Georgius Pachymeres, Chronicle II

and extraordinarily so to her mother. On this account he wished to establish the marriage-alliance, not so much from need as from necessity. Now the affections for the one cohabiting with the Kral had been disturbed, and in general he was of the faith towards the emperor. But for what had been drawn 276 towards her to turn back because of the broken agreement was a terrible thing, even just to contemplate; for it was necessary for the eagerness to be undone for one who had failed in his hopes and from then on to be more hostile, having been provoked, and not to prosper in greater matters. These things persuaded the emperor's mind to act even contrary to what was likely. And so he won over the Kral entirely through an embassy, when he learned of the kinship with his daughter instead of the emperor's sister. And henceforth oaths proceeded on these terms and agreements, and she was called the Despot-Kralaina. It only remained for the emperor to meet him at the metropolis of the Thessalians, as was agreed upon by the ambassadors, and for the Kral to come thus, and to send away the daughter of Terter to the emperor, and to hand over Kotanitzes as well, and to receive the emperor's legitimate daughter, whom the Romans called by her proper name Simonis, and so, cohabiting with her, except waiting for the time of consummation, to be ranked among the children and genuine friends of the emperor.

32. But perhaps it is not amiss for historians to also tell the reason for the naming. The loss of female children 277 before they had properly appeared grieved the emperor, and this had happened with two or three children. And when this maiden too was born and there was a terrible fear for her as well, one of the experienced women, who was also venerable, introduces a plan, though one common to many, by which indeed offspring might be saved. And the plan was: to set up twelve candles of equal length and equal weight before the icons of the chief apostles, and to fix them lit one by one, and to supplicate chanting on behalf of the newborn, continuing the prayer until the very consumption of the candles by the fire, and before whichever one that remained standing after the others had in the meantime disappeared, his name was to be given to the newborn so that it might survive, being preserved on that account. Which indeed happened then at the emperor's command, and the candle for Simon had been left, and the newborn was called Simonis derivatively, bearing the name of the apostle for her protection.

33. Then indeed a winter had set in, and the greatest of winters, and one of the extraordinary ones, and one which even the old had never had the chance to see. For so much snow had been packed down, that the exits of low-lying houses were blocked, 278 and with certain signs and poles, some using them for guesswork and others as tools, some people opened up the rooms for those shut inside, and for many days no one could either see or tread the ground, but travelers passed over the packed snow as if it were solid earth until close to spring, and it was futile to ride on a horse, except to risk slipping even more.

These things indeed also prevented the emperor's campaign to Thessalonica. And when the month of Lenaion had arrived, with the earth hardened by snow and by the solid ice from it, so that the flow of even the ever-flowing rivers was held back on account of the freezing in the depth of the water, for which reason the earth, also contracting from the cold, damaged the plants, and the sown crops were completely ruined, late 279 on a Friday at the lighting of the lamps, when those who have fallen asleep are commemorated according to ancient custom, the emperor went out and encamped at Dripeia for some days. And for the time being he restrained his forward course, giving the despotes' wife the opportunity to prepare for the departure, and giving Emperor Michael, together with his wife, leisure to prepare for the departure, and granting time also to those around his captive brother, since he had decided that he too should be led away, to depart in an orderly manner. And he was doing these things; but John, the patriarch at that time, since the things being done by the emperor were not hidden but had become known and it was likely that any random person would know, and that he too would not be ignorant, even if the emperor in second

δ' ἐκτόπως καὶ τῇ μητρί. ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὸ κῆδος ἠβούλετο συνι στᾶν, οὐ κατὰ χρείαν μᾶλλον ἢ κατ' ἀνάγκην. ἤδη μὲν οὖν τὰ πρὸς τὴν συνοικοῦσαν τῷ κράλῃ παρακεκίνητο φίλτρα, καὶ ὅλως ἦν ἐκεῖνος τῆς ἐπὶ βασιλεῖ πίστεως· τὸ δ' ἐπὶ ταύτην εἱλ 276 κυσμένον παλινδρομεῖν ἐξ ἀσυνθεσίας δεινὸν ἦν καὶ μόνον κατα νοούμενον· ἐκλύεσθαι γὰρ ἀνάγκη τὸ πρόθυμον ἀποτυχόντι τῶν ἐλπισμῶν καὶ τοὐντεῦθεν ἐχθραίνειν μᾶλλον ὑποκνισθέντι, καὶ πρὸς τὰ μείζω μὴ εὐοδούμενον. ταῦτα τὴν βασιλέως ἔπειθον γνώμην καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰκὸς πραγματεύεσθαι. καὶ δὴ ὅλον οἰκειοῦ ται διὰ πρεσβείας τὸν κράλην, μαθόντα τὴν ἐπὶ θυγατρὶ ἀντὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς τοῦ βασιλέως συγγένειαν· καὶ ὅρκοι τὸ λοιπὸν πρού βαινον ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ συνθεσίαι, καὶ ἡ δεσπόσυνος κράλαινα ἐπικέκλητο. μόνον δ' ἦν ἀπαντᾶν λοιπὸν κατὰ τὴν Θεσσαλῶν μητρόπολιν βασιλέα, ὡς διαπρεσβευομένοις συνέκειτο, καὶ οὕ τως ἐλθεῖν κράλην, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Τερτερῆ μὲν ἀποστέλλειν τῷ βασιλεῖ, προδιδόναι δὲ καὶ τὸν Κοτανίτζην, λαμβάνειν δὲ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως γνησίαν, ἣν δὴ καὶ Σιμωνίδα ἐκυριωνύμουν Ῥω μαῖοι, καὶ οὕτως αὐτῇ συνοικοῦντα, πλὴν τὸν συναφείας και ρὸν ἀναμένοντα, ἐν παισὶ τετάχθαι καὶ φίλοις γνησίοις τῷ βα σιλεῖ.

