V 128. Kermenchik.Epitaph of Kalanitza, Philomnitza and I[s]tan–, 1348 C.E.
Monument
Type
Stele.
Material
Limestone.
Additional description
Inset panel, with carved inscription and relief cross on the front, surrounded by relief border decorated with diamond weave pattern. The cross with teardrops rests on a Golgotha of complex shape. The stele is narrower at the bottom than at the top, and the top is partly broken off; the surface is chipped.
Place of Origin
Kermenchik.
Find place
Vysokoe.
Find context
4 km from Ashaga-Kermenchik, St. John the Baptist church, ruins.
Find circumstances
Summer of 1898, survey of A.L. Bertye-Delagard.
Modern location
Unknown.
Institution and inventory
Unknown.
Autopsy
Non vidi.
Epigraphic field
Position
Below the cross.
Lettering
Lapidary style; letters are slightly elongated; some of them are minuscule. Alpha with upright right hasta, mu with T-shaped middle. Ligature, abbreviations.
Letterheights (cm)
1.0–2.0.
Text
Category
Epitaph.
Date
1348 C.E.
Dating criteria
Explicit date.
Editions
L1. Latyshev1898, 241–242, 253, № 64ж.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/><g ref="#stauros"/> Ἐκοιμίθι ἡ <expan><abbr>δούλ</abbr><ex>η</ex></expan>
τοῦ <roleName><expan><abbr>θ</abbr><ex>εο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan></roleName>
Κα<lb n="2" break="no"/>λανιτζα μετὰ
<expan><abbr>τ</abbr><ex>ῆ</ex><abbr>ς</abbr></expan> θυγατρὸς
<lb n="3"/>αὐτῆς <expan><abbr><unclear>Φ</unclear>ιλομνίτζα</abbr><ex>ς</ex></expan>
<expan><abbr>κ</abbr><ex>αὶ</ex></expan> μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ
<lb n="4"/>αὐτῆς Η<supplied reason="lost" cert="low">σ</supplied>τ<unclear>αν</unclear>ου
<date><expan><abbr>μη</abbr><ex>νὶ</ex></expan> <rs type="month" ref="apr"><expan><abbr>ἀπριλ<surplus>λ</surplus></abbr><ex>ίῳ</ex></expan></rs> εἰς
<lb n="5"/><unclear>τὰ</unclear> <num value="20">κ</num>, ἔτους <num value="6856">ςωνς</num></date>.
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
3: Φιλομ[ηλ?]ίτζα(ς)Latyshev
4: αὐτῆς …Latyshev
4-5: ἀπριλ{λ}(ίῳ) ... κ´ Latyshev; ςων´Latyshev
Translation
Fell asleep: a servant of God, Kalanitza with her daughter Philomnitza and with her son I[s]tan (?) on the 20th of April, in the year 6856.
Commentary
The inscription was published by Latyshev on the basis of an estampage made by Bertye-Delagard. An old photograph is preserved in the Photo Archive, Institute for History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences (Q.759.81).
1. On the formula, see Introduction IV.3.F.e.
1-2. Latyshev pointed out that Kalanitza (cf. V 122) was a diminutive form of the name Kalana (see V 169).
3. Latyshev considered the second name, on the model of the first, to be a derivation of Philomela, however, we should prefer the name Philomena for two reasons: firstly, the drawing clearly shows a nu, and not a lambda; secondly, a Philomila is known in Christian epigraphy only in I.Pessinous 98 (225–250 C.E.), while in the XIVth-century Crimea the use of the name of St. Philomena (Bibliotheca sanctorum, 796–800) is much more likely.
4. The male name is reconstructed tentatively.
4-5. The same day of death for three individuals suggests a sudden end, possibly due to accident or murder.
Images
© 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
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