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. Vinogradov2004, 129–130.
<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
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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