Theodore (eleventh century)
Obverse
St. George, nimbate, mounted on a horse galloping to the right, with a spear in his right hand stabbing a dragon on the ground before him. No visible inscription. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription in five lines. Border of dots.
ΚΕΟ
.ΘΕΙΤ
.ˊΘΕ
ΡΟΥ.ΟΓΕ
ΟΡΓΗΟ
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεωδώρῳ, ἅγιο (?) Γεώργηο.
Obverse
St. George, nimbate, mounted on a horse galloping to the right, with a spear in his right hand stabbing a dragon on the ground before him. No visible inscription. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription in five lines. Border of dots.
ΚΕΟ
.ΘΕΙΤ
.ˊΘΕ
ΡΟΥ.ΟΓΕ
ΟΡΓΗΟ
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεωδώρῳ, ἅγιο (?) Γεώργηο.
| Accession number | BZS.1947.2.1612 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 21.0 mm |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Θεωδώρῳ, ἅγιο (?) Γεώργηο.
Lord, help your servant Theodore, St. George.
Bibliography
- An Anonymous Russian Seal (XIIth/XIIIth C.): The Image of St. George as Horseman in Byzantine and Russian Sigillography (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The last line and a half of the reverse inscription is somewhat unclear. After the name, there seems to be an invocation to St. George, which illuminates him as the figure on the obverse (as opposed to St. Theodore, also a dragon-slayer). In particular, the letter after Theodore--and what is perhaps a superscript above it--poses a problem, in addition to the fact that George is not in a typical vocative form. The reading given here cannot be accepted with certainty. On the seals depicting George as a dragon-slayer, see Stepanenko, "An Anonymous Russian Seal."