John (bishop) of Raidestos (twelfth/thirteenth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with medallion of Christ on her breast. Sigla: ̅ΘΥ: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Indeterminate border.
Ι
ΣΚΕΠΟΙΣ
ΜΕΡΑΙΔΕ
ΚΟΡΗ
Ἰωάννην σκέποις με Ῥαιδεστοῦ, Κόρη
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin orans with medallion of Christ on her breast. Sigla: ̅ΘΥ: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Indeterminate border.
Ι
ΣΚΕΠΟΙΣ
ΜΕΡΑΙΔΕ
ΚΟΡΗ
Ἰωάννην σκέποις με Ῥαιδεστοῦ, Κόρη
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1830 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 31.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 1, no. 59.6; Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 311. Cf. Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden I, no. 996. Similar seal, but from a different boulloterion, published in Zacos, Seals II, no. 782. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Ἰωάννην σκέποις με Ῥαιδεστοῦ, Κόρη.
Virgin, may you protect John (bishop) of Raidestos.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- La Thrace Orientale et La Mer Noire: Géographie Ecclésiastique et Prosopographie (VIIIe-XIIe Siècles) (Open in Zotero)
- History of the Byzantine State (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The inscription is a twelve-syllable verse. One (or two) bishop(s) named John are known to have governed the church of Raidestos from the very end of the twelfth century until at least 1232. Cf. the notes of Laurent and of Asdracha, Thrace orientale, 293.