died; Kantakouzenos, who, as if he were much more dispassionate than the others, took counsel, and likewise died; Notaras and all the others, openly and secretly, say that they are of no help, except only for his own, and he moves every stone, as the saying goes, as you also know better than the others; the Grand Domestic is also hostilely disposed towards the affairs of Serbia. And behold, after John Kantakouzenos, having come to an agreement, they are always urging me towards that of Trebizond. Where could I confide? In monks? And such men are inactive. In lords? And whom could I find dispassionate and not attached to anything, or who would not tell it to the others? Therefore I was suffering from your delay. 32.8 But when your letter arrived, behold, I learned both of you and of your opinion. And the things that we also had opposing us, you wisely and well resolved. And immediately I sent Palaiologos, ostensibly for other reasons, so that he might say this as if from his aunt, the protostratorissa. And behold, we heard the cause of the hindrance and we stopped. Therefore, with God, let us complete the matter of the king of Iberia. 32.9 And when a chrysobull had been made and signed, that his daughter was to be his wife and mistress of Constantinople, and he was to be her husband according to the agreements which the king of Iberia made with me. And that same lord of his from among the second rank, sent with us, having been summoned, before him the emperor and my master with his own hand made three crosses with cinnabar on the upper front of the chrysobull for confirmation, as is their custom. And having taken the chrysobull from his hand and having heard "Behold this man," pointing to me, "who with God is coming next spring with galleys, in order to take her," he made obeisance and departed.

33.1 But since from the beginning of the same year it was being whispered that the amir wishes to come to the Strait near Asomaton to build a fortress, the emperor resolved that, sending to the Morea, he should bring one of his brothers, whichever would accept this and be content with what was agreed, so that, should the need arise concerning what they should see to for the amir, one of the two might go to the rulers of the West. 33.2 And this having been decided, he commands me one of the days: "Protovestiarites, as to what we have resolved, I say that you are to go to the Morea and, when you accomplish the matter there, he is to come here, whichever of my brothers it may be who desires this; but you are to go to Cyprus to my niece the queen. And we here will prepare what is needed, so that when you come from Cyprus, you may go to Iberia to take your future wife." 33.3 And I reported to him: "The love and the duty of my servitude demand that I should speak to your command; but again I fear for your handmaiden and god-daughter, lest she become indignant and either leave and become a nun, or leave me and take another; for I came only yesterday, having spent a year and 11 months in Iberia, and to go away again now, she will be right to do whichever of the two she does." And laughing, he commands: "But tell her that she is to permit you to make these journeys and only these, and I will make her a sworn promise that I will no longer trouble you for any such thing." 