Certainty: 2 Haughty behaviour of the patriarch Keroularios led to gradual alienation from him of Isaakios I. Keroularios clashed with Isaakios I, as two strong personalities often will, especially if they hold great offices with different agendas. Isaakios tried to silence the patriarch, but he spoke out louder, relying on popular support. He made many demands of the emperor, threatening him in the vernacular: "I built you, oven, and I will destroy you". He thought of wearing purple-dyed shoes, claiming that this was once customary for patriarchs, for he considered the difference between patriarchs and emperors to be slight. Isaakios respected him greatly, and gave his nephews Konstantinos and Nikephoros greater honours and appointed them to high office. He even increased the church's control over ecclesiastical affairs. But gradually Isaakios found he was unable to endure the threats calmly and so took care to act before he suffered anything, even thinking of deposition
Certainty: 3 Pittakion of Isaakios I on the commemorations of Ioannes orphanotrophos & Theodoros nobelissimos. Isaakios I Komnenos issued a pittakion instituting annual grants to the monasteries of Theotokos Dekapolitissa (on Mitylene?) and Nea Mone on Chios for the commemoration of Ioannes the orphanotrophos and of the nobelissimos Theodoros respectively, and a copy was made in the sekreton of the eidikon
Certainty: 2 Psellos wrote to the empress Aikaterine that he could not bear Constantinople without her & Isaakios I. Psellos wrote to the empress Aikaterine that he loved to see Isaakios I and her in the city and could only bear their absence by writing to them. She had never disbelieved (?), even if Charonites (?) refused to believe it; she had royal blood in her veins, and had married a greater monarch. He sent his usual monk to ask how they were, and would send him again. He had heard that Isaakios was now absent on business, not hunting
Certainty: 2 Psellos was seriously ill, interrupting his visits to the emperor & the business he was doing for suppliants. Four letters mention what maybe was the same serious illness. Two were to close friends, one perhaps Ioannes Mauropous. In that, he said the sickness began with sudden cold at the heart, then spread everywhere, especially the head, making him think of death, which he and his friend had not yet studied. Now pain had stopped, but fever and exhaustion continued, to the alarm of observers; he still ate only under compulsion, but was now on the side of the living. In the other, he said that God had saved him after a long fever, and that the symptoms (heart pain, headache, breathing problems, a stitch in his side and fever), had all disappeared, so he expected complete recovery. In both letters he thought of his tomb at Horaia Pege, and in the second his correspondent seems to be near there. The other two letters give headaches which kept him away from court as a reason for delay in executing business. The krites of Paphlagonia was told to have faith in his friend Michael, although he had hardly yet begun work. The krites of Charsianon was told that winter had improved Psellos' health, and that he would approach the emperor via Leichoudes, the only effective route; the krites too should write humbly to Leichoudes
Certainty: 3 Psellos wrote an iambic poem for Isaakios I, celebrating one year of reign, which a prophecy said he would not reach. Psellos wrote an iambic poem celebrating the end of Isaakios' first year of reign; a false prophecy predicted he would die in August, and now September had begun. Historical references are vague: in September Pecheneg nomads, scorpions by the Danube [same persons ?] and Turks were said to be terrified, and Egyptians to accept subjection: one trivial scorpion [Selte?] still caused trouble [are these completed, or planned campaigns ?]
Certainty: 2 Psellos wrote to Isaakios I, then to Theodoros Dokeianos, his nephew, asking if the first letter had been well received. Psellos wrote a cheerful letter to Theodoros Dokeianos, nephew of Isaakios I, hoping that he was enjoying his hunting and access to his uncle. Psellos had just sent Isaakios a letter, and wanted to hear from Theodoros how it had been received, so as to know whether to write again
Certainty: 2 Leon Thrymbos killed the Scribones at Croton. Leon Thrymbos, doux of Italy, had the Scribones killed at Croton [members of a prominent local family?]. This caused so much discontent in Calabria that Leon was forced to flee, and made his escape to Isaakios I. Robert Guiscard was able to exploit the situation by capturing Reggio
Certainty: 2 Raids of Robert Guiscard from Salerno into Byzantine territory in Italy. Robert Guiscard, after the death of his first wife, had just married a second, who owned land at Salerno. From there he he raided Roman provinces, subjugated Calabria and captured Italy. He gathered a considerable army and collected horses, money and supplies, unopposed by the commanders of Isaakios I's cities because of their lack of troops and Isaakios' cowardice. Prisoners he did not sell as slaves he mutilated terribly
Certainty: 2 Dinar attacked Melitene with aid of son of Liparit; Byzantines did not engage the raiders.
