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a fleet going about was being fitted out, and many things contrary to what was likely were being rumored. The patriarch, learning this, setting out just as he was from the dwelling where he lived, having the most urgent task of busying himself with the people and for the most part courting popular favor, arrived in the middle of the marketplace at noon, and summoned the mixed multitude and those for whom tumult was customary. And having taken his stand in one of the temples there, he delivered a long speech and was eager to quell the troublemakers, mostly agreeing with them, and blaming the powerful, as was his way in many things. Finally, when he learned of the great grumbling about the ships, that it was not possible for them to live in safety unless ships were fitted out, as was the custom for the Romans of old, wishing to smooth over their savage opinions somehow with both words and promises, taking some of them and the more conspicuous ones, he promised to report 532 the matter, and further, that he himself was eager to urge on with all speed the defense against the invaders. And so he was occupied with these things, playing the demagogue and courting popular favor to the utmost, although his character was unchangeable, but the emperor was making requests of the Genoese and was offering thousands of money for the warlike attack they would make setting out from among them. But the mixed crowd, having come together, since terrible things from outside were being reported, but it was not possible for them to go there and defend themselves, decided to attack the Catalans within the city. As for those who were living with the Genoese in Pera, they were not able to go there and punish them; but having learned that some were being kept under guard, among whom the admiral was included, in the house of Raoul the Fat, they rushed together in a great crowd and grimly demanded them. But since it was not possible to kill them after they were very easily betrayed, they immediately set fire and burned that house down, and they carried off everything there and not a few terrible things were done throughout the house by the daring men. And the Catalans, who were staunchly resisting even to the point of death, with great effort they destroyed both with the sword 533 and with fire, with no one being able to check the impulse of the mob. For indeed the patriarch, having arrived, tried with soothing words to restrain their impulse, who also, suspecting the danger, and appearing to them different in his yielding than what his own disposition motivated, and expecting many things, secretly withdrew. And they immediately rushed to attack other houses, and especially those of the magnates, being all the more incited by the demagogic words of those present. And on the pretext of the Catalans, that they were supposedly being hidden in them, they also attacked those whom they had reason to blame for certain accusations.

27. And the evil would have proceeded further, if sixteen long ships from Genoa, expected laden with merchandise, had not arrived on that night, a moderate south wind having arisen and contrary to the expected time. So, terrible things were being done by the Catalans and Almogavars lying in wait at Rhegium, and so that they might seem naturally fearsome, they would impale infants from the privy parts to the mouth on their own javelins, and of the men, some they would 534 burn, and others they would use as guides to their own riches and later kill them, and they did all the most harsh things. So it was for them, and they were revelling in the misfortunes; but late in the evening the triremes, sailing through the sea, appeared. Which they, having with difficulty descried from the greatest possible distance, as if they appeared to be their own (for they were expecting reinforcements from the messengers they had already sent from Sicily), danced in a whirling chorus and leaped about, and were immediately ready, as had been foretold to them, to attack Constantinople. But as they drew near and the insignia became visible and it was clear they were Genoese sailing with them, they let go of their courage, but they had not yet completely despaired of better things. For they hoped that when they engaged them they would offer terms of peace, since they would certainly not allow the ships of their own race sailing about each day to be unmolested and unplundered, unless they were in a truce with them. For not even

