V 247. Sougdaia. Building inscription (?) of Mansi, 1261-1262 C.E.
Monument
Type
Unknown.
Material
Unknown.
Dimensions (cm)
H. 14.5, W. 17.3, Th. unknown.
Additional description
On the front: image of an equilateral cross. The condition is unknown.
Place of Origin
Sougdaia.
Find place
Sudak.
Find context
Over a fountain.
Find circumstances
1870s, survey of D.M. Strukov.
Modern location
Unknown.
Institution and inventory
Unknown.
Autopsy
Non vidi.
Epigraphic field
Position
Below the cross.
Lettering
Unknown.
Letterheights (cm)
2.3 (?).
Text
Category
Building (?) inscription.
Date
1261-1262 C.E.
Dating criteria
Explicit date.
Editions
Unpublished.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/>Μανσι. <date>Ἔτος <num value="6770">ς<lb n="2" break="no"/>ψο</num></date>.
<orig>ΨΝ</orig><gap reason="illegible" quantity="1" unit="character"/><orig>ΣΗ</orig>.
</ab>
</div> Translation
Mansi. Year 6770 ...
Commentary
Our reading is based on the single transcription made by D. M. Strukov (Manuscript Archive, Institute for History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences f. Р–I, № 619, l. 12), who saw the inscription before the dismantling of the fountain. The inscription did not survive, and Strukov's copy raises some doubts. A cause for concern is the fact that on the same piece of paper we find a transcription of another inscription from a Genoese Church of the Mother of God, which reads Gerardi. | κόμ(ητος) ςψκ´, however neither next to, nor below the first line, which is preserved on the window frame in the left side-chapel of the naos, are there any traces of continuation, and the date of the inscription (1211-1212) also contradicts the date of the church's construction (1383), as well as the time when the Genoese officials first appeared in Sougdaia.
Since a Genoese panel was used in the construction of the fountain, we should conclude that the latter was a rather late date (I thank A.V. Dzhanov for this information). Our inscription, therefore, must have also been a spolium used for the construction of the fountain.
A well-known Italian surname Mansi is not attested in the Greek world. In V 45 from Cherson, we find a similar surname Mamsi.
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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