33.4 And moreover you yourself know what we are considering and we both are discussing and planning to do. And this is certain, even without a sworn promise, that your embassies are to cease. And what we were discussing and planning was that he should inform the megas doux Notaras that he cannot have the office of mesazon. And we should not happen to take it from him on account of his honor, but that he should give it up; and that he should have precedence in rank and in the council and some income in another way, since I have need to make two lords, like the emperor my brother, not mesazontes, so that from the beginning of the day they may be with me until a late hour of the night and I may do my duties. Which also came to pass. 33.5 And

θανεν· ὁ Καντακουζηνός, ὁποῦ ὡς ἂν πολλῷ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπροσπαθῶς ἐβουλεύετο, καὶ ὁμοίως ἀπέθανεν· ὁ Νοταρᾶς καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλλα, φανε ρῶς καὶ ἀφανῶς λέγει, ὅτι οὐδὲν ὠφελοῦσιν, εἰ μὴ μόνον τὸ ἐκείνου, καὶ πάντα λίθον κινεῖ, ὡς ὁ λόγος, ὡς καὶ σὺ καλλίω τῶν ἄλλων, ἐπί στασαι· ὁ μέγας δομέστικος καὶ διάκειται ἐχθρωδῶς εἰς τὰ τῆς Σερβίας. Καὶ ἰδοὺ μετὰ Καντακουζηνὸν Ἰωάννην ὁμονοήσαντες ἀεὶ παροτρύνουσί με εἰς τὸ τῆς Τραπεζοῦντος. Ποῦ νὰ ἐκούμβιζον; Εἰς καλογέρους; Καί εἰσι τῶν τοιούτων ἀπράγμονες. Εἰς ἄρχοντας; Καὶ τίνα νὰ εὕρισκον ἀπρο σπαθῆ καὶ νὰ μηδὲν πρόσκειται εἴς τι ἢ νὰ μηδὲν τὸ ἐξείπῃ πρὸς τοὺς ἄλ λους; Λοιπὸν ἐδεινοπάθουν εἰς τὴν σὴν βραδύτηταν. 32.8 Ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς γραφῆς σου, ἰδοὺ καὶ σὲ καὶ τὴν γνώμην σου ἔγνωκα. Καὶ τὰ εἴχομεν καὶ ἡμεῖς προσιστάμενα, φρονίμως καὶ καλῶς ἔλυσας. Καὶ εὐθὺς τὸν Παλαιολόγον ἔστειλα δι' ἄλλα μὲν τὸ φαινόμενον, ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς θείας του δὲ τῆς πρωτοστρατορίσσας εἴπῃ τοῦτο. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἠκούσαμεν τὸ αἴτιον τοῦ κωλύματος καὶ ἐπαύσαμεν. Λοιπὸν σὺν θεῷ ἂς τελέσωμεν τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς Ἰβηρίας. 32.9 Καὶ γεγονότος χρυσοβούλλου καὶ ὑπογραφέντος, ὅτι ἐκείνου μὲν ἡ θυγάτηρ νὰ ἔνι γυνὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ δέσποινα τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως οὗτος δὲ νὰ ἔνι ἀνὴρ ἐκείνης εἰς τὰς συμφωνίας, ἂς μετ' ἐμοῦ ἔστησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰβηρίας. Καὶ κληθεὶς ὁ αὐτὸς σταλεὶς μεθ' ἡμῶν ἐκείνου ἄρχων ἀπὸ τοὺς δευτέρους, ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ ἐποίησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ αὐθέντης μου οἰκειοχείρως σταυροὺς τρεῖς μετὰ κινναβάρεως εἰς τὸ ἄνω θεν μέτωπον τοῦ χρυσοβούλλου εἰς βεβαίωσιν, ὡς ἡ ἐκείνων συνήθεια. Καὶ λαβὼν τὸ χρυσόβουλλον ἀπὸ τῆς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκούσας ἰδοὺ οὗτος, δείξας ἐμέ, ὃς σὺν θεῷ τὸ ἐρχόμενον ἔαρ ἔρχεται μετὰ κατέρ γων, ἵνα ἐπάρῃ αὐτήν, προσκυνήσας ἀπῆλθεν.

