Constantine archbishop of Methymna (eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with hands held palm outward before her. On either side the sigla: ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.
Obverse
Bust of the Virgin with hands held palm outward before her. On either side the sigla: ̅ΘΥ̅ : Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, a decoration below. Border of dots.
ΚΝ
ΕΛΕΘΥ
ΑΡΧΙΕΠ,
ΚΟΠ,ΜΗ
ΘΥΜΝ,
Κωνσταντῖνος ἐλέῳ Θεοῦ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Μηθύμνης
Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4707 |
---|---|
Diameter | 21.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 52.1b. |
Translation
Κωνσταντῖνος ἐλέῳ Θεοῦ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Μηθύμνης.
Constantine by the mercy of God, archbishop of Methymna.
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)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium (Open in Zotero)
- Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Methymna (Molybos), the second most important city of the island of Lesbos, is listed in the notitiae as an archbishopric; some time between 1072 (REB 18 [1960] 57) and 1084/1085 (ibid., 68), it was raised to the rank of metropolis, probably close to 1080. See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 622, 646; Fedalto, 213-15; Malamut, Iles, 232, 275, 356, 370.