V 212. Cherkes-Kermen. Epitaph of a donator, ca. 1351–1352 or 1381–1382 C.E.

Monument

Type

Fresco. 

Material

Tempera on plaster. 

Dimensions (cm)

H. 4.0, W. 9.0.

Additional description

Chipped at the bottom. 

Place of Origin

Cherkes-Kermen. 

Find place

Cherkes-Kermen. 

Find context

"Church of Donators," northern wall, western half. 

Find circumstances

2002, survey of I.G. Volkonskaya. 

Modern location

In situ. 

Institution and inventory

In situ, no inventory number. 

Autopsy

September 2003. 

Epigraphic field

Position

Between the shoulders of St. George and St. Demetrios, above the head of a ktitor. 

Lettering

Dipinto, white paint over blue background; elongated pointy letters. 

Letterheights (cm)

4.0.

Text

Category

Epitaph. 

Date

Ca. 1351–1352 or 1381–1382 C.E. 

Dating criteria

Date of V 209. 

Editions

L1. Vinogradov 2004, 129–130. 

Edition

Ἐ̣κοιμήθη [ ὁ δοῦλος]
τοῦ [θ(εο)ῦ ὁ δεῖνα ---].

Diplomatic

.ΚΟΙΜΗΘΗ[.......]
ΤΟΥ[........---]

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
      <lb n="1"/><unclear>Ἐ</unclear>κοιμήθη <supplied reason="lost"> ὁ δοῦλος</supplied>
      <lb n="2"/>τοῦ 
      <supplied reason="lost"><roleName><expan><abbr>θ</abbr><ex>εο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan></roleName> 
      ὁ δεῖνα</supplied> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>.
   </ab>
   </div> 

Translation

Fell asleep: a servant of God...

 

Commentary

The state of preservation of V 210 and V 211 has deteriorated since the early XXth century. All three inscriptions (V 210, V 211, V 212) contain a typical and practically the only known funerary formula of the Late Byzantine period "fell asleep a servant of God." The inscriptions without a doubt refer to the figures of donators placed between the images of saints. Since there are five such figures, we should expect that there were five accompanying inscriptions (although, the figure of a nun might not have had one, see V 209). Only the top parts have survived from each text, so it remains unknown whether the social status (apparently, high) of the deceased had been stated or the date of their deaths.

The inscriptions are made by the same hand, although there is no certainty that they are contemporaneous, or that they share the date with the murals (see V 209): it is possible that each inscription was added at the time of that donator's death.

 

Images

(cc) © 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to the EpiDoc schema.)