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the emperor was furious. 13.7.4 But perceiving that Contostephanus had not moored the Roman fleet where it was proper, and that for this reason the south winds were keeping it back, providing a more favorable voyage for the Celts, after sketching the coastline of Lombardy and Illyricum and the harbors situated on both sides, he sent it to Contostephanus, showing him in writing both where he must anchor the ships and from where he might catch a fair wind to sally out against the Celts crossing over. He again encouraged Contostephanus and persuaded him to get to work. Isaac therefore, recovering himself and reaching the place where the emperor had ordered him, beached the ships. And watching for his opportunity, when those from Lombardy with much preparation were making the voyage to Illyricum, as a fair wind was then blowing, he met them in the middle of the strait, and some of the pirate ships he burned, and sent more, with their crews, to the deep. 13.7.5 The emperor, not yet having learned these things, but with his mind intent on what had been written by Landulph and by the doux of Dyrrachium himself, having come to another plan, immediately summoned the aforementioned Marianus Maurocatacalon from there and appointed him doux of the fleet, entrusting the affairs of Petroula to another. He therefore departed and, by some chance, immediately encountering pirate and transport ships crossing from Lombardy to Bohemond, he seized them all, full of all sorts of provisions. And for the future, being a sleepless guard of the strait between Lombardy and Illyricum, he did not permit the Celts to sail across to Dyrrachium at all.

13.8.1 But the emperor, encamped at the foot of the passes and around Diabolis, was throttling those who were eager to join Bohemond, and was sending out men like snowflakes to those guarding the passes, instructing each how many to send into the plain of Dyrrachium against Bohemond and what form of warfare those going down ought to employ in battle, mostly to charge forward on their horses and then retreat again, and doing this again and again, to fight by archery, while those carrying spears were to advance behind them at a slow pace, so that if the archers happened to be drawn back further than necessary, they would receive them, and at the same time strike any Celt who perhaps came to grips with them. He supplied them lavishly with arrows, ordering them not to spare them at all, but to shoot at the horses rather than at the Celts, knowing that as far as their breastplates and iron tunics were concerned, they were hard to wound, or even completely invulnerable. He therefore thought it was vain and completely foolish to shoot at them. 13.8.2 For Celtic armor is an iron tunic, with ring interwoven with ring, and the iron of good quality, so that it is able to repel an arrow and protect the soldier's skin. An addition to its protection is a shield, not round, but a long shield, starting very broad and ending in a point, and slightly hollowed on the inside, but smooth and gleaming on its outer surface and glittering with a boss of cast bronze. An arrow, therefore, even if it were Scythian, or Persian, or hurled from gigantic arms, would be repelled from it and would fly back to the one who sent it. 13.8.3 For these reasons, therefore, the emperor, being experienced, I believe, in Celtic arms and our archery, ordered them to leave the men alone and attack the horses instead and advised them to feather them with their arrows, and at the same time so that having dismounted from their horses they might become easy to capture. For a Celtic man on horseback is irresistible and could pierce even a Babylonian wall, but having dismounted from his horse he is a plaything for

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αὐτοκράτωρ διεπρίετο. 13.7.4 ∆ιαγνοὺς δὲ ὅτι οὐχ ὅπη προσήκει τὸν ῥωμαϊκὸν στόλον ὁ Κοντο στέφανος προσώρμισε, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν οἱ νότοι ἀπείργουσιν εὔθετον τοῖς Κελτοῖς μᾶλλον τὸν πλοῦν παρε χόμενοι, διαγράψας τὴν τῆς Λογγιβαρδίας ᾐόνα καὶ τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ καὶ τοὺς παρ' ἑκάτερα διακειμένους λιμένας, ἀπέστειλε τῷ Κοντοστεφάνῳ ὑποδείξας ἐν γράμμασι καὶ ὅπη δεῖ προσορμίσαι τὰς ναῦς καὶ ὅθεν οὐρίου τύχοι τοῦ πνεύματος κατὰ τῶν διαπλῳζομένων Κελτῶν ἐξορμῶν. Ἀνέρρωσέ τε αὖθις τὸν Κοντοστέφανον καὶ ἔργου ἅψασθαι ἀνέπεισεν. Ἀνακτησάμενος οὖν ἑαυτὸν ὁ Ἰσαάκιος καὶ καταλαβὼν οὗπερ ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ αὐτῷ παρεκελεύσατο τὰς ναῦς προσώκειλε. Καὶ καιρὸν ἐπιτηρήσας, ὁπηνίκα οἱ ἀπὸ Λογγιβαρδίας μετὰ πολλῆς παρασκευῆς πρὸς τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν τὸν ἀπόπλουν ἐποιοῦντο, ἀνέμου δεξιοῦ τηνικαῦτα ἐπι πνέοντος, δέχεται τούτους τοῦ πορθμοῦ μέσον, καί τινα μὲν τῶν λῃστρικῶν πλοίων πυρίκαυστα πεποίηκε, πλείω δὲ καὶ αὔτανδρα τῷ βυθῷ παρέπεμψεν. 13.7.5 Οὔπω ταῦτα μεμαθη κὼς ὁ βασιλεύς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Λαντούλφου γρα φέντα καὶ αὐτοῦ δουκὸς ∆υρραχίου ἐγκείμενον ἔχων τὸν νοῦν, ἑτέρου λογισμοῦ γεγονώς, παραχρῆμα τὸν ἤδη ῥηθέντα Μαριανὸν τὸν Μαυροκατακαλὼν μεταπεμψάμενος ἐκεῖθεν δοῦκα τοῦ στόλου προχειρίζεται, τὰ δὲ τῆς Πετρούλας ἑτέρῳ ἀνατίθησιν. Οὗτος οὖν ἀπελθὼν καὶ κατά τινα συντυχίαν εὐθὺς ἐντυχὼν ταῖς ἀπὸ Λογγι βαρδίας πρὸς τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον διαπλῳζομέναις λῃστρικαῖς καὶ φορτηγοῖς ναυσὶ κατέσχεν ἁπάσας πλήρεις παντοίων ἐδωδίμων. Καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ ἄγρυπνος φύλαξ τοῦ ἀναμεταξὺ Λογγιβαρδίας καὶ Ἰλλυρικοῦ πορθμοῦ τυγχάνων οὐ συνεχώρει τὸ παράπαν τοῖς Κελτοῖς τὸν πρὸς τὸ ∆υρράχιον ἀπόπλουν.

