Bucephalus Numismatic
Auction 6 12 Jun 2022
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PB Byzantine Lead Seal of Leo Goudeles, protospatharios and strategos (11th century, second half AD).
Obv: The Archangel Michael, wings outspread, holding the globus cruciger and sceptre. Sigla on either side: Μ[ι]χα(ήλ). Border of dots.
Rev: Inscription of four lines beginning with a cross: Λέον(τι) (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) στρα(τηγῷ) τῷ Γουδέλ(ῃ). Border of dots.
Translation: Leo Goudeles, protospatharios and strategos.
Parallel specimen: DO, BZS.1951.31.5.2704. Similar seals: Jordanov Corpus II, no. 149; III, no. 1556; DO, BZS.1951.31.5.1956 and BZS.1958.106.3747 (imperial protospatharios). PBW: Leon 20305. Ours is the best preserved specimen.
The noble Goudeles family is well documented in Byzantine material and written sources. Lead seals preserved from medieval correspondence from around the year 1050 are impressed with the name of Leo Goudeles, protospatharios and strategos. Another member of the family, Basileios Tzykandeles Goudeles, was a prominent military figure in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos (1143–1180). Members of the Goudeles family are mentioned in various written sources through the end of the Byzantine Empire. In the waning years of imperial rule and in the years following the fall of Constantinople, they were involved in maritime commerce, especially with Italy. Like many wealthy families, the Goudelai (plural) also made substantial contributions to the Church, hoping to secure spiritual insurance in a time of crisis. Letters of the mid fifteenth century preserved in both the Vatican Archive and the State Archive in Genoa, Italy, record George Goudeles's support of the convent of St. Nicholas in Constantinople.
Condition: Very Fine.
Weight: 9.46 g.
Diameter: 20.3 mm.
Obv: The Archangel Michael, wings outspread, holding the globus cruciger and sceptre. Sigla on either side: Μ[ι]χα(ήλ). Border of dots.
Rev: Inscription of four lines beginning with a cross: Λέον(τι) (πρωτο)σπαθ(αρίῳ) (καὶ) στρα(τηγῷ) τῷ Γουδέλ(ῃ). Border of dots.
Translation: Leo Goudeles, protospatharios and strategos.
Parallel specimen: DO, BZS.1951.31.5.2704. Similar seals: Jordanov Corpus II, no. 149; III, no. 1556; DO, BZS.1951.31.5.1956 and BZS.1958.106.3747 (imperial protospatharios). PBW: Leon 20305. Ours is the best preserved specimen.
The noble Goudeles family is well documented in Byzantine material and written sources. Lead seals preserved from medieval correspondence from around the year 1050 are impressed with the name of Leo Goudeles, protospatharios and strategos. Another member of the family, Basileios Tzykandeles Goudeles, was a prominent military figure in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos (1143–1180). Members of the Goudeles family are mentioned in various written sources through the end of the Byzantine Empire. In the waning years of imperial rule and in the years following the fall of Constantinople, they were involved in maritime commerce, especially with Italy. Like many wealthy families, the Goudelai (plural) also made substantial contributions to the Church, hoping to secure spiritual insurance in a time of crisis. Letters of the mid fifteenth century preserved in both the Vatican Archive and the State Archive in Genoa, Italy, record George Goudeles's support of the convent of St. Nicholas in Constantinople.
Condition: Very Fine.
Weight: 9.46 g.
Diameter: 20.3 mm.