Topics in Byzantine Sigillography
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
Organizer Name
Jonathan Shea
Organizer Affiliation
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
Presider Name
Lain Wilson
Presider Affiliation
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
Paper Title 1
Personal Piety in the Seals of Middle Byzantine Eunuchs
Presenter 1 Name
Felix Szabo
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Univ. of Chicago
Paper Title 2
Two Unpublished Armenian Seals of the Eleventh Century from the Collections of Dumbarton Oaks
Presenter 2 Name
Dimitri Korobeinikov
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Univ. at Albany
Paper Title 3
City Bureaucrats in the Byzantine Countryside
Presenter 3 Name
Jonathan Shea
Start Date
12-5-2018 1:30 PM
Session Location
Schneider 1130
Description
Lead seals constitute one of the most important and numerous sources for Byzantine social and administrative history, and they are fundamental for the study of the aristocracy, of provincial and palatine institutions, and of personal piety. Seals themselves are also an object of inquiry, and research over the past half-century into their production and use has allowed scholars to employ them as primary sources in more varied and nuanced ways. Despite their importance as both historical sources as well as relatively prevalent Byzantine artifacts, seals rarely form the focus of sessions at general conferences for medieval and Byzantine studies. In addition to sigillographers and Byzantinists, we hope that this session will draw other medievalists, who may learn more about the specific methods of Byzantine sigillography, and who may provide insight into comparative approaches in medieval studies. This proposed session is open to papers that study seals from a material perspective, as well as to those whose argument is based primarily on evidence from lead seals.
Jonathan Shea
Topics in Byzantine Sigillography
Schneider 1130
Lead seals constitute one of the most important and numerous sources for Byzantine social and administrative history, and they are fundamental for the study of the aristocracy, of provincial and palatine institutions, and of personal piety. Seals themselves are also an object of inquiry, and research over the past half-century into their production and use has allowed scholars to employ them as primary sources in more varied and nuanced ways. Despite their importance as both historical sources as well as relatively prevalent Byzantine artifacts, seals rarely form the focus of sessions at general conferences for medieval and Byzantine studies. In addition to sigillographers and Byzantinists, we hope that this session will draw other medievalists, who may learn more about the specific methods of Byzantine sigillography, and who may provide insight into comparative approaches in medieval studies. This proposed session is open to papers that study seals from a material perspective, as well as to those whose argument is based primarily on evidence from lead seals.
Jonathan Shea