1

Epitaphius in Irenam imperatricem

Funereal verses of the great logariastes for the lady, the Komnene, lady Irene.

Seeing my tomb here, O stranger, Do not pass it by as a common

tomb, For it hides within not an anonymous corpse, Not one of inglorious fortune, nor of worth, Not of the obscure nor of the outcast. But having learned who I am and from whom I was born, Weep, if you have any share of tears, And mourn the feeble life of mortals, Which seems to bear nothing more than a shadow And the nocturnal phantoms in sleep. For he who today is alive and breathes greatly And is distinguished by the greatest dignities, Both brilliant in beauty and admired for his lineage, Tomorrow, having died, withers like some blade of grass, Like some dry bentgrass, as the scripture writes. Therefore, listen to my words with sympathy And pay heed, if you have any hearing. I, empress of the new Rome, Fortunate in the power of my forefathers And the purple as the boast of my family, Was born the offspring of the sacred purple And a dear child of the palaces. My maternal grandfather was emperor of the land of the Ausonians, Alexios Augustus of the Komnenian line; And my father, brilliant in both lineage and fortune, Theodore Laskaris, whose fame is great And a venerable boast and much-envied glories In martial conflicts and victories And in manly struggles against enemies. From my mother's womb and birth I immediately received the pledges of power And was adorned with royal symbols, And as heir of the crown as well as of the power I was established from my infant swaddling clothes. Then, having reached the age of a maiden, I had a partner of both my bed and my power, Fair to behold, and noble in appearance, Proceeding from a royal-born tribe, From the imperial loins of Doukas-born, The manly and gentle young man like David, And mighty in his hand like young Samson. With him I was joined in a common bed, A young woman entwined with a young man in marriage, And we were blended into one nature By the bonds of marriage but even more by desire. The bond of marriage joined us in one flesh, But desire, in turn, joined us in one soul. I loved him, but I was loved more, I delighted him, but I was delighted more. He was breath to me and the sweet light of my eyes, I was sweeter to him than breath and light, And a delight to his heart and a joy to his mind, And we were a couple abounding in all beauties, Those which adorn both soul and body together. We had not yet reached the evening of life, Time had not yet seen us in decline, But the season of flower and of green shoot held us, Thriving, prospering with an outpouring of good things. For nothing good in life was absent, All that sweetens the hearts of rulers And brings them honor and glory; All things were present abundantly and to fullness, Victories against enemies, successful campaigns, Expansion of power and possession of territory. The empire was raised beyond the Hellespont, It reached Europe from Asia And held the land of the Thracians and Macedonians And touched the gates of Constantine's city. The enslavement of Italians and their capture, And their continuous booty and spoils, And their complete expulsion from the land of the Ausonians, From the eastern clime of the morning star And from the western part towards Europe; No island, no mainland was their lot, Constantine's city alone was their fortress. But suddenly came, alas, the sword of death, Unexpected, unlooked for, as if from an ambush, And it reaps me from life before my time; It had no pity for my age, It did not shrink from the untimely cutting, It cut me down in my bloom like an unripe ear of corn, It tore me up by the roots as a withering thing withers. The endurance in battles of my husband, And his skillfulness in resolving terrible things, The hardness of my suffering, alas, put to the test; For useless to him was every sword and every spear

1

Epitaphius in Irenam imperatricem

Στίχοι τοῦ μεγάλου λογαριαστοῦ ἐπιτύμβιοι εἰς τὴν δέσποιναν Κομνηνὴν κυρὰν Εἰρήνην.

