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they did not accept him for the throne, but also dismissed the request as superfluous; not only did they disapprove of this, but also of not bowing the knee or the neck in obeisance to the emperor. But they did not reject some of his more distant kinsmen moving a sufficient distance away and so receiving him as he was about to go in to the emperor, for the sake of arrangement and courtesy toward him, and his entering with two cloaks, nor indeed the emperor touching his hand and placing him at the upper part of the imperial couch. 13.9.6 After these things were said, the envoys departed, going where their lodging had been prepared, guarded by one hundred sergeants, so that they might not go out by night and spy on the army and thus be more contemptuously disposed toward him. On the next day, with three hundred horsemen and all the counts, he arrived where he had spoken with the aforementioned men the day before, and then, taking with him six chosen men, he went away to the envoys, leaving the rest somewhere to await his return from there. 13.9.7 So when they were again deliberating about the aforesaid matters, since Bohemond was objecting, a certain very high-ranking count, Ubus by name, said to Bohemond thus: "None of us who are about to join the war with the emperor has yet struck anyone with a spear. Therefore, let be the many words; peace must be chosen over battle." When many words had therefore been exchanged on both sides, Bohemond was greatly vexed, feeling insulted if all the things he had previously demanded from the envoys did not come to pass. 13.9.8 While they were agreeing on some points, but refusing on others, Bohemond was persuaded and, making a virtue of necessity, as they say, he demanded an oath from them, so that he would be honorably received and, if the emperor should not assent to his wishes, he would be sent back unharmed to his own camp. When the holy gospels were therefore set forth, he demanded that hostages be handed over to his brother Guido and be guarded by him until he himself should return. The envoys, assenting to this, for their part demanded oaths in return for the safety of the hostages. Bohemond, having assented to this and having given and received oaths, handed over the hostages, the sebastos Marinus and the one called Adralestus and Roger the Frank, to his brother Guido, so that whenever he should either make a peace treaty with the emperor or, if not this, he might send them back unharmed from there to the emperor according to the oaths.

13.10.1 Therefore, when he was about to set out on the road leading to the emperor with Constantine Euphorbenus Catacalon, since a great stench had arisen because his army had lingered for a considerable time in the same place, wishing to move the army, he said that he did not want this to happen without their counsel. For such is the Celtic race, inconsistent and shifting to either side in a swift turn of the moment. And it is possible to see one and the same man at one time boasting that he will shake the entire earth, and at another time cowering and brought down to the very dust, and especially whenever he should encounter stronger spirits. But they did not permit the army to be moved more than twelve stadia and said to Bohemond: "If you wish this, we will also go along to see the place." When Bohemond had assented to this also, they immediately indicated by letters to those guarding the mountain passes that they should not harm them by making raids. 13.10.2 And Constantine Euphorbenus Catacalon again asked Bohemond that the departure to Dyrrachium be allowed. When Bohemond assented, Catacalon swiftly to Dyrrachium