32. Οὐ χεῖρον δ' ἴσως καὶ τὴν τῆς ὀνομασίας αἰτίαν εἰ πεῖν ἱστοροῦσιν. ἐλύπει τῷ βασιλεῖ παίδων θηλειῶν ἀποβολὴ 277 πρὶν καλῶς καὶ φανῆναι, καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ δυσὶ καὶ τρισὶ παισὶ γέ γονεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἡ νεᾶνις αὕτη ἀπεγεννᾶτο καὶ φόβος δεινὸς ἦν καὶ περὶ αὐτῇ, τῶν τις γυναικῶν ἐμπείρων, ἅμα δὲ καὶ σεμνῶν, βουλὴν εἰσάγει, πλὴν τὴν συνήθη πολλοῖς, καθ' ἣν δὴ καὶ σώζοιντο τὰ γεννήματα. καὶ ἡ βουλή, εἰκόνας τῶν προυχόντων ἐν ἀποστόλοις δώδεκα στήσαντας κηροὺς ἰσομήκεις τε καὶ ἰσοστάθμους καὶ ἅμ' ἡμμένους ἀν' ἑκάστην πήξασθαι, καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ νεωστὶ γεννηθέντος ἱκετεύειν ψάλλοντας, ἐπέχοντας τὴν εὐχὴν μέχρι καὶ αὐτῆς δὴ τῆς ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς τῶν κηρῶν δα πανήσεως, καὶ ἐφ' οὗ δὴ ὁ περιγενόμενος τῶν ἄλλων τέως ἀφα νισθέντων ἔστη, τούτου καὶ τοὔνομα τῇ ἀρτιγενεῖ τίθεσθαι τοῦ περιεῖναι κἀκεῖνο φυλαττόμενον ἕνεκα. ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονε τότε βα σιλέως προστάξαντος, καὶ τῷ Σίμωνι ὁ κηρὸς ἐνελέλειπτο, καὶ Σιμωνὶς ἡ ἀρτιγενὴς παρωνύμως ἐκλήθη, τὴν ὀνομασίαν τοῦ ἀποστόλου εἰς φυλακὴν φέρουσα.

33. Τότε τοίνυν καὶ χειμὼν ἐφειστήκει καὶ χειμώνων ὁ μέγιστος, καὶ τῶν ἐξαισίων, καὶ ὃν ἰδεῖν πω καὶ γηράσκουσιν οὐδαμῶς ἐξεγένετο. τόση γὰρ χιὼν ἐπεστοίβαστο, ὡς κλεισθῆ 278 ναι μὲν οἰκιῶν τῶν χθαμαλῶν διεξόδους, σημείοις δέ τισι καὶ κοντοῖς τοῖς μὲν στοχαζομένους τοῖς δ' ὀργάνοις χρωμένους τινὰς ὑπανοίγειν τοῖς ἐγκλεισθεῖσι τὰ δώματα, καὶ ἐπὶ πλείσταις ἡμέραις μηδένα γῆν ἢ ἰδεῖν ἢ πατεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πεπελησμένης χιόνος ὡς στερρᾶς γεγονυίας γῆς μέχρι καὶ ἐγγὺς ἔαρος τοὺς ὁδίτας διέρχεσθαι, καὶ μάταιον εἶναι τὸ ἐφ' ἵππου ὀχεῖσθαι, πλὴν τοῦ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐξολισθεῖν κινδυνεύειν.

ταῦτα δὴ καὶ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπὶ Θεσσαλονίκης ἐκστρατείαν ἐκώλυεν. Μηνὸς δὲ Ληναιῶνος ἐνεστηκότος ὑπὸ χιόνι ἐκσκιρρωθείσῃ τῇ γῇ καὶ πάγοις στερροῖς τοῖς ἐκ ταύτης, ὡς καὶ αὐτῶν ἔτι τῶν ἀεννάων ποταμῶν ἐπεχομένων τὸ ῥεῦμα διὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ βάθει τοῦ ὕδατος πῆξιν, παρ' ἣν αἰτίαν καὶ γῆ συστελλομένη τῷ κρύει ἐζήμει τὰ φυέντα καὶ τὰ ἐσπαρμένα παντάπασιν ἠχρειοῦντο, ὀψὲ 279 παρασκευῆς ὑπὸ λύχνων ἁφάς, τῶν κεκοιμημένων κατ' ἔθος μνη μονευομένων ἀρχαῖον, ἔξεισιν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ τῇ ∆ριπείᾳ ἐφ' ἡμέραις αὐλίζεται. καὶ ὁ μὲν τέως ἐπεῖχε τὸν ἐς τὸ πρόσω δρό μον, διδοὺς μὲν δεσποίνῃ ἐνευκαιρῆσαι τὰ εἰς τὴν ἔξοδον, δι δοὺς δὲ βασιλεῖ Μιχαὴλ συνάμα συζύγῳ κατὰ σχολὴν τὰ τῆς ἀπάρσεως ἑτοιμάζεσθαι, καιρὸν δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν δέσμιον ἀδελφὸν ὑφιείς, ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνον ἀπάγεσθαι ἔγνω, κατὰ τρόπον ὑπεξιέναι. καὶ ὁ μὲν ταῦτα· Ἰωάννης δὲ ὁ τηνικάδε πατριάρ χης, ἐπεὶ οὐδ' ἀφανῆ ἦσαν τὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ πραττόμενα ἀλλ' ἀνά πυστα γεγονότα καὶ τῷ τυχόντι εἰκὸς ἦν κἀκεῖνον μὴ ἀγνοεῖν, εἰ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν δευτέρῳ