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one would not be wrong in saying. Therefore, the aforementioned men, knowing from of old and for a long time that Alexios was adorned with all virtues, both loved and prayed for his proclamation. 2.4.9 But Alexios, having asked for an oath from him and received it, went home in haste and communicated everything to his family. It was the night of Cheese-fare Sunday, during which my father was considering these things. And on the following day, at deep dawn, he had departed from the city with those around him. For this reason, the populace, approving of Alexios's impetuosity and sagacity because of the events themselves, composed a little song for him, written indeed in the vulgar tongue, but striking up the very idea of the matter most melodiously and showing both the foreknowledge of the plot against him and the measures contrived by him. And the little song, in its very words, went thus: "The Saturday of Cheesefare is a joy, Alexios, you understood it, and on Monday morning, go well, my little falcon." And that celebrated little song had some such meaning as this: "On the Cheese-fare Saturday your sagacity was excellent, Alexios, and on the second day after Sunday, like a high-flying hawk, you flew away from the plotting barbarians".

2.5.1 And since the mother of the Komnenoi, Anna Dalassene, had already adopted as her son-in-law for the daughter of Manuel, her first-born son, the grandson of Botaneiates, fearing that his tutor, learning of the plot, would report it to the emperor, she devised a most excellent plan. And so she ordered everyone to assemble in the evening for the purpose of venerating the holy churches of God; for it was her custom to frequent the sacred shrines. This was done; and indeed all, as was custom, were present and brought out the horses from the stables, pretending to be carefully saddling them with the saddle-cloths proper for women. But the grandson of Botaneiates was sleeping with his tutor; for a separate chamber had been assigned to them. 2.5.2 And around the first watch, the Komnenoi, having closed the gates, as they were about to arm themselves and ride away from the imperial city, gave the keys to their mother; and they closed noiselessly the doors of the room in which her grandson-in-law Botaneiates was sleeping soundly, not, however, locking them securely so as to fit them together, so that no sound might occur to awaken him. As these things were happening, the greater part of the night had passed. Before the first cockcrow, therefore, they opened the gates and, taking their mother and sisters and their own wives and children, they all went away together on foot as far as the Forum of Constantine. And from there, having taken leave of them, the men ran very swiftly towards the palace in Blachernae; while the women ran with haste towards the church of the great Sophia. 2.5.3 But the tutor of Botaneiates, having been awakened and realizing what had happened, went out towards them holding a torch in his hands, and quickly caught up with them near the shrine of the Holy Forty Martyrs, which they had not yet reached. When Dalassene, the mother of those valiant sons, saw him, she said immediately, "Some people have slandered us to the emperor, as I have learned. I am going, therefore, to the holy churches, using their help as best I can; and from there, when day dawns, I will go to the palace. Go now yourself, so that when the gatekeepers open up, you may announce to them our arrival." And he hurried immediately to do as he was commanded. 2.5.4 And they reached the sanctuary of the Hierarch Nicholas, which up to this day they are accustomed to call the Refuge, near the great church and long ago established in former times for the salvation of those convicted of crimes, as it is a part of the great sanctuary and was deliberately, I think, constructed by the ancients,

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εἰπὼν ἄν τις οὐ διαμάρτῃ τοῦ δέοντος. Πάσαις τοίνυν ἀρεταῖς κεκοσμημένον τὸν Ἀλέξιον οἱ ἤδη ῥηθέντες ἄνδρες ἀνέκαθεν καὶ πάλαι γινώσκοντες τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀνάρρησιν καὶ ἠγάπων καὶ ἐπηύχοντο. 2.4.9 Ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξιος καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ αἰτήσας ὅρκον καὶ λαβὼν δρομαῖος ἄπεισιν οἴκαδε καὶ πάντα ἀνακοινοῦται τοῖς αὐτοῦ. Νὺξ ἦν ἡ τῆς τυροφάγου κυριακῆς, καθ' ἣν οὑμὸς πατὴρ ταῦτα ἐσκέπτετο. Τῇ δὲ μετ' αὐτὴν ὄρθρου βαθέος μετὰ τῶν ἀμφ' αὐτὸν ἐξεληλύθει τῆς πόλεως. Ἔνθεν τοι καὶ τὸ πλῆθος ἀποδεξάμενον τῆς ὁρμῆς τὸν Ἀλέξιον καὶ τῆς ἀγχινοίας ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων ᾀσμάτιον αὐτῷ ἀνεπλέξαντο ἐξ ἰδιώτιδος μὲν συγκείμενον γλώττης, αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν τοῦ πράγματος ἐπίνοιαν ἐμμελέστατά πως ἀνα κρουόμενον καὶ κατεμφαῖνον τήν τε προαίσθησιν τῆς κατ' ἐκείνου ἐπιβουλῆς καὶ τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ μεμηχανημένα. Τὸ δὲ ᾀσμάτιον αὐταῖς λέξεσιν εἶχεν οὕτως· «τὸ σάββατον τῆς τυρινῆς χαρὰ 'στ' Ἀλέξιε ἐνόησές το καὶ τὴν δευτέραν τὸ πρωῒ ὕπα καλῶς γεράκιν μου.» Εἶχε δὲ ὧδέ πως ἐννοίας τὸ διαφημιζόμενον ἐκεῖνο ᾀσμάτιον, ὡς ἄρα «κατὰ μὲν τὸ τυρώνυμον σάββατον ὑπέρευγέ σοι τῆς ἀγχινοίας, Ἀλέξιε, τὴν δὲ μετὰ τὴν κυριακὴν δευτέραν ἡμέραν καθάπερ τις ὑψιπέτης ἱέραξ ἀφίπτασο τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων βαρβάρων».

