The Accentuation Systems in the Byzantine Seals of the 13th – 15th Centuries from the Collection of Dumbarton Oaks

Introduction. Our study of Byzantine accentuated objects (inscriptions, manuscripts, papyri, and seals) revealed that, besides the Byzantine accentuation system, there are also Alexandrian, Doric, “Logical”, two systems with an accent shift to the right or left and various combinations of all these systems. Methods. In addition to the descriptions and transcripts of the seals presented on the Dumbarton Oaks website, we explored in detail the photographs. In some cases, we found in the images the accentuation signs, which were allowed by the editors. Materials. The analysis of the accentuation signs usage in 381 Byzantine Greek seals of the 13th – 15th centuries from the collection of Dumbarton Oaks is presented in this article. Analysis. We described consistently which elements of the various Greek accentuation systems were used in the seals of each allocated time group. Nearly in all described groups, the Alexandrine system elements are observed, such as a shift of the accent signs to the left, and the accent in the first part of the diphthong. Semantic stress, including the accent marks on the abbreviations, and the Byzantine accentuation system were also used. Results. There are only 18 accentuated seals out of 381. Except for the mentioned Alexandrian, Byzantine, and Logic systems, some seals use a separate accentuation system with an accent shift to the right, widely represented in the seals of the 11th – 12th centuries from the Dumbarton Oaks collection. The analysis of the seal owners’ characteristics revealed that the accentuation on the seals is one of the indicators, that its owner had high status. In some cases, the accentuation signs serve to indicate the poetic size.