N. priest and protosynkellos (eleventh/twelfth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the child in her r. arm. Inscription partially visible: ΡΘ: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding the child in her r. arm. Inscription partially visible: ΡΘ: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription in four lines with cross above. Indeterminate border.
πρτο
συγκελλ
.ευιτου
...ει..
Πρωτοσυγκέλλου λευίτου ......
Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.2407 |
---|---|
Diameter | 18.0 mm |
Previous Editions | Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 223. |
Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Πρωτοσυγκέλλου λευίτου ......
(Seal of) N., the protosynkellos and Levite.
Bibliography
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
In the four line, Laurent claims to see the letters ΕΙ and thus proposes reading the name Βασιλείου (Basil); however, this is very tentative, especially as those two letters cannot be confirmed. However, Laurent is right to assume that because this name completes the dodecasyllabic verse, it must be four syllables long with a stress accent on the penult (like Basil), but there are too many other options (Nikephoros, Theodore, Timotheos, etc.) for Basil to be assumed.
Note the use of the archaizing term "Levite" to indicate that this individual was a priest, likely inscribed here to fit the meter in the same way that θύτου (thytes) often is.