V 344. Unknown. Building inscription of unknown emperor (?), XI–XIIth centuries C.E.

Monument

Type

Unknown. 

Material

Unknown. 

Additional description

Broken, 6 fragments survive. 

Place of Origin

Unknown. 

Find place

Unknown. 

Find context

Unknown. 

Find circumstances

Unknown. 

Modern location

Unknown. 

Institution and inventory

Unknown. 

Autopsy

Non vidi. 

Epigraphic field

Position

On the front. 

Lettering

Lapidary; letters decorated with serifs. Alpha with a slanting crossbar, beta with vertically spaced loops, theta with projecting horizontal, mu with a T-shaped middle, nu with a shortened diagonal. Abbreviation mark. 

Text

Category

Dedication. 

Date

XI–XIIth centuries C.E. 

Dating criteria

Palaeography. 

Editions

Unpublished. 

Edition

[Ὑπὲρ σωτηρία]ς (e.g.) κ(αὶ) ν̣[ίκης? κατὰ τῶν ἐ]χθρῶν [τοῦ δεῖνος, ἐν Χριστῷ τῷ θ]ε̣ῷ βα[σιλ]έως κ[(αὶ) αὐτοκράτωρος] Ῥωμαίων τ[οῦ Κομνηνοῦ?].

Diplomatic

[...........]Σ(e.g.)Κ.[............]ΧΘΡΩΝ[.....................].ΩΒΑ[...]ΕΩΣΚ[............]ΡΩΜΑΙΩΝΤ[..........]

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
   <ab>
      <lb n="1"/><supplied reason="lost">Ὑπὲρ</supplied> <supplied reason="lost">σωτηρία</supplied>ς
      <note>e.g.</note> <expan><abbr>κ</abbr><ex>αὶ</ex></expan> 
      <unclear>ν</unclear><supplied reason="lost" cert="low">ίκης</supplied> 
      <supplied reason="lost">κατὰ τῶν</supplied>
      <supplied reason="lost">ἐ</supplied>χθρῶν 
      <supplied reason="lost">τοῦ 
      δεῖνος, ἐν
      Χριστῷ
      τῷ</supplied>
      <roleName><supplied reason="lost">θ</supplied><unclear>ε</unclear>ῷ</roleName> 
      βα<supplied reason="lost">σιλ</supplied>έως 
      <expan><abbr>κ</abbr><supplied reason="lost"><ex>αὶ</ex></supplied></expan>
      <supplied reason="lost">αὐτοκράτωρος</supplied> Ῥωμαίων 
      τ<supplied reason="lost">οῦ</supplied>
      <supplied reason="lost" cert="low">Κομνηνοῦ</supplied>.
   </ab>
   </div> 

Translation

For salvation and (?) [victory over e]nemies [of... in Christ, G]od, of the king [and emperor] of the Romans, [Komnenos (?).]

 

Commentary

A drawing of the inscription's fragments, marked "Table III," is preserved among the papers of V.V. Latyshev (Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Branch, f. 110, op. 1, d. 98, l. 425). We do not know where Latyshev was planning to publish or had published it, but it originates in the Northern Black Sea region. It is clear from the drawing that Latyshev re-arranged the order of fragments three times, marking them consecutively in Roman numerals, then in Arabic numerals, first drawn with thin and then with thick lines.

In the absence of kionedon, it is likely to be a monumental inscription on a cornice rather than a frame of an icon. The formula and palaeography are similar to V 11 (Cherson, 1059 C.E.) and V 12. It might even be associated with the same Isaak I Komnenos.

 

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