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The bishop of Kitros (eleventh/twelfth century)

 
 

Obverse

The Virgin standing facing left, with hands upraised toward Hand of God in upper field. Sigla: Μ̅ΘΥ̅: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.


ΤΟΝΤΟΥ
ΚΙΤΡΠΑ
ΝΑΓΝΕΠΟΙ
ΜΕΝΑΣΚΕ
ΠΟΙΣ

Τὸν τοῦ Κίτρου, Πάναγνε, ποιμένα σκέποις

Obverse

The Virgin standing facing left, with hands upraised toward Hand of God in upper field. Sigla: Μ̅ΘΥ̅: Μήτηρ Θεοῦ. Border of dots.

Reverse

Inscription of five lines. Border of dots.


ΤΟΝΤΟΥ
ΚΙΤΡΠΑ
ΝΑΓΝΕΠΟΙ
ΜΕΝΑΣΚΕ
ΠΟΙΣ

Τὸν τοῦ Κίτρου, Πάναγνε, ποιμένα σκέποις

Accession number BZS.1958.106.5071
Diameter 22.0 mm; field: 18.0 mm
Previous Editions

DO Seals 1, no. 24.1a.
Cf. Laurent, Corpus V/1, no. 467; With our parallel to this seal, Laurent grouped a specimen from the Athens Collection and two seals from the IFEB Collection.

Translation

Τὸν τοῦ Κίτρου, Πάναγνε, ποιμένα σκέποις.

All-holy One, may you protect the bishop of Kitros.

Commentary

This specimen seems to come from the same boulloterion as BZS.1951.31.5.2519.

The reverse inscription is a twelve-syllable verse.

Modern Kitros is southwest of Thessalonica. The see was in existence at least by the late ninth century; a bishop Germanos is known to have attended the council of 879 (DHGE 12 [1953] col. 998). It is regularly mentioned in episcopal lists up to the Fourth Crusade (cf. Laurent, Corpus V/1, 341).

Bibliography

  • Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 1: Italy, North of the Balkans, North of the Black Sea (Open in Zotero)
  • Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)