Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals

Edited by

Noël Adams, John Cherry and James Robinson Publishers The British Museum Great Russell Street London WC1B 3DG

Series Editor Josephine Turquet Assistant editor Portia Reyes Assistant for images Margarita Luna

Distributors The British Museum Press 46 Bloomsbury Street London WC1B 3QQ

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Edited by Noël Adams, John Cherry and James Robinson

Front Cover: Seal of Robert Fitzwalter, 1213–19 (Handlist no. 8.1)

ISBN 978-086159-168-8 ISSN 1747-3640

© The Trustees of the British Museum 2008

Note: the British Museum Occasional Papers series is now entitled British Museum Research Publications. The OP series runs from 1 to 150, and the RP series, keeping the same ISSN and ISBN preliminary numbers, begins at number 151.

For a complete catalogue of the full range of OPs and RPs see the series website: www/the britishmuseum.ac.uk/researchpublications Order from www.britishmuseum.org/shop

For trade orders write to: Oxbow Books, 10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford, OX1 2EW, UK Tel: (+44) (0) 1865 241249 e-mail [email protected] website www.oxbowbooks.com or The David Brown Book Co PO Box 511, Oakville CT 06779, USA Tel: (+1) 860 945 9329; Toll free 1 800 791 9354 e mail [email protected]

Printed and bound in the UK by Kingswood Steele Contents

Preface v James Robinson

In Search of a Semiotic Paradigm: The Matter of Sealing in Medieval Thought and Praxis (1050–1400) 1 Brigitte Miriam Bedos-Rezak

The Knight’s Alter Ego: From Equestrian to Armorial Seal 8 Adrian Ailes

Heads, Arms and Badges: Royal Representation on Seals 12 John Cherry

Queens and Powerful Women: Image and Authority 17 Elizabeth Danbury

The Re-use and Copying of Ancient Intaglios set in Medieval Personal Seals, mainly found in England: An aspect of the Renaissance of the 12th Century 25 Martin Henig

Seals and Status in Medieval English Towns: A Case-study of London, Newcastle and Durham 35 Elizabeth New

Glasgow, Italy and France: 13th- and early 14th-century Seals from the Cathedral 42 Virginia Glenn

The Seals of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England 52 David Marcombe

The Judicial Seals of the Welsh Courts of Great Sessions 60 David H. Williams

The Oldest Equestrian Seals in Sweden: Karl Sverkersson, Birger Brosa and Karl the Deaf 66 Göran Tegnér

The Re-engraved Matrix: Bishop versus Chapter in Nidaros around 1300 71 Erla Bergendahl Hohler

Medieval Seal Matrices found at Castles and Castle Mounds in Denmark – What does Archaeology tell us about their Use? 77 Michael Andersen

Seals of Swedish Towns before 1350 81 Henrik Klackenberg

Curial Narratives: The Seals of Cardinal Deacons 1280–1305 85 Julian Gardner The Sealed Saint: Representations of Saint Francis of Assisi on Medieval Italian Seals 91 Ruth Wolff

‘... in quella era unico al Mondo’: A Reassessment of Cinquecento Seal Engraving and the Seal Matrices of Lautizio Da Perugia 100 Matthew Sillence

Appendix: The Exhibition Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals 106 Introduction to the Handlist to the Exhibition 106 James Robinson Handlist to the Exhibition 109

Bibliography 127

Acknowledgements The papers contained in this volume were delivered at a conference held at the British Museum on 16 and 17 February 2007. (The exception is David Williams’ paper which replaces that delivered at the conference, now published as ‘Medieval Cistercian seals with special reference to “hand-and-staff seals”’, Archaeologia Cambriensis 2005, vol. 154, 153–78.) The conference was organised to coincide with the exhibition Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals (see Appendix). Both endeavours were generously supported by John H. Rassweiler who has also contributed significantly to the cost of this publication. The exhibition was conceived in collaboration with John Cherry and curated by James Robinson and Noël Adams but a great many other people helped to bring it to fruition. Jana Vodickova was responsible for the design, Julia Robinson and Ben Ferguson for the graphics and marketing. Thanks are also due to Philip Attwood, Jim Peters, Peter Rae, Jennifer Mills, Amanda Gregory, Richard Kelleher, Kirstin Leighton-Boyce, Jennifer Adam, Michael Neilson and Pippa Pearce. The success of the conference relied on the very high standard of the papers that were given and to its emphatically international, interdisciplinary nature. Elizabeth Morhange and Carey Fleiner provided assistance in the early stages of its planning and further help was offered by Matthew Harvey, Francesca Hillier and Isabel Assaly. The quality of this publication is due entirely to the energies of Josephine Turquet assisted by Portia Reyes and Margarita Luna. In Search of a Semiotic Paradigm: The Matter of Sealing in Medieval Thought and Praxis (1050–1400) Brigitte Miriam Bedos-Rezak

Historians fish in the vast sea of the medieval past. As they troll were responsible for the vast majority of sealed documents and reel in, they wish to comprehend, not only the catch but from the late 13th century onward.6 A second criterion for the sea itself, and yet when they pull in the net, the sea slips distinguishing the two periods concerns the particulars of through the webbing.1 So we are left with artefacts deprived of diplomatic discourse, specifically the final textual clauses of their context, which we then attempt to restore. Such is the charters in which the attachment of the seal was announced. case with seals. Medieval scholars have considered them as After some flux during the early 11th century, the formulae authoritative means of documentary validation, as markers of became virtually standardised in stating that the author of the identity, and as loci of artistic, spiritual, and ritual activities. charter had confirmed it with the impression of his seal: ‘que This understanding of medieval seals and sealing practices concessio, ut rata et inviolabilis in futuro permaneat, sigilli mei assumes a general grammar instrumental in generating seal impressione corrobari volui’.7 By the early 13th century, form, performance, and meaning. In this sense, the ‘realism’ of however, imprinting (impressione) began to be supplemented seals is construed as inhering in the adequacy of their fit to by specific references to the gesture of appending, as stated paradigmatic cultural models.2 typically in a validating clause: ‘quod ut ratum sit firmiterque Medieval seals, however, did not merely reflect the in posterum teneatur, ipsam compositionem litteris tradi organizing principles of medieval culture and society nor did fecimus et sigillorum nostrorum appensione muniri’.8 By the they simply represent reality; they were involved in creating a mid-13th century, the clause of validation tended to include a reality, that is, veritas, truth. Seal legends not infrequently newer generic formula which asserted that the seal was themselves declared that the seal was veritas.3 It was explicit appended as an attestation: ‘In cujus rei testimonium, ... that the accuracy and truthfulness which inhered in a sealed sigillum meum feci apponi’.9 charter was a verity produced by the seal. In medieval culture, The progression of these trends – the formulas overlap and truth was a fundamental value which could not be dissociated the examples cited do not exhaust the full lexicon of terms used from the real: truth was reality. in validating clauses – cannot be explained simply as reflecting I wish here to examine seals and sealing practices beyond contemporary sealing techniques. True, the earliest western their determinative function, to consider the mechanisms by seals were applied directly to their documents and the wax was which seals served both as makers and markers of reality, to stamped after it had already been laid on the parchment. analyze seals both as material and as conceptual entities which Applied seals, however, gave way to pendant seals from the between 1050 and 1400 formed the matter of diverse mid-11th century onward. In such regions as Flanders, Brabant, discourses, relationships, and images. My analysis will focus Hainaut, the pendant seal had totally replaced the applied seal on a few specific cases which permit a survey of the manner by 1110.10 Of course, even after the introduction of pendant and the implications of sealing performance. I will argue that seals, imprinting, that is, the impression of a matrix upon the in acting as formative models of truth and of experienced soft wax or metal, persisted. Nor had appending totally reality, seals and sealing exposed contemporary tensions in displaced imprinting as the specific act which defined and such realms as metaphysics, law, and semiotics. At the core of completed the process of sealing, since the final stamping of these tensions lay the fact that there was no possible appeal to the wax seal necessarily occurred only after its attachments existing guarantees which could verify the application of seals had been inserted into the document itself. An entire century and assure the success of their operations. I therefore intend to elapsed between the first appearance of pendant seals and the propose that, as axiomatically-defined objects of social control time that textual clauses declaring their pendency became and identity, seals benefited from the affirmative support of standard within the document itself. rules which had their sanction in supernatural stipulation; they We therefore have to address the fact that, during the initial gained their sanction by means of their performance within the century of their diffusion, seals were experienced as, and acted fields of theology and devotional literature. as, impressions. Attention to the validating formulae reveals The first case is based upon my analysis of several hundred the following points. Some formulae indicate that the charter charters given in northern France between 1050 and 1300.4 itself had been impressed impregnated) with the seal, ‘mea This bracket of dates in fact covers two periods: 1050 to 1180, carta sigillo impressa confirmavi’.11 In other clauses, the term and 1180 to 1300, which may be distinguished along two axes. impressio is qualified or complemented by a range of additional The first axis is sociological, and is well known to historians. terms. Thus, we often read that authors have confirmed their Between 1050 and 1180, sealing practices were newly extended charters with the authority and impression of their seals, to non-royal elites, mostly bishops, abbots, nobles, and major ‘litteras memoriales ... auctoritate et sigilli nostri impressione cities.5 After 1180, sealing occurred more generally throughout corroboravimus’, 12 or that their charter has been confirmed medieval society, though it was not necessarily practised by all with an authentic impression of their seal: ‘impressione individuals. In fact, deputed royal seals and seals of jurisdiction autentica nostri sigilli corroboravi curavimus’.13 Yet other

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 1 Bedos-Rezak validating clauses combine impressio with the Latin word word character referred primarily to the sign of the cross character as in ‘sigilli nostri impresso caractere fecimus typically inscribed by authors of charters and their witnesses. confirmari’ (we have confirmed with the impressed character Character was also the term for a monogram, an arrangement of our seal).14 Finally, and significantly, impressio is often of the letters of a person’s name into a single figural motif, associated with the term imago: ‘Et ne aliquis contra hanc which was inscribed as a validating sign on royal acts as well as donationem venire presumat, imaginis nostre impressione eam on some aristocratic and episcopal charters. As the use of seals corroborari precepi’ (so that no one will presume to challenge spread, the term character came to indicate yet other of the this donation, I ordered it to be confirmed with the imprint of seal’s graphic elements, in particular heraldic emblems.21 It my image).15 This lexicon – imago, character, and auctoritas – seems that the term character in 12th-century diplomatic began to disappear from the closing formulae after 1200, as did discourse was particularly associated with the motif of the the term impressio itself. How might an analysis of this group of name, whether linguistically or emblematically. Names and words foster our understanding of the operation and agency of heraldic coats on seals are indeed what give personal seals 12th-century seals? their character, their distinction. Canting seals, on which the Such contemporary insistence on the seal as imprint image or heraldic emblem alludes to the sealer’s name, vividly highlights its indexical nature as the trace of an actual contact, demonstrates the dialogue between names and arms, equally not only between the matrix and the wax, but also between the termed character. As early as 1127, on the seal of Hugh III of seal and its user.16 The wax applied to the seal user’s matrix Candavène, Count of St Pol, a candavène, that is, a ‘field of oats,’ embodied his person as the true originator of the act in had become part of the identifying iconography.22 Character, question – his presence often rendered even more tangible by with its strong onomastic and graphological connotations, thus the inclusion of bodily marks in the seal, such as finger prints, brings the seal closer to the signature.23 Signing and imprinting bite marks, or actual hairs plucked from his beard.17 The early are both bodily gestures whose efficacy depends upon an 15th-century chronicle of the monastery of St Augustine of ability to re-iterate a sign. They direct attention to an action by Canterbury relates that, after the Norman invasion of England, the physical operator; the significance of his representative kings and magnates added to their charters thin sheets of wax sign, on the other hand, inheres primarily in its ability to verify, onto which they imprinted the sign of the cross, leaving as through sameness, that it emanates from the proper signatory. signs for posterity bits of hair and beard also inserted into the In the case of sealing, the task of graphic re-iteration is wax. The chronicler Thomas of Elmham (d. 1420), asserts that transferred from the human hand to a mechanical tool, the such personalised items could then be found in the many matrix. As the individual operator impressed the document monasteries that had been created after the Conquest, and with the sealer’s approval, this may help to explain why seals, provides two specific examples. The first reference is to the even though named to a particular person, could also be Cluniac priory of StPancras of Lewes (Sussex), in which a borrowed and used by another. An example is the donation to charter given by William, first Count of Warenne (d. 1088), still the hospital of St John of Bruxelles (in 1232) by two brothers; contained, at the time Thomas was writing, some of the Count’s the younger brother states, in the charter’s final clause, that he hair. The second example refers to a charter of the Cluniac is conjointly using the seal of his elder brother – since he does house of Castle Acre (Norfolk), in which the Count of Lincoln not himself have a seal. The Latin text is worth quoting: ‘quia concluded in the following fashion: ‘In hujus rei evidentiam sigillum non habeo, coutor sigillo domini et fratris mei in hac sigillum dentibus meis impressi, teste Muriele uxore mea’. Once parte’;24 the two brothers may well have jointly applied the again, Thomas noted that the traces of teeth, imprinted as a matrix to the wax. Thus, viewers of sealed charters might be seal, could still be seen in the wax.18 Thus, the seal impression, expected to discount a seal’s appearance, its image and even its whether of a matrix and, or, made by parts of the body, was name, in comprehending the seal’s essential quality as mark of initially appreciated as a relic of the sealer’s physical contact intentional and actual participation which the writing of the and participation. The diplomatic trope of the imprint was, deed by an anonymous scribe alone had been unable to therefore, concerned with origin and presence. That the achieve. authorship and authority of the seal depended on the person In light of what has just been argued about the seal as a and the personal participation of its owner is well expressed by marker of real authorship, the 12th-century conflation of the textual combination of impressio and auctoritas, where imprint with imago becomes particularly interesting. The auctoritas re-enforces the emphasis on personal origin. In fact, 12th-century seal, after all, bore the icon of its owner; it early diplomatic discourse, in using the terms authentic registered social status and might even be realistic with respect (authentica) and authoritative (auctoritate) interchangeably to to emblems and function. Yet, the images on seals are characterise the seal impression, testifies to the contemporary stereotypic. They sort and classify by socio-functional semantic synergy between an actor and an author, both of categories, by kindred, demonstrating the extent to which the which terms referred to the person who originated and caused formulation of identity involves the imposition of categories.25 an act to be.19 Remarkably, the document in which I found So questions arise about the nature of this image which the mention of an authentic impression dates from 1114, well before authors of the charters proclaimed textually as ‘my image’.26 canon law had introduced the concept of the sigillum One should not interpret the realism of 12th-century seals authenticum, the authentic seal, to which we shall later without considering the resonance of the vocabulary of sealing return.20 within the contemporary intellectual lexicon. The topos of the The association of the Latin terms impressio and character imago impressa, the imprinted image was ubiquitous in pre- locates the seal more specifically within the sphere of graphic scholastic writings. Over the years I have identified an and onomastic symbols. In earlier diplomatic discourse, the extensive array of seal metaphors the great majority of which

2 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals In Search of a Semiotic Paradigm were coined in the 12th century and were associated with royal seal for the Exchequer, and to relate this seal to the King’s schoolmen who engaged in anthropological theology and Great Seal, which he called the itinerant seal of the King’s court focused their exegesis on the biblical text (Genesis 1:26–27) (‘deambulatorio curie sigillo’). After insisting that the royal according to which man was created in the image and seal of the Exchequer was used only for royal mandates as they resemblance of God.27 Such metaphors assert that man is a seal pertained to the Exchequer, Richard in effect tried to erase the impression, imprinted by God’s image, that is, by Christ. distinction between the two seals by noting that: ‘[the royal However, man degraded by original sin could not himself be an seal for the Exchequer] has the same “image and inscription” as image of God but was a being whose matter has been marked the itinerant seal of the King’s court in order that the two seals by and thus only partially retained the stamp of God’s creative may be recognised as of equal authority in commanding [,] and touch. Consonant with the imprint of God’s creation of man those [are] equally guilty who disobey either of them’. The was the revivifying imprinting conferred by the salvific seal of Latin is important: ‘expressam autem habet imaginem and baptism. This is where the use of the term character in inscriptionem cum deimbulatorio curie sigillo, ut par 12th-century diplomatic discourse acquired additional cognoscatur utrobique jubentis auctoritas’.33 Three remarks are significance.28 Since patristic times, character had meant a seal in order here. First, when describing the seal’s graphic (a signaculum) which labeled a thing with its programmatic elements with the words ‘imago et inscriptio’, Richard was purpose, as a coin is identified by its character as suitable for quoting verbatim the passage of Luke’s Gospel in which, asked transactions, or a soldier in late imperial Rome was marked in whether it was right to pay taxes, Jesus asked in turn: whose his flesh so as to be linked to a specific military unit.29 It was, image and name is on the coin? Upon hearing that the coin however, only during the 12th century that the term character bore the name and image of Caesar, Jesus enjoined that what is entered the field of sacramental theology, to designate the Caesar’s should be given to Caesar.34 Clearly, this biblical foundational imprint made on the Christian by baptism, and by precedent was invoked by Richard to buttress the royal seals’ those other sacraments – confirmation and ordination – which, authority, in a rhetorical allusion which parallels the semantic once applied to an individual, marked him indelibly for the range mapped by the imago impressa. Second, however, for service of God. Character, in this sense, once impressed, was Richard (as for the author of the gospel), it was the an absolute certainty.30 combination of legend and image which signified authority. By contrast, it appears that the term figura was only rarely, And third, it was the duplication of legend and image which if ever, substituted for that of imago or character. This may be made the two royal seals equivalent; this identicality enabled significant, though an argument from absence is the royal seals to function properly as signs and agents of methodologically questionable. The semantic range of figura, sovereign power. broad and often blurry, oscillated between two poles that are The following story further addresses the relationship not easily reconcilable. Figura was the visible appearance of a between epigraphy, iconography, and authority, and focuses on creature or of an object, which prompted an understanding of the signifying role of appearance on seals. In his Exordio, the the form not apparent to the eye itself. The figural mode of tract that Symeon of Durham wrote during the second half of thinking, so fundamental to Christian thought, was therefore the 12th century on the ‘Origins and Progress of the Church of profoundly alien to the vocabulary of iconographic Durham’, he relates that when Ranulf Flambard,35 then representation. For to ‘figure’ something was in fact to avoid Chaplain and Keeper of King William Rufus’s seal under figuring it in its own physical aspect.31 Figura expressed Maurice the Chancellor, was kidnapped on a barque in the dualism, that is the difference between itself and its real Thames by plotters jealous of his position at court, ‘he took the subject, while imago privileged immanence, that is the very ring which he wore on his finger, and his notary took the King’s manner (contact), and indeed the matter by means of which seal, and they threw them into the middle of the river, so that representation occurred. their enemies should not be able to circulate deceitfully forged In 12th-century culture, therefore, the impressed image, writs (simulata precepta) throughout England where the ring imago impressa, signaled that the true portrait of the sealer on and the seal were known (cognita)’.36 This story brings to the his seal resided not so much in the image as form but in the fore two interrelated matters, seal forgery and seal recognition. image as marked matter. Imprinting rendered tangible an What concerns us here are the techniques canon lawyers action by an agent, whereby the agent left something of itself explicitly set in place from the late 12th century onward to within the matter. The power of the seal was thus derived and identify, and wherever possible to prevent, the forgery of seals. affirmed through its analogy with the god-sanctioned act of The most comprehensive statements on forgery were issued by imprinting, which incorporated presence and transmitted Pope Innocent III (d. 1216), who built upon precedent to properties. Central to the seal’s efficacy, then, was the elaborate a complex system which not only addressed the issue traceable action and presence of its user. of forgery but also attempted to define a category of seal whose As mentioned earlier, toward the end of the 12th century, executory power would be axiomatic.37 Early 13th-century the diplomatic vocabulary of sealing, through not the canon law, somewhat frustratingly for the modern scholar, technique of imprinting, underwent modification.32 entangled the concepts of authenticity and authority.38 The Concomitantly, reports of events involving seals seem to term sigillum authenticum had been invented by Pope indicate that the earlier incarnational model was giving way as Alexander III (d. 1181) in the course of an effort to insert the increased attention was being directed to the seal’s then novel class of non-royal/non-papal seals within the appearance. A second case will illustrate this point. In his existing operative logic of public documents invested with Course of the Exchequer (written between 1170–83), Richard manifest credibility. The authentic seal was held to be the Fitz Nigel repeatedly attempted to explain the independent equivalent of the notarial manus publica, but Pope Alexander

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 3 Bedos-Rezak did not specify within his decretal those qualities which would attempt to anchor seal efficacy within the structural order of render a particular seal authentic.39 He nevertheless initiated a society? In this body of legislation the seal was considered to be movement whereby the nature of the seal and of its the official sign of an authorised person acting with an competence was to become an object of theory and no longer a authority defined by.... well, that was the problem. The seals of mere practice as it had been until then. Succeeding popes and the high-ranking clergy, emperors, and of their jurisdictions, lawyers took up the question of seal agency. In a decretal of were axiomatically deemed to be authentic and authoritative. 1199, Pope Innocent III evaluated a privilege granted by the In the terms of a somewhat circular reasoning, authentic seals Emperor Henry, on which half of the seal was missing, so that it were legitimate tools of validation precisely because the was no longer possible to discern if the legend named personal authority of their owners was at the same time the Ludovicus or Henricus. Innocent III concluded that the institutional authority which underlay any legitimate imperial privilege lacked an authentic seal and therefore had delegation of authority.43 A decretal of 1207, Cum Dilectus, in no credibility.40 Crucially, Innocent’s analysis rested upon a dealing with the royal seal of Scotland, makes it clear that careful, visual, inspection of the seal and its legend, and canon law was reluctant to extend such a socio-political notion located authenticity within both the visual integrity of the seal of authenticity even to sovereigns: and the personality of the seal owner. A sigillum authenticum Consuetudo loci facit instrumentum authenticum... Si consuetudo thus was a seal that was intact (material condition) and illius patriae obtinet approbata, ut instrumentis illius regis fides identifiable (social condition). This may explain why the adhibeatur in talibus, vos ea secure poteritis admittere, praesertim quum supradictis rex tantae fuerit honestatis, quod medieval concept of authenticity engaged two distinctive ipsius instrumenta maximae auctoritatis sint in partibus concerns. The first, related to the seal’s physicality, was further Scoticanis.44 developed in the context of apprehension about forgery. The second, focused on the seal’s capacity for signification, was In 13th-century ordinary glosses to Gregory IX’s Decretals, further elaborated in a context of concern for authority and the glossator asked rhetorically: what is a sigillum performance. Remarkably, despite many attempts, a legal authenticum? He answered: ecclesiastical seals are sigilla algorithm for the reliable detection of seal forgery was never authentica, to which he adds: ‘the seal of a secular prince, to achieved. The following case may contribute to an explanation which the custom grants credence’.45 By the second half of the of this conundrum. 13th century, Conrad of Mure (d. 1281), in his Summa de arte Joinville, in his Life of Louis IX (d. 1270), relates that prosandi, declared that lawyers had held various and [t]he King’s love for fair and open dealing may be gathered from contradictory discourses on the matter of what constituted an his behavior in the case of a certain Renaud de Trit [ie. Trie]. This authentic seal, based upon which the following conclusion man had brought the King a charter stating that he [the King] had might be drawn: an authentic seal is a seal that is bene granted the county of Dammartin en Gouelle to the heirs of the late 46 Countess de Boulogne. However, the seal of the charter was cognitum and famosum (well known and famous). Such was broken, so that nothing remained of it except half the legs of the the situation described by Symeon of Durham, which we figure representing the King, and the stool on which his feet were reviewed earlier, in which the royal seal was cast overboard resting. The King showed the seal to all of us who were members of precisely because it was so well known that it carried its own his council, and asked us to help him come to a decision. We all unanimously expressed the opinion that he was not bound to put authority, and therefore carried the risk of functioning even the charter into effect. Then he told Jean Sarrasin, his independently of its royal owner’s intention. Such seals came chamberlain, to hand him another charter he had been asked to thus to be conceived as producing a disposition toward their bring. As soon as this was in his hands the King said to us: ‘My own recognition and acceptance which enabled them, or not, lords, here is the seal I used before I went overseas, and you can clearly tell from looking at it that the impression on the broken seal to function as valid and effective signs. Well-known seals corresponds exactly with that of the one that is whole. Therefore I elicited the collaboration of those they affected, interacting could not, with a clear conscience, retain this land’. So the King with and dependent upon the social scaffolding which upheld sent for Renaud de Trit and said to him: ‘I restore your county to this complicity.47 you’.41 Thirteenth-century and later theorisation about Of interest here, is the comparative method which King documentary sealing was largely prescriptive, and failed to Louis, like many in his position, used to identify a seal. This account for seal agency since the only explanations provided behavior underscores the extent to which the seal image was, tend to be axiomatic or circular. Furthermore, by the 14th by the 13th century, operating as a replica. The adequacy of seal century, one of the favorite equations of legal discourse, that impressions was no longer to be verified by reference to its between authentic seals and notarial marks, had been originating agent, the seal matrix or the seal owner himself. undermined. In southern France, for instance, notaries Rather, since the technique of mechanical reproduction continued their tradition of signature to render documents assured that all impressions of a given seal matrix were official, and then additionally sealed them with their personal identical copies, they were all considered to function as seals, to signify that they were also committing their persons.48 originals generating their own accuracy, truth, and validity. I wish therefore to consider two final cases, to attempt to This understanding, coupled with the very centrality and circumscribe the actual capacity of seals to impact reality as potency of sealed documents, led to considerable medieval effective conveyors of personal volition, intention, and confusion and concern about the nature of forgery. For forgery decision. Both instances involve English texts. We are now in is but an extreme form of replication, and replicability had the second half of the 14th century, during the Peasants Revolt become the main criterion used to certify the authenticity of which brought rebellious villagers to the gate of the monastery seal impressions.42 of St Albans, demanding that a new charter of their liberties be Was canon law successful, generally speaking, in its drawn up.49 According to the chronicler Thomas Walsingham,

4 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals In Search of a Semiotic Paradigm who recorded the event, the Abbot capitulated, and as the the Eucharist which, in the course of the 12th century, had charter was drafted, the villagers, (mis)behaving like lords, acquired its doctrinal status as a self-signifying entity. Though were parading in the chapel and in the abbot’s chamber, absolute only with specific reference to the Eucharist, this intruding upon the drafting, dictating what should be written, radical conflation of sign and referent realigned medieval and watching the sealing of the charter with curiosity . It was theories concerned with the operations of material signs, such then that a miracle occurred, for it required three attempts to as seals and images, recurrently imparting to them a extract the seal-matrix of the convent, which bore the imago of presencing effect.56 the glorious protomartyr Alban, from the wax it was In summary, I would like in to draw together the themes of impressing. For Thomas Walsingham, there could be no doubt: sealing praxis just reviewed. During the first century of seal the Saint wished to continue to exercise over these villagers the diffusion, between 1050–1200, there was in diplomatic and lordship he had always maintained.50 However apocryphal and theological discourses an intense focus on the mechanism of tendentious, this story ascribes to seals a power which derives seal production, the act of imprinting. Imprinting was a process from the order of divine justice. The miracle was wrought by impelled by an originating cause of which the imprint retains a the seal of the Saint, a device apparently capable of mobilising trace. Thus, the initial organizing principles of seal the sanctified status of Alban and of processing the power of effectiveness were contact and presence, which provided a intercession that was integral to his image. That it was not the reliable articulation between the seals and their agents. The seal of the Abbot which served as a conduit for the miracle efficacy of sealing inhered in the seal itself. underscored his failure, as a person, to stop the rebellion; his By the 13th century, however, documentary seals seem to seal embodied only his limited competence. have operated less as imprints than as replicas, deriving their Again in England, vernacular lyrics called the Charters of contemporary validity primarily from a referential axis based Christ were circulated in the form of pictorial sealed charters upon their place within a series of other seals. In legal contexts, from the 1350s onward.51 In this genre, Christ grants a charter the linkage between the owner of the seal and its force was an which secures for mankind its heavenly heritage. The effect of convention or custom. Seal authority was made to metaphor, however, extends to the physical charter itself, derive from externals, from rules and social networks. Judging which consists of the crucified body of Christ. The parchment by the continuing confusion of medieval legal discourse about is made of his skin, which has been stretched on the cross; his seals and sealing, it appears that contemporary theories lacked blood is the ink (or the sealing wax); the scourges of his coherence and definitive explanatory power. enemies are the pens; his wounds, the letters; his heart or his There is evidence, from late-medieval texts, that it was in pierced flank, the seal.52 The text ends with the statement that hagiographic and christological discourse that documentary a copy of the charter, equated with the Eucharist, was left ‘with seals were still performing, or yet again had come to perform, the priest so that future generations would remember and as instrumental signs which incorporated properties of their benefit from his sacrifice’.53 The devotional content of these agents. Seals then operated on a triangular axis: from the seal ‘charters’ should not obscure the insight they provide about the user to the imprint to be sure, but also via a supernatural contemporary operation of sealing and documentation. referentiality which sanctioned seal agency. The growing Scholars have legitimately noted and enthusiastically presence of pious and christic images on late medieval seals interpreted the migration of documentary formats into lyrics provides additional evidence of such a shift.57 In the second half and devotional literature, seeing in such a movement evidence of the 15th century, when the Italian jurist Matteo d’Afflitto for a broadly-based familiarity with charters and a deep (1448–1528) undertook to review the role of the seal in the appreciation of their formative impact on daily life; the imperial chancery of Frederic II (1194–1250), he concluded: rebellious villagers of St Albans being a case in point. This ‘sigillum est substantiale litere regie’ (the seal is the essence of scholarship has considered those features of diplomatic praxis the royal letter).58 Irrespective of their mutable theoretical and discourse that rendered the charter a useful conceptual justifications for potency, medieval seals retained their tool with which to reflect on the meaning and limits of lyric capacity as makers and markers of an essential substantiality. and allegory, or to define the relationship between textual authority and spiritual community.54 It also seems relevant to Notes consider the charter from the perspective of its format once 1 I have borrowed this metaphor from Didi-Huberman 1990, 204. The approach to seals developed in this paper owes much to this ensconced within pious lyrics where it deviates from the work, in particular its chapter 4: ‘L’image comme déchirure et la standard diplomatic prototype. The literary charter mort du Dieu incarné’ (Ibid., 169–269). exaggerates incarnational logic, as textual embodiment – the 2 Realism is not an easy word to use. Medieval realism is sometimes Word made flesh, and as semiotic realisation – the Eucharist.55 called idealism since it affirmed the reality of abstract ideas which alone were held to constitute a single transcendent order of Such literary charters thus indicate the extent to which seals, authentic reality, in contrast to the world of multiple appearances whether as bodily organs in the Charters of Christ or as a and human artifices, having neither truth nor reality. For the physical extension of their owners in an ordinary sealed modern man and woman of science, realism is a metaphysics of certitude, positing an observer-independent reality made up of its charter, could endow the document with intrinsic value, own inherent, and discoverable, components. In art, realism indeed with the very presence of its author. The sensitivity at denotes the extent to which an object or an image conforms to a work in the Charters of Christ parallels that expressed in sense of reality as seen by the eye. Artistic realism thus engages a 12th-century sealing clauses where, as we have seen, the imago claim of mimesis, assuming that representations are isomorphic with what they represent (Munitz 1992, 27; Tilley et al. 2006, 15). impressa was in dialogue with the tenets of anthropological 3 Final clauses in documents also sometimes mention the role of theology about the incarnation of God in Christ and the image seals in testifying to truth ‘quorum sigilla in testimonium veritatis of God in man. The culmination of incarnational semiotics is presentibus sunt appensa’ (Cartulaire de l’hôpital Saint Jean, no.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 5 Bedos-Rezak

82,120 (1250)).” Pancratii de Lewes de carta Willielmi primi comitis Warenniae, in 4 Sources consulted for this paper include: Cartulaire de l’hôpital qua crines capitis usque in prasens ejusdem comitis permanent. Saint Jean; Cartulaire de l’abbaye de Saint Corneille; Historia et Similiter in monasterio de Castelacre, quo est in ejusdem Cartularium monasterii sancti Petri Gloucestriae; Cartulaire des fundationis, in dioecesi Norwicensi, comes Lincolniensis, qui Vaux-de-Cernay; Recueil des chartes et documents de Saint Martin pluribus possessionibus eandem ecclesiam dotavit, haec in fine des Champs, tome II. intulit cartae suae: “In hujus,” inquit, “rei evidentiam sigillum 5 Studies focusing on the initial spread of medieval seal usage dentibus meis impressi, teste Muriele uxore mea;” ubi usque in beyond imperial, papal, and royal chanceries include Bautier praesens in eadem cera apparent dentium vestigia pro sigillo. His 1984–9 and 1995; Chassel 1994 and Chassel 1997, which deals with etiam similia in pluribus aliis monasteriis sunt reperta’ (Thomas a few seals from Burgundy; Heslop 1980; Bedos-Rezak 1993, Elmham, Historia monasteriis. Augustini Cantuariensis, 118–19). especially chapters II, IV, VI, VIII; Clanchy 1993, especially chapter The 1444 cartulary of the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras of Lewes has 9; Harvey and McGuiness 1996. been partially translated by Salzman. It has not been possible to 6 This situation principally characterises the continent where, in identify the charter described by Thomas in this work. addition to deputy seals and seals of jurisdiction, notarised 19 Chenu 1925 and 1927; Guenée 1981; Bedos-Rezak 1994, 327–8; documents increasingly became available to those who wished Bedos-Rezak 2001, 49. See n. 38 below for the extent of this authentic records of their transactions, Bautier 1971 and 1989. In semantic overlap, which intertwined the concepts of author, England, the absence both of notaries and of seals of jurisdictions authority, and authenticity. resulted in a profusion of personal sealing. By the late 13thcentury, 20 See reference to this document in n. 13 above. See n. 39 below for a however, commoners tended no longer to use their own seals but further discussion of the sigillum authenticum. rather seals made available to them by the scriveners in charge of 21 Grévin and Véronèse 2004, 356–7. On the vast semantic range of scripting transactions (Harvey 1991). the term character throughout the western Middle Ages, see 7 ‘In order that this concession remain firm and intact in the future, I Häring 1955 and 1956. See n. 30 below for the 12th-century wished it to be strengthened with the impression of my seal,’ meaning of character in sacramental theology. Cartulaire de l’abbaye Saint Corneille, no. 53,105 (c. 1140). 22 Nieus 2006. For a general survey of the relationship between Occurrences of final clauses announcing the impression of the seal names, heraldic emblems, and canting arms, see Pastoureau 1997, are numerous. Some variants include: Cartulaire des Vaux-de- 91–7. Suggestive reflections on the scripting of names are found in Cernay, no. 42, 60 (1173–90): et sigilli nostri sub impressione digne Christin 1998. I profited enormously from Christin’s well-informed duximus confirmari. In his work on the chancery of Henry the and subtle analysis of the implications of names and naming even Liberal, Count of Champagne (1152–81), Wight 1998 notes that: if I do not quite concur with the manner in which she distinguishes ‘The usual corroboration formula was “Et ut hoc ratum et sealing from signature. inconcussum permaneat, sigilli mei impressione confirmari 23 A standard and most stimulating work on the signature is Fraenkel precepi”, or some variant thereon, such as “Et ut hoc memoriter et 1992. firmius teneatur, scripto commendavi et sigilli mei impressione 24 Cartulaire de l’hôpital Saint Jean, no. 40, 65 (1232), and no. 37, 61 roboravi”.’ (1230) and no. 42, 67 (1233), where the younger brother borrows 8 ‘In order that this reconciliation remain firm and be strongly seals, but not from his brother; coutor seems to be reserved to the upheld in the future, we had it put in writing and fortified by the borrowing of his brother’s seal. appending of our seals’ (Cartulaire de l’abbaye Saint Corneille, no. 25 Bourdieu 1991, 224. 257, 377 (1203)). 26 See n. 15 above. 9 ‘In testimony of which, I had my seal apposed’(Cartulaire de 27 The fundamental work on the creation of man in the image of God l’hôpital Saint Jean, no. 68, 99 (1247). is by Javelet 1997. For additional insights see Bell 1984; Ladner 10 Laurent 1993, I/1, 70. 1965; and Sullivan 1963. The texts of medieval seal metaphors are 11 Historia et Cartularium monasterii sancti Petri Gloucestriae, 51, no. given and analysed in Bedos-Rezak 200o and in her essays cited DVIII (1149–83), donation by Robert to the church of St Gundleus; above in notes 16 and 19. see also p. 50, no. DVI (1072–1104), donation by Morgan to the 28 Above, n. 21. churches of St Gundleus and St Peter of Gloucester: ‘donationem 29 Häring 1952, passim. patris mei et meam carta mea et sigillo meo impressa confirmavi’. 30 Häring 1952, 79, 96–7. For a semiotic approach to sacramental For later examples of the use of this specific formula, see Bateson theology, see Rosier-Catach 2004. 1902, 293: creation, in c. 1246–71, of the borough of Warton (‘in 31 Didi-Huberman 1995, 96–7, 231–6. On p. 233 he gives the example presenti carta mea sigillo meo impressa’). of Paul commenting, in I Corinthians 10:4, upon the biblical 12 Cartulaire de l’abbaye Saint Corneille, no. 35, 72 (1114). episode when Moses caused water to spring from a rock (Numbers 13 Cartulaire de l’abbaye Saint Corneille, no. 34, 71 (1114). 20:10–11). Paul said: ‘That rock was Christ.’ Christ, in turn, is the 14 Cartulaire des Vaux-de-Cernay, no. 102, 121–2 (1194); no. 123, 205 figure of the incarnation. Great mysteries of the faith could only be (1200). For other examples see Cartulaire de l’abbaye Saint figurable. Corneille, no. 54, 106 (c. 1140), no. 155, 250 (1183), no. 267, 387 32 See above, n. 7–9. Seal metaphors and the related theme of the (1205), and in Cartulaire de l’hôpital Saint Jean, no. 29, 51 (1226). imprinted image as an agent of contact and presence remained 15 Cartulaire de l’abbaye Saint Corneille, no. 180, 280 (c. 1189). Recueil strong motifs in mystical literature throughout the later Middle des chartes et documents de Saint Martin des Champs, vol. II, 206–7, Ages, see Bynum 1988; Hamburger 2002, chapters 4 and 7; and no. 315 (1148–49): ‘imaginis nostre impressione et probabilium Park 1998. On St Francis’ stigmata, see Davidson 1998 and Ruth personarum intitulatione eam [seriem] corroborari fecimus’. See Wolff’s contribution in this volume. On the currency of the other examples in Wight 1998. Corroboration formulas 53h, and vocabulary of seals and sealing in natural philosophy from the 63n, with this particular turn of phrase: ‘Ne vero pretaxata early 13th century onward see: Daston 1998 and Weill-Parot 2002. temporalis valeat oblitterare prolixitas, aut odibilis infirmare 33 Richard Fitz Nigel, Dialogus, 62, where both English and Latin presumat iniquitas, apicibus annotare et sigilli mei impressione versions are given. subimaginare curavi’. 34 Luke 20:24: ‘ostendite mihi denarium. Cujus habet imaginem et 16 The fuller argument is made in Bedos-Rezak 2006. inscriptionem? Respondentes dixerunt ei: Cæsaris’. 25: ‘Et ait illis: 17 Viard 1907, edition of a charter (c. 1150) in which a Norman knight Reddite ergo quæ sunt Cæsaris, Cæsari: et quæ sunt Dei, Deo’. states he pressed his teeth into the wax in lieu of a seal: ‘Et ad 35 Symeon of Durham, Libellus, 267. confirmandum predictam donationem, hanc ceram pro sigillo 36 Symeon of Durham, Libellus, 268–9; the event took place after dentibus ita impressi’; see also Gandilhon 1931–2; Mitis 1949; 1085/1086 but is reported only in the Continuation, which was Pastoureau 2005. written in the second half of the 12th century. 18 ‘Post adventum vero Normannorum in Angliam, tam reges, quam 37 See Innocent III’s decretals on seal forgery, inserted within alii domini et magnates, laminas cereas membranis apponebant Gregory IX’s Decretals, X. 2,22, 6 and X. 5,20, 4–5 (Corpus juris cartarum, crucis signum in laminis cereis imprimentes, de capillis canonici, cols 346–49, 818–20). The most comprehensive work on capitum vel barbarum in eadem cera aliquam portionem pro signo seals in canon law to date is by Welber 1984, 93–228. posteris relinquentes, ista patent in multis monasteriis post 38 See n. 19 above for the semantic triangle created in the conceptual Conquestum regni istius fundatis; ut est in monasterio sancti vocabulary of the central Middle Ages between author, authority,

6 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals In Search of a Semiotic Paradigm

and authenticity. See n. 44 below for the decretal Cum Dilectis tunc sigilla Abbatis et Conventus ibidem fuerunt. Unde mirabile (1207) in which an attempt is made to define a seal’s authority. illud contigit: cum charta de libertate villae, vel villanorum, 39 ‘Scripta vero authentica, si testes inscripti decesserint, nisi per sigillari debuisset, quod cum omni cautela et diligentia cera manum [idest per notarium] publicam facta fuerint, ita quod apposita a scientibus sigillo communi fuisset, in quo vetustissimo appareant publica, aut authenticum sigillum habuerint, per quod opere imago gloriosi Protomartyris Britannorum, Albani, possint probari, non videtur nobis alicujus firmitatis habere’(X. figuratur, tenens in manu palmam, nulla potuit arte per tres vices 2,22,2, Corpus juris canonici, col. 344). avelli vel removeri de sigillo, praenosticans proculdubio Martyrem 40 ‘Sed ipsum Henrici privilegium ad fidem instruendam non nolle eos fore dominos, sed velle dominari, ut hactenus, super eos.’ videbatur sufficere, quia nec erat publica manu confectum, nec (Chronica monasterii s. Albani, 483). sigillum habebat authenticum, eo, quod erat ex media fere parte 51 A descriptive catalogue of these charters is given by Spalding 1914. consumptum, nec plus de nomine proprio, nisi ultima medietas, Among the rich literature devoted to these charters, the following videlicet “icus”, nec de ceteris literis, nisi haec adjectio: “Dei gratia studies have been of particular relevance: Davis 1996; Steiner apparebat”, ita, quod ex literis ipsis non magis poterat comprobari 2003, 50–90, which includes illustrations of the charters; and Ashe fuisse sigillum Henrici, quam Lodovoci...’ (X. 2,22,6, Corpus juris 2003. canonici, col. 348). 52 The formulae vary among charters, and scholars particularly 41 Chronicles of the Crusades, 178–9. distinguish between the ‘Short Charter of Christ’ and the ‘Long 42 Bedos-Rezak 2006, 54–5. Charter of Christ’. The fusion of the charter with the body of Christ 43 Bourdieu (1991, 111) calls this ‘social magic,’ but, as I wish to characterises the ‘Long Charter’, whereas, in the ‘Short Charter’, demonstrate here, this particular ‘magic’ was not so successful in the poem is written in the form and format of a legal charter. In one the Middle Ages. Latin version of the ‘Short Charter’, the validating clause reads that 44 X. 2,22,9, Corpus juris canonici, col. 350. See n. 19 and 38. Christ has written the charter with his own blood and sealed it 45 Cited in Welber 1984, 144. The author of the glossa ordinaria on with his heart (Steiner 2003, 89). Gregory IX’s Decretals is Bernardus de Botone Parmiensis, or 53 Steiner 2003, 50, summarizing a ‘Long Charter of Christ’. On the Bernard of Parme (d. 1263). relationship between the Charters of Christ and the semiotics of 46 Cited in Welber 1984, 205; see also von Mure 1968. the eucharist, see Rubin 1991, 308. 47 I am here very much in agreement with Bourdieu 1991, 113. 54 See however a suggestive discussion of charters, as legal 48 Bonnaud 1997, 246–8. The dichotomy expressed in this practice documents in which the symbolic cannot be distinguished from between the public and the private person, and between the the functional in Steiner 2003, 17–46, and her eloquent official mark and the personal seal, deserves further study. It Introduction (1–14), where she outlines her main arguments about highlights the ways in which a private seal, in the Middle Ages, the role of documents in the creation of an English literary could be in-authentic yet genuine and well known. In any case, a tradition. seal remained a preferred mode for expressing personal 55 See n. 53 above. For an insightful analysis of charters as ‘material commitment throughout the Middle Ages. things which act in the world’, see Ashe 2003, 39. 49 The literature on the Peasants Revolt is abundant. Relevant here 56 The full argument concerning the implications of eucharistic for its attention to the attitudes of the rebellious toward seals and debates for signs and signification in general is made in Bedos- documents is the study by Justice 1994. Rezak 2000. See comments on this essay by Parmentier 2002, 50 ‘Ipsi [villani] autem in hiis omnibus non tanquam subditi, sed velut 305–7. domini, in camera Abbatis, in Capella, in penticio, pro libito 57 New 2002. deambulabant, et interfuerunt scripturae, ipsi dictantes hoc quod 58 Matteo d’Afflitto, Decisiones Napolitanae, decisio 253 p. 128 v scribendum fuerat, et sigillationi curiosius intendentes; nam pro (quoted in Welber 1984, 224).

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 7 The Knight’s Alter Ego: From Equestrian to Armorial Seal Adrian Ailes

Seals were, and perhaps still are, peculiarly personal and knight’s new alter ego – a symbolic personification of the seal’s intimate objects. They could say much about their owner, not owner that was to stand in the place of his own portrait. Why least repeating his or her name and formal description in the and when did this change happen? seal legend. As King of England and Duke of Normandy, Heraldry had appeared in northwest France in the late William I adopted a striking new image for his Great Seal. On 1120s and 1130s. Before this period, and overlapping with it, the reverse he repeated the Christ-like image of a king in what now might be termed proto-heraldic devices – emblems majesty as used by his Saxon predecessor, but on the obverse, used consistently by a family through several generations – had he adopted another design – a portrait of himself as a fully been regularly used on coins and seals for several decades, but armed and mounted knight: the military leader and feudal not, as far as we know, on shields or banners. Examples include suzerain ready for battle and prepared to defend his lands. the wheatsheaf device of the Campdaveines (literally field of Magnates such as Stephen, Count of Aumale, quickly followed, oats), who were Counts of St Pol, and the pike or luce of the adopting the same equestrian design on their single-sided Lucys; both were later incorporated into the family arms. seals, and, in turn, they were followed early in the next century Although at first confined only to a few, heraldry, like seal by men of baronial and knightly rank.1 ownership, moved swiftly down the social ladder during the By the mid-12th century even so-called milituli or ‘middling course of the 12th century.7 knights’ were using seals of a similar nature.2 Initially these It also became clear early on that heraldry could act as a equestrian figures were shown carrying a spear topped with a medium not only to identify the owner of a particular shield small flag, a pennant or ‘gonfanon’, as a sign of military but also to identify him with a family or clan. Arms also spoke leadership.3 From the 1120s the lance and flag started to give of an increasingly potent concept among the nobility and way to the sword as men of lesser status began to use seals (Fig. knighthood – that of lineage and veneration of one’s ancestors. 1).4 Occasionally a double-sided equestrian seal would depict By inheriting and displaying his father’s arms, a noble or knight its owner on one side with gonfanon and on the other with openly proclaimed that not only had he come into his rightful sword. Examples include Waleran, as Count of Meulan on one inheritance (usually a hereditary fief or honour) but also, side with sword, and as Earl of Worcester on the other with through the medium of blood, had taken on the physical and gonfanon, and Geoffrey Plantagenet, son of Henry II, with a moral qualities of his antecessores, his forefathers.8 By slightly gonfanon on one side as Duke of Brittany, and on the other altering or ‘differencing’ a coat of arms collateral members of with a sword as Earl of Richmond.5 the same family could proclaim to the outside world that they It is true some chose to portray themselves hunting or shared the same blood – a not insignificant factor for those hawking, or to use a single device such as a bird or animal, but seeking advancement in this world and who often relied on during the course of the 12th century the standard their kin-group to provide it. One of the best ways for those iconographic image of the armed warrior on horseback swiftly wishing to display their new arms was on that personal established itself as the norm from sovereign down to more possession, the seal. Thus, from the 1120s and 30s, we find humble knight. So familiar was this image that it was arms displayed on the shields, gonfanons, surcoats, and saddle reproduced in manuscript illumination and on artefacts such cloths depicted on the equestrian seals of men from certain as the mortar shown in the Good Impressions exhibition.6 By comital houses such as the Clares, Earls of Hertford and 1200, however, this powerful and personal representation of Pembroke. status and authority was conceding its place to another new From at least the 1150s, if not earlier, men started to impress and again very personal icon – one that did not simply present a the back of their equestrian seals with a second smaller seal to military and feudal image of the sigillant but stood, in fact, for provide a greater degree of personal authentication. Many of much more. Its replacement was the shield of arms – the the first ‘counterseals’ were antique intaglio gems depicting scenes from Classical life or mythology, but from the mid-12th Figure 1 Equestrian seal (77mm) of William de Roumare (mid-12th century we witness an embryonic form of the later armorial century). TNA DL 27/256 seal when devices borrowed from the family arms, but not yet shown on a shield, were used to decorate these small seals. The earliest known may be that of Reginald II, Count of St Walery, who from possibly 1144 used a small counterseal bearing a lion passant reguardant on the back of his equestrian seal. He later became Henry II’s justiciar for Normandy, when the family almost certainly bore two lions passant as its arms.9 In 1162 Anselm Campdaveine, Count of St Pol, included a wheatsheaf in the design of his counterseal. This backed on to his armorial

8 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Knight’s Alter Ego equestrian seal depicting his arms containing the same without.18 Some may have chosen to commute their military wheatsheaf.10 Perhaps the most famous example of such a service by paying scutage (shield money), or a fine (a fixed sum device is the fleur-de-lis set into the back of the Great Seal for of money). By the early 13th century commutation was Louis VII and dating to around 1175.11 The fleurs-de-lis were not undertaken on such a large scale that the feudal levy of knights to appear on a shield depicted on a seal of a member of the had ceased to become an effective force. This occurred at the French royal family until early the next century. very time that armorial seals were beginning to replace the Within a space of 10 to 20 years these devices stamped into equestrian variety. the reverse of equestrian seals gave way to a new type of seal Contemporaries clearly perceived differences within the depicting much the same devices but this time portrayed on a ranks of those who considered themselves to be knights. Some shield – the armorial seal had been born, though not yet in its were defined as more ‘law-worthy’, others were still middling own right, but only as a counterseal. The first known example knights (milituli), many were rustic knights (milites gregarii or belongs to that most courtly and chivalric of European rustici), and some, of course, remained the noble and courtly aristocratic figures, Philip d’Alsace, Count of Flanders. In 1170 variety. Well might Nigel de Longchamps complain at the he countersealed his magnificent equestrian seal with a simple beginning of Richard’s reign: ‘there are many knights without shield depicting his arms of a single lion rampant.12 Both sides skill and practice in arms, who for that reason are called “Holy of Philip’s seal were used as models for the equestrian seal and Mary’s knight” by the others’. Even entry into the tourney – by armorial counterseal of Conan de Nesle, Count of Soissons, in far the most common occasion for knights to don armour and 1178.13 In 1181 Bernard IV, Count of St Walery and son or brother display their heraldry – now made a financial distinction of Reginald II, sealed likewise. He was kept as a hostage in the between different grades of knights.19 negotiations between Philip d’Alsace and Henry II. Bernard’s These perceptions of differences and the increasing arms, two lions passant, were almost certainly based on those number of those who rarely fought may well have found of the English king and are shown on the small secretum (1181) further expression in the armorial seal. A shield of arms still that backs his equestrian seal.14 Later examples of armorial closely linked a man with his knightly rank, but it did not go so counterseals backing equestrian seals include those of the far as to depict him donned in full armour riding into battle or crusaders, Robert, Earl of Leicester (c. 1195) (Figs 2 and 3), and tournaments. Instead it highlighted his increasingly civilian Baldwin de Bethune, Count of Aumale (1200).15 role and status by reminding onlookers of his family and In the late 1190s a new phenomenon appears. In England, lineage and possibly also his feudal and tenurial alliances. men of noticeably lesser rank start to use single-sided seals Pinkney’s coat, for example, is possibly the earliest surviving depicting a shield of arms alone, very similar in design to the English example of the heraldic system of marshalling, since it counterseals and Privy Seals of their superiors. C.H. Hunter appears to depict two separate arms conjoined or ‘impaled’ on Blair brought a number of these together in his seminal work the one shield, presumably to denote a marriage, and thereby on armorials upon English seals published in 1943.16 Examples the joining together of two armigerous families. Maybe for include the seals of Robert of Pinkney, Robert FitzMeldred and these men such shields of arms spoke of their local social his brother, Gilbert Hansard,17 and John, son of Michael. These dominance and responsibilities. The knights who compounded were men of local power and authority – probably mesne for their military obligations found themselves fully occupied tenants and sub-vassals rather than grand feudatories, in the administrative work of their counties. For such knights although Robert FitzMeldred did marry a Neville heiress. who were laying aside their arms and armour and who (to It may be that such men were reluctant to use large quote A.L. Poole), ‘took to the life of country gentlemen’, equestrian seals depicting themselves as trained and fully armorial seals may have constituted a kind of re-branding equipped mounted knights ready to do battle or enter tourney. exercise.20 Certainly for some the arts of local government were The likelihood is that none had been on crusade or fought on taking over from the arts of war. Whatever the case, as far as active campaign. During the second half of the 12th century seals were concerned, coats of arms were beginning to speak more and more knights were becoming involved in civilian louder than stylised portraits and the message they conveyed, affairs and undertaking various social obligations such as for some at least, was clearer, more accurate, and more acting as justices or sheriffs. All this was far removed from the personal; the knight’s symbolic alter ego – his shield of arms – battlefield. The Dialogue of the Exchequer, written by 1179, was taking over. distinguishes between those knights with horses and those Those of comital and baronial rank were, not surprisingly, reluctant to discard their grand equestrian seals and all they stood for. However, as arms were invested with a new role as symbols of family pride and social importance and, as in the case of Pinkney, marshalling was able to represent important alliances, so even magnates started to take this new phenomenon of heraldry much more seriously. William de Forz I, Count of Aumale, was the first of comital rank known in England to adopt an armorial seal alone displaying no more than a shield of arms. He was a Poitevin of obscure birth, renowned for his military skill and a crusading companion of Richard I; he died in 1195.21

Figures 2 and 3 Seal (c. 70mm) and counterseal (30mm) of Robert Fitz Pernel Forz was probably exceptional for someone of his status in or de Breteuil, Earl of Leicester (c. 1195). TNA E 42/266 late 12th-century England, since, as already noted, it appears to

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 9 Ailes

Figure 4 Armorial seal (72mm) of Figure 7 Seal of Robert le Vavasour Ranulph de Blundeville, Earl of (c. 1195–1212). From Genealogist, Chester (c. 1200). TNA DL 27/235 new series xi

have been men of lower social status who first adopted the obscured the face of the seal owner and thus rendered him armorial seal in its own right. Nevertheless, about 1200, even more anonymous than his already stereotyped equestrian Ranulph de Blundeville, Earl of Chester, went one further by image.25 In short, heraldic arms on a shield alone could send discarding his equestrian seal in favour of an armorial seal out several important messages denied to the equestrian image. (Fig. 4).22 This was possibly the first time in England that the Another reason for the adoption of an armorial design familiar equestrian figure of a mounted knight, which Earl rather than an equestrian portrait has been suggested by Ranulph had used for at least 10 years and possibly since 1181, Brigitte Bedos-Rezak. She has shown that from 1200 in France had been replaced by a shield of arms. The reason for his younger sons and brothers of great feudatories deliberately change of matrix may well have been the necessity to alter the adopted armorial seals to distinguish their owners from the seal legend to take into account the loss of his titles as Duke of heads of their families using equestrian seals, although this Brittany and Earl of Richmond. Maybe he needed a very was by no means a rigid distinction. Perhaps the same may different looking seal to differentiate this new version from his have been true in England.26 The Vavasour family, for example, previous equestrian seals. held lands in Yorkshire from the time of Domesday Book. In the The change from equestrian to armorial seal did not take mid-12th century the fee was held by William le Vavasour, a place overnight and there was much indecision. After 1217 justice of the king; he died sometime shortly before 29 June Ranulph, for example, having been created Earl of Lincoln, 1191. Not surprisingly for a man of his rank, he used a single- needed to change his seal again and this time he dropped his sided equestrian seal.27 He had two sons, Robert, born about armorial lion seal and returned to an equestrian seal backed by 1160, and Mauger, who died in 1219. Robert, the elder son and an armorial counterseal (Figs 5 and 6).23 Gradually, however, heir, used an equestrian seal before his death in about 1225 the armorial seal on its own won through. One reason for its (Fig. 7).28 His younger brother Mauger, on the other hand, used eventual success among high and low might lie in the fact that an armorial seal countersealed with a yet smaller armorial seal the family coat of arms was now simply too significant to be (Fig. 8).29 Here then the younger brother may well have relegated to the back of the seal or lost in an equestrian design. deliberately avoided an equestrian design to distinguish his Richard de Warenne or FitzRoy, the illegitimate son of King seal from that of his brother and father. In turn Mauger’s own John, was clearly making a deliberate visual statement by son and heir, Robert le Vavasour, Sheriff of Nottinghamshire adopting an armorial seal depicting the two lions coat used by and Derbyshire in 1237 and 1247, like many heads of baronial his father before he became king – this important pictorial and knightly families by this time, likewise opted not for an distinction was too meaningful to be placed anywhere else on equestrian seal but for the more fashionable armorial seal.30 In the seal.24 1240 Hugh de Polstead used an armorial seal, presumably to Another reason might lie in the fact that, as two or more distinguish it from the equestrian seal of his namesake and separate coats were marshalled together to denote marriage or father, who was a knight.31 Much more research needs to be inheritance, so it became easier to depict such a composite coat done on this sigillographic practice. What we do know is that on a single shield filling the entire face of the seal. This would by the mid-13th century the process of the armorial seal have been preferable to incorporating it into a miniature replacing the equestrian was well developed not only for cadet equestrian portrait in which the shield was often shown only in lines but also for the lords themselves.32 Certainly the profile. Alternatively, the change from equestrian to armorial equestrian seal displaying a gonfanon or banner disappears seal may have been due to the introduction of the face guard about this date.33 and barrel helm on seals in the 1180s and 90s. This completely

Figures 5 and 6 Seal (80mm) and counterseal (40mm) of Ranulph de Figures 8 and 9 Seal and counterseal of Mauger Vavasour, (ante 1219), younger Blundeville, Earl of Chester (c. 1220). TNA C 109/86/52 brother of Robert. From Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, 1840

10 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Knight’s Alter Ego

It is possible that the changing roles and civilian similar seal (1194) of Ranulf de Blundeville as Duke of Brittany and responsibilities of the knight in the last half of the 12th and first Earl of Richmond and Chester (Heslop 1991, 192 and pls IX–X). half of the 13th centuries were reflected in their growing 6 For Classical influence on the equestrian figure see Bedos-Rezak 1993, VI, 6–7. adoption of the armorial seal over the more warlike equestrian 7 For what follows on early heraldry in England see Ailes 1990, 1–16; variety. Moreover, personal arms depicted on a shield that and Crouch 1992, 220–40. covered the entire face of the seal could often say much more 8 See especially Crouch 2005, 124–55. 9 Bony 2002, 45 and fig. 169 where it is dated c. 1160; Round 1899, than a stylised military portrait and could also help to vol.1, 374, where dated somewhere between 1144 and 1151; Ailes distinguish cadet lines and father and son. Magnates, reluctant 1982, 60–1. to give up their warrior image, initially chose to use both types 10 Ibid., 26; Bony 2002, 26, fig. 65. of seal in tandem, countersealing their large equestrian seals 11 Bedos-Rezak 1993 V, 1–18 (10). 12 Bony 2002, 46, fig. 178; Demay 1873, no. 138. with a smaller armorial seal. During the course of the 13th 13 Demay 1873, no. 300; Bony 2002, 48, fig. 199. Raoul, Count of century many adopted double-sided seals with an equestrian Soissons also used an equestrian seal and armorial counterseal in obverse and an armorial reverse, the two-sides being of equal 1183 (Demay 1873, no. 302 and Demay 1875–7, no. 35). For further continental examples see Bedos-Rezak 1993, VII, 23–41 (27). dimensions. By the end of the Middle Ages, however, the 14 Round 1899, i. 380; Bony 2002 , 62, figs 277, 278; Ailes 1982, 61. armorial seal had virtually extinguished the equestrian seal Renauld de Dammartin, Count of Boulogne, in 1187 bore his portrait of the knight just as it had the standing portrait of paternal arms on his equestrian obverse but countersealed with women on their seals.34 The process had been gradual and the arms of his wife (Bony 2002, 62). 15 Ellis 1978–81, P 295 and 296; Birch 1887–1900, no. 5674; Douet haphazard and was achieved, as it were (with the use of the d’Arcq 1863–8, nos 10160 and 10161; Crouch 1986, 212; English 1979, armorial counterseal), by the back door. Within a century of its fig. 6; Cockayne 1910–59, i, 354 note c; Douet d’Arcq 1863–8, no. introduction heraldry had become the symbolic personification 932. For another late 12th-century seal and counterseal: William Count of Clermont, son of Dauphin, Count of Auvergne 1199 (Birch of its owner, a clear visible reminder of status, honour, feudal 1887–1900, no. 19413; Douet d’Arcq 1863–8, no. 383). For ties and family alliances. John Cherry has shown that by 1300 continental examples see Bony 2002, 62. the royal arms in England had come to represent not only the 16 Hunter Blair, 1943, 1–26. Hunter Blair sometimes dated his seals king but also the government machinery over which he too early into the late 12th century. 17 For what follows see Littledale and Hunter Blair 1922, 211–17. 35 presided and the nation over which he ruled. They were, Robert used two versions of his armorial seal. therefore, used to replace his equestrian and majesty portraits 18 Coss 1993, 43–4 and for much of what follows. on several departmental and deputed great seals. In 2000 it 19 Crouch 2005, 246–7. 20 Poole 1946, 56. was discovered that the double-sided Great Seal of the United 21 Seal depicted in English 1979, pl. 5. Kingdom, produced at the beginning of the present queen’s 22 Heslop 1991, 193–5; Ellis 1978–81, P 1053. reign, needed replacing. Its obverse and reverse, like virtually 23 Heslop 1991, 194–5; National Archives C109/86/52. For further every English Great Seal for almost a millennium, mirrored examples of the hesitancy of great lords in discarding their equestrian seal in favour of an armorial seal see Bedos-Rezak 1993, those of the Conqueror, namely the sovereign depicted on one VII, 28. side seated in majesty and on the other riding a horse. 24 Hunter Blair 1943, pl. VI (m) where it is incorrectly dated c. 1195; However, since Her Majesty now rarely rides in public and Birch 1887–1900, no. 14270; T.D. Tremlett and London 1967, 130. 25 See for example, the seals of Renaud de Dammartin Count of never in uniform, it was decided to replace her equestrian Boulogne in 1187 and Robert II Count of Dreux in 1188 (Bony 2002, image with something else, something equally, if not more, figs. 281 and 282). symbolic of her status and authority – not surprisingly her 26 Bedos-Rezak 1993, II, 721–36 (728). An early English version of this equestrian portrait was replaced by a depiction of the Royal differentiation may be seen in about 1200 when Richard de Lyons used an equestrian seal whilst his son sealed with a boar running Arms. to the right; the animal was not shown on a shield but the difference between seal of father and son was clearly shown (Ellis Notes 1978–81, P 499 and P 500). 1 For the seals of Edward the Confessor and William I see Bedos- 27 Farrer 1914–65, vii, 167; Cockayne 1910–55, xii (ii), 231; Coss 1983, Rezak 1993, IV:53–88; Bates 2004, 171–2; and Clanchy 1993, 109–50 (149); Loyd and Stenton 1950, 25. 310–12. The earliest English example is that of Count Stephen of 28 Equestrian seal c. 1195–1212 (Farrer 1914–65, vii, 173, 174 pl. 7; Aumale (1090s) though there may be earlier examples (Crouch Genealogist, new series xi, frontispiece). 1992, 242–3; English 1979, 16, pl. 2). 29 Farrer 1914–65, vii, 220; Collec.Top. et Gen. 1840, vi, 126–7. 2 Searle 1980, 214. As Crouch (1992, 138–9) points out, the militulus 30 Seal in Collect. Top et Gen. 1840, vi, 129; Farrer 1914–65, vii, 236 for mentioned in the chronicle, Gilbert de Bailleul, in fact answered Robert. We do not have the seal of his younger brother William for three knights’ service. (Baildon 1912–27, i, 550). Bony (2002, 83–4) notes that it was about 3 Wace (see Crouch 1992, 114–15) states that at Hastings (but 1230 that the heraldic seal replaced the equestrian, not only for referring to the practices of his own mid-12th century) the barons cadet branches but also for heads of families. carried gonfanons and the knights had pennons. For banners also 31 Ellis 1978–81, P 635 (where incorrectly dated to temp. Edward I) see Crouch 1992, 114–15. and P 634. 4 Bony 2002, 21–4. Cf. Heslop 1991, 186, where he dates use of the 32 Bony 2002, 83–4. sword on equestrian seals from the 1180s onwards. See also Bedos- 33 Bedos-Rezak 1993, I, 57. Rezak 1993, VI, 1–31 (15). 34 Ailes 2000, 218–34. 5 Waleran seal (c. 1139): Marks and Payne 1978, 16, and Bony 2002, 35 Cherry 1991, 123–34 (131–2). figs 40, 41; Geoffrey seal (c. 1170): ibid, figs 188 and 189. Cf the

