Nicholas secretary of the (bishop) of Melissa (eleventh century)
Obverse
St. Nicholas standing, turned one-quarter to his right, his arm extended toward the manus Dei. Inscription in two columns: |ν|ι-κ|.|. : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικ[όλ(αος)]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+κ..θ,
νικολα
σεκρετικ,
τμελη
σησ
Κ(ύρι)[ε β(οή)]θ(ει) Νικολάῳ σεκρετικ(ῷ) τοῦ Μελήσης
Obverse
St. Nicholas standing, turned one-quarter to his right, his arm extended toward the manus Dei. Inscription in two columns: |ν|ι-κ|.|. : Ὁ ἅ(γιος) Νικ[όλ(αος)]. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
+κ..θ,
νικολα
σεκρετικ,
τμελη
σησ
Κ(ύρι)[ε β(οή)]θ(ει) Νικολάῳ σεκρετικ(ῷ) τοῦ Μελήσης
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.4923 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 17.0 mm; field: 12.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 81.1. Laurent, Corpus II, no. 1204 (with mistakes in reading). |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Νικολάῳ σεκρετικῷ τοῦ Μελήσης.
Lord, help Nicholas, secretary of Melissa.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Laurent mistakenly read the last two lines as: μελη|κ : Μελ(ί)κη (?). On the original seal the two sigmas are very clear.
Today Iverönü, Melissa seems to have been an alternate name for Ivoron, a suffragan bishopric of Amaseia of the Helenopont (Darrouzès, Notitiae, no. 9, l. 164: ὁ Ἰβόρων [ἤτοι Μελίσσης]), usually called Πημόλισσα. List of bishops in Fedalto, HEO I, 81-82.