Certainty: 2 Turks entered Taron, occupied Sasun, buy driven off by Tornik; Melitene captives freed.
Certainty: 2 Death of Adralestos of Bari. Adralestos of Bari died
Certainty: 2 Death of pope Stephen X; Benedict X became pope (uncanonically). Death of pope Stephen X; Benedict X became pope (uncanonically)
Certainty: 3 Sudden arrest & banishment of patriarch Michael Keroularios by Isaakios I Komnenos. Isaakios I decided to act against Keroularios for his ambitious threats. To avoid the turmoil of detaining him in the city, he seized the chance offered by the patriarch's visit to his own monastery (of the Archangels), outside the city walls to the west, and sent Varangian troops to arrest him and his nephews Konstantinos and Nikephoros. A cleric was sent beforehand to allay suspicions. The prisoners were taken to the shore at Blachernai, put on a boat and banished to Proikonnesos. It was said that the patriarch was abused and physically manhandled, in ways inappropriate to his office and dignity, but he remained calm and unafraid. Though Psellos worked closely with Isaakios at the time and knew some of his secrets, the arrest came as a surprise. The city populace was enraged at the treatment of the patriarch, so Isaakios decided to legitimise with a trial the exile which had already been decided
Certainty: 2 Psellos was so flattered to receive a reply from Isaakios I that he promised to deposit the letter in his tomb. Psellos gave Isaakios I extreme thanks for a reply. After several of Psellos' letters had been ignored, Isaakios I had written back, with no sign of significant content. Psellos expressed great joy and thanks in a flattering encomium, promising to deposit the letter in his tomb
Certainty: 2 Psellos wrote (without delivering) an attack on Michael Keroularios, proposing removal from priesthood. Psellos wrote a long speech for delivery to the patriarchal synod, seeking to condemn Michael Keroularios and remove him from the priesthood. Since of Keroularios died, it was never delivered. He claimed the speech derived not from personal bias, but from observation that the patriarch had strayed from orthodoxy. He accused Keroularios of heresy, rebellion, murder, sacrilege and indifference, dealing with each charge in turn. His case is partly based on heretical charges against the monks Niketas and Ioannes of Nea Mone, with the "prophetess" Dosithea (who added suspect mystic elements). He used long passages from Plato's Phaedrus and from Proklos to convict the Chiot monks of Hellenic madness and Chaldaian heresy. References by the Chiots to the pain of childbirth convicted them of Nestorianism (denying the Virgin's painless birth). All this tainted Keroularios by association. Full patristic misogyny was used against Dosithea, including cross-dressing, irrationality and shameless movements. Nonsense was quoted as an example of her inspired words, and her visions were contrasted to true, biblical visions of God. Isaakios had decided to exile Keroularios not out of deep-laid plots, but because the patriarch broke well-known rules. Unlike Isaakios I, Keroularios did not do his duty of ensuring that new doctrines were found sound before influencing popular opinion. After discussing other charges in the context of recent history, Psellos finally asked the synod if Keroularios should continue as patriarch. If yes, they (not Isaakios I) would bear responsibility; if no, they should vote for deposition
Certainty: 2 Isaakios I created a court (outside a town in Thrace), judges & charges, for fear of the people of the capital. The elaborate preparations Isaakios I made to prosecute Keroularios (after declaring him guilty) in a way condemned himself as much as the accused. He created a court, judges and charges outside a town in Thrace [presumably just beyond Madytos on the inward voyage from Imbros]. The whole façade was built up because of the emperor's fear of the patriarch's popularity in the capital
Certainty: 2 Isaakios I made the whole learned class of Byzantium complicit in his attack on Keroularios. Keroularios was threatened with prosecution in which the whole literate class in Byzantium were made accomplices. This was not a condemnation of him, but of Isaakios I. [Psellos' indignation may be connected with his own role in drawing up the speech for the prosecution]
