30 Facts About Theodore Paleologus

Theodore Paleologus was a 16th and 17th-century Greek nobleman, soldier and assassin.

Theodore Paleologus lived in exile for many years and went on to become a proficient soldier and hired assassin.

In 1597, Theodore Paleologus arrived in London, hired by the authorities of the Republic of Lucca to kill a man named Alessandro Antelminelli.

In 1600, Theodore Paleologus was hired by Henry Clinton, the Earl of Lincoln, ostensibly as "Master of the Horse" but in reality probably as a henchman and assassin.

Theodore Paleologus probably accompanied Clinton on his visits around the country, most of them having to do with Clinton's frequent battles with the law.

In Clinton's service, Theodore Paleologus met the famous captain and explorer John Smith, whom he gradually helped introduce back into society after Smith had elected to live as a recluse.

Theodore Paleologus was then invited by a Sir Nicholas Lower to stay with him at his house, Clifton Hall, in Landulph, Cornwall.

Theodore Paleologus was buried at Landulph and was survived by five of the six or seven children whom he had with his wife, Mary Balls.

John Hall, author of a 2015 biography on Theodore Paleologus, believes that it would be wrong to "dismiss Theodore Paleologus's claim out of hand" on account of a single missing link.

Theodore Paleologus, who is referred to as a minor was spared the death penalty and instead banished not only from Pesaro, but from the entire Duchy of Urbino.

Theodore Paleologus is not attested again until nineteen years later, upon his arrival to England in 1597.

Theodore Paleologus arrived in England as an assassin, hired to track down and kill Alessandro Antelminelli, a 25-year old citizen of the Republic of Lucca in Italy.

Around 40 years old, Theodore Paleologus was by this point in time evidently well-established as an assassin.

Franceotti recommended Theodore Paleologus, and is probably the same person as the one who personally delivered the Lucchese message.

Theodore Paleologus would spend many years living at Clinton's castle, Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire.

Theodore Paleologus keeps her docked up like a prisoner, without suffering her either to write or hear from any of her friends, having appointed to guard her an Italian, a man that hath done divers murders in Italy and in the Low Countries, from which he fled to England, from whom, I protest, she has just cause hourly to fear the cutting of her throat.

Theodore Paleologus taught Smith Italian and skill at arms, and might have encouraged him to return to the battlefield.

In Philip L Barbour's The Three Worlds of Captain John Smith, Theodore is thought to be the culprit behind filling "John Smith's fancies with further adventurous notions" through legends of the Ottoman Turks.

In Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler's Captain John Smith, Theodore Paleologus is credited with "igniting the spirit of the Crusaders" in Smith.

Theodore Paleologus is attested as living in Plymouth from 1619 onwards.

Theodore Paleologus was a householder in Plymouth, rated in 1628 at a halfpenny a week.

Shortly thereafter, Theodore Paleologus was invited by Sir Nicholas Lower, a rich Cornish squire, to join him at his home in Landulph, Cornwall, probably on account of Theodore Paleologus's supposedly exalted lineage.

Lower's home, Clifton Hall, was divided to accommodate two families after Mary and the Paleologus daughters moved in shortly after Theodore.

At Clifton Hall, Theodore Paleologus probably served the Lowers as a scholar of history and the Greek language, possibly helping to educate their children.

Theodore Paleologus stayed with his family and the Lowers at Clifton Hall for the rest of his life.

Theodore Paleologus's genealogy had been thoroughly debunked by the early 20th century.

Theodore Paleologus's grave was accidentally opened in 1795, revealing an oak coffin.

Inside, his body was discovered in a good enough state to ascertain that Theodore Paleologus was far above common height and had possessed an aquiline nose and a long white beard reaching low on his breast.

Theodore Paleologus's well-preserved body means that he had probably been embalmed before being buried.

The rite was not technically a full traditional memorial rite, since Theodore Paleologus was not Orthodox, but included chants and incense.