Michael Spanopoulos (eleventh century, second half)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God holding the medallion before her; details indistinct. No sigla visible. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, beginning with a cross. Decorations above and below. Border of dots.
ΚΕ̣Ο
...Σ
̣Λ̣,Μ̣ΙΧ̣Α̣
ΗΛΤΣΠΑ
ν,Π̣̣Λ
Κ(ύρι)ε βο[ήθ(ει) τ]ῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ) Μιχαὴλ τῷ Σπαν(ο)πούλῳ
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God holding the medallion before her; details indistinct. No sigla visible. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, beginning with a cross. Decorations above and below. Border of dots.
ΚΕ̣Ο
...Σ
̣Λ̣,Μ̣ΙΧ̣Α̣
ΗΛΤΣΠΑ
ν,Π̣̣Λ
Κ(ύρι)ε βο[ήθ(ει) τ]ῷ σῷ δούλ(ῳ) Μιχαὴλ τῷ Σπαν(ο)πούλῳ
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1303 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm; field: 16.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | Laurent 1305. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Μιχαὴλ τῷ Σπανοπούλῳ.
Lord, help your servant Michael Spanopoulos.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, South of Asia Minor (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinischen Bleisiegel in Österreich, Vol. 1, Kaiserhof (Open in Zotero)
- Actes d’Esphigménou (Open in Zotero)
- Actes d’Iviron (Open in Zotero)
- Methodii Patriarchae Constantinopolitani Vita S. Theophanis Confessoris: e codice mosquensi no. 159 (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
A Michael Spanopoulos acted as assistant to Euthymios, the praitor and anagrapheus of Boleron, Strymon, and Thessalonica, circa 1095 (Actes de Zographou, ed. W. Regel, E. Kurtz, B. Korablev, VizVrem 13 (1907) Priloženie, no. 35, line 97, see Actes d'Esphigménou, ed. J. Lefort (Paris, 1973) no. 5). He could be identical to the owner of our seal. A Spanopolos (no first name mentioned, but perhaps the same man) acted as logariastes of the sebastokrator Isaac Komnenos in the same region, circa 1090-94 (Actes d'Iviron II, ed. J. Lefort, N. Oikonomides, D. Papachryssanthou, V. Kravari, H. Métréveli (Paris, 1990), no. 45, lines 5, 82). Also mentioned are the advanced eleventh-century seals of Michael Spanopoulos, without title (no. 50, lines 2, 68. Seibt, Bleisiegel, no. 150), and the unpublished late eleventh-century seal of a Michael Spanopoulos proedros (Hermitage Collection). See PBW : Michael 270.