2.5.1 Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ μήτηρ τῶν Κομνηνῶν ἡ ∆αλασσηνὴ Ἄννα γαμβρὸν ἔφθασεν εἰσποιήσασθαι ἐπὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ Μανουὴλ τοῦ πρωτοτόκου τῶν υἱῶν αὐτῆς τὸν τοῦ Βοτα νειάτου ἔγγονον, πτοηθεῖσα μὴ ὁ παιδαγωγὸς αὐτοῦ γνοὺς τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν προσαγγείλῃ τῷ βασιλεῖ βουλὴν ἀρίστην βουλεύεται. Καὶ δὴ προσκυνήσεως χάριν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἁγίων ἐκκλησιῶν ἀθροισθῆναι κελεύει πάντας ἑσπέρας· ἦν γὰρ αὐτῇ σύνηθες εἰς τὰ ἱερὰ τεμένη φοιτᾶν. Γίνεται τοῦτο· καὶ δὴ πάντες, ὡς ἔθος, παρῆσαν ἐξῆγόν τε τοὺς ἵππους τῶν ἱπποστάθμων ἐπιμελῶς στρωννύειν σχηματι ζόμενοι τὰς γυναιξὶ πρεπούσας ἐφεστρίδας. Ὁ δέ γε τοῦ Βοτανειάτου ἔγγονος σὺν τῷ παιδαγωγῷ ὕπνωττον· ἀπο μεμέριστο γάρ τι τούτοις οἴκημα ἴδιον. 2.5.2 Περὶ πρώτην δὲ φυλακὴν τοὺς πυλεῶνας κλείσαντες οἱ Κομνηνοὶ μέλ λοντες ἤδη ὁπλίζεσθαι καὶ τῆς βασιλευούσης πόλεως ἀφιππάσασθαι τῇ μητρὶ παρέσχον τὰς κλεῖς ἔκλεισάν τε ἀψοφητὶ καὶ τὰς θύρας τοῦ δώματος, ἐν ᾧ ὁ ἐπ' ἐγγόνῃ γαμβρὸς αὐτῆς ὁ Βοτανειάτης ἀφύπνωττεν, οὐ μέντοι ἀκριβῶς κατασφαλισάμενοι ὡς ἐφαρμόσαι ταύτας ἀλλήλαις, ἵνα μὴ ψόφος τις γεγονὼς διυπνίσῃ αὐτόν. Τούτων οὕτω γινομένων τὸ πλεῖστον παρῳχήκει τῆς νυκτός. Πρὸ ἀλεκ τοροφωνίας οὖν πρώτης τοὺς πυλεῶνας ἀνοίξαντες τήν τε μητέρα καὶ τὰς ἀδελφὰς καὶ τὰς σφῶν γυναῖκας καὶ τὰ παιδία συμπαραλαβόντες μέχρι τοῦ Κωνσταντινίου φόρου ὁμοῦ πεζῇ συναπῄεσαν. Κἀκεῖθεν συνταξάμενοι ταύταις ἐκεῖνοι μὲν πρὸς τὰ ἐν Βλαχέρναις βασίλεια μάλα ὀξέως ἐξέδραμον· αὖται δὲ πρὸς τὸν τῆς μεγάλης Σοφίας νεὼν σὺν σπουδῇ ἔθεον. 2.5.3 Ὁ δὲ τοῦ Βοτα νειάτου παιδαγωγὸς διυπνισθεὶς καὶ γνοὺς τὸ γενόμενον ἐξῄει πρὸς αὐτοὺς δᾷδα ταῖν χεροῖν ἔχων φθάνει τε κατὰ τάχος αὐτοὺς τοῦ τῶν ἁγίων τεσσαράκοντα τεμένους ἐγγὺς μήπω κατειληφότας. Θεασαμένη δὲ τοῦτον εὐθὺς ἡ ∆αλασσηνὴ καὶ μήτηρ τῶν ἀριστέων ἐκείνων παίδων φησὶ «κατεῖπον ἡμῶν τινες, ὡς ἐπυθόμην, τῷ βασιλεῖ. Ἄπειμι γοῦν εἰς τὰς ἁγίας ἐκκλησίας τῇ αὐτῶν χρωμένη, καθὼς ἂν δυναίμην, ἐπαρωγῇ· κἀκεῖθεν αὐγαζούσης ἡμέρας ἀπελεύσομαι πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια. Ἄπιθι τοίνυν αὐτός, ἵν' ὁπηνίκα οἱ πυλωροὶ ἀνοίξωσι, περὶ τῆς ἡμῶν αὐτοῖς ἀπαγγείλῃς ἐλεύσεως». Ὁ δ' εὐθὺς πρὸς τὸ κελευ σθὲν ἠπείγετο. 2.5.4 Αἱ δὲ φθάνουσι πρὸς τὸ τοῦ ἱεράρχου Νικολάου τέμενος, ὃ Προσφύγιον μέχρι τῆς δεῦρο εἰώθασιν ὀνομάζειν, ἀγχοῦ τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας καὶ πρῴην ἐνιδρυμένον πάλαι ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν ἐπ' ἐγκλήμασιν ἁλισκομένων, ὡς μέρος τυγχάνον τοῦ μεγάλου τεμένους καὶ ἐπίτηδες, οἶμαι, κατασκευασθὲν τοῖς ἀρχαίοις,