Preface
Witteric of the West
ES ZEUS
Good evening! I am Witteric of the West, and, having just arrived on this peaceful forum, I figured that what better introduction to my particular brand of madness than my personal favorite among my own stories. Those of you that have seen this in AH or SB, Yes, it is indeed I, Witteric, and it is indeed coming here. Please don't spoil the ride for those that have not stumbled upon this before today. Those of you not familiar with this story, then buckle up for the ride. I hope you enjoy it. Don't be shy about commenting.
There might be a couple of things as we go that could even surprise some Old Readers. Things that I failed to expand upon the first time around... We shall see.
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this piece of madness.
Witteric of the West.
Your Grace.
It is said among the Rhomans[1], that Time brings from the darkness all things to the birth, and all things born it envelops in the night[2]. Perhaps it is the reason why they are so obsessed with their writings of history. In the end, it is a fortunate thing, for we would not know a great many things about their people, their customs and their manner of ruling otherwise. Thus I present to you this work. Merely this humble servant's translation of one chronicle, written but two decades ago by the Princess Eudokia Komnena, which deals on the story of their ruling house, and of their empire since the events that led to its appearance in the Narrow Sea.
This I do, in response to the requests put forward by Your Grace, that we are to investigate into the manner of ruling of the Rhomans, to see what can be learned of it and what can be copied, in light of the recent succession troubles.
I will also include the writings of Maester Alyn of Sunspear[3] on their history and culture, for they will be useful in helping us determine what can and cannot be applied to the governance of the Seven Kingdoms and in what manner[4]. I shall also endeavor to add in the more recent happenings in their realm, for some of them may be of interest.
Your faithful servant.
Maester Lyman of Dragonstone.
Preface
A great many things have my illustrious ancestors written on the history of Rome. Nikephoros Megas wrote a detailed history of Rome from the times of Konstantinos the Greater[5] down to the dark days of the Iconoclasts, my own father, Emperor Andronikos wrote a chronicle on the life and deeds of Basileios, the Slayer of Bulgars, and other descendants of Alexios I have written on various other periods. But very little has been written on the history of Rome and her people since the providence of God saw fit to transplant these lands of the Empire to the location they now occupy.
It is thus that I, Eudokia, daughter of Basileus Andronikos have undertaken this task, to see that the passage of time does not erase that which ought to be remembered about these times. Of the great deeds of Just Rulers and of the heinous acts of Tyrants, for Rome has been bereft of neither.
Many, amongst our detractors, will scoff and claim that in my writing I shall minimize the acts of tyranny that even the greatest of our house has committed. Some, amongst our most stalwart supporters, will say that I am not giving my own ancestors the glory they deserve for their deeds. But he who dares to write these histories must swallow his own feelings. For many a time, he must praise his enemies and accuse those dear to him for their mistakes. I can only give the small comfort of stating, that I have sought out as many men who have witnessed the things I write of as the divine providence has allowed me to find.
I must now start at some point. And I will do so at the earliest time for which I could have reliable witnesses, at the final years of the reign of Alexios I.
[1] Westerosi texts will refer to the Byzantines as "Rhomans" due to the transliteration of the letter "Rho" into High Andal. Byzantine texts will simply read "Roman" which is the translation to English of the term "Rhomaioi"
[2] Maester Lyman is clearly versed in the Greek language and literature, this phrase is a quote from Sophocles which in real life Anna Komnene uses in the opening of the Alexiad.
[3] Maester Alyn having written his own texts fifty years earlier... Although at which point in the timeline of the ASOIAF world the Romans arrived will be intentionally vague, for now at least. The Updates will be from Eudokia's Komneniad unless stated otherwise. However, there will be chapters taking from later translations as well as from Lyman's.
[4] It is fairly clear that this is after a major succession crisis, and that the new King is seeking ways to answer to the instability by reforming the Realm along Roman/Byzantine lines...
[5] Constantine the Great, I will be using mostly transliterations from Greek for their names rather than the anglicized version.
Coming next time: Where is Constantinople? What time is it?
There might be a couple of things as we go that could even surprise some Old Readers. Things that I failed to expand upon the first time around... We shall see.
Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this piece of madness.
Witteric of the West.
The Komneniad: A Very Byzantine ISOT
Your Grace.
It is said among the Rhomans[1], that Time brings from the darkness all things to the birth, and all things born it envelops in the night[2]. Perhaps it is the reason why they are so obsessed with their writings of history. In the end, it is a fortunate thing, for we would not know a great many things about their people, their customs and their manner of ruling otherwise. Thus I present to you this work. Merely this humble servant's translation of one chronicle, written but two decades ago by the Princess Eudokia Komnena, which deals on the story of their ruling house, and of their empire since the events that led to its appearance in the Narrow Sea.
This I do, in response to the requests put forward by Your Grace, that we are to investigate into the manner of ruling of the Rhomans, to see what can be learned of it and what can be copied, in light of the recent succession troubles.
I will also include the writings of Maester Alyn of Sunspear[3] on their history and culture, for they will be useful in helping us determine what can and cannot be applied to the governance of the Seven Kingdoms and in what manner[4]. I shall also endeavor to add in the more recent happenings in their realm, for some of them may be of interest.
Your faithful servant.
Maester Lyman of Dragonstone.
Preface
A great many things have my illustrious ancestors written on the history of Rome. Nikephoros Megas wrote a detailed history of Rome from the times of Konstantinos the Greater[5] down to the dark days of the Iconoclasts, my own father, Emperor Andronikos wrote a chronicle on the life and deeds of Basileios, the Slayer of Bulgars, and other descendants of Alexios I have written on various other periods. But very little has been written on the history of Rome and her people since the providence of God saw fit to transplant these lands of the Empire to the location they now occupy.
It is thus that I, Eudokia, daughter of Basileus Andronikos have undertaken this task, to see that the passage of time does not erase that which ought to be remembered about these times. Of the great deeds of Just Rulers and of the heinous acts of Tyrants, for Rome has been bereft of neither.
Many, amongst our detractors, will scoff and claim that in my writing I shall minimize the acts of tyranny that even the greatest of our house has committed. Some, amongst our most stalwart supporters, will say that I am not giving my own ancestors the glory they deserve for their deeds. But he who dares to write these histories must swallow his own feelings. For many a time, he must praise his enemies and accuse those dear to him for their mistakes. I can only give the small comfort of stating, that I have sought out as many men who have witnessed the things I write of as the divine providence has allowed me to find.
I must now start at some point. And I will do so at the earliest time for which I could have reliable witnesses, at the final years of the reign of Alexios I.
[1] Westerosi texts will refer to the Byzantines as "Rhomans" due to the transliteration of the letter "Rho" into High Andal. Byzantine texts will simply read "Roman" which is the translation to English of the term "Rhomaioi"
[2] Maester Lyman is clearly versed in the Greek language and literature, this phrase is a quote from Sophocles which in real life Anna Komnene uses in the opening of the Alexiad.
[3] Maester Alyn having written his own texts fifty years earlier... Although at which point in the timeline of the ASOIAF world the Romans arrived will be intentionally vague, for now at least. The Updates will be from Eudokia's Komneniad unless stated otherwise. However, there will be chapters taking from later translations as well as from Lyman's.
[4] It is fairly clear that this is after a major succession crisis, and that the new King is seeking ways to answer to the instability by reforming the Realm along Roman/Byzantine lines...
[5] Constantine the Great, I will be using mostly transliterations from Greek for their names rather than the anglicized version.
Coming next time: Where is Constantinople? What time is it?