33.1 Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους ἐψιθυρίζετο, ὅτι βούλεται ὁ ἀμηρᾶς ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὸ Στενὸν περὶ τὸν Ἀσώματον κτῆσαι κάστρον, ἐβουλεύσατο ὁ βασιλεύς, ἵνα εἰς τὸ Μορέαν ἀποστείλας φέρῃ ἕνα τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὑτοῦ, ὃς ἂν καταδέξηται τοῦτο καὶ τὰ συμπεφωνη μένα στέρξῃ, ἵνα χρείας τυχὸν ἐπελθούσης, πρὸς τὰ ἴδωσιν εἰς τὸν ἀμη ρᾶν, εἷς ἐκ δύο ἀπέλθῃ εἰς τοὺς τῆς ∆ύσεως αὐθέντας. 33.2 Καὶ τούτου σταθέντος, ὁρίζει πρός με μίαν τῶν ἡμερῶν· Πρωτο βεστιαρῖτα, εἰς τὸ ἐβουλευσάμεθα, σὺ λέγω νὰ ἀπέλθῃς εἰς τὸν Μορέαν καί, ὡς ἂν κατορθώσῃς τὸ ἐκεῖσε, ἐκεῖνος μὲν νὰ ἔρχεται ἐνταῦθα, οἷος ἂν ᾖ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου, ὁποῦ θελήσει τοῦτο· σὺ δὲ νὰ ἀπέλθῃς εἰς τὴν Κύπρον εἰς τὴν ἀνεψιάν μου τὴν ῥήγεναν. Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐδῶ θέλομεν ἑτοι μάσειν τά εἰσιν ἐν χρείᾳ, ὡσὰν ἔλθῃς ἀπὸ τὴν Κύπρον, νὰ ὑπάγῃς εἰς τὴν Ἰβηρίαν, ἵνα ἐπάρῃς τὴν μελλοκυράν σου. 33.3 Ἀνέφερον δ' αὐτῷ· Ἡ ἀγάπη καὶ τὸ χρέος τῆς δουλοσύνης μου ἀπαιτεῖ, ὅτι νὰ εἵπω εἰς τὸν ὁρισμόν σου· ἀμὴ πάλιν φοβοῦμαι διὰ τὴν δούλην καὶ συντέκνισσάν σου, μήποτε ἀγανακτήσῃ καί, ἢ ἀπέλθῃ καὶ γένηται καλογραία, ἢ ἀφήσῃ με καὶ ἐπάρῃ ἄλλον· χθὲς γὰρ ἦλθον, ποιήσας εἰς τὴν Ἰβηρίαν χρόνον καὶ μῆνας ιαʹ, καὶ πάλιν νὰ ἀπέλθω νῦν, δίκαιον θέλει ἔχει νὰ ποιήσῃ, οἷον ἐκ τῶν δύο ποιήσει. Καὶ γελάσας ὁρίζει· Ἀλλὰ εἰπὲ αὐτῇ, ὅτι ταῦτα καὶ μόνον ταξίδια νὰ σὲ συγχωρή σῃ νὰ ποιήσῃς καὶ νὰ τὴν ποιήσω ἔνορκον πρόσταγμα, ὅτι πλέον νὰ μη δέν σε ἐνοχλήσω διὰ τοιοῦτόν τι. 33.4 Καὶ μᾶλλον καὶ σὺ ἐπίστασαι, τὶ ἐνθυμούμεθα καὶ ἀμφότεροι συν τυχένομεν καὶ βουλευόμεθα ποιῆσαι. Καὶ τοῦτο βεβαῖον καὶ χωρὶς ἐνόρ κου προστάγματος, ὅτι τὰ διά σου ἀποκρισιαρίκια νὰ παύσουν. Ἦν δ' ὅπερ συνετυχένομεν καὶ ἐβουλευόμεθα, ὅτι νὰ μηνύσῃ τὸν μέγαν δοῦ καν τὸν Νοταρᾶν, ὅτι τὸ μεσαστίκιον οὐδὲν ἠμπορεῖ νὰ τὸ ἔχῃ. Καὶ οὐδὲν τυχένει νὰ τοῦ τὸ ἐπάρωμεν διὰ τὴν τιμήν του, ἀμὴ νὰ τὸ ἀφήσῃ ἐκεῖνος· νὰ ἔχῃ δὲ καὶ τὸ πρωτεῖον τῆς στάσεως καὶ τῆς βουλῆς καὶ πρό σοδόν τινα δι' ἄλλου τρόπου, ἐπεὶ ἔχω χρείαν νὰ ποιήσω ἄρχοντας δύο, ὡς ὁ βασιλεὺς ὁ ἀδελφός μου, οὐχὶ μεσάζοντας, ἵνα ἀπὸ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἡμέρας ὦσι μετ' ἐμοῦ μέχρι πολλῆς ὥρας τῆς νυκτὸς καὶ τὰς δουλείας μου πράττω. Ὅπερ καὶ ἐγένετο. 33.5 Καὶ