Anonymous (twelfth century)
Obverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
ηλ.
τγι
ημν.
θεντ
ἡ δούλ[η] τοῦ ἁγίου ἡμῶν α[ὐ]θέντου
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
υτ
ελητ
κουμερ
κιρι.
(καὶ) αὐταδέλφη τοῦ Κουμερκιαρί[ου]
Obverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
ηλ.
τγι
ημν.
θεντ
ἡ δούλ[η] τοῦ ἁγίου ἡμῶν α[ὐ]θέντου
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
υτ
ελητ
κουμερ
κιρι.
(καὶ) αὐταδέλφη τοῦ Κουμερκιαρί[ου]
| Accession number | BZS.1947.2.1908 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 21.0 mm; field: 19.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | Cf. Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden I, no. 842. |
Translation
ἡ δούλη τοῦ ἁγίου ἡμῶν αὐθέντου καὶ αὐταδέλφη τοῦ Κουμερκιαρίου.
The servant of our holy emperor and sister of Koumerkiarios.
Bibliography
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 1, Siegellegenden von Alpha bis inclusive My (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The inscription consists of two twelve-syllable verses composed by or for a woman who wished to emphasize her standing as the wife of a man in the imperial retinue and as the "sister of the Koumerkiarios" -- which here must be taken, as Wassiliou-Seibt proposes, as a family name, since the office of kommerkiarios itself had long ceased to exist by the early twelfth century. On the use of δούλος (and by extension δούλη, here the wife of such a person) as a synonym of ἄνθρωπος, see Cheynet, "L'homme du basileus," 144-154.