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The "brothers" of St. Zotikos (twelfth century)

 
 

Obverse

St. Zotikos standing, orans. Inscription in two columns: ι|ο|σ|τ|ι.|ο : [Ὁ ἅγ]ιος [Ζ]ωτι[κ]ό(ς). Indeterminate border.

Reverse

Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.

σργ.
δελν
τουοσι
ζτικ

σφραγ[ὶ(ς)] ἀδελφῶν τοῦ ὁσίου Ζωτικοῦ

Obverse

St. Zotikos standing, orans. Inscription in two columns: ι|ο|σ|τ|ι.|ο : [Ὁ ἅγ]ιος [Ζ]ωτι[κ]ό(ς). Indeterminate border.

Reverse

Inscription of four lines. Border of dots.

σργ.
δελν
τουοσι
ζτικ

σφραγ[ὶ(ς)] ἀδελφῶν τοῦ ὁσίου Ζωτικοῦ

Accession number BZS.1955.1.5006
Diameter 22.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 5 no. 62.1; Laurent, Corpus 5.3: no. 1916. See also Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 2326.

Translation

Σφραγὶς ἀδελφῶν τοῦ ὁσίου Ζωτικοῦ.

Seal of the brothers of St. Zotikos.

Commentary

A twelve-syllable verse. The reading of the columnar inscription on the obverse at left is uncertain. It could be, based on the wording of the inscription on the reverse, that we are to understand [Ὁ ὅσ]ιος.

See John W. Nesbitt, "The Orphanotrophos: Some observations on the history of the office in light of seals," SBS 8 (2003), 57. The seal likely refers to the leprosarium of St. Zotikos, located on a hill below Galata. Antony of Novgorod visited the institution in 1200 and states that it consisted of a hospital and a church. It was the site of Zotikos's tomb. The "brothers" of this establishment might be medical specialists (possibly monks) who cared for the inmates, but Laurent could well be correct in his observation that the "brothers" might actually be the lepers. In other words, the lepers may have looked after one another.

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)
  • Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 2, Siegellegenden von Ny bis inklusive Sphragis (Open in Zotero)