He bore the title magister duane baronum[5] in September 1174, when he was sent by the king to Salerno to check the accounts of the bailiffs and to authorise the sale of property on behalf of the stratigotus, so he could pay off a loan.
[6] Though his official duties as magister are unknown, he was also in charge of publishing and disseminating a signaculum of William's whereby all tolls at bridges, roadways, and riverways in the royal demesne were lifted (April 1187).
Eugenius was an accomplished translator and poet and has even been suggested as the person behind the pen name "Hugo Falcandus", a chronicler who wrote a record of events at Palermo from 1154 to 1169.
[10] The poems give insight to his life and times: he was an intimate of King William I and an associate of the Greek religious communities in Brindisi and Messina.
He wrote one poem lamenting his imprisonment (in Germany), blaming it on the evil state of the world, but taking a philosophical approach to his troubles.