Gregory Kamateros, protopraitor of the Peloponnesos and Hellas (eleventh/twelfth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with the medallion of Christ on breast. Sigla: ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. No visible border.
Reverse
Inscription of eight lines. No visible border.
ΘΚΕ..
ΗΘΕΙΓΡΗ.
ΟΡΙΑ,ΠΡ.
ΤΩΡΙΠΕΛΟ
ΠΟΗΣΣΟΥ
ΚΕΕΛΛΑΔΟ
ΣΤΚΑΜΑ
Τ.Η..
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Γρηγορίῳ πρωτοπρέτωρι Πελοποννήσου κὲ Ἑλλάδος τῷ Καματηρῷ
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with the medallion of Christ on breast. Sigla: ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. No visible border.
Reverse
Inscription of eight lines. No visible border.
ΘΚΕ..
ΗΘΕΙΓΡΗ.
ΟΡΙΑ,ΠΡ.
ΤΩΡΙΠΕΛΟ
ΠΟΗΣΣΟΥ
ΚΕΕΛΛΑΔΟ
ΣΤΚΑΜΑ
Τ.Η..
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Γρηγορίῳ πρωτοπρέτωρι Πελοποννήσου κὲ Ἑλλάδος τῷ Καματηρῷ
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.4605 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 26.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 8.39. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει Γρηγορίῳ πρωτοπρέτωρι Πελοποννήσου κὲ Ἑλλάδος τῷ Καματηρῷ.
Mother of God, help Gregory Kamateros, protopraitor of the Peloponnesos and Hellas.
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)
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Mélanges d’archéologie byzantine (Open in Zotero)
- Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα τοῦ ἐν ἈΘήναις Ἐθνικοῦ Νομισματικοῦ Μουσείου (Open in Zotero)
- Les sceaux byzantins de la Collection Henri Seyrig (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)
- Le Peloponnese byzantin jusqu’en 1204 (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 1 (Open in Zotero)
- Du stratège de thème au duc: chronologie de l’évolution au cours du XIe siècle (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Hellas und Thessalia (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantinische Rang- und Ämterstruktur im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert: Faktoren und Tendenzen ihrer Entwicklung (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Line 3 (rev.): although the letter Α (= πρωτο) is corroded and uncertain, it may be reasonably restored on the basis of the seal published by Konstantopoulos. V. Laurent, ("Sceau du protonotaire Basile Kamatéros," Byzantion 6 [1931] 264-65) notes that at least two persons with the name Gregory Kamateros are mentioned in a period compatible with our seal: a λογαριαστὴς τοῦ σεκρέτου τοῦ γενικοῦ, active in 1088; and a secretary of Alexios Komnenos, who became logothetes ton sekreton (and protoasecretis?) and died in 1126 or 1132. See also V. Šandrovskaja, "Grigorij Kamatir i ego pečat' v sobranii Gosudarstvennogo Ermitaža," VizVrem 16 )1959_ 173-82. The seal of another Kamateros is in Seyrig, no. 303.
Ahrweiler (Recherches, 75-76) has shown that the praitor was in fact the same as the judge (krites) of the theme. Should one conclude that the title of protopraitor would mean that this was an official superior to the other praitores? Bon (Péloponnèse, 98) has proposed this hypothesis, but it does not carry much conviction.