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he rushes against the Celtic battle-line, and having divided his army into many parts, he turns the Celts in a mighty rout, pursuing them as far as the small town called Mulus, killing many of the second rank and of the greater men, and taking some of the distinguished counts alive, both Ubus .... the brother called Richard and Contopaganus, he returned victorious. Therefore, wishing to represent the victory more exactly to the emperor, he impaled the heads of many Celts on spears and immediately sent off the more important of the captives, Ubus and the one called Contopaganus. 13.6.3 And having come to this point, dragging my pen by lamplight, I feel myself nodding off a little over my writing, as my narrative falters. For where the use of barbarian names is of necessity required and the narration of successive events, the body of the history and the continuity of the writing seems to be broken up joint by joint; and there is no blame for those who encounter the writing with goodwill. 13.6.4 When the most warlike Bohemond saw his own affairs in great straits, being attacked both from sea and from land, and now being at a complete loss on all sides as necessities failed him, he detached a sufficient force and sent it to plunder all the cities situated around Aulon and Jericho and Kanina. But Cantacuzenus was not neglectful, nor did sweet sleep hold the man, according to the poet, but he swiftly sent out the Beroites with a considerable army against the Celts. Indeed, he immediately overtook them in defeat and, as a kind of gain, burned Bohemond's ships on his return. 13.6.5 When the most tyrannical Bohemond learned of the defeat of those he had sent, it was as if he had lost no one from his army; he was not at all downcast. Rather, he appeared even more confident, and detaching again infantry and cavalry most eager for battle, numbering up to six thousand, he sent them against Cantacuzenus, thinking he would capture with a single shout both Cantacuzenus himself along with the Roman army. But he, always having scouts watching the Celtic forces, having learned of their approach, armed himself in his military panoply by night and armed his soldiers, eager to fall upon them around dawn. And when the Celts, exhausted, lay down for a little rest beside the bank of the river Vouses, he overtakes them somewhere there as the day was just dawning and, attacking them immediately, he takes many alive and kills more. And the rest, swept away by the eddies of the river, were drowned, and fleeing a wolf they encountered a lion. 13.6.6 He therefore sent all the counts to the emperor and then went up to Timoron; this place is marshy and difficult to traverse. Having persevered there for seven days, he sent out a few scouts to various places to observe matters concerning Bohemond and to bring him back some intelligence from there, so that having learned about Bohemond's situation he might know it more accurately. By chance the men who were sent came upon a hundred Celts preparing rafts, by which they intended to swim across the river and take the small town situated on the other side. Falling upon them suddenly, they take nearly all of them alive, including Bohemond's own cousin, a man ten feet tall in stature, and broad like another Hercules. And it was a strange thing to see, that great giant, truly a monster, captured by a pygmy of a Scythian. And Cantacuzenus, sending the prisoners away, ordered the pygmy Scythian to bring that monster as a captive to the emperor, perhaps joking with the emperor. And when the emperor learned that they had arrived, sitting upon the imperial throne he ordered them to be brought in.

