In the Historical survey which follows, we will have to limit ourselves simply to a description of the Ecclesiastical and Political History of the era of the person we are studying.
The entire XIV century can be described as the "century of the civil war", a fact which explains the decline in the political, social and financial situation. During the era of Matthew I the Turks, from distant Asia, had succeeded in creating an asphyxiating "human collar" in the area surrounding Constantinople.
Insecurity was evident throughout the Byzantine Empire: from the beginning of the XIV century, Andronicus II (1282-1328) had asked the "Catalan Company" for help. Initially the Catalans wanted to help the Emperor, but by the time they settled in the towns which they liberated from the Turks, they were asking for large amounts of money in order to continue protecting them. [...] (From the publisher)