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having recently taken up the scepters after his father. And the other nobles of the Raoul family, after their father who had fallen from his office, as we have already said, still being young, and the Palaiologoi. With them were also the Vatatzaioi and the family of Philes, whose father Theodore had been blinded, he too along with Strategopoulos for the same reason, with the Kaballarioi were the Nostongoi and the Kamytzai, and with the Aprenoi and Angeloi were the Livadarioi, Tarchaneiotai, Philanthropenoi and the noble Kantakouzenoi, and as many others who composed the great and golden lineage. 95 However, George Nostongos was also ambitious; for he was glorified over the others, being preferred for a royal marriage. For while the emperor was still alive, having it in mind to arrange his daughter in marriage to him, he entrusted his plan to many others and would even have completed the contract, had not death, coming upon the emperor, stood in the way of the deed. Then, encouraged again by what was known, that it would be his to obtain the marriage alliance again, hope made him think highly of himself, and he acted boastfully towards the others, and was especially ambitious against his own cousin, who was the megas konostaulos; whence even in the royal forecourts he would camp freely and, as the nobles were riding for pleasure, either for the breaking of lances or in the usual ball game, he would ride and play along with great confidence, showing off as the empresses stood nearby and watched.

22. How Palaiologos was preferred over the others for this. For the time being, however, since it was not possible for the emperor to remain without a guardian, being known to be under age and of a tender heart, the officials, coming together and deliberating that it was not safe to settle such matters without the church and its prelate—and this was Arsenios—sent for the patriarch from the Autoreianoi, summoning him with all speed from Nicaea. And as they deliberated among themselves for several days, one preferring one man and another another for the guardianship of the emperor, finally the common council settled upon the megas konostaulos, the aforesaid Palaiologos, as he and he alone had appeared suitable for this above the others; for beyond anyone else, the man was a most capable general, and his noble birth was from of old sufficient, and third, his kinship with the emperor—both on his own side and through his wife, for he was the emperor's second cousin, and she the daughter of a second cousin—created for him a great concession to the guardianship of the emperor above the others. But these were his claims to be preferred over the others, and he who spoke on his behalf put these forward. And it is also reasonable to suppose that he too was manipulating the affair, 97 secretly winning over not a few with good promises, and especially those who had happened to fall from their offices previously due to the difficulty of the times. But he, without any delay, agreed to undertake the responsibility, being poor and having nothing with which to live more ambitiously according to the measure of his office; but so that he might not seem to be readily accepting a favor from those offering it, nor yet decline it as if shouldering a burden, he sought also the consent of the patriarch who was about to arrive, not so much out of need, but so that what was being done might be established more securely. Nevertheless, he also demanded in return for the guardianship of the emperor the highest of the offices.

23. How Palaiologos was honored as megas doux. And they, on the one hand, wished the authority of their own decisions to be no less from the church, but not, on the other hand, to the extent that they themselves would be compelled to reconsider what they had decided; and they acknowledged that it was reasonable for the emperor's guardian to be promoted to a higher grade of office, and on this the majority agreed. And the guardian of the imperial affairs is transferred to the rank of megas doux, with the emperor supposedly granting it; and for the rest, Palaiologos, being proclaimed megas doux and guardian of the emperor,

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ἔχων, νεωστὶ μετὰ τὸν πατέρα τῶν σκήπτρων ἐπειλημμένον. Καὶ οἱ ἐκ τοῦ Ῥαοὺλ εὐγενεῖς ἄλλοι, μετὰ τὸν πατέρα τὸν τοῦ ἀξιώματος ἐκπεσόντα, ὡς φθάσαντες εἴπομεν, ἔτι νεάζοντες, καὶ Παλαιολόγοι. Σὺν οἷς καὶ Βατάτζαι καὶ οἱ τοῦ Φιλῆ, ὧν ὁ πατὴρ Θεόδωρος τετύφλωτο καὶ αὐτὸς σὺν τῷ Στρατηγοπούλῳ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐκείνῳ χάριν αἰτίας, σὺν Καβαλλαρίοις τε οἱ Νοστόγγοι καὶ οἱ Καμύτζαι, σύν τε Ἀπρηνοῖς καὶ Ἀγγέλοις οἱ Λιβαδάριοι, Ταρχανειῶται, Φιλανθρωπηνοὶ καὶ οἱ εὐγενεῖς Καντακουζηνοί, καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι οἷς ἡ μεγαλογενὴς σειρὰ καὶ χρυσῆ συγκεκρότητο. 95 Ὁ μέντοι γε Νοστόγγος Γεώργιος καὶ προσεφιλοτιμεῖτο· ἐκυδροῦτο γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων εἰς κῆδος βασιλικὸν προτιμώμενος. Καὶ γὰρ ἔτι ζῶν ὁ κρατῶν, ἁρμόζειν εἰς γάμον αὐτῷ τὴν παῖδα διὰ βουλῆς ἔχων, πολλοῖς καὶ ἄλλοις ἐπίστευε τὴν βουλὴν κἂν ἐπλήρου καὶ τὸ συνάλλαγμα, εἰ μή γε θάνατος, τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπελθών, ἐμποδὼν ἔστη τῇ πράξει. Τότε δ' αὖθις ἐπιθαρροῦντα τοῖς ἐγνωσμένοις, ὡς καὶ πάλιν τυχεῖν ἔσται οἱ τοῦ κήδους, μέγα φρονεῖν ἡ ἐλπὶς ἐποίει, καὶ κατηλαζονεύετο πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους, καὶ μᾶλλον τὸν αὐτα νέψιον, ὃς ἦν ὁ μέγας κονοσταῦλος, διαφιλοτιμούμενος· ὅθεν κἀν τοῖς βασιλικοῖς προαυλίοις ἀνέδην ἐσκήνει καὶ καθ' ἡδονὴν διατριβῆς ἱππαζο μένοις τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἐπὶ κοντῶν συντριβῇ ἢ καὶ κατὰ παίγνιον σύνηθες σφίσι τῆς σφαίρας, ἐκ μεγάλου τοῦ θάρρους συνιππάζετο καὶ συνέπαιζεν, ἐγγὺς ἱσταμέναις καὶ ὁρώσαις ταῖς βασιλίσιν ἐπιδεικνύμενος.