Certainty: 2 Keroularios in a dungeon on Imbros, forbidden to speak or read, suffered from the sounds of sea & sailors. Keroularios in captivity suffered by sea and land, enclosed in a small dark dungeon, and - what was worse - forbidden to speak or read. He was held on Imbros, where his prayers were disturbed by the sounds of the sea and sailors
Certainty: 2 Just before death, providence (& wind) drove Keroularios to Madytos; he visited St Euthymios' church & saw a vision. On his way from Imbros to be tried, Keroularios wanted to put in at Madytos to visit the church of Hagios Euthymios. His guards refused, but (by divine intervention) the weather drove the ship there in any case. After landing at Madytos, entering the saint's church, seeking the source of the holy oil and kissing the holy tomb, he saw in the night a vision of the saint, who assured him of a martyr's crown. His gaoler asked him in the morning why his appearance was different, full of joy and holiness, and he was told of the vision. They then went on to the place of Keroularios' trial, or rather of his translation
Certainty: 2 Konstantinos Leichoudes was the only approach to Isaakios I: Psellos wrote to him for the krites of Charsianon & a poor suppliant. Psellos' Lenten devotions were interrupted by the complaints of a poor man at his gate, demanding a brief letter from him to Konstantinos Leichoudes, which he reluctantly wrote. He begged Leichoudes' pardon, but it might be better if the man spread praises in the city, not complaints. The krites of Charsianon was not easy to help. Psellos had received another letter from him with no information from the hospice, no details on what he had written to Isaakios I, nor an oral message, since Psellos had not even seen the letter-carrier. He told the krites to write humbly to Leichoudes, the only way to approach Isaakios I
Certainty: 2 Michael Keroularios, undaunted by deposition, refused to resign but died as he arrived where the trial was to be held. Isaakios I sent some learned metropolitans to Keroularios, to persuade him to resign his office rather than have charges brought before the synod and be removed from the priesthood in disgrace. The metropolitans returned shamefaced from speaking to him and reported that they had been defeated by the patriarch's steadfastness. They even urged the emperor to consider the consequences of accusing an innocent man. Keroularios did not fear his fate, nor was his faith shaken, but he surpassed Job in patience, continuing to praise the Lord in humility. He saw an elaborate divine vision. At this point death intervened. He was taken up by God in a martyr's death, rather than suffering a demeaning and exhausting trial, in which neither success nor failure would have brought honour. In fact he was exalted by the judgement of heaven. When the boat put in at the town where the trial was to take place, he dismbarked with a firm step, saw his angelic escort, made personal peace with his gaolor and guards, and was soon translated to heaven
Certainty: 2 Repentant Isaakios had Keroularios buried in monastery he had built, his hand miraculously preserved in blessing. A messenger brought good news of Keroularios' death to Isaakios I on his return from the patriarch's distant place of exile. This freed Isaakios from concern for the future. Isaakios I at once repented and wailed aloud, but could not redress the wrong he had done. He brought the body of Keroularios with a distinguished escort to his own monastery, buried it there and restored his nephews to their former honours, granting them imperial access and numbering them among his close attendants. His death caused world-wide reaction. His tomb was visited by Isaakios, who sought and found forgiveness. His body after death did not decay, his fingers fixed in the sign of the cross. His tomb would be honoured by a yearly festival
Certainty: 2 Xach'ik, succeeding his uncle Petros as katholikos of the Armenians, was brought to the capital. Isaakios I was probably the emperor when Xach'ik succeeded his uncle Petros as katholikos of the Armenians. The emperor sent envoys to fetch him to Constantinople to surrender the treasures amassed by Petros, and to pay taxes. Xach'ik refused to pay, despite interrogation and threats
Certainty: 1 Death of Michael VI. After deposition, he lived briefly as a private individual and died (not as a monk?)
