(The monastery of) the Anargyroi of Kosmidion (eleventh century)
Obverse
Half-length depictions of St. Kosmas on the left and St. Damian on the right holding a rotulus in his left hand. No visible inscription. Indeterminate border.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, cross above, decoration at end of final line. Border of dots.
...αγ,
..ναναρ
.υρντ
κοσμιδι
ου
[σφρ]αγ(ὶς) [τῶ]ν Ἀναρ[γ]ύρων τοῦ Κοσμιδίου
Obverse
Half-length depictions of St. Kosmas on the left and St. Damian on the right holding a rotulus in his left hand. No visible inscription. Indeterminate border.
Reverse
Inscription of five lines, cross above, decoration at end of final line. Border of dots.
...αγ,
..ναναρ
.υρντ
κοσμιδι
ου
[σφρ]αγ(ὶς) [τῶ]ν Ἀναρ[γ]ύρων τοῦ Κοσμιδίου
| Accession number | BZS.1958.106.5590 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 29.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 5 no. 39.1b; Laurent, Corpus 5.3: no. 1902; Wassiliou-Seibt, Siegel mit metrischen Legenden II, no. 2943c. |
Translation
σφραγὶς τῶν Ἀναργύρων τοῦ Κοσμιδίου.
Seal (of the monastery of) the Anargyroi of Kosmidion.
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)
- La géographie ecclésiastique de l’empire byzantin, Vol. 1, Le siège de Constantinople et le patriarcat oecuménique, Pt. 3, Les églises et les monastères (Open in Zotero)
- On the Cult of Saints Cosmas and Damian at Constantinople (Open in Zotero)
- Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Vol. 2, Siegellegenden von Ny bis inklusive Sphragis (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
According to Janin (Églises, 286) the extramural church of the Kosmidion was built by a certain Paulinus, an intimate of Thedosios II. He places the Kosmidion on the western side of Eyüp, on the hillside bordering the sea. Mango, however, is dubious (see his "on the Cult of the Saints Cosmas and Damian at Constantinople," 189–192). In line with the sources (see the Chronicon pashale, Bonn ed., 713.9–10), he places it ἐν Βλαχέρναις. Since the Blachernae and the Kosmidion shared a healing bath (lousma), he favors locating the church of the Kosmidion on a hill just outside the Blachernae walls. He is inclined to attribute the construction of the church to about 480 and to Paulina, the mother of the usurper Leontios (484–488). The Avars destroyed the church in the siege of 626.
When the monastery was erected is not known. Janin places it in the sixth century. This seal shows that a monastery at Kosmidion was functioning in the eleventh century. It may belong to the period when Michael IV (1034–1041) added a bath and had the grounds renewed with a garden. He refurbished the church and had it adorned with marbles and mosaics (Janin, Églises, 287).
The inscription is rendered in a twelve-syllable verse.