es of his queens, Manuel, who was so valiant in
war, showed himself in peace a licentious voluptuary. "No sooner did he
return to Constantinople than he resigned himself to the arts and
pleasures of a life of luxury: the expense of his dress, his table and
his palace, surpassed the measure of his predecessors, and whole summer
days were idly wasted in the delicious isles of the Propontis in the
incestuous love of his niece, Theodora."

Manuel had a cousin, Andronicus, who was even more of a voluptuary than
he--one whose career as a soldier of fortune and as a heartless roue
marks him as the Byzantine Alcibiades. He indulged his favorite
passions, love and war, without any regard to divine or human law. His
lofty stature, manly strength and beauty, and dare-devil manner were so
seductive that three ladies of royal birth fell victims to his charms.
His mistresses shared his company with his lawful wife, and divided his
affections with a crowd of actresses and dancing girls. He was a
partaker of the pleasures, as well as of the perils, of Manuel; and
while the emperor lived in public incest with his niece Theodora,
Andronicus enjoyed the favors of her sister Eudocia. So enamored was she
of her handsome lover, and so shameless in her conduct, that she gloried
in the title of his mistress, and accompanied him to his military
command in Cilicia. Upon his return, her brothers sought to expiate her
infamy in the blood of Andronicus, but, through Eudocia's aid, he eluded
his enemy. Proving treacherous, however, to the emperor, he was
imprisoned for a long period in a tower of the palace at Constantinople,
where his faithful wife shared his imprisonment and assisted him in
making his escape.

Andronicus was later given a second command on the Cilician frontier.
While here, he made a conquest of the beautiful Philippa, sister of the
Empress Maria, and daughter of Raymond of Poitou, the Latin Prince of
Antioch. For her sake, he deserted his station and wasted his time in
balls and tournaments; and to his love the frail princess sacrificed her
innocence, her reputation, and the offer of an advantageous marriage.
The Emperor Manuel, however, urged on by his consort, resented this
violation of the family honor, and recalled Andronicus from his infamous
liaison. The indiscreet princess was left to weep and repent of her
folly; and Andronicus, deprived of his post, gathered together a band of
adventurers of like spirit and undertook a