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 11 Heads, Arms and Badges: Royal Representation on Seals John Cherry*

This survey will consider the representation of power that lies at the heart of the theme of this publication. It will concentrate on English kings, and will consider how their administrative power was represented through the use of heraldry, the portrayal of the king, and finally the use of inscriptions.1

The royal Great Seals and the appearance of the royal arms The first appearance of the equestrian figure in England is on the seal of William I. His Great Seal has an equestrian figure on

the front with a legend referring to him as the ruler of Figures 2 and 3 Golden bulla, reverse and obverse. Photo John Cherry Normandy, while on the back, as King of England, the King is shown crowned and seated in majesty. This double seal was of arms on the reverse of a seal also occurs in the reign of made from wax impressed between two matrices of equal size. Henry III on the remarkable golden bulla of Edmund In form, William was copying the Great Seal of Edward the Crouchback, Henry’s brother, which shows Edmund in majesty, Confessor, which shows the seated ruler on each side with two on the front as King of Sicily (which he was offered after the different inscriptions.2 deposition of the Emperor Frederick II in 1245) and the royal Edward the Confessor’s double seal showing the seated arms (undifferenced) on the back (Figs 2 and 3). It is most ruler may have been derived from the Ottonian emperors of likely to have been made in England in the 1250s.5 Such Germany, who used this motif from the late 10th century, or the heraldic display on seals may be French in origin.6 The French kings of France who used it from 1031. The double seal, with the great seals from Philippe Auguste (1180–1223) to Louis IX seated monarch on one side and an equestrian figure on the (1226–70) showed the king in majesty with a smaller other, continues in use until the first Great Seal of our present counterseal of fleur-de-lis. Louis IX provided a seal for the Queen. However, now the equestrian side has been replaced by regents in France when he departed on the last crusade in 1270. heraldry. In the early 13th century the equestrian seal was The front has a crown with three fleurs-de-lis, and the smaller popular for knights, some of whom used it with a smaller is a shield of many fleurs-de-lis – the ancient royal arms of counter seal, often armorial, and some greater barons also France. Therefore the sceau de régence is copying the Great Seal used a seal with the equestrian figure on the front and their in form but not in image.7 The royal arms were also used in shield of arms on the back. Notable examples are William of France for provincial administrative seals, such as the Warenne’s seal of 1202 and that of Gilbert of Clare of 1218.3 Seneschal of the Saintonge of 1273, where the form, although The double seal was used for the ‘deputed’ royal not the image, copies the Great Seal of the kings of France.8 The administrative seals but the royal arms appear on the reverse. royal arms were also used by Edward I on his seal for Scotland. The earliest surviving example of a ‘deputed’ seal for the king’s Scottish kings’ seals, from Alexander I (1107–24), are two- courts is that for the Exchequer of Edward I (Fig. 1). The style sided, with the seated king on the front and the equestrian king of the equestrian figure suggests that the matrix was originally on the back, similar to the English Great Seal. When Edward engraved for Henry III, possibly at the time of Exchequer ruled Scotland from 1296 to 1307, his seal for Scotland showed reforms of Peter de Rivaux of the 1230s. In the reign of Henry the King enthroned, and the arms of England on the back (Figs III the shield had replaced the majesty portrait on Henry’s 4, 5). This emphasised that Scotland was not a separate double-sided seal for Gascony. Here the use of the double-sided kingdom, but a deputed department of English government.9 seal with the arms on one side indicated overlordship.4 The use

Figure 1 Edward I Exchequer, obverse and reverse (diam. 75mm). Society of Figures 4 and 5 Edward I for Scotland, obverse and reverse (diam. 87mm). Antiquaries of London impression. Photo John Cherry Society of Antiquaries of London impression. Photo John Cherry

12 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Heads, Arms and Badges

Figure 6 The Customs seal for York, obverse and reverse (diam. 48mm). BM Figure 8 Lincoln Customs seal, Figure 9 Norwich Customs seal, impressions. Photo John Cherry obverse with parrot (diam. 48mm). obverse with castle (diam. 46.5mm). BM impressions. Photo John Cherry BM impressions. Photo John Cherry

The Customs seals III visited Paris in 1254, he dined with Louis IX in the great hall Although the Customs seals were instituted in 1275, most of the Old Temple, in which, according to Matthew Paris, were examples date from after 1302. hung up as many shields as the wall could hold.13 Continued The Customs seal for York has, on the front (Fig. 6), the use of arms is shown by the silver seal for the port of London royal arms in a shield with the inscription ‘Seal of Edward, (Fig. 11), curiously placed on a lozenge-shaped shield. Usually King of England, for York’ and on the back the same arms, assigned to the reign of Edward I, there are four swords, without shield, and the inscription ‘Seal of the ancient and new presumably referring to the sword of St Paul on the city arms.14 custom’. This seal, since it refers to both the ancient and new Although the Customs seals were initially double seals for use customs, probably dates from after 1303.10 The double-sided in a press, later they were single seals. This change is illustrated form (with two equal sides) reflects the Great Seal, but neither by Carmarthen (Fig. 10), among other places, in the early 14th the seated nor equestrian figure of the king is present. Customs century. A simple progression from double to single seals does seals rely purely on heraldry. In this they may have been not appear to fit with the seal matrix in the Victoria and Albert copying the use of arms by barons in the late 12th century, or, Museum which, if genuine, may be half of a double Customs more likely, adapting earlier use of the royal arms. The royal seal dating (from the heraldry) to the reign of Edward III.15 arms, (gules three lions passant gardant or) first appear in the reign of Richard I.11 The King’s head A sub-group of Customs seals for the delivery of wool and The seals for the recognition of debts or Statute Merchant seals hides have the same armorial arrangement as the double-sided show the bust of the King rather than heraldry. They started seal for York mentioned above. All are of bronze, in two pieces two years earlier than the Customs seals, with the Ordinances for use in a press. This group consists of six seals for of Acton Burnell in 1283. These provided that a creditor or Carmarthen (Fig. 7), Kings Lynn, Lincoln, Norwich, Shoreham debtor could appear before the mayors of London, York, or and Winchester.12 Although uniform in design, three towns are Bristol to acknowledge a debt and have it enrolled. The creditor differentiated by the use of different ‘supporters’ beside the was given the debtor’s bond which bore a special royal seal main shield. Lincoln has a hawk (Fig. 8), Norwich has an oak (kept by the mayor for this sole purpose) as well as the debtor’s tree above a three-towered castle (Fig. 9), and Winchester a seal. The Statute of Merchants of 1285 produced a revised wyvern. The later arms of Norwich certainly included a castle, scheme, in which instead of the three registries of Acton but the reasons behind the associations of the oak tree with Burnell, provided for the King to appoint a number of towns. Norwich, the hawk with Lincoln and the wyvern with There was also a change in the sealing arrangements. The Winchester are not clear. king’s seal was henceforth to be of two pieces, one kept by the The royal arms were widely used in the reign of Henry III. mayor and the other by the clerk. (It is thought that there had They were painted on shutters at the Tower of London in the been some sort of scandal.)16 1240s. The use of shields to decorate the nave of Westminster Edward I is represented on the seals of seven towns, which Abbey may have been derived from the use of the French royal received seals during his reign. The Ordinances of Edward II in arms in a similar decorative scheme by Louis IX. When Henry 1311 attempted to confine the administration of the Statute

Figure 7 Carmarthen wool and hides, obverse and reverse (diam. 47mm). BM Figure 10 Carmarthen Customs seal Figure 11 Port of London (diam. impressions. Photo John Cherry (diam. 32.5mm). BM impressions. 51mm). BM impressions. Photo John Photo John Cherry Cherry

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 13 Cherry

Figure 12 Statute Merchant seal York Figure 15 Seal of the Great (diam. 44mm). Society of Antiquaries Wardrobe. Photo of seal in The of London impression. Photo John National Archives. Photo John Cherry Cherry

Merchant to 12 towns. The sealing of the Statute Merchant Henry of Leicester, to whom the Lord the King committed the documents on both sides of the wax differed from the double merchant’s seal. seals of the Customs, where the two matrices were of equal The seal was sent in a box. This suggests that both the king’s size. Here the King’s seal was the larger, and the clerk’s seal seal and the clerk’s seal were produced in London, despatched acted as a smaller counter seal. The iconography is very to the place of use and received and initiated with some uniform. The head and shoulders of the King are shown, ceremony.20 usually, but not always, flanked by castles. The seal for York There is greater local reference in later seals, where Statute (Fig. 12) is of the standard type, though this matrix has the Merchant status was granted in the reign of Edward III, such as unusual feature that one of the castles could be removed and to Salisbury, with the spire, and Hull, with a large single- replaced, presumably with another design, though with what is masted ship. Those without castles on each side of the King’s uncertain.17 head but with other symbols include Coventry (rose), The use of the head as a symbol may recall the seated king Gloucester (horseshoes) and Preston (crescent and star).21 in majesty. The use of the head alone goes back to the Towns added later included Wigan, which received a charter in Merovingians, who preferred a frontal pose, and to the 1350. The bust in the Wigan seal is bearded and presumably Carolingians who preferred a profile deriving from the use of represents Edward III. However in 1351 when the Salisbury seal the portrait on Greek and Roman coins. The iconography of the was granted, the older pattern with the beardless head was head in the Middle Ages needs further work. There are clearly used.22 The Statute Merchant type occurs on the seal of the different strands: the use of the bust as on head reliquaries Receipt of the Exchequer (Fig. 14), dating from the second half such as St Thomas; the use of the classically derived profile of the 14th century, if not later. There must have been earlier bust as on the coins of Frederick II; the use of the profile head seals of the receipt, and the similarity of image to the Statute on cameos.18 Here we have a full-frontal bust. The second point Merchant presumably derives from their both being related to is the variation within the design. The bust of the king is very debts.23 Keys also occur on the seal of the Great Wardrobe of uniform. Usually there are two castles, one at each side, and 1313 (Fig. 15).24 The King’s head appears on the subsidy for the lion on the front of the bust. It has been said that the triple cloth seals. The comparison between the subsidy seal (for an tower is derived from the arms of Castile or of Eleanor of unspecified area) (Fig. 16), and the seal for Southampton, Castile, but there is no reason why the Queen’s arms should (Fig. 17), with a crowned head and on each side of the head a appear here. The seal for Gloucester (Fig. 13) varies the theme feather with a label across it, is instructive. The first is closer to by replacing the castles by horseshoes and nails, presumably the coin types of the long cross pennies of Edward I started in referring to the iron-working of the Forest of Dean. 1279, and may have been engraved by a goldsmith who was Southampton is unique in that it reverses the lion and castles.19 working for the mint in London. A recent find of a similar Interesting information is given about the supply of the Statute matrix at Edwinstowe (Nottinghamshire), may belong to the Merchant seal to a fair in 1287, where ‘ same group.25 The Southampton seal is cruder in execution and there were elected two men of London to whom, in full court, was design. It may have been produced locally, or, if it was delivered one of the two seals sent to the Keepers of the fair engraved in London, indicates that the goldsmiths were enclosed under the seal of the Lord the King and opened in the capable of less good work.26 presence of the merchants; and the other seal was delivered to one

Figure 13 Statute Merchant seal Figure 14 Exchequer receipt for Figure 16 Subsidy on cloth (diam. Figure 17 Subsidy on cloth (diam. Gloucester (diam. 52mm). Society of weights and measures (diam. 29mm). 29mm). BM impressions. Photo John 28mm). BM impressions. Photo John Antiquaries of London impression. Society of Antiquaries of London Cherry Cherry Photo John Cherry impression. Photo John Cherry

14 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Heads, Arms and Badges

Figure 18 Wiltshire cloth Figure 19 Mayoralty of the subsidy (diam. 30mm). BM Staple for Westminster (diam. impression. Photo John Cherry 53mm). BM impression. Photo John Cherry

Aulnagers were officials who marked the measure and Staple seals quality of cloth. Seals exist both for the office of the Aulnager The Staple seals have considerable variety. The seven Staple and for the Subsidy on cloth. Apart from the King’s head, the towns were established by the Act of 1353, which ordered that Aulnage and Subsidy seals show a much greater variety of the seal of the Mayor be affixed to each sack and sarpler of imagery. They use the crown and fleur-de-lis, lion’s head, and wool coming to the Staple.35 The seals for the office of the heraldry alone. The reason for this variety (chronological or Staple of Southampton and the earliest seal for the Mayor of local) is not clear. It may be that the King’s head alone is the the Wool Staple at Westminster both have lion’s heads with earliest and the later combinations of the leopard’s head and fleur-de-lis around. While the seal of the Mayor of the Bristol the fleur-de-lis date to the reign of Edward III. The use of the Staple (leopard’s head with fleurs-de-lis) reflects those of fleur-de-lis relates to post-1340 quartering of the royal arms, Southampton and Westminster, other staples and their mayors well shown on the London wool Subsidy seal, which has the show different images. The Ipswich Staple had two different royal arms with France ancient, above which is a head and seals, one with the lamb in a boat and the other with lion with sword (St Paul). This must date from 1340–1405, although it is a an arrow through its neck, while the later seal of the Office of unique survival.27 The royal arms appears later in the Subsidy the Mayor of the Westminster Staple (Fig. 19), which dates to series with the Salisbury seal for the Subsidy (Fig. 18), which 1393, has crossed keys with woolsack, a characteristic feature belongs to a reorganisation of the late 15th century. The rose of the Staple seals. The seal of the Staple of Lincoln shows a and sun on each side of the royal arms indicate a date between combination of lions affronted over a fleur-de-lis and a 1461 and 1485.28 woolsack underneath.36

The Crown Inscriptions The crown was used on St Louis’s seal (see above). The crown Inscriptions indicating their area rather than heraldic images was a royal badge of Edward III, and continued to be used as a distinguish the series of seals for Labourer’s Passes, which were badge by Richard II.29 Seals for the Subsidy, indicating the area, for the sealing of passes to enable travelling workers to show exist for Kent, which has a crown over a fleur-de-lis, and that they were not vagrants. Their design is indicated by the Lincolnshire with a crown alone.30 Subsidy seals were Statute of Cambridge of September 1388. ‘Around the said seal manufactured by Peter de Hiltoft, ‘a king’s engraver residing there shall be written the name of the County and across the within the Tower of London’ who was paid £5 ‘for the said seal the name of the Hundred, rape, wapentake, city or workmanship and engraving of 16 brass seals, with crowns and borough.37 Only 15 (with Norwich) seal matrices of this group letters engraved around them for the sealing of cloth sold, exist, out of many hundreds, rapes, wapentakes, cities and deposited in the county of Essex’, and other seals.31 Subsidy boroughs.38 seals therefore have an interesting variety of images from the Fourteen keep to the formula set out by the Act. These have king’s head, to the crown, to the royal arms. the inscription alone. The standard of engraving varies. The best have the crown above the inscription. There are four of Lion’s head with fleur-de-lis this type (South Erpyngham, Norfolk; Wangford, Suffolk (Fig. The lion’s head with the fleur-de-lis, placed either beneath or at 20); South Greenhoe, Norfolk; Lothingland, Suffolk).39 One the side forms another type, in the series of subsidy seals. For the Aulnager, there is a seal for Dorset, with a lion’s head. The seals for Winchester, and Kent, showing a lion’s head with a fleur-de-lis beneath, repeat this. The same combination occurs on the Staple seal for Southampton, as well as the seal of the Mayor of the Staple for Westminster for the Statute of Merchants.32 Caroline Shenton has analysed Edward’s III use of leopard imagery, and his possession of actual leopards.33 By 1340 leopards were part of the Great Seal and in 1344 a newly minted coin was referred to as the leopard. Adrian Ailes has shown that Edward III used the French lilies with great Figure 20 Statute of Cambridge Figure 21 West Flegg Norfolk (diam. Wangford (diam. 27mm). Society of 37mm). Society of Antiquaries of 34 enthusiasm in the 1340s on both coins and documents. Antiquaries of London impression. London impression. Photo John Photo John Cherry Cherry

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 15 Cherry seal matrix is a freak – the seal for West Flegg in Norfolk (Fig. drapery on the mounted figure compared with Wyon 1887, pl. VII, 21), which is hexagonal in shape, and does not have the name no. 444. For the Gascon seal of Henry III, see Jenkinson 1936, pl. lxxxix and pl. lxxxix (1, 2). For Gascony see also Vale 1970, 70–1, 107–8. across it but rather a cross. Here the designer took the name of 5 BM OA 3017. Pegge 1786, 190–4. the hundred and the county into the marginal inscription.40 6 Beaune 1991, 203 provides an excellent survey of the origin and use The use of an inscription rather than a symbol such as a crown of the French royal arms. 7 Dalas 1991. or heraldry may have been borrowed from France. For 8 Douet d’Arcq 1863, no. 4696. instance, in France the seals of the farmers of the tax on wine in 9 Jenkinson 1936, 319–24, pl. xcv (1, 2). 1377 adopted the legend in two lines ‘Le treizième du vin de 10 Tonnochy cat. no. 44; BM Seals 1166. This must be the new custom Rouen’.41 Delay occurred in carrying out the intentions of the and after 1302 (BM Seals nos 1159 to 1165). 11 Ailes 1982. Statute. A writ was sent to the sheriff of Wiltshire on 10 March 12 For the Customs system see Gras 1918 and Tonnochy cat. nos 37–42. 1391 to tell him to provide the appropriate seals. This indicates 13 Cherry 1991, 123–34. that while the design was centrally determined, and indeed 14 Tonnochy cat. no. 34, BM Seals no. 1157, cf. TNA SC13/F163. 15 V&A 1097–1905. specified by an Act of Parliament, the actual provision of the 16 Perceval 1876–8, 107–19; Perceval 1881–83, 253–61; Hope 1893–95, matrices was the responsibility of the local sheriff.42 61–7; Bretton 1962–63, 203–5. Blair 1918, 60. There is a list of the Statute Merchant matrices in Jewitt and Hope 1895, p. ci. See also Conclusion McNall 2002, 68–88. 17 BM Seals no. 1090. Jewitt and Hope 1895, 2, 467. Whatever may have been their origin, the design of the seal for 18 For the symbolism of the representation of heads, see Gardner Labourers Passes was worked out before the Act was passed. It 2003, 141–52 and Wentzel 1953, 342–50. was the responsibility of the sheriff to provide the seals. This 19 Gloucester: BM Seals no. 1073; Southampton: Jewitt and Hope 1895, 264 and BM Seals no.1088. contrasts with the Customs and Statute Merchant seals earlier, 20 Bland, Brown, and Tawney 1919, 162. where it is doubtful if any design was laid down in an Act, and 21 Coventry: BM Seals no. 1071: Gloucester: BM Seals no.1073. the seals were provided centrally, probably by engravers 22 BM Seals no. 1087. The seal of the cocket (indicating that customs working for the Mint. duty has been paid) for the Duchy of Cornwall also shows a bearded king (possibly Edward III). Few clerks’ seals exist but, The form of the Customs seals, using the double seal in a where they do, there is usually a reference to local imagery. The press, follows the development of the deputed royal seals such clerk’s seal for London (BM Seals no. 1080) has St Paul, York (BM as that for the Exchequer and stems from the Great Seal. The Seals no. 1090) has St Peter, while that for Oxford has the ox emerging from the castle (BM Seals no. 1086). double seal was found to be unsatisfactory and later 23 Archaeologia 8 (1787), 427–8. administrative seals were single seals, while the double seal 24 The Nnational Archive, e43/559 continued in use for major courts such as the Exchequer, Kings 25 Tonnochy cat. no. 32; Southampton appears to have two seals see Bench, Common Pleas, and others. PSA, First series, 1 (1859–61), 228; Edwinstowe (SK 632671) was found in 1991 and reported to the City of Sheffield Museums; for The 1280s were a major period of administrative and legal another see Linenthal and Noel, 2004, no. 25 also Northampton: reform. It may be that Robert Burnell, Chancellor and Bishop of BM Seals no. 1060. Bath and Wells, had some influence in the new Customs and 26 Tonnochy cat. no. 32. 27 Bronze matrix, Rye 1909, 96, no. 905. For the aulnage seals see Statute Merchant seals. As for the images, the representation of Egan 1991, 31–6. the King by the royal arms was the flavour of the late 13th 28 BM Seals no.1062. This matrix was first published in the century. While the Great Seal continued to present the King Gentleman’s Magazine, London 1787, June, pl. 2, fig. 6 (between pp. seated in judgement and as an equestrian leader, these images 512–13). It was given to the British Museum by A.W. Franks in 1851 (Archaeologia 8 (1787), 450 and 427, pl. xxx, fig. 7). were avoided for lesser seals. The Statute Merchant seals are 29 Tout 1920–33, vol. 5, 203, pl. iv. very uniform. An attempt to give a local flavour to both series 30 Kent: Tonnochy cat. no. 30; Lincolnshire: Tonnochy cat. no. 31 . increased in the reign of Edward III, but it had little effect. Why 31 Kingsford 1940, 155–180. and how this happened in some cases, and not others, is 32 Winchester: Tonnochy cat. no. 52; Westminster: BM no. 1095. 33 Shenton 2002, 69–81. unclear. The reign of Edward III saw a much greater diversity of 34 Ailes 2002, 83–104, especially 91. imagery. The subsidy and Staple seals show a considerable 35 For the historical background to the Staple see Lloyd 2005. variety – the crown, fleur-de-lis, and the lion’s head. However, 36 Tonnochy cat. no. 36. 37 ‘All servants and labourers at the end of their term of service had to the 16 seals for Essex were all provided centrally from London, bear a letter patent indicating the cause of his going and the time of showing that central provision still applied, at least in counties his return under the king’s seal which shall be delivered to the nearest to London. The seals for Labourer’s Passes with their keeping of some good man of the hundred, rape, wapentake, city or repetitive form and inscriptions, are the forerunners of dull borough, and that around the said seal there shall be written the name of the County and across the said seal the name of the administrative seals of later years, and a long way from the Hundred, rape, wapentake, city or borough’, Statutes of the Realm, inventiveness of the administrative seals of the late 13th and vol. ii, 55–60. early 14th centuries. 38 Way 1850, 106; Archaeological Journal 10 (1853), 31; Archaeological Journal 11 (1854), 378–9. 39 Tonnochy cat. no. 176; Tonnochy cat. no. 191; Ashley and Rogerson Notes 1998, 180–1; Norwich Museum 911. A recent additional find was the 1 In the preparation of this paper I am grateful to Adrian Ailes of The matrix for Forehoe, Norfolk, at Albrighton, in Shropshire National Archives for help and advice. His forthcoming paper in (Rogerson and Ashley 2002, 133). Harlaxton Medieval Studies for 2006, provides another view of the 40 Norfolk Archaeology, 1, 1847, 368; BM Seals, pl. XVI, no. 2. same subject. 41 ‘En 1377, les fermiers de l’impöt prélevé à Rouen sur le treizième du 2 For William’s seal see Bishop and Chaplais 1957, xix–xxiii, pls xiv, vin, avaient adopté comme type la légende: Le treizième du vin de xxiv, xxv, xxviii, xxix. For the seated king see Bedos-Rezak 1993, Rouen écrite en deux lignes tranversales sur un champ fleurdelisé’ 53–88. The original article was published in Rosenthal (ed.) 1986. (Roman 1912, 148). 3 BM Seals, nos 6524 and 5834. 42 Walford and Way 1854, 380 4 For the Exchequer seal see Jenkinson 1936, 293–340. Note the

16 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Queens and Powerful Women: Image and Authority Elizabeth Danbury

By the end of Monday 24 June 1314, the English army of Edward Figure 1 Seal of Queen II had been annihilated by the forces of King Robert the Bruce Matilda, first wife of Henry I (80 x 56mm). of Scotland at the Battle of Bannockburn. Among the many Society of Antiquaries crushing blows suffered by the English was one small but of London, seal cast case 1. significant loss. Edward II’s Privy Seal was captured, along with the clerks responsible for it, and a considerable number of records and books relating to the royal administration.1 On 27 June 1314, Edward II addressed letters close to the English sheriffs, warning them not to execute any orders under his captured Privy Seal. These letters, with others sent out during the following month, were all sealed and authenticated with the Privy Seal of Edward’s French wife, Queen Isabella.2 Sealing with another’s seal in the Middle Ages was by no means unknown, even for kings. In 1335 and 1336, Edward III issued letters under the seal of William de Montagu (created Earl of Salisbury in 1337), because, as the King explained on the second occasion, he did not have his seal with him.3 However, sealing royal administrative documents with the Queen’s seal was very unusual indeed. The fact that this was done in June England: important and influential though these could be, and July 1314 demonstrates the authority attributed to the there is no space here to investigate such women who became queen’s seal at this military and political crisis. members of religious communities. Relatively little work has as yet been undertaken on the The earliest surviving seals of women in post-conquest subject of women’s seals in England in the Middle Ages: indeed, England9date from the 12th century and are almost all in the women’s seals have warranted only brief mentions in textbooks shape of a pointed oval known as a ‘vesica’. The earliest on sigillography.4 England still lacks the equivalent of a corpus example known is the seal of Queen Matilda (d. 1118), the first of work such as that of Brigitte Bedos-Rezak, whose important wife of King Henry I. Her seal (Fig. 1) on an undated grant of research on social and quantitative sigillography in France has the church of Carham (Northumberland) to the monks of added so much to our knowledge of the subject.5 One of the Durham, shows her standing, crowned, sceptre in her right main reasons for the lack of scholarly research on women’s hand and orb in her left.10 The design of Matilda’s seal is similar seals in England is the fact that seals of all women, royal, to that of Henry I’s sister, Cecilia, Abbess of Caen, and both may aristocratic and non-noble, were far less common than those of be based on a now lost common prototype, possibly the seal of men, and those seals which existed were less frequently used. William the Conqueror’s wife, Matilda of Flanders (d. 1083), With certain notable exceptions, women had far less power and the mother of both Cecilia and of Henry I. The legend of owned less land than men and therefore had less reason to use Matilda of Scotland’s seal is: sigillum mathildis secundae dei seals. A recent study on Queen Eleanor of Castile (1241–90), the gracia reginae anglie. The reference to her as ‘Matilda the first queen of Edward I, identifies 44 ‘surviving acts’ of Eleanor, second’ may well have been devised to distinguish her from her but fewer than 10 of these are likely to have been sealed with namesake and mother-in-law. the Queen’s seal.6 These are tiny numbers compared to The ‘vesica’ (pointed oval or ogival) shape was not only surviving examples of documents authenticated with her used for women’s seals, but for those of bishops, corporate husband’s seals. Mary de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke (c. ecclesiastical bodies including priories, and by some laymen, 1304–77), founder of Denny Abbey and Pembroke College, including merchants. Corporate bodies and laymen also used Cambridge, created many records in her own lifetime: the early round seals; however, for women in the 12th and 13th centuries, muniments of Pembroke College were even kept ‘en la garde round seals are relatively rare. Susan Johns’ survey of the madame’, but very few of these original records are now surviving seals of 12th-century Anglo-Norman noblewomen extant.7 However, in spite of the relatively small numbers of revealed only 13% of the seals to be round: all the rest are surviving examples of women’s seals, their importance as vesica or oval in shape.11 It is argued that the vesica shape was indicators of wealth, power and authority as well as their socio- used because it is much the best for displaying the standing cultural significance is underlined in recent important studies figure, as women (and some senior clerics, including bishops) on the Anglo-Norman aristocracy and on women’s seals in The were usually portrayed: whether there may have been other National Archives.8 This short paper will study some aspects of reasons for the use of the vesica shape for women’s seals is not the seals of secular royal and noble women in medieval clear.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 17 Danbury

Figure 2 Seal of was realising the image of the queen as intercessor and Empress Matilda, peacemaker: by her actions in obtaining grace from Edward III Lady of the English, daughter for the six burghers of Calais in 1347, Philippa of Hainault was of Henry I (diam. doing the same.19 63mm). Society of Antiquaries of Apart from the sceptre in her right hand, the representation London, seal cast of the Queen on the obverse of the Great Seals of Eleanor of case A3. Castile, Margaret of France and Isabella of France (1295–1358), the consort of Edward II, shows the Queen holding cords on her breast20 Francois Garnier has argued that this pose of hand on breast – hand on heart – denotes sincerity, acceptance and ‘intériorité’, which may be translated as connection with the soul, as opposed to the body, to all of which one might add humility, a vital quality of true noble and royal nature.21 This representation of the queen consort – standing, full-length, crowned, sceptre in right hand and left hand holding cords on The employment of a round seal, such as that of Matilda the the breast – may have been based on French models, as the seal Empress, the only surviving legitimate child of Henry I, is of Blanche of Castile (1188–1252), queen of Louis VIII and exceptional (Fig. 2). This Matilda (1102–67), married as her mother of Louis IX (St Louis), as well as the seals of later French first husband the future Emperor Henry V and as her second, queens, have this design.22 The pose itself was not limited to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, by whom she was the mother of King one artistic medium, or indeed to the 13th and 14th centuries. It Henry II of England. Her seal has several unusual features: its may be found in sepulchral effigies, sculpture and manuscript round shape, the representation of Matilda, and the legend. illumination, including William Torel’s effigy of Eleanor of Her seal shows Matilda both seated and crowned, holding a Castile in Westminster Abbey; one of the surviving statues of sceptre. An enthroned, crowned woman on seals after 1100 in the ‘Eleanor crosses’, namely Alexander of Abingdon’s statue of England, as in France, almost invariably represented not an Queen Eleanor on the Waltham Cross; on the initial letter of a earthly sovereign, but the Virgin Mary.12 The image on charter of 18 November 1347 from Edward III to the Queen’s Matilda’s seal is rare in the extreme in English usage, although College, Oxford and on the initial letter of letters patent of 7 wives of later Holy Roman Emperors employed round seals. 13 July 1413 to Colchester, portraying the Empress Helena, mother The legend of Matilda’s seal reads: + mathildis dei gratia of the Emperor Constantine: this last serving to emphasise the romanorum regina, a title she used until the end of her life. It links between queens on earth and saints in heaven.23 does not reproduce Matilda’s style and title, as written on The impact that images and decoration on seals had on surviving documents which postdate the death of the Emperor other artistic forms is well illustrated in the initial letter ‘E’ in a Henry V in 1125, but are authenticated by her seal.14 Her style and title on all save two of her surviving Anglo-Norman charters are ‘M(atildis) imperatrix regis Henrici filia’ with the addition, after 7 or 8 April 1141, of the words ‘et Anglorum Domina’.15 Matilda is portrayed on her seal crowned and holding a sceptre. The use of a sceptre to denote majesty – both of Mary in heaven and rulers on earth – was common in medieval art. In the 13th and 14th centuries, queens consort in England were frequently portrayed standing and holding a sceptre, as in the Great Seals of Eleanor of Castile, first wife of Edward I and of Margaret of France (1279–1318), Edward’s second wife (Fig. 3).16 The sceptre was frequently represented as ending in leaves or a stylised fleur-de-lis. It has been convincingly argued that the flowering rod emphasises the queen’s role as intercessor to the king, petitioning him to exercise the royal prerogatives of mercy, grace and generosity. Richard of St Laurence, wrote that the Virgin, who is often shown holding a floriated sceptre or rod, is herself the rod, mediating between humanity at the base and her Son, the flower at the top.17 There is no doubt that successive queens did act as intercessors for wrongdoers or petitioners to secure for them royal clemency and grace. On her coronation day in 1236, Eleanor of Provence obtained a grant of pardon from Henry III for a man found guilty of the crime of trespass in a royal forest: similar successful intercessions were recorded at later coronations.18 By acting as mediator to restore peace between her husband, Edward II, Figure 3 Obverse of the Great Seal of Queen Margaret, second wife of Edward I and his cousin, the Earl of Lancaster in 1318, Isabella of France (85 x 55mm). Society of Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A1.

18 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Queens and Powerful Women charter of 18 November 1347 from Edward III in favour of Queen’s Hall (now The Queen’s College) Oxford, founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield, clerk to Edward III’s queen, Philippa of Hainault (1310?–69) and named in her honour.24 As the charter was granted at Philippa’s petition and to a foundation so closely associated with her, it is hardly surprising that the decoration features the Queen, portrayed in the traditional pose on the obverse of the Queen’s Great Seal, standing, sceptre in her right hand, left hand on her breast, with the heraldic arms of her husband, herself and her clerk to either side and beneath her feet, underlining her intervention as mediator with the King in a good cause. The fact that her intervention took the form of patronage of learning should not be overlooked, for this was exercised at a time when great ladies were founding colleges in Cambridge and Oxford – Balliol College Oxford (1282), Pembroke College Cambridge (1347) and Clare College Cambridge (1326), for example. The Figure 5 Obverse of the Great Seal of Figure 6 Counterseal of the Great Seal Queen Eleanor (of Castile), first wife of Queen Eleanor (of Castile), first seal and the illumination clearly show that image and not of Edward I (8.0 x 5.6mm). The wife of Edward I (8.0 x 5.6mm). The reality was the artist’s aim and there is no question but that he National Archives of the UK, TNA DL National Archives of the UK, TNA DL 27/196. 27/196. took his inspiration from the seal design. Philippa’s tomb effigy and descriptions of her during her lifetime, tell us that she was Heraldry entered into the queen’s seals in England towards dark, short – indeed on the dumpy side – yet the illumination the middle of the 13th century. It both mirrored and influenced shows a tall, blonde and willowy figure. A tall slim figure fits fashion and art. At first, on royal seals, it was only found on the best into the vertical axis of the vesica shape, so tall and slim counterseal of the queen’s Great Seal, as in the two Great Seals Philippa became, and she was also given the blonde hair which Eleanor of Provence used as Queen of England, before associated with the fashionable literary heroines of the day. A and after her husband Henry III renounced his titles as Duke of full-length image of Queen Philippa, surrounded with the Normandy and Count of Anjou in 1259.26 On counterseals of heraldic arms of herself, her husband and the new foundation both Great Seals, a shield with three lions passant guardant also was also adopted for use in the first seal of The Queen’s (the arms of her husband Henry III) hangs by a strap from a College (Fig. 4): in this seal she is shown standing, crowned, three-branched tree. The design of the Great Seal of Eleanor’s with a sceptre in her left hand and her right hand slightly namesake and daughter-in-law, Eleanor of Castile, is very raised, as if in blessing.25 similar to that of her mother in law, but two castles and two lions (for Castile and Leon) are added to the field on the obverse (Figs 5,6).27 Indeed, the quartered arms of Eleanor of Castile may have popularised a new fashion in England, since quartering was rare before the reign of Edward I. However, significant although the introduction of heraldry into the seals of queens consort in England undoubtedly was, armorials designs had figured in the seals of English noblewomen since the mid-12th century. Both Rohese de Clare and her daughter, Alice de Gant, used seals featuring the chevrons of the family of Clare, while the earliest extant English seal depicting a standing noblewoman with her heraldic arms is that of Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Winchester (d. 1235).28 The design of some English noblewomen’s seals parallel developments in the queens’ seals, for in the 13th century Ela de Longspée (on a seal dating before 1242), Agnes de Vesci (on a seal dating to c. 1254) and Devorguilla de Balliol (on a seal dating to 1284) are all represented as standing figures on the obverse of their vesica- shaped seals, with shields of their arms on the reverse.29 Moreover, the shields of the arms of Agnes de Vesci and Devorguilla de Balliol are suspended from the branches of trees. The obverse of the Great Seal of Margaret of France (d. 1318), the second wife of Edward I, shows the Queen in a gown decorated with her husband’s heraldic arms, standing between two shields of the arms of France and Brabant, while on the reverse, a shield with the arms of England hangs from a three- 30 Figure 4 Obverse of the Great Seal of Queen Philippa, wife of Edward III (80 x branched tree on a field powdered with fleurs-de-lis. The 50mm). Society of Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A1. case A1. Queen’s seal shows parallels with those of English aristocratic

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 19 Danbury

women’s seals from the mid-13th century and supporters from the 15th century. Supporters were usually animals or birds, real or imaginary, which had a family or personal connection to the owner or user of the seal. Beatrice Ros favoured greyhounds, which, chained and collared, are shown supporting her seal.34 So important did heraldry become that, after the end of the 14th century, great ladies were not usually represented in their seals other than through their coats of arms, together with crowns, coronets and supporters to indicate their status and importance. Thus, the seals of Katherine of Valois, wife of Henry V and Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, feature a shield of arms surmounted by a crown, with supporters on either side, and not a representation of a crowned female figure (Fig. 7).35 The addition of supporters to both sides of the shields of arms in the 15th century meant that, in order to accommodate this extra decoration, the Great Seals of queens and the seals of noblewomen changed from vesica shape to round. Other than with royal, heraldic or other symbols of status, Figure 7 Great Seal of Queen Elizabeth (Woodville), wife of Edward IV (diam. great ladies in the 12th and 13th centuries might be portrayed 91mm). Society of Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A1 in their seals as indulging in the aristocratic pursuit of ladies of the late 13th and early 14th centuries, whose seals hawking. The poor could not afford hawks, and in any case depict them either with shields of arms, or wearing gowns were prevented by law from owning them, so hawking was richly decorated with family coats of arms. 31 reserved for the aristocracy. As Bedos-Rezak has observed, Heraldry, which emphasised family links, marriage images of hawking were rarely found on men’s seals, but were alliances and social aspirations and achievements began to important on women’s.36 The seal of Isabella of Angoulême, play an increasingly dominant role in the seals of royalty and second wife of King John (d. 1246) shows the Queen crowned, nobility alike during the 13th and 14th centuries.32 Noble ladies holding a flower in her right hand and a hawk on her left hand could have the heraldic arms in the seals laid out to illustrate (Fig. 8); the seal of one of Edward I’s daughters, Elizabeth (d. their lineage and their marriage alliances. Eleanor Mauduit 1316) as Countess of Holland, represents her as carrying a hawk placed four shields grouped in a circle on her seal, to record her on her left hand (Fig. 9); the obverse of the seal of Ela de parentage and her three marriages, while Margaret, lady Longespée, Countess of Warwick (d. 1298) shows the countess Badlesmere, by heraldic marshalling on her seal, recorded the bareheaded, hair unbound, holding a hawk on her left hand.37 arms of her father, mother and both her husbands.33 Shields of Some saw the association of women with hawking as not arms could be displayed singly, dimidiated, impaled, grouped entirely flattering. Bedos-Rezak quotes the 12th-century or quartered. In addition, heraldic badges were added to scholar, John of Salisbury, who claimed: ‘women were better at

Figure 8 Seal of Queen Isabella (of Angoulême), second wife of King John Figure 9 Seal of Elizabeth, daughter of Edward I, successively Countess of (93 x 62mm). Society of Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A1. Holland and of Hereford and Essex (71 x 49mm). Society of Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A4.

20 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Queens and Powerful Women

this is the seal of the queen as regent. This was very different from the situation elsewhere in Europe.44 For example, in 1374, Charles V of France made arrangements for the government of France in the event of his death. He declared that his wife, Jeanne de Bourbon, was to have guardianship of their children until they reached the age of 14, because: ‘a mother loves her children more tenderly and has a gentler and more feeling heart to look after them carefully than any other person, however closely related to them’.45 Other French queens had even greater powers. Just before his death in 1226, Louis VIII granted the government of France and the tutelage of the young King, Louis IX (St Louis) to his Queen, Blanche of Castile.46 Her political influence during her son’s minority and her personal authority over him are apparent, not so much from administrative records and historical texts, but from the narrative sources and from manuscript illuminations, which Figure 10 Seal of Isabel, Countess of Bedford, daughter of Edward III (34 x show her advising Louis in matters of state and directing his 40mm). The National Archives of the UK, TNA E43/507 education.47 Queen Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of Charles VII of hawking than men, because the worst people were always the France, used a seal showing her as regent of France between most predatory’.38 However, the image of a great lady as master 1417 and 1418.48 of the hunt could also be seen as symbolic of her power and In contrast to this, no woman was regent in England authority. A recent study of the images of Mary of Burgundy (d. between 1253–4, when Eleanor of Provence acted as regent 1482), wife of Emperor Maximilian I, has argued that the falcon (together with her brother-in-law Richard Earl of Cornwall) carried by her was a visual representation of her status and and 1513, when Catherine of Aragon was regent in the absence power and was, indeed, on their joint seal, a parallel symbol of of Henry VIII.49 Neither Isabella of Angoulême nor Katharine de sovereignty to her husband’s sword: ‘Mary’s primary position Valois was permitted to act as regent for her young son and as ruler of Flanders is expressed by the hawk she holds on her Margaret of Anjou attempted in vain to claim the regency in gloved hand’.39 1454.50 It is not altogether clear why queens were never regents Very occasionally, a great lady might emphasise her status in medieval England, though one cause may rest with the and importance by employing a classical gem in her seal. The English common law. Developments during the course of the use of classical gems seems to have been restricted to women of 13th century resulted in married women being seen as the highest birth and associations. Isabella, Countess of possessing very few rights in marital property or money: such Gloucester and Essex (c. 1100–1217), first wife of King John, was rights were almost entirely reserved to their husbands. It has a generous patron of Margam Abbey, which had been founded been argued that, by about 1300, there were ‘no limitations to by her grandfather Robert, first Earl of Gloucester. 40 Her seal the husbands rights over his wife’s chattels… the common law has, on the obverse (which is vesica shaped), a representation has definitely decided that marriage makes the wife’s chattels of the Countess, standing, wearing a gown with long trailing absolutely the property of her husband’.51 As a married woman sleeves, holding in her right hand a flower and in her left a had no property, she could make no contracts on her own hawk. The legend on the obverse is: + sigillvm isabel account and her ability for independent action was severely comitisse gloecestrie et moretvn. The counterseal is an oval circumscribed. The standard view of the wife’s legal position classical gem, 25mm x 27mm, showing an imperial bust being under the common law in the 1290s was given voice by John de crowned by two winged figures of Victory (Nike) with, below, Mettingham, the Chief Justice of the Common Bench at an eagle between two standards. The legend on the Westminster, who stated: ‘I believe the husband has control counterseal is: + ego svm aqvila custos domine mee (I am and mastery at the table and in all his orders’ (‘jeo quid qe le the eagle and guardian of my lady).41 Isabella, one of the baroun ad principalte e la mestrie en table e par tut ces daughters and co-heiresses of William, second Earl of comandemenz’), while in an even more extreme statement of Gloucester (d. 1183), seems to have inherited and adopted the the standard view, a lawyer in 1289 commented that a wife was antique seal he used as a counterseal, for it is identical to hers, barred from acting in a particular case because, as a married the only difference being in the legend, which, when used by woman, her situation was ‘if she is in prison’ (‘Sy pur coe non the Earl, reads: + aqvila svm et cvstos comitis (I am the claym en dreyn fusom barre a touz jours la femme serreyt eagle and guardian of the Earl).42 Another example of the barre e coe serreyt duresse desy com ele est en prison’).52 practice of the use of classical gems by great ladies is the seal Widows had far more rights than married women (for used by Isabel Plantagenet, Countess of Bedford (1322–82) which reason, many wealthy widows refused to remarry) but eldest daughter of Edward III (Fig. 10). The fine gem at the even so, these rights could be limited: for example, the centre of the seal depicts a naked woman riding upon a sea guardianship of a widow’s children was customarily taken horse, set within a richly traceried medieval border with four from her and bestowed on the feudal lord.53 The complex issues roundels (apparently with the Evangelists’ symbols, though are a subject for more detailed study elsewhere, but the these have now broken away).43 relatively low status of women according to the common law, It is worth commenting briefly on one type of woman’s seal added to the fact that almost all royal wives in England in the which has not been found in England in the Middle Ages and Middle Ages were foreign and so immediately suspect, makes it

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 21 Danbury

nobility. The legend on the seal of Mary de St Pol, founder of Pembroke College Cambridge, daughter of Guy de Châtillon, Count of St Pol, widow of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, lists her titles as Countess of Pembroke, lady of Wexford, of Montignac and of Bellac, while heraldry within the seal emphasises her Châtillon lineage and her Valence marriage.58 The legend on the seal of Joan (d. 1385) wife of Edward (‘the Black Prince’) the eldest son of Edward III, rehearses her titles as Princess of Aquitaine and Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, and Countess of Chester and Kent.59 There seems to be a clear change, however, in the legends on the seals of some of the greatest ladies, notably those with royal connections, in the mid-15th century. At this stage, strong political arguments could be delivered through the legends. Katharine Courtenay (d. 1527), Countess of Devon and sixth daughter of Edward IV, used a seal which, in addition to displaying her complex coat of arms, bore the legend: Figures 11 and 12 Obverse and reverse of the silver seal die of Joanna, Queen of Sicily and Countess of Toulouse, daughter of Henry II (72 x 46mm). + katerina comitissa devon’ filia soror et amita regum BM 1897,0508.2 (Katharine, Countess of Devon, daughter, sister and friend of unsurprising that widowed queens in England did not have kings).60 This emphasis on the relationship, above all, to much real power and some could suffer a very difficult royalty, might have had its origin in the seal of Katharine’s widowhood. redoubtable grandmother. Cecily Neville, Duchess of York The last aspect of seal design to be discussed in this article (1415–95) was the 10th child of Ralph Neville, first Earl of is the legend round the edge of the seals. For non-noble women, Westmoreland, by his second wife, Joan Beaufort.61 Cecily the legend usually contained their names with those of their married Richard, Duke of York, the first Yorkist claimant to the father or husband (Isabel, daughter of Roger: Margery, wife of throne of England. He was killed at the battle of Wakefield in John), or sometimes gave reference to a trade, or rehearsed a 1460, but his claim was adopted by his eldest son Edward, who personal motto. The same usage appears on the seals of their was crowned king in 1461 as Edward IV. Cecily’s extremely social superiors. In the 13th and 14th centuries, legends on the large round seal (Fig. 13) features an eagle, ducal coronet seals of noble ladies in England usually consisted of the word round its neck, bearing a shield of arms: France and England ‘sigillum’ followed by their names, and where appropriate, impaling Neville. There are two supporters: a lion and an fathers’ names, husbands’ names and their titles. The antelope, both with ducal coronets and chains round their 14th-century seal of Euphemia, daughter of Ralph Neville, necks. On each side, beyond the supporters, there is a bunch of Baron Neville, includes four shields of arms, recording the roses. The legend in black letter conveys a clear message: coats of arms of her father and her three husbands; while the sigillum domine cecilie uxoris veri heredis anglie et legend states simply that this is the seal of Euphemia de Lucy francie et domini hibernie matris regis edwardi quarti (she retained the name of her first husband, Reginald de ducisse ebor (the seal of the Lady Cecily, wife of the true heir Lucy).54 Legends might also refer to the owner or user as the of England and France and Lord of Ireland, mother of King daughter of her father, as in the case of Avice, daughter of Herbert, or as the wife of her husband, as in the case of Alice, wife of William Grandorge.55 A few seals have mottoes, such as the late 13th-century seal of Matilda, widow of Sir William Hardreshull; the legend on her seal reads: ki me receit seit beneit (Who receives me shall be blessed).56 Legends on the seals of royal ladies and the greatest noblewomen usually gave their titles, to underline their status and authority. Joanna (d. 1199), daughter of Henry II of England, became Queen of Sicily and, after she was widowed, she remarried and became Countess of Toulouse. On the obverse of her seal (Fig. 11), where she is shown seated on a folding chair, holding a decorated cross, her titles are given as Duchess of Barr, Countess of Toulouse and Marchioness of Provence; on the counterseal, where she is portrayed as a queen, standing, with a lily in her left hand, the legend refers to her as Queen Joanna, daughter of the late King Henry, King of the English (Fig. 12).57 There is no reference to her first husband, William II, King of Sicily, though it was through him that she was a queen, and she gave her daughter by her second husband the most unusual name of Wilhelmina, possibly in Figure 13 Seal of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, mother of Edward IV and of honour of her first husband. Noblewomen stressed their Richard III (diam. 80mm). Society of Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A6

22 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Queens and Powerful Women

Notes 1 Hall 1722, 15–16; Tout 1920–33, vol. 2, 294 and notes 3–7; Déprez 1902, 19–22. Déprez notes two occasions on which Edward II also used the seals of Oliver of Bordeaux and Gilbert Talbot, members of his household, to authenticate royal documents. 2 Tout 1920–33, vol. 2, 294–5; Maxwell-Lyte 1926, 60–1. 3 Maxwell-Lyte 1926, 63; ODNB, vol. 38, 773–5. 4 The lack of published work on women’s seals in medieval England is noted in Harvey and McGuinness 1996, 124. For some examples see: Bloom 1906, 147–51; Birch 1907, 55–9, 180–1. An exception to this is the extremely useful section on women’s seals in Blair 1943, 19–26, pls. xxv–xxvii. 5 The collection of articles by Brigitte Bedos-Rezak assembled in 1993 includes important essays on women’s seals in France. 6 Parsons 1995, Appendix II, 199–203. The list of ‘surviving acts’ is numbered 1–38b. (There are 44 in all, but those relating to the same subject are bracketed together.) The list includes surrenders of land to the Queen (and King), grants by Edward I to his wife and confirmations by him of grants by her, as well as final concords (final concords were never sealed). 7 Jenkinson 1915, 408–9, 414, 416, 425, 435; ODNB, vol. 48, 668–9. 8 Johns 2003, esp. 122–51 and Appendix 1, 203–30; Ailes 2000, 218–34. (In 2003, The Public Record Office was renamed The National Archives of the United Kingdom.) 9 Heslop (1980, 4–6 and pls) suggests that a seal used in the later Figure 14 Seal (after 1502) of Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond Middle Ages as the conventual seal of Wilton Abbey is probably the and Derby, mother of Henry VII (diam. 84mm). St John’s College, Cambridge original personal seal of St Edith of Wilton (d. 984). Archives, D5.13, reproduced with kind permission of the Master, Fellows and 10 Durham, Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral Archives, Scholars of St John’s College, Cambridge Durham 1.2 Spec. 23*. This seal is attached to the document by a parchment tongue, while the wrapping tie which closed the charter also survives. For another example, see also Durham, 62 Edward IV and Duchess of York). Not for nothing was one of Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral Archives 1.3 Ebor. 13. her nicknames ‘proud Cis’. Comments on the seal are made in Zarnecki, Holt and Holland Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and founder 1984, 305 and in Huneycutt 2003, 138, 158–9. 11 Johns 2003, 127 and 203–30. of two Cambridge colleges, adopted Cecily’s message, if not 12 Bedos-Rezak 1988, 75; Heslop 1981, 53–62 quite her tone.63 Her seal (after 1502) displays an eagle, with a 13 Posse 1909–13, vol. 1. Matilda is the first woman using a seal noted ducal coronet round its neck, bearing a shield with the arms of by Posse: vol. 1, pl. 19 no. 4; Constance, wife of the Emperor Henry Beaufort, surmounted by a coronet and supported by two Yales VI used a vesica-shaped seal in 1198: vol. 1, pl. 24 no. 1, but later imperial wives used round seals, for example, Mary, wife of Otto (Fig. 14). The legend (again in black letter) reads: sigillum IV, used a round seal in 1218; vol. 1, pl. 26 no. 1; Margaret, wife of margarete comitisse richmond et derbii filie et heredis Henry VII, used round seals in 1246 and 1260; vol. 1, pl. 32 nos. 1 johannis ducis somerset et matris henrici septimi regis and 2. I owe this reference to Professor James Campbell. 14 Matilda may have had a Great Seal made for her use in England, anglie et francie (the seal of the Lady Margaret, Countess of but no impression of it has survived (Borrie 1969–70, 10). She used Richmond and Derby, daughter and heir of John, Duke of the title ‘Queen of the Romans’ until her death (Chibnall 1991, Somerset and mother of Henry VII, King of England and 32–3). France).64 15 Cronne and Davis 1968, xxix; Chibnall 1991, 103–4. 16 An example of Eleanor of Castile’s Great Seal is attached to a grant This last – as with many of the seals commented upon in of exemption from tolls and levies to the men of the Earl of this short survey – underlines the fact that a royal or noble Lincoln’s town of Denbigh,1 September 1290 (London, TNA woman’s status and importance in the Middle Ages were DL27/196); Birch 1887–1900, vol. 1, 99–100; Great Seal of Margaret of France (Birch 1887–1900, vol. 1, 100); Society of Antiquaries of customarily dictated by three relationships to men – those of London, seal cast case A1. daughter, wife and mother. The Empress Matilda (d. 1167), 17 Parsons 1992, 65. A discussion of the queen consort’s role as whose round seal was noted earlier, was the daughter of King intercessor, the relationship between queens on earth and the Henry I of England, wife of the Emperor Henry V, King of the Queen of Heaven and of the queen’s regalia, especially the sceptre, is provided in this article, 60–77. A further discussion of queens Romans, and mother of King Henry II of England. She was consort as intercessors is found in Parsons 1997, 145–56. buried at the abbey church of Bec-Hellouin, before the high 18 Parsons 1992, 64–5. altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Two lines of the epitaph 19 ODNB, vol. 29, 419–22, esp. 420; ODNB vol. 44, 34–8, esp. 35. 20 Great Seals of Eleanor of Castile and Margaret of France, see inscribed on her tomb recorded her life through these above, note 16; for the Great Seal of Isabella of France: Birch relationships ‘Ortu magna, viro major, sed maxima partu, Hic 1887–1900, vol. 1, 101, no. 800; London, Society of Antiquaries of iacet Henrici filia, sponsa, parens’ (Great by birth, greater by London, seal cast case A1 marriage, greatest in her offspring, here lies the daughter, wife 21 Garnier 1982, 1988, vol. 1, 184–5; Ainsworth 1990, 298–9 and note 135. 65 and mother of Henry). However, in addition to declaring their 22 Seal of Blanche of Castile, Queen of France (Braibant, Meurgey de blood and marital relationships, some royal and aristocratic Tupigny and Metman 1957, pl. II); seals of Marie de Brabant, 2nd women found a way to express their personal achievements, wife of Phillipe III and Jeanne de Navarre, wife of Philip IV (Douët D’Arcq 1863–68, vol. 1, 287–8). An extremely important addition to aspirations and influence in the seals which witnessed and sigillographic knowledge will be provided by the forthcoming authenticated their written acts. catalogue of the seals of French queens, edited by Marie-Adélaïde Nielen (Paris, 2008). It has been remarked that French models may have been adopted for the effigy and Waltham Cross statue of Eleanor of Castile (Age of Chivalry 1987, 364).

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 23 Danbury

23 Age of Chivalry 1987, 361–6; Oxford, The Queen’s College Archives, 2 April 1358 and cancelled by knife cuts for the sum of £15.00 charter 318; Colchester Borough Council, Colchester charters received for the rent of Minster Lovel (Oxfordshire) from John de 7 July 1413; Danbury 1989, 161, 169. Grey. ODNB, vol. 29, 423–5 24 Oxford, The Queen’s College Archives charter 318; Danbury 1995, 44 Collins 1994, 79–92; Poulet 1994, 93–116. 4–5. 45 Poulet 1994, 113–14 25 Magrath 1921, vol. 1, p. xviii and plates. The original seal of Clare 46 André Poulet, ‘Capetian Women and the Regency’ 108–10. Hall shows the foundress holding in her left hand a book of the 47 Hedeman 1991, 125–6; Beaune 1997, 54–5. college’s statutes and with her right hand presenting the 48 Dalas 1991, 237–8 foundation charter to the master and scholars, Forbes 1928–30, 49 Fryde, Greenway, Porter and Roy 1986, 38, 42. In the 12th century, vol. 1, 13, note 2. queens in England did occasionally act as regents during the 26 A cast of the first Great Seal of Eleanor of Provence is in the Society absence of their husbands or sons (loc. cit, 32, 35–6). of Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A1; Her second Great Seal 50 Griffiths 1981, 722–7. is attached to an agreement by Eleanor concerning a transfer of 51 Holdsworth 1922–72, vol. 3, 526 and 528–33; Pollock and Maitland lands between her younger son, Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Sir 1911, vol. 2, 399–436. Gilbert Talbot, 4 November 1271: London, TNA DL27/190; Sandford 52 Paul A Brand, ‘Cui in vita sua contradicere non potuit: husbands, 1707, 57, 88, and note. wives and power within the family in thirteenth and fourteenth 27 London, TNA DL27/196; Society of Antiquaries of London seal cast century England’ (unpublished paper). I am deeply grateful to Dr. case A1; Sandford 1707, 57 and 129 and notes. Brand for permitting me to consult and to quote from this paper. 28 Ailes 2000, 219, 221. 53 Pollock and Maitland 1911, vol. 2, 419. 29 Ailes 2000, 225–7. 54 Birch 1887–1900, vol. 3, 209. 30 See note 16 above. 55 Birch 1887–1900, vol. 2, 384, 387. 31 Ailes 2000, 227–8. 56 Birch 1887–1900, vol. 2, 388. 32 This subject is excellently surveyed in Blair, 1943 19–26 57 Evans 1881, 34–6. 33 Blair 1943, 23–4, pl. xvi. 58 Pembroke College Cambridge, Archives College Box B7 and 34 Blair 1943 26, pl. xvi. College Box B8: duplicates of a grant from Mary de St Pol to 35 Lease of the farm of the borough from Queen Katherine de Valois Pembroke College of land in Pembroke Street, Cambridge, 9 June to the corporation of Leicester, 26 November 1423 (Bateson et al. 1348. I owe this reference to Jayne Ringrose, the archivist of 1899–1974, vol. 2, 232–3 and pl. 2; London, Society of Antiquaries Pembroke College. See also n. 7 above. of London, seal cast case A1; for Elizabeth Woodville’s seal, see 59 London, British Library Add. Charter 27,703 (Birch 1887–1900, vol. London, British Library Add. Charter 17,741, described in Birch 3, 385). 1887–1900, vol. 1, 102; Society of Antiquaries of London, seal cast 60 London, British Library Harley Charter 43 F 7 (Birch 1887–1900, case A1. vol. 2, 696–7). 36 Bedos-Rezak 1988, 76. 61 ODNB, vol. 10, 798–9. 37 Douët D’Arcq 1863–8, vol. 3, 264, no. 10010; London, Society of 62 London, British Library Add. Ch. 15,478; London, Society of Antiquaries of London seal cast case A4; Sandford 1707, 57, 117. Antiquaries of London, seal cast case A6. 38 Bedos-Rezak 1988, 76. 63 Cambridge, St John’s College Archives D5.13; Jones and 39 Roberts 2004, 140. Underwood (1992, 70) note that Lady Margaret’s role at the court of 40 ODNB, vol. 29, 416–7. her son, Henry VII, ‘bore striking similarities to, and indeed may 41 Birch 1893–1905, vol. 1, 35–6, no. 104; 39, no. 113; vol. 4.,1, 54–158, have been modelled on, that of Cecily, Duchess of York at the court nos 2041, 2042, 2043 of her son, Edward IV’. 42 Birch 1893–1905, vol. 1, 9, no. 20. 64 Jones and Underwood 1992, 291–2. 43 London, TNA E43/507. The seal is attached to a receipt dated 65 Chibnall 1991, 191 and n. 57.

