ῥώμης ὁρμώμενος. Ἀλλ' ἔδοξεν ἑκάτερος τότε λῆρος Ῥομπέρτῳ τοιαῦτα ἐπιζητῶν· ἐκεῖνος δὲ πρὸς μὲν τὸν ῥῆγα ἄλλον τρόπον καὶ ἀγράφως ἀπεκρίνατο, πρὸς δὲ τὸν πάπαν ἐπιστολὴν διεχά ραξεν. Εἶχε δὲ τὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ὧδέ πως «τῷ μεγάλῳ ἀρχιερεῖ καὶ κυρίῳ μου Ῥομπέρτος δοὺξ ἐν Θεῷ. Τὴν γεγενημένην κατὰ σοῦ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἔφοδον διακηκοὼς οὐ πάνυ τι τῇ ἀκοῇ προσεθέμην εἰδώς, ὡς οὐκ ἄν τις τολμή σειεν ἀντᾶραί σοι χεῖρας. Τίς γὰρ κατὰ τοσούτου πατρὸς ἐπιχειρήσειεν, εἰ μὴ μαίνοιτο; Ἐμὲ δὲ ἴσθι πρὸς πόλεμον βαρύτατον ἐξοπλιζόμενον καὶ πρὸς ἔθνος δυσκαταγώνιστον. Ῥωμαῖοι γάρ εἰσι πρὸς οὓς ὁ πόλεμος, οἳ πᾶσαν γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν τροπαίων ἐνέπλησαν. Σοὶ δὲ ἀλλ' ἀπὸ ψυχῆς βαθείας πίστιν ὀφείλω, ἣν καὶ καιροῦ καλοῦντος παρά σχοιμι». Οὕτως ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν εἰς συμμαχίαν καλούντων τοὺς πρέσβεις, τοὺς μὲν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ ταύτῃ, τοὺς δὲ πιθανοῖς τισι λόγοις διακρουσάμενος ἀπεπέμψατο.

1.14.1 Ἀλλὰ μὴ παρῶμεν τὰ κατὰ Λογγιβαρδίαν αὐτῷ διαπεπραγμένα πρὶν ἥκειν εἰς τὸν Αὐλῶνα σὺν τῷ στρα τεύματι. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἄλλως ἦν τυραννικὸς ἀνὴρ καὶ πικρότατος, τότε δὲ καὶ Ἡρώδου μιμεῖται μανίαν. Μὴ γὰρ ἀρκούμενος τοῖς ἀνέκαθεν ἐστρατευμένοις ἀνδράσι καὶ πρὸς μάχην ἐπισταμένοις ὁπλίζεσθαι νεοσύλλεκτον ποιεῖται στράτευμα μηδεμιᾶς φειδόμενος ἡλικίας· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἔξωρον καὶ τὴν ἄωρον πανταχόθεν συναγηοχὼς Λογγιβαρδίας τε καὶ Ἀπουληΐας εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐφειλκύσατο. Καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν καὶ παῖδας καὶ μειρακίσκους καὶ γέροντας ἀνθρώπους οἰκτρούς, οἳ μηδ' ὅσον ἐν ὀνείροις ὅπλον ἐθεά σαντο, τότε δὴ ἐνδεδυμένους θώρακα καὶ ἀσπίδα κρατοῦν τας καὶ τόξον ἀφυῶς πάντη καὶ πλημμελῶς τείνοντας καὶ κατὰ στόμα πίπτοντας, ἐπειδὰν βαδίζειν ἐξῆν. 1.14.2 Ταῦτα δὴ ταῦτα θορύβου μὲν πρόφασις ἧσαν τῇ χώρᾳ Λογγιβαρδίας ἀκαταπαύστου, καὶ πανταχοῦ κλαυθμὸς ἀνδρῶν καὶ ὀλολυγμὸς γυναικῶν, καὶ ἐμερίζετο ταύταις τὰ τῆς συγγενείας. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀστράτευτον ἄνδρα ἐθρήνει, ἡ δὲ ἀπειροπόλεμον παῖδα, ἄλλη δὲ ἀδελφὸν γεωργὸν ἢ πρὸς ἄλλα ἔργα ἠσχολημένον. Ταῦτα μὲν ἄντι κρυς, καθάπερ εἶπον, μανίας ἦσαν Ἡρώδου ἢ καὶ πλέον Ἡρώδου. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ κατὰ τῶν βρεφῶν ἐμεμήνει μόνον, οὗτος δὲ καὶ κατὰ παίδων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων. Ἀλλὰ καίπερ οὕτως ἐχόντων τούτων ἀνασκήτως, ὡς οὕτω γε φάναι, ἐγύμναζέ τε καθ' ἡμέραν ἑκάστην καὶ συνεκρότει τὰ τῶν νεοσυλλέκτων σώματα. 1.14.3 Ταῦτα μὲν ἐν Σαλέρνῳ συνεπεπτώκει Ῥομπέρτῳ, πρὶν εἰς Ὑδροῦντα παραγενέσθαι. Ἐκεῖσε γὰρ προεξέπεμψε στράτευμα ἱκανώτατον αὐτὸν ἀπεκδεχόμενον, ἐπειδὰν ἅπαντα καταστήσειε τὰ κατὰ τὴν χώραν Λογγιβαρδίαν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πρέσβεις τὰς προσηκούσας ἀποκρίσεις ποιήσαιτο. Τοσοῦτον μέντοι τῷ πάπᾳ προσέθετο, ὅτι τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ Ῥογέρῃ, ὃν Ἀπουληΐας ἁπάσης κεχειροτόνηκεν ἄρχοντα καὶ Βορι τύλαν τὸν ἀδελφόν, ἐπέσκηψεν, ἐπειδὰν ὁ τῆς Ῥώμης θρόνος πρὸς βοήθειαν αὐτοὺς προσκαλοῖτο κατὰ τοῦ Ἐνε ρίχου ῥηγός, προθυμότατα πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικέσθαι καὶ τὴν δυνατὴν εἰσενεγκεῖν συμμαχίαν. 1.14.4 Τὸν μέντοι Βαϊμοῦν τον, τὸν νεώτερον τῶν υἱέων αὐτοῦ καὶ κατὰ πάντα παρεμφερῆ τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τόλμαν καὶ ῥώμην καὶ γενναιό τητα καὶ θυμὸν ἀκατάσχετον (ὅλως γὰρ οὗτος τοῦ πατρὸς ἀποσφράγισμα ἦν καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου φύσεως ἔμψυχον ἐκμα γεῖον) μετὰ βαρυτάτου στρατεύματος ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀποστέλλει χωρίοις τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Αὐλῶνα τόποις ἐπιπη δήσοντα. Ὁ δὲ αὐτίκα ξὺν ἀπειλῇ καὶ ἀκατασχέτῳ ῥύμῃ καθάπερ τις ἐπιρρυεὶς κεραυνὸς τῶν τε Κανίνων καὶ Ἱεριχὼ καὶ τοῦ Αὐλῶνος παντὸς ἐπελάβετο καὶ ἀεί τι τὰ ξυμπαρακείμενα ᾕρει καὶ ἐπυρπόλει μαχόμενος. Καὶ ἦν ὡς ἀληθῶς πρὸ τοῦ πυρὸς καπνὸς δριμύτατος καὶ