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- "His father died at a young age, and Demetrios' oldest brother Georgios became head of the family. Georgios corresponded with Eirene, daughter of Anna Komnene (discussed above) and Nikephoros Bryennios, and arranged for Demetrios to be raised in Eirene's household as a companion for one of Eirene's sons and as a family servant. Anna was probably then spending much time at the Kecharitomene Convent, founded by her mother, but not yet permanently living there. 'The convent Kecharitomene, overlooking the Golden Horn, gave our historian the serenity she probably never enjoyed in the imperial palace.' According to her eulogy by Georgios Tornikes, she gathered about her there 'a philosophic circle whose work she inspired and directed.' Anna's daughter Eirene, widowed at a fairly early age, collaborated with her mother. Thus Demetrios Tornikes, raised in Eirene's household, was near the center of Anna Komnene's intellectual orbit. Demetrios no doubt also absorbed much about etiquette and protocol as a child. His association with this family continued, and his career culminated 'in the office of the logothete of the drome, effectively foreign minister of the empire.'" ["Eirene?, First Wife of Emperor Isaakios II Angelos, Is a Probable Tornikina and Gateway to Antiquity," by Don C. Stone and Charles R. Owens, citation details below.]
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