24 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Re-use and Copying of Ancient Intaglios set in Medieval Personal Seals, mainly found in England: An aspect of the Renaissance of the 12th Century Martin Henig

In the High Middle Ages, between the 12th and 14th centuries, The meaning of devices ancient gems were frequently re-set for use in personal seal- The Good Impressions exhibition, together with the conference matrices (secreta) in order to serve as signets.1 The fashion, for papers published here, have demonstrated beyond doubt that the display of jewels in general, including ancient gems, was medieval seals possess an intrinsic interest in themselves, continuous throughout the Middle Ages,2 but gem-seal usage revealing as they do a great deal about contemporary art and reached its height of popularity during the second half of the life. My own academic experience, working on Roman signet 12th century.3 Consequently, it may be seen as one small aspect rings – the predecessors of our seals – has revealed to me an of what it is still convenient to call the ‘12th -century equally fascinating world, even though few enough scholars Renaissance’, with its intellectual ferment and enhanced (certainly far too few classicists), seem to have taken as much interest in the literature and art of Rome and the Classical of an interest as they should have done in these intriguing world.4 Gem-set seals thereafter continued to be employed objects, which were employed in precisely the same way as the well-beyond the end of the century, although, in England at later seal matrices to sign letters and authenticate legal least, not much beyond the earlier 14th century. documents.11 Earlier, during the Migration period and up to the 11th In some ways the subject of the re-use of Roman gems in century, Roman gems, both intaglios and cameos, were worn the Middle Ages is even more fascinating, because it concerns in rings, brooches and pendants, where they would have the influence of one civilisation upon another, and the ways in served as amulets, and were also mounted into crosses, which the later culture tries to understand the former and, reliquaries, bookcovers and other Church metalwork (ars wherever necessary, adapts it. Sometimes, to take the title of a sacra), 5 but they were not in regular use as seals, at least in the review of gem-set seals by John Cherry, it may simply be a case British Isles. The gold ring, set with a nicolo (blue onyx) of ‘Antiquity misunderstood’,12 but far more often we find intaglio depicting the Roman god, Bonus Eventus, from the ourselves dealing with cases of subtle re-interpretation, not by boat-burial at Snape, Suffolk is a possible exception. It is of illiterate peasants but by clerks, including leading ecclesiastics, gold-filigree and of 6th-century date and Merovingian who comprised a subtle intelligentsia, employing a manufacture; it is closely paralleled by a ring from Krefeld- sophistication which we can still relish today. Latin classics Gellep. On the Continent the ancient and even contemporary such as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Elder Pliny’s Naturalis use of the seal as a symbol of Romanitas may not have been Historia and Boethius’ De Consolatione Philosophiae were wholly lost.6 The later mounting of Roman and Classical-style available as contact with the minds of the great writers of gems into signet rings from the 15th/16th century onwards is, Antiquity.13 In the same way that a major intellect like Aelred of of course, part of the general history of the Renaissance. Rievaulx revisited and adapted Cicero’s De Amicitia to produce Gem-seals were often employed as additional ‘secret’ seals his own De Spirituali Amicitia,14 one of the most moving classics (secreta) by their owners, or as counter-seals (contrasigilla) by of early Cistercian spirituality, so, in a more minor way, were others called to witness the official seals of officials, the users of signets able to use their imaginations to ecclesiastic or lay, and were, of course, far more intimate and re-interpret images which had reached them from a distant personal in nature than these.7 They were, in addition, well past. In doing so they had every incentive to find in the varied adapted for such a purpose, because they had originally been devices images of God the Father, Christ or the Virgin. At the cut in Roman times precisely for use in such situations, in order same time the devices might serve, as they did in Antiquity, as to witness all manner of documents including wills, deeds of personal badges of identity or else as protective charms. The gift, land indentures and loans, or simply to authenticate the contemporary inscriptions surrounding the gems are signature on a letter.8 In size, variety, colour and properties of informative and have where possible been included in this material gemstones appealed to the 12th- and 13th-century paper. The subject is a large one which should be extended to mind as much as they had to the Roman, as is shown by the cover the many intaglios and cameos mounted upon popularity of the verse lapidary written by Marbode, Bishop of ecclesiastical metalwork, shrines, book covers, crosses and Rennes who died at the very beginning of the 12th century.9 crosiers. Although our primary concern here is, of course, with Ancient engraved gems are mentioned in lapidaries as objets seal-matrices and signet-rings, the conscious choice of trouvés, introduced by such phrases as ‘si inveneris lapidem’ or, particular high-quality stones on, for instance, the Shrine of in old French, ‘vus trouerez’ where the amuletic power of the the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral demonstrates how the device and of the stone upon which it is cut has a primary selection of gems with regard to both quality and subject- significance.10 matter was anything but casual.15 In its original form, the central (Hellenistic) cameo depicting Ptolemy II and his consort Arsinoë II was interpreted as two of the three kings while on the large intaglio Mars, who is portrayed confronting

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 25 Henig

Figure 1 (left) Sard intaglio depicting Venus with a youth, set in a silver gilt seal (34 x 28mm). British Museum P&E 1865,2-8,1

Figure 2 (right) Sard intaglio depicting Bacchus, set in a silver seal (29mm x 25mm). Stoke by Clare, Suffolk. British Museum P&E 1923,5-8,1

Venus and Cupid, is taken to be the third king making the ancient wine god was now re-identified as Jesus, the ‘good obeisance to Our Lady; it is balanced on the other side of the vine’: in other words the seal has acquired Eucharistic Ptolemy cameo with a cameo of Agrippina and Nero, unlikely overtones, and is thus to be seen as a good example of as it might seem, transmuted in medieval eyes to become ‘interpretatio Christiana’.22 Further the infant satyr probably Christ at the Last Judgement.16 evoked Christ’s love for children: ‘Let the children come to me, The élite owners of many of the signets set with gems may do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God’.23 have been at least as well versed in classical mythology as the A silver seal found near Stratford-on-Avon and now in the average student of Classics today, and in some instances they Shakespeare Birthplace Trust collection was set with a certainly knew what they were actually looking at. This is beautiful cornelian intaglio depicting the head of the god implied in for instance early 13th century Anglo-Norman Apollo; and the surrounding inscription: + capvt + omnivm + lapidaries, mentioning such deities as Mars and Mercury;17 it is xpˆc (Christ the head of all things), shows that the image was also apparent from the combination of device and legend on a seen as Our Lord, not unreasonably, for the classical (1st number of seal-matrices. A sard intaglio, set into a fine silver- century bc), idealised rendition of the head agrees with the gilt matrix, now in the British Museum’s collection (Fig. 1), youthful conception of Christ as a young man of 32 years of depicts Venus contemplating a statue of a beautiful youth and age. The seal was associated with a gold ring containing an the legend in old French identifies it as in part a love token: uncut sapphire, belonging to a high ecclesiastic (presumably + ie svi sel de amvr lel (I am the seal of loyal love).18 However also the owner of this personal seal) and with coins dating to c. the medieval wearer of a signet was under no obligation to 1214–16.24 From Fordingbridge, Hampshire, comes another gem interpret the device in the same way as his/her ancient in a silver matrix whose legend reveals the way in which a counterpart. The same legend was inscribed on another silver thoroughly pagan theme might be re-interpreted to illustrate a gilt matrix from Shenley Church End, Milton Keynes, central episode in Christian belief; the intaglio actually depicts Buckinghamshire set with an Italian gem, a cornelian dating to two figures of Tyche (Fortuna) greeting one another, but to the the period of the Roman Republic, showing Argus working on mind of its early 12th-century owner, it brought to mind the the Argo but possibly interpreted by the medieval owner as a Angelus, as the surrounding legend reads: + verba :salvtis : knight.19 In the first instance loyal love is exemplified by the ave (The word of salvation: Hail!).25 Here the two Tyches were goddess, clearly recognised as she would have been by its re-interpreted as none other than Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. original owner a millennium earlier; in the latter in masculine Some devices appear to be self-explanatory. It is easy to see comradeship. that the lion as king of beasts, like the one from Ludgershall From the Walbook, London comes a black-jasper intaglio Castle, Wiltshire engraved upon a Roman cornelian, might depicting a bust of the goddess Minerva, set in a silver gilt seal appeal to a knight. The stone, which shows a lion killing an inscribed: + qvi timet devm faciet bona (The man who fears antelope, is set in a mid-13th-century silver seal matrix and is the Lord will do good); the inscription is adapted from a verse inscribed: +secretvm michael’ drvib’ (Personal seal of in Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), which is actually concerned with Michael Drew).26 It is one of many seals which depict lions, like Holy Wisdom, and the seal nicely shows how the original that of John de la Val found at St Albans which reads on the pagan meaning has been elided into a Christian one.20 An even outer rim: + sigill iohannis : de : laval, and inside that: more conscious shift of meaning from Antiquity to the Middle +ecce :vicit [sic] leo: (Behold, the lion conquers), the gem Ages is to be seen in the case of a silver seal from Stoke by being a red jasper depicting a lion with a bull’s head between Clare, Suffolk, 21 containing a sard intaglio (Fig. 2) which its forepaws.27 Another silver seal found in Kent and containing depicts Bacchus with a small infant satyr. The god is clearly a lion intaglio reads more forcefully: +svm leo qvovis eo non identified by his thyrsus and vine, but the accompanying nisi vero veo (I am a lion; wherever I go, I only carry the legend: + iesvs: est: amor: mevs (Jesus is my love) reveals that truth).28 The lion can indeed be seen as symbolising Christ and

26 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Re-use and Copying of Ancient Intaglios set in Medieval Personal Seals, mainly found in England that is surely the meaning of the more explicit legends. The + lecta tege (Read, conceal);39 the similar satyr on a wax seal essence of knighthood was that one was mounted, and so the of Elyas de Hertford Senior, +secretvm elyas de herte (The device of a horse would have had relevance to William de secret seal of Elyas de Herte) of 1301 in Oxford;40 and, from near Melcombe whose seal matrix which is, likewise, of silver, was Lichfield, Staffordshire, a red jasper depicting Bonus Eventus inscribed: +sigillvm wilelmi de melec¯be (Seal of William de set in a silver signet ring with its bezel rim inscribed: Melcombe), and contains a Roman onyx intaglio depicting a +sigillvm . secreti (Secret seal).41 Another characteristic type racehorse.29 William’s son Richard is known to have held is represented by the onyx intaglio showing a herdsman Melcombe from the Earl of Warwick for the service of a knight watching his goat nibbling at the branch of a tree, of which in 1212 and this seal is presumably somewhat earlier. A silver there is an example set in the seal matrix of William de matrix with the legend: +sigillvm will’i: de bosco (Seal of Flamenville.42 William’s father Roger is recorded to have William de Bosco) is set with a yellow jasper figuring the received a charter from King John in 1200, so the seal must date winged horse Pegasus. The seal, which was found in a garden to the early 13th century. One of the lapidaries mentions the at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, might doubtless have been taken possibility of ‘finding’ a gem showing a ram or a lion, there to reflect the ‘divine’ horsemanship of William, for after all clearly conceived as signs of the zodiac,43 and this recalls the mounted knights were common devices on contemporary cornelian-set seal matrix of Michael Drew from Ludgershall secular seals,30 but beyond such literal interpretations lies the discussed above. concept of the warrior saint, such as St George, certainly None of this evidence, however, really answers the question figured on the Byzantine intaglio from Winchester mentioned as to whether these late 1st or 2nd century gems of types which below. In short the process of Christian re-interpretation was would have been by no means unexpected from archaeological both continuous and continuously inventive. sites in Britain or north-west Europe, were actually found locally or imported. They could equally have been products of Gemstones as medieval finds on Roman occupation sites the well-organised international gem market which is attested Classical gems have often been regarded as casual finds, picked by cameos like the Ptolemy cameo which stars in the Shrine of up by peasants tilling the fields on Romano-British sites, which the Three Kings,44 or the Great Cameo of St Albans,45 and also ended up gracing the signet of the local lord. Indeed this might clearly evidenced by the more unusual and spectacular have happened quite often. A very large number of gems in intaglios in English gem-set seals, to which we must now turn. medieval seals indeed date from the Imperial period and would be relatively easy to match as site-finds from Roman Britain.31 The quality of re-used gems That would be true, for instance, of the cornelian intaglio What strikes the student of ancient glyptics suddenly depicting Mercury with his purse and caduceus set in an confronted by gem-set seal-matrices and seals (i.e. sealings), is English silver seal matrix inscribed: + sigillvm : secreti the superior quality of many of the surviving examples, which (Secret seal);32 and even in the case of what I take to be a would hardly have been expected from a casual combing of chrome chalcedony also depicting Mercury set in a gold ring ploughed fields in Britain and the occasional discovery of a evidently employed by King Richard I (1189–99) as his personal gemstone. This can be illustrated very clearly in the case of two seal.33 A cornelian depicting Mars ‘gradivus’ ( the type of the splendid seals recently acquired by, or placed on loan to, the striding Mars), is also very like a number of gems found on British Museum, both of them set with Imperial portraits dated Roman sites in Britain, and is set in a silver seal reputedly from to the 2nd century ad. The first (Fig. 3) is a silver seal matrix of Essex, reading: + frange. lege: tege (Break, read, conceal).34 c. 1200–1300 from Swanley, Kent inscribed: + ponite : literas The silver stamp seal of William of Louth – a 13th-century : istas : insiga : sillv. secrit (Place your letter under a secret courtier who became Bishop of Ely at the end of the century – seal). It is set with a red jasper intaglio engraved with the contains a cornelian intaglio depicting the goddess Roma with an inscription on the surrounding frame reading: + s’. magistri: willi :delvda (Seal of Master William of Louth); it is thought that the seal dates from relatively early in his life, perhaps c. 1258. The gem is well cut, but paralleled by intaglios found at Colchester and Wroxeter and elsewhere.35 A silver seal inscribed: +ove . tego .fracta. lege (I conceal with a shell; read when it is broken) from the Eastbourne area contains a green jasper gem showing Ceres enthroned, comparable to others from Roman sites in Britain.36 Other goddesses include Venus Victrix on a chrome chalcedony intaglio set in a gold ring found at London Bridge, Nemesis on a chalcedony intaglio from South Loftus,Yorkshire and a bust of Diana on a nicolo stone from Chester, all set in gold rings with the popular legend: +sigillvm : secreti (Secret seal) around the rim.37 Of these it is tempting to think that Nemesis with her wheel was read as the type of Fortune who with her wheel was an ever-popular concept in the Middle Ages.38 Likewise well matched in provincial glyptics are a nicolo intaglio showing a satyr, from Figure 3 Red Jasper intaglio depicting the head of Emperor Antoninus Pius, set North Walsham in the Castle Museum, Norwich, inscribed: in a silver seal matrix (25mm x 19mm). Swanley, Kent. P&E 2006,10-4,1

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 27 Henig

Figure 4 (left) Nicolo intaglio depicting the bust of the Emperor Lucius Verus, set in a gold seal matrix (26mm x 16mm). Laindon, Essex. British Museum on loan from Mr A.R. French and Mr R.W. Terris

Figure 5 (right) Sapphire intaglio, depicting the head of a Ptolemaic queen or goddess, set in a gold seal-ring (25 x 24mm). Hereford. Victoria and Albert Museum, Waterton Collection 89-1899. © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London

portrait of Antoninus Pius (ad 138–61) (Fig. 3).46 The second is Cambridgeshire (and is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum); it a nicolo intaglio depicting Lucius Verus (Emperor ad 161–169), contains a cornelian intaglio depicting a clean-shaven male mounted in a 13th-century gold setting inscribed: sigillvm head in profile, probably a youthful Hercules, analogous in secreti (Secret seal), found in Laindon, Essex (Fig. 4).47 These style to portraits of the middle quarters of the 1st century bc. two intaglios are amongst the best portrait gems of the period It was set in a gold vesica-shaped seal inscribed: + s’. simonis : in the British Museum and it should be remembered that passelevwe (The seal of Simon Passelewe).52 The owner was a Imperial portraits are, in any case, remarkably rare as subjects clerk in the employ of King Henry III and a diplomat who on Roman gems. In fact, the only example of a 2nd-century visited the French court in 1260, 1263 and 1265. The other gem, portrait gem from any Roman site find from Britain is the likewise a cornelian (in the Cambridge University Museum of moulded glass intaglio (again a portrait of Lucius Verus) from Archaeology and Anthropology) depicts a profile head of Droitwich, Worcestershire, but this is inferior both in material Medusa, even more exquisitely cut. It was set in a gold seal ring and in style.48 A third example of such a seal matrix is from Shepreth, it is inscribed: + s’secreti : ade : novifori preserved as the personal seal of Prior Walter of Leominster (The secret seal of Adam of Newmarket).53 Adam of Priory, Herefordshire attached to an indenture of 1220; its Newmarket was a powerful Lincolnshire knight of the baronial vesica-shaped surround cites St Luke’s Gospel:49 + qvi. se. faction. Incidentally, another supporter of de Montfort was hvmiliat exaltabitvr (He who humbles himself, shall be Richard de Mepeham who in 1263 was Archdeacon of Oxford. exalted), a sentiment which worked for Walter who was His seal, inscribed: + sigill ric d’mepeham (The seal of subsequently elected abbot of St Mary’s, Shrewsbury. The very Richard of Mepeham), was found at Richborough, Kent and high quality ancient gem-setting displayed a clean-shaven was set with a minutely engraved little plasma of two cockerels Julio-Claudian male portrait, possibly Tiberius, in profile to the fighting above a cupid and behind a meta (circus turning right, with, behind the head, a priestly lituus.50 Thus, it is clear post).54 Although the gem, which is of 1st-century date, could that people carefully searching local Roman sites would have notionally have been excavated on the Roman port site of had to be quite incredibly fortunate to find three such treasures Rutupiae near where the seal was later found, it is very much of the gem-cutter’s art. Unfortunately the legends on the two more likely that it was an import. What is clear is that such British Museum seal-matrices do not bear the names of their seals inevitably belonged to very wealthy people in the upper owners, but the connections of the Leominster seal echelons of society who could afford to pay large sums for demonstrate that such items belonged to the very highest in the masterpieces of glyptic art, from an international market. land, the sort of people whose wealth and position allowed them to travel. Imported glyptics: Hellenistic, Roman Republican and Oriental The great discrimination and connoisseurship employed by Thus, these examples all appear to testify that we are generally members of the élite in selecting gems for their secreta may be not dealing with casual purchases from peasants but with a further demonstrated by two gold seal-matrices in Cambridge well-organised trade which we may guess, indeed more than University collections, which contain two fine Augustan guess, was centred on Italy though it certainly encompassed intaglios; both were local, Cambridgeshire, finds. Although the East Mediterranean as well, especially as a result of the such items were valued over the centuries as heirlooms, early Crusades. William of Malmesbury, in describing the aftermath gems of the very highest quality are certainly not very often of the Battle of Ascalon on 12 August 1099, mentions the encountered on Romano-British sites, even though, as it acquisition of ‘multum gemmarum quarum raritas in nostris happens, there is one from an early Roman villa at Shepreth, regionibus incognita, ibi nativo decore refulgurat’.55 Venetian, not far from where the seal of Adam of Newmarket was found.51 as well as Pisan and Genoese, merchants (gemmarii) must One of the Cambridge seals comes from Great Eversden, have often been intermediaries, especially with regard to the

28 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Re-use and Copying of Ancient Intaglios set in Medieval Personal Seals, mainly found in England

Orient, as is suggested by the trade network suggested by Another Sarapis gem, depicting the head of the god being ceramic finds from the major Crusader port of Acre on the crowned by two figures of Nike (Victory) with an eagle and Levantine coast in which there were important assemblages of cult (semeion) standards below, was the subject of the personal pots from the western Mediterranean (Venice, Genoa and seal of Earl William of Gloucester (1147–83), which is known Sicily), suggestive of trade with Italy.56 The infamous Fourth only from impressions. Earl William’s main seal gives him the Crusade which culminated in the Sack of Constantinople title of Consul, which had evidently been used by his father, provided a further source but this was after the apogee of Robert, illegitimate son of King Henry I, but certainly suggests gem-use in seals. However we can guess that many gems were an inherited personal interest in the past. It should be recalled purchased, especially by ecclesiastics, on their visits to Rome that Geoffrey of Monmouth had dedicated his History of the and that a large proportion of these may have come from Kings of Britain to Robert, The accompanying legend central Italy. surrounding the Roman gem reads: + aqvila sv’et cvstos Amongst gems from the Crusader kingdoms or comitis (I am the eagle and keeper of the earl); interestingly Constantinople we can probably include a sapphire, set in a the intaglio gem passed to his daughter the Countess Isabel 13th-century gold ring excavated from a well in Hereford in who married Prince John in 1189. She changed the legend to: 1824, which is inscribed: tecta. lege. lecta tege. (Read what + ego sv’aqila : cvstos d’ne mee (I am the Eagle; Lord be my is written, hide what is read) (Fig. 5).57 The intaglio, which guide).64 Presumably the eagle was read as referring to St John depicts a veiled female head, was published in the 19th century the Evangelist, as is the case of other eagles in ars sacra, for as a medieval Italian depiction of ‘the head of a monk’,58 and example lecterns.65 There is one example of the Serapis and has more recently been assumed to be of contemporary French eagle gem from a Roman site in Britain (Beckford, Bredon Hill, manufacture, though the analogues to it are in fact Hellenistic: Gloucestershire) but again an East Mediterranean provenance, the subject may be a Ptolemaic queen, for these rulers were such as the Crusader kingdom is far more likely; there are no often depicted veiled; there is for instance a dark violet less than three close parallels from a collection of gems from amethyst intaglio in Oxford, perhaps as early as the 3rd century Gadara in the Pentapolis.66 Likewise, almost certainly from the bc, depicting a queen (or a goddess) wearing a similar veil. East, was a cornelian depicting Cybele with her lion Purple stones would have been regarded as appropriate to supporters, reset in the silver seal of Philip Pule of the Poole royalty, although sapphires like the Victoria and Albert family from the Wirral.67 The figure on the Tyche (Good Museum’s gem did not come into use much before the 1st Fortune) of Antioch on the Orontes embellishes Hubert century bc, so the subject might even be Cleopatra VII. It is a Walters’ crosier, from his tomb in Canterbury cathedral, and good assumption that it was re-interpreted by its medieval this too is likely to have come from the Levant.68 owner as the Blessed Virgin, who is generally depicted in art The earliest Italian intaglio, mounted in a 13th-century wearing a blue or purple veil as Queen of Heaven. The open- medieval seal, preserved in the British Museum’s collection of backed mount allowing the wearer’s finger to be in contact matrices is an Etruscan scarab of ‘a globolo’ type, datable to the with the stone, would have accentuated its virtue. The 3rd century bc. A globolo gems are characterised by rather provenance of the gem, assuredly ancient, must be the East schematic cutting and the devices are not always easy to Mediterranean.59 elucidate; however this one appears to depict a team of two This is certainly the case with the magical intaglio horses with, between them, a charioteer.69 The silver seal has depicting the Graeco-Egyptian deity with the head of a lion and sustained considerable wear and so the legend is not very easy the body of a serpent known as Chnoubis; it is datable the 2nd to read. Scarabs are fairly thick objects, as they needed to be century ad, carved upon a beautiful translucent green stone because they were threaded onto their rings by means of lateral and set in a non-inscribed gold signet-ring evidently belonging piercings; thus they are not entirely suitable for medieval seals, to Archbishop Hubert Walter at Canterbury (ob. 1205) in whose except, as here, for stamp seals. Although the device is not tomb it was found.60 Here too the wearer’s finger was brought amongst the most beautiful of intaglios, its strangeness may into direct contact with the stone whose reverse was engraved have appealed to its owner rather in the same way as the with the ‘triple S’ sigil associated with Chnoubis; presumably Chnoubis gem clearly appealed to Archbishop Hubert Walter. Hubert Walter expected to derive some magical or therapeutic Two centuries later, late Republican gem-cutting retained virtue from the stone. In the same connection we should note some of the features of earlier Etruscan glyptic art (although another ‘gnostic’ gem, the Abraxas /Iao amulet (or perhaps a the ringstone was by now universally employed). Gems of this medieval copy of such) engraved on a bloodstone and mounted period are characterised by a strong feeling for linear form in a bishop’s ring recovered from a tomb in Chichester, once combined with a liberal use of pellets (circular depressions erroneously ascribed to Bishop Seffrid.61 Henry of Blois, the made with the drill) which accentuate various features. The famous and powerful 12th-century Bishop of Winchester style is well represented in the Bacchus intaglio from Stoke by (1129–71) was a noted connoisseur who collected ‘veteres Clare (Fig. 2). Amongst the other gems mounted into medieval statuas’ in Rome as well as acquiring other precious items such metalwork is a cornelian reset in Archbishop Hubert Walter’s as Saracenic textiles.62 His signet used as a counterseal on a crosier, whose device depicts a quadruped, its leg-joints grant to Hamble Priory dated somewhere between 1153–71 accentuated by such pellets.70 In this case it appears likely that depicted confronted busts of Zeus Sarapis and Isis, without Hubert Walter, who possessed both eastern and ‘Italian’ gems, surrounding legend, so presumably, like Hubert Walter’s acquired his ‘collection’ from more than one source, in a gem- Chnoubis seal made with a simple gem-set ring. The market which must surely have been centred on Italy. Amongst provenance is almost certainly the East Mediterranean though the Italian gems of late Republican type are several showing Henry probably acquired it in Rome.63 satyrs. A fine example is set in a 13th-century silver seal from

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 29 Henig

Cold Harbour Farm, Crowmarsh, Oxfordshire, inscribed: be reconciled with Henricus Simeonis’!78 + s’ nicolai de paddehale (Seal of Nicholas of Padworth).71 The leached cornelian gem depicts a satyr holding a thyrsus How the gems were regarded: pagan and Christian and looking towards a column. Contemporary, but simply interpretations inscribed: + s’ secretvm, is a silver seal in the British Museum We have already encountered the reinterpretation of subject set with a gem depicting a satyr facing a trophy.72 It is matter to accord with medieval Christian belief, and there are interesting to compare a gem depicting satyrs, executed in the numerous examples of this, some more inventive and same Roman style set in a silver matrix inscribed: s.mateo sophisticated than others. A very interesting example of a dicenino palmieri, which served as the seal of the Florentine Republican gem found on the Thames foreshore at Southwark statesman and writer Matteo Palmieri (1406–75).73 is a chalcedony intaglio depicting two peacocks, one of them The counterseal of Bishop Nigel of Ely (1133–69) was a on a globe.79 The legend on the matrix: + dvlcis : amoris : beautiful circular gem of 1st-century bc date, which depicted a odor (The perfume of sweet love) shows that this was a love seated image of a satyr leaning against a sacred column; the token but just possibly alluding to divine love as peacocks with satyr is accompanied by a goat; the satyr’s characteristic staff their marvellously patterned tail-feathers were thought to or pedum, with its curved handle is shown behind the column.74 allude to the cosmos, and their flesh was said to be There are numerous parallels from Italy to gems cut in this incorruptible. There was a piece of vegetal material inserted more idealised, classical manner, which is characteristic of the into the matrix behind the stone, which may have been a relic Augustan age, and probably a decade or so later than the gems of a saint or a token of love, but that too serves to show that the just mentioned.75 Nigel travelled to Italy in 1144 and this object meant a great deal to its owner. A very similar legend counterseal was not brought into use until after that date. The reading: * i . a . odor . dvlcis . amor was inscribed around a surrounding legend reading: + clavdvnt more svo scripta silver seal matrix found in 2007 at Leziate, Norfolk. It contained sigilla dvo (As by their custom, the two seals close the a cornelian intaglio depicting Mercury, the messenger of the writing) refers to the use of seal and counterseal. Not gods and in the 14th century perhaps still regarded as the surprisingly Thomas Becket had what must have been a very guardian of communication between lovers.80 A different impressive gem seal, again of Augustan date, depicting a message is given by a silver seal matrix from Bayston Hill just standing image of Mercury leaning against a column set in a outside Shrewsbury which is inscribed: + servite domino in matrix reading: + sigillvm tome lvnd (The seal of Thomas of timore (Serve the Lord in Fear).81 The nicolo intaglio shows a London). It is only preserved on a document concerning Holy half-kneeling figure, probably a warrior, but presumably the Trinity, Aldgate dated 1162.76 I end this section by recalling gem was selected because the figure’s posture was suggestive another wax impression of a top-quality Augustan gem of the of the normal attitude of prayer. later 1st century bc, which depicts Venus and Adonis, and is In the Roman period, the image of Hercules would, in itself, closely paralleled by one of the star pieces preserved in the have been a potent talisman. There is a silver seal matrix in the Dutch Royal Collection. This sealing is attached to an Oxford British Museum with an Irish provenance, which might seem to land deed of c. 1220 associated with the Hospital of St John in display medieval reaffirmation of such knowledge; it is dated Oxford (on the site of the later Magdalen College); it is the by Heslop to soon after 1200, and is inscribed: + qvi me porte secretum of Henry [son of] Simeon,77 perhaps one of the reeves siest le mvs (Who carries me, fares best), and contains a of Oxford in the time of King John. It was his infamous son, cornelian intaglio of early Imperial date depicting the head of Henry son of Henry, who was charged in 1242 with the Hercules, here bearded (Fig. 6), unlike the youthful image homicide of a clerk and was never forgiven by the University: upon Simon Passelewe’s seal.82 However, such a bearded head every Bachelor of Arts from 1264 to 1827 had to swear ‘never to could equally have been taken via a process of ‘interpretatio

Figure 6 (left) Sard intaglio depicting the head of Hercules, set in a silver seal (28.5 x 22mm). Ireland. British Museum, P&E 1932,2-9,1

Figure 7 (right) Sard intaglio depicting the head of Jupiter, set in a gold seal-ring (19mm x 15mm). British Museum, P&E AF 558

30 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Re-use and Copying of Ancient Intaglios set in Medieval Personal Seals, mainly found in England

Christiana’ for a saint or even God the Father. A gold ring-seal, holding a wreath while, in front of her are displayed the perhaps of early 14th-century date, inscribed: + ego : secreta crescent moon and three stars representing the cosmos (Fig. : tego (I hide secrets), contains a beautiful sard intaglio cut 8).87 The device was possibly taken by its medieval owner to be with a bust of Jupiter (Fig. 7).83 Once again, this may represent an allusion to Christ as reflected in one of the striking images the Christian God. Indeed, another gold ring, this time in the Book of Revelation though the number of stars is provenanced from the site of St Martin le Grand, London, set admittedly not the same.88 There are several intaglios from with a garnet depicting a seated figure of Jupiter, is inscribed Roman sites in Britain depicting Victory standing on a globe, on the bezel: agla; this is a Latin transliteration of the first but none of them is of this interest and quality. From Barham letters of the Hebrew invocation ‘Atha Gebri Leilan Adonai’ Down, Kent comes a cornelian showing the goddess Minerva, (Thou art mighty for ever, O Lord) confirming a set in a silver seal inscribed: +angelvs consilii fortis re-interpretation of Jupiter as God the Father.84 Here it is worth gladiator (The Angel of wisdom is a strong gladiator).89 It commenting that these letters are often inscribed on charms, would seem that the owner was well acquainted with the fact brooches and bracelets and appear to have been endowed in that Minerva was the ancient goddess of wisdom, though the the Middle Ages with a magical significance.85 The use of reference has been turned to reflect Christian Divine Wisdom. Hebrew (albeit transliterated into the Roman alphabet) is Another example of erudition is provided by a cornelian from likewise significant because of the language had been Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire, depicting a Bacchic herm employed in magic since Antiquity. (Fig. 9) but very possibly equated with a bust of the Female heads (images of goddesses or ancient portraits) philosopher Plato, widely revered (though only his Timaeus might have served as miniature icons of female saints such as was readily available to medieval scholarship).90 The Our Lady, but alternatively they could have been seen as inscription on the silver matrix, which with its engrailed edge surrogate portraits of real fair ladies. An early 14th-century probably served as a pendant, reads: +ignota noto (I write seal in the Schøyen collection, found in Kent, set with a red about unknown things), and this seems entirely appropriate to jasper, displaying a beautiful head of the generic type of such an interpretation. Augustus’ daughter Julia and a gold ring from Chester in the One class of gemstone which was exceedingly popular in British Museum, containing a nicolo intaglio depicting Diana,86 Antiquity was the combination of human and animal forms and both inscribed: +sigillvm secreti, could have been sometimes, incorrectly, called a ‘gryllus’ but certainly interpreted in either way; but a fine 14th-century analogue, possessing an amuletic function. A very fine example engraved from Bedfordshire, cut on red jasper (Fig. 10, see below), was on a red jasper intaglio, set in a silver vesica-shaped matrix, surely intended as a portrait of a lady of fashion. Perhaps we was found at Scartho, Lincolnshire. Here the medieval legend should not expect private seals always to be exemplars of comments on the cockerel-like form and horse head and neck ‘interpretatio Christiana’ rather than the world of Arthurian in a playful manner: + scriptvs signat eqvvs. mittit devehit romance. . ales (The horse signs the letter; the bird sends and delivers).91 One of the most striking images on a Roman gem was Another example, dating from the 1160s or early 1170s is found very recently. It is a 2nd-century red jasper intaglio, set provided by the seal of William Barbedavril II, probably the son in the 13th-century silver seal inscribed: +sigill walteri de of the chaplain to Hugh II, Earl of Chester, whose seal he longedvne (Seal of Walter of Longdown), found in Arreton witnesses. This depicts two conjoined heads of Silenus and a Parish on the Isle of Wight, and figures a first-rate portrayal of youthful Pan; The surrounding legend reads: +sigillvm Victory standing on a globe and shouldering a palm and wilelmi barbearill.92

Figure 8 (left) Red Jasper intaglio depicting Victory, set in a silver seal (28.5 x 23.4mm). Arreton Parish, Isle of Wight. British Museum Treasure number IOW 2006-68

Figure 9 (right) Cornelian intaglio depicting Bacchic herm, in a silver seal setting (35 x 23mm). Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire. British Museum P&E 1925,2-9,1

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 31 Henig

classical sea-horse (or hippocampus) but stylistically does not look Roman at all but is rather a high-quality medieval copy, perhaps to be taken as a wyvern. The legend: +rob’ti signu¯ : nil : signantis : n : dignv¯, is a Leonine hexameter saying that he will not use it to sign unless worthy to do so.98 Several intaglios depict knights, not surprisingly as such devices are common on of medieval seals, but perhaps when we see them as the subjects of gems they are useful reminders that equestrian figures are frequently the subject on Roman gems, though the material was also found employed for slightly earlier Byzantine seals, including an 11th-century example discovered at Oram’s Arbour, Winchester, which depicts St George slaying the dragon. If this link were to be accepted it would provide further confirmation of that east Mediterranean trade-link already suggested.99 Three examples, all in green jasper and datable to the 13th century, are known to me, two of them in silver seals, respectively from Potterne, Wiltshire, inscribed: + qve : tibi : lego : lege (Read what I send to you),100 and from Middle Harling, Norfolk inscribed: + sigill’ galfride furnevs (The seal of Jeffrey de Furneaux)(Fig. 11).101 The third is unset and from Newstead, near Brigg, North Lincolnshire.102 Green jasper seems to have been especially favoured in the Figure 10 Red Jasper intaglio depicting a female bust, set in a gold seal (25 x Middle Ages, probably because there was a good source and it 22mm). Wootton, Bedfordshire. British Museum, P&E 1881,3-12,1. was relatively cheap; certainly it was employed for other simple gems including two preserved in the Norwich Castle Museum. Medieval copying One is a winged ‘hippocampus’ from Norwich Castle, not The employment of gemstones in seals was by no means unlike the creature on Robert’s seal from nearby Diss cited confined to ancient intaglios, for there are plenty of medieval above, and likewise. set in a silver seal; it is inscribed: +sigill’ examples cut in emulation of their ancient prototypes. One of gilberti de hvlcote (The seal of Gilbert de Hulcote).103 the finest, as mentioned above, was found at Wootton, Another green jasper depicting a chicken in a silver seal, from Bedfordshire and apparently dates to the early 14th century.93 It Thwaite, Suffolk, is inscribed: * amice cristi iohannes (John, is of red jasper and cut with the bust of a woman in profile to the friend of Christ).104 There are ancient gems depicting the right, with a head-dress tied under the chin in cockerels and such may have been the prototype here, though a contemporary style (Fig. 10). One hint that it was partly copied cockerel would perhaps bring St Peter’s denial, and perhaps from ancient prototypes is the manner in which the hair is John’s loyalty which should be emulated by the wearer. plaited and knotted at the back like portraits of Faustina II, and Alternatively it might represent Our Lord as the mother hen another is the vegetal spray in front of her which is matched by guarding her brood. There is another cockerel engraved on the plant spray shown in front of the bust of Diana figured on blue glass and in a silver matrix inscribed: +sigillvm : thome. the Roman gem set in the seal from Chester cited above. It is (The seal of Thomas), found at Maer near Newcastle-under- mounted within a gold seal-setting inscribed: + clavsa. Lyme, Staffordshire.105 secreta.tego (I conceal the enclosed secrets). Many years ago Of course there were familiar medieval religious themes, Wentzel wrote about similar seals made in France,94 though notably the Agnus Dei, as depicted on a green glass gem set in a such copying and adaptation by ‘tailleurs de amans’ was silver 14th-century seal from London inscribed: *sigillvm certainly also taking place in London, to judge from a statute of amoris (The seal of [divine] Love) (Fig. 12).106 Amethyst with Edward I of 1300 addressed to ‘cutters of stones and of seals’ its vinous colour would have been a more suitable recipient and which concerned the quality of their products.95 In his paper there is an unset amethyst intaglio engraved with this theme, Wentzel illustrates a carved relief, the personification of unfortunately not provenanced, in the Ashmolean Museum, idolatry, upon a portal at Notre Dame, Paris in which the idol once in the Fortnum collection; although Fortnum thought it seems to have been based on another Faustina portrait-gem.96 was early Christian, it is surely a work of the High Middle Ages, In the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a beautiful sard lost from a contemporary ring or seal matrix.107 portrait of a youth which, from the boy’s hair-style, appears to The devices on gems were used to display the owner’s be medieval, contemporary with the 13th-century English gold learning, his or her loyalty, notably to the king; his or her piety ring in which it is set; once again it is classicising and obviously and his or her amorous affections, as well as for punning and based on a Roman prototype. The inscription reads: * for personal reasons. For such purposes gems could be ancient iohannes : ezt : nomen : eivs (John is his name), which or contemporary. The material and colour of gems could at the appears self explanatory, referring to the owner, unless there is same time display the owner’s artistic discrimination and also meant to be a reference to the saint.97 possess her or him of magical/ amuletic power as detailed in A silver seal from Diss in Norfolk contains an amethyst the Lapidaries which describe the properties of the different depicting a winged creature which has been taken to be a varieties of stones and devices. These are the self-same reasons

32 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Re-use and Copying of Ancient Intaglios set in Medieval Personal Seals, mainly found in England

Figure 11 (left) Green Jasper intaglio depicting a horseman, set in a silver seal matrix (28 x 23mm). Middle Harling, Norfolk. British Museum P&E 1875,20-1,1

Figure 12 (right) Green glass intaglio depicting the Agnus Dei (23 x 18mm). From London. British Museum P&E 1875,20-1,1 gems were worn in Roman times. Indeed this conference has Notes demonstrated the sophistication of a society which 1 Demay 1877; Henig 2000; Henig 2007, 72–4 and 191–3 and other references cited in text below. discriminated in a highly intelligent and inventive manner 2 Greenhalgh 1989, 229–32. whether ornamenting a shrine for a great church or a personal 3 Heslop 1991, 191. seal. One can imagine the men (and women) who set out to 4 Haskins 1927. purchase a gem-seal poring over trays of engraved stones in the 5 Henig 2007, 71–2, fig. 3a, pl. xxxvii no. 231; pl. xl no. 264 and pl. lii no. 734 (cameo). For the use of gems in early medieval ars sacra see merchant’s shop whether in Rome or nearer to home, and then Snijder 1932; Sena Chiesa 1997 97–114; Sena Chiesa 2002. commissioning a seal-cutter to make a seal or seal-ring in silver 6 Bruce-Mitford 1974, 123–4 and 126, pl. 21 and see pl. 22, and most or gold and engrave his or her name or an appropriate motto recently, Filmer-Sankey and Pestell 2001, 195–8. 7 Jenkinson 1968, 8. Many secreta were, of course, made entirely of upon it; if the last a sacred text or a pun commentating on the metal and were contemporary works of art. sigil would often be chosen. 8 Henig 1997. If this short contribution has done no more, it hopefully 9 Hinton 2005, 187–91. serves to highlight for the medievalist the importance and 10 Evans 1922, 99; see also Studer and Evans1924 and Evans and Serjeantson 1933. rarity of the engraved gems used, and to signal the existence 11 Henig 1997 88–106 and compare with Cherry 124–42 in the same during the period of a well-organised quality trade in ancient volume. gems from Italy and the Levant, probably centred on Rome and 12 Cherry 1999. 13 English Romanesque Art 1984, 83 and cf. cat. nos 31,32,57. perhaps other great Italian cities; it should also signal to the 14 Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual friendship. few classical archaeologists who care to look at Roman gems, 15 Zwierlein-Diehl 1997, 62–83; idem 1998, especially 50–102. that those reset in the Middle Ages and preserved in matrices 16 Ibid. 1997 and 1998, 50–61. or simply as sealings in archives, are some of the best. 17 Studer and Evans, 1924, 279. 18 Inv. P&E 1865, 2–8,1; Tonnochy cat. no. 721; Cherry 1997, 133 and Although the seal-matrices and sealings discussed here are 136 pl. 8/25, col. pl. v. all provenanced from England or Ireland, the same wealth of 19 Babb1992, 83–4; Henig 2000, 3–4, fig.5. material can be found in many other European lands, 20 Nelson 1936, 18 no. 27, pl. ii,5, citing Ecclesiasticus 15, 1. 21 Inv.P&E 1923,5–8,1; Ton 897. sometimes as in Hungary and Italy seeming to continue later.108 22 Zwierlein-Diehl 1998, 61–102. This emphasises the potential importance of the subject, 23 Mark 10,14. although its proper appreciation requires scholars who can 24 Palmer and Seaby 1983–4, 105–10, pl. i and fig.i and see Henig in view western culture as a single entity, both in its Graeco- the same article on 109 for the gem. 25 Nelson 1936,18 no. 26, pl. ii,2. Roman and medieval phases, and move effortlessly between 26 Cherry and Henig 2000, 157–8, no. 6, figs 6.37 and 6.38. sympathy for classical myth and appreciation of Christian 27 Nelson 1936, 24–5 no. 31, pl. ii,8; Henig 2007, 193 no. M26. imagery. Those who persevere in such a task will be 28 Cherry 1997,128 and 136, col. pl. v no. 8/15. guaranteed to find wonders, while at the same time enlarging 29 Henig 1976, 67–9, fig. 11. 30 BM P&E 1956,12–03,3; Henig 2007,193 no. M 28; Campbell 1998, 72, their knowledge of iconography, art and culture over at least a pl. xxiiif. millennium and a half. 31 Ibid, passim. 32 BM P&E 1878,3–20,1; Tonnochy cat. no. 703. 33 BM P&E 1962,11–1,1. Acknowledgements 34 Linenthal and Noel 2004, 64, no. 401, pl. xxiv. I am enormously grateful to all those who have discussed gem-set seal 35 Nelson 1936, 22–4, no. 30, pl. ii,13; compare Henig 2007, 122, nos matrices with me over a great many years, and have brought and 250,251,pl. viii. continue to bring new ones to my attention from time to time, 36 It was brought to my attention by Irene Szymanski of the York especially Frank Basford, Martin Biddle, Marian Campbell, John Archaeological Documentation Centre. Cherry, Rachel Church, Debbie Ford, Lauren Gilmour, Paul Harvey, 37 Dalton 1912, 38 nos 223,225 and 224,pl. iii. Henig 2007, 191–2 nos Sandy Heslop, Nicholas Karn, Laurence Keen, Adrian Marsden, Julian M6, M9 and M18. Munby, Nicholas Palmer, Peter Reavill, Nigel Ramsay and Richard 38 Courcelle 1967, 113–58, pls.lxv–lxxxvi. Sharpe. 39 Henig and Heslop 1986, 305–9, pl. 1, 1 and 2. 40 Henig, M.1974, ‘A medieval sealing in Exeter College archives’, Oxoniensia 39,98–9,pl. viii,b and c = Henig 2007, 192 no. M13, pl. lxii.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 33 Henig

41 Ford and Henig 1998. standing), pls 66–7; Henig 1994, 102–3, nos 186–8. 42 Tonnochy cat. no. 579. 76 Burtt 1869, 84–9 especially 85–6 and illustration; Cheney and 43 BL 210 fol. 103v –105. Jones1986,13–14, no. 23, pl. iv. 44 Zwierlein-Diehl 1998, 50–61. 77 Salter 1914–17, I, 276–7, no. 275 and illus. in III, pl. op. 434. For the 45 Henig and Heslop 1986, 148–53, fig. 1, pl. xliii. gem compare the beautiful example of the type in the Dutch Royal 46 BM P&E 2006,10–4,1. Its Treasure reference is 2005/T75 4476. Collection, Maaskant-Kleibrink 1978, 370 no. 1166, pl. 184. 47 M & LA Loan 89. 78 Madan 1925, 29–30 (note); and especially Poole 1912, 515–17. 48 Henig 2007, 198, no. App. 45, pl. xxv. 79 Spencer 1984, 377–9, no. 6, fig. 3. 49 Luke 9, 48. 80 Information from Adrian Marsden, PAS Norfolk. 50 Indenture in The National Archives, PRO, E329/186 cf. Hillaby and 81 Treasure reference 2006 T126. Hillaby 2006, 61 and pl. 19a. 82 BM P&E 1896, 3–26,1; Tonnochy cat. no. 760, pl. xvi; Heslop in Age 51 Ibid.,199, no. App. 48, pl. xxv. of Chivalry1987, 398 no. 456. 52 Henig 1994, 116, no. 218. 83 BM P&E AF 558; Dalton 1912, 38, no. 226, pl. iii. 53 Ibid., 116–7, no. 218a. 84 BM P&E 1932,2–9,1; Cherry 1997, 133 and 136, pl. 8/24; Cherry 54 Nelson 1936, 19–22 no. 29,pl. ii,7 and 10. 1999,144–5, fig. 1. 55 De gestis regnum anglorum 4.371. 85 Evans 1922, 125; Lightbown 1992, 99, pl. 57, a 14th-century 56 Lightbown 1992, 26. I am indebted to Edna J. Stern of the inscribed brooch from Devizes. University of Haifa for information on the Acre ceramics which 86 Linenthal and Noël 2004, 63 no. 400, pl. xxiv; Dalton 1912, no. 224, will be fully published in due course. For the vast quantities of pl. iii gems in metalwork other than seals see Lasko 1994. 87 IOW 2006–68. Information F. Basford. 57 Victoria and Albert Museum, Waterton Collection 89–1899; Bury 88 Revelation 2, 1. ‘To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The 1984, 28, no. D; cf. Cherry in Ward, Cherry, Gere and Cartlidge words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand…’ . 1981, 66 no. 134 and Cherry in Age of Chivalry 1987, 486, no. 654. 89 See Nelson 1936, 18 no. 24, fig. ii,3; Cherry 1999, 143–4. 58 Faussett 1860, 52–3,fig. 2. 90 BM P&E 1925.2–9.1; Tonnochy 154–5, cat. no. 765. 59 Plantzos 1999, 119, nos 177–9, pl. 31 and especially 127, no. 387, pl. 91 Henig 2007,193 no. M23, pl. xxiii (from Claude Blair’s collection). 58. In style of cutting the Victoria and Albert gem is superior to all 92 Heslop 1991, 188, no. 2, pl. v. except the Oxford stone, 119 no. 178 but its material is much rarer. 93 BM P&E 1881,3–12,1; Tonnochy cat. no. 705; Heslop in Age of 60 Henig 1983, 57–8 no. 1, pl. 1a. The ring is in Canterbury Cathedral Chivalry 1987, 276 no. 198; Cherry 1997, 128 and 136, pl. 8/16, col.pl. Treasury. v. 61 Cherry in Ward, Cherry, Gere and Cartlidge 1981, 61, no. 116. The 94 Wentzel 1953, 342–50. ring is in Chichester Cathedral Treasury. 95 Statutes of the Realm, I,1810,141; Lightbown 1992, 24. 62 Historia Pontificalis, 81; cf. Boase 1953, 170. 96 Wentzel 1953, 342 and pl. 48a. 63 Franklin 1993, 35–6, pl. iv. 97 V&A M290–1962, cf. Bury 1984, 28, no. B. 64 Patterson 1973, 24 and pls xxxib and f. 98 Nelson 1936,19, no. 28, pl. ii,6. 65 Revelation 4, 7. (St John the Divine was generally confused with 99 Publication in Winchester Studies 8, The Winchester Mint, the Evangelist). forthcoming dealing with the Winchester mind and related 66 Henig 2007,135 no. 357,pl. xii; Henig and Whiting1987, 10, nos material, including seals. 34–36; see Henig 1983a, 109–12,pl. c, for semeion standards. 100 Tonnochy cat. no. 704. 67 Nelson 1936, 18, no. 25, pl. ii,4. 101 Rogerson 1995, 62–3, no. 81, fig. 44. 68 Henig 1983, 58, no. 3, pl. 1c. 102 Henig and Leahy 2003, 167–9, fig. 1. 69 BM P&E 1956,12–3,1, ex Philip Nelson Collection. Cf. Boardman 103 Henig and Heslop 1986, 306, pl. 1,5–6. and Vollenweider 1978, 63 no. 268, pl. xlii. 104 Ibid., pl. 1, 3–4. 70 Ibid., 58, no. 2, pl. 1b. 105 Ford and Henig 1998; Henig 2000, 5–6, fig. 12. 71 Henig and Gilmour 2004, 419, fig. 2 (medieval silver gem-set seal 106 BM P&E 1875,2–1,12; Tonnochy cat. no. 717, pl. xv. from Crowmarsh). 107 Fortnum 1885, 167, fig. 6. As Arthur MacGregor and I both thought 72 Ton.145 no. 702, pl. xiv. it was medieval we omitted it from the recent catalogue of Roman 73 Maaskant-Kleibrink 1978, 173, no. 348, pl. 69. Gems in the Ashmolean Museum. 74 Karn 2005, cxlvi–cxlvii, pl. iv. 108 Demay 1877; Tamás and György 2006. 75 Maaskant-Kleibrink 1978,171 no. 339 (also no. 338 but the satyr is

34 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Seals and Status in Medieval English Towns: A Case-study of London, Newcastle and Durham Elizabeth New

In recent years there has been much debate about medieval as a customs port in 1275.12 The town’s burgesses were engaged perceptions of identity. It is now accepted that seals can provide in significant internal and overseas trade from at least the 12th helpful insights into how such identities were expressed.1 Civic century, and by the time of the Lay Subsidy of 1334 the taxable seals are no exception, and can contribute to wider debates wealth of Newcastle citizens was exceeded only by London, about urban societies. Personal seals from towns are another York and Bristol.13 Although a constant reminder of royal rich source, important even for comparatively well-known power, the garrison appears to have aided the development of figures. While the public life of London’s famous mayor the town, as well as providing much-needed security.14 The Richard Whittington can easily be traced, for example, little is Bishop of Durham was no more than a passing figure, while known about his private life, and his choice of seals is one of most of the religious houses in the town were founded by the few ways in which one may catch a glimpse of the man citizens rather than clerics or magnates. In this context the himself.2 Common Seal is very much an individual identifier, acting as a This paper focuses upon on one aspect of urban seals, declaration of the town’s place as a strong regional centre namely their function as expressions of status and authority. A protected by its eponymous castle. The personal seals of full discussion of English urban seals would be prohibitively Newcastle citizens, which are discussed below, reveal patterns long, so instead civic and personal seals from London will be of common identity in keeping with the secular civic matrix. considered, with comparative material drawn from Newcastle- Unlike Newcastle, Durham’s medieval town seal survives upon-Tyne and Durham.3 Seals previously have been used by only as a matrix apparently copied from the original (Fig. 1).15 historians to examine ideas of urban governance and identity It shows a bishop flanked by shields of arms (England) with in London,4 while the connections between seals and status in mitres above, and a shield of arms (a cross fimbriated) below. the late 12th and early 13th century have received recent The figure is sometimes identified as the actual Bishop of attention.5 This latter study has shown that, while some Durham, but in fact probably represents Cuthbert, Durham’s Londoners of the period utilised the sigillographic vocabulary principal saint. The lack of a nimbus may be the result of post- of the contemporary nobility, others started to experiment with Reformation censorship, while the object above the bishop’s different designs in a manner which suggests a growing left arm is almost certainly the head of St Oswald, one of consciousness of urban identity and the distinct status of the Cuthbert’s attributes but an image with which a seal-engraver citizen.6 It is these ideas of status within the town, and of a of the early 17th century might not have been familiar. The developing communal consciousness, which will be explored town of Durham developed in size and wealth in the 13th here for the mid-13th to mid-15th centuries. What can official century, with two large fairs every year and a range of seals tell us about civic identity? Do the seals of citizens reflect merchants and artisans as citizens.16 It was the bishop, urban-specific ideas of status, or do they operate within much however, who was the most important power in the town and wider paradigms? And, in London, were they used consciously to express the status of being a citizen of England’s premier city? Scholars have noted that the image on a seal, particularly a corporate seal, was designed to be understood by a wide audience through the employment of a limited range of iconographic types, with the legend functioning as the prime individual identifier.7 Urban seals fit within these parameters.8 Buildings, a significant landmark, a patron saint, or ships are the main images found on urban seals.9 From the mid-13th century heraldry, either specifically civic or that of an overlord, began also to be employed.10 Both Newcastle and Durham had town seals which fall into one of these main categories. The Common Seal of Newcastle is early for an English town, possibly dating from the mid-12th century, but its design, a castle or castellated gateway with (blank) shields displayed above the gate, is conventional and appropriate.11 Newcastle became increasingly important as a commercial, military and political centre from the 1080s and, despite a devastating fire in 1248, witnessed great commercial Figure 1 Seal of the City of Durham; a copy of the medieval matrix presented success in the 13th century which culminated in its designation to the City in 1608 (diam. 58mm). Society of Antiquaries of London

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 35 New

Fig ure 2 Common Seal of London, obverse (diam. 72mm); note the star on the Figure 3 Common Seal of London, reverse (diam. 72mm) gateway, added in 1376. Society of Antiquaries of London the right of the barons of London to elect their own mayor in region, with great temporal as well as spiritual authority.17 This 1215.23 Although the Commune did not last, the city was able to explains the mitred shields and the incorporation of the family extract further concessions from King John, and no subsequent arms of one of the bishops. It is, however, of interest that the monarch could afford to take London for granted. town’s patron saint is given pride of place. St Cuthbert was a These moves towards greater autonomy were not met with major saint in medieval England and his shrine a site of great enthusiasm by the King. Barron has summarised the pilgrimage, something which brought both financial and relationship between city and crown by saying that ‘At the spiritual benefits to the town. It may be suggested that, while simplest level the king needed money and the Londoners the Bishop probably influenced the design of the Common seal, wanted self-government’.24 Although London provided it may have been the citizens who ensured that their saint, essential financial support for the crown and could play an rather than their spiritual and temporal overlord, who featured important role in national affairs, the fact that the king usually on the matrix. had the upper hand is neatly summed up by Barron’s comment At first glance, the early 13th-century Common Seal of that ‘it was clear to all who was... the cat and who the mouse.’25 London also fits the standard pattern of town seals.18 The On occasion, however, the mouse roared. The design of the obverse depicts the walled city with St Paul, the city’s patron, Common Seal and the decisions Londoners were making about looming above (Fig. 2). The legend: sigillvm baronum their personal seals illuminate this relationship between crown londoniarvm (Seal of the barons of London), further identifies and city at crucial stages in London’s history. it. The reverse has another townscape beneath the seated The reverse of the Common Seal is, in one respect, a seal of figure of the city’s other patron, St Thomas of Canterbury (Fig. devotion, although the design and legend project more than 3). The legend: me que te peperi ne cesses thoma tveri (Do simple piety. When he wrote his Life of Becket, William not cease, Thomas, to protect me who brought thee forth) FitzStephen made much of the fact that both he and the Saint might not seem an obvious identifier today, but would have were Londoners, and prefaced his work with a vivid description been intelligible to a medieval audience familiar with the fact of the city.26 In the design and legend of their seal, the that Thomas was born in London. Londoners who commissioned the matrix were also claiming Dating from c. 1216, London’s is not the earliest English Thomas as their own, ensuring that no-one could fail to make urban seal and it fits within the expected paradigms.19 Unlike the connection between England’s saintly superstar and the the town seals of Durham and Newcastle, however, those who city. The lack of a barrier between Thomas and the Londoners commissioned the London Common Seal did not rely only upon both reinforces their importance in relation to the Saint, and established iconography, but adapted the imagery and wording acts as a notable precursor of the personal seals of devotion to make a remarkable statement of civic identity. The Common where individual Londoners placed themselves beside their Seal can in effect be seen as a declaration of London’s central patron, something which is discussed at length below. place within the realm in unambiguous terms and for reasons It is, however, on the obverse that London’s significance which have everything to do with status, power and and power is most clearly manifest. The legend refers not to the authority.20 whole urban community or to the city, but specifically to the The late 12th and early 13th centuries were significant times ‘barons’ of London, just as the charter of 1215 granted the for English towns, when they were developing a sense of urban ‘barons’ the right to elect a mayor.27 Although there is much identity and sought increased self-government.21 London led debate as to exactly who constituted this group, the message is the way, demanding unprecedented rights from the crown.22 clear; the top people in the city wanted to ensure that everyone This culminated in the granting of the Commune in 1191, and of recognised that they were the equal of others who served the

36 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Seals and Status in Medieval English Towns king in a military, financial or political capacity. It is also of some feared that it might have been misused, a group of note that, although the term ‘barons’ was replaced by London aldermen insisted that the obverse was differenced ‘commonality’ in documents by the later 13th century, the with a star.34 The decision not to make more radical changes legend was never altered. may in part have been because of the exceptional quality of the The design provides equally important evidence for the matrix, but probably had more to do with the need to ensure status of London. The magnificent cityscape has elicited stability and continuity by changing as little as possible. If so, frequent comment, but St Paul is usually described as presiding then it is further evidence that the Common Seal really was over the city as patron with little further discussion.28 While he seen both to represent and to embody the commonalty of is certainly a holy guardian, it may be suggested that St Paul is London. not simply providing spiritual protection; if read carefully, his In addition to the Common Seal, by 1278 London possessed image can also be seen to project the power and status of the a seal of the Mayoralty (Fig. 4). This single-sided matrix city. Parallels have been suggested between the obverse of this depicted Saints Paul and Thomas Becket, who invoked divine matrix and that of the Great Seal of England, with the image of protection on the mayor and at the same time would also have St Paul with sword and banner borrowed from the majesty brought to mind the commanding iconography of the Common image.29 This idea is supported by further details in the design. Seal.35 Although small, the leopards in the spaces between the While a few other English civic seals depict the banner of design and legend band also echo that other seal by recalling England, London is unique in the manner in which it is the Banner of England. In the context of status and power, the displayed.30 By showing St Paul holding the banner, the date of the matrix is significant. This seal was commissioned message would appear to be that the kingdom and the city are soon after the restoration of London’s liberties, including the inextricably linked, with the saint planting the symbol of right to elect the mayor, following their suspension between England at the heart of London, just as the city was at the heart 1265–70.36 In this way the seal can been seen as a celebration of of the country.31 Another implication seems to be that without the return of civic self-government, and a statement of the St Paul and the wall, that is London, to support and to protect divine protection for the city and its mayor. it, the banner – the king and realm – would be vulnerable. Unlike the Common Seal, the seal of the Mayoralty was London’s Common Seal is recognised to be one of the finest replaced after only a century. In April 1381 the existing matrix matrices from medieval England, and was probably engraved was declared to be ‘ancient, ugly and unworthy of the honour by Walter de Ripa, a leading goldsmith who engraved Henry of the... city’ and a new one was commissioned by the Mayor, III’s Great Seal in 1218.32 That the Londoners sought out such a William Walworth (Fig. 5).37 As scholars have noted, the old skilled craftsman is indicative of the importance of the matrix. seal was in fact of a high standard, so clearly there were other The early 13th century was also a time when Londoners were factors at work.38 During the later 14th century there was starting to experiment with the designs on their personal seals, unrest in London, related to the control of government and the relying less on the established types used by the nobility.33 It is power of different groups which created factions.39 There was this combination of factors – the experimentation with personal also national unrest, culminating in the Peasants’ Revolt in the seals, the granting of crucially important rights of the City, and summer of 1381. This might not seem to be the best time to the economic and political dynamism and confidence of the change such an important symbol of civic office, but in many leading Londoners – which surely explains why such powerful ways the new mayoral seal does make sense.40 It embodied the and innovative designs were used for the corporate seal. status and authority of the office regardless of the incumbent, The Common Seal matrix remained in use until the and in a time of insecurity projected the idea of power and Reformation, but in 1376, following a period of unrest when stability.41

Figure 4 First seal of the Mayoralty of London, c. 1276 (diam. 46mm). Society Figure 5 Second seal of the Mayoralty of London, 1381 (diam. 60mm). Society of Antiquaries of London of Antiquaries of London

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 37 New

Below the saints on the 1381 seal of the Mayoralty, and Figure 6 Seal of Joan de Honeylane, appearing for the first time, are the arms of the city (argent, a with the owner in a donor-figure pose next to the Virgin and Child cross gules, in the first quarter a sword in pale the point upwards (diam. 22mm). Drawing by the of the second).42 It is not clear exactly when London adopted author these arms, but the cross of St George had political significance by the later 14th century. St George was embraced with enthusiasm as a patron by Edward III, and the Order of the Garter was established under the saint’s protection in 1348. By the 1380s the cross of St George was therefore imbued with royal and national associations, and it cannot have been by chance that London adopted it. Just as with the leopards of England on the first seal, the new symbol of king and country de Lenne, Sheriff in 1349–50.50 Although numbers are limited, was included in the 1381 matrix. The incorporation of the this evidence suggests that those in London and Newcastle who sword of St Paul, the city’s patron, adapted the royal and used gems fit within the expected social strata of seal-owners national symbol and created a specific identifier, intimately with intaglio stones, and were perhaps using their seals as a connected with civic history, identity and pride.43 mark of this status. The appearance of heraldry on a civic seal at this date has Other types of seal suggest ideas of identity, some less further layers of significance. As will be discussed below, it was immediately obvious than others. From the sample of in the 14th century that armorial and pseudo-armorial devices Londoners 39, or over 15%, used seals with religious imagery; and shields with merchants’ marks became increasingly only one citizen from Newcastle or Durham did so. While this prevalent on the personal seals of Londoners. Indeed it may be may not suggest that Londoners were particularly pious, other suggested that the use of armorial devices on Londoners’ seals important status-related issues are highlighted by the influenced this change in civic iconography. It is certainly clear discrepancies involved here. A significant indicator of status is that communal and personal representation and expressions of the detail of the design. Seven of the 39 religious seals used by status were intimately interconnected in medieval London. Londoners are seals of devotion, with a figure praying to a The personal seals in this study date from c. 1250–1450, and saint.51 These seals of devotion may be divided into those which have been extracted from a number of catalogues.44 Only depict the owner beneath a division of some sort, and those laymen who can be identified as citizens, and the wives of such with a suppliant figure within the main field.52 Five of the seven individuals, are included. Following these criteria, the seals of London seals, including that of Joan de Honylane (Fig. 6), 53 253 Londoners and 68 burgesses of Newcastle and Durham place the owner in the field next to the saint, a far higher have been extracted (Table 1). proportion of this type than normally found among personal seals of devotion.54 Table 1 Seals and status in medieval English towns The visual association between such seals and donor figures in other media is immediately apparent. Donor figures Type of design London seal-owners Durham & Newcastle seal-owners appear principally in manuscripts and glass, where patrons Armorial 44 (17.3%) 10 (14.7%) commission depictions of themselves at prayer before Christ or Gems 7 (2.7%) 2 (2.9%) Merchant marks 17 (6.7%) 12 (17.6%) a saint. Many examples survive from the 13th century, and this Merchant marks on shield 9 (3.5%) 6 (8.8%) visual language of piety and status became even more Pseudo-armorial 12 (4.7%) 5 (7.3%) prevalent in the 14th century. The wealthy urban elite as well Religious 39 (15.4%) 1 (1.4%) Trade-related devices 7 (2.7%) 6 (8.8%) as gentry and nobility commissioned manuscripts and glass Other miscellaneous designs 118 (46.6%) 26 (38.2%) with donor figures, although the surviving material has In common with men and women across medieval England, frequently led scholars to suggest that this happened only from townspeople used a wide variety of images on their seals.45 the mid-14th century.55 Seals provide evidence that this became There are, however, certain designs which can provide an urban fashion at a slightly earlier date, since Londoners particularly pertinent information about perceptions of status. commissioned seals with a donor-figure image by the 1330s.56 Seals with intaglio gems, both ancient and medieval, have Another important influence on the London citizens may have frequently been cited as having talismanic value, and are been the iconography of the Common Seal. The reverse, which generally accepted as a high-status choice for seal-owners.46 was widely seen by Londoners throughout the medieval period Two of the most famous instances of gem seals are the signet because of its use on documents related to the City, depicted ring attributed to Richard I and the matrix of Thomas Becket, citizens at prayer next to, rather than below, St Thomas Becket. both of which used re-set ancient gems.47 Richard Whittington, This striking image may have resonated with Londoners, a wealthy merchant as well as famous civic office-holder, is also providing an exemplar for their own seals of devotion. known to have used an intaglio gem for one of his seals.48 In the Moreover, these London ‘donor figure’ seals are of a very high current sample seven Londoners and two Newcastle burgesses standard, further reinforcing the connection between used seals with gems. Both Newcastle men were leading sigillographic image and status. Such seals projected an image merchants in their city. Hugh Carliol was among the burgesses of piety intrinsically linked with the elites, while the quality of of Newcastle sent to the 1295 Parliament, while Richard of the matrix demonstrated that the owner could afford a skilled Emeldon served as mayor of his city in the early 14th century.49 seal-engraver. Three of the five Londoners who used gem seals were wealthy It has long been accepted that seals with armorial or landowners, while one, Alice de Lenne, was the wife of Ralph pseudo-armorial devices conveyed concepts of social standing.

