It has been proposed that the vinavlon mentioned in the 6th century AD by John Malalas in the sixth book of his Chronographia is an archaic form of the same weapon, although in Malalas' text it is carried by cavalrymen.
He also compiled a historical work, "Chronographia tripartita", from the Greek writings of Theophanes, Nicephorus, and George Syncellus, and made a collection of documents concerning the affairs of Pope Honorius I.