Jacob monk and higoumenos (of the monastery) of Kedronon (ninth century)
Obverse
A cross potent on three steps. In the quarters, pellets. Within two concentric borders of dots, a circular inscription:
+....θειτσδουλο
[Κ(ύρι)ε βοή]θει τῷ σῷ δούλο
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a row of pellets below. Border of dots.
+ικR.
μνχο
.ηγουμεν /
κερονο /
·····
Ἰακώβ[ῳ] μωναχο [(καὶ)] ἡγουμέν(ῳ) [τ(ῶν)] Κεδρόνο(ν).
Obverse
A cross potent on three steps. In the quarters, pellets. Within two concentric borders of dots, a circular inscription:
+....θειτσδουλο
[Κ(ύρι)ε βοή]θει τῷ σῷ δούλο
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, a row of pellets below. Border of dots.
+ικR.
μνχο
.ηγουμεν /
κερονο /
·····
Ἰακώβ[ῳ] μωναχο [(καὶ)] ἡγουμέν(ῳ) [τ(ῶν)] Κεδρόνο(ν).
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.50 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 21.0 mm; field: 19.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 3, no. 49.1. Laurent, Corpus V/2, no. 1300 (bis). |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει τῷ σῷ δούλο Ἰακώβῳ μωναχο καὶ ἡγουμένῳ τῶν Κεδρόνον.
Lord, help your servant Jacob, monk and higoumenos of Kedronon.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- Studies in Byzantine Sigillography (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
The monastery known as Κεδρώνων is mentioned in three letters of Patriarch Photios (Laurent, Corpus V/2, 219). This institution is perhaps related to the name Kerdonianon in the neighborhood of Pythia (Janin, Grands centres, 158). If so, the institution could be connected with the one at Kathara. Since another seal of the higoumenos Timotheos has turned up in Trebizond, it has been suggested that the monastery should be sought in the Pontos (Cheynet-Morrisson, in SBS 2 [1990] 110, 122).