38 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Seals and Status in Medieval English Towns

Armorial seals were first used by the highest levels of English Figure 7 Armorial seal with a society in the 12th century, and their adoption by the wider rebus design; William Pickerel (diam. 21mm). Drawing by the nobility, knights, and gentry has been the subject of much author scholarly debate.57 The discussion of the use of armorial seals by urban elites has tended to assume that successful citizens used heraldic devices as a sign that they had arrived in the wider social arena, and were shrugging off their mercantile origins. For example Thrupp used sigillographic evidence in ground-breaking ways, but discussed the armorial seals of Londoners in a chapter entitled ‘Trade and Gentility’.58 It may be, however, that the factors influencing the use of armorial seals in an urban context were more complex than a simple young pike) (Fig. 7).68 A few pseudo-armorial seals were sign of the gentrification of townsmen. Successful citizens were religious in nature, such as the shield charged with three certainly not reluctant to use this badge of status, although it is wheels accompanied by the legend [or]a’ pro. me. pia. important to remember that some citizens came from katerina (Pray for me holy Catherine) used in 1374 by armigerious families. For example Richard Whittington used fishmonger John Longney.69 his Gloucestershire family’s arms on one of his seals.59 As with Far more common among the pseudo-armorial category are religious imagery, however, when the use of armorial seals is seals which use trade-related blazons; cloves for grocers and considered in more detail fascinating patterns emerge. apothecaries, as in the case of the apothecary John de Sellinge, The armorial seals in this study constitute roughly one who sealed with a shield with three cloves.70 Goldsmiths can be quarter of all those used by Londoners and citizens of found with seals engraved with buckles and goblets.71 The seal Newcastle and Durham (Table 1).60 This category includes of the surgeon Adam le Rouse is particularly striking, with seals which use conventional armorial devices, those with three flasks in chief.72 He was a royal surgeon in the 1360s, and suspect blazoning which may be termed pseudo-armorial, and the use of the emblem of his profession as a charge fits well those with shields blazoned with merchant marks, condemned with his status as a man who served the king. The use of fish as by a 15th-century herald as ‘not armes’ but widely used in the a pseudo-armorial device by fishmongers was also popular.73 later middle ages.61 The earliest armorial seals in this survey Londoners certainly seem to have employed pseudo- appear in the 1240s, but they are most numerous in the mid- to armorial and trade-related devices on shields more frequently later 14th century. that citizens in Newcastle and Durham. All date from the 14th The majority of London armorial seals display identifiable century, the period in which heraldry was being used on an arms or follow heraldic conventions, a higher proportion of the increasingly wide variety of media, armorial devices were armorial category than is found on the seals from Newcastle rapidly adopted by lesser knights and, significantly, arms and Durham. The presence of heralds in the capital may have appeared on one of the City’s civic seals. The armorial shield been influential, although the vastly different size and status of was a status symbol, and it is no surprise to find prosperous the towns themselves may have been a significant factor. merchants and citizens using it to full effect. London was a major city whose leading merchants regularly Shields charged with a pseudo-armorial device fit within a supplied the royal court and traded with international clients.62 national vocabulary of status, but merchants’ marks are urban- It therefore was likely to have had a number of citizens who specific devices. The use of such marks on shields was barred belonged to armigerious social groups. Almost all Londoners by heralds in 1478, and even some modern scholars have been who used heraldic devices were prominent merchants, many of rather disdainful about them, Thrupp commenting that such whom held civic office. An early example is Nicholas Bat, who use turned an otherwise plausible shield of arms into ‘a mere served as Sheriff in 1244–46.63 In the 14th century, several trade mark’.74 This is to miss the point. Even if they were ‘trade sheriffs owned armorial seals, including the mercer, William marks’, they were deliberately used by wealthy merchants and de Caustone (Sheriff 1316–17) and the grocer, John Aubry artisans on seals at a time when the status of townsmen, (Sheriff 1373–74).64 When the London Mayor, William particularly when access to the freedom – that is citizenship – Walworth, was knighted, following his role in quelling the was sharply contested.75 Indeed McGuinness makes the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381, he was also awarded a grant-of-arms, important point that, among the Newcastle burgesses, although he was already using an armorial seal in 1377.65 This merchants’ mark seals give an ‘impression of common suggests that the use of armorial devices by leading Londoners identity’.76 This fits well with the strong, secular, imagery of was accepted without much comment by contemporaries.66 Newcastle’s Common Seal discussed above. The grey area of pseudo-armorial devices, along with A far higher proportion of Newcastle citizens than shields charged with merchant marks, can also provide an Londoners used merchants’ marks, both on a shield and as a insight into concepts of status in later medieval English towns. main design, on their seals – 26.4% of all Newcastle and Scholars have noted that a number of Londoners simply created Durham sigillants in contrast to only 10.2% of London seal- devices with which to charge a shield, sometimes following a owners in this sample.77 The reasons for this are not clear, general heraldic lexicon or using a trade-related device.67 This although overall a higher proportion of Londoners used is certainly the case from the sample under discussion in this armorial, pseudo-armorial and religious designs. Merchant paper. Some devices are a rebus, a pun on a person’s name, marks were not a poor man’s shield of arms, however, for such as the three small fish employed by London saddler prominent citizens chose to use them when their William Pickerel on his mid-14th-century seal (a pickerel is a contemporaries were using correct armorial devices. As early

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 39 New

Figure 8 Seal of John de 1914–19; Blair 1923, 1924. The choice of Newcastle and Durham for Stodeye, with a merchant’s comparative samples is dictated largely by the limited availability mark in place of a crest (diam. of catalogues of urban seals. 25mm). Drawing by the author 4 Thrupp 1982, 249–55 and Appendix A; Barron 1969; Barron 2004, 38; Barron 2004a, 113–15; Goodall 1959; New 2008. 5 McEwan 2006. 6 McEwan 2006, 82–7. Henry FitzAilwyn, London’s first mayor, drew upon noble seals in his use of an equestrian seal which depicted him hawking. 7 Bedos-Rezak 1990, 34. 8 BM Seals, nos 4579–5546. See also St John Hope 1894–5; Pedrick 1904; Harvey and McGuinness 1996, 107–12. For French seals see Bedos 1980 and Bedos-Rezak 1990. 9 Harvey and McGuinness 1996,109; St John Hope, ‘Municipal Seals’, 438; Bedos 1980. 10 St John Hope 1894–5, 447. as 1300 the wealthy London cloth merchant and sheriff 11 BM Seals no. 5193; Blair 1922, 171–2, fig. 1. Blair notes a suggestion Reginald de Thunderle used a seal with a shield charged with that the Newcastle town seal may be as early as 1135, but is his merchant mark.78 This became more common later in the justifiably cautious about endorsing this. 14th century, and the seal of John Pounfreyt, used in 1392, 12 Wade 1995, 3; Mackenzie 1827, 7, 9, 10–14. 13 Wade 1994, 31, 38. displaying a merchant mark on a shield within a cusped border, 14 Wade 1995, 3; Mackenzie 1827, 7, 9, 11–13. provides a distinctive example.79 On occasion, a merchant’s 15 BM Seals no. 4899; St John Hope 1894–95, 451. The arms below the mark was even incorporated with a legitimate armorial design. bishop may have been those of Bishop Skirlaw, but were later adopted as the civic arms. Birch and St John Hope clearly state that The mid-14th-century seal of John de Stodeye, a London the matrix, given to the city in 1608, was copied from the medieval vintner, who served both as sheriff and mayor of his city, has as matrix and this analysis appears to be correct, although Gee (1928, its main design a shield of arms with his mark above in the 34) described the die as ‘an excellent piece of medieval art’. place usually reserved for a crest, deliberately emphasising his 16 Gee 1928, 15–16, 23. 17 Gee 1928, 10–11, 18; Lapsley 1924, 31. 80 mercantile credentials (Fig. 8). 18 Heslop (1987, no. 193) describes this seal as ‘one of the outstanding Some seals used a trade-related image as the main design. civic seals of medieval Europe’. Several such seals from Durham and Newcastle show the seal- 19 Exeter’s town seal dates from the last quarter of the 12th century, although that of Newcastle-upon-Tyne may be earlier, St John owners engaged in their occupation, but no such images Hope 1894–95, 435; Blair 1922, 172. 81 appear on London seals in this sample. Instead, Londoners 20 Barron 2004a, 113–14. seem to have favoured a more symbolic trade-related 21 Good introductions to English towns in this crucial period are vocabulary. A fine example is the 14th-century seal of Roger Campbell 2001, especially 69–75, and Britnell 2006. 22 For the development of London in the 10th to 13th centuries, see Raby, a London goldsmith, which depicts a large ring-brooch or Brooke Keir 1975, Williams 1962 and Keene 2001. buckle.82 In the 15th century the goldsmiths adopted the buckle 23 Brooke and Keir 1975, 47–9. There had been a mayor of London as a device on their company arms,83 but Raby’s seal suggests from the late 12th century, but the right to elect such an officer was only granted by the crown in 1215; I am grateful to Prof. Caroline that this device was a symbol of the craft at a much earlier Barron for clarification on this matter and other aspects of the 84 date. Whether such seals were precursors of later guild arms development of London government. is debatable, but they are however unmistakable statements of 24 Barron 2004, 9. a specifically mercantile identity. Whether using an urban- 25 Barron 2004, 10, 16–18. 26 Riley, 1859–62, vol. 2, 1–15. For a translation of the Description see specific merchants’ mark or drawing on the national language Stenton 1934. of armorial devices, all these town-based seal-owners were 27 Contemporary documents refer to citizens and aldermen as well as expressing their sense of status, authority and power as barons, but the charter of 1215 granted only the ‘barons of London’ understood in an urban context. the right to elect the mayor. Scholars have recently concluded that the ‘barons’ of London were leading Londoners who were landowners in the City, that is, demesne barons of the king, Conclusions Caroline Barron, pers. comm. This brief survey suggests that the close connection between 28 London 1987, no. 193; St John Hope 1894–95, 439. 29 Barron 2004a, 115. seals and status in medieval towns has much wider 30 The seals of Rochester, Kent, and Appleby, Westmoreland, depict implications for debates about urban identities than previously the banner of England, the first showing it flying from a castle and has been noted. By looking both at civic seals and the personal the latter (which was a site of the Royal Exchequer) incorporating seals of townspeople in tandem, an urban-specific sense of it in a rather clumsy manner within the martyrdom of St Lawrence, BM Seals, vol. 2, nos 5331, 4587. identity, with its own paradigms of status and authority, 31 For the relationship between crown and city in the early 13th emerges. There is still much work to do in this field, but it is century see Barron 2004, 9–42, and McEwan 2007. clear that seals were making good impressions in towns as 32 London 1985, no. 193. 33 McEwan (2006, 87) suggests that ‘changes in the governance of the elsewhere, and that scholars ignore them at their peril. city encouraged leading members of the community to identify more strongly with the London community’, while Barron (2004a, Notes 113) cites the Common Seal as ‘one of the earliest expressions of 1 See for example Rubin 2006 and the essays in von Moos 2004. An ‘political thought’ from London. important article about French urban seals addresses the 34 Barron 2004, 134. difficulties of the ‘conceptualisation of communality’ faced by 35 This matrix was engraved to a high standard, and art-historians those producing the earliest town seals (Bedos-Rezak 1990, 39). have made comparisons between it and details of the magnificent 2 Barron 1969, 230–2. Whittington’s seals are discussed below. Westminster Retable (Age of Chivalry 1987, no. 194. 3 The civic seals are recorded in BM Seals, nos 4579–5546; personal 36 Williams 1962, 242; Age of Chivalry 1987, no. 195. seals in this study are drawn from Ellis 1978, 1981; Blair 1911–13 and 37 Age of Chivalry 1987, no. 195.

40 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Seals and Status in Medieval English Towns

38 Barron 2004a, 114. 60 In a study based solely on Ellis’s catalogues almost half of 39 Bird 1949 is an accessible introduction to this complex period. Londoners were found to have used armorial seals; this was . 40 Barron (2004a, 113–15) suggests that the replacement of the seal in probably biased by the predominance of wealthy merchants 1381 was an important stage in the corporate identity of the body attesting the sample documents. See Barron 2002, 232 and n. 71. In politic. his survey of personal seals in TNA DL25 collections, Prof. Harvey 41 Barron (2004a, 114) notes that the legend on the first seal referred identified only 16% of the seals as armorial (Harvey 1991, 117–27). to the office of the mayor and not to the individual. 61 Thrupp notes the use of pseudo-armorial devices, which she 42 It is sometimes suggested that the sword is in fact the dagger used suggests were often designed by seal-engravers (Thrupp 1982, by William Walworth to attack Wat Tyler. This cannot be true 252). Merchant marks were banned as charges in 1478, Goodall because the sword appears on the City arms before the Peasants’ 1959, 20. Armorial seals in London are discussed in other contexts Revolt, a fact which was noted a century ago (St John Hope in Barron 2002 and New forthcoming. 1894–95, 451). Concurrent with the new seal are provisions for the 62 As early as c. 1300 London was an international centre for trade Midsummer Watch to wear liveries of red and white, the heraldic (Keene 2002, 205–6). colours of the City, Barron 2004a, 114. 63 BH Deeds A.4. 43 Barron describes the City arms as an expression of the civic 64 Caustone used his seal in 1311 (TNA E329/59); Aubry impressed his identity of the Londoners, Barron 2004a, 115. armorial seal on a document of 1377 (TNA E329/33); Henry 44 Ellis 1978, 1982; New unpublished; Blair 1923, 1924; Blair 1911–13, Nasard, a wealthy merchant who possessed an armorial seal, 1914–19. resigned as alderman in 1322 because of the demands of royal 45 Good introductions to the imagery on personal seals are Harvey service (Barron 2004, 142, no. 149). and McGuinness 1994, 77–93 and Heslop 1987. Numerous 65 Thrupp 1982, 251; Walworth impressed his armorial seal on at least examples foliate motifs, birds and animals, grotesques, rebus and one document in 1377 (TNA E329/3). canting designs are found on urban seals; for discussions of the 66 Armorial bearings of London aldermen are mentioned as early as types of design on London seals see Thrupp 1982, 253–5 and New 1215, while aldermen were expected to use heraldic devices in the 2008. 14th century (Goodall 1959, especially 17–18; Thrupp 1982, 252–3). 46 Cherry 1997, 133; Clanchy 1993, 316–17; Harvey and McGuinness 67 Thrupp 1982, 252–3; Barron 2002, 233–4. The question of what 1996, 14, 36. constituted a correct blazon in the 14th century is a complex one, as 47 Harvey and McGuiness 1996, fig. 30 (British Museum, P&E 1962, heraldic devices were often adopted by an individual and 11–1,1); Clanchy 1993, 316 . gradually became accepted as formal devices. The research origins 48 London, Guildhall Library, Mss. 2903, 5457, discussed in Barron of this practice of inherited heraldry is summarised in Crouch 1969, 250 – 1, figs V.a, V.b. 2002, 28–30. 49 Blair 1923–4, nos 531, 889. Carliol was the son of Thomas Carliol, 68 TNA E42/295 (Ellis 1978, P618); Pickerel appended his seal to a Mayor of Newcastle in 1260 and 1264–65, while Emelden appears document in 1350. as a burgess of Newcastle from 1296 and Mayor in 1305–08, 1311–12 69 TNA E329/57 (Ellis 1978, P488); Longney died in 1383 (Sharpe and 1313 (Blair 1940, 2–4). 1890, vol. 2, 233). 50 Ralph and Alice de Lenne used their seals to attest a document of 70 BH Deeds G. 10 seal 1, impressed in 1333; Selling may be identified 1324, BH Deeds F. 85 seal 2 (Barron 2004, 331). Jolan de Durham (d. with the man of this name who is mentioned in the will of 1314) used his gem seal in the later 13th century, and bequeathed apothecary John Dachet (d. 1316) (Sharpe 1890, vol. 1, 270). silver plate in addition to land, Sharpe 1890, vol. 1, 251; John de 71 Thrupp 1982, 252–3 Middleton, who impressed his seal in 1306, was the sole heir of the 72 TNA E42/13 (Ellis 1978 or 1981, 672). Rouse (d. 1379) was royal wealthy clerk, William de Middleton (d. 1300), Sharpe 1890, vol. 1, surgeon in the 1360s (Sharpe 1890, vol. 2, 211–12; Barron 2004, 282 149; Margaret de Lindeseye, (d. 1349) widow of John, used a gem n. 86, 88). seal in 1333, and bequeathed a considerable amount of land 73 Thrupp’s suggestion (1982, 252) that this clearly had pious (Sharpe 1890, vol. 1, 62). connotations seems rather overstated; although the fish clearly 51 Ellis 1978, 1982, P11, P674, P921, P1295 and BH Deeds E.18, G.34, had resonance as a Christian symbol, there was plenty of scope for G.36 seal 2. The total number of seals of devotion is somewhat far more explicitly devout imagery on seals if the owner wished to lower than the average of 23% of religious seals which are seals of express piety. devotion, a proportion calculated from the author’s postdoctoral 74 Thrupp 1982, 253. research on the sigillographic religious iconography. This research 75 Rigby and Ewan 2001, especially 300–4; the situation in London was based on a survey of all the main published catalogues of was particularly complex and fraught (Barron 2004, 204–6). British seals which produced a sample of 1,004 personal seals with 76 McGuinness 1986, 172. religious elements. 77 McGuinness found that almost half his Newcastle sigillants 52 From the late 13th-century episcopal seals of dignity feature a employed merchants’ marks (McGuinness 1982, 127). suppliant figure beneath a barrier, for example, St John Hope 78 TNA E213/49; Thunderle was sheriff in 1305–6 (Barron 2004, 352). 1885–7, 277–8. He was a prominent merchant, and supplied rich fabrics to the 53 TNA DL25/1463. crown (Quinton 2000, 170, no. 209). 54 This is based on the seals of devotion extracted from the author’s 79 BH Deeds C.50, H.11. sample of personal seals with religious iconography, of which 89 80 TNA C148/48 (Ellis 1978, P751); Stodeye was Sheriff in 1352–3 and depict the suppliant figure in the field but 143 (62%) have an Mayor in 1357–8. architectural division between the suppliant figure and the saint. 81 Examples from Durham and Newcastle include the well-known 55 The earliest identified example of a merchant as a donor-figure in seal of Eustace the Brewer mashing at a tub (Blair 1911–13, 1914–19, glass is Robert de Skelton, a leading York merchant, who appears no. 344). Londoners did on occasion use such designs; the seal of in a window of c. 1350 in the church of St Denis, Walmgate, York, Reginald of Friday Street apparently depicts him tapping a barrel Coldstream 1994, 160. of wine, for example, Warwick Castle, Charters, no. 233, cited in 56 Alice, wife of goldsmith Richard de Ramsey, used a donor figure Bloom 1906, 179. seal in 1332 (BH Deeds G. 36 seal 2). 82 BH Deeds F. 70. 57 Useful introductions are Crouch 2002 and Coss 1995. Blair 1943 83 The Goldsmiths’ Company arms incorporated ‘buckles’, which remains a key introduction to the development of heraldry on look very similar to Raby’s ring-brooch, by c. 1470 (Reddaway and seals. Walker 1975, pl. 1). I am grateful to John Clark for drawing my 58 In an appendix Thrupp lists all identifiable seals which belonged to attention to this early use of the ring-brooch on the Goldsmiths’ aldermanic families, but although she noted when a merchants arms, and for information regarding examples of ring-brooches in mark was used only the designs of armorial seals are actually the Museum of London. described (Thrupp 1982, 234–87, Appendix A). 84 For further discussions of trade-related devices see New 2008. 59 Barron 1969, 231, fig. VI c.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 41 Glasgow, Italy and France: 13th- and early 14th-century Seals from the Cathedral Virginia Glenn

Of all the nations represented at the ‘Good Impressions’ of Scotland, who happened to be his cousin. Roger’s ties with conference, Scotland has suffered the greatest losses to its the family estates in Normandy remained close and his visits to medieval art. In the Reformation, Scandinavia adopted them on business are well documented.14 Lutheranism, while Scotland chose Calvinism. The newly Although copied by at least 10 other Scottish bishops, over Protestant Scots, forming what John Knox himself described as 50 years, no instances of the motif of a figure standing in ‘the rascal multitude’, wrought even more total devastation of profile seem to have occurred in England or France. The fine churches, monasteries and their contents, than Henry VIII’s looping drapery folds and the sense of movement as the figure systematic Commissioners achieved south of the Border.1 This turns away from the viewer, while stepping forward with his iconoclasm followed centuries of intermittent warfare with right foot, relate to French sculpture, notably voussoir figures England, which had also resulted in much destruction. A of the 1180s and 1190s.15 The brilliance of execution and the comparison of the collections of the Museum of Scotland, originality of Roger’s matrix suggest that it was actually where most surviving medieval material with a Scottish engraved in the Ile-de-France. Walter’s version retains some of provenance is preserved,2 with those of the national museums the same movement and plasticity, along with the detail of the in Copenhagen,3 Oslo,4 Stockholm5 or Reykjavik6 is a very crozier head imposed in front of the framing legend, thus depressing exercise. Consequently, our deductions from emphasising the effect of the bishop stepping out into another Scottish seals are particularly valuable, in assessing the taste, space (Fig. 3).16 By comparison, Bondington’s copy is very aspirations and foreign contacts of their owners. wooden, with a disproportionately large head and his crozier is By 1300, the boundaries of the Scottish dioceses, which cautiously contained within the plain inner border of the prevailed until the Reformation, had been established for over lettering (Fig. 4).17 The greater sophistication of the image and a century (Fig. 1, opposite).7 The largest and richest were St the elegant even epigraphy of the earlier seal, probably owe Andrews and Glasgow, covering the most fertile and accessible much to Walter’s close court connections, while William seems areas of the country. The first datable Bishop of St Andrews to have employed a more local Scottish craftsman, who was Melduin who died in 1055, but he probably had 10th- and understood the impact of the image, but had no real grasp of 11th-century predecessors. David I and Malcolm IV as kings, the underlying anatomy. tried to have it made a metropolitan see, but it only gained As elsewhere in Europe, specially engraved metal independence from York by 1192, after which it remained counterseals, replacing reused gemstones, were introduced by directly subject to Rome.8 Much earlier than the 12th century, both St Andrews’ and Glasgow’s bishops from the early 13th the relics at St Andrews were accepted as those of the apostle century.18 Walter of St Albans who was royal chaplain from 1195 who became the patron saint of Scotland.9 Consequently, until 1207, is described in the Melrose Chronicle as ‘the Lord although the town of Glasgow, in the north of that diocese, King’s Chaplain’ even when elected bishop.19 His counterseal occupied a strategic central position in southern Scotland its continued to be in use in 1227, when he had been bishop for 20 bishopric always took second place. years, still carrying the legend: walteri capellani However, Glasgow also achieved the status of filia specialis glasguensis (Fig. 5).20 under the immediate authority of Rome, during the episcopate William, on his counterseal, kneels before Kentigern with a of the Cistercian bishop, Jocelin.10 Elected in 1174, he vigorously legend asking for his prayers: ora pro nobis beate enhanced the reputation of St Kentigern, Glasgow’s patron, kentegerne.21 This is the first attempt to honour the saint on a commissioning a new Life from Jocelin of Furness11 and seal and rather crudely carried out. The figures have huge, commencing the rebuilding and enlargement of Glasgow almost comic heads, the letters are unevenly spaced and cathedral, which housed Kentigern’s shrine. A choir was uncertainly formed. A very local artist seems to be struggling consecrated in 1197, only to be replaced in the mid-13th century, with a novel conception (Fig. 6). under Bishop William Bondington.12 Keenly aware of Comparable developments occurred in the seals of the developments at St Andrews – already rebuilding their Chapter of Glasgow cathedral, which replaced its 12th-century cathedral – the bishops of Glasgow rivalled and imitated the matrix (Fig. 7),22 probably under Bondington. The obverse is a senior diocese, a situation also apparent on their seals. conventional cross-section of the cathedral, with a standing In the 13th century two successive Glasgow bishops, Walter figure on either side of an altar, one with his hands raised in of St Albans (1207–32) and William de Bondington (1233–58) prayer, the other a priest reading from a lectern (Fig. 8).23 A adopted a seal design, which had been introduced into similar arrangement had been used by Dunfermline abbey for Scotland by Roger de Beaumont, Bishop of St Andrews its Chapter seal earlier in the century.24 The large clumsy heads (1198–1202)13 (Fig. 2). More a grand courtier than a religious and formless hands with outspread fingers could have come cleric, he came from the wealthy Anglo-Norman family of the from the same workshop as Bondington’s counterseal, but the Earl of Leicester and was Chancellor to King William the Lion lettering is more regular and evenly spaced, suggesting a more

42 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Glasgow, Italy and France:

Figure 1 Scottish dioceses about 1300. © Trustees of the Scottish Medievalists 1986, Atlas of Scottish History to 1707, 337, D.E.R. Watt

Figure 2 Roger, Bishop of St Andrews (1198–1202) Figure 3 Walter, Bishop of Glasgow (1207–32) (78 x Figure 4 William de Bondington, Bishop of Glasgow (86 x 54mm). Durham Cathedral Chapter Archives 47mm). National Archives of Scotland (NAS) and (1233–58) (78 x 47mm). NAS and Buccleuch Estates Buccleuch Estates

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 43 Glenn

Figure 5 Bishop Walter counterseal (50 x 29mm). Figure 6 William de Bondington counterseal Figure 7 Glasgow Cathedral Chapter 1190s NAS and Buccleuch Estates (49 x 30mm). NAS and Buccleuch Estates (75 x 53mm). NAS and Buccleuch Estates accomplished or more practised engraver. The Bishop presided Celtic bell to his left and a fish with a ring in its mouth below. for 25 years and this seal would have been consistent with a Joceline of Furness collected his material from oral and workshop or individual craftsman, whose skills had evolved early written sources to compile his Life of Kentigern (also during his episcopate. known as Mungo) including the bird and fish episodes.29 The The reverse of the Chapter seal celebrates Kentigern (Fig. saint was a 6th-century monk and bishop, who converted 9).25 Around the edge is a prayer for the cathedral clergy and on Cumbria and Strathclyde to Celtic Christianity. A series of either side of the central scene: sanctus kenteg’nus. It has highly coloured, folkloric legends recorded his numerous been argued that this spelling of the saint’s name, which also miracles. appears in the inscription around the edge, proves that this The person who devised this seal rejected more sensational matrix came from the same source as Bondington’s episodes such as Kentigern’s pregnant mother being pushed off counterseal.26 This has three pilgrims wearing characteristic Traprain Law in a chariot, then set adrift on the Firth of Forth hats kneeling before the niches in a shrine base, below a half in a coracle and her subsequent voyage to the Island of May, length figure of a bishop, his right hand raised in blessing. followed by all the fish in the estuary;30 not to mention the Duncan made the tempting suggestion in 1998, that the object saint’s own use of wild stags for ploughing, the wolf which ate above represented a head reliquary. However, with the spires one of them and obligingly took its place between the shafts, on either side it could be a diagrammatic rendering of an the white boar which led him to found the monastery of St architectural shrine with figures, like, for example, that of St Asaph and his exchange of croziers with St Columba.31 Instead Taurin at Evreux. 27 the iconography commemorates the saint’s first miracle and a If the Chapter seal shares the rather unsophisticated style dubious tale lifted from early Irish romances in the Yellow Book of the bishops’, the town seal is decidedly rough and cursory of Lecan. (Fig. 10).28 The iconography, nevertheless, is of very Kentigern’s first miracle occurred as a boy in the care and considerable interest. In the centre is, presumably, the head of tutelage of St Serf. His master’s pet robin died and Kentigern Kentigern with a small bird singing on a bush to his right, a restored it to life. This impression is too poor for the detail to be

Figure 8 Glsgow Cathedral Chapter, obverse, mid- Figure 9 Glsgow Cathedral Chapter, reverse, mid- Figure 10 Glsgow town seal, early 14th-century 13th century (diam. 72mm). NAS and Buccleuch 13th century (diam. 72mm). NAS and Buccleuch impression (diam. 55mm). NAS and Buccleuch Estates Estates Estates

44 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Glasgow, Italy and France:

Figure 11 Robert Wishart, Bishop of Glasgow Figure 12 Counterseal, Robert de Prebenda, Bishop of Dunblane (1259–1284) impressions of 1260 and (1271–1316) impression of 1274 (55 x 32mm). 1268 (48 x 30mm). Durham Cathedral Chapter Archives Archivio Segreto Vaticano distinguished, but other Glasgow seals clearly show the little With the arrival of the powerful Norman family of bird looking up at his saviour and singing to him. The miracle Wishart,38 bishops’ seals in Glasgow were transformed. William concerning the fish with the ring, which is recounted below Wishart was elected Bishop in 1270, already having been (p.47) is rather more improbable for a saint credited with Archdeacon of St Andrews and royal Chancellor, but before he dissolving incestuous marriages and changing concubinage could be consecrated, he was promoted to the see of St into legitimate wedlock. It is illustrated in remarkable detail on Andrews and Robert (presumed to be his nephew) was elected two later 13th-century seals discussed below (Figs 14 and 16). to Glasgow in his stead, where he presided from 1271–1316.39 The inclusion of a bell shrine shows that Glasgow adhered Robert Wishart was to play a leading role in Scottish to some customs and traditions of the earlier church in Ireland religious and political affairs. After his election, he went to the and Argyll where, along with croziers, books and other items Curia to seek confirmation for his uncle and himself and was associated with particular saints, bells were enshrined in consecrated at Aberdeen in January 1273. Presumably, he portable reliquaries.32 These secondary relics were believed to provided himself as soon as possible with a new seal in order to be almost as potent as corporeal remains in the curing of conduct his business as bishop. By July 1274, he was at the illness in humans or animals and the taking of oaths.33 Even if Council of Lyons.40 His seal attached to an Actum presented its bishops were of Norman or English extraction, the there (Fig. 11) is in marked contrast to the clumsy counterseals Glaswegian populace, then as now, tended to look westwards. of Walter of St Albans and William de Bondington.41 In an All these seals were fairly unsophisticated and may have elegant architectural layout, Saints Kentigern and Laurence been made locally. In view of the comparative grandeur of the occupy a pair of cusped pointed arches in the upper tier, with cathedral itself, with its English and Continental references, the kneeling bishop in voluminous, carefully detailed this is quite surprising.34 The records for Scottish goldsmiths vestments below under a curved gable with delicately moulded are very scant before the 15th century, but some deductions can decoration. Wishart’s neatly modelled head and hands, the be made from the known distribution of mints and moneyers. It elegant realistic lappets flowing from his mitre and the seems fair to assume that these craftsmen would in many cases crocketted Gothic crozier which he holds belong to a different have applied their skills to other forms of fine metalwork world from that of his predecessors in office. There is a very during the frequent periods when new coinage was not being obvious source for the whole design – it is an almost direct copy issued. During the reign of Alexander III (1249–86) some coins of a seal used by Robert de Prebenda, Bishop of Dunblane were minted at Glasgow under Walter, a moneyer who also (1259–84) (Fig. 12).42 occurs at a number of royal burghs.35 Overwhelmingly, Wishart acquired his matrix in the 18 months between his however, they practised in Berwick, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, consecration and his attendance at the Council of Lyons. Given Perth and Roxburgh. There is also evidence of one master the short time scale, it is most likely that his seal was made by a striking coin at Stirling and one at St Andrews.36 In other Scottish engraver, who knew of, or had actually made, words, the mints followed the patronage of the peripatetic Prebenda’s. By the time both bishops were at Lyons in 1274, royal court. Prebenda himself was using a formal seal of dignity showing a Between 1258 and 1270, there was a hiatus in the standing bishop against a ground of foliage and rosettes.43 consecration of Glasgow bishops. First Nicholas de Moffat (1259 Dunblane was the smallest diocese in medieval Scotland, and 1268–70) and then John de Cheam (1259–68), were the tucked between the north of Glasgow and St Andrews. subject of wrangles between the Scottish crown and the papacy, However the town of Dunblane was strategically placed just although Moffat was accepted by King Alexander III and about 8 km north of Stirling. Stirling was one of the principal enthroned in late 1260.37 No seals have been found for either. royal strongholds in the 13th century, where at least one

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 45 Glenn

Figure 13 William Fraser, Bishop of St Andrews (1279–97) and Robert Wishart seals of dignity 1292–93 (80 x 50mm and 70 x 45mm). National Archives, Kew

probable goldsmith called Henri was recorded in 1260.44 Cardinal of S. Nicola in Carcere in 1281, he followed the design Robert’s title de Prebenda identifies him as formerly a senior of Pironto and had himself portrayed on his seal kneeling in a functionary in the king’s household, with responsibility for niche below the figures of St Benedict in monastic habit (his major expenses including those of the Clerk of the Wardrobe, own name saint) and Nicholas the dedicatee of his church as a who looked after relics, jewels, vestments and treasure among mitred bishop, whom he faces to receive his blessing; just as other things.45 He would have been well placed to commission earlier Laurence and Kentigern had been combined for similar an innovative and skilfully engraved piece of metalwork. If the reasons by Wishart. When Caetani was elevated to the cardinal rather unsuccessful diagrammatic treatment of St Laurence’s presbytery of SS Silvestro and Martino in 1291, his new seal gridiron,46 suggests that the matrix may have been made in bore a more elaborately Gothic version of the lay-out and Scotland, the inspiration appears to have come from Rome. contained two bishops. These are identified by scrolling labels Dunblane cathedral is dedicated to St Blane (a 6th-century as Martin and Nicholas (the latter perhaps in honour of Pope Scottish bishop) and St Laurence, one of the rare dual Nicholas IV, who had transferred him to his new church) dedications in Scotland, hence the two standing figures in the displacing the titular Silvester.52 upper register. The kneeling bishop prays below, facing left In due course, Alexander III’s only direct descendant, towards the name saint of town and diocese. Comparison of Margaret ‘the Maid of Norway’, succeeded him, but died in the architectural layout with the paired arches, the very 1290 at the age of about seven, on her way to Scotland. Edward intrusive lower niche and the rigidly vertical poses of the saints I then intervened on behalf of English interests, selecting John is very comparable with the seal of Cardinal Giordano Pironto, Balliol as the Scottish king. This arrangement lasted only from Cardinal Deacon of SS Cosma e Damiano, Rome (there is a 1292–6.53 The seals of dignity of William Fraser, Bishop of St recorded impression of 1263).47 Andrews and Robert Wishart are attached to the ‘Letters patent Robert de Prebenda was an Englishman, who had probably by John de Balliol giving a general release to Edward I’ a come to Scotland in the 1250s, had been Dean of Dunblane, a document of 1292–3, also sealed by seven of the principal Canon of Glasgow and Dunkeld and a papal Chaplain. Possibly nobles of Scotland (Fig. 13).54 Like Wishart, Fraser was a major already familiar with Italy, he was there in 1256 to secure the political figure, serving for seven years as Chancellor of election of Gamelin as Bishop of St Andrews. He returned in Scotland, after Alexander III died and they were fellow royal 1259 for his own confirmation, with Nicholas Moffat, Bishop- Guardians.55 Their relative positions in the national hierarchy elect of Glasgow.48 Consequently, he would have been familiar and the pecking order of their dioceses are quite clear in these with this Roman device for honouring a pair of saints to two seals. That of St Andrews came first in line and was larger. celebrate the dual dedication of a church. The impression shown on the right in Figure 13 is from the Wishart was still using the matrix for the Lyons impression, second seal of William Fraser, as Bishop.56 It is an elaboration showing considerable signs of wear, on a charter of Melrose on his first, to which a cusped architectural niche around the Abbey concerning land rights, which has a historical context figure has been added. The earlier seal already carried not only pointing to a date in Alexander III’s reign, in other words before his surname in the inscription, but also the family arms and 1286.49 Apart from its evolved and sophisticated style, another emblem – the fraise – on the lattice ground.57 Strawberry novelty for a Scottish episcopal seal of this period is the flowers also decorate the apparels of his alb. Hunter Blair inclusion of St Laurence, whose significance was personal to claimed in 1919, that Fraser’s was the first British episcopal seal the bishop and not part of the dedication of his cathedral.50 with a shield of arms.58 Both seals give a strong indication of Like Robert Wishart, clerics in Rome also came to use the the self image of their owners as much as the importance of the layout with paired saints for more personal reasons. It was see over which each of them presided, including the innovatory employed twice, for example, by Benedetto Caetani.51 Elected appearance of their own family names in the legends.59

46 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Glasgow, Italy and France:

Figure 14 Robert Wishart detached seal, with tag Figure 15 Impression of Robert Wishart second Figure 16 Impression of Robert Wishart second (1289–95) (55 x 35mm). The National Archives seal of dignity, obverse 1316 (88 x 50mm). NAS and seal of dignity, reverse 1316 (74 x 40mm). NAS and Buccleuch Estates Buccleuch Estates

Wishart’s figure, without a niche, has more movement than National Archives, Kew, but lacking its seals.63 Crambeth left that of the Bishop of St Andrews, and is more naturalistically Scotland in 1295, with Fraser, to negotiate a treaty with modelled, but also has finely engraved details, for example the Philippe le Bel and remained in Paris until 1304. glove on his right hand, the stole knotted on his left wrist, the The narrative is as follows: Riderich, the Cumbrian king diaper embroidery on his hem and the cross hatching on the whose kingdom had been Christianised by Kentigern, gave his plinth. The bird and the fish, to right and left of him, are wife Langueth a ring, which she passed to her lover. When the delicately and naturalistically portrayed. lover was asleep, the King retrieved it and flung it into the Robert Wishart’s seal of dignity used in 1292–93 has a small Clyde, then challenged the Queen to produce it on pain of engraved Classical gem as a counterseal.60 However, another death. In desperation, she called on Kentigern for help, who seal known from a detached impression in The National dispatched a messenger to fish in the river. The messenger Archives may have been intended for use with it (Fig. 14). The obligingly caught a salmon, which had swallowed the ring. size is appropriate and the distinctive subject matter was used Marital bliss restored, Langueth learnt her lesson and again for the counterseal of Wishart’s final seal of office (see Kentigern kept a discreet silence.64 In the top register we see Fig. 16). The designs, however, are so dissimilar that it is the messenger delivering the fish, the ring in its mouth, to an impossible to decide if they are by the same engraver or even enthroned Kentigern with mitre and halo. Below are the King contemporary. The epigraphy is quite similar, but different in with raised sword and the Queen with the ring at the top of a size and function so comparison of that is also inconclusive. long staff under a Gothic arcade. At the bottom Bishop Wishart This may simply be a quite separate matrix intended for less prays under a cusped gable, facing right towards the saint above. formal documents.61 This arrangement of a story in three separate registers, The enthusiasm for Gothic architectural design, already with strong horizontal divisions between the episodes is evident in Wishart’s first seal as bishop, is taken to new lengths seldom, if ever, encountered elsewhere in seal design of this on a detached impression in The National Archives at Kew. The period. The inspiration for the abbreviated narrative cycle may buttresses have spires, the main arcade has a central niche, possibly lie in contemporary sculpture, particularly tympanum trefoils and cusping abound. The overall layout, however, the design. As building progressed on French cathedrals, porches heavy beading, the epigraphy and the bishop in his foiled gable, were added to the transepts and the eastern parts, during the suggest strongly that this could still be the maker of Wishart’s 13th century. These often included highly original scenes from original matrix of two decades before, expanding on his theme the lives of saints, sometimes local in horizontal registers above while giving the figures added movement and more flowing the doors.65 There is documentary evidence that building work draperies. was still going on at Glasgow under Wishart and sculpture The legend: rex furit : hec plorat : pa/tet aurum : dum might well have been included.66 Faced with the lack of stone sacer ora[t], announces that this tells the story of Kentigern’s figurative sculpture surviving from 13th-century Scotland, one most famous miracle in full. Although detached from its can only speculate whether it might have been similar in style original document, it still has the tag showing that it was to Wishart’s remarkable seal. accompanied by the seal of the Bishop of Dunkeld, which must Even if one is not quite convinced by Marinell Ash’s theory have been Matthew Crambeth, consecrated in 1288 and that Robert was the son of William Wishart, Bishop of St co-opted by Fraser and Wishart as another Guardian after Andrews and one of a small family of bastard children,67 he 1289.62 Crambeth and Wishart jointly sealed an Inspeximus at does not emerge from the documents as an ascetic model of Norham on 14 June 1291, which like this impression is in the simple piety.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 47 Glenn

In the confused political situation after the departure of The design of the reverse of Wishart’s last matrix followed John Balliol, war broke out with the English and lasted on and closely the subject matter of the earlier narrative seal and was off until the Scots victory at Bannockburn in 1314. During this bordered by the same inscription. It places the figures in a new time, Robert Wishart was clearly plotting a rising in 1297. In fictive architectural setting, hexagonal in plan, with realistic 1306 having exonerated Robert Bruce for the murder of his perspective and elongated figures wearing fantastic rival Comyn, he exhorted his flock to fight against England headdresses in the resulting illusionary space. This highly saying it was just as meritorious as to go on crusade to the Holy sophisticated conception has much in common with major Land. That same year, he also played a major part in the examples of Parisian orfèvrerie surviving from around 1300, inauguration of Bruce as King of Scots at Scone, providing such as the Herkenrode monstrance78 and the Reliquiario della robes, vestments and a royal banner for the ceremony, from his Veste Inconsutile in Assisi.79 Both of these larger objects have own treasury.68 At the same time, Wishart was accused by the the flattened hexagonal plan, on the reliquary in particular, English of using timber given to him for the repair of the used to give an illusion of greater depth. The seal engraver has cathedral bell tower, to build a siege engine.69 For his pains, the taken a further step in employing the device to create an enemy captured him shortly afterwards at Cupar Castle in impression of three dimensions on a flat surface. This use of battle armour and took him off to Porchester Castle in irons. perspective made its appearance in the work of Parisian (At this point, even if he had been consecrated at the minimum orfèvres considerably before it was attempted by contemporary age of 30, he must have been 65 years old.) manuscript illuminators. It appears therefore, that Robert Eventually, Clement V extricated him in 1308 and Wishart Wishart’s last seal was commissioned from a French engraver was escorted to the Curia by the Bishop of Poitiers.70 The Pope from the capital, during the royal visit to Poitiers or following and his entourage were in Bordeaux until March 1307. They in the wake of the Curia. The likelihood is that he, and any then proceeded up the western coastal area of France staying secretariat he had with him, would have required a seal as soon in Jonzac and Saintes, finally arriving in Poitiers and as possible after their arrival in France, to resume remaining for 16 months until mid-August 1308. Two meetings communications. It is unlikely that any of the other matrices took place there with Philip IV of France, on the serious matters would have survived, if they had been with Wishart when he of the Templars, crusades and peace with England. The Curia was captured. then travelled by way of the Garonne valley to Toulouse, where Clement V’s own wealth is revealed in his legacies of they spent Christmas 1308 and the following Epiphany, finally money, books, gold vases and textiles to favoured churches and moving by way of Clement’s former Bishopric St Bertrand-de- family members.80 Information about artists and craftsmen Comminges, Béziers and Montpellier to Avignon, whence the serving the Pope’s household is patchy, as only three of his Pope first addressed a bull in March 1309. For the rest of his registers survive, covering periods in 1307, 1308–9 and life, he only left Avignon twice, to attend the Council of Vienne 1309–10.81 However, these do refer to ‘magistro Toro servienti (September 1311–May 1312) and to die in Roquemaure on 20 aurifabro’, who supplied silver vessels and a golden rose April 1314.71 between July 1307, soon after the Pope arrived in Poitiers and It is quite likely that Wishart joined them in Poitiers, at a June 1309, when the Curia had finally settled in Avignon. It is point when the French royal court was there, probably with assumed that this is the same man as ‘magistro Toro de Senis’, attendant merchants, artists and craftsmen. Presumably, he still in Avignon and receiving a pension in 1325.82 Italian followed in their wake to Avignon and was still there until merchants were also in Avignon by 1309, supplying fine January 1311, when he was returned to England.72 It must have metalwork, vestments, furnishings and ‘aliis necessariis pro been between 1308 and 1311 that he acquired his last and libro consecrationis prelatorum’.83 If it was in Avignon that grandest seal of dignity and matching counterseal (Figs 15 and Wishart’s seal was commissioned, its style shows little 16).73 consciousness of contemporary Italian taste and no The obverse shows the customary standing, blessing bishop resemblance to Italian seals of the period. Nevertheless, an with a crozier in his left hand. It retains the bird and the fish of artist conscious of the leading edge of fashionable design, Wishart’s earlier seal of dignity, but adds two bust length whatever his precise origins, had been commissioned on behalf figures with large haloes, presumably Kentigern and Laurence of the Bishop of distant Glasgow. who had appeared on his first seal as bishop. Above his head is These architectural designs are original and innovative an elaborate architectural canopy composed of layers of enough, but the reiteration of the Riderich and Langueth slender uprights, behind three pointed arches, the largest legend is quite startling on a piece of ecclesiastical metalwork central arch under a tall gable with concave sides. The outer of the late 13th century. When in the late 12th century, the parts of the canopy are canted back to make the structure half Arthurian romances of Chrétien de Troyes were the height of of an elongated hexagon in plan. The inscription is in very courtly fashion, it is extremely unexpected that the pious regular, elegant majuscules gothiques,74 with pronounced Cistercian, Jocelin of Furness, included something so similar in contrasts in weight between the uprights and the cross bars, his compilation for St Kentigern’s Life. The same conundrum curling profiles to the letters A, N and R, and exaggerated long obviously unnerved the Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow in pointed tails to the Ds, Ss and Gs. This is in considerable 1890, when he read a paper at the Glasgow Archaeological contrast to the clear but chunky epigraphy of Wishart’s seals of Society. He suggested the figure with the sword might be King the 1290s.75 It is quite close, however, to the legends on the seals David I, not an avenging husband and the lady his mother St of the Comtesse de Valois (1305) and Guillaume de Flandre Margaret (who, he says, is not ‘in tears or sorrow’). However, (1307),76 two examples which illustrate how epigraphy had he admitted that rex furit hec plorat etc. presented him developed in French aristocratic circles.77 with ‘the greatest difficulty’.84

48 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Glasgow, Italy and France

Robert Wishart finally returned to Glasgow after this virtual heraldic identity must be more than coincidence. Bannockburn and died, aged and blind, two years later. We A John Wishart appears in record of the early 13th century have lost Glasgow’s medieval sculpture, the books,85 the wall relating to the Stirling area.100 It might seem unlikely that he paintings,86 the orfèvrerie and textiles,87 but these seal was closely related to the family settled in the Mearns because impressions give just an inkling of what the major political later in the same century there are references to John Wishart figures of Scotland aspired to in its Age of Independence. ‘of the Carse’ (i.e. the Carse of Stirling), distinguished from John Wishart of the Mearns.101 But it is worth noting that Appendix: The Wisharts besides Henry of Brechin, Earl David had a second bastard son G.W.S. Barrow known as Henry of Stirling.102 Perhaps both Henrys acted as During the opening decades of the 13th century a small group magnets attracting two different Wishart males from of families of Norman origin found a home in Scotland through Normandy, or perhaps there was only one John Wishart settled the favour of William the Lion (1165–1214), his son Alexander II in early 13th-century Scotland and separate branches of the (1214–49) and King William’s brother David, Earl of family emerged later. Huntingdon (d. 1219). Their surnames are Bisset (origin A charter dating to c. 1219 or not long after, relating to unknown), Montfort (Montfort-sur-Risle, dép. Eure?), Friville Pittengardner 5km north of Conveth, was witnessed by the (perhaps from Fréville north of Beaumontel), Le Chien (Latin Bishop of Brechin, the Abbot of Lindores and others, with John canis, Scots Cheyne), connected with Creully east of Bayeux, de Wishart witnessing in a relatively subordinate position.103 But Mesnières (Scots Menzies), from Mesnières-en-Bray north-west within a few years we find Sir John Wishart, Sheriff of Mearns, of Neufchatel-en-Bray, and Guichard (Giscard, Wiscard, Scots witnessing charters at or near the head of the list.104 By the Wishart).88 St Aubin-le-Guichard is about 8km south-west of 1240s a Sir John Wishart, possibly son of the earliest recorded Beaumont-le-Roger, seat of the major baronial family (‘de Scots John Wishart, appears as a knight – in the household – of Meulan’) which in the 11th and 12th centuries acquired the William Lord of Brechin, son of Henry and grandson of Earl English earldoms of Warwick (from 1088) and Leicester (from David.105 In 1255 John Wishart was a member of the Comyn- 1118).89 As much or perhaps more to the point, the parish of St dominated council of Alexander III, along with William Aubin d’Ecrosville east of le Neubourg (about 17km north-east Wishart, Archdeacon (later Bishop) of St Andrews.106 In 1267 Sir of Beaumont-le-Roger) was known in the 13th century as John Wishart was the second layman to witness the important ‘Crovilla Guichardi’ or ‘Sanctus Albinus de Crovilla la Richart charter whereby William lord of Brechin founded the [read Gichart?]’.90 In this parish, in 1266, John called Guichart, Maisondieu of that city.107 By this time, clearly, the Wishart knight, sold to the Dean and Chapter of Evreux all his tithes for family had arrived. 45 livres tournois.91 William Wishart, who died 28 May, 1279, having been In November 1265 an agreement was made between Bishop of St Andrews since 1273, may have been a younger Arbroath Abbey and Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan.92 By brother of the Sir John Wishart active in the mid-13th century. this the Abbey granted the Earl the whole of six named lands or A problem so far partly unsolved is the identity of Robert farms and portions of three others, in the parishes of Fordoun Wishart who died 26 November 1316. Robert was Bishop and Glenbervie, ‘in such a way (the charter concludes) that the William’s nephew, possibly son of Sir John or of another tenor of the charter which Sir John Wischard has from sibling.108 Robert and his uncle were both university graduates, Arbroath Abbey of the land of Balfeith (in Fordoun) shall William certainly of Paris, Robert most probably of Paris also.109 remain secure according to the law and assize of the land.’93 Before his promotion to St Andrews in 1271 William Wishart The family of Guichard (henceforth Wishart) were surely had been Bishop-elect of Glasgow, to which see his nephew drawn to Scotland by a link with the lords of Beaumont. The immediately succeeded (consecrated January, 1273).110 In the mother of William the Lion and his brother David was Ada de summer of 1274 Robert attended the Council of Lyon.111 By the Varenne, daughter of William, second Earl of Surrey, and end of his long life he had become a widely-travelled man, and Elizabeth (Isabel) of Vermandois.94 As well as being we can safely assume that he was fluent in Latin and Middle grandmother of King William and Earl David, Elizabeth, French – probably in Middle Scots also. because of her two marriages, was great-grandmother of On a seal which Bishop Robert Wishart used early in his Roger, brother of the fourth Earl of Leicester, whom the King of long tenure of the see of Glasgow is shown the figure of St Scots made his Chancellor and then (1189) Bishop of St Laurence, identifiable by the gridiron displayed beside him.112 Andrews (consecrated 1198).95 Bishop Roger (who had On 19 October, 1244, David Bernham, Bishop of St Andrews ambitions to become Bishop of Lincoln) was well aware of his consecrated the parish church of Conveth, the estate in Mearns connection with the Norman lordship of Beaumont-le-Roger. which by this date had certainly come into the hands of the His presence in Normandy on numerous occasions before 1202 Wisharts.113 Although the record of Bishop Bernham’s is well attested.96 consecrations does not normally give the actual dedication of Earl David, to whom his brother, the King, granted the the churches involved we know that Conveth was dedicated to lordship of Brechin in Angus, had an illegitimate son known as St Laurence the martyr. In later medieval times, most Henry of Brechin who founded a notable baronial family.97 This unusually, the parish name became Laurencekirk. Laurence family’s coat of arms was ‘or three piles gules’.98 The arms of the was by no means an uncommon dedicatee in medieval Scottish family of Wishart were ‘argent three piles gules’.99 Scotland, dedications to him being found in Gowrie, Angus Taken in conjunction with the fact that the earliest landed and Mearns as well as at Dunblane cathedral.114 It does not settlement of the Wisharts in Scotland was Conveth seem possible to say whether Bishop Robert put St Laurence on (afterwards Laurencekirk), about 16km north-east of Brechin, his seal because of the link with Conveth alias Laurencekirk or

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 49 Glenn because he was friendly with Robert de Prebenda, Bishop of 43 Sella and Laurent 1937, vol. I, 103, no. 362. Dunblane (1259–84), with whom he travelled to the Council of 44 Stewart 1971, 208; Stewart 1976, 208. Lyon. 45 Duncan 1992, 601–2. 46 Sella and Laurent 1937, 111, no 392, catalogued the Wishart copy as showing ‘un santo che regge una scala’. Acknowledgements 47 Blancard 1860, 283–4, no. 5, pl CV; Gardner 1975, 72–96, 83, n. 61. The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the following, 48 Ash 1990, 39. without whose help and support this paper would not have emerged; 49 NAS GD/ 55/ 327/1. His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, Alan Borthwick and Linda Ramsay, 50 For the Wishart family and the village of Laurencekirk see National Archives of Scotland; David Caldwell and Kerry McMillan, Appendix by G.W.S. Barrow. National Museums of Scotland; Doris Williamson, formerly 51 Sella and Laurent 1937, 25, nos 99,100; Gardner 1975, 83, 87, pl. 10j, Department of Scottish History, University of Edinburgh; and 12 d. Cormack Burke, Keeper of Antiquities, Ulster Museum. 52 Bascapé 1955, 109. Images: © Plates 3–10, 14–16 National Archives of Scotland and His 53 Barrow 2003a, 219. Grace the Duke of Buccleuch 54 NA E 39/29; Laing 1850, 165, no 948, pl XVII, fig. 1; Bain 1881–8, vol. II, 1272–1307, 154, no 658. 55 Barrow 2003, 183–5. Notes 56 Blair 1919, no 3624, 166–7. 1 McRoberts1959, 126–72. 57 Birch 1895, iv, 48–9, no. 14, 925; Glenn 1999, 148–51. 2 Glenn 2003. 58 Blair 1919, 166, n. 34. 3 Grinder-Hansen and Posselt 1992; Margrete I 1997. 59 59 Ash 1990, 47. The obverse of Fraser’s second seal reads: 4 Horgen 2000. s’ willi:fraser:dei /gra:scottorv’:epi, the reverse s’.will’i. 5 Andersson 1983; Viking Heritage1996. fraser:epi. sci. andree; his first seal already carried the same 6 Church and Art 1997; Ingvarsdóttir 2005. legend on the obverse. Hope (1887, 289) credits William de 7 McNeill and MacQueen 1996, 336–7. There was no diocese of Wykeham (Winchester 1367) with being the first English bishop to Edinburgh before 1634; St Giles’ ‘Cathedral’ is in fact the High Kirk use his surname on his seal. of the Church of Scotland. 60 This is not easily decipherable, but does not appear to have any 8 Watt and Murray 2003, 376–377. Christian significance. 9 Ash and Broun 1994, 16–24. 61 This impression, NA SC 13 / D 48, has no counterseal of its own; it is 10 Duncan 1998, 9–24. unpublished apart from a probable description of a sulphur cast 11 Forbes 1874, lxii–cv, 27–119, 123–33, 162–242, 245–52; Jackson without an illustration; Birch (1887–1900, IV, 106, no. 15, 123), 1958, 273–357; Anderson 1990, 1, lxxiv–lxxv. describes it as ‘derived from’ the reverse of Wishart’s final seal of 12 Fawcett 1996, 57–72; Driscoll 2002, passim. dignity. 13 Durham Dean and Chapter Muniments, Misc. Ch. 1341; Glenn 62 Barrow 2005, 36, 84. 1999, 146–151. I am very grateful to Alan Piper for his expert 63 NA DL 36/1/183; Simpson and Galbraith 1986, 145–6, no. 91. Adrian guidance and generous help with photography during my visits to Ailes kindly re-examined this document for me and confirmed the Muniments in 1997 and 2007. that it had two slits for seal tags and they were both too small to 14 Barrow 1950; see also n. 88 below. have accommodated the tag of SC 13/D 48. 15 Sauerländer 1959, 53–69. 64 Forbes 1874, chap. 36, 222–6, ‘Quomodo sanctus anulum a regina 16 NAS GD 55/246/1A. indecenter datum et ab ipso Rege in flumine Clud projectum, 17 Durham Dean and Chapter Muniments, Misc. Ch. 831; NAS GD mirabiliter regine restituit’. 55/274/1A & B. 65 Sauerländer 1970, pls. 244, 245, 269, 279, 291. 18 Harvey and McGuiness 1996, 70; Demay 1877. 66 Fawcett 1996, 68–9. 19 Barrow and Scott 1971, passim. 67 Ash 1990, 40, 42, n. 47. 20 NAS GD55/246/1B; Liber Melros, ii, 1837, vi, pl. IV, item 4, 220–1, no. 68 Barrow 2005, 93–4. 246. 69 Fawcett 2002, 335. 21 NAS GD 55/274/1B; Liber Melros, vi, pl. IV, item 5; Harvey and 70 Barrow 2005, 343. McGuiness 1996, 71, pl. 65. 71 Guillemain 1951, 143. 22 NAS GD55/122/1A, Liber Melros, vii, pl.VI, item 1. 72 Barrow 2005, 343. 23 23 NAS GD 55/387/1A, 55/429/1B, 55/1B, 55/403/1B; Liber Melros, 73 NAS GD 55/403A & B; Liber Melros, vi, pl V, item 1. vii, pl. VI, item 2. 74 Demay 1881, 5, Abbé de Doest (1295), Abbé de Hasnon (1296), are 24 Birch 1907, II, no. 100. close to GD 55/403, but less stylised without the long tails. 25 NAS GD 55/387/1B, 55/429/1A, 55/1A, 55/403/1A; Liber Melros, vii, 75 Scots letter forms of the 13th century were similar to English. pl. VI, item 2. 76 Coulon 1912, 5, pl. III, no. 19, 71, pl. IX, no. 403, NB letters N,R,S,G 26 Duncan 1998, 14. and E. 27 Trésors des Églises 1965, 111–13, cat. no. 217, pl. 113; J. Taralon in 77 It is hardly possible that Wishart had an elaborate new seal made Trésors des Abbayes 1979, 263–71, cat. no. 290. while an English prisoner of war; Kingsford 1929 includes no 28 GD 55/392/1A; Liber Melros, vii, pl. VI, item 3. closely similar D, E, G, O, R, or W shapes. 29 Anderson 1990, 126–39, n. 4. 78 Didier, Robert, in Trésor gothique 1996, 330–1, no. 27. 30 Ibid. 127–30. 79 Gaborit-Chopin in L’art des rois maudits 1998, 193–5, no. 120. 31 Ibid. 132, 137. 80 Ehrle 1889, 61–79; Mollat 1950, 54. 32 Glenn 2003, 94–104, cat. nos H1, H2 (Guthrie Bell Shrine, 81 Guillemain 1951, 142, n. 1 & 2. Kilmichael Glassary Bell Shrine). 82 Faucon 1882, 40–1. 33 Giraldus, Itinerarium 6, 7, 13, 14; Thorpe 1978, 86–7, 253–4. 83 Ibid. 41–3. 34 Wilson 1998, 55–76. 84 Eyre 1891, 7–10, item VII. 35 Stewart 1971, 180,186–7; Stewart 1976, 19. 85 Dillon 1831, 8–22. 36 Ibid. 1971, 209, Table G; ibid. 1976; 207–8. 86 Park 1998; Park and Howard 2002, 96–98, pls. 1–21. 37 Watt 2003, 189–90. 87 Dowden 1899, 280–329. 38 See Appendix by G.W.S Barrow, 71–2. 88 Two of these families are dealt with by Loyd 1951, 26–7 (Montfort) 39 Watt 2003, 190. and 63, 73–4 (Mesnières). For Friville see le Prevost 1862–69, i, 391, 40 Ash 1990, 43, 51, n. 63. ii, 189; Deville 1912, nos 65, 67, 79, 93; Registrum vetus , 6, 27, 62–4, 41 Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Rome, A.A.Arm., I–XVIII, 2190 (13). I 73. In Normandy and Scotland a Richard de Friville occurs in am deeply indebted to Monsignore Aldo Martini for his erudite records of c. 1200–40. For Le Chien or Cheyne (with whom the assistance, when I visited the Archivio to discuss this and other characteristic baptismal names are Reginald and Henry) see related seal impressions. Delisle and Berger 1916–20), ii, 179, lines 28–9; Registrum vetus, 42 Durham Dean and Chapter Muniments, Misc. Ch. 821, (1269); 164, 166–7, 207, 312. Misc. Ch. 4549, impressions of 1260 and 1268.

50 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Glasgow, Italy and France

89 Cokayne 1929, vii, 520–36; 1959, xii, 357–64. The pedigree chart on 100 Registrum de Cambuskenneth, no. 79 (sometime between 1228 and p. 520 of vol. vii is especially useful. See also C.W. Hollister, ‘The 1234). greater Domesday tenants-in-chief’, in Holt 1987, 219–48. Roger de 101 Bain 1881–8, ii, no. 335 (1288), no. 832 (1296), p. 195: ‘John Wychard Beaumont contributed 60 ships to the Norman invasion of England del Miernes’ (1296). in 1066 (ibid., p. 243). 102 Stringer 1985, 82, 155. 90 Le Prevost, 1862–9, iii, 75. 103 Registrum vetus, no. [242], perhaps c. 1221. 91 Ibid., loc. cit. 104 Ibid., nos 138, [261]. 92 Registrum vetus, no. [247]. 105 Chartulary Lindores, no. LV (1245). 93 I have found no proof that Sir John Wischard of the Arbroath 106 Bain 1881, i , no. 2013. agreement of November, 1265 was identical with the John Guichart 107 Registrum Episcopatus Brechinensis, i, 7, no. 3. in the St Aubin d’Ecrosville document of 1266, but it seems likely. 108 Watt 1977, 585. 94 Cokayne 1929, xii, 496 and n.(g). 109 Ibid., loc. cit. 95 Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, 379. 110 Ibid., loc. cit. 96 Le Prevost 1862–9, i, 419; D’Anisy 1834–5), i, 418; Inventaire 111 Ibid., loc. cit. sommaire 1886, 63, no. 100; Carte Antiquae, nos 61, 123, 146, 154, 112 Laing 1850, no. 949, pl. xv, no. 6. 188; Rotuli Chartarum, entries from 4 August to 24 November 1199; 113 Anderson 1922, ii, 525. Round 1899, nos 306, 607. 114 Mackinlay 1914, 393. The fact that Bishop Wishart displayed 97 Chartulary of Lindores, xxvi–xxvii; Nisbet 1816 (1984), 31. Laurence the Martyr on his seal confirms Dr Mackinlay’s belief 98 Bain 1884, ii, Appendix III, no. 60; Scots Peerage 1905, ii, 224. that he was the saint revered at Laurencekirk. 99 Nisbet 1816 (1984), i, 201.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 51 The Seals of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England David Marcombe

This paper sets out to explore the English seals of the little- drew them closer still to the founding ideologies of the Order. known medieval military order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem by The most likely explanation is that the Order venerated both way of an examination of its extant seal matrices and surviving Lazaruses in the hybridised fashion that was not uncommon wax impressions on documents. It asks why the Lazarites amongst medieval saints, the emphasis being placed on selected the images they did and how they used seals in the different qualities according to the demands of time and context of their national and international operations. The space.6 It is probable that Lazarus of Bethany, or Lazarus the research underpinning this paper rests heavily on the work of Bishop as he was also known, emerged as the dominant force the Burton Lazars Research Group and the author would like to as time went on and this is certainly suggested by the acknowledge, in particular, the contributions of Terry Bourne sigillographical evidence that will be discussed in this paper. and Judy Smithers in making this article possible.1 Organisationally, the Order of St Lazarus shared a good deal with the Templars and Hospitallers, but it never matched The Order of St Lazarus the two larger military orders in terms of wealth and status. The origins of the Order of St Lazarus appear to have been in a Nor did it do so in terms of military prowess, since the record of leper hospital located outside the walls of Jerusalem, an the Lazarites in this area was singularly undistinguished. By institution which existed long before the crusaders captured the middle of the 13th century, by which time Jerusalem had the city in 1099. However, the events of the First Crusade were been lost and the crusaders had resettled at Acre, most of the to alter fundamentally its purpose and sense of identity. original leper knights had perished and the decline of the Though lepers from amongst the local community continued to disease meant that there were fewer newcomers to take their be cared for, as time went on the hospital became increasingly places. For the last phase of its existence in the Holy Land – up colonised by leprous knights, from the Latin Kingdom and to the fall of Acre in 1291 – the Order of St Lazarus recruited beyond, who wished to continue the struggle against the healthy knights in much the same way as the Templars and infidel, even in view of their infirmities.2 This was possible Hospitallers.7 The collapse of Acre was a major watershed for because lepromatous leprosy, the most dangerous strain of the all the military orders and following that event the Lazarites disease, has a gestation period of about seven years and during took the decision to relocate in western Europe under the this period it was accepted that a leprous individual was special protection of Philip IV of France. From the chateau of capable of continuing his role as a fighting man.3 Some of these Boigny, near Orleans, the master of the Order sought to early inmates appear to have been Templars, and as the knights retrench and attempt to stem a growing tide of disintegration. of the hospital strove for a greater sense of cohesion and The most persistent problem was that all of the territories in identity during the first half of the 12th century, so a new which the Order owned land soon cultivated ambitions of military order, the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem, gradually national autonomy and nowhere was this more marked than in emerged.4 the growing antipathy between England and France. The The identity of the saint to whom this hospital and new Order had important estates in both countries but the events of military order was dedicated is not immediately clear. Though the Hundred Years War caused an irrevocable split and by c. there are several saints by the name of Lazarus, there are only 1400 the operations in England and France had become, two serious contenders – Lazarus the Beggar, the man ‘full of effectively, separated.8 In England, the Order sought to sores’ who appears in a parable in the gospel of St Luke; and reinvent itself in line with the social and religious priorities of Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Mary and Martha, who is the late Middle Ages and demonstrated its new independence mentioned in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and John.5 Lazarus by adopting the title ‘Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in the Beggar is almost certainly a mythic character, designed to England’. During this period it became increasingly interested persuade the rich of the virtues of giving to the poor, but in chantries and obtained the support of growing numbers of Lazarus of Bethany has some claim to reality and persistent lay people by way of its confraternity.9 But none of this could legends soon built up around him. After his spectacular withstand the disapproval and eventual assault of the resurrection at the hands of Jesus it was believed he went on to government of Henry VIII. The Order in England was become Bishop of Marseilles (in the western tradition) or suppressed in 1544 and its lands distributed amongst lay Bishop of Kition (in the eastern tradition). There has been a speculators.10 In other parts of Europe, which did not succumb good deal of speculation as to which of these Lazaruses the to the Protestant Reformation, the Order fared better and even Jerusalem order took as its patron, because both embraced enjoyed something of a revival in 17th-century France. Indeed, appealing qualities. Lazarus the Beggar reminded potential as an order of chivalry, it still exists today and strives to carry benefactors of their duty of giving to the poor; Lazarus of out medical work in line with its founding ideology.11 Bethany carried considerable moral authority both as a bishop More so than many religious orders, the Order of St Lazarus and friend of Jesus. Both had associations with leprosy which depended very heavily on the laity for its prosperity and well

52 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Seals of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England being. Like more conventional orders of monks, the Lazarites therefore well worth giving careful thought to the images drew income from lands and tithes, but they also raised projected, especially, as in the case of the Lazarites, if you were significant sums by way of collections, taken locally and particularly dependent on putting over a positive image to as nationally, and the sale of indulgences.12 This meant that if wide a range of people as possible. Indeed, given the people were to contribute in this fashion they had to have a limitations of mass communications in the Middle Ages, a seal very positive view of the Order and what it stood for. Indeed, was probably the best means of conveying this message in a esteem, in the eyes of the laity, was an important factor for all visual and instantly recognisable form. of the military orders. Fortunately, for the Lazarites, they had some powerful weapons in their armoury to make them Seals in the Holy Land and Europe acceptable to a medieval mindset, chiefly that they were an The seals of the Order of St Lazarus in the Holy Land and order founded upon leprosy and crusading. Both of these Europe have received little analytical attention, though words carried highly charged messages. To be a crusader was illustrations and engravings of some of them have been to be one prepared to give his life for the survival of published, mostly for houses in the German province. Christendom against an Islamic horde threatening to engulf it; Doubtless there are many more to be discovered, especially for to be a leper carried little of the stigma attached to the disease France where the Order was strong. Stylistically there is a clear in recent times, certainly in the early Middle Ages.13 In fact, in divide between the 12th and 13th centuries, when the seals some circles lepers were regarded as being closer to God were relatively simple; and the 14th and 15th centuries, when because of their suffering, people, literally, who were enduring they become more complex. Moreover, the surviving Middle a form of purgatory on earth.14 Crusaders and lepers could Eastern and European examples provide an insight into the therefore be seen as the chosen of Christ and in order to hierarchy of seals deemed important by the Order; and also the maintain its well being in this world the Order of St Lazarus types of imagery it employed. had to do its utmost to exploit these other worldly advantages. The earliest seal, that of the leper hospital in Jerusalem, And these were not perceptions that wilted and died after the dates from the 12th century and is the only example to fall of Acre, even though that cataclysmic event might have incorporate a counterseal.16 The obverse, showing a figure, challenged them. As late as the 15th century the Lazarites in presumably leprous, holding a clapper in the right hand, bears England were still harking back to the old rallying cries of the legend: D[omus]: leprosarum (House of the Lepers); the chivalry and leprosy which had worked so well for them during reverse, showing St Lazarus delivering a blessing and holding a the glory days of the crusade.15 crozier in his left hand, has the legend: s: lazari: de: There has been a tendency amongst historians to view ierusalem (St Lazarus of Jerusalem). The figure is probably medieval religious orders as other-worldly groups of wearing the low mitre characteristic of the 12th century, individuals, passionately devoted to the service of God. In some leaving little doubt that this is supposed to be a representation cases this was certainly true, but they were also commercial of Lazarus the Bishop. There is a possibility, of course, that the organisations, preoccupied with their survival and the figure on the obverse, rather than being a generic depiction of a maximisation of monetary rewards. There were many ways in leper, is supposed to be Lazarus the Beggar, and if this is indeed which such an order could project its image, and one of these the intention then it is the only representation of this unusual was by the use of seals, effectively the company emblem or dual identity in Lazarite sigillography. logo. One need only consider the huge sums of money paid out Moving from the centre to the periphery, there are two to marketing and public relations consultancies today – in the examples of seals of the preceptory, or province, of Germany, UK, for example, the shift from Royal Mail to Consignia and one a vesica (1273) and the other circular (1282).17 Both bear the back again – to understand how the projection of state-of-the- central device of a cross, the 1273 example with a hatched art imagery has stood the test of time in terms of saying quickly background and that of 1282 having foliage sprouting from its and concisely what a big corporation wants its customers to angles. Another seal (1287), with the legend: lazarus: believe. Most marketing consultants today would be of the episcopus (Lazarus the Bishop), shows Lazarus the Bishop opinion that the purpose of a logo is to describe the product seated, with a book in his left hand and a crozier in his right.18 and draw public attention to it. It was similarly important that He wears the pallium or pall, a vestment associated with high- seals fitted in with how a medieval religious order perceived ranking ecclesiastics in both the eastern and western churches itself and with how it wanted to be viewed by the outside from the 6th century onwards. Though the owner of this seal is world. It might be asked, in a world before mass not specifically identified, Hyacinthe suggests it belongs to the communications, how effective was all this? How widely would commander of the Swiss house of Schlatt along with its seals have been viewed in the Middle Ages? And did people satellites Seedorf and Gfenn. This may represent a temporary take much notice of them in any case? It is impossible to arrangement, since Schlatt, Seedorf and Gfenn also generated provide case-specific and quantifiable answers to these their own, individual, seals. That of Schlatt (1274) shows a questions but certainly many fewer people would have been plain cross, very similar to the provincial seals;19 Gfenn (1274), aware of seal imagery than that on coins, for example. But, on unusually for a Lazarite house, opts for a Virgin and Child with the other hand, it would be unwise to underestimate the a praying figure beneath;20 and Seedorf (1289) shows Lazarus impact that seals would have had. Patrons and tenants would the Bishop, wearing a vestment with a large cross patée on the have been aware of them on land grants and transfers; and in front, delivering a blessing with his right hand and holding a the case of the Order of St Lazarus, indulgences and letters of crozier in his left.21 All of these examples are vesicas. The confraternity (which will be considered in detail later) would nature of the cross on these early seals is generally of the type have had a wide circulation across the social spectrum. It was described by Fox-Davies as a ‘sacred cross’ or ‘long cross’, in

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 53 Marcombe other words the type of cross that would have afforded well The seal of Prior Robert (Fig. 1) with the elongated shields used by 11th- and 12th-century The earliest English seal dates from the mid-12th century and is warriors and the early crusaders in particular.22 attached to an undated charter by which Robert, son of Hugh, The seals of the preceptory of Germany (1273) and the Prior of the hospital of St Lazarus, confirms to Alice de Chare commander of Schlatt (1274) both show this sort of cross with lands in Wymondham, Norfolk.30 The first lands held by the the terminals broadening out into something like a reduced Order in England were at Wymondham, granted by William cross patée, with the lower arm elongated.23 On both examples d’Aubigny, Earl of Arundel, before 1146, but it is unlikely that the four ends of the cross terminate in a crescent shape. By the Order had any sort of provincial organisation in the country contrast, the cross on the seal of the preceptory of Germany before the granting of a major estate at Burton Lazars, near (1282) is different. Though it has the broadening ends, it is Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, by Roger de Mowbray c. regular in shape and has no crescent terminals, an adapted 1155–62.31 The seal appears to be attached to the charter upside form, in fact, of the cross patée worn by St Lazarus on his down, assuming the legend begins at 1 o’clock, as is traditional. vestment on the seal of Seedorf (1289).24 It would not be It is engraved in Roman capitals and reads: s: por: possible, therefore, to speak of a cross distinctive to the Order preceptoris: sanct: lazri (Seal of the Prior of the Preceptory of St Lazarus in the 12th and 13th centuries. Though there is a of St Lazarus). It therefore has clear similarities with the generic similarity, there are also subtle differences.25 The 13th-century examples which refer to the preceptory of St survival of these seals demonstrates a chain of command from Lazarus in Germany, though these are preceptorial seals, the central headquarters in Jerusalem; via a provincial rather than priors’ seals. It is important to remember that organisation in western Europe; to a network of individual descriptive terms were still fluid in the 12th and 13th centuries. houses in the localities.26 All of these institutions had their own The word ‘preceptory’ here may be referring to a province (i.e. seals for the validation of business, the most recurring images an area of national or supranational jurisdiction) or, being the cross and the figure of St Lazarus the Bishop. alternatively, a house within that province which had pre- After the fall of Acre in 1291 and the gradual disintegration eminence (i.e. Schlatt or Burton Lazars). The probability here, of the international Order, published examples become fewer taking into account the wording the charter (i.e. ‘Prior of the but are uniformly more ambitious in their design, reflecting hospital of St Lazarus’), is that Prior Robert was the first head the more flamboyant architectural styles of the late Middle of Burton Lazars, which, even at this early date, had probably Ages.27 The presumed seal of James de Besnes (1382), Master- assumed responsibility for the English province or ‘preceptory’ General of the Order, shows a knight on a caparisoned horse of the Order.32 The design of Prior Robert’s seal is also very holding a shield on his left arm and brandishing a sword with similar to some of the German and Swiss examples discussed his right. The shield and the horse’s trappings show the couped above. It shows a plain cross with pellets in the two upper cross which became characteristic of the Order of St Lazarus in quarters and down turned crescents in the lower ones. The the late Middle Ages. The comparisons between this and the cross is particularly reminiscent of those of the preceptory of 12th-century seal of the Jerusalem hospital are very striking, Germany (1272) and the commander of Schlatt (1274), with the though both represent the central authority of the Order. The important difference that on this occasion all the arms are of early seal is poorly worked, simple and economical in all its regular length and there is no suggestion of crescents at the manifestations; the later one is ostentatious and finely terminals. For its date, the seal is in a remarkable state of engraved and has many similarities with the seals of the preservation and is the only example of this early/continental European nobility. It demonstrates that the Order had moved a type amongst surviving English seals and matrices. good deal in its self-perception and sense of image over 200 years; indeed, on the seal of Besnes, apart from the heraldic The Common Seal (Fig. 2) cross there is no religious imagery at all. The seals of Gfenn By the early 13th century a more elaborate, and unusual, seal (late 14th century) and Gfenn and Seedorf (1443) are similarly had been introduced as the Common Seal of the Order in decorative, though less secular. Gfenn has a central motif of the Figure 1 Seal of Virgin and Child with two angels dangling censers each side of Prior Robert, the Virgin’s body. Beneath the figure, under an arch, is the c. 1160. Impression arms of the Order, a couped cross.28 That of Gfenn and Seedorf on document (13x12mm). is actually the seal of John de Schwaber, Master of both houses ROLLR, DE 2242/5 in the mid-15th century. The central device shows an episcopal, possibly archiepiscopal, figure holding a long cross in his right hand and a crozier in his left.29 The long cross is generally taken to be an archiepiscopal adjunct, certainly in the late Middle Ages, and, if this is supposed to be Lazarus the Bishop – the most likely interpretation – why he should be holding it is not immediately clear. Beneath the figure, under an arch, there is an individual at prayer, presumably the master himself. These Middle Eastern and Continental seals provide a useful context and comparisons for the main focus of this paper, the seals of the Order of St Lazarus in England.