Certainty: 1 Isaakios I & his empress Aikaterine beautified church of St Ioannes Prodromos. Isaakios I and his empress Aikaterine beautified the church of St Ioannes Prodromos at Stoudios, where he became a monk after his abdication. Aikaterine was later buried there
Certainty: 1 Epiphanios Philaretos saw imperial qualities in Konstantinos X before his succession. Epiphanios Philaretos saw imperial qualities in Konstantinos X, not when he was already a brilliant sun-emperor, but earlier, while he was still a private citizen. He had then laboured hard to bring Konstantinos to power
Certainty: 1 Discussion between Psellos & Romanos, metropolitan of Kyzikos, about the value of monasteries by the charistike system. He discussed his plans as a charistikarios with Romanos, metropolitan of Kyzikos, using the metaphor of marrying monasteries. The monastery of Artigenes (Romanos' suggestion) was already "married" to an elderly charistikarios, while Psellos preferred Mountania, recently "widowed" of two owners. He promised Romanos to offer his monastery "bride" better presents, farm animals, not jewels. Artigenes would be expensive, while Mountania could be kept happy with a smile and an elderly co-investor to make him look young by comparison
Certainty: 1 A senior monk from Olympos sent fruit & a monastic representative to Psellos, & was heartily thanked. Psellos sent a letter to a senior monk from Olympos, thanking him for fruit and the visit of a monastic representative. His learning made him respect religious men who were simple in mind and word, like his correspondent. He hoped to share that world (again?) before he died
Certainty: 1 A tax collector originally from the Black Sea coast who wanted to work there was recommended to Chasanes, krites of Macedonia. Psellos wrote to Chasanes, krites of Macedonia, recommending a tax collector from the Black Sea coast who wanted to work in his home area
Certainty: 1 Nikolaos the epi ton deeseon acquired two estates, Phlorion & Galataria, one from his wife, the other by purchase. Nikolaos the epi ton deeseon acquired both Phlorion and Galataria, the two estates which were to be awarded by chrysobull to Epiphanios Philaretos by Konstantinos X. Galataria he had purchased, Phlorion he now acquired from his wife, who had received it from her previous husband
Certainty: 1 Chasanes, krites of Macedonia, sent gold for the taxes of his theme, & Psellos replied with golden letters. Psellos (as proedros) had an arrangement with Chasanes, krites of Macedonia. Chasanes sent gold for the taxes of his theme, and Psellos replied with golden letters - an exchange of debatable values
Certainty: 1 Chrysobull of Isaakios I for Amalfitan monastery on Athos(?). The emperor Isaakios Komnenos may have issued a chrysobull for the monastery of the Amalfitans (on Mount Athos) granting it (perhaps) properties and an exkousseia (?)
Certainty: 1 Chrysobull of Isaakios I Komnenos for Nea Mone (Chios). Isaakios I confirmed in one or more chrysobulls the independence of the monastery of Nea Mone on Chios
Certainty: 1 Isaakios I halved the solemnion for Vatopedi granted by Konstantinos IX & Michael VI. Isaakios I halved the solemnion of 80 nomismata granted to the monastery of Vatopedi (on Athos) by Konstantinos IX and Michael VI
Certainty: 1 Gregorios the Cellarer used many informants for the Life of Lazaros of Galesion. Gregorios the Cellarer recorded the life and angelic deeds of Lazaros of Galesion, to make them known to all, writing briefly but truthfully because he lacked both words and the necessary knowledge. Gregorios recorded the names of many persons who gave him information useful for his purpose. They include the following from mount Galesion: the uncle of stylite Nikon, Bartholomaios the oikonomos, Lazaros' brother and successor Ignatios, Laurentios the stylite, Laurentios Halmyrenos, Merkourios the plasterer and monk, and the monks Georgios, Himerios, Ignatios, Kosmas Philippikos, Kosmas Hierosolymites, Matthaios, Neilos, Neophytos and Theodoulos Raphis/Arrostos. Other sources were Nikolaos, oikonomos at Batheia and Photios, a monk from Jerusalem and of course the earlier narratives of Lazaros himself
Certainty: 1 Birth of Andronikos, son of Konstantinos (X) & Eudokia. Birth of Andronikos, son of Konstantinos X and Eudokia; he was not quite porphyrogennetos like his younger brother Konstantios