International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

B[alduinus Dei gratia Im]p(er)at(or) Roman[iae S(emper) Au(gustus)]
.
This type of seal of Baldwin II has a standard formula of the legend, which allows the 
reconstruction of the latter despite the small number of preserved legible letters. This part of the 
Latin inscription, which is located to the right of the image of the enthroned Baldwin II, is written 
inversely, which is an interesting feature that distinguishes it from other seals of this emperor, 
suggesting that perhaps the engraver did not know Latin and simply “copied” the incomprehensible 
to him letters of the Latin legend.
The reverse side of molybdobul depicts Baldwin II with a crown (
stemma
) with pendilia 
on horseback moving at a relaxed pace towards the viewer’s right. In his right hand the emperor 
holds a long scepter surmounted by a cross inscribed in a circle, and in his left hand - the reins 
of the horse. Around the image there is a circular inscription: [BAΛΔ]
ȣ
ΙΝΟC ΔΕCΠOTH[C 
ΠOΡΦIΡΟΓΕNNΗTOC Ο ΦΛANΤPA]C.
The seal was reported by the author at a conference in Shumen, Bulgaria, and published in 
2015, together with professor Konstantin Totev (Кънев, Н. – К. Тотев Новооткрит оловен печат 
на латинския император Бодуен Втори. – В: 
България в европейската култура, наука, 
образование, религия”, ч. 1, Шумен, 2015, 374-380
). This is the second lead seal of Emperor 
Baldwin II discovered on the territory of Bulgaria. It is noteworthy that this specimen is quite rough 
and imperfect compared to other similar seals of Baldwin II, including his other famous seal from 
Bulgaria published in 1985. It also differs in the implementation of the typical of the Baldwin II’s 
seals legend on the obverse. On this basis it can be argued that the molybdobul was cut using a 
different bulloterion from the previously known specimens of this type of seal of the last Latin 
Emperor, and that the bulloterion was hastily and not very precisely made by a craftsman who had 
neither the necessary experience and/or technology, nor knowledge of the Latin letters. Most likely 
the seal presented here (and the bulloterion used for its setting) is directly related to the passage of 
Baldwin II through Bulgaria in 1239 on his way to Constantinople.

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