54 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Seals of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England

England.33 This was in line with the growing wealth and aesthetically, a needless addition to the composition. However, prestige of the Order and also its increasingly complex if not mere space fillers, they may have had some significance, organisation. It bears the legend in Lombardic script: now lost. The heraldry represents the arms of the Order (a s: commune: ordinis: milicie: hospitalis: sci: lazari: de: couped cross); and those of the Mowbrays, the principal burtone (Common Seal of the Military and Hospitaller Order English patrons (a lion rampant).38 The figure is holding a of St Lazarus of Burton); Burton Lazars by this time being clapper in his right hand and a book in his left. The book is odd clearly established as the chief house of the English branch of and is reminiscent of the book held by St Lazarus, also in his the Order. This seal, which was used for the validation of left hand, on the seal of Schlatt, Seedorf and Gfenn (1287). In significant documents of common interest, was to continue in line with the other military orders, the Lazarites had no use up to the Dissolution, though the matrix seems to have scholarly tradition and the book may simply represent the New been re-engraved c. 1350.34 The original may have vanished Testament, making the point that Lazarus was one of a select during a power struggle between rival masters of the Order in minority of saints who traced his roots back to a personal England which was going on at about that time. relationship with Christ. Alternatively, it may simply be a The whole of the face of the matrix, exclusive of the legend, reminder of the Rule of St Augustine, which the Lazarites is placed within a sexfoil, a design which may have had some followed after the 12th century; or the Rule of St Basil which religious significance since it is often replicated on medieval some authorities allege the brothers of the hospital followed patens. The identification of the central figure is not prior to that. The clapper, on the other hand, is an immediately obvious. Burton, a 17th-century Leicestershire unambiguously iconic object commented upon by many antiquary, believed it to be St Augustine; Birch thought it was historians of medieval leprosy, though in a sigillographical St Lazarus the Bishop; and Ellis, more cautiously, described it context it has been the subject of persistent misinterpretation, simply as ‘a priest’.35 Though the Order latterly followed the having been described as a three-pronged fork, sceptre, or Rule of St Augustine, his depiction on its seals is unprecedented trident.39 The generally accepted view is that the clapper was and the image also lacks the main accoutrements traditionally designed to warn people away from an infected individual lest associated with Lazarus the Bishop, i.e. the crozier and they become infected themselves. However, it is now episcopal mitre. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, as Ellis conjectured that this instrument was more a call to almsgiving, has done, that this is not the figure of a bishop at all and, to be in other words, an invitation to the faithful to draw close and specific, probably not a priest either. More likely the tonsured provide charitable donations.40 (Leprosy is actually head and vestment is suggestive of a brother of St Lazarus, a considerably less infectious, by casual contact, than used to be supposition which is supported by the fact that the distinctive believed, so this sort of social intercourse with lepers could collar from which is suspended a large cross is repeated on a have been carried on with relatively little risk to healthy sculptural representation of brothers of the order at people.) As has been argued, the Order of St Lazarus was Grattemont, in France.36 Brothers of St Lazarus, who carried heavily dependent on such charitable giving and the clapper out the main work of the Order, were only rarely in priest’s could be seen as symbolic of it. orders and, if this identification is correct, the Common Seal In fact, the whole of the face of the seal, within the sexfoil, provides one of the few unambiguous representations of such a might usefully be read as a statement of what the Order stood person in medieval Europe.37 for, each of the six segments containing a significant symbol The face of the seal is laden with significant imagery. The connected with the present or the past. The head of the brother, initials BZ, below the figure, probably represent the encapsulating much of the thinking about the divinity of the abbreviated form of Burton Lazars. The two crosses, to the left human head which stretched back to prehistory and was and right of the figure’s head, are problematical and, continued in the head shrines of significant Christian saints.41 The book, either the New Testament or the Rule of Augustine or Basil, connecting the Order with more ancient Christian ideologies. The heraldic crusader’s cross, borne in battle against the Infidel. The acronym of Burton Lazars, bringing the focus of attention back to England and the landholdings of the Order in the Midlands. The arms of the Mowbrays, making the link with one of the country’s leading feudal families.42 And, finally, the clapper, symbolic of leprosy and almsgiving. The seal was saying that here was a religious order with history, aristocratic patronage and unerring commitment to the crusade. However, it was also poor because of its duty to carry out good works and because of that it needed financial support to carry on. So it was all there: history, present state and aspiration, all rolled into the circle that was symbolic of eternity and changelessness. These were carefully thought out messages which would not have been lost on the people who viewed this seal in the Middle Ages. The Common Seal is without doubt the most sophisticated piece of imagery Figure 2 Common Seal of the Order of St Lazarus in England, c. 1200–1544, associated with the Order of St Lazarus either in England or modern cast impression (diam. 57mm). BL, Seal lxvi 47 overseas.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 55 Marcombe

The Seal of Burton Lazars (Fig. 3) including this detail – often in an abbreviated form – was The rest of the surviving seals and matrices are late-medieval, because, in reality, the Order was now far separated from predominantly dating from the 15th and 16th centuries when Jerusalem, both geographically and ideologically, and it suited the Order in England was free from the French motherhouse at the English Lazarites to remind their supporters about their Boigny. For this period some of the imagery is crudely worked, noble origins and where they came from. It was, in effect, an especially that on the Indulgence Seal, and legends are extension and endorsement of the St Lazarus image discussed sometimes blundered and ungrammatical, suggesting the above. engravers employed were not of the highest calibre. Though the Common Seal remained in use throughout, a separate seal The Indulgence Seal (Fig. 4) was used by the main preceptory at Burton Lazars to conduct The episcopal theme is carried on in the Indulgence Seal, the business of the house. Some of the daughter houses, too, which, once more, adopts the form of a flattened oval.46 It bears may have had their own seals, especially the important the Black Letter legend: sigill: de: indulgencie: de: bortoni: hospital of St Giles, Holborn, but none of these has survived lazari: illm (Seal of the Indulgence of Burton Lazars of and even for St Giles the only known example predates the Jerusalem), its purpose quite clearly being to validate the Lazarite takeover of the house in 1299.43 The Burton Lazars seal indulgences that the Order was entitled to issue under the takes the form of a flattened oval and bears the Black Letter authority of the Pope.47 The central figure of the bishop is legend: sigillm: doms: botni: scanti: lazar: ilm (Seal of the significantly different to the previous example. First, he is House of Burton St Lazarus of Jerusalem).44 standing beneath a baldachin, or fabric canopy supported by The imagery is notably less complex than that of the poles, rather than an architectural canopy. The word Common Seal and significantly different. The composition is ‘baldachin’ is derived from the Latin word balakinus, signifying dominated by an episcopal figure seated under an architectural a rich fabric of silk and gold originating from Baghdad and canopy and delivering a blessing. Beneath the main figure widely used in the crusader states. Second, the bishop is there is a smaller one, in a niche, with his hands raised up in holding a crozier, as one would expect, but in his right hand the supplication in the orans position, an image which, once more, iconic leper’s clapper appears once more. Third, the mitre on may well represent a brother of the Order. The identity of the this occasion is surrounded by a circular nimbus, indicating main figure is not immediately evident, but, in view of the that this was no ordinary earthly bishop; he was a saint. If this earlier, less ambiguous examples, it almost certainly represents image is without doubt Lazarus the Bishop, his identification Lazarus the Bishop. The image thus illustrates the helps reinforce the identity of the episcopal figure on the transmogrification of a biblical character into a figure of Burton Lazars seal and other seals of the Order, since it is authority instantly recognisable to a late-medieval audience, reasonable to assume some measure of consistency. Indeed, the Order’s very own quasi-episcopal patron and protector. this seal picks up not just on the idea of episcopal authority, And such implied support could be considered very important, evident in the previous example, but also on the notions of especially to an organisation that operated nationwide and was crusading and leprosy derived from the Common Seal. On a largely exempt from the jurisdiction of local bishops.45 To have document such as an indulgence, which changed hands for one’s own bishop, shadowy and antique though he may have hard cash, it could be seen as circumspect not to underplay been, was a positive advantage. Another way in which this seal ones hand so far as image building assets were concerned. In breaks fresh ground, in an English context, is the mention, on practice this Indulgence Seal may not have been widely used, the legend, of the Order’s place of origin, Jerusalem, which was since surviving indulgences are invariably sealed with versions to become a regular feature on a range of seals. The reason for of the Confraternity Seal which will be discussed next.

Figure 3 (left) Seal of Burton Lazars, 15th/16th century. Modern impression (57x29mm). BL, Seal D. CH.37

Figure 4 (right) Indulgence Seal of Burton Lazars, 15th/16th century. Modern impression in wax (54x38mm). BL, Seal xxv 169

56 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Seals of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England

Figure 5 (left) Confraternity Seal, 15th/16th century, modern impression (60x35mm). BL, Seal lxvi 48a

Figure 6 (right) The Robertsbridge matrix, early 15th century, gilt- bronze matrix (53x34mm). Author’s collection

The Confraternity seals (Figs 5 and 6) 19th century, all of these examples being different in detail. Confraternities were groups of people – clerical and lay – who, Thirty-two letters of confraternity survive in archive in this instance, stood in a special relationship with a religious repositories spread across the UK and 13 of these provide order, essentially a religious club or society which operated for fragments of wax impressions large enough to draw some mutual benefit. Burton Lazars received membership fees and conclusions about the matrices which generated them. Though all of the advantages accruing to it from a raised profile in this can be challenging work, since the wax seals are often society; the members received prayers for their good estate in badly impressed or in poor condition, three diagnostic life and for their souls after death, speeding their passage indicators tend to survive, often because they are located on or through the gloomy realms of purgatory towards ultimate near the tag, generally the last part of the seal to degenerate. salvation. There were probably also social benefits that came These are: the architectural detail of the canopy; the corbel on by way of membership, such as feasts, support in old age and which the central figure is standing; and miscellaneous the attendance at organised festivals and pilgrimages. At significant details – for example, the angle at which the crozier Burton Lazars a confraternity existed from at least the 14th is held or idiosyncratic motifs in the field.53 This analysis century and probably earlier. However, in line with other proved that three different, identifiable matrices had been confraternities nationwide, it became unprecedentedly used on six documents; and there were a further seven popular in the late Middle Ages and reached its zenith c. documents where a different matrix had been used in each 1450–1520.48 When an individual or group joined the case. None of these could be related directly to the four confraternity they received an official document – letters of surviving matrices or good quality modern impressions of the confraternity – which effectively comprised a membership lost ones. In other words, the Order of St Lazarus was using 13 certificate. These took two forms, documents handwritten on generically similar but detail-specific Confraternity Seals parchment, which proliferated in the 15th century;49 and between 1455 and 1526 and there was another (the versions printed on paper, which were beginning to come into Robertsbridge matrix) probably of earlier date, 14 seals in all. fashion in the 16th century, presumably because of increasing Taking into account the fact that only the tip of the iceberg demand.50 Whatever their form, letters of confraternity were survives in terms of extant letters of confraternity – there must invariably sealed with the Confraternity Seal of the Order ‘in have been hundreds, even thousands in the late Middle Ages – our chapter house at Burton Lazars’. the number of seals in circulation before the Reformation Confraternity seals adopted a generic form.51 They were would have run to dozens and perhaps many more.54 invariably vesicas; their legends identified them as It is important to try to assess what this evidence is telling Confraternity Seals of the Order of St Lazarus, often ‘in Anglia’; us about late-medieval seals and particularly the management and they all had the central figure of Lazarus the Bishop of the Burton Lazars confraternity. The first point that emerges holding a crozier and delivering a blessing.52 Less obvious is the is that management styles changed over time, a point borne out question of how many of these seals existed and what they tell by the discovery of a gilt-bronze Confraternity Seal matrix by a us about how the Order conducted this part of its business. It metal detectorist at Robertsbridge, Sussex, in the 1990s. This might be assumed, as in the previous examples discussed, that example was larger and earlier than any previously known the Order would have need of a single seal to validate letters of seal, dating from c. 1390. Though no known documents are confraternity, but documentary and archaeological survivals sealed with this matrix, it is reasonable to conjecture that it point to a much more complicated picture. In terms of was a template or prototype which served the Order before the artefactual survivals, there are two matrices which are still confraternity took off in popularity c. 1450.55 After that, it seems, extant and there is evidence that a further two existed in the many less professionally executed versions of the matrix were

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 57 Marcombe produced. It is clear that during this period ‘pardoners’, or ‘private’ nature. Several of these signets have been encountered agents, were working on behalf of the Order in parts of the in the context of the master in his capacity as Warden of the country as far flung as Hereford, Durham and north Wales. hospital of St Giles, Holborn. St Giles was a royal foundation, Some of them may have been contracted directly by the Order; originally for 40 lepers, which traced its roots back to the early others were almost certainly freelance, having obtained the 12th century. In 1299, “after protracted negotiations, Edward I right to sell indulgences and letters of confraternity from a gave it to the Order of St Lazarus to compensate it for losses number of institutions.56 Were these agents issued with their sustained in the withdrawal from the Holy Land. Thereafter, own seals to maximise profits? Another explanation of the the London properties of St Giles became the most valuable explosion of numbers of matrices after 1450 is that the Order possessions of the Order and it is probable that masters spent a suffered widespread problems with fraud and forgery. There is good deal of their time there.60 The surviving Privy Seals of St documentary evidence that this was going on in the 13th and Giles date between 1486 and 1523 and relate to two masters, Sir 14th centuries and the poor quality of some of the surviving George Sutton and Sir Thomas Norton.61 The seals take the impressions suggests they may have been generated from form of an oval and show St Giles, as an abbot, with a wounded hastily produced, substandard matrices which raises the hind leaping up to him to seek protection.62 Unfortunately all of question about low-grade matrices surviving in museum the surviving examples are in poor condition. Also surviving collections today.57 It has generally been supposed that such for Sir Thomas Norton, and conversely in excellent condition, is examples are forgeries, either on stylistic grounds or because a Privy Seal attached to a Leicestershire charter which proves other versions of a particular seal are known to exist. The that such signets might be varied according to the example of the Burton Lazars Confraternity Seal, multiplied to circumstances in which they were being deployed.63 Two include the many religious orders and institutions that enjoyed corresponding indentations in the wax impression indicate that similar privileges, could lead to a long overdue reappraisal. this was a seal almost certainly made with a signet ring. The The second point is less quantifiable and takes us back to design is a shield, within a circular rope work border, bearing the question of seals as manifestations of ‘image’ and how our the device of a St Julian’s cross. This was an apt emblem for medieval ancestors related to them. On face value the someone like Norton. In the 15th century the Lazarites had Confraternity Seals of the Order of St Lazarus repeat the been actively cultivating their image as the charitable and message of the other seals that depict Lazarus the Bishop – in genteel heirs of a bygone age of crusading. St Julian the other words, this was a respectable investment, likely to bear Hospitaller, whose life is recounted in The Golden Legend, was a fruit. In the popular perception it probably mattered little young nobleman remarkable because of his charity to the poor whether, as an investor, you were looking at a living bishop or a and to lepers.64 Even at this lowest level in the sigillographical long-dead one. Such people epitomised the respectability of the hierarchy, the seals of the Order of St Lazarus could be seen as late-medieval establishment to all but a few. More important, saying something relevant about how it perceived itself, its perhaps, was the question of what a letter of confraternity history and its role in the world. carried with it and here a clue is provided by an anecdote in Though the Order of St Lazarus was relatively small and its Jocelin de Brakelond’s Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St seals were not always of the highest quality, they were clearly Edmunds. Jocelin is sharply critical of the fact that William the critical to its modus operandi and warrant the careful attention Sacrist secretly borrowed 40 marks from Benedict the Jew, ‘to of scholars for three reasons. First, by virtue of their design, whom he gave a bond sealed with the seal that used to hang on they illustrate the aspirations and priorities of the Order and the shrine of St Edmund and was normally used for sealing how these changed over a period of time, especially in terms of documents of guilds and confraternities’.58 The proximity of the dealing with the wider world. Second, they clarify the matrix to the shrine of St Edmund suggests it was believed to priorities for the conducting of business and, in the case of the be charged with some special spiritual power which, by Confraternity Seals, by a multiplicity of seals and matrices implication, could be transferred to the wax seals it generated. provide valuable clues about how some aspects of that business Hence Jocelin’s outrage that such a seal could be misused and, were, in practice, carried out. Third, a detailed study such as above all else, handed on to a Jew, an unbeliever. In the secular this holds out the possibility of comparison with other religious world it was commonplace for seals to carry personal and environmental tokens of the people and places they Figure 7 Privy Seal of Sir Thomas Norton, early represented, such as fingerprints or rings of plaited straw, so it 16th century, impression is not too farfetched to conjecture that the same thought on document (11x12mm). processes may have been represented in the ecclesiastical ROLLR, 10D 34/123 sphere too.59 Seals on letters of confraternity could therefore have been regarded as spiritually symbolic, a talismanic bond between the recipient and the house that issued them, and in this light it is easier to see why the peripatetic pardoners of St Lazarus maintained the fiction that the sealing had been done ‘in our chapter house at Burton Lazars’ long after this had ceased to be a reality.

Masters’ Privy Seals (Fig. 7) It was accepted that masters of the Order could make use of Privy Seals, or signets, to validate business of an individual or

58 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Seals of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England and particularly military orders. For example, were the of the Order at about that time who has a name similar to ‘de Lazarites typical in their use of seals and choice of imagery? Arcris’. This might be a Latinised form of ‘Acre’ and could in some Only further academic studies can shed light on this question sense relate to the Lazarites use of this place as a base in the 13th century. and others like it. Finally, it must be acknowledged that more 28 Hyacinthe 2003, 121. The seal of Gfenn (late 14th century) has the remains to be discovered even about the seals of the Order of St legend: s: conventus: dom: i: gevenne: ordinis: milici: sci: Lazarus. Though the English seals have been thoroughly lazari (Seal of the Convent and House of Gfenn of the Military Order of St Lazarus). reviewed, the survival rate of both documents and matrices has 29 Hyacinthe 2003, 147. The seal of John de Schwaber (mid-15th been relatively poor and the continental seals have only been century) has the legend: s: frs: iohs: swaber: cemendator: superficially dealt with from secondary sources. The discovery domoru: sci: lazari: igevene: et: sedove (Seal of Brother John of the Robertsbridge matrix proves that the study of seals is a Schwaber, Commander of the House of St Lazarus at Gfenn and Seedorf). constantly changing dynamic depending on a chance signal 30 ROLLR DE2242/5. The charter evidently arrived at the former through a set of headphones as much as anything else. Leicestershire Record Office under the mistaken belief it related to Wymondham in Leicestershire. 31 Marcombe 2003, 34–5. Notes 32 Early descriptions of the person who appears to be the master in 1 What follows, on the Order of St Lazarus in the Holy Land and England are ‘Preceptor of all the alms of St Lazarus in England and Europe, is based on: Hyacinthe 2003; Jankrift 1996; and Barber warden of the brethren in England’ and ‘Preceptor and custodian 1994. There are also older, less reliable, sources, for example: of all the alms of St Lazarus on this side of the sea’. The word Pétiet 1914 and Bertrand de la Grassière 1960. For England, the preceptor seems to suggest some sort of leadership of the English only major study is Marcombe 2003 which also sketches in the preceptory or province of the Order (Marcombe 2003, 66–7). international background. 33 For the earliest version of this seal, see TNA E327/50. 2 Marcombe 2003, 6–13 34 For the later version of this seal, see TNA, E329/334; British Library 3 Ibid., 135–41 (hereafter BL), Seal lxvi 47; BM Seals no. 2789; Ellis 1986, 15. 4 Ibid., 9, 11, 13 35 Burton 1622, 64; BM Seals no. 2789; Ellis 1986,15 5 Ibid., 3–6; Farmer 1992), 190; The Book of Saints 1994, 339. 36 For an illustration and discussion of the Grattemont sculptures, 6 Marcombe 2003, 5–6. see Marcombe 2003, 25–7. 7 Ibid., 12–20. 37 Ibid, 66–75. Other representations of brothers of St Lazarus are on 8 Ibid., 20–21, 75–85. one of the door stops of Burton Lazars church, Leicestershire 9 Ibid., 86–100 (possibly) (ibid., 70); and a more definite (late-medieval) 10 Ibid., 215–46 depiction in Huntingdon Library, S. Marino, California, USA 11 Ibid., 23–5 (HM160, f. 129). See Marcombe 2003, 186. 12 Ibid., 175–214. 38 Actually, ‘gules, a lion rampant argent’. 13 In the 13th century collections were taken ‘for the maintenance of 39 Ellis 1986,15; BM Seals no. 2789. the standard of St Lazarus against the enemies of the cross’ 40 Touati 1998, 113–14, 417–20; Satchell 1998, 166. (Calendar of Patent Rolls, 317). 41 For example, St Hugh of Lincoln and St Chad of Lichfield. For a 14 Touati 1998, 631–746. discussion of the head cult in pre-Christian times, see Ross 1993, 15 Marcombe 2003, 88–92, 166–8. 94–171 and Green 1992, 114–18. A tonsured head is a common motif 16 Hyacinthe 2003, 22, 24. on medieval priests’ personal seals with the legend: caput: servi: 17 Hyacinthe 2003, 83–4. The 1273 seal has the legend: s: pceptoris: dei (Head of the Servant of God) or similar. sci: lazari: in: a[-]ie (Seal of the Preceptory of St Lazarus in 42 For the significance of the Mowbrays, see Marcombe 2003, 35–40. Germany). That of 1282 has the legend: s: pceptoris: sci: lazari: 43 Ibid., 52. The seal shows St Giles as an abbot. in: alemania (Seal of the Preceptory of St Lazarus in Germany). 44 BL, Seal D.CH.37 18 Hyacinthe 2003, 83–5. 45 For the privileges of the Order, see Marcombe 2003,175–8. These 19 Hyacinthe 2003, 83–4. The seal of Schlatt (1274) has the legend: often invoked the wrath of local bishops. [s]: commendatoris: dom: sci: lazari: t: slatten (Seal of the 46 BL Seal xxv 169. Commander of the House of St Lazarus at Schlatt). Beside the 47 For the importance of indulgences, see Marcombe 2003, 181–6. lower arm of the cross are the words: zurah (left); and venie 48 For the confraternity, see ibid. 186–94. (right). 49 Ibid., 190. 20 Hyacinthe 2003, 83–5. The seal of Gfenn (1274) has the legend: 50 Ibid., 191. s: frm: dom: sci: lazari: in: gevenne (Seal of the Brothers of the 51 For Confraternity Seals, see Marcombe 2002. House of St Lazarus at Gfenn). 52 The legend on the illustrated example reads: sigillie: 21 Hyacinthe 2003, 83–5. The seal of Seedorf (1289) has the legend: fratinitatie: sci: lacni: ieruilelem: in: anglia (Seal of the s: domus: frm: sci: lazari: in: vrania (Seal of the Brothers of the Fraternity of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England). House of St Lazarus at Seedorf; Hyacinthe’s translation). 53 Marcombe 2002, 49–54. 22 Fox-Davies 1993, 128. 54 Ibid., 54. 23 Hyacinthe 2003, 83. 55 The Robertsbridge matrix has the Lombardic legend: sigillu: 24 Ibid., loc. bit. fratnitat: de: burto: sci: lazari (Seal of the Fraternity of Burton 25 The same could be said of the cross used by the Templars which is St Lazarus). The legend was deciphered by Christopher Whittick, similar to that adopted by the Order of St Lazarus. For the typical Senior Archivist with East Sussex County Council. The matrix is ‘Templar cross’ see Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, Ms 76 F3, f.1. now in the keeping of the author. 26 For the chain of command and contacts between the centre and 56 Marcombe 2003, 183–4 periphery in the Order of St Lazarus, see Marcombe 2006. 57 Ibid., 181. 27 The shorter or couped cross (i.e. with arms of equal length) is 58 Jocelin de Brakelond, 4. believed to have developed because of the changing shape of 59 Harvey and McGuinness (1996, 21) suggest a functional shields in the 13th and 14th centuries. As they became shorter, the interpretation, though there may well be more to it than that. need for a shorter heraldic cross automatically followed (Fox- 60 Marcombe 2003, 161–6. Davies 1993, 128). For the seal of James de Besnes, see Marcombe, 61 For example, BL, Harl. Charters, 44B 18, 24, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 36. 2003, 30. It is to be found in the Smitmer-Löschner collection in the 62 For the legend of St Giles and the wounded hind, see Farmer 1992, Osterreichischen Staatsarchivs and has the Lombardic legend: sig: 205–6. iacobi: d: arcris: militis: magri: s: lazari: elltrii (Seal of James 63 ROLLR no. 10 D 34/123. de Arcris, Master of the Knights of St Lazarus of Jerusalem). The 64 Farmer 1992, 273–4. legend poses a difficulty since it appears not to relate to James de Besnes, whose seal this is taken to be. Nor is there a known master

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 59 The Judicial Seals of the Welsh Courts of Great Sessions David H. Williams

The courts of Great Sessions The original seal The Act of Union of 1536, uniting England and Wales, The Act of 1542 provided for four ‘original seals’ to be used to supplemented by a further act in 1542, established county seal all original writs and process returnable at the Sessions. boundaries in the Principality of Wales which endured until One such, for the counties of Merioneth, Caernarfon and local government reform in 1974. More recently, in further Anglesey, was to remain in the custody of the Chamberlain of administrative changes, some of those boundaries are once North Wales; another for use in the shires of Carmarthen, again on the political map, chiefly in north and west Wales. To Pembroke and Cardigan was to be in the keeping of the counter the then prevalent state of lawlessness in parts of Chamberlain of South Wales; that for use in the shires of Wales, the Act of 1542 divided the country (Monmouthshire Brecknock, Radnor and Glamorgan, was to be given into the excepted) into four judicial circuits of three counties each, for custody of the Steward and Chamberlain of Brecknock; whilst the purpose of holding the newly established Great Sessions. that for Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire was to be in the The judicial circuits comprised: Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and keeping of the Steward and Chamberlain of Denbigh. Flintshire Merioneth; Denbigh, Flint and Montgomery; Cardiganshire, was to be served by the ‘original’ seal of Chester.10 Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire; and Breconshire, It is likely that the ‘original’ seals were, in fact, the seals of Glamorganshire and Radnorshire.1 The writer and antiquary, the several chanceries. No seal impression has been located George Owen (1603), told how ‘thear is in every sheere a great which bears the word ‘original’ in the legend, although a draft sessions or assisses houlden every yeare twyce, and a justice of exists of a royal command by Charles II in August 1660 for the assise for every three sheeres’.2 Monmouthshire was attached engraving of an original seal for the counties of Radnor, to the Oxford assize circuit.3 Brecknock and Glamorgan; to be ‘agreeable to that… in the The Act indeed provided ‘that there shall be holden and time of the late King of blessed memory, adding only in the kept Sessions in every Year, in every of the said Shires in the inscription immediately after the word Carolus, the word Dominion and Principality of Wales’. The Justice of Chester Secundus’.11 Earlier, in 1649, the House of Commons had was ‘for the time being’ to keep the Sessions in the counties of ordered the engraving of new original seals for Wales.12 Denbigh, Montgomery and Flint, and ‘have nothing but his old Numerous writs returnable at the Sessions, held amongst fee of an hundred Pounds yearly for the same’. The Justice of the manuscripts of the National Library, bear no seal North Wales was to keep the Sessions for the counties of whatsoever. On the records of The National Archives very few Caernarfon, Merioneth and Anglesey, and to be paid £50 claims for payment for the engraving of specific ‘original’ seals annually. ‘One Person learned in the Laws of this Realm of have been located. One request for payment in 1709 by John England’ was to be appointed Justice of the Counties of Radnor, Roos, chief engraver at the tower in the time of Queen Anne, Brecknock and Glamorgan; and another was to serve the shires confuses the issue by describing as a ‘judicial seal’ a matrix of Carmarthen, Pembroke and Cardigan; both were to receive a engraved for the Chancellor of Denbigh and Montgomery, and yearly fee of £50. Various officials were responsible for bearing (in Latin) the legend: ‘for the Chancery for the counties administrative matters, but ‘no Welshman was to have any of Denbigh and Montgomery’. This was, in effect, an original office unless he speak English’.4 The language of the courts was seal.13 Thomas East (1686) had engraved a like seal for the same indeed English, but some Welsh words did appear in the official chancery.14 Known impressions of Welsh chancery seals are Latin record.5 extremely rare. The courts of Great Sessions (which met in rotation in their respective county towns) had an extensive jurisdiction, and The judicial seal were enabled to hear actions ‘ranging from the most trifling The Method of Proceeding in the Court of Great Sessions for debt to high treason’.6 They became very popular, and their Glamorgan, Brecon and Radnor noted, as late as 1817, the increasing work-load meant that, from 1576, the number of provisions of the Act of 1542 that there be an original seal for justices for each court was raised to two; but they sat together, issuing writs, and a judicial seal for witnessing judicial not separately.7 The courts had their limitations; they could not process.15 There are numerous examples of impressions made summon parties or witnesses resident outside their circuit, and from the latter seals; the great majority being attached to each session was limited to six days, though they were not exemplifications of fines and recoveries (especially the latter) necessarily consecutive.8 In course of time their usefulness and which had passed through the courts of Great Sessions. They the recourse made to them declined, and the courts were were sometimes termed the ‘Broad Seals for Wales’ (as in abolished in 1830. The commission which heard evidence 1689),16 or ‘ye Greenwax Seale’ (as in Carmarthenshire in 1650 – leading to their extinction, were told by some that ‘Welsh from the colour of the wax invariably used when they were judges are men of inferior ability’.9 impressed).17 Each group of counties had its judicial seal (including now Denbigh, Montgomery and Flint), changing

60 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Judicial Seals of the Welsh Courts of Great Sessions from reign to reign. Thomas Wyon the elder, whose family name throughout the The silver seal matrices were engraved in the Tower of 19th century was synonymous with the engraving of seals of London to a specified design, and the accounts of at least three state. As the courts of Great Sessions were abolished in 1830, royal engravers survive: those of Thomas East for three of the this seal was one of the last of its class to be engraved. The two groups of shires, necessitated by the accession of James II in matrices (for the obverse and reverse sides of the seal) bear the 1685,18 that of Henry Harris for adjusting the judicial seals after lugs allowing them to be correctly positioned as the seal the accession of William III,19 and those of John Roos for impression was formed. On the exterior appears the numerous matrices executed during the reign of Queen Anne, inscription: t. wyon fecit. The other set of matrices the and for the early seals of George I.20 They mostly display the National Museum holds – for Glamorgan, Brecknock and same engraving skill which impressed Samuel Pepys, Secretary Radnor in the time of George II, were purchased by the of the Admiralty, on a visit to the Tower in 1666, when he saw Museum in 1955 at a Sotheby’s sale for £26 – infinitely less than ‘some of the finest pieces of embossed work that ever I did see the cost of the original engraving (Figs 1 and 2).30 in my life, for fineness and smallness of the images therein.’21 Another engraver known to have worked on seals for Welsh Judicial seal imagery. usage included Thomas Rawlins (Chief Royal Engraver in The judicial seals were always circular in shape and, whilst 1647–48 and 1662–70). His work included five judicial seals for always smaller than the Great Seals of England, their size the courts of Great Sessions. They were necessitated by the varied. Those for the reign of Henry VIII had a diameter of restoration of the monarchy, and Rawlins worked on them 74mm, in the time of Elizabeth I of 62mm, but in the reign of from 30 July 30 to 24 September 1660, receiving a payment of James I of 100mm (Figs 5 and 6). Thereafter the diameter £274 (in to-day’s values worth about well over £20,000).22 He fluctuated between 90 and 105mm. As the accounts of John deserved the money; he had fled to the Continent after the Roos tell, the matrices were always double-sided. The obverse downfall of Charles I, and returning to London was, in 1657, had an equestrian scene, the monarch on horse-back; the imprisoned for debt. It has been said of Rawlins that he was reverse displayed a shield of the royal arms surmounted by a ‘although a talented artist, an uneven worker, and some of his royal crown. The obverse generally portrayed (somewhere in productions betray [no doubt] the great haste with which he the field) the crest of three ostrich feathers, used by the Princes had to execute the king’s commands.’23 of Wales ever since the Battle of Crécy (1346), and taken then Silver matrices were not inexpensive items. John Roos from the arms of the captive King John of Bohemia. The base of charged £60 each for his workmanship in engraving the the reverse also displays the Prince of Wales’ feathers, judicial seals for Queen Anne. A further £8 was expended on accompanied by his equally ancient motto, ich dien (I serve).31 the necessary silver, and £1 for each shagreen case to hold and Whilst the details and presentation differed from reign to protect the seal24 (‘shagreen’ was untanned leather with a rough reign, the judicial seals always retained the same pattern, save granular surface and frequently dyed green).25 The total cost during the Commonwealth (1649–60) when the imagery of the for each judicial seal which Roos claimed of the Treasury thus Great Seal (a map of the British Isles and a view of Parliament in came to almost £70, equivalent to well over £5,000 today.26 Of session) was adopted. Unfortunately, most of the known Roos’ craftsmanship, the officers of the Mint reported that ‘the impressions of judicial seals from the time of the Republic work is good, and he deserves the prices set down’.27 The late possess but an indistinct image of the map.32 It was in February date (1708) in Anne’s reign of Roos’ claims may reflect the 1649 that the House of Commons called in the Welsh judicial order given in 1702 after her accession that the judicial seal of seals used during the reign of Charles I, passed an Act requiring William and Mary for the Caernarfon group be used until a their alteration (in fact, replacement), and required the new one was made.28 Presumably this applied to the other shire Committee of the Revenue to pay for the necessary work groups also, whilst the term ‘of William and Mary’ implies that involved.33 On the accession of William and Mary (1688) the no change was made in their judicial seals after Mary’s death. judicial seals were called in to London, so as to be ‘altered to When silver seals became obsolete, as on the death of a their present Majesties’ style’.34 sovereign, or a change in title necessitating an alteration in the On the obverse equestrian side of the judicial seal, the wording, the silver (once defaced to prevent fraud] became the monarch’s horse sometimes rides (as seen on the impression) perquisite of the holder of the relevant office. In the 18th towards the left (dexter) side of the seal – as on the seals for century, the silver was frequently refashioned in the form of a Elizabeth, Charles I, Charles II, James I, William III, Anne and salver. One such salver, engraved with the Thomas Roos’ 1708 George IV; on other seals towards the right (sinister) side – as on judicial seal of Queen Anne for the counties of Denbigh, the seals of Henry VIII, Edward VI, George II (Fig. 2) and Montgomery and Flint, was fashioned in 1721 by Paul de George III (Fig. 3). The male sovereigns are all depicted in some Lamerie for Sir Joseph Jekyll, Chief Justice of the County form of body armour, though the helmet disappears from the Palatine of Chester; and another seal, that of George I for the reign of James I (Fig. 5). Queen Elizabeth’s seal for the Denbigh same shires, was made into a salver in 1739 by Thomas Parr II group of counties shows her ‘clothed in complete armour like a for a later Chief Justice, Sir John Willes.29 man, and seated astride the horse in masculine fashion.’35 Might Not all judicial seal matrices were refashioned, a few this have been an earlier seal with altered legend, for her seal survive in their original form, like that of the reign of George IV for the Carmarthen and Glamorgan groups of shires depicts her for the counties of Caernarfon, Merioneth and Anglesey, which wearing a long dress and riding sideways seated on a pillion? was presented in 1942 to the National Museum of Wales by A.J. Anne wore ‘royal vestments’.36 The helmet of the earlier Sylvester, cbe, on behalf of Sir Henry Fildes, jp, mp, who did not monarchs generally bears the crest of England, a lion statant. want his name publicly mentioned. It had been engraved by The later sovereigns display a variety of head-gear – Charles II,

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 61 Williams

Figures 1 and 2 National Museum of Wales, Seal Dies E 45-46. Judicial Seal for the Counties of Glamorgan, Brecknock and Radnor, temp. George II (1727–60). Engraved in 1729. Silver dies, diam. 105mm. Obverse: The monarch on horseback riding to sinister, a sword in his right hand; the Prince of Wales’s feathers and motto, ICH DIEN. In base, a representation of Cardiff, the Herbert mansion (Grey Friars) being prominent. The legend reads: GEORGIVS • II • DEI • GRATIAE • MAGNAE • BRITANNIAE • FRANCIAE • ET • HIBERNIAE • REX • FIDEI • DEFEN • ETC. Reverse: A shield: the royal arms of 1714-1801, ensigned by a royal crown. Supporters: dext. A greyhound collared, sin. A hind ducally gorged with coronet and chained. In base, the Prince of Wales’ three ostrich feathers, and a scroll with the motto: ICH DIEN. SIGILL • UIDI • PRO • COMITA • GLAMORGAN • BRECKNOK • ET • RADNOR © National Museum of Wales a large plume of seven feathers issuing from the back of his the chest of the horse, to which they face, ‘is taken as the place helmet (Fig. 7); James I, a crown; Georges II, III and IV are of honour’.38 On at least some of the equestrian impressions of bewigged and helmetless (Fig. 3). The earlier monarchs the judicial seals in the time of Henry VIII, a ball with a small brandish a sword, held at differing angles; Elizabeth holds a spike on the top of it appears on the back of the horse. It also sceptre, George IV a short baton, but a sword is attached to his appears on the judicial seals of Edward VI, for these appear to left thigh. The seal of Charles II for the Carmarthen group of be the same seals as used in the reign of Henry VIII, though counties has him having attached to his left arm in an with necessary adjustments in the legend. It has been horizontal position a small shield of the royal arms.37 suggested that a ball with a spike might have been fastened on A noteworthy feature of the splendid horse caparisons on to the caparison to stop others clambering up on to the back of the judicial seals of Henry VIII and Edward VI is that they are the horse behind the rider, who would be ‘powerless against embroidered with the royal arms reversed; that is to say, the any agile assailant from the rear’.39 The head of the horse in first and fourth quarters contain the three lions passant of some reigns (Henry VIII, Edward VI, Charles II and James I) England, the second and third quarters the three fleurs-de-lis bears a plume of feathers. In the field of the seal, above the of France. More than that, the lions passant are also reversed, horse’s back and to the rear of the rider, are sometimes facing to sinister rather than to dexter. The explanation is that displayed, as during the reigns of Charles II, William III, Anne,

Figures 3 and 4 National Museum of Wales, seal casts W 36-37. Judicial seal for the Counties of Caernarfon, Merioneth and Anglesey, temp. George III (1760–1820), engraved between 1816–1820. Impressions made in 1934 from matrices held by the British Museum. Buff plaster casts, diam 90mm. © National Museum of Wales. Obverse: The monarch on horseback riding to sinister, in the field behind are the feathers and motto, ICH DIEN, of the Prince of Wales. Under the body of the horse is a landscape depicting Caernarfon Castle, with two three-masted ships on the Menai Straits adjacent. • GEORGIUS TERTIUS DEI GRATIA BRITANNIARUM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR. Reverse: A shield, ensigned by a royal crown, bearing the royal arms employed from 1816 to 1837, overall an inescutcheon bearing the arms of Hanover, and ensigned with the crown of Hanover: tierced, 1. Two lions passant gardant [Brunswick], 2. Semy of hearts, a lion rampant [Luneburg], 3. A horse courant [Westphalia], overall in an inescutcheon, the crown of Hanover. Supporters: dext. A greyhound, sin. A stag. In base, three ostrich feathers enfiled by a coronet, and a scroll bearing the motto: ICH DIEN. SIGILLUM IUDICALE PRO COMITATIBUS CARNARVON MERIONETH ET ANGLESEA

62 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Judicial Seals of the Welsh Courts of Great Sessions

Figures 5 and 6 National Library of Wales, Edwinsford Deed 2084 (obverse) and 2085 (reverse). Judicial seal for the Counties of Carmarthen, Cardigan and Pembroke, temp. James I. As used in 1611. Green wax, diam. 100mm. (© National Library of Wales). Obverse: The monarch on horseback riding to dexter over hummocky vegetation , his right hand holds his sword aloft, his left hand grasps the reins. The horse trappings bear the royal arms. + IACOBVS • DEI • GRACIA • ANGLIE • SCOTIA • FRANCIA • ET • HIBERNIA • REX • FIDEI • DEFENSOR. Reverse: A shield bearing the royal arms and ensigned by a royal crown: quarterly, 1. and 4. quarterly, i. and iv. Three fleurs-de-lis [France Modern], ii. and iii. Three lions passant guardant in pale [England]; 2. A lion rampant within a double tressure [Scotland], 3. An harp stringed [Ireland]. In base, the Prince of Wales’ feather and motto: ICH DIEN. Supporters: dexter: The red dragon breathing fire; sinister: A goat. SIGILLVM • IVDICALE • PRO • COMITATIBVS • CARMERTHEN • CARDIGAN • ET • PEMBROCK • and Georges I, II and III, the Prince of Wales’ feathers and Caernarfon Castle on the seal for the Caernarfon group; a motto. On the seal for George IV these appear in the exergue. representation of Denbigh Castle with its circumventing wall On the seals of Elizabeth and James I, a portcullis ensigned by for the Denbigh group, and a portrayal of the town of a crown appears in the field above the horse’s rump. Carmarthen on the seal for its group.41 John Roos’ accounts for the judicial seals he engraved The Caernarfon seals for the reigns of George II and George described how the monarch (be it Anne or George I) rode ‘on III are very similar, showing town walls, a church spire, a water horseback, with a landskip underneath’.40 The landscape area, possibly a bridge with watch-towers and (according to engraved beneath and beyond the horse was at first little more Wyon) the masts and yards of ships (Figs 11 and 12). Around than a undulating surface with tufts of vegetation, but on the 1816, a new seal was engraved which gave a different portrayal judicial seals of Charles II and George I, appropriately in the of Caernarfon Castle (Fig. 3).42 Both seals showed mountains in case of Wales, hills rise up quite sharply in the background close proximity to the castle. Unfortunately, in the 18th (Fig. 7). In the reigns of George II and III, striking views of shire century, as the wax hardened a paper cover was often pressed towns appear beneath and beyond the horse. These included a around the seal, presumably but mistakenly in order to protect view of Cardiff with the Herbert Mansion on the seal of the the surfaces.43 In this way, hundreds of fine images of Welsh Glamorgan group of counties (Fig. 1); a depiction of urban landscapes are now hardly discernible, and very few fair

Figures 7 and 8 Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin. Deed DD/WY/1037. Judicial Seal for the Counties of Denbigh, Montgomery and Flint, temp. Charles II. As used in 1673, but the legend tells of the engraving of the matrix in 1661 on the Restoration of the Monarchy. Pale-brown wax, diam. 94mm. © Denbighshire Record Office. Obverse: The monarch on horseback, facing the onlooker, and riding side-saddle to dexter over hummocky ground. His sword is unsheathed from its scabbard and held aloft by his right hand. In field, above the horse’s tail, the Prince of Wales’s feathers and motto, ICH DIEN. • CAROLVS • II • DEI • GRATIA • MAGNÆ • BRITANNIÆ • FRANCIÆ • ET • HIBERNIÆ • REX • FIDEI • DEFENS • Reverse: A shield bearing the royal arms and ensigned by a royal crown: quarterly, 1. and 4. quarterly, i. and iv. Three fleurs-de-lis [France Modern], ii. and iii. Three lions passant guardant in pale [England]; 2. A lion rampant within a double tressure [Scotland], 3. An harp stringed [Ireland]. In base, the Prince of Wales’ feathers and motto: ICH DIEN. Supporters: dexter: A lion crowned rampant guardant; sinister: An antelope, gorged with a coronet and chained (but these accoutrements not clearly visible on this impression). SIGILLVM • IVDICALE • PRO • COMITATIBVS • DENBIGH • MONTGOMERI • ET • FLINT • 1661

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 63 Williams

Figures 9 and 10 University of Wales, Bangor. Baron Hill Deed 4269. Judicial seal for the Counties of Caernarfon, Merioneth and Anglesey, temp. George III. As used in 1774. Green wax, diam. 91mm. © University of Wales, Bangor. Obverse: The monarch on horseback, wearing the sash of an Order, holding a baton, and riding to sinister. Above the horse’s rump, the Prince of Wales’ feathers and motto, ICH DIEN. A view of Caernarfon is partly masked by the horse’s legs. • GEORGIVS • III • DEI • GRATIA • MAGNÆ • BRITANNIÆ • • DEFENSOR • ETC. Reverse: A shield of the royal arms ensigned by a royal crown: quarterly, 1. Three lions passant gardant in pale [England] impaling a lion rampant within a double tressure [Scotland]; 2. Three fleurs-de-lis [France Modern]; 3. A cherub supporting an harp [Ireland]; 4. The arms of Hanover (as Fig. 4). Supporters: dexter: A greyhound, sinister. A stag. In base, three ostrich feathers enfiled by a coronet, and a scroll bearing the Prince of Wales’ motto: ICH DIEN, though hardly discernible on this impression. SIGILL • IUDI • PRO • COMITATIBUS • CARNARVAN • MERIONETH • ET • ANGLESEY • + • seal images of these towns and castles can now be traced. seals, though with differing emphases in depiction. In brief On the reverse of every judicial seal (save in the time of the these were, as seen on the seal impressions, dexter and sinister Commonwealth) was a shield ensigned by a royal crown. respectively: for the Glamorgan group, a greyhound Beneath the shield were portrayed again three ostrich feathers (sometimes gorged), and a hind gorged with a royal coronet with the motto, ich dien. It has been pointed out that the and chained (Fig. 2); for the Caernarfon group, a greyhound ostrich feathers are strictly speaking not the badge of the and a stag (Fig. 10); for the Denbigh group, a lion guardant Prince of Wales as such, but of the heir to the throne, who is crowned, and an antelope (or stag) gorged with a coronet and usually created Prince of Wales.44 chained (Fig. 8); for the Carmarthen group, a dragon and a The arms displayed are those of the kingdom during each goat (Fig. 6). Only the seal of the last group has supporters rich particular reign. In brief: the seals of the Tudor monarchs in Welsh symbolism. The dragon is said to have been the ensign portrayed, quarterly, three fleurs-de-lis (of France) and three of Cadwaladar, king of Gwynedd (655–82) but whose exploits lions passant guardant (for England); the Stuart kings, saw him attacking the Saxons as far afield as Somerset, whilst quarterly, France and England quarterly; a lion rampant within in Shakespeare’s Henry V, there is reference to ‘Cadwaladar and a double treasure (for Scotland), and the harp of Ireland (Fig. all his goats’.47 A seal for the Carmarthen group, engraved very 6); William and Mary ordered the arms of Nassau be placed in early in the reign of the newly restored Charles II – perhaps in the middle of the royal arms ‘on an escutcheon of pretence’;45 haste – appears to show an antelope rather than a dragon in Anne had, quarterly, England impaling Scotland, France and dexter position.48 Ireland separately; Georges I, II and III, displayed quarterly, John Roos in his submission for payment (1709), and England impaling Scotland, France and Hanover separately. describing the matrices he had engraved, lists the supporters, On 1801, following the Treaty of Amiens and the Union of presumably in sinister and dexter positions respectively: for Ireland, the French fleurs-de-lis disappear, and the Hanoverian the Glamorgan group, ‘A Grayhound collared and a Hinde arms form an escutcheon ensigned with an Electoral bonnet. gorged with a Crowne and chained’; for the Carmarthen group, When Hanover became a kingdom in 1816, the bonnet was ‘An Antelope and a Stagg Standing on a Scroll’; for the replaced by a crown, necessitating the engraving of new Caernarfon group, ‘A Grayhound collered and a Stagg Standing judicial seals towards the close of the reign of George III (Fig. on a Scrowle’; and, for the Denbigh group, ‘A Lyon crowned and 4).46 They can have been but little used. an Antelope with a Crowne about his Neck and chained’.49 The supporters were different for each set of counties, but There are occasional errors in Roos’s accounts; for example, he mostly remained unchanged during the life-span of the judicial requested payment in 1716 for a judicial seal for George I for

Figure 11 View of Caernarfon beneath the horse. University of Wales, Bangor, Figure 12 View of Caernarfon beneath the horse. National Library of Wales Bodorgan Deed 679, of 1782 Thorowgood and Hardcastle Deed 407, of 1792

64 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Judicial Seals of the Welsh Courts of Great Sessions

‘Carmarthen, Merioneth and Anglesey’, when clearly he meant 3 Chapman 1998, 192. 4 Williams 1899, 12–13. ‘Caernarfon’.50 There may, therefore, also be errors in his 5 Suggett 1997, 161, 168. descriptions – particular in the case of the seal for the 6 Parry 1995, v. Carmarthen group. As hardly any recognisable images of 7 Chapman 1998, 194–5. judicial seals from the reign of Queen Anne can be traced, it is 8 Parry 1995, xxviii; Williams 1916, 5, 57. 9 Parry 1995, xxv. difficult to be certain. 10 Williams 1899, 13–14. The legend on the obverse of each judicial seal gave (in 11 NLW, Penrice and Margam Charter 5950. Latin) the name of the monarch, and listed his titles; these 12 JHC VI (1648–51) 199, 206, 228. adjusting with political change. The legend on the reverse 13 TNA, MINT I/7, p. 92. 14 NLW, MS 1396E. denotes that this is a judicial seal, and names the three counties 15 NLW, MS 3854B. to the court of which it is relevant. Occasionally, the legend on 16 Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, William and Mary, 363; this side ends with the year of engraving: 1648, on the seals of TNA, MINT I/7, pp. 74–6. 17 Matthews 1913, 94. the Commonwealth; 1626, on the seal of Charles I for the 18 NLW, Ms 1396E; Calendar of State Papers, William and Mary, 300 Denbigh group;51 1661, in the case of Charles II (Fig. 8);52 1686, (No. 411); Calendar of Treasury Books, 1726–27. in the instance of James II; and 1715, on the seal of George I for 19 TNA, MINT I/7, pp. 74–6; Harris sought the post of chief engraver the Denbigh group.53 William and Mary ordered Henry Harris after the death of Thomas Simonds in June 1665 (Calendar of State Papers, Addenda, 150). to alter the ‘broad seal’ for Caernarfonshire, Merionethshire 20 TNA, MINT I/7. and Anglesey, ‘by taking out the inscription referring to James 21 The Diary of Samuel Pepys, II, 23–4. II, and to replace it with: gulielmus iii et maria ii dei gra mag 22 Calendar of State Papers, Charles II, 299. 23 Forrer 1912, 38–9. brit fran et hib rex et regina fidei defensores’.54 The 24 TNA, MINT I/7. sealing clause might typically read: ‘our seal appointed for the 25 S.v. Little, (ed.). sealing of writs in our said Court of Great Session’.55 26 Bank of England 2003. 27 Forrer 1912, V (1912) 210. 28 Calendar of State Papers, Anne, I, 1702–03, 505. Custody and protection 29 TNA, MINT I/7. As has been noted, a number of 17th-century judicial seals 30 Williams 1993, 27. were, mistakenly, preserved by shrouding them with a paper 31 Anson 1975. 32 Examples worth inspecting include, BL, Detached Seal XXXVII, 75 cover. Occasionally, however, they were protected in circular (fine); Carmarthenshire Record Office, 17/677 (dark brown/black tin containers. In some of these instances the imagery remains wax, worn, 1658), Lort 17/679 (dark-brown/black wax, worn, 1650) in pristine condition;56 in others, the wax is completely – I am grateful to Mr John Davies, County Archivist, for his advice; shattered.57 Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin, DD/WY/2684 (dark-green wax, 1654); National Library of Wales, Bronwydd Deed 2234 As for the seal matrices, the Act provided that the seal for (darkened green wax, fair, 1657); Edwinsford Deed 670 (red wax, the Denbigh group was to remain with the Justice of Chester, dulled, fair, 1557); Edwinsford Deed 1189 (red wax, only fair, 1650); that for the Caernarfon group with the Justice of North Wales, Peniarth Deed, DC 111 (1659); Sotheby Deed 522 (detached in tin box, brown wax, only fair); Sotheby Deed 539 (brown wax, 1659, and those for the Carmarthen and Glamorgan groups with the fairly fine, especially House of Commons representation); Talbot Justice of their respective three counties. It appears (supra) of Hensol Deed 92 (red-brown wax, only fair, 1658); for fairly good that they were kept in shagreen cases. By the 17th century, photographs of the seal of these years for Caernarfon, Merioneth ‘keepers’ of the judicial seal were generally appointed. It is not and Denbigh shires, see: Wyon 1893, pl. III (opp. p. 4). 33 JHC VI (1648–1651) 151, cf. 161. clear that they had actual custody of the seal, very probably 34 Calendar of State Papers, William and Mary,135–6, 144. not; but it was their responsibility to collect in all fines and 35 Wyon 1893, 5–6. other emoluments. These they retained in return for a fixed 36 TNA, MINT I/7, p. 85. annual payment to the Crown. In 1634, for example, Sir 37 Wyon 1893, 9. 38 Ibid., 5. Thomas Morgan was assigned by letters patent the fines and 39 Ibid., 4. profits of the ‘original’ seal of Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire 40 TNA, MINT I/7, pp. 85, 99. and Pembrokeshire, paying for this privilege £74 yearly 41 Wyon 1893, 11. 42 Williams 1993, 80, fig. 36. (equivalent to about £6,500 today). He was also assigned the 43 One of many examples is the seal attached to NLW, Penrice and profits of the ‘judicial’ seal and monies called ‘the king’s silver’ Margam Charter 6,484 (of 1741). in the counties of Caernarfon, Merioneth and Anglesey, but no 44 Pers. comm, Dr M.P. Siddons, Wales Herald Extraordinary. additional fee for this duty is mentioned.58 How he managed to 45 Calendar of State Papers, William and Mary, 363. 46 Williams 1993, 27 (D. 48), 36 (W. 37, 43). combine two groups of counties covering the whole of west 47 Wyon 1893, 12–13; Walter de Gray Birch (1887–1900) 230–3, gives Wales from north to south is unknown, but clearly he, and an occasional differing description. other like officials, benefited financially from their 48 NLW, Edwinsford Deed 1535 (of 1661). 49 TNA, MINT I/7, pp. 85, 87 et al. appointments. 50 Ibid. p. 98. 51 Wyon 1893, 8–9. Acknowledgements 52 Wyon 1894, 67. Much assistance has been received from Mr Kevin Matthias of 53 TNA, MINT I/7, p. 95. Denbighshire Record Office, Mr John Thomas of the University 54 Calendar of State Papers, William and Mary, 363. Archives, Bangor, Dr Mark Redknap of the National Museum and the 55 NLW, Penrice and Margam Charter 6,484 (of 1741). staff of the National Library, for which the author is grateful. 56 E.g: NLW, Thorowgood and Hardcastle Deed 407. 57 E.g: NLW, Badminton Deeds, Group 2, no. 9089 (a seal of the Notes Duchy of Lancaster). 1 Williams 1916, 13; Williams 1899, 12–13. 58 NLW, Picton Castle Deed 217. 2 Owen 1906, 40.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 65 The Oldest Equestrian Seals in Sweden: Karl Sverkersson, Birger Brosa and Karl the Deaf Göran Tegnér

In 1862 Bror Emil Hildebrand published the first part of a Medieval seals are not only documented as impressions in corpus of medieval Swedish seals, Svenska sigiller. Hildebrand wax or other materials, but also by surviving matrices. A recent was Antiquary of the Realm of Sweden and responsible from survey located some 550 medieval seal matrices in Sweden, 1837 for the collections that were to become the Swedish preserved in museums and other collections.2 With the use of Museum of National Antiquities. A second part followed in metal detectors by amateur archaeologists, many seal matrices 1867. Here Hildebrand published and illustrated medieval seals have come to light in Denmark in recent years, but because of preserved in what is now The National Archives and dating current Swedish legislation, this has not happened in Sweden. from the end of the 12th century to 1350.1 This means that our hopes of finding new, hitherto unknown, Hildebrand’s time, the mid-19th century, was a period of medieval seals have been low. recording: ancient monuments, buildings etc., and corpus The earliest known Swedish equestrian seal (Fig. 1), and publications of seals were issued in many European countries. indeed the oldest known seal, belongs to the oldest document The publication of Swedish seals is relatively early, which may preserved in Sweden, sealed by King Karl Sverkersson and be due to that fact that compared with many other European Stefan, Archbishop of Uppsala, shown here as illustrated by states, Sweden has few medieval documents. The reason for Hildebrand.3 The charter is dated between 1164 and 1167. The this is partly the country’s late Christianisation, but it is also a 12th century was a formative period for Sweden when rather result of the losses the archives suffered in the great fire in the little is known about its rulers, and the only written Swedish Royal Palace in 1697 and the fire in the Wrangel Palace in 1802. sources earlier than this document are brief runic inscriptions. The low number of documents, the oldest of which dates from According to the Chronica regni Gothorum by the late-medieval the 1160s, is also reflected in the number of seals known or cleric Ericus Olai, Karl was elected King of Östergötland in 1158 preserved. The two parts of Hildebrand’s work were published before being made King of Sweden. Papal letters dated to 1158 with two kinds of illustrations. In the first part they are quite or 1159 mention Karl as the King.4 1164 is the year of the simple and rather crude, made with a ‘photo-lithographic consecration of Stefan as the first archbishop of Sweden. The method’; in the other they were ‘engraved in stone’ latest possible date of the document is 1167, when Karl died. His (Hildebrand 1867). In the second one the lines are finer and the seal can thus be dated quite narrowly to the first years of the manner more refined. A drawback of these early publications is 1160s. that it is difficult to know how reliable the illustrations are. The design of the seal follows the then already classic Swedish interest in sphragistics did not start in the 19th pattern of an obverse with the king enthroned and a reverse century, however, but rather in the decades around the year with an equestrian image. The obverse, the majesty side, of the 1700. When the Antiquaries, the officials appointed by the seal is incomplete. A wood-cut in a publication from 1725 shows King, started studying and copying medieval manuscripts, they that, even then, nearly as much was missing as today. We see also took an interest in the seals. Drawings were made and the King enthroned, with an orb in his left hand, in accordance reproduced as woodcuts, but much of this early documentation with English and Continental seals; in his right he is holding a was destroyed in the fires mentioned above. The most sword. important of these Antiquaries was Johan Peringskiöld, The counterseal, on the reverse, shows the first known although the accuracy of his or his assistants’ drawings cannot Swedish equestrian seal (Fig. 2). The King sits on a horse, be relied upon. galloping to right. He is not dressed in armour, but appears to

Figure 1 Seal and counterseal of King Karl Sverkersson, that were attached to the oldest known original Swedish charter, S.D. 51, dated between 1164 and 1167. After Hildebrand 1862.