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στόλος περιὼν ἐξηρτύετο, καὶ πολλὰ καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰκὸς διελάλουν. τοῦτο γνοὺς πατριάρ χης, ἀπάρας ὡς εἶχε τῆς κατοικίας ᾗ που κατῴκει, ἔργον ἔχων τὸ σπουδαιότατον περὶ τὸν δῆμον σπουδαιοτριβεῖν καί γε τὰ πολλὰ δημοχαριστεῖν, κατὰ τὴν μέσην τῆς ἀγορᾶς μεσημβρίας ἐφίσταται, καὶ ξυγκαλεῖ τοὺς ξύγκλυδας καὶ οἷς συνήθης ὁ θό ρυβος. καὶ ἔν τινι τῶν ἐκεῖ ναῶν καταστὰς μακρὰν κατέτεινε τὴν διαλαλιὰν καὶ καταστέλλειν θορυβοῦντας ἠπείγετο, τὰ πολλὰ συναινῶν ἐκείνοις, καὶ τῶν δυναμένων, οἷος ἐν πολλοῖς οὗτος, καταιτιώμενος. τέλος ἐπεὶ τὸν πολὺν γογγυσμὸν περὶ τῶν νεῶν κατεμάνθανεν, ὡς μὴ οἵου τ' ὄντος αὐτοὺς ἀσφαλῶς διαζῆν εἰ μή γε νῆες κατὰ τὸ πάλαι Ῥωμαίοις σύνηθες ἐξαρτύοιντο, γνώ μας ἀγριουμένας ἐξομαλίζειν θέλων ἀμηγέπη καὶ λόγοις καὶ ὑπο σχέσεσι, τινὰς ἐκείνων καὶ τοὺς ἐκδηλοτέρους παραλαβὼν ἀνα 532 φέρειν καθυπισχνεῖτο, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὴν ταχίστην ἐξοτρύνειν εἰς τὴν τῶν ἐπιόντων ἄμυναν πρόθυμον ἑαυτόν. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐν τούτοις ἦν δημαγωγῶν καὶ δημοχαριστῶν ἐς τὰ μάλιστα, εἰ καὶ τὸ ἦθος αὐτῷ ἀμετάβλητον ἦν, βασιλεὺς δὲ Γεννουΐτας ἠξίου καὶ χρημά των χιλιοστύας ἐδίδου ἐς ὅπερ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐσβήσαντες πολεμαρχι κὸν ἐπιθήσονται. ὁ ξύγκλυς δ' ὄχλος εἰς ταὐτὸν γεγονότες, ἐπεὶ τὰ μὲν ἔξω δεινὰ κατηγγέλλοντο, αὐτοὺς δ' οὐκ ἦν ἐκεῖ γενομέ νους ἀμύνεσθαι, ἔγνωσαν τοῖς ἐντὸς τῆς πόλεως Κατελάνοις ἐπι χειρεῖν. οἷς μὲν ἦν συνδιάγειν κατὰ τὴν περαίαν τοῖς Γεννουΐ ταις, οὐκ εἶχον ἐκεῖ γενόμενοι τιμωρεῖν· μαθόντες δὲ τηρουμέ νους τινάς, ἐν οἷς ὁ ἀμηραλῆς ἐπεφέρετο, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ παχέος Ῥαοὺλ οἰκίαν, παμπληθεὶ συρρεύσαντες ἐμβριθῶς ἀπῄτουν ἐκεί νους. ὡς δ' οὐκ ἦν ἐκείνους ἐκ τοῦ ῥᾷστα προδοθέντας ἀναι ρεῖν, πῦρ ἐνιᾶσιν αὐτίκα καὶ οἰκίαν πυρπολοῦσιν ἐκείνην, καὶ πάντα τε τἀκείνῃ διαφέρουσι καὶ οὐκ ὀλίγα δεινὰ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν τῶν τολμώντων ἐγίνετο. Κατελάνους δὲ μέχρι καὶ αὐτοῦ θανά του στερρῶς ἀντεχομένους σὺν πολλῷ τῷ πόνῳ ἅμα μὲν σιδήρῳ 533 ἅμα δὲ καὶ πυρὶ καθαιροῦσι, μηδενὸς οἵου τ' ὄντος τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπέχειν τοῦ πλήθους. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ πατριαρχεύων ἐπιστὰς λό γοις μειλικτηρίοις ἐπειρᾶτο τὴν ὁρμὴν ἀναστέλλειν, ὃς καὶ τὴν παρακινδύνευσιν ὑποτοπάσας, ἄλλως φανεὶς ἐκείνοις τῷ καθυ φεῖναι ἢ ὡς οἴκοθεν ὥρμα, καὶ πολλὰ ἐλπίζων, καθυπέστρεφεν. ὥρμων δ' αὐτίκα καὶ ἄλλαις οἰκίαις ἐπιχειρεῖν, καὶ μάλιστα με γιστάνων, τοῖς δημαγωγικοῖς λόγοις τῶν ἐπιστάντων καὶ μᾶλλον παρακροτούμενοι. καὶ παρὰ τὴν τῶν Κατελάνων αἰτίαν ὡς δῆ θεν ἐν αὐταῖς κρυπτομένων, ἐχείρουν καὶ οἷς ἄρ' εἶχον ἔκ τινων αἰτιαμάτων μέμφεσθαι.

27. Κἂν τὸ κακὸν προέβη, εἰ μή γε κατ' ἐκείνην τὴν νύκτα ἐκ Γεννούας μακραὶ νῆες ἑκκαίδεκα, ἐμπορικῶν ἐπίφορτοι προσδοκώμεναι, νότου πεσόντος μετρίου καὶ παρὰ τὸν τῆς προσ δοκίας καιρὸν ἐφίσταντο. ἦν μὲν οὖν τοῖς Κατελάνοις καὶ Ἀμο γαβάροις ναυλοχησαμένοις κατὰ τὸ Ῥήγιον πραττόμενα τὰ δεινά, καὶ ὡς φοβεροὶ κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς δοκοῖεν, νήπια μὲν ἐξ ἀφεδρῶνος ἐς στόμα τοῖς ἰδίοις παλτοῖς ἐμπείρουσιν, ἀνδρῶν δὲ τοὺς μὲν 534 πυρπολοῦσι, τοῖς δὲ καὶ ὡς διαγωγεῦσι χρώμενοι τῶν ἰδίων πλού των καὶ ὕστερον κατακτείνουσι, καὶ πάντα ποιοῦσι τὰ χαλεπώ τατα. τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἦσαν ταῦτα, καὶ ἐνετρύφων ταῖς συμφο ραῖς· δείλης δ' ὀψίας αἱ τριήρεις τὸ πέλαγος διεκθέουσαι κατε φαίνοντο. ἃς ἐξ ὅτι πλείστου τοῦ ἀποστήματος μόλις ἀποσκο πεύσαντες, ὡς ἰδίαις αὐτῶν φανείσαις (καὶ γὰρ ἐξ ὧν ἔφθασαν ἀποστόλων πέμψαι ἐκ Σικελίας σύναρσιν ἐξεδέχοντο) χορείαν εἱ λίττοντες ἐπεσκίρτων, καὶ ἕτοιμοι παρευθὺς ἦσαν, ὅπερ καὶ ἐκ προρρήσεων σφίσιν ἦν, συμβάλλειν τῇ Κωνσταντίνου. ἀλλ' ὡς ἤγγιζον καὶ τὰ σύμβολα κατεφαίνοντο καὶ δῆλοι ἦσαν Γεννουῗται συμπλέοντες, τοῦ θάρρους μὲν καθυφῆκαν, οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ τε λέως ἀπεγνώκεσαν τὰ χρηστότερα. ἤλπιζον γὰρ ὡς ἐπιμίξασι προτενοῦσι τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης, ὡς οὐκ ἂν πάντως τὰς καθ' ἑκάστην διαπλωϊζομένας νῆας τοῦ γένους αὐτῶν ἀνέτους τε καὶ ἀσκύλτους ἐῷεν, εἰ μή γε σφίσιν ἔνσπονδοι ἦσαν. καὶ γὰρ οὐδ'