Leo bishop of Prousias (ninth/tenth century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding a medallion of Christ before her. Circular inscription, beginning at seven o'clock. Border of dots.
.θκRοηθτσ.......
Θ(εοτό)κε βοήθ(ει) τῷ σ[ῷ δούλῳ]
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
λεο
ντ/επισ
κοππ
ρσιαδ
Λέοντ(ι) ἐπισκόπῳ Προυσιάδ(ος)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin holding a medallion of Christ before her. Circular inscription, beginning at seven o'clock. Border of dots.
.θκRοηθτσ.......
Θ(εοτό)κε βοήθ(ει) τῷ σ[ῷ δούλῳ]
Reverse
Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.
λεο
ντ/επισ
κοππ
ρσιαδ
Λέοντ(ι) ἐπισκόπῳ Προυσιάδ(ος)
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4655 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 17.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 4, no. 9.2. |
Translation
Θεοτόκε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Λέοντι ἐπισκόπῳ Προυσιάδος.
Mother of God, help your servant Leo, bishop of Prousias.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 4: The East (Open in Zotero)
- Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα. Ἡ συλλογὴ Ἀναστασίου Κ. Π. Σταμούλη (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae (Open in Zotero)
- Paphlagonien und Honorias (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
- Mélanges d’archéologie byzantine (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
A parallel specimen is published by Konstantopoulos, no. 163 = Schlumberger in REG 4 (1891) 122 = Schlumberger, Mélanges, no. 51 = Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 477. As Laurent pointed out, this may well be Leo of Prousias who attended the council of 879-880 (Mansi, XVIIA, col. 377D–E).
Prousias (today Konuralp, formerly Üsküb) on the right bank of the Milan Çay, is attested as a suffragan bishopric of Klaudioupolis from the VIIIth to the XIIIth centuries (Darrouzès, Notitiae, no. 3, l. 334; no. 13, l. 237). See Paphlagonien, 264-266; Laurent, Corpus V/1, 350. List of bishops in Fedalto, HEO I, 93.