66 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Oldest Equestrian Seals in Sweden

Figure 2 Counterseal of Karl Sverkersson, copy of original seal (diam. 79mm). Figure 3 Seal of Jarl Birger Brosa, copy of original seal (diam. 89mm). Photo Photo National Archives, Stockholm National Archives, Stockholm wear a close-fitting garment; he also appears to wear a crown when Sweden was ruled by a jarl. The title is cognate with the of the same type as on the obverse, but the headgear is not English word ‘earl’. The medieval translation into Latin was preserved in its upper part, and the face is badly damaged. dux. Behind the King’s head two ribbons or streamers with tassels When King Karl Sverkersson ordered his seal matrices, can be seen, seemingly fastened at his neck. Similar streamers these images had a tradition of about 100 years as images on can be seen on two earlier equestrian seals of Stephen, King of the seals of the category of nobility second to kings. The oldest England, though he is clearly clad in armour (on a document examples of the equestrian seals are French, William the dated 1136) and on his slightly later seal.5 On both he has a Conqueror as Duke of Normandy (d. 1069) and Geoffroi II conical helmet. Should these streamers on the Swedish seal be Martell as Count of Anjou (d. 1060). The early examples show a interpreted as pendilia of the crown? Such pendilia, originally knight in armour with sword and shield, but another type is the part of the Byzantine imperial insignia, should hang from the knight armed with a lance and holding a shield. The lance is sides of the emperor’s diadem. On the other hand, jewelled normally held upright, with a flag with streamers, a gonfanon. bands hung from the neck side of the imperial diadem. This means that the image on Karl Sverkersson’s seal is not Karl Sverkersson holds a lance in his right hand and a shield typical, the King holding the lance the way he does, and in his left, which means that the back of the shield, which is a wearing a crown. The classic equestrian image was established Norman shield with rounded top, is shown. Is the ornamented by the mid-12th century. In T.A. Heslop’s words: ‘The short border on his breast something belonging to his dress, or a shield held in front of the body and the sword arm stretched shoulder strap for the shield? Or does he hold both the shield out behind were to remain the norm not just for kings but for and the reins with the spread fingers of his left hand? In the all equestrian seals until the close of the Middle Ages’.7 Middle Ages the saddle had been developed to give the rider The second earliest equestrian seal preserved in Sweden is better support and provide more protection, in that the front, that of Jarl Birger, nicknamed Brosa – ‘the smiling’. (This was the pommel, and the back, the cantle, were made higher. The probably because of a defective lip rather than his friendly saddle shown on the seal has a rather high cantle, while the smile.) He was one of the most important figures in Sweden in pommel cannot be seen. It is fastened with a girth, and a small the final decades of the 12th century, related to both of the two saddle cloth lies under it. In a galloping movement, the horse is families fighting for royal power at the time. He was the jarl of standing on its hind legs with its front feet in the air, well King Knut Eriksson, and is mentioned as a jarl for the first time within the confinement of the legend. The horse is well in 1174.8 As mentioned before, there are very few written represented, anatomically correct rather than stylised, in sources in Sweden from that time, and very little is known rather a high relief. about him. Birger Brosa is mentioned in a number of The legend is much damaged, and preserved only in the documents as ‘dux sueorum’ and ‘sueorum et guttorum dux’, lower left-hand part and the upper right-hand part. The letters that is, ‘jarl of the Svear and the Götar’, the inhabitants of the … idem… and …otho… can be discerned. A drawing from most important parts of Sweden. He is also mentioned in a 1692 gives the whole legend, although it is clear from his secondary source describing a treaty between Sweden and drawing that the seal was nearly as damaged as it is today.6 It Lübeck concerning trade, signed probably in 1175 by King Knut reads: hic idem svmmvs gothorvm dux (This is the earl of all Eriksson, Jarl Birger, and Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony.9 Goths), following the pattern of other double royal seals, where The only impression preserved of his seal (Fig. 3) belongs the counterseal can be the seal of the person in another to an undated document in which Jarl Birger donated land to capacity. In the 12th century the title jarl in Sweden denoted the nuns of Riseberga Abbey, sometime between 1180 and his the person next in power to the king: there were even periods death in 1202.10 It is a large seal and is fairly well preserved;

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 67 Tegnér

Figure 4 Matrix for the seal of Jarl Karl the deaf (diam. 89mm). Photo Museum Figure 5 Impression of the matrix of Jarl Karl the Deaf. Photo National of National Antiquities, Stockholm Archives, Stockholm only the lower part is missing. Birger is represented sitting on a Museum of National Antiquities: a previously unknown horse galloping to the right, in armour, with his right hand equestrian seal matrix made of bronze. This matrix (Fig. 4) is holding his sword pointing upwards behind him. He wears a exactly the same size in diameter as that of the seal of Birger conical helmet with a nasal over a mail coif, covering the chin, Brosa. The image also very much resembles the seal of Birger and a hauberk, belted around waist. He wears chausses, that is, Brosa, including the general layout. On its upper edge, the chainmail leggings. He also has prick-spurs, hardly discernable matrix has a twisted knob, probably the remains of a today. The knight is very slender, even skinny.11 suspension loop. It seems have spent time in the earth, but it is The sword, of the kind in use from the Viking Period not corroded. Until it was shown at the Museum of National onwards, has a straight hilt and a round pommel. As the sword Antiquities, the matrix had been in private ownership in the could have been represented simply as a plain surface, the lines province of Östergötland. Unfortunately, it has not been that can be seen as a contour should perhaps instead be possible to contact the original owner, but as far as is known, it interpreted as a fuller, the groove running along the blade. had been in the family for some time. It seems likely that the Birger holds his shield in front of him, covering his left arm; his matrix was found long ago by chance and has been kept in a left hand must also hold the reins, but that cannot be seen. The chest of drawers as an object of minor value. shield is of the Norman type, tapering, with a flat top. It has a The matrix passed into the hands of an antique dealer, who decoration which can be interpreted as a lily staff; however, sold it on to another dealer, who for several years deposited it at whether this should be seen as the earliest example of Swedish the Museum and generously allowed its documentation and heraldry is doubtful. The saddle has high cantle and pommel, is exhibition. Later there was another change of ownership and it fastened with a girth, on a small and undecorated saddle-cloth. was put up for auction at Stockholms Auktionsverk. In the The horse too is slender, with a long, curved neck and autumn of 2001 the matrix was valued at an estimated price of extremely thin forelegs. It appears to have all its legs in the air, SEK 800,000, the equivalent of nearly £60,000 at that time, and the knight and his horse make a triangular form, which which was, and still is, an enormous sum for such an object. uses the space maximally, as the hooves of the horse, as well as Fortunately, the Museum was successful in finding funds and the knight’s head, enter the space of the legend in a way that I acquired the matrix, with the aid of many donors, both known have not seen on any other seal. The legend survives as: and anonymous, on 29 November 2001. Figure 5 shows an + sigillv … s sveorvm. Probably it originally ran: + sigillvm impression of the matrix. Not only is the image of interest, but birgeri dvcis sveorvm (The seal of Birger, jarl of the Svear). In also the legend. To whom did it belong? The legend reads: comparison with Continental and English seals, the lettering sigllvm karoli filii benedicti (Karl, the son of Benedict, or in seems clumsy, the O being a pointed oval. This seal is known the name’s Swedish form, Bengt). Expressing it with a simple from only one impression, dated, as noted above, between 1180 patronymic, as was common in medieval Sweden, we arrive at and 1202. But as the content of the document it sealed has the ‘Karl Bengtsson’. As only members of a very restricted social character of dispositions for a will, a date near Birger’s death is group were able to use seals in this period, we may start to probable. Jarl Birger must have acquired a seal when he was identify an owner by examining the people related to Bengt made jarl in 1174. There would have been no reason for him to Brosa. His father was Bengt Snivil, member of one of Sweden’s change the seal, as he retained his title until his death. So it most influential families. So Birger himself was a Bengtsson: in appears safe to date this seal around 1174. fact, we do not know if he was ever called Birger Brosa, as this Until the autumn of 1992, the seals of Karl Sverkersson and nickname can only be found in an Icelandic source.12 Birger Brosa were the only Swedish equestrian seals known to We know from several sources thatJarl Birger had a brother date from before 1200. But then an object was shown to the named Karl. Documents from the 1190s mention Birger and

68 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Oldest Equestrian Seals in Sweden

‘Karolus, frater eius’ or ‘frater ducis’.13 This Karl must have been held in place by a broad band across the horse’s chest. The called Karl Bengtsson, but we also know from the 13th-century saddle lies on a fringed saddle-cloth. The stirrups, a detail that Hakonar saga by the Icelander Sturla Thordarsson that Karl cannot be studied on Birger’s seal, seem to have a sort of was called, at least in some circles, ‘the deaf’.14 He is regarded bottom plate. The head of the horse is larger and quite different as having been born, at the very latest, in 1165, and is also from Birger’s horse; the ears are long and very pointed, the thought to have been so much younger than Birger that they mane seems cropped, and the fore-lock stands out like a brush must merely have been half brothers. It is not known at what intruding on the legend. age a nobleman acquired his seal in 12th century Sweden, but a Despite the differences between the two images, they are reasonable assumption is upon reaching his majority. very similar in execution and spirit. Among the European seals According to medieval Swedish provincial laws this was at the in publications that I have studied, I have not seen any seal age of 15. This would date the matrix to about 1180. We also using the image field in this way. They are also among the know that Karl Bengtsson became jarl only in 1219, many years largest of the period, perhaps an expression of the aspirations after the death of his brother Birger. This would also mean that of a young nation to be on a par with the rulers on the the legend of the seal would be correct until 1219 at the latest. Continent. To me it seems probable, even likely, that they were He served as the jarl of King Johan Sverkersson, and followed made by the same seal engraver. him on a crusade to the Estonian west coast, where he fell in Birger’s seal was probably used from 1174 onwards, Karl’s August 1220. The chronicle of Henry of Livonia gives a perhaps from about 1180. As these are among the very first dramatic account of these events.15 seals in use in Sweden in the late 12th century, and, as in this No impressions from this matrix survive, so there is no period very few people had the right to use seals, it seems possibility to prove that this really is the seal of Karl the Deaf’, unlikely that just any Swedish goldsmith also acted as a seal but it seems extremely likely. When Karl was made a jarl in 1219 engraver. A seal most likely had to be ordered and made he probably acquired a new seal (in his position it would have abroad. If we first consider the question of why the seals of been obligatory) which he brought with him across the Baltic. these brothers or half-brothers are so similar, there is one In the legend of this new seal he would have been termed dux. possibility. When Birger’s seal was made, probably in 1173/74, As customary, the matrix of this supposed seal should have Karl’s was made as well, in expectation of his coming of age. As been destroyed after his death. How the matrix escaped I find the execution of the legend less professional than the destruction we will never know. execution of the image, perhaps they were imported without It is instructive to compare the seals of the two brothers legends, and these were added when needed, afterwards. (Figs 3 and 5). Firstly, how are they similar? The figures have I have arrived at dates for these Swedish seals based on the same position on the surface, with the head of the knight, historical facts only. None is attached to a securely dated the sword and the feet of the horse intruding into the legend, document. How does my hypothesis work when confronted and using the maximum space available. The knight has the with the development of seals outside of Sweden? same position, holding his sword and his shield in the same Dating seals is difficult. Early ones are often preserved only way. The knight also appears to be dressed in mail, and wears a as a single impression, and even when the document is firmly conical helmet with a nasal over his coif. In neither case can the dated, we can only say that the matrix existed when the rider’s hand holding the reins be seen. The horses have the document was sealed, not for how long it had been in use. The same position, a powerful gallop, and the knights and the date when the owner of a seal acquires the title mentioned on horses are rather slender. Also, the horses are small in relation the seal is the terminus post quem, and the date of the to the riders; in walking position the feet of the rider would document forms the terminus ante quem. But again, we rarely touch the ground. In both cases the letters of the legend seem know if the owner had several seals. somewhat clumsy. For comparison I have not been able to consult every corpus The differences between the two seals are subtle but publication of seals, merely those easily available in Stockholm, significant. The relief in the engraving of the matrix is of as well as recent publications and exhibition catalogues. There course sharper, showing more and finer details, whereas the is an abundance of equestrian seals in France, Germany and wax impression of Birger’s seal is worn and may not show all England, of varying artistic quality. Equestrian seals as a group the details once there. The figure and the horse on Karl’s seal date back to just after the middle of the 11th century, but it is are not as anatomically correct as those on the earlier seal; here the period 1150–1200 that is of real interest in this discussion. the right arm of the knight is bent in such way that it resembles The equestrian seal was introduced in France as the seal of the a garden hose, and the forelegs of the horse totally lack joints. seigneurs, counts and the dukes. By the 1130s the type is They also represented in an impossibly parallel way. The sword established to which these two principal matrices belong, is shown differently, without a fuller, and the shield, even more where the knight holds his sword behind and his shield in curved than Birger’s, has a rounded top. It is decorated with front. But there is constant development. On early seals, the two lines parallel with the contour. A broad band around the horse is walking. Around the middle of the century, the horse knight’s neck can be interpreted as a collar, but more probably gallops powerfully, increasingly so towards the end of the as a leather strap with which the shield hangs round the century, and eventually it moves with all its hooves in the air. knight’s neck. While Birger is said to have prick-spurs, Karl’s Around 1200 a flat-topped helmet with a visor replaces the spurs seem to widen towards the end, and should possibly be conical helmet. interpreted as rowel spurs. The bridle is very detailed, with Even in distant Provence, such a seal would look essentially cheek piece, head piece and browband but no noseband. The the same. William IV of Forcalquier, Count of Provence, had saddle has a much higher cantle and pommel and seems to be (on a document dated 1193–98), a large, double equestrian seal.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 69 Tegnér

Figure 6 Rolandslied des Pfaffen Konrad, Cod. Pal. germ. 112, fol. 74v. University Library of Heidelberg. Photo Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg

The obverse shows a rider in armour; the reverse is a hunting and fol. 133 in the Liber in honorem Augusti, a chronicle from seal, a rider with a falcon, a dog, and a heron. In the second 1195–6, written in Palermo.18 This shows Diepold von half of the 12th century a number of counts in Germany also Schweinspunt on horseback with lance and gonfanon, and chose this image. below him an army of knights on horses at a powerful gallop, Summing up comparisons, it seems that the seals of Karl wearing conical helmets with nasals, resembling the knights Sverkersson, Birger Brosa and Karl the Deaf have no close depicted on late 12th-century equestrian seals. Their shields relations among the seals in Germany, France, or England and the caparisons of their horses show armorial signs as do which are those countries where the matrices were most likely the late 13th-century equestrian seals. The motif also occurs in to have been made. There is in particular much evidence for Swedish art, on a relief on the façade of Grötlingbo, a small contact between Sweden and the Continent. This was above all country church on Gotland. On the façade we find a series of the result of Christianisation: in the 12th century hundreds of finely-dressed limestone ashlars carved with reliefs within churches were built and the Cistercians established themselves arches that once formed a frieze below the base of the roof of in Sweden. There is also evidence of contacts with England in an earlier church, built c. 1200. The sculptor was one of the very church art and early medieval liturgy. Apart from the many few artists to whom we can attach a name: Sigraf. Here a contacts created by the church there were of course also knight is represented, in a slightly rustic way, with lance and political contacts and trade. Considering the general stylistic shield, riding as his continental colleagues.19 To those living in progression among Continental and English seals, I think the the 12th century this was a familiar theme and one found not seals of Birger Brosa and Karl the Deaf may well be given the only on seals. date I have proposed, the 1170s. The powerful image of a knight in armour, with a sword or Notes a lance and a shield, galloping along on a horse, is of course the 1 Hildebrand 1862, pl. 1. 2 Klackenberg and Tegnér, 2002. very symbol of the knight and of physical power. The position 3 National Archives, DS 51. of the horse, displayed on the seals of Birger Brosa and Karl the 4 Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, Karl Sverkersson. Deaf, with all feet in the air, became predominant on the 5 English Romanesque Art 1066–1200, 303, nos 331–2. equestrian seals of the 13th century and later. But the motif on 6 Peringsköld 1725; Fleetwood 1936–47, ‘Karl Sverkerssons kontrasigill’. these seals had its counterparts in other art forms. On the 7 Heslop 1984, 303. Bayeux tapestry (probably commissioned in the 1070s), 8 Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, ‘Birger (I)’. warriors on galloping horses can be seen rendered in the same 9 Blomkvist 2005, 354–7; Sveriges Traktater I, no. 50. 10 National Archives, DS 823. way, and 100 years later we find the motif in book illumination. 11 Fleetwood 1936–47, ‘Jarl Birger Brosas sigill’. A manuscript in the university library of Heidelberg 12 Svenskt biografiskt lexikon,‘Birger (I)’. contains a German translation of the Chanson de Roland. The 13 National Archives, DS 70; DS 11. manuscript can probably be dated between 1168 and 1172. Here 14 Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, ‘Karl döve’. 15 The chronicle of Henry of Livonia, 190 f. we find a drawing (Fig. 6) representing a knight exactly as on 16 University of Heidelberg, Cod. pal. ger. 112; Heinrich der Löwe und the seals of the period: Roland, on his warhorse Velentich, and seine Zeit, I, 58 ff . with his sword Durendal, in pursuit of a fleeing enemy.16 There 17 In Barruol et al. 1996, 21 ff. 18 Liber in honorem Augusti, a chronicle, telling the history of Sicily are others examples from c. 1130 onwards which include a floor (Burgerbibliothek, Bern, Cod. 120 II, fol. 133; Kölzer 1995, 41 ff). 17 mosaic in Ganagobie, a small Benedictine Abbey in Provence 19 Stolt 2001.

70 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Medieval Seal Matrices found at Castles and Castle Mounds in Denmark – What does Archaeology tell us about their Use? Michael Andersen

Text Medieval starts seals here are traditionally studied from a heraldic, than ever before. epigraphical, biographical or iconographical point of view. And A seal may either belong to an institution, for example a sigillographic studies are usually carried out on preserved monastery, a guild or a town, or the seal is personal. In the impressions, most of them in wax, a minor number in metal. In latter case it usually displays the name of the person who those rare cases where the matrix is actually preserved, it is owned or used it. The seal matrices found at Danish castles and often studied not as an archaeological object per se, but rather castle mounds are all personal. It is a well-known fact that the as an image. In many cases the historian will actually be seal of an individual must be regarded as one of the most satisfied with a modern impression of the matrix – information personal belongings of all. The seal on a medieval deed about find context, material and manufacture being regarded corresponds to the signature on paper today when we sign a of less importance. document. Obtaining a person’s seal, could result in the issue of Archaeology, however, has much to offer modern documents in his or her name. A number of cases from sigillography. It is important, for example, to pay attention to medieval Europe indicate that this could cause great the material used for the matrix, because this may indicate difficulties. something about its use. From an impression, it is not clear It was once felt among sigillographers that the possibility of whether the matrix was made from silver, bronze or lead. This finding a seal matrix was relatively small, as it was believed is important information, since a king’s or bishop’s seal made that the matrices were generally broken after the death of their from lead is suspicious. If not simply a fake, the seal has owners and discarded. To quote Diederich: certainly functioned under special circumstances. Archaeology Daß heute nur noch wenige Typare erhalten sind, erklärt sich nicht is also a matter of find context. Where was the seal matrix alleine aus den eingetretenen Verlusten. Entscheidend ist actually found? Most known matrices have been preserved in vielmehr, daß man nach dem Tode eines Siegelführers seinen Siegelstempel vernichtete, weil man befürchtete, er könne the ground, whether in a grave or elsewhere. mißbraucht werden.1 Among many different types of objects found at medieval castles and castle mounds in Denmark are seal matrices (Fig. and Laurent: 1). Their number is not very high, and may be counted in Ces matrices étaient généralement brisées lorsqu’on cessait de les dozens. Seal matrices have been found both as a result of utiliser et les pièces originales conservées sont exeptionelles.2 excavations and as stray finds. Their numbers are so great that It is necessary to revise our opinion on this point. the seal matrices from castles can be regarded as a special find More than 400 seal matrices from the Middle Ages are kept group. The introduction of metal detectors in Danish in Danish museum collections.3 The special thing about the archaeology is responsible for making the study of seal Danish collections of seal matrices is that almost all of the matrices from an archaeological point of view more relevant objects have a known provenance. Most of them have been

Figure 1 The four castles and strongholds with finds of seal matrices mentioned in the text

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 71 Andersen found in the ground; a smaller number, all of them institutional equestrian seal matrix from the early 13th century found in seals, have been kept for example in cathedral chanceries or England at Kempsford, Gloucestershire. The seal was broken in town offices more or less to the present day. The number of two, and Cherry suggests that the act took place at the owner’s matrices originating from private collections is very small; a castle. The fragments are believed to have been thrown away quite different situation to that in the United Kingdom, France in the River Thames which runs next to the castle.5 and Germany, where it is often the case that the provenance is Jules Roman mentions the broken seal of Marguerite, doubtful or unknown due to trading among collectors. It may Dame de Villars-Thoire, which was found in the ruins of the even be the case that the country of origin is unknown. A Montreal (Ain) castle.6 As far as I know these are some of the known provenance adds immense historical value to a seal only observations of their kind outside Denmark, but, on the matrix. other hand, comprehensive studies of seal matrices as The number of seal matrices found in Denmark has been archaeological objects are still missing from most European increasing since the 1980s, mainly due to the activities of metal countries. detectorists, who hand in their finds to the National Museum in Broken seals are usually found in graves, where they were accordance with Danish antiquarian law. The use of metal placed together with the deceased. The intention was to make detectors by private individuals has not been banned in it completely impossible to misuse the seal after the owner’s Denmark, as for example in Sweden and France. Instead death. Perhaps it was also the intention to make identification Danish museums and antiquarian authorities have established of the dead body possible, when the grave was opened some an exemplary and very rewarding collaboration between time in future. We know from both written sources and from professional archaeologists and amateurs. Finds must be archaeological finds that seals were broken after the owner’s handed into a museum as it is illegal for private individuals to death. This practice is mentioned in several instances during keep the finds themselves. In return, a reward is paid, and, medieval times in Denmark, Sweden, England and elsewhere.7 more importantly to many finders, the amateur archaeologist One could assume that the finding of a broken seal matrix receives information about his or her find. This liberal attitude would automatically indicate a cemetery or a church, but this is towards the private user of metal detectors has resulted in a not the case. Instead we can tell from the Danish finds that large number of finds of great value. One of the consequences broken seal matrices are indicators of either a cemetery or a of this practice is that types of metal objects that were castle. No broken seal matrices have occurred under other previously regarded as rare are now known to be quite circumstances in Denmark. commonplace. This applies to many sorts of coins and pilgrim I have not been able to find any written sources that relate badges as well as seal matrices. in detail what happened to the seals at castles, but I believe I Approximately 30 seal matrices have been found at castle can give some indications. One explanation could be that the mounds and castles in Denmark. Interestingly institutional owner of the seal had committed a crime so serious that he lost seals are not numbered among them. Some examples are his rights and privileges – as a knight for example. In such a unfinished, which is interesting, as it shows that seals were case his coats of arms might be broken at a ceremony, where it engraved at the castle. All of the matrices in question are is reasonable to imagine that his seal matrix would be treated bronze, personal seals. This is not surprising since most known in the same way. In fact it would be the ‘killing’ of the seal. Less seal matrices are made of this material. In Denmark this dramatic, but still serious, was the case where a seal matrix applies to approximately 85 % of surviving seal matrices.4 had been used for fraud and had to be taken out of use. We do How should we then interpret these finds? What is the link not know if this was the case sometime during the 13th century between the owner of a specific seal matrix and the castle at Hallenslevlund, a local stronghold in western Sealand, south where it was found? Does the seal in any way indicate the of the medieval town Kalundborg. Archaeologists found a ownership of the castle or signify the bailiff or other members broken seal with the coats of arms of the Hvide family – one of of staff? Can we believe that it belonged to someone in the the most wealthy and influential families in medieval Denmark family, who owned the castle? Or could it simply belong to a (Fig. 2). On the fragment the following inscription is person with only a superficial relationship to the place? preserved: secretum petri fi’ (secret seal of Peter son of …). It is known from documentary sources that charters were We have not yet discovered who Peter was. When studied issued at a number of Danish castles and strongholds. Some of carefully it is obvious that the reverse has been hammered and the strongholds belonged to the crown, but this was not always that the seal was deliberately destroyed. We must conclude, the case, as many castles were private. The letters were usually sealed by both the issuer and a number of witnesses. It is reasonable to believe that a seal matrix might be lost on such an occasion to be found later by a lucky archaeologist. In such cases it would probably prove to be intact, and, after conservation, there should be every chance of reading and interpreting it. However, a number of matrices found at castles in Denmark are broken or in other ways made unfit for use, for example by hammering or filing the face of the matrix. It is clear that this has been done deliberately. Destruction of the matrices applies to approximately 25% of the finds. Only a few broken seals from castles are known from the Figure 2 Seal for a Peter of the Hvide family found at the stronghold archaeological literature. John Cherry has published an Hallenslevlund in West Sealand (length 6.9cm). Photo Flemming Rasmussen

72 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Medieval Seal Matrices found at Castles and Castle Mounds in Denmark

Figure 3 Hans Kjeldsens silver matrix found near the medieval city of Roskilde. Modern impression to the left (diam. 2.9 cm). Contemporary impression of one of his earlier seals to the right. Photo Flemming Rasmussen

however, that we do not know why the matrix was actually probably treated in a way that would make it impossible to broken. misuse it afterwards. Perhaps it would not be surprising if a There may be other, less sensational explanations. Could it fragment turned up at a castle nearby. The second seal of the be that a seal was declared dead, null and void, and a new one mayors of London is an interesting example, as we know from was presented to the public in a ceremony which took place at a document of 17 April 1381 that it was to be destroyed because the castle? The situation could be that the owner of the seal had it was ‘small, crude and ancient, ugly and unworthy of the had a new one made, perhaps for security reasons. It is quite honour of the said city’ (‘parvum, rude et antiqum erat, certain that many important persons changed their personal ineptum et indecens’), and a new one, ‘commendable and seal several times in the course of their lives. Hans Kjeldsen’s skilful’ (‘honorificum et artificiosum’), which the mayor has case is an interesting one. He served as Danish Chancellor from had made for the said office, should take its place.13 1486 onwards. Unfortunately he must have lost his silver seal If the seal matrix was made of silver the situation would be matrix just outside the medieval city of Roskilde, where it was different. Silver matrices, with very few exceptions, are not found 12 years ago (Fig. 3). It is remarkable that we do not have found in graves and definitely not at castles. They were melted impressions from this seal on charters preserved in our down instead and turned into new silver objects. In France it archives. Instead we know of three other seals that have was a tradition that the silver matrices of the kings were given replaced one another during the years.8 Why did he change his to a monastic institution at La Saussaie-les-Villejuifs (Seine-et- seal so often? He could not possibly have lost them all. Change Oise).14 And in England Queen Elizabeth I donated her silver in social position during a long career is certainly one matrix to her chancellor Bacon, who had a cup made from it. explanation, but precaution is definitely a consideration. It He couldn’t keep the matrix, of course.15 The matrices of the could be a wise safety measure to change a seal. The bishops of Durham were offered to the shrine of St Cuthbert.16 interesting question is what happened when he changed from It is interesting to observe that when the German bishop one to another. He could not simply throw the old one away. It Bruno of Meissen resigned in 1228 his seal was broken. One had to be officially declared that the old one was no longer half was given to the cathedral chapter, the other half was sent valid, and that a new and slightly different one would now be to the Archbishop of Magdeburg.17 We do not know whether in use. How was such a declaration made in the Middle Ages? It they kept the fragments. They might have proven useful for had to be done in front of witnesses, and these witnesses must verification at a later date. This may apply to the broken seals be on the same social level as the owner of the seal. Where found at Danish castles. They may have been kept as proof of would this act take place? The castle would be a natural the correct, though out-of-date seal of a specific person. After location. The old seal would be broken in front of the witnesses, a number of years such a broken seal could end up in the and, at the same time the new one would be presented. We ground like many other discarded objects. know a number of instances from historical sources throughout It is well documented that cities kept their old seals even Europe, where seals have been declared void. It is documented though they were no longer in use. Wilhelm Ewald mentions that the Earl of Gloucester and Hereford in 1267 lost his seal several examples of German cities that kept their old and matrix from a bridge. It was then declared null and void and a discarded seal matrices. In 1368 the city of Nuremberg placed new one was officially presented in front of witnesses.9 Of its old seal matrix in a leather pouch that was closed and course there was no seal to break if it lay deep underwater. The sealed. They did not destroy it.18 The same occurred in Breslau situation was the same, when Danish King Valdemar’s seal in 1530, where it was publicly announced that went down with a ship between Jutland and Sealand in 1359.10 Anno 1530 septima die mensis novembris haben wir unser In 1565 the Danish nobleman Oluf Mouritzen Falkenberg kaiserlichen befreiung nach das ald aufgehebt und antiquirt stad was attacked by the Swedes, who stole his seal matrix among ingesiegel in die kamer bei den andern alden siegeln zu verwahren geantwurt und dasselb in aynem beutel mit dem other things. We know this from a document, which he had to minor secret, welches der burgermeister genent wird, besiegelt, issue to make the matrix null and void.11 The situation was und das newew in gots nhamen, der stad zu nutz und ehren in different in Sarum in England in the 13th century. In an unsern gebrauch genommen.19 ordinance respecting the use of the Chapter seal of Sarum, The mayor of Breslau put the old seal of the city into a bag, dated 7 January 1214, it was decided from that date to give up sealed it with his minor seal and placed the bag in the room, the use of the old bone seal on account of its numerous flaws.12 where the other old seals were kept. They could then begin to We do not know what happened to the bone seal, but it was use the new seal. Further examples are mentioned by Brigitte

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 73 Andersen

Bedos-Rezak regarding the French medieval towns of Arras with a knife or something similar. (Pas-de-Calais) and Najac (Aveyron).20 An interesting variation Were seals actually produced at Danish castles, or were of the practice is the English case of 1292, when the King of they only brought there to be officially presented and later – England had the seal of Scotland publicly broken and sent in after a longer or shorter period of use – declared null and void? four pieces to the English Treasury to be kept as evidence of The art of seal-cutting was a highly regarded skill of the English suzerainty.21 goldsmith in the medieval period. It is reasonable to suppose Can we draw any parallels with the seal matrices found at that seals in general were produced in towns, where the Danish castles? The vital point is that seal matrices were often goldsmiths had their workshops. So the expectation would be kept after they were no longer in use. It is, however, important to find archaeological evidence of seal-cutting in the to stress that the written sources, with few exceptions, speak of stratigraphy of urban sites. We only know one example of an institutional seals. The ones found at the Danish castles are all unfinished seal matrix from an urban context in Denmark. It is personal. The royal castle of Søborg is the castle in Denmark a bishop’s seal matrix with a defect, it has a flaw and is where most seal matrices have been found (Fig. 4). Søborg is a unfinished. It was found just outside the cathedral of ruined castle in North Sealand, originally built by the Roskilde.22 Archbishop in around 1150, and later extended by the King in However, at least three unfinished seal matrices have been about 1200. It functioned as an important royal prison and as a found at castle mounds in Denmark. During the 14th century, royal stronghold until the 16th century. Eight seal matrices when the use of seals became more widespread, blank seals have been found to date, two of which were deliberately were produced in quite large numbers. They were subsequently damaged (Fig. 5). One of the damaged matrices is made of lead engraved with legends and images and often appear among (Fig. 6). It is very difficult to read the legend. It has been struck metal detector finds. The area around the castle mound of with a hammer in the centre, and, in addition, it has been cut Tårnborg in south-west Sealand was excavated some years ago

Figure 4 The ruins of Søborg castle in North Sealand. Photo Nationalmuseet

Figure 5 The eight medieval seal matrices found at Søborg castle (top right diam. 3.1cm). Photo John Lee

Figure 6 Seal matrix made of lead from Søborg castle (diam. 3.1cm). The matrix has been hammered and scratched with a knife. Photo John Lee

74 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Medieval Seal Matrices found at Castles and Castle Mounds in Denmark

(Fig. 7). Among the finds were seven medieval seal matrices of One of the unfinished examples is a royal matrix where the different dates (Figs 8–12). The royal castle of Tårnborg, King is shown on his throne with orb and sword in his hands which literally means ‘Tower Castle’, was in use from the late (Fig. 11). Was this where the King usually had his royal seals 12th century until the 15th century. Tårnborg consists of two made? It is very unlikely. Royal seals were produced by the mounds. The largest one measures 69 x 69m and has the finest goldsmiths in one of the Danish cities – or perhaps even remains of a wall and a central keep made of brick. The fortress abroad. This seal was possibly for use on a special occasion forms part of the coastal defence at the Great Belt. One of the when the king himself was not present. I will return to this seals belonged to an Olaf Koggi (Fig. 9). The inscription reads: special use of seals. It is often said that seals were so important s olavi koggi’, (although the ship depicted is not a cog). that they had to remain with their owners all the time. Another seal belonged to a man named Hemming: s hemmingi However, there are many indications that seal matrices, lug… . Three of the seal matrices are of special interest in the especially those of officials, could travel unaccompanied. The present context: one is broken and two have not been finished other unfinished matrix was intended for a clergyman as the (Figs 10–12). The broken one is only a small fragment and is pointed oval shape indicates (Fig. 12). Again, the matrix lacks difficult to read. On the two unfinished matrices there is an inscription, but there is space for a legend. The image is nothing to read as the inscriptions have not been engraved. incomplete but it seems to show the Lamb of God.

Figure 7 Tårnborg castlemounds in southwest Sealand. To the right Tårnborg church. Photo Nationalmuseet

Figure 8 Seal matrix for a nobleman found at Tårnborg castle. Photo John Lee

Figure 9 Seal for Olaf Koggi found at Tårnborg castle. Photo John Lee Figure 10 Broken seal, possibly for a clergyman, found at Tårnborg castle. Photo John Lee

Figure 11 Unfinished seal matrix for a king holding orb and sword found at Figure 12 Unfinished seal matrix for a clergyman showing the Lamb of God. Tårnborg castle. Photo John Lee Photo John Lee

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 75 Andersen

Figure 14 Seal matrix for Eric, King of Denmark, found near Tartu, Estonia (diam. 4.9cm). Photo R. Kärner

Figure 13 Unfinished seal matrix from Hørup, North Sealand (diam. 2.5cm). Photo Flemming Rasmussen

The last Danish find to be discussed here was found some more. However, a find from Estonia in the 19th century may years ago at the medieval manor called Hørup in North provide a close parallel. This matrix, made from bronze, bears Sealand. It is a plain circular matrix, unfinished as both motif the inscription: s erici dei gra danor et sclvor regis (Seal for and inscription have not yet been added (Fig. 13). Was it Eric by the Grace of God King of the Danes and the Slavs) (Fig. planned for someone to have a seal cut and presented in the 14). Unfortunately no impressions have survived, and, presence of witnesses at Hørup? Or were a number of blanks therefore, we do not know to which Eric it belonged. An simply kept so that a seal could be cut only when needed. educated guess would be that it was King Eric Menved, who I believe that the seals found at Danish castles and castle died in 1319. Did King Eric ever visit Estonia? Only a few Danish mounds from the Middle Ages bear witness to an aspect of life kings did. One thing is certain: we cannot interpret the seal peculiar to such sites: i.e. to the practice of witnessing matrix as an indication of a royal visit to Estonia. It may very documents, and, furthermore, witnessing the introduction of well have been made for the Danish administration there. new matrices. The link between the owner of a seal matrix found at a What is the link between a seal matrix found at a castle and castle and the owner of the site is difficult to determine. The the owner of the matrix? There are many possibilities. Perhaps archaeological finds, however, provide new information about the only connection is that on a certain day a number of men of administrative practices at castles. A seal matrix found at a high status were present, who were able to witness the castle cannot be used as proof of the seal owner’s visit to the introduction or destruction of a seal matrix. Usually they location in question. It is advisable to be very cautious when would be there simply to witness documents. We cannot be dealing with seals found at castles since a seal found in the sure that the owner of the seal was the owner of the castle, ground need not provide evidence of who owned the place. where it was found. But may we then conclude that the owner There is of course some link between the owner of the seal and of the seal matrix was present on the same day at the castle, the castle, but it may be of a very superficial character. Perhaps when his seal was either broken, introduced or simply used for he simply needed to go to the castle to have a letter witnessed sealing? Usually the seal matrix would follow its owner – or to have his seal authenticated or cancelled in front of sometimes all the way to his grave. It was dangerous to leave it witnesses, whom he may not have known. He may even have in the possession of another person. Still we know quite a had his seal sent instead of going himself! number of examples that reveal how seals were sent to a specific place, where a deed was to be issued. It was impossible, Notes or simply not practical, to gather all the relevant persons at the 1 Diederich 1980, 13. 2 Laurent 1987, 5. same time. Wilhelm Ewald mentions several examples of the 3 Andersen 2002. practice of collecting seal matrices from a number of persons or 4 Andersen 2002. institutions in order to seal an important document. The 5 Cherry 2002. owners of the seals were not necessarily present for practical 6 Roman 1912. 7 Andersen 2002; Cherry 2002. 23 reasons. 8 Andersen 1997, 45. Although it may sound risky, we know that a person could 9 Bloom 1906, 139–40. have his master’s seal cut. This is why goldsmiths in a number 10 Thiset 1917, cat. no. 38. 11 Kancelliets Brevbøger, 687. of German towns were forced to ask for a sealed letter, if they 12 Bloom 1906, 188. were to cut a new seal. The owner was not present, so he had to 13 Age of Chivalry 1987, cat. no. 195. issue an order. In such cases the seal did not have to be made of 14 Laurent 1985, 58−9. the finest material, because it was only meant to be used once 15 Bloom 1906, 85. 16 Bedos-Rezak 2006a, 349 ff. or twice. From Danish history we know of the case in 1346, 17 Ewald 1914, 110. when King Valdemar negotiated with the knights of the 18 Ibid, 237. Teutonic Order over the sale of Estonia. The King sent an 19 Ibid, loc. cit. 20 Bedos-Rezak 2006a, 342−3. official, the knight Stig Andersen, to Reval (present day Tallin) 21 Cherry 2002, 83. to settle the matter. It was considered too dangerous to send 22 Andersen 2000, 146. with him the official state seal matrix. Instead he was given a 23 Ewald 1914, 54−5. sealed letter, which entitled him to have a royal seal cut upon 24 Christensen 1957-9, 381−428. his arrival in Reval.24 This was to be a seal matrix that the King would probably never handle. The matrix does not exist any

76 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Re-engraved Matrix: Bishop versus Chapter in Nidaros around 1300 Erla Bergendahl Hohler

This is a story about a matrix which was re-engraved. Basically, there is nothing surprising in this. There are any number of examples, known from all countries and periods. Old matrices received new legends, reconstructions were made when the original was lost, or new ornaments were added. Or there are deliberate fakes.1 Most of the time we do not know why these things happened. Here we have, however, a case of re-engraving where we can reconstruct very well why it happened. In the archives of The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters in Trondheim was a bronze matrix, apparently found in the river bank in the 1870s. It is now exhibited in the Museum of Natural Science and Archaeology (Videnskapsmuseet) in Trondheim.2 It has a loop on the back, and the legend in the beaded ring reads (normalised): sigillum capituli ecclesie sancti olavi regis et martiris. The figure Figure 1 Chapter seal of Nidros Cathedral. Bronze matrix (diam. 57mm). is crowned and enthroned, and carries an orb and sceptre (Fig. T.1504, Videnskapsmuseet, Trondheim. Impression 1998 1). attached to a letter from 1263 or 1264.4 This date fits reasonably This is the seal of the Chapter of the cathedral in well with the style and with the fact that the Chapter, for Trondheim. The town was called Nidaros in the Middle Ages, various reasons, apparently enjoyed a vastly increased income and it was the centre of the archdiocese of the same name in the 1250s,5 and may have felt that they could afford a little which included not only Norway, but also Iceland, Greenland, extravagance, such as a new seal matrix.6 Orkney, Shetland and the Isles. The attribute is interesting. The orb is quite common in There is no doubt who the figure represents. Olav representations of St Olav, but the sceptre appears unusual. Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 until he was killed in Olav is normally represented as holding an axe. He was killed battle in 1030. He was claimed as a martyr and saint only five with an axe, and so that is a symbol of his martyrdom. This is years later, and he became by far the most popular saint in the the usual explanation given, but it has also been suggested that North, where a large number of sculptures and paintings are the axe is a symbol of royal power, since so many Norwegian still preserved. Most often he is represented as an enthroned kings selected this axe for their own seals or banners. king. He was enshrined in Nidaros cathedral, so it was Conversely, the royal axe might refer to St Olav’s position as perfectly reasonable that the Chapter should have chosen him eternal king of Norway7 . for their seals; many of the archbishops did, too, and a large Whatever the explanation, the axe is not the only possible number of churches, religious foundations, or guilds in attribute employed in representations of St Olav. Nearly all the Scandinavia; England, Poland, or Germany had him as their surviving sculptures from the 13th and 14th centuries show him patron saint. seated on a throne, with his right arm stuck out as if holding On this seal matrix, the saint, flanked by a five-petalled something. Most of them have lost their right hands.8 But the St rose to either side, is seated on a throne. His crown has a low Olav from Tanum holds his preserved hand up in such an ring and wide-spreading fleurons in the 13th-century manner. elegant way that there is no room for an axe handle – a sceptre He appears to be wearing a sub-tunic and above this a tunic is much more likely (Fig. 2). Moreover, very few have any mark with short and wide sleeves, falling in soft thin folds held in by or hole in the gown or on the plinth which indisputably proves a belt. The mantle, fastened with a chain across the chest, has an axe; a small hole on the knee may equally have supported a been draped from his left knee across to the right in distinct sceptre. Later restorations have often have given them axes. folds. The drapery belongs to the thin ‘troughed-folds’ or Olav statues from the late Middle Ages are different; these are ‘muldenfalten’ type of the first half of the 13th century, rather normally represented standing, and holding solid halberds. than to the later ‘broad fold’ type, which reached Norway c. From this, the dogma of the obligatory axe may have its origin. 1270–80.3 The throne has corner posts with projecting lily- There is, nonetheless, evidence for sceptres. A sceptre shaped crests, and is decorated with tall, round-headed arches. appears on the seal of the Dominicans in Oslo,9 and on the seal On the seat is a cushion with a criss-cross pattern. The legend, of the Guardian of the Franciscans in Bergen, where Olav holds framed by beaded rings, is easily readable, but the cross at the both the axe and the sceptre.10 Here, the sceptre is crowned by top is not aligned with the crown. a hand, a main de justice, on top. Other saint-kings in The earliest known impression with this image of St Olav is Scandinavia: St Erik, and St Knud, certainly have sceptres.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 77 Hohler

impression of the Chapter seal with this particular representation of the enthroned St Olav with orb and troughed folds is, as stated above, attached to a document from 1263 or 1264 (Fig. 4).14 But there are no roses in the background.15 However, it is definitely impressed with the very matrix that survives in Trondheim – the dimensions are the same, and all the details, such as the round-headed arches on the throne and the misaligned cross, are identical. Decisive is the positioning of the letters in the legend, where the capital L and I radiate from the bottom right-hand corner of the throne. All features are identical – except for the roses. There are two other surviving impressions from this matrix without roses. One is from 1277, and the other is from 1281.16 In the latter document it is used only as a counterseal, for the Chapter is here also employing a larger seal (Fig. 5).17 This has a motif of a fairly usual kind, with a symbolic church, containing Christ in a niche, with the clergy below. Judging from the details in this seal, such as the rather primitive Gothic architecture, this should also have been made in the second half of the 13th century. Figure 2 St Olav, Tanum church, Vestfold, 1270–80 So there is evidence that at least in 1281 the Chapter owned two matrices, one small with the enthroned St Olav, and one This seal was not the first in Nidaros. There is an earlier larger with architecture and clergy. And both were plain, seal, which also shows St Olav with a sceptre.11 The only without any roses. surviving impression is attached to a document from 1225, and The next surviving impression turns up in 1303.18 In fact, is badly damaged; the legend is lost (Fig. 3).12 The picture is there are two impressions from this year. They show the same quite like that on the matrix, but the figure is much less robust, seated St Olav as the previous ones. But on the best preserved the mantle is drawn across the knees in the opposite direction, of the two there is a star on the dexter side of the King (Fig. 6).19 and the right arm is bent in a different way. The legend is There may have been another on the sinister side, but there is missing, but the document text, although ambiguous, refers to not enough left of either of these two impressions to be sure. the ‘korsbroedra’ (choir-brothers) of the ‘stadhr’ (place) of St At first glance, it would appear to be the same matrix as Olav. Some historians have suggested that the regular Chapter that used in 1281, only with this star added. But closer scrutiny at Trondheim was instituted only by Archbishop Sorle in 125213 shows that it is in fact impressed by another matrix. It is 2mm – secular or regular, the canons would anyway have needed a wider, the throne appears to have Gothic pointed arches, not seal before this, and would have had one made. So they round-headed, and the letters in the legend are differently established a tradition, probably already in the 12th century. placed, with the S at the corner of the throne. Trifling They selected St Olav as their symbol: he was represented as an differences, but again decisive. enthroned king, and he carried a sceptre, not an axe. After a new interval the next surviving impression of the But the preserved matrix contains more than just an Chapter’s seal dates from 1307, four years later.20 Here the St enthroned king with a sceptre: there are also two roses in the Olav is again employed as a counterseal, with the larger seal on background. This is where the story begins. The earliest the obverse (this is broken). But in this instance it is a genuine

Figure 3 Seal of the ‘choir brothers’ of the place of Figure 4 Chapter seal of Nidaros Cathedral 1263-4. Figure 5 Chapter seal of Nidaros Cathedral 1281 St Olav 1225. NRA , AM 1.1 NRA, AM 5.1 (diam. 84mm). NRA, AM 5.11

78 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Re-engraved Matrix

appointed by the Pope, and did not belong among the local canons since he came from another diocese, and he clearly felt that the Bishop should take back all these responsibilities unto himself, without consulting the Chapter. The belligerent canons did not take this lying down. From documents we can see the on-going dispute. (I have selected a few – there are in fact about 20 letters preserved which relate to this.) The earliest is from the Pope in 1292, from which we gather that Jørund had complained to him that some ‘clerics’ had exercised violence against other ecclesiastical persons.23 In 1293, the canons and many local clerics issue a statement listing all the rights which the Chapter had at the time of the previous bishop, and claim that they alone shall be in charge of the Cathedral’s inventory.24 Several letters from other ecclesiastical institutions in the bishopric bear testimony to the previous rights of the canons, which they explain that Jørund has ignored. In return, that same year the Archbishop fines the whole Chapter a large sum for not having turned up at a meeting to which he had called them. The meeting, as a matter of fact, was planned to take place in the furthest north of Figure 6 Chapter seal of Nidaros Cathedral 1303 (diam. 86mm). NRA, AM 30.07 Norway, a very long and uncomfortable distance away, and the summons may have been regarded as pure provocation by the impression from the matrix preserved in the museum: the one canons.25 In other letters from the Pope, or from his nominated which had the roses added. And all the subsequent impressions official, the Bishop of Bergen, we learn continually about riots from this date until the Reformation are made with this rose- in the streets, public excommunications during church decorated matrix.21 services, and other humiliations on both sides. To recapitulate: the Chapter had a matrix, without roses, In addition to these letters, there is the Icelandic Bishop last documented in 1281 (Fig. 2). From 1307 on, they used the Laurentius’saga. Laurentius Kalfsson spent some years in same matrix, but with two roses added (Fig. 1). But in the Nidaros as a young man, was taken under Archbishop Jørund’s interval, they used another matrix, documented in 1303 (Fig. wing, and became wholly his man. In his saga, written soon 6). The changes are noted by Trætteberg in his shortlist of after his death and apparently a near-autobiography, he Nidaros seals (1953), but he does not comment on them. What describes these incidents seen from the Archbishop’s side; was going on? Jørund certainly had a case as well.26 The state of preservation of Norwegian medieval From 1297 there is a letter from the Pope, trying to sort documents and written sources is not very satisfactory, things out.27 An agreement between the parts in the same year compared to most other European countries. A great deal has states that the Chapter shall keep its various incomes, the been lost. But most of the remaining documents were put into Chapter’s Thesaurarius shall be in charge of their property: print in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum (DN) from the 1860s their gold, their table ornaments etc., and two canons shall be on, and the seals were carefully drawn for The National in charge of the necessary keys.28 In 1299 we see that the Archive (Riksarkivet) by hired professional artists. And Archbishop had indeed confiscated the canons’ property. miraculously, enough written material survives from the Inquisitors appointed by the Pope write to the Archbishop that period just before and after the year 1300, so that we can in fact he shall hand back to the Chapter all the goods that he has follow what went on in the Nidaros Cathedral establishment at impounded. Among the things listed in this letter are their seal the time. There was a tremendous battle going on between the matrices (‘sigilla ipsius capituli’). He had clearly taken both the Archbishop and his canons. This battle has aroused quite some small and the large matrix.29 It cannot be known precisely interest (and a certain amusement) among historians,22 but when the confiscation had taken place – the letters from this no-one has noticed that there is also tangible evidence, in the early turbulent period have all lost their official chapter seals. form of seals. The temporary agreement from 1297 was however sealed only Archbishop Jon (1268–82) had been on collision course individually by the canons. with the King about the power of the archiepiscopal Then, in 1303, there are the two letters from the Chapter administration. He had to some extent been quite successful, mentioned above, with seals attached. The canons have and the Chapter had benefited very well from this. As a written to the various diocesan bishoprics, enclosing copies of consequence, the canons became quite ambitious, perhaps a bit the Pope’s judgment on the matter,30 and it is one of these above themselves. There was a six-year vacancy before they got letters which has the seal with a star in the background.31 The a new archbishop, and by then they had apparently become other letter is a document related to somebody’s gift to the used to taking on all the administration, also that which rightly church, but here the seal is so damaged that it cannot be should belong to the bishop: appointments of priests and properly evaluated.32 Presumably this was also the matrix with canons, jurisdiction and collection of fines, incomes from land, a star. From this evidence, it would seem that the Chapter, tired everything. But now, the new Bishop, Jørund, (1288–1309), was of waiting for the Archbishop to do as he is told, must have apparently determined to put a stop to all this. He was commissioned a new matrix for themselves.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 79 Hohler

must have felt the need to safeguard this matrix, too, after their horrible experience. So that is the story. Thanks to all these documents, the life of the preserved matrix can be reconstructed. But why did the canons go back to using the old matrix, when the new one with the star, presumably made around 1300, was clearly both more elegant and more up-to-date, stylistically speaking? Several papers in the current conference demonstrated how new matrices would be commissioned in order to demonstrate ambitions, or to keep up with stylistic developments; the canons of Nidaros clearly did not care. Were they unusually conservative, or do we see here a triumphant gesture on the part of the Chapter?

Notes 1 See e.g Norberg 1970 and Trætteberg 1970. 2 T.1504 (Rygh 1875). 3 See Morgan 2004, 26 for a discussion of the development of drapery folds in Norway, 4 NRA-AM 5.1. 5 Åmodt 1981, 63–71. 6 The seal/matrix has been discussed by many writers: Fett 1903, Figure 7 Chapter seal of Nidaros Cathedral 1448. Drawing NRA, AM 16.4 67–8; Kielland 1927, 124; Trætteberg 1953, no. 29; Trætteberg 1958, 204; Fjordholm 1996, 90–3; Dybdahl 1999 ,100, and ibid 1999a, 50, In September 1303, yet another message to the Archbishop no. 62; Adorsen 2006, 112. 7 Lange 1967, Trætteberg 1976 and Lidèn 1999, 214 ff. arrives from the Bishop in Bergen, the Pope’s official,33 again 8 Stang 1997, 65. insisting firmly that all the Nidaros canons’ properties must be 9 Trætteberg 1977, no. 59. given back to them. The Archbishop presumably gave in after 10 Trætteberg 1968, no. 28. that. He went away to Bergen, and later moved to Oslo, as is 11 NRA-AM 1.1, Trætteberg 1953, no. 26. 12 DN I,8 RN I 529. evident from other documents. By 1308 he was back in Nidaros, 13 Åmodt 1981, 63–71. where he died in 1309. 14 DN I, 59, Reg.II,8. As for the Chapter, there are no surviving seals until we get 15 Trætteberg 1953, no. 27. 16 NRA-AM 5.11, DN III,16, Reg,II, 261 to the year 1307, when there is a letter with seal attached. This 17 Trætteberg 1953, no. 27. is a perfectly ordinary and peaceful document: it acknowledges 18 NRA-AM 30.7, NRA-AM 7.8 an endowment of 100 marks to the Chapter from King Håkon V 19 Trætteberg 1953, no. 32. and his Queen.34 For this they used the old matrix, the one that 20 NRA-AM 7.21. 21 Trætteberg 1953, no. 30. had been confiscated by the Archbishop. This was now clearly 22 See Keyser 1858, vol. 2, 71–82, 89–91, 94–103, 126; Joys 1955, back in its rightful place, with the Chapter. But the canons have 342–61; Blom 1956, 198–202; Hamre 1958, 196; Åmodt 1981, 82–105. now had two roses engraved in the empty spaces above the 23 DN VI, 61, Reg. II, 662. 24 DN III, 32, 34,35 Reg.II, 772–773. saint.35 They obviously wanted to make quite sure that no-one 25 Keyser 1856–8, II, 75; DN II, 764. made any mistakes here! 26 Pollestad 2001. But what about the large matrix, the Chapter’s main seal, 27 DN III, 38, Reg..II,857. with the church building and the clergy engraved? This was 28 DN III, 39, Reg. II, 876. 29 DN II, 50, Reg. II, 981. also confiscated, as the admonition from the Pope in 1299 30 DN IV, 57, Reg. III,106. indicates, and presumably also handed back? 31 Trætteberg 1952, no. 32. There are impressions from 1307 and 1359, but both are 32 DN II 68, Reg. III, 108. unfortunately incomplete. The third, the only reasonably well- 33 DN III 54, Reg. III, 116. 34 DN II, 87, Reg. III, 428. preserved impression made after the incident, dating from 35 Trætteberg 1953, no. 28. 1448, was drawn for the National Archive in the 19th century. 36 Trætteberg loc. cit. At this time there was certainly at least one rose to be seen on 37 I am very grateful to Halvor Kjellberg, Riksarkivet, who looked at 36 this and the other impressions with me, and discussed them with this seal (Fig. 7). This particular part of the seal is lost today, me. but cannot really be an invention by the artist.37 The canons

80 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Seals of Swedish Towns before 1350 Henrik Klackenberg

Introduction 14th century. In one statute there are instructions about how In the year 1350, after the Black Death had swept over Europe, the town seal was to be safeguarded.4 It reads: King Magnus Eriksson’s realm was one of the largest in Europe, To the house or chest in which the town seal, town book or charters reaching from Greenland and Iceland in the north Atlantic to are kept, there shall be two keys, one for the Swedish mayor and the Gulf of Finland in the east. King Magnus had inherited the one for the German mayor, who that year are in office. Norwegian and Swedish crowns and bought Scania from the From this we can gather how important the seal was for the collapsing Danish realm.1 The map in Figure 1 shows the town administration. The use of the town seal is also extension of medieval Sweden and also the 27 towns that are mentioned in two other statutes of the town law.5 The first one believed to have existed about 1350.2 Most of these towns were deals with the confirmation of an inheritance. It is stated that small, not to say very small, in comparison with many the heirs shall go before the mayor and the aldermen at the continental towns. The biggest ones, such as Visby, Stockholm town hall and get their decision confirmed with a charter and and Kalmar, were international ports with maybe one or two seal. The second one deals with the situation when an thousand inhabitants, many of them Germans, while the inhabitant has to prove that he has paid his fines. If he can smallest ones such as Hästholmen and Vimmerby had just a prove it, he receives a charter and seal as evidence thereof. few hundred inhabitants and markets of not more than local These are the only two statutes where the town seal is actually importance. What all these towns did have in common was mentioned, but the seal would certainly have been used in that they all had royal privileges to have markets and that their many other situations to validate documents. These statutes inhabitants were entitled to make a living from trade and make it clear that from 1350 every town in the realm had to handicraft. The towns were thus distinguished from the have a seal of its own (Fig. 1). surrounding countryside by these royal privileges. One of the visual signs of their independence was that the towns had a Town seals seal of their own. This discussion of the seals follows the categories In 1350 King Magnus was the first Swedish king to recommended by the Comité de Sigillographie within the introduce a written law that was common to all the provinces Conseil international des Archives.6 The following paper gives, of the realm.3 He also introduced a special code of law for the for each of the 27 towns, an illustration of the oldest surviving towns and some of the statutes in the town law allow us to seal, and, where there is older, written evidence of a seal, also come to conclusions concerning the use of the town seal in the the date of that document.7 The oldest known town seal dates from about 1255 and comes from the port Kalmar close to the southern border of the realm. This was a town with a considerable German population and with ties to Lübeck. The seal shows a tower by the sea which actually occurs in Kalmar. This architectural type of seal is also known to have been in use in Stockholm in 1296, and in Lödöse, Nyköping and Jönköping in the 14th century. These towns were all protected by and developed in close connection with a royal castle, although the castles on the seals are depicted only as symbols of a fortified town, not as an architectural representation (Fig. 2).8 Another kind of architectural town seal are those from Skara and Uppsala (Fig. 2). These were episcopal sees where the cathedral was the largest and most important building in town. It has been suggested that the seal from Skara depicts the real Romanesque cathedral, but, as the building was demolished in the Middle Ages, this is difficult to assess. The building displayed in the Uppsala seal definitely does not show the Gothic cathedral of Uppsala, but rather a symbolic picture of a church building.9 Heraldic motifs such as lions and eagles in a shield were already used in the first generation of Swedish town seals in Figure 1 Towns in the kingdom of Sweden c. 1350. King Magnus Eriksson’s seal the second half of the 13th century (Fig. 3). The shield-shaped of majesty was in use from 1320. seal of Örebro is typical for the 13th century and it is believed

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 81 Klackenberg

Figure 2 Architectural seals (scale: 70% of original). The date within brackets indicates documentary evidence of an older seal.

Figure 3 Heraldic seals (scale: 70% of original) that Linköping also had a shield-shaped seal with a lion’s face the lion’s face. The eagles in the seals of Örebro and its in the 13th century, before the town adopted the round seal neighbour Arboga are typical of towns with a dominant that is known from the 14th century. Linköping was a town German population. It is slightly surprising that the two towns with an episcopal see and an impressive cathedral, but in had such a similar motif on their seals. The lion passant that is contrast to Skara and Uppsala, the seal did not show a church found in the seal of Söderköping probably had its origin in the building. It has been suggested that the lion’s face in the seal coat of arms of the nobleman Svantepolk Knutsson who was comes from a misinterpretation of the name of the town in old the lord of the province and of the town.10 Norse: Leonkopungr, which translated is ‘Liontown’ and hence

82 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Seals of Swedish Towns before 1350

Figure 4 Emblematic seals (scale: 70% of original)

Åbo Västerås

Figure 5 Seals with a monogram (scale: 70% of original)

Emblematic town seals are closely related to heraldic seals good explanation as to why the town of Köping used the cross (Fig. 4). This group of Swedish seals encompasses towns of a emblem in the town seal. Notable is the letter K for Köping.11 very different nature, from the important Hanseatic town Two towns, Västerås on lake Mälaren and Åbo in Finland, Visby on Gotland to the tiny Hästholmen on the lake Vättern. used town seals with monograms that were similar (Fig. 5). It The difference in population and wealth is obvious in the sheer was at the same time an initial – A for Aboa and for Aros (the size of these seals. The seal of Hästholmen is surprisingly the medieval name of Västerås) – and a monogram for St Mary. only Swedish seal depicting a ship from this period. The seal of These towns were important ports and episcopal sees with Visby from the mid-14th century has an interesting prehistory. cathedrals devoted to St Mary. The fleurs-de-lis on the seal of It is a combination of the two different seals that the German Åbo make it possible to distinguish between the two. Västervik and the local inhabitants used in the 13th century. This seal, and Ulfsby were small ports on each side of the Baltic sea. The from the mid-14th century, is the first one where the two simple W in the town seal is an initial for the name of the town. groups of inhabitants have a Common Seal for the town of This is the most basic form of a town seal.12 Visby. While the German traders earlier used fleurs-de-lis as Hagiographical seals form the last category of medieval their emblem, the lamb was the emblem of the inhabitants of Swedish town seals in this discussion (Fig. 6). While the seals Gotland. Fleurs-de-lis, the emblem of St Mary, was also the of Skänninge and Strängnäs show well-known saints such as St motif of the town seal of Enköping, which like Visby and many Mary, St Peter and St Paul, the other saints are of a more local other Swedish towns, had a considerable German population nature. The female saint that was worshipped in medieval and a church devoted to St Mary. The crown emblem of Vimmerby is not identified, but the holy bishop that is seen on Sigtuna is possibly a symbol recalling the first Christian king the seal of Växjö is most probably St Sigfrid, who was the who resided there in the 11th century. At present there is no patron saint of the cathedral in this town.13 Hagiographical

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 83 Klackenberg

Figure 6 Hagiographical seals (scale: 70% of original)

Figure 7 Hagiographical seals showing St Olav (scale: 70% of original) town seals with St Olav are typically Scandinavian (Fig. 7). 5 Holmbäck and Wessén 1966, 59, 243. This Norwegian saint, whose grave is in Trondheim, was 6 Vocabulaire international de la Sigillographie, 151–63. 7 The Swedish seals before 1350 are published in Hildebrand immensely popular in great parts of Scandinavia. In the seals 1862–67 and many of the seals of the towns also in Nevéus 1997, of Norrköping and (Söder-)Tälje we can see the holy king which, together with Diplomatarium Suecanum, are the main majestically seated with his attributes the axe and the globe. In sources for this article. A good source to general information on the seal of Torshälla, he is seated in a Viking-style ship.14 the medieval urbanisation is Andersson 1990 and all the underlying reports from the research project Medeltidsstaden (The Medieval Town) which give general information on the Conclusion archaeology and history of each town and also the oldest evidence From the middle of the 13th century Swedish towns adopted for a seal. The illustrations are photographs taken by V.A. Sagerlund of casts in the collection of Riksarkivet (National the continental use of a town seal as an expression of their Archives) Stockholm. independence. Many of the towns were then only recently 8 Kalmar: LUB II no. 126 (Nevéus, Heim and Westling-Karlsson 1997, established and the seal is often the first sign of that a place has 25); Stockholm: DS 727 & 1179 (Nevéus, Heim and Westling- been urbanised. The use of written documents and seals was a Karlsson 1997, 23); Lödöse: SD 1483 (af Ugglas 1931, 157; Nevéus, Heim and Westling-Karlsson 1997, 30); Nyköping: DS 4346 & 6078 part of the European culture that was brought to Sweden from (Heim and Westling-Karlsson Nevéus 1997, 25); Jönköping: DS the 12th century onwards. The 13th century was a very 8214 (Björkman 1917, 165). dynamic one for the development of towns, literacy and hence 9 Skara: DS 1748 & 1934 (Sigsjö 1985, 248); Uppsala: DS 1415 & 6266 (Nevéus, Heim and Westling-Karlsson 1997, 26). the use of seals. 10 Linköping: DS 1311 & 6266 ( Schück 1926, 466 and Nevéus, Heim Swedish town seals are of a general European kind and of and Westling-Karlsson 1997, 26); Örebro: DS 2858, RAp 1431 19/4 , well known types such as architectural, heraldic, emblematic (Schück 1926, 278); Arboga: DS 2782 (Ljung 1949, 36); Söderköping: and hagiographical. Seals with monograms and initials are DS 931, 1250 (Ljung 1949a, 35); Svantepolk Knutsson: DS 712 (Ljung 1949a, 35). another category represented in Sweden. Most of the 11 Sigtuna: DS 1127 & 1818 (Schück 1926, 466); Hästholmen: DS 1764, influences in this field can be supposed to have reached SRP 1996 (Nevéus, Heim and Westling-Karlsson 1997, 28); Sweden via Germany. The hagiographical town seals with the Enköping: DS 2617 (Ljung 1963, 283); Köping: DS 4445, SRP 1376 St Olav-motif, however, are probably the only category that is (Björnänger 1960, 43); Visby: HUB III no. 660, DS 4733 (Siltberg 2005, 338). typical for the Nordic countries and more or less unknown in 12 Åbo: DS 1626 (Hausen 1900, 28 and Schück 1926, 466); Västerås: DS the continental material. 1046 & 1552 (Nevéus, Heim and Westling-Karlsson 1997, 27); Västervik: LStBp 1377 4/12, RAp 1422 14/4 (Lindberg 1933; 80); Ulfsby: SD 2618 (Hausen 1900, 28). Notes 13 Skänninge: DS 1343, SRP 2069 (Nevéus, Heim and Westling- 1 Nordberg 1995, 42–68. Karlsson, 29); Strängnäs: DS 2041 & 3325 (Jägerstad 1959, 274); 2 Andersson 1990, 42–57. The towns and their seals of the Vimmerby: DS 4651, RAp 1430 1/1 (DMS 4:4, 203); Växjö: RAp 1489 Norwegian (dark green on the map, Fig. 1) or former Danish 17/1 (Larsson 1991, 47). provinces (pale green on the map) are not discussed in this article. 14 Norrköping: DS 6893, RAp 1444 28/2 (Nevéus, Heim and Westling- 3 Holmbäck and Wessén 1962. Karlsson 1997, 30); Torshälla: SRP 1350 (Hildebrand 1894, 363); 4 Holmbäck and Wessén 1966, 4. Tälje: SRP 2194 (Olofsson 1968, 143).