13.8.1 Ὁ δέ γε αὐτοκράτωρ, περὶ τοὺς πρόποδας τῶν κλεισουρῶν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ∆ιάβολιν αὐλιζόμενος, ἀπῆγχε μὲν τοὺς προσχωρῆσαι τῷ Βαϊμούντῳ ὠδίνοντας, ὡσεὶ νιφετοὺς δὲ πρὸς τοὺς τὰς κλεισούρας τηροῦντας ἐξέπεμ πεν, ἑκάστῳ ὑποτιθέμενος ὁπόσους εἰς τὴν πεδιάδα ∆υρ ραχίου ἐξαποστέλλειν κατὰ τοῦ Βαϊμούντου καὶ ὁποῖον τὸ τοῦ πολέμου σχῆμα διατυποῦν τοὺς κατερχομένους χρὴ ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι, τὰ πλεῖστά τε προτρέχειν τοῖς ἵπποις καὶ αὖθις ἀνθυπονοστεῖν καὶ οὕτω πάλιν καὶ πάλιν ποιοῦντας διὰ τῆς τοξείας μάχεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ τὰ δόρατα φέροντας ὄπισθεν αὐτῶν βραδεῖ ποδὶ στείχειν, ἵν' εἴ που γένηται τοῖς τοξόταις πλέον τοῦ δέοντος πρὸς τὰ ὄπισθεν παρα συρῆναι, δέχωνται τούτους, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὸν εἰς χεῖρας τού των ἴσως ἐλθόντα Κελτὸν πλήττοιεν. Ἐπεχορήγει δὲ δαψιλῆ τούτοις τὰ βέλη παρακελευόμενος μὴ φείδεσθαι τούτων ὅλως, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τῶν ἵππων μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν Κελτῶν ἐπιτοξά ζεσθαι, τοῦτο μὲν εἰδὼς ὅτι ὅσον ἐπὶ τοῖς θώραξι καὶ τοῖς σιδηροῖς χιτῶσι δύστρωτοι ἦσαν ἢ καὶ παντάπασιν ἄτρωτοι. Βάλλειν οὖν εἰς μάτην καὶ πάντη ἀνόητον ᾤετο. 13.8.2 Ὅπλον γὰρ κελτικὸν χιτών ἐστι σιδηροῦς κρίκος ἐπὶ κρίκῳ περιπεπλεγμένος καὶ τὸ σιδήριον ἀγαθοῦ σιδήρου, ὥστε καὶ βέλος ἀπώσασθαι ἱκανὸν καὶ τὸν χρῶτα φυλάξαι τοῦ στρα τιώτου. Προσθήκη δὲ τῆς φυλακῆς καὶ ἀσπὶς οὐ περι φερής, ἀλλὰ θυρεὸς ἀπὸ πλατυτάτου ἀρξάμενος καὶ εἰς ὀξὺ καταλήγων, καὶ τἄνδον ἠρέμα ὑποκοιλαινόμενος, λεῖος δὲ καὶ στίλβων κατὰ τὴν ἔξωθεν ἐπιφάνειαν καὶ ἐπ' ὀμφαλῷ χαλκοχύτῳ μαρμαίρων. Βέλος τοίνυν, κἂν σκυθικὸν εἴη, κἂν περσικόν, κἂν ἀπὸ βραχιόνων ἀπορριφείη γιγαντικῶν, ἐκεῖθεν ἀποκρουσθὲν παλινδρομήσειε πρὸς τὸν πέμψαντα. 13.8.3 ∆ιὰ ταῦτα τοίνυν ἔμπειρος ὢν οἶμαι ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν κελτικῶν ὅπλων καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων τοξευμάτων, ἀφεμένους τῶν ἀνδρῶν τοῖς ἵπποις μᾶλλον ἐπιθέσθαι παρεκελεύετο καὶ καταπτεροῦν αὐτοὺς τοῖς τοξεύμασι παρῄνει, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἵνα τῶν ἵππων ἀποβεβηκότες εὐχείρωτοι γένοιντο. Κελτὸς γὰρ ἀνὴρ ἔποχος μὲν ἀκατάσχετος καὶ κἂν τεῖχος διατετρήνειε Βαβυλώνιον, ἀποβεβηκὼς δὲ τοῦ ἵππου ἄθυρμα τοῖς