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θρόνου αὐτὸν οὐ προσεδέξαντο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς περιττὴν τὴν αἴτησιν ἀπεπέμψαντο· οὐ μόνον δὲ τοῦτο ἀπεδοκίμασαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ μὴ κλῖναι γόνυ μήτε τράχηλον εἰς προσκύνησιν τῷ βασιλεῖ. Πρὸς δὲ τό τινας τῶν πορρω τέρω συγγενῶν αὐτοῦ μεταβῆναι διάστημα ἱκανὸν καὶ οὕτως τοῦτον προσδέξασθαι πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εἰσελευσόμενον χάριν οἰκονομίας καὶ θεραπείας τῆς πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ πρὸς τὸ σὺν δυσὶ χλαμύσιν εἰσελθεῖν, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τὸ τῆς χειρὸς τούτου τὸν βασιλέα ἐφάψασθαι καὶ στῆσαι πρὸς τῷ ἄνωθεν μέρει τοῦ βασιλικοῦ σκίμποδος οὐκ ἀπεπέμψαντο. 13.9.6 Μετὰ τὸ ταῦτα ῥηθῆναι διέστησαν οἱ πρέσβεις ἀπελθόντες ἔνθα ἡτοίμαστο ἡ τούτων ἀνάπαυσις, φυλαττόμενοι ὑπὸ σερ γεντίων ἑκατόν, ἵνα μὴ νυκτὸς ἐξεληλυθότες τὰ περὶ τὸ στράτευμα κατασκοπήσαιεν καὶ οὕτω καταφρονητικώτερον πρὸς αὐτὸν διατεθήσονται. Τῇ δὲ μετ' αὐτήν, μεθ' ἱππέων τριακοσίων καὶ τῶν κομήτων πάντων, κατέλαβεν οὗ τοῖς δηλωθεῖσιν ἀνδράσι τῇ προτεραίᾳ ὡμίλησε, κᾆθ' οὕτως τοὺς ἐκκρίτους ἓξ τὸν ἀριθμὸν συμπαραλαβὼν ἄπεισι πρὸς τοὺς πρέσβεις, τοὺς ὑπολοίπους αὐτοῦ που καταλιπὼν ἀπεκδέ χεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐκεῖθεν ἐπανελθόντα. 13.9.7 Περὶ γοῦν τῶν προλεχθέντων αὖθις διασκεπτομένων, ἐπεὶ ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος ἐνίστατο, κόμης τις τῶν λίαν ὑψηλῶν, Οὖβος τὴν κλῆσιν, πρὸς τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον ἔφη ὡς· «Οὐδεὶς ἀφ' ἡμῶν τῶν μελ λόντων μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως συνάψαι τὸν πόλεμον οὔπω ἔπληξέ τινα διὰ δόρατος. Ἔα τοίνυν τὰ πολλά· τὴν εἰρήνην τῆς μάχης ἀλλάξασθαι χρή.» Λόγων οὖν πολλῶν ἐξ ἑκα τέρων κινηθέντων, βαρέως ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος εἶχεν ὑβριοπαθῶν εἰ μὴ πάντα γένοιντο ὁπόσα φθάσας ἐπεζήτει τοὺς πρέσ βεις. 13.9.8 Τῶν δ' ἐπί τισι συγκατατιθεμένων, ἐφ' ὧν δὲ ἀνανευόντων, πείθεται ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος καὶ τὴν ἀνάγκην, ὅ φασι, φιλοτιμίαν ποιησάμενος ὅρκον ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐζήτει, ὥστε ἐντίμως ὑποδεχθῆναι καὶ εἰ μὴ τοῖς θελήμασιν αὐτοῦ ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ κατανεύσειεν, ἀσινὴς πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ἐκπεμ φθῆναι παρεμβολήν. Τῶν οὖν ἁγίων εὐαγγελίων προτεθέν των, ὁμήρους ἐζήτει παραδοθῆναι τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Γίδῳ καὶ φυλάττεσθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ μέχρις οὗ αὐτὸς ὑποστρέψῃ. Οἱ δὲ πρέσβεις πρὸς τοῦτο κατανεύσαντες ὅρκους αὖθις ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ὁμήρων ἀσφαλείας καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀντεπεζήτουν. Κατανενευκὼς δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος καὶ ὅρκους δοὺς καὶ λαβὼν τοὺς μὲν ὁμήρους, τόν τε σεβαστὸν Μαρῖνον καὶ τὸν καλούμενον Ἀδράλεστον καὶ τὸν Φράγγον Ῥογέρην, παραδίδωσι τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Γίδῳ, ἵν' ὁπηνίκα ἢ μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰρηνικὰς σπονδὰς ποιήσειεν ἢ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο, ἀβλαβεῖς ἐκεῖθεν κατὰ τοὺς ὅρκους αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸν αὐτο κράτορα ἐξαποστείλῃ.

13.10.1 Μέλλων τοίνυν τῆς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα μετὰ τοῦ Εὐφορβηνοῦ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ Κατακαλὼν φερούσης ἅψα σθαι, ἐπεὶ δυσωδία πολλὴ διὰ τὸ περὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τόπον και ρὸν ἱκανὸν τὸ ὑπ' αὐτὸν στράτευμα χρονοτριβῆσαι γέγονε, βουλόμενος μεταθεῖναι τὸ στράτευμα μηδὲ τοῦτ' ἄνευ τῆς αὐτῶν βουλῆς ἐθέλειν γενέσθαι ἔλεγε. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ τὸ Κελτῶν γένος ἀνώμαλον καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάτερα ἐν ὀξείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ μεταφερόμενον. Καὶ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τὸν αὐτὸν καὶ ἕνα ποτὲ μὲν αὐχοῦντα τὴν γῆν κλονήσειν ἅπασαν, ποτὲ δὲ ὑποπεπτωκότα καὶ μέχρι κονίας αὐτῆς καταγόμενον, καὶ μᾶλλον ὁπηνίκα στερροτέροις ἐντύχοι φρονήμασιν. Οἱ δὲ πλείω τῶν δύο καὶ δέκα σταδίων οὐ συνεχώρουν μετα τεθῆναι τὸ στράτευμα καί· «Εἰ τοῦτο βούλει, πρὸς τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον ἔλεγον, συνελευσόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀψόμενοι τὸν τόπον». Κατανεύσαντος δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο τοῦ Βαϊ μούντου, παραχρῆμα διὰ γραμμάτων τοῖς τὰς κλεισούρας φυλάσσουσιν ἐδήλωσαν ὥστε μὴ ἐκδρομὰς ποιουμένους καταβλάπτειν αὐτούς. 13.10.2 Ὁ δὲ Εὐφορβηνὸς Κωνσταντῖ νος ὁ Κατακαλὼν ᾐτεῖτο αὖθις τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον, παραχω ρηθῆναι τὴν εἰς τὸ ∆υρράχιον ἀπέλευσιν. Κατανεύσαντος δὲ τοῦ Βαϊμούντου, γοργῶς τὸ ∆υρράχιον ὁ Κατακαλὼν