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(The monastery of) St. Nicholas Moliboton (twelfth century)

 
 

Obverse

Bust of St. Nicholas blessing with his right hand and holding a book in his left. Inscription in two columns: |νι|κολ|α|ο|σ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικόλαος. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of five lines preceded by a cross. Border of dots.


σφραγ,
μολιτ
οιομεγακ
υδεοσνικ
ολαου

σφραγ(ὶς) Μολιβωτοῖο μεγακυδέος Νικολάου

Obverse

Bust of St. Nicholas blessing with his right hand and holding a book in his left. Inscription in two columns: |νι|κολ|α|ο|σ: ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικόλαος. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of five lines preceded by a cross. Border of dots.


σφραγ,
μολιτ
οιομεγακ
υδεοσνικ
ολαου

σφραγ(ὶς) Μολιβωτοῖο μεγακυδέος Νικολάου

Accession number BZS.1951.31.5.835
Diameter 25.0 mm; field: 21.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 5 no. 50.3; Laurent, Corpus 5.2: no. 1159 (dating the seal to the eleventh century). See also Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 2640.

Translation

σφραγὶς Μολιβωτοῖο μεγακυδέος Νικολάου.

Seal of (the monastery) of the illustrious Nicholas Moliboton.

Commentary

Μολιβωτοῖο (second and third line of the reverse): a Homeric genitive.

The monastery of St. Nicholas Moliboton was established after the middle of the eleventh century, and was located outside the Golden Gate. The chroniclers mention that Constantine X Doukas was buried in May, 1067, in the monastery of St. Nicholas, ἣ καλεῖται Μολιβωτόν (Skylitzes Cont., 118.4; Janin, Églises, 372–73). We seem to have reference to this monastery (τῆς μονῆς τοῦ Μολιβωτοῦ) in the typikon of the Pantokrator (Gautier, "Pantocrator," 123). It is a question of imposts and four pounds of hyperpyra owed to the Pantokrator.

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 5: The East (continued), Constantinople and Environs, Unknown Locations, Addenda, Uncertain Readings (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
  • Ἡ συνέχεια τῆς Χρονογραφίας τοῦ Ἰωάννου Σκυλίτση (Open in Zotero)
  • La géographie ecclésiastique de l’empire byzantin, Vol. 1, Le siège de Constantinople et le patriarcat oecuménique, Pt. 3, Les églises et les monastères (Open in Zotero)
  • Le typikon du Christ Sauveur Pantocrator (Open in Zotero)
  • Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 2, Siegellegenden von Ny bis inklusive Sphragis (Open in Zotero)