Pb seal c. 11 century.
Obv: Half-length
bust of the Archangel Michael facing,
nimbate, wearing
loros, holding trefoil
sceptre and globe; circular
inscription, +AHΛE BOHΘOC CW ΓENU CTPATHΓT
Rev: +MIXHΛ/A CΠΘ EΠ,T, /XPΓKΛ KPIT/EΠ,T,IΠΠΔP R’/N,T,P TU ΘEΦ/ΛKT, KOIT/N S MVCT/ΓPΦ in eight lines
26mm, 15.44 gram.
“O matterless commander, become the helper of…" - "Michael,
protospatharios epi tou Chrysotriklinou, judge of the Hippodrome, imperial notarios of the (imperial) bed-chamber guarded by God & mystographos.
The
obverse legend invokes the Archangel Michael, who as a spirit is ‘without matter’ (aule), and is styled commander of the heavenly host, to become the helper of the seal’s owner, Michael, who is named on the
reverse, with a long string of dignities and titles, intricately abbreviated. Even the A in Michael is dropped, but that is more probably an engraving error. Note how 'Chrysotriklinou'* is
engraved: 'chryso' - golden - is shaped like a
christogram (XP), 'tri' as gamma, the Greek numeral for 3, and 'klinou' is cut to KΛ. For the rest, almost all of the
vowels are omitted.
Mich(a)el (proto) sp(a)th(arios) ep(i) t(ou) (Chrysotri)kl(inou), krit(es) ep(i) t(ou) Hipp(o)d(romou) (basilikos) n(o)t(a)r(ios) t(ou) the(o)ph(u)l(a)kt(ou) koit(onou) (kai) myst(o)gr(a)ph(os).
Regards
Gert
* Michaels court dignity is
protospatharios epi tou Chrysotriklinou, literally 'first sword-bearer of the Golden Hall'.
