Basil protonotarios (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God with her hands upraised before her. Traces of sigla on either side: ΘΥ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines beginning with a cross. A decoration below. Border of dots.
Η̣..ΟΝ̣
ΟΙΓΘΚ.
Οˊ
̣ΟΗΘ,ΤΣ.
.Λˊ̣ΑΣΙΛ̣
ΑˋΝΟΤ,Ρ
η..ον ὁδιγὸ(ς) Θ(εοτό)κ[ε] βοήθ(ει) τῷ σ[ῷ δ]ούλ(ῳ) Βασιλ(είῳ) (πρωτο)νοτ(α)ρ(ίῳ)
Obverse
Bust of the Mother of God with her hands upraised before her. Traces of sigla on either side: ΘΥ : Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines beginning with a cross. A decoration below. Border of dots.
Η̣..ΟΝ̣
ΟΙΓΘΚ.
Οˊ
̣ΟΗΘ,ΤΣ.
.Λˊ̣ΑΣΙΛ̣
ΑˋΝΟΤ,Ρ
η..ον ὁδιγὸ(ς) Θ(εοτό)κ[ε] βοήθ(ει) τῷ σ[ῷ δ]ούλ(ῳ) Βασιλ(είῳ) (πρωτο)νοτ(α)ρ(ίῳ)
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.947 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 20.0 mm; field: 17.0 mm |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
η..ον ὁδιγὸς Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Βασιλείῳ πρωτονοταρίῳ.
... guide, Mother of God help your servant Basil, protonotarios.
Commentary
The reading of the first two lines of the reverse inscription is not certain. Corrosion has made the first line all but illegible; the standard form of invocation seeking divine protection for the seal's owner begins at the end of the second line, following what we take to be the word ὁδιγὀ(ς) (i.e. ὁδηγὀς). Note the omicron with an abbreviation mark below the gamma in the middle of the line. The seal owner appears to be invoking the Mother of God as a guide, echoing her role and epithet as Hodegetria, but the precise wording of the first two lines cannot be restored without confirmation from a better preserved parallel.