+ ͵αυναʹ Mαρτιοῦ 22
Ἄρχοντες καὶ ἀδελφοί, μικροί τε καὶ μεγάλοι
τοιοῦτον γράμμα οἱ μέλλοντες θεωρεῖν καὶ ἀναγιγνόσκειν
τὸ τί πράγμα καὶ συμφορὰ ἐσυνέβην είς ἐμέναν
ὁποὺ εἰς ἄλλον χριστιανὸν τοιοῦτον μὴ συνέβη.
Ἐγὼ ἀπ᾿ τ᾿ Ἀνάπλιν ἤμουνα, ἤμουν ἀναπαημένος.
Καὶ ἀπὸ ὅχλησιν, ἡ ὁποία ἐσυνὲβη
εἰς τό πανεγύριν τοῦ Ναυπλιοῦ τοῦ μέγα Δημετρίου
ἐλαβώθηκεν ἄνθρωπος ὁνόματι Σπαθάρος
καὶ ἀπὸ ᾿κεῖνο ἀπόθανεν ἐκεῖνος ὁ Σπαθάρος.
Καὶ τινὲς ὅπου μοῦ κακοθέλασιν καὶ εἴχαν σ᾿ ἐμὲν τὸν φθόνον,
ὅπως νὰ μὲ ἐξορίσωσιν ἀπ᾿ τὸ ἐδικόν μου σπίτι,
ἀνάγκασαν τοὺς ἀδελφοῦς ἐκείνου τοῦ Σπαθάρη
νὰ εἰποῦν ὅτι ἐγὼ τὸν λάβωσα, ἔδε ἁμαρτία μεγάλη!
Τὸ ὁποῖον, διὰ τὸ εἰπεῖν ἐκείνου τοῦ Ἀλβανίτη,
μὲ ἔκαμεν ὁ ποδεστάς νὰ λείπω ἀπὼ τὴν χώρα.
Ἐκούρσευσαν τὰ ζῶα μου ἐκεῖνοι οἱ Ἀλβανίτες
καὶ έγὼ διὰ τὰ ζῶα μου ὑπῆγα εἰς τὸν Ἀσάνην.
Ασάνης μὲ περίωρισε, εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν μὲ βάνει,
εἰς τὴ φυλακήν, στὰ σίδερα κακὰ περιορισμένον.
Τέσσαρας μῆνας ἔποικα ἐκεῖ περιορισμος.
Εἰς τὸ σκοινὶ μὲ βάνασιν, διὰ νὰ μὲ ἐξετάζουν.
Ἀφότις εἴδαν καθαρὰ ἐγὼ πταίσθης δὲν εἴμαι,
ὅρισαν καὶ ἀφῆκαν με, ἐλευθερίαν μοῦ δίδουν,
κρισιμόγραφον μοῦ ἔκαμεν ἀθωωτικὸν τὸ γράμμα
καὶ τρεὶς στρατιῶτες μοῦ ἔδωσαν, διὰ νὰ μὲ συντροφεύσουν.
Ἐγὼ δέ, διὰ τὸν τόπον μου καὶ διὰ τὴν Αὐθεντιάν μου,
ἠθέλησα πάλε νὰ ἐλθῶ εἰς τόπον τοῦ Ἁγίου Μάρκου,
εἰς τὸ Ἄργος τὸ παμπόνηρον καὶ κατεξουρισμένον,
ὁπού, ὅταν τὸ ἐθυμήθηκα εἰς τό Ἄργος διὰ νὰ ἔλθω,
νὰ εἴχεν ἀστράψει ἡ Ἀνατολή, νὰ εἴχε βροντήσει <ἡ> Δύση
καὶ νὰ ἤθελε γένει καὶ χειμὼν ἀμέτρητος καὶ μέγας,
ὁποὺ νά ᾿ θελα ἐμποδισθῆ, εἰς τὸ Ἄργος νὰ μὴν ἔλθω.
Ἀπότες ἧλθα καὶ ἔμπηκα ἐδὼ εἰς τὸ Ἄργος ἐτοῦτο,
εἶδαν . . . ἀπὸ ἐκείνους καλὸν δὲν τοὺς ἐφάνη,
ἐσκόπησαν οἱ Χριστιανοὶ νὰ πάρω τὴν τιμήν των.
Τῆς ὥρας ὀρδινιάσασιν, στὴν φυλακὴν μὲ βάνουν
ἂ μήδ᾿ οὐ εὐρέθηκεν τινὰς ἄρχοντας Βενετσιάνος
καὶ ἐγγυητὴς ἐστάθυκεν, στὸ σπίτι του μὲ δέχθη
<καὶ> μῆνας δυόμιση ἤμουν μετ᾿ αὐτὸν περιορισμος.
Τῆς ὥρας δὲ ὁ ποδεστὰς ἔγραωε νὰ μ᾿ ἀφήσουν
. . . ἧταν ὀρδινιὰ ὅπως νὰ μ᾿ ἀδικήσουν
οὐδόλας δὲν μ ἄφηναν ἐκ τὴν φυλακὴν νὰ ἔβγω,
εἴχασι δὲ τὴν ὀρδινιὰν διὰ λόγον νὰ μὲ πιάσουν
καὶ ἐγὼ ὁ ἄθλιος δὲν ἤξευρα τὸ ἐπιβούλευμά των,
ὁποὺ μοῦ ἐπιβουλευόνταν ἀδίκως νὰ μὲ χάσουν
. . . νὰ μὲ ἐξορίσωσιν καὶ νὰ μὲ φυλακώσουν,
νὰ χάσουν τὰ παιδάκια μου, ἔδε ἁμαρτία μεγάλη!
