New conventions in legends and types have been introduced: Constantine IX (1042-55) confirmed on his silver an invocation to the Virgin in iambic trimeter; and an invocation used by Romanus IV (1068-71) took the form of a hexameter, carried over from obverse to reverse. The influence of Western varieties was seen powerfully in the bronze struck by Andronicus II with, reverse, a cross pattée surrounded by a circular inscription within a double border. The most favoured kinds of decoration includ...