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Κελτῶν παρατάξεως ἵεται, καὶ εἰς μέρη πολλὰ διαλύσας τὸ στράτευμα, τρέπει τοὺς Κελτοὺς κατὰ κράτος διώξας ἄχρι πολιχνίου τοῦ καλουμένου Μύλου, πολλοὺς μὲν τῆς δευτέρας τύχης καὶ τῶν μειζόνων ἀνελών, τινὰς δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν κομήτων ζωγρήσας, τόν τε Οὖβον .... ἀδελφὸν Ῥιτζάρδον καλούμενον καὶ τὸν Κοντοπαγάνον, νικητὴς ὑπέστρεψεν. Ἀκριβεστέραν τοίνυν τὴν νίκην τῷ βασιλεῖ παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος, πολλῶν Κελτῶν κεφαλὰς τοῖς δόρασι περιπείρας καὶ τοὺς μείζονας τῶν κατασχε θέντων, Οὖβον καὶ τὸν Κοντοπαγάνον καλούμενον, παρα χρῆμα ἐξέπεμψεν. 13.6.3 Ἐνταῦθα δὲ γενομένη καὶ πρὸς λύχνων ἁφὰς τὸν κάλαμον ἐπισύρουσα, μικρὸν πρὸς τὴν γραφὴν ἐπινυστάζουσα ἐπαισθάνομαι τοῦ λόγου ἀπορ ρέοντος. Ὅπου γὰρ βαρβαρικῶν ὀνομάτων ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀπαιτεῖται χρῆσις καὶ ἀλλεπαλλήλων ὑποθέσεων διήγησις, τὸ σῶμα τῆς ἱστορίας καὶ τὸ συνεχὲς τῆς γραφῆς κατ' ἄρθρα ἔοικε διακόπτεσθαι· καὶ οὐ νέμεσις τοῖς γε εὔνως ἐντυγχάνουσι τῇ γραφῇ. 13.6.4 Ὡς δὲ ὁ μαχιμώτατος Βαϊ μοῦντος ἐν στενῷ κομιδῆ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἑώρα, ἔκ τε θαλάσσης ἔκ τ' ἠπείρου βαλλόμενος, ὡς καὶ τῶν χρειωδῶν αὐτῷ ἐπιλειπόντων ἤδη πάντοθεν ἐξαπορούμενος, ἱκανὸν ἀποδιελὼν στράτευμα πρὸς τὰς κατὰ τὸν Αὐλῶνα καὶ τὴν Ἱεριχὼ καὶ τὰ Κάνινα διακειμένας πόλεις πέπομφεν ἁπά σας λῄσασθαι. Ἀλλ' οὐδ' ὁ Καντακουζηνὸς ἠμέλει, οὔτε νήδυμος ὕπνος ἔσχε τὸν ἄνδρα κατὰ τὸν ποιητήν, ἀλλὰ γοργῶς τὸν Βεροΐτην μετὰ ἀξιομάχου στρατιᾶς ἀντίπαλον τοῖς Κελτοῖς ἐξέπεμψεν. Ἡττᾷ μὲν οὖν αὐτοὺς καταλαβὼν παραυτίκα καὶ οἷόν τι πόρισμα τὰς τοῦ Βαϊμούντου ναῦς ἐν τῷ ἐπανέρχεσθαι πυρπολήσας διεληλύθει. 13.6.5 Ὡς ᾔσθητο δὲ ὁ τυραννικώτατος Βαϊμοῦντος τῆς τῶν πεμφθέν των ἥττης, ὥσπερ μηδένα τοῦ στρατεύματος ἀπολωλεκὼς κατέπιπτεν οὐδαμῶς· μᾶλλον μὲν οὖν καὶ θαρραλεώτερος ἐφαίνετο, καὶ ἀποδιελόμενος αὖθις πεζοὺς καὶ ἱππεῖς πρὸς μάχας ἐκθυμοτάτους, εἰς χιλιάδας ἓξ ποσουμένους, κατὰ τοῦ Καντακουζηνοῦ ἐξαπέστειλεν, οἰόμενος αὐτοβοεὶ αἱρήσειν σὺν τῷ ῥωμαϊκῷ στρατεύματι καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Καντακουζηνόν. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος σκοποὺς ἀεὶ τοὺς ἐφεδρεύοντας τὰ κελτικὰ πλήθη ἔχων, μεμαθηκὼς τὴν αὐτῶν ἐπέλευσιν, νυκτὸς τὴν στρατιωτικὴν ὡπλίζετο πανοπλίαν καὶ ὥπλιζε τοὺς στρατιώτας σφαδάζων ἐπεισπεσεῖν αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὸ περίορθρον. Ὡς δ' οἱ Κελτοὶ κεκοπιακότες παρὰ τῷ χείλει Βούση τοῦ ποταμοῦ ῥᾳστώνης μικρᾶς ἕνεκα κατεκλίθησαν, αὐτοῦ που καταλαμβάνει τούτους μειδιώσης ἀπάρτι τῆς ἡμέρας καί, παραχρῆμα ἐπιθέμενος πολλοὺς μὲν ζωγρίαν ἄγει, πλείονας δὲ κτείνει. Οἱ δέ γε λοιποί, ταῖς δίναις τοῦ ποταμοῦ παρασυρέντες, ἀπεπνίγησαν καὶ φεύγοντες λύκον περιέτυχον λέοντι. 13.6.6 Τοὺς μὲν οὖν κόμητας ἅπαντας πρὸς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα ἐξέπεμψε κᾆθ' οὕτως ἀνέρχεται πρὸς τὸν Τίμορον· τόπος δὲ οὗτος ἑλώδης καὶ δύσβατος. Κεῖθι γοῦν ἑβδόμην ἡμέραν ἐγκαρ τερήσας, μετρητοῦς σκοποὺς ἐν διαφόροις ἐξέπεμπε τόποις περιαθρεῖν τὰ περὶ τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον καὶ γλῶτταν αὐτῷ ἐκεῖθεν κομίσαι, ὡς τὰ κατὰ τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον πυθό μενον ἀκριβέστερον ἐγνωκέναι. Ἐντυγχάνουσι δὲ τυχαίως οἱ πεμφθέντες Κελτοῖς ἑκατὸν σχεδίας εὐτρεπίζουσι, δι' ὧν τὸν ποταμὸν διανηξάμενοι τὸ πρὸς τὴν περαίαν διακεί μενον πολίχνιον αἱρήσειν ἠβούλοντο. Τούτοις ἀθρόον ἐπεισπεσόντες ζωγροῦσι μικροῦ ἅπαντας, καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν τοῦ Βαϊμούντου ἐξάδελφον εἰς δέκατον πόδα ἀνέλκοντα τὸ μέγεθος, εὐρὺν δὲ καθάπερ τινὰ ἄλλον Ἡρακλῆν. Καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν καινόν τι, τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον γίγαντα καὶ τῷ ὄντι πελώριον ὑπὸ πυγμαίου κατασχεθέντα Σκυθιδίου. Παρε κελεύσατο δὲ ὁ Καντακουζηνός, τοὺς κατασχεθέντας ἀποστέλλων, τὸν πυγμαῖον Σκύθην δέσμιον τὸν πελώριον ἐκεῖνον εἰσάξαι τῷ αὐτοκράτορι ἀστεϊζόμενος τάχα πρὸς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα. Ὡς δὲ φθάσαντας τούτους ὁ βασιλεὺς μεμαθήκει, ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ προκαθίσας θρόνου ἐκέλευσεν εἰσάγεσθαι τοὺς