κβʹ. Ὅπως προετιμήθη εἰς τοῦτο τῶν ἄλλων ὁ Παλαιολόγος. Τέως γε μήν, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀνεπιτρόπευτον μένειν τὸν βασιλέα, ἐν ἀφήλιξι γνωριζόμενον καὶ ἁπαλὸν ἦτορ φέροντα, συνελθόντες ἅμα οἱ ἐν τέλει καὶ βουλευσάμενοι ὡς οὐκ ἀσφαλὲς δίχα τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ τοῦ ταύτης προεστῶ τοςἈρσένιος δ' οὗτος ἦνκαθιστᾶν τὰ τοιαῦτα, πρὸς μὲν τὸν ἐξ Αὐτωρειανῶν πατριάρχην πέμπουσι τὴν ταχίστην μετακαλούμενοι Νικαίηθεν τοῦτον· αὐτῶν δὲ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐφ' ἡμέραις διασκεπτομένων, ἄλλον ἄλλου εἰς κηδεμονίαν τοῦ βασιλέως προκρίνοντος, τέλος ἐπὶ τῷ μεγάλῳ κονοσταύλῳ, τῷ ῥηθέντι Παλαιολόγῳ, ἡ κοινὴ βουλὴ καταντᾷ, ὡς αὐτοῦ γε καὶ μόνου παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἱκανοῦ πρὸς τοῦτο φανέντος· εἴπερ γὰρ ἄλλον, στρατηγικώτατον εἶναι τὸν ἄνδρα, καί οἱ ἐκ παλαιοῦ αὔταρκες εἶναι τὸ εὐγενές, καὶ τρίτον τὸ πρὸς τὸν κρατοῦντα συγγενές, ἅμα μὲν αὐτόθεν, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς συζύγουτῆς μὲν γὰρ δεύτερος αὐτανέψιος ἦν, τοῦ δὲ δευτέρου αὐτανεψίου υἱός, πολλὴν ἐμποιεῖν αὐτῷ τὴν εἰς τὸ κηδεμονικὸν τοῦ βασιλέως παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐκχώρησιν. Ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἐκείνου πρὸς τὸ προτιμᾶσθαι τῶν ἄλλων δίκαια ταῦτ' ἦσαν, καὶ ὁ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου λέγων ταῦτα προὐβάλλετο. Παρέχει δὲ καὶ τὸ εἰκὸς ἐννοεῖν ὡς κἀκεῖνος τὸ πρᾶγμα μετεχειρίζετο, 97 οὐκ ὀλίγους κλέπτων ταῖς ἀγαθαῖς ὑποσχέσεσι, καὶ μᾶλλον οἷς ἐκπεσεῖν τῶν ἀξιωμάτων ξυνέβη ἐκ τῆς τοῦ καιροῦ δυσκολίας τὸ πρότερον. Ὁ δὲ ὑπελθεῖν μὲν τὴν φροντίδα, μηδὲν μελλήσας, κατένευε, πένης ὢν καὶ μηδὲν ἔχων κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ ἀξιώματος φιλοτιμότερον διαζῆν· ὡς ἂν δὲ μὴ δοκοίη τῷ ἐξ ἑτοίμου λαμβάνειν χάριν τοῖς παρέχουσιν ἔχειν, μηδ' ὡς φορτίον ἐπωμιζό μενος παραιτεῖσθαι, ἐζήτει μὲν καὶ τὴν τοῦ πατριάρχου ὅσον οὔπω ἐπιστησομένου συναίνεσιν, οὐ κατὰ χρείαν μᾶλλον, ἀλλ' ἵν' ἀσφαλέστερον τὸ γινόμενον καθιστῷτο. Πλὴν ἀλλ' ἀντιδοθῆναί οἱ καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ κηδεμονίας τὰ ὑψηλότερα τῶν ἀξιωμάτων προσαπαιτεῖ.

κγʹ. Ὅπως ὁ Παλαιολόγος ἐτιμήθη εἰς μέγαν δοῦκα. Οἱ δὲ τῶν μὲν οἰκείων βουλευμάτων τὸ κῦρος οὐχ ἧττον καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἤθελον εἶναι, οὐ μὴν δὲ ὥστε καὶ σφᾶς ἀναγκάζεσθαι ἐφ' οἷς ἐδέδοκτο σφίσι μεταβουλεύεσθαι· τὸ δὲ προβιβασθῆναι τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπίτροπον εἰς βαθμὸν τοῦ ἀξιώματος μείζονα εἰκός γε εἶναι διωμολόγουν, κἀπὶ τούτῳ συνεφώνουν οἱ πλεῖστοι. Καὶ εἰς μέγαν δοῦκα ὁ τῶν βασιλικῶν πραγμάτων ἐπίτροπος μετατίθεται, τοῦ βασιλέως δῆθεν διδόντος· καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ὁ Παλαιολόγος, μέγας δοὺξ καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπίτροπος φημιζόμενος,