Eustratios monk and kathegetes of the monastery of (St. Nicholas) Moliboton (eleventh/twelfth century)
Obverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
σφρα
.ισπεφυ
κεΑευ
στρατι
ου
Σφρα[γ]ὶς πέφυκε (μον)αχ(οῦ) Εὐστρατίου
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Indeterminate border.
του
καθιγι
τημο
μολι
τοιο
τοῦ καθιγ[ί]του μονῆ(ς) Μολιβωτοῖο
Obverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
σφρα
.ισπεφυ
κεΑευ
στρατι
ου
Σφρα[γ]ὶς πέφυκε (μον)αχ(οῦ) Εὐστρατίου
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Indeterminate border.
του
καθιγι
τημο
μολι
τοιο
τοῦ καθιγ[ί]του μονῆ(ς) Μολιβωτοῖο
| Accession number | BZS.1947.2.112 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 24.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 50.2; Laurent, Corpus 5.2: no. 1160 (no. 1161 on pl. 147). See also Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 2741. |
Translation
Σφραγὶς πέφυκε μοναχοῦ Εὐστρατίου τοῦ καθιγίτου μονῆς Μολιβωτοῖο.
This is the seal of the monk Eustratios, kathegetes of the monastery of (St. Nicholas) Moliboton.
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)
Commentary
Μολιβωτοῖο (the final word on the reverse): a Homeric genitive. The obverse is a twelve-syllable verse.
The final letter of the second line on the obverse could be a horseshoe ligature (as the editors of DO Seals 5 suggest) or an eta or iota, which supports the alternate reading suggested by W. Seibt (BZ 100 [2007], 234): τοῦ καθηγέτου μονῆ(ς) Μολιβωτοῖο. This maintains the twelve-syllable verse without requiring the abbreviation of "kathegoumenos." The reading, with slight changes, is adopted here.
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.