John archbishop of Cyprus (twelfth century: between 1152 and 1174)
Obverse
St. Stephanos standing, holding a small casket and a censer. Traces of an inscription: |Ο|ΜΑΡ|Τ,: ὁ ἅγιος Στέφανος ὁ πρωτομάρτυς. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
ΠΟΙ
ΜΕΝΑΡ
ΧΟΥΚΥ
ΠΡΙΝ
Ι̅
Τοῦ ποιμενάρχου Κυπρίων Ἰωάννου
Obverse
St. Stephanos standing, holding a small casket and a censer. Traces of an inscription: |Ο|ΜΑΡ|Τ,: ὁ ἅγιος Στέφανος ὁ πρωτομάρτυς. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.
ΠΟΙ
ΜΕΝΑΡ
ΧΟΥΚΥ
ΠΡΙΝ
Ι̅
Τοῦ ποιμενάρχου Κυπρίων Ἰωάννου
| Accession number | BZS.1951.31.5.1929 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 23.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 38.13. |
| Credit Line | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Thomas Whittemore. |
Translation
Τοῦ ποιμενάρχου Κυπρίων Ἰωάννου.
Seal of John, archbishop of the Cypriots.
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)
- Σημειώσεις Ἀναφερόμεναι Εἰς Τῆν Ἱστορίαν Τῆς Βυζαντινῆς Κύπρου (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Les listes de préséance byzantines des IXe et Xe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantium and Islam in Cyprus in the Early Middle Ages (Open in Zotero)
- The Nature of the Arab-Byzantine Relations in Cyprus from the Middle of the 7th to the Middle of the 10th Century A.D. (Open in Zotero)
- The Church of Cyprus during the Period of the Arab Wars, 649-965 (Open in Zotero)
- Le Synodikon de l’orthodoxie: Édition et commentaire (Open in Zotero)
- Ἡ Κύπρος καὶ οἱ Ἄραβες (Open in Zotero)
- Les îles de l’empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles (Open in Zotero)
- Die byzantinische Armee im 10. und 11. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Organisation der Tagmata (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
A dodecasyllabic verse. The owner of the present seal has rightly been identified by Laurent with the archbishop John the Cretan, ordained in 1152 and attested until 1174: this is the only John who governed the church of Cyprus in the 12th century. Moreover, the very same verse (admittedly not very original) of our seal is found in a poem dedicated to John the Cretan. See K. Chatzepsaltes, "Συμβολαὶ εἰς τὴν ἱστορίαν τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς Κύπρου κατὰ τὴν Βυζαντινὴν περίοδον," Κυπριακαὶ Σπουδαί 18 (1954) pp. λˊ-λαˊ; idem, Σημειώσεις, loc. cit. (cf. § 38), 349-51.