Τὸ ὁποῖον πρᾶγμα , ἄρχοντες, μικροί τε καὶ μεγάλοι,
ἀπότες ἀναθράφημεν καὶ εἴδαμεν τὸν κόσμον,
τέτιον πρᾶγμα, πούποτε κανεὶς οὐδὲν τὸ εἶδε
οὐδὲ εἶδεν το ούδὲ ἤκουσεν τέτιον πρᾶγμα νὰ γένει.
Θέλω ἐδῶ νὰ σᾶς εἰπῶ τὶ ἔναι ὁποῦ μοῦ συνέβε,
Μίαν ἡμέραν εἴμεσθεν μέσα εἰς τὸ παλάτιν,
οἱ τέσσαροί μας εἴμεσθαν, ἄλλος κανεὶς δὲν ἧτον,
Ρερούρης ἤτονε ὁ εἰς, φρὰ Νιλοκὸς ὁ ἄλλος,
ἤταν δὲ καὶ ὁ κὺρ Μαρίν, λεγόμενος Κατέλος,
ἤμουν καὶ ἐγὼ ὁ ἄθλιος, ὁ βαριομοιρασμένος.
Ἐκεῖ ἐκαταναφέρναμε τινὰ ἐκ τὰ διαβασμένα.
Καὶ μέσα εἰς τοῦτο ἄρχοντες εἶπαν διὰ τ᾿ Ἀνάπλιν
καὶ εγὼ ἐπαρεπονούμουνα τὸ πῶς μὲ ἀδικῆσαν.
Καὶ εἷς ἀπὸ τοὺς ἐκεινους τοῦτον τὸν λόγον λέγει,
” Ἀκόμη ἐκεῖνοι τοῦ Ναυπλίου σὲ θέλουν συντιχάρη”
Καὶ ἐγὼ μετεωρίστηκα, χωρὶς κακίας μάχος,
<καὶ> εἶπα ὅτι χέζω τους ἐκείνους τοὺς Ναυπλιῶτες,
αὐτοὶ δὲ τὸ μετάτρεψεν καὶ εἶπαν ὅτι χέζω τοὺς συντίχους
καὶ ὁ Ρετούρης τὸ ἐκατάδωσε καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ μαρτυροῦσιν
καὶ μέναν ἐζημιώσασιν δουκάτα δεκατεσσάρους
καὶ δὲν ἀφήνουν νὰ μὲ ἰδοῦν ἀπὸ τούς ἐδικούς μου.
Κάθε βράδυ μὲ φυλάγουσιν τέσσερις μπαργιζένοι
ὅλην τὴν μέραν εἶμαι μοναχὸς καὶ ὁ Θεὸς νὰ μὲ βοηθήση
καὶ εἴ τις μοῦ πταίει, ἄρχοντες, ὁ θεὸς νὰ τόνε σώση.

+ 1451 March 22
Archons and brothers, small and great,
you who are going to contemplate and understand these lines,
what it was, this disaster that happened to me
that never happened to any other Christian,
I was from Nauplion, I was comfortably fixed.
Because of a rumble which happened
at the Nauplion fair of great Demetrios,
a man by name of Spatharos was wounded
and that man, Spatharos, died of it.
Certain men who wished me ill and were jealous of me,
in order to drive me from my home
forced the brothers of that Spatharos
to say that I wounded him: see what an outrage!
Because of what the Albanian said,
the podestà ordered me to leave the territory.
Those Albanians rustled my animals
and I went to Asan to reclaim those animals.
Asan bound me, he put me in his prison;
in his prison, I was bound with heavy irons.
Four months I lived there bound.
they tortured me with the rope, to examine me.
When they saw clearly I was not at fault,
they ordered that I be released, they gave me freedom,
they gave a written judgment, a writ of aquittal,
and gave me three stratioti to see me safely on.
I, for the sake of my land and my lord,
wanted to return to the territory of S. Marco,
to piss-poor, thuggish Argos,
so much so that, when I put my mind to return to Argos,
would there had been lightning in the east,
would there had been thunder in the west,
would there had been an endless and mighty storm,
to prevent me from going to Argos.
When I went and came here to Argos,
it seemed [wrong] to them, it did not seem good.
The Christians expected I would take some valuable of theirs.
Right off they ordered for me to be put in prison.
unless some Venetian archon was found,
and he stood security and he received me in his house.
Two and a half months I was confined in his house.
At that time, the podestà wrote an order to release me,
. . . it was an order for them to treat me unjuustly,
they certainly did not let me go from prison,
they had the order in writing to take me [? to Nauplion]
and I the wretched did not know their contrivance
how they plottend unjustly to destroy me
. . . to banish and imprison me,
to destroy my children: see what a terrible crime!
Such a thing, archons, small and great,
since I was weaned and saw in the world,
such a thing, no one nowhere has ever seen,
no one ever saw it, no one heard of such a thing happening.
I want you to know, I will say what happened to me.
We were there one day, in the palati,
we were four, there was no other,
the rettor was one, Fra Nicolò another,
there was kyr Marin, known as Catello,
and I, the unfortunate, the heavy-fated one.
There we argued back and forth some matter from the papers,
and during that, some archons spoke about Nauplion
and I complained about their injustice to me.
One of them said these very words:
“The people of Nauplion still want you judged by the syndics.”
I joked, without malice,
and said that I shit on the people of Nauplion,
they however changed it and said that I shit on the syndics,
The rettor handed down a decision and they witnessed it.
They fined me 14 ducats
and didn’t let my family see me.
Every evening four turnkeys lock me up,
every day I am alone, may God help me,
and if anyone wrongs me, archons, God have mercy on him.