84 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Curial Narratives: The Seals of Cardinal Deacons 1280–1305 Julian Gardner

Figure 1 Election Decree for Pope Celestine V. 1294. Archivio Segreto Vaticano AA .Arm. I– XVIII, 2178

The conclave to elect a new pope after the death of the presumably Angelo himself: ‘est ibi imago beati Francisci Franciscan Nicholas IV in April 1292 had drawn on for 27 desponsantis paupertatem et ipsius paupertatis et in pede est months when Cardinal Latino Malabranca as dean of the ymago unius fratris genuflessi’.5 This iconography is familiar Sacred College, claiming divine inspiration, proposed the from the great fresco on the crossing of the Lower Church at name of the hermit Pietro da Murrone.1 The cardinals, initially Assisi, an episode cherished by the Spiritual wing of the astonished and cautious, but finally in tearful unison, Franciscan Order which also recurs in other Franciscan produced an election decree, still preserved in the Archivio Trecento seals, such as that of the Custody at Chiusi.6 Angelo’s Segreto Vaticano, to which they appended their seals in order use of the motif bears also on the development of narrative of seniority. (AA .Arm. I – XVIII, 2178) (Fig. 1).2 Latino’s seal images on seals in late 13th century and 14th-century Rome. appears first, followed by Gerardo Bianchi, Giovanni Several of the cardinals of Boniface VIII’s curia, with which I Boccamazza, Matteo d’Aquasparta, Hugues Aycelin, Pietro shall primarily be concerned, were involved with the Spirituals Peregrosso, Benedetto Caetani, Matteo Rosso Orsini, Giacomo – Giacomo Colonna and his nephew Pietro and Napoleone Colonna, Napoleone Orsini, and Pietro Colonna. This majestic Orsini, a member of the great opposing Roman noble family.7 manuscript provides the essential physical and textual context Matteo d’Aquasparta had been Minister General of the Order, for the majority of seals which I shall discuss today. and Angelo da Clareno in later life was a familiar of Napoleone Consensus rapidly soured, as the aged pontiff’s Orsini.8 Self-evidently the Franciscan Order from a very early incompetence became daily more apparent, and at Naples six period used hagiographical episodes on its convent seals – The months later, to quote the account uniquely preserved in the Sermon to the Birds (Fig. 2), The Flight into Egypt, The Agony in register of John de Haldon, Bishop of Carlisle.3 Celestine V, as the Garden, and obviously too the Stigmatisation – a scene he now was, came to consistory and spoke briefly in the which almost ontologically incarnates the act of sealing, and vernacular, telling the astonished cardinals of his decision to abdicate: he then read a short prepared statement (‘quamdam cedulam’) confessing his inadequacy for the papacy and decision to resign forthwith. ‘ He immediately climbed down from the papal throne, took the tiara from his head and placed it on the floor. Then he divested himself of his robes and his ring, until he was clad solely in an alb. He returned to his chamber and put on his former Benedictine habit: he returned alone and sat on the lowest step of the throne.

Finally he fled back to his chamber pursued by the shouting and tearful cardinals.4 After a brief conclave Celestine was replaced by the learned, cynical and violent Benedetto Caetani as Boniface VIII. The new Pope ordered the Curia’s immediate return to Rome. The documentation concerning the interrogation of the Figure 2 Seal of the Custos of the dissident Franciscan Angelo Clareno by the papal authorities Franciscan Order in Bavaria 1278. St Francis preaching to the birds. describes his personal seal – a scene of St Francis marrying Munich Bayerisches Hauptstaats- Lady Poverty and beneath the image of a kneeling friar – archiv, Nürnberg RU 79

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 85 Gardner for which in a profound way Christ’s Agony in the Garden S. Nicola in Carcere, was not even a priest at the time of his served as type.9 election.14 Cardinal’s seal matrices were routinely destroyed at As earlier remarked, I shall concentrate primarily on the the owner’s death and authentic surviving 13th-century seals of the Roman curia in the generation before the departure examples are very rare.15 of the papacy from Italy in 1305. The seal impressions of The titular churches of both cardinal priests and deacons 13th-century cardinals are of unsurpassed importance in were dedicated, as indeed might be any church, to the Virgin, a documenting the arrival of the gothic style in Rome, and martyr or an object – Sta Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome.16 demonstrate the avidity with which Italian and French Whereas the priestly tituli were overwhelmingly dedicated to cardinals availed themselves of fashionable seal designs.10 They Roman martyrs, only one, Sta Maria in Trastevere, was a place the chronology of the reception of gothic style and Marian titulus. Conversely, among the diaconate, there was iconography in central Italy on a firmer, and more precocious, one non-martyrial titulus – Sant’Angelo in Piscinula, but 33% footing than work in any other medium. They are all vesicas (6 of 18) were dedicated to the Virgin. I shall talk mostly about and they are either effigial or hagiographic. the seals of martyrial tituli whether priests or deacons, and There are good reasons, worth reiterating, for this only in conclusion about senior cardinal bishops. distinction. The College of Cardinals during the 13th century Italian seals have only quite recently, and sporadically been included six cardinal bishops, representing the original Roman considered from standpoints other than diplomatic or heraldic, suburbicarian sees, Albano, Ostia, Porto, Palestrina, Sabina and ecclesiastical seals are no exception.17 To exemplify an and Tusculum. The cardinal bishops, with rare exceptions, alternative approach I shall illustrate three slightly earlier adhered to the effigial iconography by then customary for the designs – Ottobuono Fieschi, Cardinal Deacon of Sant’Adriano European episcopate.11 The titular churches of the cardinal in Foro, Cardinal Riccardo Annibaldi, Deacon of Sant’Angelo, priests numbered some 27 in the later Middle Ages, whilst and the Dominican Annibaldo Annibaldeschi, Cardinal Priest those of the cardinal deacons, technically the most junior of Santi Apostoli (Figs 3–5). Here as elsewhere I regard it as members of the Sacred College, numbered approximately 18. axiomatic that the matrices were designed and engraved close The cardinal bishoprics were invariably occupied throughout to the time of the cardinal’s accession, even if preserved the 13th and 14th centuries, but the priestly and diaconal tituli, impressions date from later in the cardinalate.18 The Genoese, even such apparently important churches as Sta Maria in Ottobuono Fieschi, a member of the most prominent non- Trastevere, Rome, might remain unoccupied for generations. Roman curial family of the Duecento, boasting two popes and We are still largely uninformed about the general mechanism two cardinals, was a successful papal legate in England and I of ascription (or choice) of cardinals’ titles, (although, as we have elsewhere argued that his seal matrix was made by an shall see, some choices become clearer), or the reasons for English seal-engraver.19 Like many English bishops the promotion from a diaconal to a priestly church – or a simple standing legate is flanked by busts in roundels: who were these transfer to another titulus of the same status.12 The bitterly figures? At times they are plainly Peter and Paul, confirming, contested political and familial geography of Rome itself so to speak, episcopal authority. English seals like those of certainly played an important role, as probably did a church’s Walter de Merton or Edmund of Abingdon demonstrate the income.13 It was quite possible for a cardinal deacon to be point.20 But for Ottobuono as legate? Yet whether the heads in elected Pope. Nicholas III Orsini (1277–80), Cardinal Deacon of roundels are supporters, spectators or interlocutors they

Figure 3 Seal of Cardinal Riccardo Annibaldi della Figure 4 Seal of Cardinal Ottobuono Fieschi Figure 5 Seal of Cardinal Annibaldo Annibaldeschi Molara (1239–76) 1264 (55 x 33mm). Legend: (1251–76) 1270 (60 x 40mm). Legend: +S’ OTOBOI. OP (1261–72) OP 1270 (47 x 28mm). Legend: S’FRIS +:S’RICCARDI SANCTI ANG..LI DIACONI CARDINALIS. British SCI. DIACONI CARDINALIS. Durham Dean and Chapter ANIBALDI.DI.GRA....ASIL’.XI. APLOR’. PRBRI.CARD’. British Library BL 22100 Muniments 2.2 Arch.1 Library BL 22112

86 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Curial Narratives convey a temporal dimension.21 They are in dialogue with the Figure 6 Seal of Cardinal main figure, conferring a denser ideological content to the Giacomo Colonna (1278–1318) 1294 (60 x matrix. Such figural heads also occur on the façade of the 35mm). Legend: S’.IACOBI. Duomo at Genoa where Ottobuono had been a canon, and at DI.GRA.SCE.MARIE.I VIA LATA DIACONI CARD’. Genoa the motif probably derives from the portal at Sens Archivio Segreto cathedral.22 Vaticano no. 104 Sant’Angelo in Piscinula was unique among the Roman diaconia in possessing as titular the Archangel Michael, and it was apparently the earliest of the cardinals’ tituli to stimulate a narrative design. Already in the mid-12th century Cardinal Gregorius (1140–54) had adopted the motif of St Michael trampling the dragon as his matrix design.23 Romano Bonaventura (1216–42/3) in the early 13th century had done the same.24 A striking stylistic change comes with his successor Ricardo Annibaldi, (1238–76) whose matrix was engraved at his promotion. Here the figure style is evidently gothic, the archangel’s robe forming a series of catenary folds down his right thigh.25 Michael holds a swathe of drapery over his left hand whilst balletically driving his lance into the dragon’s throat. There is a novel sense of movement and a moment of shown by the 1294 impression of Giacomo Colonna (1278–1318) decisive action. It is a conception which may be compared with included on the great letter to Pietro da Murrone (Fig. 6). This images in contemporary French manuscripts such as the Bible is now a fully developed niched structure firmly framing the Moralisée.26 The combat now has been actualised and no longer composition. In the upper section a crowned, half-length frozen into a motif. Virgin is flanked by two taper-bearing angels.33 Below Cardinal The last of the earlier seals to which I wish initially to draw Colonna kneels before St Peter. Across the architrave above the to your notice is that of the Dominican Annibaldo lower, paired gables runs a canting rebus drawn from Psalm 74: Annibaldeschi Cardinal Priest of SS Apostoli (1262–72). His Ego confirmavi columnas ejus. The identification of a great matrix design is that of Pentecost, a choice which demands two prelate as column of the church was an apostolic topos, but here comments. Since the middle of the century the Minister it acquires an additional pointedness as a play on the cardinal’s Generals of the Franciscan Order had adopted the motif of family name, and his family’s palace near the Column of Pentecost, since the General Chapter of the Order took place on Trajan. 34 More pertinently here perhaps the pierced and that date – a remarkable example of 1277 is that of Girolamo crocketed gables are borne not on gothic shafts, but spiral d’Ascoli, the first Franciscan to be elected pope as Nicholas IV.27 columns clearly alluding to the ancient series, which from the Annibaldo’s Pentecost, where the standing apostles gesture 8th century formed a screen across the nave of the Apostle’s upwards rather than sit, and where the Virgin is absent – in martyrial basilica at the Vatican.35 This romanità in seal design contrast to the Franciscan example – is summarily located of a Roman aristocrat was to be retained, in a yet more beneath a broad gothic niche structure. Cardinals’ seals interesting narrative by Cardinal Giacomo’s nephew Cardinal precociously adopt the gothic niche, and it undergoes a rich Pietro Colonna. development in Roman seals during the late 13th century.28 The While a significant number of late-13th-century cardinals niche as a sculptural motif, created, one might almost say, as a adopt scenes of martyrdom for their matrices, it should be deliberate constraint for the gothic figure, is here given a recalled that, with the important exception of Peter of Verona, topographical charge.29 The bust-length representation of the martyrdom became a largely extra-European phenomenon in seal’s owner below reminds the viewer that the scriptural locus the Duecento.36 Among the scenes chosen by Roman cardinals of the episode was in an upper room.30 two martyrs splendidly represented in seal matrices adopt Narratives, however abbreviated or miniaturised, imply an martyrial episodes as their themes, but not the iconography of audience – spectator or recipient – which includes not only martyrdom itself. The small church of S. Giorgio in Velabro seal-owner, but the recipient of the sealed document and, near the forum had two cardinals with important seal designs ultimately, the modern observer. Seal images, par excellence Pietro Capocci (1244–59) and Goffredo d’Alatri (1261–82) (Fig. are travelling images, which move between private and public 7).37 In the late 13th century its apse was frescoed by Pietro spheres of attention and lettered and unlettered publics.31 The Cavallini and his workshop.38 In that now badly damaged development of these miniature scenes in seal matrices can be composition George is shown as an equestrian warrior, matched in reliquary design – for example the remarkable although he wears the pseudo-Roman armour of many Reliquary of the Holy Sepulchre in the cathedral treasury at 13th-century Roman frescoes. The seals of Pietro Capocci and Pamplona.32 Matrix and reliquary alike were made by Goffredo d’Alatri show the mounted saint combating the goldsmiths. Narrative episodes also had the advantage of being dragon, an iconography given new impetus both by crusade more readily recognisable, a shift from the summary and Jacopo da Varagine’s Legenda Aurea.39 While George is stereotypical identification of a saint as a figurine with a halo, mounted in both matrices their model owes more to Byzantine or a martyr as a person brandishing a palm frond. small-scale models in glyptic or glass-paste, rather than French Architectural framing could emphasise and locate chivalric models dominating European aristocratic seals by the narrative. That it could be adapted to other contexts can be mid-13th century.40 The same Eastern model can also be

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 87 GlennGardner detected on the bronze doors of Monreale by Barisanus of Trani for Eustace’s martyrdom was traditionally located at Vulturella some 70 years previously, although George appears as a (Vultus illa) or Mentorella, a remote spot near Capranica standing warrior in the mosaics of S. Marco.41 The presence of Prenestina adjoining the Colonna family’s own territorial Capocci’s name in the legend is another sign of the tendency to possessions, although no location is given in the Legenda Aurea, increase personalisation of ecclesiastical seals during the 13th a text in Pietro’s personal library.51 He may also have been century.42 responsible for a lost cycle of the saint’s life in his Roman The church dedications encouraged the development of titulus.52 Unlike Cocconato’s seal the stag springs up the lofty martyrial iconography in late 13th-century Roman art. crag which recalls the actual physical setting of Vulturella, and Laurence had been martyred on the Via Tiburtina and was above appears a bust-length Virgin and Child recording the buried in the cemeterial basilica there. There were other ancient Marian shrine located there.53 Topographical dedications to Laurence; S. Lorenzo in Lucina and S. Lorenzo in specificity has been purposively enhanced, and a chivalric Damaso, the first martyrial tituli to be permitted infra muros.43 episode has been preferred to martyrdom. The papal chapel in the Sancta Sanctorum was dedicated to The lively and inventive seal matrices of the cardinal Laurence, and there a scene of his martyrdom was frescoed.44 deacons began to influence other members of the Sacred The mysterious English cardinal Hugh of Evesham (1281–7) has College. It is perhaps unsurprising that this trend can early be left a damaged but nevertheless dramatic representation of the detected in a Franciscan cardinal, Matteo d’Acquasparta martyrdom on a document dated 1284 in the Archivio di Stato (1288–1302). Matteo had been a teacher at Paris University, and in Florence (Fig. 8).45 Here the saint is prone on his gridiron in Minister General of his Order.54 As a preacher he had lovingly a manner closely comparable to the paintings in the portico of developed the topos of sealing, Creavit Deus hominem ad S. Lorenzo fuori le mura itself.46 Strikingly enough another imaginem suam (Genesis I, 27). Man’s soul might be reformed English cardinal, the long-lived John of Toledo had, as cardinal and perfected ‘[ad] instar imaginis fusae’, an ultimately of S. Lorenzo in Lucina, also adopted the martyrdom of classical topos which had been appropriated from earlier Laurence for his seal matrix.47 Victorine writers by the first Franciscan cardinal, The final seal on the election decree, that of the most junior Bonaventura.55 Matteo’s seal is significant in adopting for the cardinal Pietro Colonna (1288 –1326) showed the scene of the first time a hagiographical scene for an episcopal seal. At the conversion of St Eustace (Fig. 9).48 The motif had been top of the field is a notably gothic crucifixion, with the memorably used earlier for the matrix of the Ubertus de Saviour’s figure strikingly sunk and curved (Fig. 11). The Cocconato (1261–76), a native of Asti promoted by Urban IV figure style has been connected to a leading contemporary (Fig. 10).49 Here there would appear to be a clear link between papal goldsmith, Guccio di Mannaia.56 the name of the cardinal and the choice of motif (and also, The final seal that I wish to discuss illumines what might be more importantly assignation of titular church), although the termed the politics of cardinals’ seals. In 1297 Jacopo and Pietro iconography of St Hubert had originally been appropriated Colonna rebelled against Boniface VIII, claiming that he was from that of Eustace.50 The saint kneels on the same level as the not the legitimate pope, although they had willingly subscribed stag which presents the Holy Face between its antlers. In the to his election three years before.57 Boniface reacted with case of Pietro Colonna the conversion of Eustace has characteristic brutality, razing the ancient Colonna stronghold undoubtedly a more specific topographical impact. The setting of Palestrina,

Figure 7 Seal of Cardinal Goffredo d’Alatri Figure 8 Seal of Cardinal Hugh of Evesham Figure 9 Seal of Cardinal Pietro Colonna (1261–87) 1270 (51 x 32mm). Legend: S. GOTTIFRIDIS. (1281–87) 1282 (55 x 37mm). Legend: RI CAR. (1288//1326) 1294 (58 x 36mm). Legend: SCI. GEOR....D UELV. DIAC’.CARD’. British Library BL 22109 Florence Archivio di Stato Sigilli Staccati no. 30 S’:PETRI:DI:GRA:SCI: EVSTACHI: DIAC I: CARDINAL’. Archivio Segreto Vaticano no. 103

88 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Curial Narratives

Figure 10 Seal of Cardinal Uberto de Cocconato Figure 11 Seal of Cardinal Matteo d’Aquasparta Figure 12 Seal of Cardinal Theodoric (1299–1306) (1261–76) 1270 (53 x 35 mm). Legend: S’. VBERTI. OFM (1288–1302) 1294(55 x 40mm). Legend: +S’. 1300 (70 x 39mm). Legend: ·S’ THEODERICI · DEI G… PI S’EVSTACHII.DIACONI. CARDINALIS’. British Library BL FRIS.MATH’I.ORD.MINOR’. DEI.GRA.EPI. PORTUEN..T SCE RU.INE CIVITAT S ALIS. Florence Archivio di Stato Sigilli 22116 Archivio Segreto Vaticano no. 108 Staccati no. 43

…privando nihilominus eam privilegiis, libertatibus et juribus + frarer∙∙ angelus∙∙ de∙clarino∙ is preserved in the Vatican. quibuscumque ipsamque aratro subjici ad veteris instar 6 Muzzi, Tomasello and Tori 1988, no. 682, 260 (vesica, 49 x 28mm). Carthaginis Africane ac salem in ea etiam fecit et mandavit The legend reads: /s. vicarii. frm. minor. cvstodie. clvsine. seminari, ut nec rem nec nomen aut titulum habeat civitatis.58 Above the figures: bn veiat / dna paptas (Bene veniat… Domina Paupertas) – a quotation from Thomas of Celano Vita II Cap. LX, The venerable cardinal bishopric of Palestrina was (Analecta Franciscana X), Quarracchi 1926–41, 186. renamed Civitas Papalis, and one of Boniface’s closest allies, 7 Carocci 1981, 387 ff. Theodoric of Orvieto became its first bishop. His remarkable 8 Burr 2001. hagiographical matrix emphasised the point (Fig. 12).59 Christ 9 Gardner 1982, 217– 47. For Franciscan seals with scenes in general see Bascapé 1962,146–64 and Bascapé 1978, 205 ff. Crucified between the Virgin and St John is now flanked by 10 Gardner 1976, 72–96. Peter and Paul, respectively identified by their attributes of 11 For the first part of the period see Bautier 1995, 225–42. keys and sword. Below, in the now customary niched 12 Benedetto Caetani chosen as Cardinal Deacon of S. Niccola in Carcere in 1281 was translated the Cardinal priesthood of SS composition, appear John the Baptist and an unidentified Silvestro and Martino ai Monti in 1291. Matteo d’Acquasparta, martyr.60 The striking element here is what one might describe chosen as Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Damaso was translated as the ‘politicisation’ of the Crucifixion by the addition of Peter to the Cardinal Bishopric of Porto in 1291 (Eubel 1913, 10–11). and Paul. Their presence must surely be read as a papal 13 The income of individual titular churches a somewhat mysterious topic, not helped by the fact that the records of the Ecclesiastical emphasis: Boniface VIII insisted on the establishment of an Tenth for Rome (although not for the dioceses of Latium, where altar to St Boniface in the Duomo at Civitas Papalis.61 The there are however many lacunae) are lost (Battelli 1946, 3). choice of the (strikingly gothic) Crucifixion may very well be 14 Sternfeld 1905, 291 ff.; Baethgen 1960, 18 – 22; Carocci 1981, 393 ff. 15 For Cardinal Rainer Capocci’s matrix see Gardner 1976, 82 and figs that of Theodoric himself, who had earlier been Cardinal priest 11b,c. For rituals of destruction see Cherry 2002, 81–96. 62 of Sta Croce in Gerusalemme. With the seal of another 16 Bayart 1949, 258–61. Franciscan cardinal Gentile da Montefiore it represents 17 Bascapé 1978 is the pioneering exception. perhaps the high point of the gothic figure style in Roman 18 Examples of late impressions in the cardinalate are Stefano Conti (1216–54), 1246 (see n. 28 below) and Riccardo Annibaldi 63 metalwork during the pontificate of Boniface VIII. When the (1239–76), 1264. Caetani pope died in October 1303 the seals of the Sacred 19 Gardner 1976, 77 and Gardner 1997, 309–18. College were of an unrivalled imaginative range and 20 The seals of Robert Stichil, Bishop of Durham 1261 and Walter de Merton, Bishop of Rochester 1274–77, see Age of Chivalry 1987, sophistication of style. 317–18, nos 278, 281. For similar seals of Walter de Suthfield, Bishop of Norwich (1245–57) and Lawrence de St Martin, Bishop of Notes Rochester(1251–74), see BM Seals, nos 2255, 2151 and pl. VII. 1 Seppelt 1921, 37–9; Baethgen 1934, 10, 267–317. 21 There are many relevant observations in Camille 1992 although he 2 Mercati, A. 1932 ‘Il decreto e la lettera dei cardinali per l’elezione di does not discuss seals specifically. Celestino V,’ Bullettino del Istituto Storico Italiano e Archivio 22 Sauerländer 1966, 20 ff; Sauerländer 1970, 99 ff., tafn. 58–9, 61. Muratoriano, 48,1–16. 23 Maleczek 2004, 177–203. 3 Tout 1913. 24 Doüet d’Arcq 1863–68, nos 6130 (1226) and 6132 (1229); Gardner 4 Herde 1981, on election: 67 ff.; on Doc. 72: n. 242. 1975, 78. 5 Ehrle 1888, 1–190, 14–15; Oliger 1937, 61–4. A later secret seal of Fra 25 Gardner 1976, 78–9; Baumeister 1992, 11–19. Angelo with a winged angel with raised sword bearing the legend: 26 Branner 1977, 32 ff. For example Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek 2554 ff. 10,61.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 89 Gardner

27 Bihl 1911, 425–35; Bascapé 1962, 146–64. 1962, 50–6. For the text of his will Paravicini Bagliani 1980, 207–15. 28 The earliest cardinal’s seal design to use a niche is Raniero Capocci 46 Laurence’s martyrdom had appeared at Sta Cecilia in Trastevere whose matrix is in the Collezione Pasqui, Palazzo Venezia 1099–1118. See now Romano 2006, 219–21: there were two (Gardner 1976, 82). Stefano Conti’s seal is Westminster abbey 13th-century cycles at S. Lorenzo fuori le mura where the (Muniments 1840 (10 June 1246)). martyrdom was depicted, Waetzoldt 1964; Muñoz 1944, 14–22; 29 Bock 1962, 412–17; Kalusok 1996, Exkurs: Ursprung und Genese der Romano 1992, 33 ff. and fig. I,1.8. See n. 45 above. gotischen Nische in Frankreich, 207 ff. According to Kalusok (1996, 47 Gardner 1976. 208) it appears first on the transept façades of Notre Dame, Paris. 48 Sella Laurent 1937, I, 26–7, no. 103; Gardner 1976, 86. 30 Acts I, v.13. For Pentecost iconography Gardner von Teuffel 1978, 49 Paravicini Bagliani 1972. 31; Bautier 1968, 212–20; Pastoureau 1996, 288. 50 Brouette 1969, 736–41. 32 L’Art des Rois maudits 1998, no. 121 195 – 7 (D.) (entry by Gaborit- 51 Kühn-Steinhausen 1951, 350–7; Paravicini Bagliani 1970, 104–39. Chopin). Despite its conventional title the reliquary’s sarcophagus 52 In 1701 paintings were noted in the nave of the church ‘...due ordini bears the inscription De sudario Domini. di pitture a fresco divise in quadri; nel superiore viene 33 Sella and Laurent 1937, 27, no. 104. rappresentata la vita del Salvatore, nell altro la vita di S. Eustachio, 34 A letter from Cardinal Giovanni Colonna to the Cardinal Legate ma di maniera barbara che dimostrano fatte nel 1300 e forse prima’ Ottone da Tonengo describes the recently deceased Jean d’ (Scatassa 1915, 11–15). This combination of narratives would fit Abbeville (d. 1237) as ‘nobilis illa columpna, quae tam magnifice very well with the figural interests demonstrated by Cardinal structuram ecclesiae sustenebat…’ (Matthew Paris, Chronica Colonna in his two surviving seal impressions. Majora, III, 445, cited in Paravicini Bagliani 1972, 29). Cf. 53 Kircher 1665, 7 ff. (Eustace and stag), 84 ff. and 88 (Pars Tertia, De Reudenbach 1980, esp. 324 ff. cf. Durandus, ‘Columpne ecclesie Loco Conuersionis S. Eustachij ad Christum), 94, 136 ff., 151 ff. (Sta episcopi et doctores sunt, qui templum Dei per doctrinam sicut et Maria in Vulturella at Guadagnolo). euangeliste tronum Dei, spiritualiter sustinen’, cited in Gvillelmi 54 Menestò 1982,104–8; Pace 1993, 311–30. Dvranti, Lib. I, I, 27. 55 Hugh of St Victor, De institutione novitiorum, Migne, Patrologia 35 Toynbee and Ward Perkins 1956, 201 ff; Arbeiter 1998, 160 ff.; de Latina, vol. 176 col. 933 (Carruthers 2003, 71; Reynolds 2003, Blaauw 1994 (2), 474 ff., 656–61. 219–55; Mauro 1993, 172–96). 36 Weinstein and Bell 1982; Rubin 1993, 153–83. 56 Cioni 1998, 67–8, figs 84, 99. 37 Capocci was titular cardinal of S. Giorgio 1244–59, Goffredo 57 Mohler 1914, 38; Boase 1933, 164; Coste 1995, 6 ff.; Vian 2002, 1261–87 (Paravicini Bagliani 1972, 300 ff.). For Goffredo see Prou 215–72. 1885, 382 – 411, and Marchetti Longhi 1952, 17–49. Most recently 58 Thomas, Faucon, Digard and Fawtier 1894–1939, no. 3416 (Anagni Delle Donne 2001, 531–3. 13 June 1299); Mohler 1914, 97–8. 38 Strinati 1987, 63–70; Tomei 2000, 96–105. 59 Waley 1952, 156–7; Coste 1995, 348, n. 5; Cioni 1998, 67, figs 85, 101; 39 Bourreau 1989; Braunfels-Esche 1976; Didi-Huberman 1994; Roth 1957, 40. Porteous 1989; Seton 1989, VI, 392, no. 21, pl. III (Coin of Roger of 60 St Agapitus, titular of the Duomo Palestrina. Cf. Josi and Cheletti Salerno with Greek George and Dragon 1112–19; George identified 1961, 313–16. His relics were placed in the crypt in 1116. at top ΓΕΩΓΙΟΣ); de Laborderie 1995, 40; Wentzel 1957; Wentzel 61 Reg. Bon VIII, no. 3416 (Anagni 13. June 1299) ‘In ecclesia vero B. 1962 (Windsor cameo St George Venetian c. 1300). Agapiti martyris... que quidem ante destructionem civitatis extitit 41 Demus 1984; Walsh 1982. ecclesia cathedralis... altare in honorem B. Bonifatii…’ . 42 For comments on this trend see Bedos-Rezak 2005. 62 Theodoric’s seal as Cardinal of Sta Croce is not preserved: his 43 For the cult of Laurence in Rome see Jounel 1977, 271–2. earlier seal as Prior of S. Andrea at Orvieto and archbishop elect of 44 Romano n.d., 38–125, 104, figs 93, 101. Palermo is in the Corvisieri Collection in the Palazzo Venezia 45 Florence Sigilli Staccati no. 30. For Hugh of Evesham, Brentano (Anon. 1913, 95, no. 113. 63 Gardner 2006, 163–79.

90 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Sealed Saint: Representations of Saint Francis of Assisi on Medieval Italian Seals* Ruth Wolff

Francis of Assisi is a special saint, above all because he was the good enough for him; he did not need any notarial instrument first saint whose stigmata were recognised by the Roman to confirm it, since for him the Virgin Mary was the document, Church as the wounds of Christ.1 His life and works have been Christ the notary and the angels the witnesses. Here the notary subjected to a deluge of hagiographical, theological and is – ex negativo – likened to Christ. It is telling that this report of poetical writings, as well as innumerable representations in the Porziuncola indulgence is found in a document in which panel paintings, frescoes and glass. As a result art historians the Bishop of Assisi, a Franciscan himself, almost a century have always taken a special interest in St Francis.2 It is well later, solemnly confirmed in writing, and authenticated with known that works that represent St Francis in the medium of his seal, the validity of the indulgence. On Bishop Teobaldo’s sculpture form a minority in comparison with the large number seal Francis was represented alongside St Rufinus below the of representations of the saint in panel paintings, frescoes or Madonna and Child.9 stained glass.3 Art historical research has already devoted The domination of the notary’s office in medieval Italy can attention to some of these sculpted works, but a comprehensive also be inferred from the documents issued by the Franciscan investigation of them is still lacking.4 Order. For as Alessandro Pratesi has shown, the Franciscans Representations of St Francis on seals have largely been used both kinds of authentication in their documents, namely, ignored in art history. Sigillography, in any case, tends to both sealing and endorsement through the official hand of the investigate seals not primarily in terms of their iconography, notary, testified by his signature and notarial sign.10 In the but in terms of their owners.5 Specific investigations on the general curia of the Order and in its provincial government, representations of Francis on seals in Italy have hitherto been sealed documents were mainly issued following the model of lacking apart from Giacomo Bascapè’s studies on the seals of large chanceries, such as the apostolic chancery in Rome. The the Franciscan Order.6 My paper on Francis and seals will documents of the Minister General, Vicar General, Provincial concentrate on three thematic fields. First, the specific use of Minister and their Guardians, are in the main sealed seals in Italy and its deep influence on the Franciscan Order. documents. At the local level, on the other hand, the Italian Second, the images of St Francis on seals and their pictorial Franciscans often called on the services of self-employed language. And third, the hagiographical and theological notaries from outside the Order, to write and authenticate interpretation of Francis as a sealed saint. documents. While convents, their guardians and their vicars had the right to use and possess seals, they used them less than The use of seals in medieval Italy their colleagues in other countries. So, the hierarchical The use of seals in medieval Italy differs fundamentally from structure of the Order produced in Italy not only a hierarchy of that of other European countries, since in Italy the office of the seals and their images, as in other countries, but also a notary was particularly important, especially in the 13th and hierarchy of documents and the ways and means of 14th centuries.7 Already in the 12th century Pope Alexander III authenticating them. The most solemn documents that the had issued a decree, in which he had determined the Ministers General of the Order produced, the litterae equivalence between the authenticity of documents endorsed confraternitatis, contained a kind of spiritual contract between with a seal, and deeds endorsed by a public official (per manum the general curia of the Order and the faithful outside the publicum), in other words a notary.8 A large part of the Order.11 In the 13th century only the Minister Generals and the documents written in medieval Italy are in fact notarial Provincial Ministers had the right to issue litterae instruments or documents in whose drafting notaries were confraternitatis. Through them they guaranteed the involved in the most varied ways. The importance of the participation of the persons to whom they were addressed in all notary’s office for the Franciscan Order can to some extent be the spiritual goods that the Order daily accumulated, such as inferred ex negativo from Francis himself and from the masses, vigils, prayers and also liturgical commemorations hagiographical transmission of his life and work. after death; this was an expression of gratitude for the signs of In 1310 Bishop Teobaldo of Assisi tells of Francis’ visit to affection that the recipients of the letters had shown for the Pope Honorius III in 1216 as follows: Francis had travelled to Order during their lifetime, for instance in the form of Rome to ask the Pope for an indulgence for the church of Sta donations. Salimbene da Adam, the 13th-century Franciscan Maria degli Angeli, called Porziuncola, that he himself had chronicler, transmits the formula of these letters, which goes rebuilt. Francis received the indulgence only by word of mouth. back to the Minister General, John of Parma, and emphasises According to Bishop Teobaldo the Pope called back Francis, that the Minister General authenticated the litterae who had hastened away after the audience: ‘O simplicone, quo confraternitatis with his own seal.12 In fact the litterae vadis? Quid portas tu de huiusmodi indulgentia?’ (Oh, you confraternitates represent the largest group of documents simpleton, where are you going? What will you do with such an issued by the Order without notarial intermediation.13 indulgence?). Francis answered that the word of the Pope was The Great Seal of the Minister General of the Franciscans

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 91 Wolff

Figure 1 (left) Impression of the seal of John of Parma, Ghent, June 1254 (55 x 36 mm). Ghent, Archives d’Etat, Chartes Abbaye de St Pierre, no. 644

Figure 2 (right) Seal matrix of Bernardino da Siena (46 x 29mm). Siena, Museo Civico, Inv. no. 77

shows the event of Pentecost. It is first found in an impression two seal images – Pentecost as a biblical event, with which the of the seal of John of Parma (1247–57) dating to the year 1250.14 Order legitimated its preaching activity – and the The legend of the seal: sigillum generalis ministri ordinis stigmatisation with which God had legitimated Francis – the fratrum minorum, does not name the Minister General of the General Curia presented itself within the Order, but also Order, since it was the practice for the matrix to be handed outside it, as it did in the litterae confraternitatis.20 down from Minister to Minister. Already in Constitutions of the Franciscan Order that were issued before the General Chapter The representation of St Francis on seals of Narbonne (1260) it was prescribed that the seal of the The bronze ogival seal matrix of the Visitator of the Convents of deceased Minister General, as was the practice with relics, the Order of Poor Clares is divided into two fields by a cross-bar should be wrapped with a strip of parchment (cedula) and formed of miniature crosses (Fig. 3).21 In the upper field two endorsed with the seal of the Provincial Minister and Guardian saints are represented. They are placed in a diptych topped by a of the place where the Minister General had died. The seal triangular crocketed gable. In the catalogue of the Bargello the should be kept in this way until the next General Chapter, at two saints are identified as St Clare to the left and St Francis to which the new Minister General would be elected.15 Only when the right. The representation of a frontally standing Francis the seal was too worn by use, was a new one produced. The with book in his left hand and cross in his right is one of the first surviving impression of the seal of a Franciscan Minister most frequent ways of representing the Saint, as for example in General is appended to a document issued in Dubrovnik on the panel from S. Francesco a Ripa in Rome22 and the panel of 9 September 1250. It consists of the confirmation of a notarial St Francis with four scenes of his miracles in the Museum of S. transcription of a papal deed issued some 130 years earlier, Francesco in Assisi, presumably dating to the decade namely a privilege of Calixtus II dating to 1121. So the Minister 1250–1260.23 General of the Franciscans John of Parma authenticated here Impressions of the second seal of the Cardinal Bishop of not a document he had written himself, but a notarial copy of a Porto and Sta Rufina, Matteo d’Acquasparta, by contrast, show papal document, and that means that his seal at this point in Francis with the book in his left hand and with his right hand time already possessed the publica fides and hence absolute raised (Fig. 4).24 Matteo d’Acquasparta was Minister General of credibility. A further impression of the seal of John of Parma the Franciscan Order from 1279 and Cardinal from 1288. His has survived in a deed of 1254: here the Minister General seal, which has already been subjected to several historical and confirmed an agreement reached two years previously art-historical investigations,25 shows an elaborate combination between the Guardian and Convent of Minorite Brothers in of, or interaction between, spatial and temporal planes in Ghent and the Benedictine Abbot and Monastery of St Peter in which Francis and a female saint beside him are, like statues Ghent, in which the right of the Franciscans to be buried is placed in niches, presented as representatives of the ecclesia recognised (Fig. 1).16 militans, and related to the devotional image represented The small seal of the Minister General represented, by above them: a scene of the Crucifixion between the mourning contrast, the central event in the life of St Francis, the figures of John and Mary. At the same time the seal is an stigmatisation,17 as exemplified by the papered seal of the example of how much the imagery on seals was indebted to Minister General Giacomo da Ancona in a document of 1536; it images in other genres of art: here an iconography borrowed is impressed in an extremely thin layer of natural wax with a from painting is presented as an image within the image. piece of paper laid over it.18 The seal of Bernardino da Siena The attribute of the book is common to so many saints that also represented the stigmatisation. Bernardino used it during it in itself is not enough to identify the saint as Francis.26 Nor is his period of office as Vicar General of the Franciscan the combination of book in the left hand and raised right hand, Observants in the years from 1438 to 1442 (Fig. 2).19 With these with the palm of the hand turned towards the observer,

92 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Sealed Saint

Figure 3 (left) Seal matrix of the Visitator of the Convents of the Order of Poor Clares (53 x 30mm). Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Inv. no. 260

Figure 4 (right) Impression of the seal of Matteo d’ Acquasparta, 2.8.1300 (55 x 40mm). Florence, Archivio di Stato, Indice dei Sigilli staccati, Inventario, no. 44

exclusive to representations of Francis. For St Dominic too is In his representation on seals St Francis, just like other represented in just the same way, as for example in the panel saints, is differentiated from a simple Franciscan friar by his painting now in the Fogg Art Museum, presumably dating to halo, but also by his frontal representation and hieratic stance, the mid-13th century,27 or on the seal matrix of the Prior of the which is often further underlined by placing the figure of the Dominicans in Bologna dating to the second half of the 13th saint in an aedicule and thus removing him (as it were) from century.28 Another Franciscan saint, Anthony of Padua, is also the dimensions of space and time. But there is an important often represented with book and raised right or left hand, as for difference in his representation. For in contrast to example in the frescoes in the choir of the church of S. representations of other saints on seals such as Dominic and Francesco in Gubbio, dating to soon after 1280.29 Here too St Benedict, in Francis’s case the hieratic stance is often Francis is frescoed, this time with the cross in his left and with alleviated, and the rigid frontal position relaxed, by a slightly his right hand raised. oblique pose. A distinguishing feature of his representation on So, St Francis is represented on seals, just as he is in other seals is also the contrapposto of his stance, whether implied or pictorial media, with changing attributes and gestures. With fully expressed. Its visualisation was also facilitated by the one essential difference: the Saint’s stigmata are not, or rather above-described characteristics of the Franciscan habit. For the cannot easily be, represented on seals, since the small format of lack of a mantle permitted the anatomy of the body to be more seals and their impressions made it almost impossible to clearly articulated, while the drapery folds created by the cord visualise them in this genre, with the exception of the wound girdle favoured a clear visual differentiation between the in the side which due to its somewhat larger format could also standing leg – the leg on which the weight of the body is be represented on seals. So how can Francis be identified on supported – and the free leg. The hip of the standing leg is seals? The answer to this question is simple, but not slightly projected outwards below the girdle, and the meaningless. It is the dress, namely the simple habit with hood, straightness of the leg visually reinforced by the perpendicular fastened round the waist with a cord, which differentiates falling folds of the habit. The free leg, by contrast, is three- Francis clearly from other saints. It is the cord round the waist dimensionally projected forwards from the supporting leg by that differentiates the Franciscan habit from, say, that of the the outward and lateral deflection of the drapery folds. The Benedictines, as can be seen in the example of the seal matrix Saint’s torso is often shown slightly backward leaning, and his of the Abbot of the monastery of S. Benedetto at Savignano30 or head turned towards the supporting leg. The effect of these that of the Prior and Chapter of the convent of Sta Croce at subtle changes in pose is to create the image of a more Monte Bagnolo. The Dominican habit admittedly is girdled like emotional, less impersonal saint: a saint closer to and more the Franciscan one, but the girdle remains invisible, being participative in the world of the observer. This pictorial effect is covered by the scapular worn over the habit; in any case, it is heightened even further than in paintings by the three- the mantle, not the habit, that is the distinctive feature of the dimensionality of the seal and also by the natural material of dress of the Dominican Order, as shown by the examples of the wax. seal matrix of the Priors of the Dominicans in Bologna dating to The contrast between the representation of a simple the second half of the 13th century31 and that of the Dominican Franciscan and that of St Francis himself can be shown by the Fra Bernardino, on which the Saint is shown, just like Francis, example of the seal matrix of Francesco de Ganebonis, on holding the book with one hand and blessing with the other.32 which is represented a simple Franciscan brother standing and

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 93 Wolff holding a book,33 and the seal matrix of Fra Cristiano from from the seraph’s feet are directed instead at the Saint’s head.45 Assisi, which shows a kneeling Franciscan and in its double The lack of the stigmata in representations of Francis in stone register the name of the seal owner and a motto from Paul’s has been largely explained by a possible coloured pigmentation Letter to the Philippians ‘Mihi enim vivere Christus est et mori that would have made them visible.46 Seals, like stone reliefs, (lucrum)’ (For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain) (Phil 1: are plastic works of art. The possibility of the stigmata being 21).34 represented, or accentuated, by pigmentation can be excluded Michel Pastoureau has drawn renewed attention to the however both in seal matrixes, which were mainly made of importance of dress in the Middle Ages, its hierarchising and bronze, and in wax impressions given their monochrome classifying role, and at the same time underlined the precision nature. and wealth of information that seal images give about Bascapè pointed out that Francis is represented on seals far medieval dress.35 In the life of St Francis, too, dress played an more frequently that other founders of Orders, such as St important, sometimes crucial role, beginning with his formal Dominic. Clearly the fact that the stigmata of St Francis’s hands renunciation of his father: a public act in which Francis and feet could not be directly represented on seals did not lead stripped himself of his clothing before the bishop and gave it to any renunciation of the Saint on seals. Francis on seals, as in back to his father.36 Later, in a phase of experimentation, he panel paintings, frescoes and in stained-glass windows, is a tried out various garments,37 including a hermit’s habit with a pictorial saint. leather girdle, a staff and shoes on his feet.38 Eventually he found his definitive habit; it was intended not only to bear a The hagiographical and theological interpretation of Francis likeness to the cross but also to crucify the flesh, in accordance as a sealed saint with Galatians 5:24.39 The third scene of the Life of St Francis in According to the hagiographical transmission of Thomas of the Bardi Altarpiece in Sta Croce in Florence, which follows the Celano and St Bonaventura, Francis wrote a first Rule for his hagiographical version of the Saint’s conversio in the Vita prima Order in 1209. It was compiled using simple words taken from of Thomas of Celano; this shows how Francis indicates the the Holy Gospels and was confirmed by Pope Innocent III, not cross-shaped habit laid out on the ground with a staff, while in in writing but by word of mouth.47 In 1223 Pope Honorius III the following scene he puts off the shoes from his feet.40 solemnly authorised a new and revised version of the That Francis can be recognised on seals solely on the basis Franciscan Rule in writing with his Bull Solet annuere,48 whose of his dress should therefore be understood not as a significance for the Order can be gauged from the fact that it is shortcoming, but as a distinction, for the dress is the visible still displayed together with its appended leaden bulla of the sign of the religious way of life that Francis chose for himself Pope in a chapel in the Lower Church of S. Francesco in Assisi.49 and his Order. In Thomas of Celano’s Vita prima the account of Already by the mid-13th century, Hugh of Digne, in his the Saint’s adoption of his definitive habit is thus followed by a commentary on the Franciscan Rule, interpreted the stigmata report on his preaching activity that had as its consequence the of the Saint as ‘authentic seal or bulla’, with which Christ had conversion of the first six brothers.41 ‘irrefutably’ confirmed the life of Francis in poverty, humility The lack of any representation of the stigmata can also be and obedience50 – an interpretation that Bonaventura accepted observed in part in representations of the Saint in sculpture. In in his canonical Legendae maior et minor vitae s. Francisci: ‘the the tympanum of the main portal of the church of S. Lorenzo in stigmata – says Bonaventura – was the seal of Christ, the Vicenza dating to 1342–44, Francis is represented to the left at supreme High Priest, with which he gave the Rule and its the side of the Madonna.42 The wound in his side is here author his divine approval’.51 The vision of the crucified seraph visualised by a rent in his habit, whereas no stigmata are to be in the figure of Christ, according to Bonaventura, not only seen on his hands. The Saint’s feet are hidden by his habit and enflamed the Saint’s soul, but sealed his body: ‘it left his heart in any case would not have been visible to the observer due to ablaze with seraphic eagerness and marked his body with the the height of the tympanum above ground level. The standing visible likeness of the Crucified. It was as if the fire of love had relief figure of St Francis on the tomb of Giovanni di first penetrated his whole being, so that the likeness of Christ Gherardino Ammanati (d. 1286), attributed to Giroldo da might be impressed upon it like a seal’.52 The metaphor of the Como, also lacks the stigmata on hands and feet, while the seal runs through both Bonaventura’s Lives of St Francis, but place where the wound in the side would be visualised is also his other theological writings.53 There he ingeniously hidden by the book that the Saint holds with both hands in combined the theme of the Saint having been sealed through front of his breast.43 Other figures of St Francis in stone, such as the stigmatisation with his interpretation of Francis as the the earliest surviving statue in the round in the church of S. angel of the sixth seal of the Book of Revelations (Apocalypse Francesco in Siena, dating to the early years of the 14th, by 6). Bonaventura’s sermon on Haggai 2: 24 (‘In that day, saith contrast, all too clearly show the stigmata. Here the Saint the Lord Almighty, I will take thee, O Zorobabel, the son of opens the rent in his tunic to expose the relief-carved wound in Salathiel, my servant, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a his side, while the stigmata in his hands and feet are seal: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord Almighty’) thus prominently represented by powerful nail heads of lead.44 The interprets Francis both as the second Zorobabel and the seal of majority of the representations of Francis in stone represent the God: ‘I wish to make you my seal. Francis treasured these scene of the stigmatisation in reliefs that – as far as we know – words, because visible holiness had distinguished him, as were intended for funerary monuments. However, the relief of became quite plain when the stigmata of suffering left their the stigmatisation that is now to be found at the entrance to the mark on him’.54 Matteo d’ Aquasparta, whose second seal as Chapel of the Stigmatisation in La Verna, and that dates to c. Cardinal Bishop of Porto I mentioned above, was a pupil of 1263, shows a Francis without the stigmata; the rays projected Bonaventura at the University of Paris.55 In his sermon on

94 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Sealed Saint

Genesis 1:27 – Creavit Deum hominem ad imaginem suam – he earlier written lives of St Francis such as Celano’s Vita prima, shows how Francis restored God’s image of man that had been the stigmatisation is transmitted as a vision of God in which destroyed by the Fall, by the example of the various genres of Francis sees ‘a man standing above him, like a seraph with six artefacts created by man, such as drawing (composition), wings, his hands extended and his feet joined together and sculpture, painting, seals and the technique of casting. The act fixed to a cross’. The stigmata only appear in a second phase, of sealing is here characterised as the vehement and powerful when Francis meditates on the meaning of the vision; only then impression of an image in another material. The vehement do the marks of the nails begin to appear in his hands and affection and compassion for the crucified Christ thus feet.65 So a clear chronological interval from the vision itself is transformed the body of Francis into the image (imago) and implied. In Bonaventura’s account, by contrast, the whole way likeness (similitudo) of Christ.56 Dante incorporated the of life of the saint is described as an ascensus spiritualis to God, Franciscan theology of the sealing of Francis of Assisi in his whose climax is represented by the stigmatisation.66 Here Divina Commedia, and disseminated it far beyond the Francis sees in his vision, while he is praying on the mountain Franciscan Order. In his reinterpretation Francis receives ‘the of La Verna, ‘a seraph with six fiery wings coming down from primal seal upon his Order’ from Innocent III, is circled with a the highest point in the heavens’. The vision descends and ‘second crown’ by Honorius III, and from ‘Christ receives the comes to rest in the air near him. ‘Then he saw the image of a final seal.’57 Man crucified in the midst of the wings, with his hands and Brigitte Bedos-Rezak has drawn attention to the feet stretched out and nailed to a cross’. It is thus recognisable significance of the seal metaphor in Byzantine theology and as Christ himself. Immediately after the vision of the Crucifix investigated, with particular reference to seals, the notion of has vanished, the Saint’s body becomes an image (effigies) in imago in Byzantine theology and in prescholastic France.58 I which the miraculous likeness of Christ’s wounds is impressed would like to point out another term that was of fundamental in his flesh. ‘There and then the marks of nails began to appear importance for the daily use of seals in the Middle Ages, and in his hands and feet, just as he had seen them in his vision of also for Franciscan theology. I refer to the word impressio, the Man nailed to the Cross’.67 which was the most frequently used term in the Italian Middle How this hagiographical shift in conception was translated Ages for the image on seal impressions or for seal impressions into painting has often been described in the art-historical tout court. Sealing clauses (corroborationes) in deeds and the literature. It was represented for the first time in the fresco of descriptions of seal impressions in notarial copies provide the Stigmatisation in the Franciscan cycle in the Upper Church repeated testimony of this.59 But impressio is also a basic idea of of S. Francesco in Assisi: here a crucified Christ with seraph’s Bonaventura’s theology, as for example in his teaching on the wings is represented instead of a seraph.68 Less attention, transcendentals. According to Bonaventura, who is here however, has been paid to the representation of Francis himself following the teaching of his master Alexander of Hales, the in the scene of the stigmatisation. As Julian Gardner has triune God leaves behind as causality a threefold impressio in shown, artists rapidly found such solutions as replacing the the Creation, so that its conformity to its primal origin can be saint’s praying gesture of the raised and clasped hands, usual deduced from it.60 The term of impressio and the metaphor of at the time, with the far earlier gesture of the orans with the the seal is also used by Bonaventura to explain the principle of palms of the hands exposed to the viewer.69 The orans gesture individuation: individuation, he argues, can be deduced of Francis in the stigmatisation scene however is visualised in neither from matter nor from the form alone, but only from very different ways: On the one hand, the Saint is represented their combination: it arises together out of the conjunction of with arms upraised and stretched out towards the Seraph, and matter with form, just as the seal cannot be duplicated without with his whole upper body following the upward-stretched wax, nor can wax be numbered unless by the impressions left movement, as we see it for instance in the St Francis panel of in it by diverse seals.61 Guido di Graziano in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena, or in The powerful presence of the seal metaphor in Franciscan Nicola Pisano’s relief in the Museo Civico in Pistoia.70 On the theology and hagiography may have influenced the other hand, the Saint is represented with his arms raised but iconography of seals itself, just as Bissera V. Pentcheva has bent at the elbows: here the torso is not stretched upwards, but shown for Byzantine theology and the iconographic type of the if anything pressed downward and backward instead, as in the ‘orans Virgin with the hovering medallion’.62 Such an influence fresco of the Stigmatisation fresco in the Upper Church or can be immediately grasped in the seal matrix of St Bernardino Pietro Lorenzetti’s fresco in the Lower Church of S. Francesco of Siena in the Museo Civico of Siena.63 It represents the in Assisi. The former pictorial solution underlines the active stigmatisation of the Saint. The interpretation of this event as role of Francis in the stigmatisation, his fervent prayer and his the Saint’s sealing by Christ is suggested by the legend of the enflamed love for the Seraph, while the latter presents the seal: signiasti domine servum tuum franciscum (Thou, O Saint as a passive recipient of the stigmata. It is clear that the Lord, hast sealed your [servant] (why []) Francis). To represent first pictorial formula, which underlines the active role of the the stigmatisation of the Saint in words or images was a Saint, is more suited for representation of the pre- difficult and complex undertaking both for hagiographers and Bonaventuran interpretation of the stigmatisation. The for artists on the grounds of the newness of this iconography pictorial solution, which accentuates Francis’s passivity, is alone. Texts and images recur in the first place to biblical more congenial, on the other hand, to expressing prototypes and thus mutually influence each other.64 In the Bonaventura’s interpretation of the vision followed written lives of St Francis, however, a significant immediately – statim – by the Saint’s sealing by Christ, which is hagiographical shift in the interpretation of this scene takes additionally visualised by the rays emitted from Christ’s place in Bonaventura’s Legenda maior et minor in 1260. In the wounds and which generate the stigmata in Francis’ body.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 95 Wolff

Figure 5 Impressions of the seals of the Guardian (42x25mm) and of the Franciscan convent of Villingen, 3.11.1403 (47x31mm). Germany, Archive Villingen, DD 16

The seal matrix of Bernardino of Siena follows the second S. Francesco al Prato in Perugia in 1403.76 The panel with the pictorial solution, for here we find represented the figure of Redeemer displaying his wounds was originally placed above Christ nailed to the cross, his body covered by the seraph’s Francis in the pose of the orant.77 wings, and Francis with arms bent at the elbows. His hands The popularity of the theme of Francis displaying his exposed in the gesture of the orant are struck by the rays, wounds on seals can be explained by the fact that this pictorial which in this image are emitted from the feet and right hand of solution permitted an unmistakable allusion to the stigmata, Christ. Yet here Francis is not kneeling, as he usually is in the thanks to the frontal exposure of the palms of the hand.78 But scene of the stigmatisation, following the iconographic scheme there is also a theological reason for it. For the pose of the of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, but shown standing symmetrically raised hands is at the same time the pose of the and in frontal pose, with his head turned to the right. One frontally posed Christ sitting in judgement, who presents his reason for the illustration of a standing, instead of the usually wounds, often flanked by the arma Christi as in numerous kneeling Francis, in the scene of stigmatisation could also have tympana of the 12th and 13th century, as for example in the been the elongated form of the seal. The enamel reliquary from tympanum of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostella dating the Louvre, which possible represents the earliest portrayal of to the mid-12th century.79 Christ sitting in judgement with Francis, shows just such a pictorial solution: it dates shortly raised hands is also represented on one of the enamelled after 1228 and was originally the property of a Franciscan panels of the Verdun Altar in Klosterneuburg Abbey (near convent in Palma de Mallorca.71 Vienna), while the surrounding inscription underlines the On the other hand, the illustration of the stigmatisation in relation to the Passion of Christ (‘Pro me passum videant iudex the stained-glass window of the Upper Church of S. Francesco quibus assum’).80 According to Emile Mâle, the iconography in Assisi of c. 1275, in which the seraph is represented, as in the goes back to Honorius Augustodinensis, ‘who said that Christ Louvre reliquary, separated from St Francis, shows that the would appear in the Judgement as he appeared on the Cross’.81 kneeling posture is quite compatible with a pronounced The parallelism between the stigmatised Francis and Christ vertical pictorial format. In my view, Bernardino of Siena chose at the Last Judgement can also be shown by the seals of the the standing pose for his seal because he wanted to privilege Guardian and of the Franciscan convent of Villingen, which another kind of representation of the Saint that had already have been preserved in impressions dating to 1411 and 1413 found great dissemination in seals in his time: I mean, the (Fig. 5). The seal of the Guardian represents Francis standing, representation of the frontally standing Saint with raised arms, and pointing to the place where the wound in his side was to be bent at the elbows, so that the palms of the hands are exposed found, while the seal of the convent represents the enthroned to the viewer. The Saint is represented in this way for instance Christ with the symmetrically raised hands, the cross between in the seal impression of the Sacro Convento di S. Francesco in his knees and the arma Christi.82 In a ceiling fresco in the Assisi from the year 1396.72 Van Os, who mistakenly dated the church of S. Francesco in Pisa, on the other hand, Francis seal to the period around 1300, saw Francis represented in it as himself is shown enthroned in a mandorla, with his raised alter Christus, as another, second Christ.73 Here it must suffice hands exposing the stigmata.83 to point out the ambiguity of the term alter Christus, which has This draws our attention to the eschatological meaning of a long tradition in hagiography and which is not limited to the seal metaphor in Franciscan hagiography, which Francis in pictorial representations.74 Jeffrey E. Hamburger has Bonaventura summed up in the passage cited above from his thus investigated the christomimetic images of St John the sermon on Haggai (chapt. 2, verse 24). Francis is not only Evangelist, who is at times represented as Christ sitting in sealed by Christ and thus in some sense the impression of God’s judgement and sometimes like Francis with raised hands.75 The own seal matrix: the Saint himself is transformed into a seal seal of the Sacro Convento was the forerunner of similar matrix who seals the members of the three Orders he founded, representations in panel painting, as initially on the rear side of in the last days before the Last Judgement. So Francis is for Taddeo di Bartolo’s polyptych for the high altar of the church of Bonaventura both a seal that is impressed on him and a seal

96 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Sealed Saint

Figure 6 Seal matrix of stigmatisation on funerary monuments: e.g. the tomb of a member Fra Perevano from Perugia of the Piccolomini Salamoneschi family in S. Francesco in Siena; (39x25mm). Florence, the relief fragment in S. Martino in Siena; and the funerary Museo Nazionale del monument of Catherine of Austria (d. 1323) in S. Lorenzo Maggiore Bargello, Inv. no. 303 in Naples, where the stigmatisation is represented on one of the two lateral gables. 4 Middeldorf Kosegarten 1993/1994, Teil 2, 495–506; Cook (1999, passim), presents only works sculpted in stone; Bartalini 2004 (2005), 12–41 and Bartalini 2005, 10–53 ff. 5 Guth (1983), for example, dealt with the seals of the Franciscan province of Strasbourg and Kingsford (1937) with English Francican seals. 6 Bascapè 1962; Bascapè 1978, vol. 2, 205 ff. 7 For the history and importance of the notary’s office in Italy, see for example Amelotti and Costamagna 1975; Schwarz 1973, 49–92; Meyer 1996; and Tamba 1998. For the connection between the office of notary and the cult of saints cf. Michetti 2004. 8 Decr. Gra. IX, II, 22,2: ‘Scripta vero authentica, si testes inscripti decesserint, nisi forte per manum publicam facta fuerint, ita, quod appareant publica, aut authenticum sigillum habuerint, per quod possint probari, non videntur nobis alicuius firmitatis robur habere.’ 9 ‘Dominus papa, videns eum cum abire, vocans eum dixit: O simplicone, quo vadis? Et beatus Franciscus respondit: Tantum sufficit mihi verbum vestrum. Si opus Dei est, ipse suum opus that is expressed on others (‘sigillum impressum et habet manifestare. De huiusmodi ego nolo aliud instrumentum, expressivum’).84 sed tantum sit carta beata Virgo Maria, notarius sit Christus et Against this background, it becomes clear what an effect a angeli sint testes.’ (Perugia, Archivio di Stato, Corporazioni seal matrix with the image of St Francis must have had, religiose soppresse, S. Francesco al Prato, perg. n. 58, rr. 10–12). The so-called ‘canon theobaldinus’, i.e. the bishop’s notification of especially if the Saint was represented in the scene of the authenticity of the Porziuncula indulgence, has come down to stigmatisation or presenting his wounds. On the seal matrix of us in several versions with different dates. The notification of the gilt bronze of Fra Perevano from Perugia dating to the first half Bishop of Assisi cited here is dated 10 August 1310, see Abbondanza 1973, 285–8, fig. 42; Sabatier 1900, LXIX–LXXIX, for the document of the 14th century the owner of the seal is represented as a conserved in Assisi. kneeling devotee in profile below a trefoil arch and with hands 10 Pratesi 1982, 13–14. clasped in prayer (Fig. 6). The object of his devotion is the 11 For the litterae confraternitatis of the Mendicant Order see Lippens scene of the stigmatisation of St Francis represented above 1939; D’Acunto 2005; and Villamena 1998–99. 12 Salimbene de Adam, Cronica, vol.1, 434–5: ‘Item iste frater him. Its representation on the seal translates into pictorial Iohannes de Parma fuit primis generalis minister qui recepit terms in a masterly way the vehemence of the impression of the devotos et devotas fratrum Minorum ad Ordinis bneficia, dando stigmata in St Francis’s flesh.85 The magnificently winged eius litteras sigillatas suo generali sigillo, per quas multi Deo et Ordini beati Francisci facti sunt miro devoti. Et forte fuit eis ista Christ-Seraph is represented with naked upward-flung arms concessio occasio vel causa dimittendi peccata et convertendi ad that project deep into the encircling legend, and with palms Deum, tum ex parte devotionis ipsorum, tum etiam quia fratres exposed to the viewer. He commands the centre of the upper pro ipsis ad Dominum oraverunt. (…) Forma autem litterarum, half of the image. Francis seems pressed down into the lower quam dabat, erat huiusmodi, mutatis vocabulis personarum et congruum erat. (…).’ right edge of the matrix by the appearance of the seraph and by 13 See, for example, Bartoli Langeli and d’Acunto 1999, 391. the rays he emits. He is represented kneeling in profile, and yet 14 Francesco d’Assisi 1982, 1c. 10, 25 (Dubrovinik, 9 September 1250 his torso is twisted in an almost frontal pose. The impression of (Dubrovnik, Historical Archive, Acta S. Mariae Maioris, 12th this matrix in wax metaphorically repeats the stigmatisation of century, n. 5). 15 Cenci 1990, 50–95, no. 3, 67: ‘Statuimus ut, ministro generali Francis, but at the same time produces an impression (an mortuo, sigillum ordinis cedula involutum, signata sigillis ministri imprint) of the image of the stigmatised Saint. et custodis loci, ab eodem ministro usque ad generale capitulum fideliter conservetur.’ 16 Francesco d’Assisi 1982, 1.c., 10, 25 (Ghent, June 1254 (Ghent, Notes Archives d’Etat, Chartes Abbaye de St Pierre, n. 644). I wish to thank Peter Spring for his translation of my paper into 17 Bascapè 1978, vol. 2, 209. English. The paper presents the first results of the research project 18 Il sigillo 1985, 191, no. 199b. ‘Siegel-Bilder’, carried out under the direction of Prof. G. Wolf, 19 Il sigillo 1989, no. 45 (Siena, Museo Civico, Inv. no. 77). Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck-Institut, and 20 Gardner (1975, 83) suggests that the choice of the scene of Prof. M. Stolleis, Max-Planck-Institut für Europäische Pentecost for the Minister General’s seal reflects the Mendicant Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt a. M. Orders’ usage of the Feast of Pentecost as the date of their general 1 See Vauchez 1968. Chapter. According to this thesis, the seal of the Superiors General 2 See Belting 1990, 427 ff. and English translation 1994, 377 for the of the Dominicans and Carmelites also had to show the scene of early panel paintings representing the saint as ‘Western cult Pentecost, yet the seal of the Minister General of the Dominicans, images’ or ‘icons’ developed in Italy soon after the canonisation of following the resolutions of the General Chapter of the St Francis in 1228. For representations of the saint in written and Dominicans in 1240, showed the scene of Christ on the Cross with painted hagiographical legends of the 13th century, see Wolff 1996 the Minister General at his feet (see Bascapè 1964, 65). The and Wolf 2002, 94 ff. for Francis as ‘vera ikon’ and 106 for the new significance of the scene of Pentecost for the Franciscans with manifestations of the ‘authentic image of sainthood’ in the panel reference to their preaching activity is also made clear by its paintings of St Francis, legitimated by the stigmata of the saint. central position within the fresco cycle in the Upper Church of S. Krüger (1992) interprets panel paintings representing St Francis as Francesco in Assisi on the entrance wall of the church and its ‘Beweisbilder der Stigmata’, i. e. images proving the truth of the reference to the scene of Francis preaching to the birds (see Wolff stigmata. 1996, 281–98). 3 The largest group represents reliefs with the scene of the

