The archbishop of Corfou (eleventh century)
Obverse
Saints Peter and Paul standing, turned toward each other and gesticulating; details indistinct. On the left, the inscription: |Π|Ε|Τ|Ρ: ὁ ἅγιος Πέτρος. On the right: .|.|Α|.|Λ|Ο: ὁ ἅγιος Παῦλος. No border visible.
Obverse
Saints Peter and Paul standing, turned toward each other and gesticulating; details indistinct. On the left, the inscription: |Π|Ε|Τ|Ρ: ὁ ἅγιος Πέτρος. On the right: .|.|Α|.|Λ|Ο: ὁ ἅγιος Παῦλος. No border visible.
Reverse
Inscription of six lines, probably beginning with a cross; traces of a decoration below. Border of dots.
.ΤΟΝ
ΚΕΡΚΥ
ΡΑΣΠΡΟΕ
ΔΡΟΝΕΝ
ΓΡΑΦΗ
ΓΡΑΦΩ
Τὸν Κερκύρας πρόεδρον ἐν γραφῇ γράφω
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.2096 |
---|---|
Diameter | 22.0 mm |
Previous Editions | Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 868. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Τὸν Κερκύρας πρόεδρον ἐν γραφῇ γράφω.
I inscribe the archbishop of Corfou in the letter.
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)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Sceaux byzantins du musée de Constantinople (Open in Zotero)
- Recherches sur l’administration de l’empire byzantin aux IX-XIème siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Byzance et la mer: La marine de guerre, la politique et les institutions maritimes de Byzance aux VIIe–VXe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Nikopolis und Kephallenia (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
One dodecasyllabic verse. As Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 864, has shown, the metropolitan church of Corfou was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul; this is why they appear so often on the seals of prelates of Corfou. Given the rank of the church of Corfou we take "proedros" as archbishop.