Ἐμὸν βλέπων ἐνταῦθα τάφον, ὦ ξένε, Μὴ παροδεύσῃς τοῦτον ὡς κοινὸν

τάφον, Κρύπτει γὰρ ἔνδον οὐκ ἀνώνυμον νέκυν, Οὐ τὴν τύχην ἄδοξον, οὐ τὴν ἀξίαν, Οὐ τῶν ἀφανῶν οὐδὲ τῶν ἐρριμμένων. Ἀλλὰ μαθὼν ἥτις τε κἀκ τίνων ἔφυν, ∆άκρυσον, εἴ τι δακρύων μέτεστί σοι, Καὶ τὸν βροτῶν πένθησον ἀδρανῆ βίον, Μηδὲν σκιᾶς δοκοῦντά τι πλέον φέρειν Καὶ τῶν ἐν ὕπνοις νυκτέρων φαντασμάτων. Ὁ σήμερον γὰρ ζῶν τε καὶ μέγα πνέων Καὶ ταῖς μεγίσταις ἀξίαις διαπρέπων Ὥρᾳ τε λαμπρὸς καὶ περίβλεπτος γένει Φθίνει θανὼν αὔριον ὥσπερ τις χλόη, Ὡς ξηρά τις ἄγρωστις, ἡ γραφὴ γράφει. Τοίνυν ἐμῶν ἄκουε συμπαθῶς λόγων Καὶ πρόσχες, εἴ τις ἀκοὴ πρόσεστί σοι. Ἐγὼ βασιλὶς Ῥωμαΐδος τῆς νέας, Προπατορικὸν εὐτυχοῦσα τὸ κράτος Καὶ τοῦ γένους αὔχημα τὴν ἁλουργίδα, Τῆς ἱερᾶς μαίευμα πορφύρας ἔφυν Καὶ φίλον ἐκλόχευμα τῶν ἀνακτόρων. Ὁ μητροπάτωρ βασιλεὺς γῆς Αὐσόνων, Ἀλέξιος Αὔγουστος Κομνηνῶν γένους· Πατὴρ δὲ λαμπρὸς καὶ γένος καὶ τὴν τύχην, Θεόδωρος Λάσκαρις, οὗ θρύλλος μέγας Καὶ σεμνὸν εὖχος καὶ πολύζηλα κλέα Ἐν ἀρεϊκαῖς συμπλοκαῖς τε καὶ νίκαις Καὶ τοῖς κατ' ἐχθρῶν ἀνδρικοῖς παλαίσμασιν. Ἐκ μητρικῆς δὲ νηδύος καὶ τοῦ τόκου Ἔλαχον εὐθὺς τοῦ κράτους τὰς ἐγγύας Καὶ βασιλικοῖς ἐστολίσθην συμβόλοις, Καὶ τοῦ στέφους κληροῦχος ὡς καὶ τοῦ κράτους Ἐκ τῶν βρεφικῶν ἐγκατέστην σπαργάνων. Εἶτα φθάσασα τὸν νεανίδος χρόνον Κοινωνὸν ἔσχον καὶ λέχους καὶ τοῦ κράτους, Καλὸν μὲν ἰδεῖν, εὐγενῆ δὲ τὴν θέαν, Ἀνακτοφυοῦς ἐκ φυλῆς προηγμένον Τῆς δουκογενοῦς βασιλίδος ὀσφύος, Τὸν ἀνδρικὸν καὶ πρᾶον ὡς ∆αυὶδ νέον Καὶ βριαρὸν τὴν χεῖρα Σαμψὼν ὡς νέον. Τούτῳ συνήφθην ἅμα κοινὸν εἰς λέχος Νέα νέῳ τε γαμικῶς συνεπλάκην, Καὶ συνανεκράθημεν εἰς φύην μίαν Γάμου τε δεσμοῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ πόθου πλέον. ∆εσμὸς γάμου συνῆψεν εἰς συσσαρκίαν, Ὁ δ' αὖ πόθος συνῆψεν εἰς συμψυχίαν. Ἔστεργον αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ἐστεργόμην πλέον, Ἔτερπον αὖθις, ἀλλ' ἐτερπόμην πλέον. Αὐτὸς πνοή μοι καὶ γλυκὺ φῶς ὀμμάτων, Ἐγὼ πνοῆς γλύκιον αὐτῷ καὶ φάους Καὶ καρδίας ἥδυσμα καὶ φρένος γάνος, Καὶ ζεῦγος ἦμεν καλλοναῖς πάσαις βρύον, Ὅσαι ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα κοσμοῦσιν ἅμα. Οὔπω παρηγγείλαμεν εἰς δείλην βίου, Οὔπω παρακμῆς εἶδεν ἡμᾶς ὁ χρόνος, Ἄνθους δὲ καιρὸς εἶχεν ὡς δὲ καὶ χλόης, Θάλλοντας εὐθηνοῦντας ἀγαθῶν χύσει. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀπῆν τῶν καλῶν τῶν ἐν βίῳ, Ὅσα κρατούντων ἡδύνουσι καρδίας Καὶ κῦδος αὐτοῖς προξενοῦσι καὶ κλέος· Πάντα δὲ παρῆν δαψιλῶς καὶ πλησμίως, Νῖκαι κατ' ἐχθρῶν, εὐτυχεῖς στρατηγίαι, Κράτους πλατυσμὸς καὶ κατάσχεσις πλάτους. Ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἤρθη τὸ κράτος, Εἰς Εὐρώπην ἔφθασεν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας Καὶ τὴν Θρᾳκῶν ἐπέσχε καὶ Μακεδόνων Καὶ τῶν πυλῶν ἔψαυσε τῆς Κωνσταντίνου. Ἀνδραποδισμὸς Ἰταλῶν καὶ ζωγρία Καὶ συνεχῆ λάφυρα τούτων καὶ σκῦλα Καὶ παντελὴς δίωξις ἐκ γῆς Αὐσόνων, Ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα φωσφόρου κλίτους Κἀκ τοῦ δυτικοῦ καὶ πρὸς Εὐρώπην μέρους· Οὐ νῆσος οὐκ ἤπειρος αὐτοῖς εἰς λάχος, Φρούριον αὐτοῖς ἡ Κωνσταντίνου μόνη. Ἀλλ' ἦλθεν αἴφνης φεῦ τὸ θανάτου ξίφος Ἄελπτον ἀδόκητον ὥσπερ ἐκ λόχου, Καί με πρὸ ὥρας ἐκθερίζει τοῦ βίου· Οὐκ ἔσχε φειδὼ τῆς ἐμῆς ἡλικίας, Οὐ τὴν ἄωρον ἐκτομὴν ὑπεστάλη, Ἀνθοῦσαν ἐξέκοψεν ὡς ὠμὸν στάχυν Πρόρριζον ἀνέσπασεν ὡς φθιτὸν φθίνον. Τὸ καρτερικὸν ἐν μάχαις τοῦ συζύγου, Τὸ δ' αὖ περιδέξιον εἰς δεινῶν λύσιν Ἤλεγξεν οἴμοι τοῦ πάθους ἡ στερρότης· Ἀργὸν γὰρ αὐτῷ πᾶν ξίφος καὶ πᾶν δόρυ