SECT. III.-FROM THE DEATH OF JOHN III. TO THE RECOVERY OF CON- REIGN OF THEODORE LASCARIS II., 1254-1258-CHARACTER OF THEODORE Theodore Lascaris II., the only son of John III. and Irene, was thirty-three years old at his father's death. His first care was to hasten the election of a patriarch; and when Nicephorus Blemmidas declined the honour, the dignity was conferred on Arsenios, who, at the time of his election, was a lay brother in a monastery near the lake Apolloniades. In a single week he was consecrated deacon, priest, and patriarch. The coronation of Theodore was performed in the city of Nicæa, the new Patriarch placing the imperial crown on his head. Theodore II. was a man of considerable talent, and of a cultivated mind; but his health was ruined, and his intellect affected, by repeated attacks of epilepsy. Participating in the common opinions of his age, the emperor sometimes believed that his malady was a Divine judgment, and at others considered that it was the effect of the incantations of his enemies. At times he sunk into profound melancholy; at times he broke out in uncontrollable fits of anger. But his public conduct was generally marked by judgment and determination. He commanded his armies with ability; and he filled the administration with men of talent, 1 Acropolita, 58. A. D. 1254-1261. BOOK IV. in defiance of the nobility, who pretended an exclusive title to all offices which conferred profit and patronage. CH. 1. § 3. The historian George Acropolita, who held the high charge of grand logothet or chancellor, has been induced, by wounded pride and affection, to record an anecdote which offers a truer and more graphic picture of the Emperor Theodore II. than is usually found in the pedantic pages of the Byzantine writers. The conditions of a treaty with Bulgaria had been arranged by the intermediation of Ouros, a Russian prince, fatherin-law of Michael, king of Bulgaria. Theodore had bestowed on the Russian presents to the value of twenty thousand byzants. Before the ratification of the treaty was exchanged, a report prevailed that it would not be ratified; and the emperor was induced to distrust the Russian by the insinuations of some intriguing courtiers, who said that the negotiations had been entered into to gain time, and would of course be disavowed. On the Feast of the Transfiguration (6th August 1256), after the short sleep which invariably follows dinner during the summer heats throughout the East, the emperor mounted his horse to ride round his camp, which embraced a circumference of five miles. Theodore prided himself on the discipline of his army, and called his camp the movable city, which was the guardian of all the immovable cities of the empire. As he galloped off at a rapid pace, attended by his 1 Acropolita was related to the imperial family, but his father remained at Constantinople, after its conquest by the Crusaders, in order to save his property from confiscation. In the year 1233 he sent his son George to be educated at the court of John III., and the future historian was brought up in the palace with Theodore II. After the recovery of Constantinople he was named Orator of the Church by Michael VIII. In 1274 he was sent ambassador to the council of Lyons, and swore to the union of the Greek and Latin churches. In 1281 he was sent as envoy to Trebizond, to conclude an alliance with the Emperor John II. of Trebizond; not, as most writers, copying an inadvertency of Hankius, De Byzantinorum Rerum Scriptoribus, 562, have said, to John, king of Bulgaria. He died in the following year.-Acropolita, 25. Pachymeres, i. 354. Medieval Greece and Trebizond, 400, note 1. military staff, the chancellor, spurring his mule, attempted to keep his post of honour at his master's side; but neither his own flowing robes, nor the amble of his well-fed mule, were suited to the rapid movements of the emperor, and Theodore turned to the panting Acropolita and said, "Moderate your pace, and join us at your leisure." The The inspection of the camp terminated at a level eminence, to which Acropolita hastened by a direct road, in order to take his place in the circle round the emperor. The malicious suggestions of the discontented courtiers dwelt on the mind of Theodore; and he soon asked several of the great officers of his court if they had received information that the Russian was a deceiver, and that the treaty would not be ratified. The ministers of state replied that no such news had reached them, and it seemed to them impossible, for no Christian prince could be guilty of such baseness. But to this the emperor observed, that Christian princes had often been found capable of performing strange actions to obtain large presents. He then turned to Acropolita, and asked him what he had to say. chancellor replied, "I agree with my colleagues in thinking the report destitute of all foundation; but if Ouros has deceived us, and perjured himself, then Heaven will avenge the just cause by giving us the victory." This reply satisfied the emperor, who shortly after mounted his horse and returned towards his tent. The moon had already risen, and as Theodore rode slowly on, he renewed the conversation. Observing that Acropolita kept silence, he called to him. "Well, grand logothet! tell us your opinion; the business concerns you especially." To this the chancellor, with some display of dissatisfaction, answered, "How does it concern me particularly? If I had neglected to see the treaty properly drawn up, or omitted any requisite VOL. II. 2 c A. D. 1254-1261. BOOK IV. formality in receiving the oath of the Russian, it would 66 Το Dismount him." Muzalon approached Acropolita, who immediately dismounted, and was seized by two of the club-bearers of the guard, and bastinadoed with the rods they carried in their hands for the punishment of meaner offenders. The chancellor endured the blows for some time in silence, while the emperor and the great officers of state sat on their horses round; but at last, moved by the pain and the disgrace, he said aloud, "O Lord Christ, why hast thou preserved my life in the hour of sickness to suffer this misery?" The tones of a voice so long endeared to him by friendship restored the emperor's judgment. Acropolita had been one of the few friends who displayed a sincere attachment to Theodore, when the influence of Marchesina had brought him into trouble with his father. The emperor now turned away, saying to one of his officers, "Take him with you." This officer asked the chancellor where he wished to go; but considering himself a prisoner, he recommended the officer to carry him to the tents of the Vardariot guards. When it appeared that the primmikerios of the Vardariots received no orders to retain him prisoner, Acropolita retired to his own tent, where he shut himself up in the closest seclusion. He pretends that the emperor placed a guard to watch his movements, privately fearing that he might desert to Bulgaria, or fly to the Despot of Epirus. He remained in his tent a month, resisting the suggestions of his friends, and of many prelates and dignitaries of the court, that he should ask a private audience of the emperor. He had determined not to serve a prince who could treat his most devoted servants in such an unworthy manner. In the mean time, the treaty was ratified by the King of Bulgaria, the imperial camp was removed to Thessalonica, and negotiations were opened with the Despot of Epirus. Manuel Lascaris, the emperor's grand-uncle, and George Muzalon, the protovestiarios, now visited Acropolita, and carried him, by the emperor's order, to a council of ministers. When the emperor arrived to take his place on the throne, Acropolita saluted him in the usual form, but stood behind the members of the council. The emperor, observing this, said to him, "Take your place as usual;" and as A. D. 1254-1261. |