TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS

GIACOMO FOSCARINI

KNIGHT

BY IMPERIAL AUTHORITY

CONSUL OF CRETE

MOST NOBLE HERO

FRANCESCO BAROZZI

A large, square, historiated decorative initial 'Q' featuring blue and gold leaf with scrolling leaf patterns, set against a gold background within a thin gold border.

Since eleven months ago, most noble and illustrious Consul Giacomo Foscarini was a Venetian nobleman and military commander who served as the High Commissioner of Crete., your Excellence brought to my attention a certain Greek manuscript containing the prophecies of the most wise Leo, Emperor of Constantinople Emperor Leo VI (r. 886–912), known as "the Wise" or "the Philosopher," to whom these cryptic oracles were traditionally attributed.. These were greatly damaged, fragmented, diminished, and illustrated with most false and erroneous figures. Your Excellence requested of me their restoration, their translation into the Latin language, and an interpretation of their hidden meanings. Desiring to satisfy your wish to the best of my ability, I undertook a burden that was by no means light, from which I now see myself finally delivered by the help of God, the Best and Greatest. For after I collected as many copies as I could from various places in this Realm, and from all of them—though they were severely corrupted—