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 97 Wolff

21 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 1988, no. 485 (Inv. no. 260), 53 x 30mm. For the 45 For the relief see, for exampe, Krüger 1992, 160 and more recently Visitators cf. Moorman 1968, 98, 149 Cook 1999, 120–1, cat. no. 90. 22 Krüger 1992, cat. no. 12, 206–8. 46 See Cook (1999, 15) on the choice of the media he includes in his 23 Krüger, 1992, cat. no. 25, fig. 104. catalogue, and the meaning of Franciscan iconography in 24 Five impressions of this seal have been preserved. Two of them, sculpture, though here it is restricted to sculpture in stone. one broken, are appended to the decree and letter of the Cardinals 47 Vita prima, XIII, 32: ‘Videns beatus Franciscus quod Dominus Deus to Celestine V respectively dating to 5 and 11 July 1297, notifying quotidie augeret numerum in idipsum, scripsit sibi et fratibus suis, him of his election as Pope (Archivio Vaticano, AA.Arm. I–XVIII, habitis et futuris, simpliciter et paucis verbis, vitae formam et 2177–2178 in Mercati 1932, 2–9). A further impression is in the regulam, sancti Evangelii praecipue sermonibus utens, ad cuius Archivio storico comunale of Todi, appended to a letter of Cardinal perfectionem solummodo inhiabat. Pauca tamen alia inseruit, Matteo d’Acquasparta (dated Orvieto, 5 August 1297) to the Bishop quae omnino ad conversationis sanctae usum necessario of Todi (Todi, Archivio Storico Comunale, perg. IV, V , 27, see imminebant. Venit proinde Roman cum omnibus dictis fratribus, Niccolini 1982, 134, no. 77). Two further impressions are preserved desiderans nimium sibi a domino Papa Innocentio tertio quae in the collection of ‘sigilli staccati’ in the Archivio di Stato in scripserat confirmari. Vita prima, XIII, 33: Praeerat tunc temporis Florence and were originally appended to deeds of 27. 8. 1297 and Ecclesiae Die dominus Innocetius papa tertius (…). (…) bendixit 2. 8.1300 (Florence, Archivio di Stato, Indice dei Sigilli staccati, sancto Francisco et fratribus eius, dixitque eis: Ite cum Domino, Inventario, no. 183, 6. Seal impressions nos 39 and 44). fratres, et prout Dominus vobis inspirare dignabitur, omniubs 25 Gardner (1975, passim), examines the seal of Matteo d’Acquasparta poentitentiam praedicate’. Cf. Bonaventura, Legenda maior III, from a stylistic point of view within the wider group of cardinals’ 8–9, Legenda minor, II, 4: ‘Proinde ad ipsum praecipuam ex tunc seals of the late 13th century and sees in them a further proof that devotionem concipiens ac petitioni eius per omnia se inclinans, Rome was a flourishing centre of art in the later Duecento. Cioni approbavit Regulam, dedit de poenitentia praedicanda (1998, esp. 58 ff.) attributes the seal on the other hand to the mandatum, postulata tunc cuncta ac plura se concessurum in workshop of the Sienese goldsmith Guccio di Mannaia, while the posterum liberaliter repromisit.’ historian Werner Goez places the seal within the typological 48 Legenda maior, IV, 11. development of cardinals’ seals from their origins to the end of the 49 Rusconi 1994, 95–6. 15th century (Goez 1993). 50 Hugh of Digne, Expositio super Regulam fratrum minorum, 26 Cf. Wolff 1996, 187–96, on Francis with the attribute of the book as conclusio: ‘Ipse namque summus futurorum bonorum pontifex exemplified by the large central figure of the Saint in the Bardi Christus paupertatem et humilitatem praedictam, ore suo Altarpiece. dictatam; cupiditatis et fastus per quae plurium iam regularium 27 Krüger 1992, 76, fig. 141. statum subverti et montes in cor maris transferri conspicimus 28 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 1988, 250, inv. No. 2416, cat. no. 655, 250. The maxime repressivam; a sapientibus et prudentibus huius mundi ogival bronze seal (40 x 25mm) is dated to the second half of the absconditam, sed parvulus a patre luminum revelatam; in beato 13th century. parvulorum patre Francisco, contra calumnias impiorum qui 29 Blume 1983, 153 ff., fig. 35. mente corrupti perfectum divinae sapientiae opus ut fatuum aut 30 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 1988, 213, inv. no. 1614, cat. no. 542. The ogival perversum impugnant, auctentico excellenter suorum stigmatum bronze seal (56 x 35mm) is dated to the 14th century. signo bullaque irrefragabilter confirmavit. Ut ei nemo fidelis de 31 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 1988, 250, inv. no. 2416, cat. no. 655. cetero sit molestus.’ (cited in Flood 1979, 194–5). Flood and Paul 32 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 1988, 224, inv. no. 2585, cat. no. 572. The seal (1975) date the Expositio super Regulam around 1252/3, whereas inscription reads: * frisbernadiniordpdicatori. In the catalogue Brooke (1959, 221–22, 243, 258) and Sisto (1971) assume it was bronze pointed oval seals of this type are dated to the 13th century. written before 1245. 33 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 1988, 315, inv. no. 1687, cat. no. 833. The ogival 51 Bonaventura, Legenda maior, IV, 11: ‘Quod ut certius constaret bronze seal matrix (44 x 31mm) is dated to the 13th century. testimonio Dei, paucis admodum evolutis diebus, impressa sunt ei 34 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 1988, 226, inv. no. 2357, cat. no. 578. The small stigmata Domini Iesu digito Dei vivi tamquam bulla summi bronze seal matrix measures 36 x 24mm and presumably dates to Pontificis Christi ad confirmationem omnimodam regulae et the 13th century. commendationem auctoris, sicut post suarum enarrationem 35 See, for example, Pastoureau 1981, 70 and Pastoureau 1996, virtutum suo loco inferius describetur. See also Legenda maior 275–308. Demay 1880 wrote a costume history of the Middle Ages XIII, 9: ‘Fer nihilominus sigillum summi ponitifici Chrsiti, quo on the basis of seals. verba et facta tua tamquam irreprehensibilia et authentica merito 36 Vita prima Sancti Francisci, 273–424, cap. 15, 290: ‘Cumque ab omnibus acceptentur.’ perductus esset coram episcopo, nec moras patitur nec cunctatur 52 Legenda minor VI, 2: ‘Disparens igitur visio post arcanum ac de aliquo, immo nec verba exspectat nec facit, sed continuo, familiare colloquium, mentem ipsius seraphico interius depositi set proiectis omnibus vestimentis, restituite a patri.’ inflammavit ardore, carnem vero Crucifixo conformi exterius 37 Vita prima, 16, 291: ‘Iam enim cum semicinctus involutus pergeret, insignivit effigie, tamquam si ad ignis liquefactivam virtutem qui quondam scarulaticis utebat … (…) per plures dies in sola vili praeambulam sigillativa quaedam esset impressio subsecuta.’ camisia ….’ 53 See, for example, Bonaventura, Legenda maior IV, 10, and Legenda 38 Vita prima, 21, 296: ‘Quo in tempore quasi eremiticum ferens maior, XV, 8 on the translation of St Francis’s body: ‘Dum atem illle habitum, accinctus corrigia et baculum manu gestans, calceatis sacer transportaretur thesaurus, bulla Regis altissimi consignatus, pedibus incedebat.’ miracela plurima, ille cuiuis effigiem praeferebat, operari 39 Vita prima, 22, 297: ‘Solvit protinus calceamenta de pedibus, dignatus est.’ Bonaventura, Apologia Pauperum, III, 10 (VIII, 247): baculum deponit et manibus et, tunica una contentus, pro corrigia ‘Digne proinde huic pauperculo sacro (Francisco), qui funiculum immutavit. Parat sibi ex tunc tunicam crucis imaginem perfectionem Evangelii perfecte servavit et docuit, in apparitione praeferentem, ut in ea propulset omnes daemoniacas phantasias: seraphica stigmata sua tanquam sigillum approbativum Christus parat asperrimam, ut carnem in ea crucifigat cum vitiis et peccatis: impressit.’ parat denique pauperrimam et incultam et quae a mundo 54 Bonaventura, De S. Patre nostro Francisco, sermo I (in Opera IX, nullatenus valeat concupisci.’ 573–575)‘Assumam te, Zorobabel, fili Salathiel, serve meus, et 40 Cf. Wolff 1996, 154–9, figs 7 and 8. ponam quasi signaculum, quia te elegi, Aggaei secundo.’ (…) 41 Vita prima, 23, 297–8, cap. X: ‘De praedicatione Evangelii et ponam te quasi signaculum, quod multum patuit per impressa sibi annuntiatione pacis et sex primorum Fratrum conversione.’ stigmata passionis.’ 42 On the portal of S. Lorenzo in Vicenza cf. Wolters 1976, 32–9 and 55 On the life of Matteo d’Acquasparta see Longpré 1928, 375–89. more recently Bourdua 2004, 71–88. 56 Matthaei ab Aquasparta O.F.M. , S.R.E. Cardinalis Sermones de S. 43 The funerary monument is now in the Museo Civico in Pistoia, but Francisci, de S. Antonio et de S. Clara, ed. Gedeon Gá l O.F.M., presumably with a provenance from the church of S. Francesco in Quaracchi, 1962, Sermo II, 38: ‘Et quondam anima beati Francisci Pistoia. cf. Middeldorf Kosegarten 1993/94, 503; Cook 1999, 175–6, passionem Christi affectuosissime atque attentissime iugiter cat. no. 146; Bartalini 2004/2005 and Bartalini 2005, 40 ff. cogitabat, tantaque tamque vehementi affectione et compassione 44 Middeldorf Kosegarten 19934/94, 495–506; Cook 1999, 201–2, cat. imaginabatur Christum crucifixum, ut videretur sibi coram oculis no. 172. eius pati, factum est divina virtute, ut caro eius et corpus in

98 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Sealed Saint

eandem imaginem et similitudinem mutaretur atque in corpore 66 See, for example, Pompei 1979 and Bougerol 1984, 36 ff. suo imprimetur divinitus signacula Crucifixi.’ 67 Legenda maior, XIII, 3: ‘Cumque volatu celerrimo pervenisset ad 57 Dante, Paradiso XI: vv. 91–108: ‘ma regalmente sua dura intenzione aeris locum viro Dei propinquum, apparuit inter alas effigies / ad Innocenzio aperse, e da lui ebbe /primo sigillo a sua religïone. hominis crucifixi, in modum crucis manus et pedes extensos (…) di seconda corona redimita /fu per Onorio da l’Etterno Spiro / habentis et cruci affixos. (…) Disparens igitur visio mirabilem in la santa voglia d’eso archimandrita (…) nel crudo sasso intra corde ipsius reliquit ardorem, sed et in carne non minus mirabilem Tevero e Arno / da Cristo prese l’ultimo sigillo,/che le sue membra signorum impressit effigiem. Statim namque in manibus eius et due anni portarno.’ For the interpretation of St Francis in Dante’s pedibus apparire coeperunt signa clavorum quemadmodum paulo Divina Commedia, see Auerbach 1945, 166–79. For Dante and wax ante in effigie illa viri crucifixi conspexerat.’ see Casagrande 1997. 68 Neri 1924, 320–2; Frugoni 1993, 210–11. 58 Bedos-Rezak 2006. 69 Gardner 1972, 224. 59 See for example the description of the seal of Bernardino 70 Krüger 1992, 131–7; Cook 1999, 205–6, cat. no. 176. de’Porrina by the notary Gentile da Figline: ‘Aliud vero sigillum 71 Gauthier 1972, 371, no. 128. For the representation of Francis erat rotundum quod erat ex parte anteriori di cera rubea ex parte receiving the stigmata on the enamel reliquary from Limoges vero posteriori de alba, inter cirumferentiam litterarum cuius (1230) see Matrod 1906. According to Davidson (1998, 106), the sigilli erat impressio cuiusdam hominis sedentis in cathedra placement of the seraph overhead, and separation of Francis and tenentis ante se librum apertum super pulpito quasi legeret et seraph by a red line ‘serves to represent the temporal separation of tenentis manum dextram erectam et unum digitum elevatum the vision and the imprinting’, in correspondence to the quasi vellet per actum sive gestum aliquid innuere vel docere, qui description of the stigmatisation of Thomas von Celano in his Vita habebat capuzium in capite et mantellum foderatum de variis vel prima sancti Francisci. schirolis et guarnacciam in dorso. Circumferentia vero litterarum 72 Marioli 1985, 50–3, no. 12. A cast of this impression is in the Museo dicti sigilli talis erat scilicet: + S. Bernardini dicti Porrine de Francescano (Istituto Storico dei Cappuccini) in Rome (Inv. no. Chasulis doctoris legum.’ (cited in Dal Pino 2000, 77, n. 14). 879/31). 60 Alexander von Hales, Summa universale theologiae, I. n. 73 (in 73 Van Os 1974, St Francis, 123. Quaracchi edition, I, 115): ‘Secundum hoc, esse in creatura, quod 74 Walczak 2001. fluit a causa, triplicem sortitur impressionem, ut in 75 Hamburger 2002, see for example 61, fig. 51: John in Majesty, Bible, conformationead causam. Impressio ergo dispositionis in esse Chartres, c. 1140, Paris (Bibliothèque nationale, Ms. Lat. 116, fol. creaturae, secundum quam fit conformitatae ad efficientem 193r). I wish to thank B. Bedos-Rezak for referring me to causam, et unitas. (…) Item, impressio dispositionis, secudnum Hamburger’s study. quam fit in conformitate ad causam formalem exemplarem, est 76 See van Os, 1974 passim and Solberg 1992, 646–56. veritas. (…) Praetera, impressio secundum quod fit in 77 See Solberg’s reconstruction, op. cit., fig. 23. conformitate ad causam finalem, est bonum’. See also Gilson 1960, 78 Other examples of seals with Francis displaying his wounds are to 281. be found in the Museo Francescano (Istituto Storico dei 61 Bonaventura, I Sent, d3, p1, a2, q3, concl. (in Opera II, 109b): ‘Ideo Cappuccini) in Rome (no. 0879/46: Seal of the Commissario est tertia positio satis planior, quod individuatio consurgit ex generale della Famiglia Cismontana; no. 0880/11 seal of the actuali coniunctione materiae cum forma, ex qua coninctione Minister General of the diocese of Cologne; no. 0881/186 seal of unum sibi appropriat alterum; sicut patet, cum impressio vel the Guardian of the friar minors of Béthune; no. 0882/28 Seal of expressio fit multorum sigillorum in cera, quae prius erat una, nec the Vicar General of the Observants; 0882/296 seal of the sigilla plurificari possunt sine cera, nec cera numeratur, nisi quia Guardian of the Friar Minors of Vernon. fiunt in ea diversa sigilla’. 79 Sicart Giménez 2003, 120–9. 62 Pentcheva 2000, 34–55. See also Pentcheva 2006, 145 ff. 80 Buschhausen 1980. 63 The pointed oval seal matrix is in the Museo Civico of Siena 81 Cited after Garrison 1946, 218, n. 17. (Inv.77). It is made of brass and measures 46 x 29 mm; the seal 82 Archive Villingen, DD 16. Guth 1983, 191–225, nos 117–18. image is engraved. Il sigillo 1998, no. 45 83 Blume 1983, 75–6, fig. 171. 64 Amid a deluge of literature on the question see, for example, Neri 84 See, for example, Bonaventura, Collationes in Hexaemeron 1924, 289–322 and Frugoni 1993. (Collations of the Six Days), XXII,23 (in Opera V, 441): ‘Iste ordo non 65 Vita prima, 94 (Caput III): ‘ De visione hominis imaginem florebit, nisi Christus appareat et patiatur in corpore suo mystico. Seraphim crucifixi habentis (…) Cogitabat sollicitus, quid posset Et dicebat, quod illa apparitio Seraph beato Francisco, quae fuit hace visio designare, et ad capiendum ex ea intelligentiae sensum expressiva et impressa, ostendebat, quod iste ordo illi respondere anxiabatur plurimum spiritus eius. Cumque liquido ex ea debeat, sed tamen pervenire ad hoc per tribulationes.’ Ratzinger intellectu aliquid non perciperet et multum eius cordi visionis (1959) is fundamental for Bonaventura’s theology of history. huius novitas insideret, coeperunt in manibus eius et pedibus 85 Sigilli Mus. Naz. 236, inv. no. 303, cat. no. 614. The pointed oval apparere signa clavorum, quemadmodum paulo ante virum supra seal measures 39 x 25mm, the seal inscription reads: se viderat crucifixium.’ s`frisperevani d´perusio.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 99 ‘...in quella era unico al Mondo’: A Reassessment of Cinquecento Seal Engraving and the Seal Matrices of Lautizio Da Perugia Matthew Sillence

Introduction only eight exclusively so. The majority (41) were also known as The Florentine sculptor and goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini goldsmiths.4 (1500–71), furnished unprecedented biographical and technical A more recent study by Cioni further reveals that even the accounts of the creation of seal matrices in his autobiography, most prolific producers of seals did not build a career solely on or Vita (composed between 1558 and 1565), and a treatise one activity.5 Guccio di Mannaia (fl. 1288–1318), for example, entitled De’ Suggelli Cardinaleschi (‘On Cardinals’ Seals’), signed a chalice, and was probably responsible for other high- included in the editio princeps of the author’s Trattati, or quality enamelled metalwork.6 Lautizio di Meo de’ Rotelli was Treatises on Goldsmithing and Sculpture in 1568. In the Vita listed as a member of the company of goldsmiths of Perugia in Cellini mentions one Lautizio de’ Meo di Rotelli, a Perugian 1511 and was associated with the city’s Zecca (mint).7 He goldsmith also known as Lautizio da Perugia, who was executed the types of objects produced by Guccio two centuries allegedly ‘unico al Mondo’ (unique, or alone, in the world) in earlier, as these are mentioned in his will, drawn up in Perugia practising seal engraving professionally in Rome, adding in his on 20 November 1523. In the document, it is stated that Trattati that he ‘practised nothing else but the making of seals Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici (1478–1534) (later to become Pope for the bulls of cardinals’.1 Clement VII, 1523–34) was in debt to Lautizio for a gold and Over the last 150 years, several extant matrices, silver chalice, seals and other works that he had undertaken.8 impressions and casts of cardinals’ seals from the first quarter Forrer noted three works attributed to Lautizio, all portrait of the Cinquecento have been assigned to the Perugian, despite medals, which I have yet been unable to locate and examine.9 the fact that archival and stylistic evidence does not seem to One of these medals is said to represent Gian Lodovico Toscani, support these attributions. In fact, they actually appear to whom Giovanni Battista Rossi Scotti identified with the disprove Cellini’s account. It is not my intention in this article ‘ludovico’ in Lautizio’s will of 1523.10 This attribution seems to reassign seal matrices to known metalworkers. Instead, I distinctly tenuous as it was not based on any accepted ‘hand’ of intend to illuminate the stylistic variety of Cinquecento seal Lautizio. However, Cellini’s Trattati discuss the production of matrices and to support an argument for three distinct, but medals by goldsmiths,11 so it is possible that Lautizio had presently anonymous, producers of cardinals’ seals, whom I manufactured such objects as well. Although two centuries shall call the Viterbo/Passerini Engraver, the Medici/Vich stand between the works of Guccio and Lautizio, it is most Engraver, and the Della Valle Engraver. Through an likely that seal engraving at the beginning of the 16th century examination of the status of late medieval seal engravers and was still considered as one activity among many performed by Lautizio’s career, the documented payments to Lautizio for a goldsmith. Indeed, Cellini, himself a multi-skilled artist, is a cardinals’ seals, and stylistic analysis of their designs, I contend case in point, and though he considers Lautizio unique that Cellini’s writings have misrepresented the nature of seal (‘unico’), he still does not call him a ‘seal engraver’. production in his own day.2 Moreover, they have impeded art- 1511 provides a terminus post quem for Lautizio’s career as a historical enquiries through the fabrication of a distinctly goldsmith. He appears to have moved to Rome before 1523, for Renaissance image of artistic authority in the figure of Lautizio in his will of the same year he referred to several people he da Perugia. knew ‘in Urbe’ and works that he had undertaken there.12 It is, however, in 1525 that Cellini claims he knew the Perugian as an Identification and designation of seal engravers engraver of seals for cardinals.13 It is of course possible that The identification of seal engravers from historical documents Lautizio was back in Rome in 1525, as further sources, is possible, but provides an incomplete picture of the activity. published by Adamo Rossi in 1868, record Lautizio’s Of the metalworkers who operated in the late Middle Ages, involvement with printers in Perugia, and between 1524 and goldsmiths have most often been associated with seal 1525 a ‘Lautizio Perugino’ operated in Rome as a partner to production in records, as is evidenced by the records of the Ludovico Arrighi, a printer working for the papacy.14 It is Goldsmiths’ Company of London. For example, an ordinance of probable that this is the same person because we know from 1370 in the Company’s statute books was addressed to Benvenuto Cellini’s treatise on cardinals’ seals that steel ‘engravers of seals’ and its warden lists mention an Andrew punches were used to imprint specific details on the seal Sealgraver in 1334, a Robert Sealgraver in 1349, and a William matrix, such as hands and faces of the figures and characters Sealgraver in 1368, whose names probably reflect their for the seal legend.15 Punches of this sort were also employed in specialisation.3 the creation of printing glyphs for early presses.16 Evidence for specialisation can also be found in research No further records of Lautizio’s activities after 1525 have yet conducted by Forrer and Pinchart on metalworkers across been discovered. If he had been alive and in Rome during the Europe between 1300 and 1610. Among the 106 individuals sack of 1527, he may have been offered employment at the listed by the authors, 53 were referred to as seal engravers, but Castel Sant’Angelo as, it seems, were other goldsmiths

100 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals ‘...in quella era unico al Mondo’

Figure 1 The seal matrix (gilt-bronze) of Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici (1517) Figure 2 Seal matrix (gilt-bronze) of Cardinal Andrea Della Valle (1525?) (109mm x 70mm). Museo del Bargello, Florence. Photo: the author, reproduced (109mm x 72mm). Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Photo: the author, reproduced with permission from the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali with permission from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford including Cellini; it is even possible that he was killed during for several seals of Giulio de’ Medici because they were the turmoil, though this remains speculation.17 Thus Lautizio’s mentioned in the former’s will.21 However, it is by no means Roman period will be given as between 1511 and 1525, on the certain that he was the engraver of the matrix that survives in basis of surviving records. To discover whether Cellini’s the Museo del Bargello, Florence (Fig. 1), as it is not stipulated statement about the authorship of cardinals’ seals can be what type of seals these were, or indeed if any represented the trusted, it is necessary to establish if there is any documentary Cardinal’s three tituli: Sta Maria in Domnica, S. Clemente and evidence for the creation of cardinals’ seals in this period of S. Lorenzo in Damaso, so the use of the surviving matrix as Lautizio’s career. evidence of Lautizio’s hand is less secure than current scholarship suggests.22 The only other payment to Lautizio Evidence for Lautizio’s seal matrices which can be confidently connected to Giulio is that for a The only documented payments to Lautizio for seals are dated ‘sigillo dal piombo doro’ cited by Sheryl Reiss from the registers earlier than 1525. It was thought that the earliest was 7 March of Sta Maria Novella, dated 29 February 1524. However, given 1522, for two large, round seals and two small seals, which was the description and the date, this is more likely to have been found by Eugène Müntz in the household account books of the papal seal, or bulla, of his pontificate.23 Giulio de’ Medici.18 More recent examination has shown that To summarise, Lautizio’s documented seals were all these are not the account books of Giulio de’ Medici, but created before 1525. This might be expected if the goldsmith belonged to Francesco Armellini de’ Medici (1470–1527), a was indeed occupied in the printing trade between 1524 and Perugian who later became an honorary member of the Medici 1525. There might, then, be a case for dating Lautizio’s seal clan at the behest of Pope Leo X (1513–21) (Giovanni de’ Medici, engraving to a period before Cellini arrived in Rome because 1475–1521). In these same account books there is an entry dated the seals created for Francesco Armellini de’ Medici are the 10 November 1518, for ‘seals’ – it is not specified how many – but earliest, probably made for the Cardinal’s accession in 1517. The they appear to have had the combined value of 20 ducats.19 July consistories of Pope Leo X in 1517 greatly increased the These may have been created for Francesco’s first cardinalitial numbers of cardinals in the 16th century; in all, 31 were either title of S. Callisto, received 1 July 1517, though the delay in created or transferred to new tituli. Three other matrices were payment is perhaps unusual when payments for other forms of probably created for these consistories, namely those for Egidio metalwork appear in accounts during the summer of the same da Viterbo (1470–1532), Guillén-Ramón de Vich (1460/1470– year.20 1525) and Giulio de’ Medici, which has already been mentioned. As has already been noted, Lautizio was clearly responsible These matrices have all been considered as works by Lautizio,

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 101 Sillence

Catalogue title to go in here

Head Subhead 0 Object title Details here Description here

Figure 4 Illustration of the seal of Cardinal Silvio Passerini (c. 115mm x 70mm). Reproduced from D.M. Manni, Osservazioni istoriche di Domenico Maria Manni Figure 3 Metal cast (bronze) of the seal of Cardinal Egidio da Viterbo (1517) Academico Fiorentino sopra i sigilli antichi de’ secoli bassi (18 vols, Florence, (115mm x 76mm). Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Reproduced with permission 1739–44), vol. 13, sigillo VI, p. 57. Photo: © The British Library, All Rights from the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Reserved but their stylistic features have not been adequately addressed. examination of the treatment of the figure and drapery, the Thus the aim of the final section is to highlight their differences placement of the figure in fictive space, the positioning of the and similarities in order to demonstrate that these matrices exergue, and the treatment of the legend reveal significant were not the product of a single artist. differences between them.28 Firstly, the clothing of the figures appearing on the seal of Stylistic analysis of four cardinals’ seals Andrea della Valle is rounded and fuller, a contrast to the Passerini, Fortnum, Jacobsen, Pope–Hennessy and Avery have looser folds on Egidio da Viterbo’s seal. Secondly, the spatial attempted to reconcile several surviving cardinals’ seal treatment is different, for the semi-naked figure (possibly matrices and casts with Cellini’s account of Lautizio’s status intended to be St Sebastian) on the Della Valle seal appears to and works. The reasoning for this was that if a seal did not place his weight on his left leg, with his right leg slightly bent as seem to be by Cellini (whose hand is sufficiently well known), if moving forwards, thus emphasising the recession of the then it must therefore be by Lautizio da Perugia because, in fictive space. In contrast, the figure of St Nicholas of Tolentino Cellini’s words, seals ‘for the other cardinals of Rome […] were stands awkwardly with both feet appearing almost level, tilted nearly all from the hand of Lautizio.’24 The seal matrix of towards the viewer. Thirdly, the exergues of the two seals are Cardinal Andrea della Valle (1463–1534) (Fig. 2), for example, of different sizes, and on the Da Viterbo seal also incorporates a was assigned to Lautizio by Luigi Passerini in 1873 without narrow border which identifies the saints in the main scene. question and recourse to other seal designs.25 On 28 April 1885 Finally, though the legends are clearly similar, the Roman Charles Fortnum acquired the matrix from the auction of the capitals in the Da Viterbo seal are noticeably more compressed collection of Edward Cheney and included it in an article in and the inscription, which is bounded by a bead and reel which he attempted to revise previous attributions of four border rather than simple beading, continues into the exergue. 16th-century seals to Cellini. Like Passerini, he concluded that There are, I believe, sufficient differences in these details to ‘in the absence of more direct evidence, we may reasonably suggest that the two matrices were not by the same hand. attribute them to Lautizio da Perugia’.26 Fortnum also dated the Rather than persist in linking both seals with Lautizio and Della Valle matrix to 1517, when the Cardinal still held the title since neither may be his work, I propose more neutral of priest of Sta Agnese in Agone, even though he became attributions. The author of the seal of Cardinal Andrea della Cardinal Priest of Sta Prisca, as is clearly stated in the legend of Valle will therefore be known as the Della Valle Engraver.29 the seal, only in 1525.27 Fortnum assigned Della Valle’s seal to Egidio da Viterbo’s seal design is more problematic. I have the same group as that of Egidio da Viterbo (Fig. 3), but an been unable to trace a wax impression to verify the casts

102 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals ‘...in quella era unico al Mondo’

exergues occupy approximately the same space and use the same form of division from the main scene above; the coats of arms are of a similar size and the tassels of the cardinal’s hat are also rendered in the same way, though the hat itself has been treated differently.32 Moreover, the compositions, though clearly addressing two different subjects, demonstrate some consistencies, such as the use of figure groups and architecture to emphasise fictive space. Based on these similarities, I propose a final provisional author whom I shall call the Medici/ Vich Engraver.

Conclusion To conclude, I have argued that seal engraving during the late Middle Ages was not a discrete activity. The available sources from the 14th century seem to suggest that the production of seals was a specialised activity, but not a profession in its own right, and that this still seems to apply to metalworking in the 16th century. Taking a period in which Lautizio da Perugia can be considered active on the basis of documentary evidence, rather than Cellini’s account, I examined four seal designs belonging to cardinals. On the basis of stylistic analysis and the chronology of the cardinals’ tituli, I conclude that these designs should be assigned to three different hands: the Della Valle Engraver, the Viterbo/Passerini Engraver and the Medici/Vich Engraver. These attributions are provisional, and surviving matrices or impressions would be required to ascertain the authenticity of the seal designs of Guillén-Ramón de Vich and Egidio da Viterbo, which I have only examined from casts. The only way to verify the hand of Lautizio da Perugia in any of these designs, or indeed others that may come to light, would be by Figure 5 Metal cast (bronze) of the seal of Cardinal Guillén-Ramón de Vich (1517?) (107mm x 70mm). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Photo: the an examination of the seals of Francesco Armellini de’ Medici, author, reproduced with permission of V&A Images/The Victoria and Albert who paid Lautizio for four seals in 1522 (and, it should be Museum, London recalled, was like Lautizio, a Perugian). available in England, and I am not aware of an extant matrix A more precise definition of Lautizio’s style may ultimately either. However, Manni’s illustration of the seal of Silvio revise the designations of engravers I have presented here. One Passerini (1469–1529), Cardinal Priest of S. Lorenzo in Lucina can say with some certainty, though, that Lautizio was not (Fig. 4), shows clear similarities in composition, most ‘unico al Mondo’ as Cellini supposed, for he was evidently obviously in the use of an identical throne upon which the engaged in other activities, such as printing, and was certainly Virgin and Child are seated, with its distinctive dome-like not the only engraver of cardinals’ seals operating in Rome structure and flanking sphinxes, possibly intended to be the between 1517 and 1525. So why did Cellini get it wrong? The arm rests.30 The fact that Silvio Passerini, like Egidio da answer to this may lie in a literary device that the artist Viterbo, was created a cardinal by Pope Leo X in July of 1517, employed in his Vita and Trattati. Cellini constructed his own makes it plausible that they were the product of the same artist, artistic identity by casting a contemporary artist as a rival, who I will call the Viterbo/Passerini Engraver. firstly by establishing his specialisation (in this case, engraving Giulio de’ Medici’s matrix (Fig. 1) is significantly different seals), secondly, by emphasising his patrons (cardinals), thirdly from the two designs I have just examined, notably in its use of by highlighting his technical skills (the creation of the pictorial space. The scene involves a figure group in the middle matrices).33 Cellini then provides the reader with an example of ground, and features several musicians blowing with gusto his own work (he uses the seal he executed for Cardinal into their instruments. In the foreground is a kneeling figure of Ippolito d’Este II in 1539), and is careful to note the approbation the Virgin on the right, and an upright figure of St Lawrence on he received for it from his own patrons, as he states, ‘everyone the vertical axis. Off-centre, behind the figure group, is an said that I had surpassed the great Lautizio’.34 In order to excel architectural feature that creates the illusion of an expansive at seal engraving, Cellini needed a unique opponent against landscape beyond. The space allocated to the Cardinal’s arms is which he could demonstrate his superior skill and authority in much greater here. The seal matrix could stand alone as a goldsmithing and sculpture. As such an individual did not separate example of a different engraver’s work, but Michael exist, Cellini used Lautizio da Perugia, misrepresenting the Jacobsen has drawn attention to a plaquette of the seal of latter’s repertoire to bolster his own reputation. Although Cardinal Guillén-Ramón de Vich (Fig. 5) which could be Cellini’s account provides undeniably valuable details assigned to the same hand.31 regarding the production of seal matrices for cardinals, our In comparing the two designs, one can see that the unquestioning reliance on it has in fact obscured a number of

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 103 Sillence seal engravers working in Rome in the first quarter of the 16th Lautizio can be found in the colophons of at least 11 books printed century, whose careers now deserve our attention. in this period. Both men were sufficiently well known, it seems, to have deserved a passing mention by the character of Andrea in Pietro Aretino’s play of 1525, La Cortigiana: ‘Or be’, io son ricco se Notes voi me date de queste musiche. Le faro stampare da Ludovico 1 Cellini Vita 30 (Bull 1956, 40); Cellini Due trattati, fol. 24r (Ashbee Vicintino e da Lautizio da Perugia...’, (Act 1, scene 24) (Innamorati 1967, 61). 1970, 29). 2 My approach is informed by a study by Mark B. Garrison (1996) 15 ‘Come ciò’si sia fatto, intagli[an]do bene i detti membretti, that reassessed the value of stylistic analysis in Near Eastern stampinsi in quei proprij caui doue essi sono, cioè dette teste, mani, cylinder seals. The identification of certain common features in e piedi con vn martelletto con destri colpi bel Suggello.’ Cellini, these impressions, such as the modelling of drapery or the human Due trattati fol. 29r [sic] (actually 26r) (cf. Ashbee 1967, 65). In the figure, and their categorisation by such features, tends to be Middle Ages Theophilus briefly mentions punches in relation to diachronic (i.e., historical). However, a synchronic investigation, chasing tools (‘De ferris ad dvctile opvs aptis’) but not the shapes one that can isolate the producers of certain seal designs, is which would feature on them (Dodwell 1986, 71). Pastoreau 1986, possible by stylistic analysis of surviving impressions from the 515–22, at 517 notes that punches were ‘non seulement pour les same time and/or place. This method, called ‘hand attribution’, lettres de la légende mais aussi pour certains elements du type was developed by Giovanni Morelli (1816–91), a 19th-century (contour des écus, figures héraldiques, bâtiments et motifs Italian physician and art critic, and involves the observations of architecturaux, voire pièces du vêtement et de l’armement et minute details in a work that are considered the ‘signature’ of a même visages).’ For a useful discussion of Cellini’s alphabets, see particular artist. Von Flemming 2003, 59–98, pl. VI–VII, figs. 1–7 at 63. 3 Jefferson 2003, 126 and, for the names, 2, 32, 114. For the role of 16 See McMurtrie 1943, 229–38 for a useful discussion of the goldsmiths in making seals in medieval England, see Kingsford processes and materials involved in creating patrices and 1940. matrices, and more recently, light has been thrown on this area of 4 Pinchart 1858 and Forrer 1904–30. metalworking by Smeijers 1996, 55–62. Unfortunately on p. 60 the 5 The term ‘aurifex’ is most common. The phrase ‘Item… aurifici… author incorrectly quotes Cellini’s discussion of using punches in pro sigillo’ can be found relating to seal matrices by Pace di the context of making coins. The passage actually referred Valentino, Filipuccio, Uguccione, Tura di Bernardino, Ciato di originally to the finishing of seal matrices. Iacomo, Giano (son of Filipuccio), Meio di Gheri, Pietro di Simone, 17 Chastel 1983, 169–70. Viva di Lando, Ugolino di Vieri, Cecco Profete, Michele di Ser 18 The entry in Archivio di Stato, Rome Ms. Camerale I, appendice 18, Memmo and Turino di Sano who executed a range of seals for fol. 113r reads: ‘Marzo 1522 adi 7 rese alo m[aestr]o di Casa Pago a individuals and corporations between 1257 and 1410 (Cioni 1998, Lautitio / p[er] quatro [sic] sigilli dilo Car[dina]le Doi grandi Tondi 60). Lautizio was probably associated with goldsmiths who had / e Doi picoli stimati Julii Cinquanta sono d[uc] 6 – 6 – 20’ (Reiss been producing ecclesiastical and secular seals in Perugia in the 1992, vol. 1, 416). Reiss states that Müntz and Bascapé used a late 15th century. One Perugian family in particular – the Rossetti Registrum Expensarum Cardinalis in the Archivio di Stato in – is a case in point. Federigo Rossetti, in 1498, is recorded as Florence. It is in fact in the Archivio di Stato, Rome. It is possible working on a seal for a Jacopo Fumagioli, and Francesco di that one of these seals was actually created for Francesco’s title of Valeriano Rossetti ( fl. 1474–1509) is recorded as working on a seal camerarius. In the 15th century, Francesco Condulmer used his for the magistrati of Perugia. The Rossetti have received camerarial seal, which he makes clear in the sealing clause of substantial treatment in Angelucci 1853, 6, 8, 12–14 and recently Archivio Segreto Vatican MS. Fondo Veneto I 1048, date 11 July featured in Bulgari Calissoni 2003, 111–12. In this period, it was not 1438: ‘sigilli nostri camerariatus officii’. The seal legend simply unusual for goldsmiths who had originated and trained elsewhere reads: s : francisci : [...]pe : camerarii ·, and does not mention his in the Italian peninsula – often Florence, Milan and the region titulus of S. Clemente, which he had received seven years earlier covered by modern Umbria – to begin working in Rome, and some from Eugenius IV, but it is present in the incipit of the document. were evidently employed to engrave seals at the Curia. See, for Lodovico Trevisan also used the same phrasing in the sealing example, Müntz, 234 and 235, n. 2 where the author also provides clause, but his seal impression, attached to Archivio Segreto the example of Bernardino of Modena who received payment in Vaticano MS. Fondo Veneto I 1073 and dated 6 July 1443, reads: 1496 or 1497 for the seal of the receipts of the Camera Apostolica. s · lvd · cardinalis · aqvilign · dni · pape · camerarii, and does 6 Cioni 1998, 58–71. I am grateful to Prof. Elisabetta Cioni for acknowledge his status, if not his titulus. These seals are both discussing the activities of Guccio di Mannaia. illustrated in Martini and Lombardi 2004 under their respective 7 Angelucci 1853, 20, n. 76, who cites fol. 27 in the Biblioteca manuscript reference numbers. For a brief history of the office and Comunale Augusta di Perugia, Matricola dell’Arte degli orefici di title held by these men, see Felici 1940, 1–9. For a more recent Perugia, ruolo di porta S. Pietro for 1511; Vermiglioli (1816, 101, n. study, see Del Re 1998, 285–97. 258) dates Lautizio’s connection with another goldsmith called 19 The entry in Archivio di Stato, Rome Ms. Camerale I, appendice 15, Cesarino who was also working in the city to 1518–20. fol. 182v reads: ‘Adi 10 di novembre 1518 a Lauticio p[ro] sigillis d[u] 8 The will is located in the Archivio notarile di Perugia, c. 229. The c. 20.’ entry reads: ‘Item asseruit se debere consequi a S[anctissi]mo 20 References to metalwork, embellished with the Cardinal’s arms, Domino Nostro pontifice nuper electo vid[e] a R[everendissi]mo can be found in Archivio di Stato, Rome Ms. Camerale I, appendice D[omino] Iulio Car[dina]li de medicis ducatos centum 16, fols 106r–17v. quinquaginta de auro per ipsum debitos ipsi Testatori pro factura 21 See note 8 above. vnius Calicis auri et argenti et sigilli at aliarum operarum sui 22 The seal was illustrated and discussed in Passerini 1869, 95–8, pl. exercitij...’, (cited in Rossi Scotti 1872, 362). IV. The change of a cardinal’s title church should have involved the 9 Forrer 1904–30, vol. 3, 344 and vol. 4, 458. For further references creation of a new seal because the imagery in the main field in on Lautizio, see Theime-Becker, vol. 29, 83. It is worth noting that a earlier periods referred to his titulus, the saint to whom the church small, rounded oval portrait seal of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese was dedicated. However, it should be noted that by the 16th (1468–1549), dated to between 1524 and 1534, has been attributed century, many seal designs had ceased to focus on their owner’s to Lautizio (Benocci 1998, 105, no. 110). titulus. Caution is also advised when dating matrices that have 10 ‘Item similiter consequi debere occasione mutui facti per dictum been re-engraved, such as that created for Giulio de’ Medici, which Testatorem per manus Gasparis de modena et domini Sebastiani was adopted and modified by his cousin Ippolito (1511–35) after the de modena a comite ludouico rangono ducatos quindecim auri’ former had become pope. See Muzzi, Tomasello and Tori 1988, vol. (Rossi Scotti 1872, 363 and n. 2). 1, 21, cat. no. 33, pl. LXI. It was, somewhat unusually, reused by 11 Ashbee 1967, 72–8. Ippolito, Giulio’s nephew. The legend: iv: s: lav: in. dam pbr · car: 12 Rossi Scotti 1872, 362–4. de medicis bon: [...] n: legat: has been replaced by: hip. tt: s: lav: 13 Cellini Vita 30 Bull 40. in. dam: dia car. de. med: s:r:e: vicecan: perv: vmbr: q. zc: 14 Rossi 1868 cited in Rossi Scotti 1989, 105. Ludovico Arrighi legat[.]:. It is possible, from a slight change in character style, to (Vicentino) began his career as a papal scribe (‘scriptor brevium’), discern the deletion and re-engraved legend before the ‘car:’ and as noted in Frenz 1986, 401. See also Johnson 1958, 862 where after the ‘vicecan’. Muzzi, Tomasello and Tori believe that this

104 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals ‘...in quella era unico al Mondo’

correction was the cause of the soldering of a metal strip along the treatment of the figure that seem to correspond with the artist’s border, which is also now becoming slightly detached from the other metalwork, in particular his dies for coins and medals (most main body of the matrix. Though the authors do not explain recently see Avery 1999, 38–9). However, the matrix was probably exactly why this was necessary, one could posit the following created around 1517, when Cibo received the titulus of Sta Maria in procedure. Effecting changes to the legend would have been more Domnica which is rather too early to be a work by Cellini. The difficult with a border serving as an obstruction to a heated metal depiction of a boat relates very specifically to the church of Sta tool that may have been employed to erase the previous characters Maria in Domnica (also called La Navicella), in front of which and provide a tabula rasa ready to receive the punches with new stood (and still stands) a marble copy of a Roman sculpture of a letters. It is possible, therefore, that this process caused some boat installed by Leo X following the reconstruction of the church damage to the edge of the matrix, and the added border strip thus from 1513. The details of Cibo’s seal that are reflected in the seal of served to mask the marked surface. I am grateful for Sandy Cardinal Andrea della Valle concern the pose and treatment of the Heslop’s comments on the process of re-engraving legends. face and hair of certain figures; a representation of the Trinity, 23 Corporazioni religiose soppresse S. Maria Novella, 102, 327, c. 2 which appears in both designs; the size and shape of the armorial (cited in Reiss 1992, 416). The Bargello matrix is gilt bronze, not shield; the arrangement of the tassels of the cardinal’s hat in the lead. Though lead papal bullae were common in Europe, most exergue. surviving matrices that I have examined are bronze. 30 Manni 1739–44, vol. 13, sigillo VI, 57. It is also worth noting that 24 ‘...[gli] suggelli de’Cardinali di Roma, quali erano quasi tutti di Manni almost certainly based his illustrations on seal impressions, mano del sopraddetto Lautizio’, Cellini, Vita 185 (Bull 1956, 237). not casts. I am grateful to Dr Luca Becchetti of the Archivio Segreto 25 Waagen 1857, 174–5 and Passerini 1873, 265–70, pl. X, cited in Vaticano for discussing Manni’s work. Warren 1999, 74. 26 Fortnum 1887, 118–28 at 127, cited in Warren 31 On the Medici and De Vich seals, see Jacobsen 1978, 120–1. See also 1999, 74. I am grateful to Jeremy Warren for discussing Fortnum’s Reiss 1992, 417–18. collection with me and providing copies of published material. 32 Both seals are very similar in size (De’ Medici: 109 x 70mm, De 27 Fortnum 1887, 120. The Marian emphasis of the imagery refers to Vich: 107 x 70mm) and shape. Mandorla or vesica seals were most neither title specifically, but as no re–engraving of the legend can common for cardinals early in the 16th century. Rounded oval be discerned, I will assume that the latter date is correct. seals seem to appear after the period of this study. 28 Ibid. 120–1. 33 See Cellini, Dve trattati, fol. 1r–2r (Ashbee 1967, 1–6). For a useful 29 I am also convinced that the seal design of Cardinal Innocenzo discussion of Cellini’s attitude to contemporary artists, see Cibo (1491–1550), which survives in a gilt bronze plaquette in the Holman 2005, 512–75. Musée du Louvre, Paris, is by the Della Valle Engraver. The design 34 ‘...ognun diceva, ch’io avevo passato quel gran Lautizio...’, Cellini, has been attributed to Cellini on the basis of details of the Vita 185 (Bull 1956, 237).

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 105 Appendix Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Handlist

Introduction seal-die. The high relief impression it yields would have James Robinson immediately accorded wealth and importance on any The exhibition, Good Impressions: Image and Authority in document to which it was attached. Queens generally did not Medieval Seals, which ran from 11 January to 20 May 2007 drew seal in matters of state but restricted the use of their seals to almost exclusively on the British Museum’s very fine collection their own affairs and the disposition of their often considerable of medieval seal-dies. The handlist which follows this survey of wealth. The survival of this remarkable seal-die is due entirely the exhibition is illustrated for legibility’s sake largely by to the fact that it was buried with the young queen upon her modern impressions. Where individual items are referred to in death. The second seal owned by a queen is that of Joanna, the text, they are identified by their respective number in the daughter of Henry II of England (7.4). Joanna’s seal-die is silver display sequence in brackets. The Tonnochy catalogue number but of less high quality than Isabella’s both in terms of the alloy follows the departmental registration number. used, which is very brittle, and the quality of the engraving. The display was organised thematically to demonstrate the However, it too acts as an explicit advertisement of Joanna’s diversity of seal design and its importance as an indicator of pedigree. Her two marriages and her paternal relationship are status, power and authority. Cases were dedicated to the use of spelt out on this double seal-die. On the front she stands seals by religious foundations, bishops, royalty, the nobility crowned as Queen of Sicily through her marriage to William II. and townsfolk. The practice of using counterseals, the appeal Interestingly she chose not to refer explicitly to her first marital of classical gems and the proliferation of seals using images relationship in the legend which reads: s regine iohe filie connected with hunting and love were illustrated with equal qvondam h regis anglorvm (Seal of Queen Joanna daughter weight to convey the taste, refinement and humour which of Henry, the late king of England). On the reverse seal she is influenced the choice of materials, imagery and legend. shown seated, but not crowned. The legend describes her as The sheer range of topics covered acts as a measure of just Duchess of Narbonne, Countess of Toulouse and Marchioness how ubiquitous the act of placing a seal on a document became of Provence through her second marriage to Raymond VI, in the course of a few hundred years from around the close of Count of Toulouse. the 11th century to the turn of the 15th. The revolution which The use of silver for the manufacture of seal-dies was not occurred in sealing practices at this time led to a change in the restricted to royalty. Highly placed nobles were equally likely materials used to make seals. Seal-dies which had formerly to use silver as an expression of their status. They too would been made of ivory, jet or stone were increasingly crafted from employ the most accomplished goldsmiths to engrave the die, copper-alloy. This was chosen because it could be cast from perhaps occasionally offering an implicit challenge to the moulds in great numbers and its hardness produced greater authority of their king through the medium of material and definition in the engraving which allowed constant, repeated artistic excellence. Interestingly, one of the charges against the use. The 13th-century jet seal of William Fitzhamon (8.3) was treacherous Thomas of Lancaster who rose in insurrection featured in the exhibition as a lingering archaism to against Edward II in 1322 was that his seal was larger than that demonstrate this point. It stands in startling contrast to the of the King.1 A fine looking seal clearly carried implications and huge volume of mass-produced metal seal-dies that were so could have an impact much greater than the substance of the much more the character of the age. document to which it was attached. Seals were undoubtedly Of course, not all seal-dies were made from base-metal. about display and about the display of authority. In this respect, Many silver examples survive, the best quality ones firmly Robert Fitzwalter’s seal (8.1) says as much about his conflict associated with characters of note. Silver was an appropriate with King John as it does about his own wealth and prestige. material for royal seal-dies, for example, few of which survive Fitzwalter was one of the principle proponents of Magna Carta since they were usually destroyed upon the death of the and was intensely disliked by the King. His seal-die is of the monarch. The exhibition included two seal-dies which highest order, a tour-de-force of seal-die engraving which belonged to medieval queens. The first, owned by Isabella of conveys qualities of resolute strength in the figure of an Hainault, the bride of Philip IV of France who died in child- equestrian knight riding above a wyvern. Equestrian imagery birth at the age of 21, is truly exceptional. Dating from the was the common convention for the seals of noblemen from the period around 1180–90 it shows a standing queen holding a end of the 11th century. Significantly, Robert’s great political sceptre in one hand and a fleur-de-lys in the other (7.3). She is ally in the dispute against King John, Saher de Quincy, employs clad in fashionable robes in the classical style. The lightness of an almost identical design on his seal.2 Both knights broadcast the drapery is rendered with extreme confidence, revealing the their comradeship in arms by a display of the other’s heraldry. anatomy and suggesting movement as the left leg extends On the Fitzwalter seal, the chevrons of Fitzwalter decorate the slightly forward. The depth of engraving is striking and is caparisons of his horse and his shield while the arms of de made possible by the quantity of silver used to produce the Quincy are engraved on a second shield placed under the

106 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals The Handlist muzzle of the horse. where a lion boasts in Latin that he is strong: sum leo fortis Equestrian imagery was not the sole preserve of the male. (10.3), or in French that he is king of the beasts: je su rey de In the 13th century a number of influential women also chose beites.7 to represent themselves on horseback on their seals. The values Depictions on seals of the natural world, real or imagined, expressed by the equestrian female were very different from offer charming glimpses of a light-heartedness slightly at odds those communicated by the male. The emphasis is on leisure with the seriousness of business. Even the Sheriff of Oxford rather than action and grace rather than physical might. could not resist playing games with his seal and employed the Wealth and pedigree, however, remained an integral part of image of an ox at a ford beside the city walls to make a rebus on the image. When Joanna Stuteville is shown on horseback in Oxford (11.2). However, when it came to the representations of her seal of about 1265–75 she displays her patrimonial lineage cities on official city seals, the greatest dignity could be in a prominently positioned heraldic shield held in her left invested in their depiction. The 13th-century seal for Boppard- hand. Joanna was her father’s sole heiress and no reference is on-Rhine (11.1) is a superlative example of its type. It shows made to either of her two husbands in what appears to be a the cathedral in the centre rising above the city walls which statement of independent wealth.3 Occasionally, there is no encircle it. The Romanesque cathedral is engraved with such explicit, heraldic allusion to the elevated social rank of the verisimilitude that it appears entirely recognisable as the subject at all. Elizabeth Sevorc’s exemplary seal-die shows her building which still stands at Boppard today. The engraver’s perched daintily on a beautifully rendered, naturalistic horse management of perspective is admirable as he expresses the which moves out of the frame of the seal and intrudes into the recession of the city walls by removing details of the brick space occupied by the legend (8.8). Elizabeth is finely dressed work. This illusionistic device contributes to the sensation that in robes which gather in a multitude of folds about her legs. She the cathedral soars above the city almost in an element of its is shown hunting with a falcon in one hand and an eagle’s claw own. in the other which may be a family symbol. This, however, Medieval city life was both hectic and prosperous. The cannot be confirmed and no other visual attempt is made to administration of its affairs was complex and the seals which describe her family relationships. Her social position is clear. document it are suitably diverse. In England, they range from Hunting, after all, was the exclusive occupation of the deputed royal seals, which incorporate all of the panoply of aristocracy. The Latin legend describes Elizabeth as ‘lady of royal heraldry to the simple signs used by pursers (11.5), Sevorc’; she is not referred to as ‘daughter’ or ‘wife’. The vintners (11.7) and other tradesmen. The escalation of royal identity of Elizabeth of Sevorc is not certain. Sevorc probably bureaucracy meant that it was impossible for the king to be describes Sebourg in northern France and it has been present always when a transaction occurred that required his suggested that the seal belonged to Isabella of Hainault, wife of authority. Royal authority extended into English towns for Arnold V, Lord of Oudenarde who had considerable wealth and purposes of justice and defence but one area of particular property in her own right.4 The depiction of women on interest, because of the revenue it provided, was that of horseback may even be intended as an iconographic indication customs and excise. Wool was a huge asset to the English of economic independence. Elizabeth’s seal-die, like that of economy and Edward I was a keen supporter of the English Robert Fitzwalter, was clearly designed to make an impact. The textile industry because of its great profitability. The Customs engraving is executed with a lightness and freedom which is Seals that were devised under his reign were produced from rarely achieved on such a small scale. Furthermore, the seal- double seal-dies decorated with the royal coat of arms on both die was originally richly gilded and would have appeared to be sides (12.3). The emphatic use of royal heraldry was a means made of gold. of expressing the power of the king without him being present. Hunting was a privileged pastime but hunting imagery The King’s Great Seal, however, tended to imply his personal proliferated in seal design at a very popular level. The seals presence in the act of sealing. Its iconography was established carrying these images are often comic in their appeal and from the time of the Norman Conquest when William I chose illustrate the notion of the world turned upside down. an equestrian figure for the front of his seal and an image of Consequently an image of a hound ridden by a hare is the King enthroned on the back. Though this order was surrounded by a legend derived from a hunting cry, ‘sohov permanently reversed by his son, William II, and subsequent foreli’.5 Such seals were produced in vast quantities, monarchs, the imagery remained essentially the same. It particularly in the 14th century, and were most frequently not encapsulated the two basic qualities of medieval kingship: the personalised by the use of a name in the legend. Often termed king as the dispenser of justice, and the king as military hero.8 ‘banal’ seals for this reason, they serve as evidence that seal- Copies of the Great Seal were produced for felonious dies were marketed and bought ready-made for their novelty purposes from fake seal-dies, illustrated in the exhibition by a value. Many of the seals are given a voice in the legend. A seal 12th-century forgery of the back of Henry II’s second Great Seal which occurs in large numbers using the device of a squirrel, which was in use from 1171–74 (7.1). The forgery is made from for instance, has the English legend: i krak nots.6 Banal seals lead, a metal not appropriate for the production of a royal seal, are more inclined to use the vernacular in their legends and act and includes in its legend a misspelling of the Latin for as a further manifestation of increased vernacular writing Aquitaine. Security surrounding the use of seals led to an from the 14th century onwards. A series of seals using the motif increasing need for counterseals. Those most vulnerable to of lions in different guises demonstrates how Latin, French and fraud were the very rich in positions of authority with extensive English co-exist in popular seal usage at this time. A sleeping estates to manage. From the 1140s ancient Greek and Roman lion declares: wace [wake] me no man (10.5), with a hint of intaglios were set into gold or silver surrounds for use as menace which reinforces the legends on other leonine seals counterseals by the wealthy and well-educated. They signified

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 107 Robinson both taste and learning and presented the additional benefit of the martyrdom of Becket and uses as a pseudo-legend the not being easy to imitate. The Latin legends that surround words: optimvs egrorvm medicvs fit toma bonorvm them varied from the basic: sigillum secreti (Secret seal) (Thomas is the best doctor of the worthy sick).9 Ampullae filled (6.2), to the instructive: ponite literas istas insigl sillv with a mix of the blood of Becket and holy water were sold in secrt (Place your letters under a secret seal) (5.3). The latter large quantities as a remedy for sickness. Here seal imagery is legend is combined with a red jasper intaglio of the Roman invoked as a way of validating the power of the saint while, at Emperor Antoninus Pius (ad 138–61). The gem portrait is of the the same time, authenticating the contents of the souvenir. The highest quality and rarity and was undoubtedly recognised in power of seal imagery to suggest quality, authentication or the 13th century as an object of great virtue. Some legends refer legality probably remains as relevant today in the popular neither to the nature of the seal nor to the act of sealing, but consciousness as it did during the golden period of sealing, express instead an awareness of the gem’s iconography. When before the practice became outmoded by the use of signatures the owner of a seal incorporating a gem of Dionysus chose the in the 16th century. legend: jesus est amor meus (Jesus is my love), it was undoubtedly an implicit reference to the Eucharistic Notes resonances offered by the pagan god of wine (6.3). 1 Cherry 1997, 126 2 Harvey and McGuinness 1996, 44–6. A display case in the centre of the exhibition was devoted to 3 Ibid 49, British Library Cotton Charter xxix.63. an arrangement of objects which demonstrated the power of 4 Ellis and Cherry 1987, 377–8. seal imagery when used in contexts other than the sealing of 5 Tonnochy, cat. no. 753. documents. A pilgrim’s ampulla from Canterbury, cast in the 6 Ibid cat. no. 754. 7 Ibid cat. no. 742. round from a complex, five part mould, is decorated on the 8 Harvey and McGuiness 28. reverse with a vessica shaped design which places at its centre 9 PE 1921,2-16,62.

108 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 1 Churches and Monasteries

1.1 Seal from Chichester Cathedral Silver, England, 1200–40 P&E 1923,10-15,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 794) Churches and monasteries were wealthy institutions, able to afford seals made of precious metals. The style of building on this seal suggests it was copied from an earlier Anglo-Saxon seal. A document with a seal made from this die is now in the British Library (Cotton Charter xii 60). 1.1

1.2 Seal from Inchaffray Abbey Bronze, Scotland, 1300s Given by Sir Maurice Rosenheim P&E 1917,11-10,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 938). See Glenn 1999, 146–62. This seal is used to make a double-sided wax impression. The front depicts the patron saint of Inchaffray Abbey, St John, standing inside the building. On the back is his symbol, the eagle. 1.2

1.2

1.3 Seal from Langdon Priory Bronze, England, 1250–1300 P&E 1913,11-5,3 (Tonnochy cat. no. 844) This seal from Kent combines the patron saint of the of the priory, the Virgin Mary, with a scene depicting the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Cathedral there in 1170. 1.3

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 109 Handlist Section 2 Monasteries and Religious Seals

2.1 Seal from Boxgrove Priory Bronze, England, 1200–1300 P&E 1852,4-5,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 831) This is one of the most complex seal matrices from the Medieval period. It was used by placing layers of wax between each part. Pins fixed the parts together and pressure was applied by a roller. When the die was removed, the top layer of wax was carefully cut 2.1 away to reveal the figures below. A bar provided a second line of writing around the rim to hide the join.

2.1

2.2 Seal from Cottingham Abbey Bronze, England, 1322 P&E 1913,11-5,2 (Tonnochy cat. no. 841) The legend on this seal is in French rather than Latin which was commonly used on Church seals. It tells us that Thomas, Lord Wake, founded the abbey in 1322; his coat of arms appears on the front and images of himself and his wife on 2.2 the reverse.

2.3 Seal of the Salisbury Vicars Choral Bronze, England, probably 1800–88, copying a seal from 1270–1300 P&E 1920,10-28,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 813)

2.4 Seal from Knoll Collegiate Church White metal, England, 1396–1413 P&E 1838,12-32,12 (Tonnochy cat. no. 843)

2.3 2.4

110 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 3 Bishops’ Seals and Seals with Images of Saints

3.1 Seal of an unknown bishop Bronze, France or Germany, 1100–1200 P&E 1872,6-3,211 Bishops’ seals were often destroyed as a security measure, which may explain why this seal is broken.

3.2 Seal of Conrad II, Bishop of Hildesheim Bronze, Germany, 1246–49 P&E 1864,8-1,4 3.1 3.2

3.3 Seal of Agostino de Fieschi, Bishop of Sargona, Corsica Gilt bronze, Italy, 1510 Donated by John H. Rassweiler P&E 2004,10-5,1

3.4 Seal with an image of St Peter Jet, England, c. 1250–1300 Donated by Stanley Austin P&E 1922,11-11,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 921) 3.3 3.4

3.5 Seal with an image of St Andrew Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E 1838,12-32,11 (Tonnochy cat. no. 631)

3.6 Seal with an image of St Michael Bronze, Germany, 1300–1400 P&E 1887,7-6,20

3.5 3.6

3.7 Seal of Robert, Prior of Dover, with an image of St Martin Bronze, England, 1330–50 P&E 1872,5-20,17 (Tonnochy cat. no. 840)

3.8 Seal with an image of St John the Baptist Bronze, Germany, 1200–1300 P&E 1844,9-28,1 3.7 3.8

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 111 Handlist Section 4 Seals with Religious Imagery

4.1 Seal showing the Lamb of God Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E 1922,6-7,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 900)

4.2 Seal of Indulgence Gilt-bronze, Europe, 1400–1500 Sloane Bequest, P&E 1838,12-32,9 This seal was used by the hospital of St Peter in Bodrum (Turkey) to grant indulgences. 4.1 4.2

4.3 Seal showing the flagellation of Christ Bronze, Germany, 1250–1300 P&E 1875,1-20,36 This seal belonged to the Commander of the Teutonic Order of Knights in Werden.

4.4 Seal with the ‘Pelican in Piety’ Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E 1936,10-15,2 (Tonnochy cat. no. 596) 4.3 4.4

4.5 Seal showing Adam and Eve Bronze, England, 1300–1400 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E 1860,9-20,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 930)

4.6 Seal showing the Virgin and Child Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E 1923,1-10,2 (Tonnochy cat. no. 882) The guild of St Mary, who owned this seal, founded Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. 4.5 4.6

4.7 Seal showing a priest celebrating Mass Bronze, England, 1300–1400 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E 1889,5-7,32 (Tonnochy cat. no. 934)

4.8 Seal showing a deacon Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E 1838,12-32,22

4.7 4.8

112 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 5 Counterseals

5.1 Private counterseal of William de Luda Silver and gemstone, England, c. 1270–1300 P&E 1956,12-3,1

5.2 Impression of counterseal of Richard of Dover Parchment and beeswax, England, 1177 On loan from John H. Rassweiler 5.1 5.2

5.3 Seal showing Antoninus Pius Silver and red jasper, England, 1200–1300 Purchased with funds given by John H. Rassweiler P&E 2006,10-4,1 The high-quality intaglio represents Antoninus Pius who reigned as Roman emperor from AD 138–161. The Latin legend around the seal offers the advice: ‘place your letter under a secret seal’. 5.3

5.4 Seal showing Lucius Verus Gold and nicolo, England, 1200–1300 On loan from Messrs French and Terris Like the previous gem, this intaglio of Lucius Verus (reigned AD 161–169) is of high quality and in a precious metal mount. The legend reads: sigillum secreti, ‘secret seal’.

5.4

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 113 Handlist Section 6 Legends on Secret Seals

6.1 Seal of William de Bosco Silver and yellow jasper, England, 1200–1300 P&E 1956,12-3,3 This seal bears the name of William de Bosco, but after 1200 most users of secret seals did not include their name in the legend, using the Latin word for secret instead (secretum). The gem 6.1 represents the winged horse, Pegasus.

6.2 Seal with legend ‘secret seal’ Silver and sard, England, 1300–1400 Donated by John Henderson P&E 1878,3-20,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 703) The gem represents Mercury, the messenger of the gods, and was perhaps chosen for this reason.

6.2

6.3 Seal with legend ‘Jesus is my love’ Silver and sard, England, 1300–40 Donated by Trinity College Cambridge P&E 1923,5-8,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 897) The choice of an image of Dionysius, the god of wine, combined with the word ‘Jesus’ in the legend may refer to the celebration of Communion.

6.3

6.4 Seal with and the legend: ‘Who carries me fares best’ Silver and sard, England, 1300–1400 P&E1896,3-26,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 760)

The Roman intaglio of the god Hercules again seems to relate to the message of the legend.

6.4

114 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 6 Legends on Secret Seals cont.

6.5 Signet ring with the legend ‘I hide secrets’ Gold and sard, England, early 1300s Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks AF 558

6.5

6.6 Seal with legend ‘I am the seal of loyal love’ Silver and sard, England, 1300–1400 P&E1896,3-26,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 760); P&E1865,2-8,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 721)

6.7 Seal with legend ‘I write about unknown things’ Silver and carnelian, England, 1200–1300 Donated by Willoughby A. Littledale P&E 1925,2-9,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 765) 6.6 6.7

6.8 Seal with legend ‘I cover the enclosed secrets’ Gold and jasper, England, c. 1300–30 P&E 1881,3-2,1 This superb gem is medieval in date, and depicts a woman in fashionable contemporary dress.

6.8

6.9 Seal with legend ‘seal of love’ Silver and green paste, England, 1300–1400 Donated by Revd Dr Sparrow Simpson P&E 1875,2-1,12 (Tonnochy cat. no. 717) As this medieval gemstone depicts the Lamb of God, the sentiment is likely to refer to religious rather than romantic love. 6.9

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 115 Handlist Section 7 Royal Seals

7.1 Fake seal of Henry II Lead, England, c. 1170–1200 Donated by Captain Duncomb P&E 1854,7-19,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 4) Faking seals was a widespread problem. This fake seal in lead is a copy of Henry II’s second Great Seal. Henry spared one man from hanging for forging royal seals, but by c. 1200 the crime was strictly punishable by death. 7.1

7.2 Signet ring of Richard I Gold and glass, England, 1189–99 P&E 1962,11-1,1 The Latin legend describes this ring as the private seal of King Richard. The gem intaglio depicts Mercury and can be dated c. AD 400.

7.2

7.3 Seal of Isabella of Hainault Silver, France, 1180–90 P&E 1970,9-4,1 The carving and realisation of this silver seal are of extraordinary quality. Isabella, the wife of Philip II of France, died at the age of 21 in 1190. Her seal describes her as the Queen of France and was buried with her at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. 7.3

7.4 Seal of Joanna, daughter of Henry II of England Silver, England, pre-1196–99 P&E 1897,5-8,1&2 (Tonnochy cat. no. 5) Joanna became Queen of Sicily through her first marriage to William the Good. Her second marriage added the titles of Duchess of Narbonne, Countess of Toulouse and Marchioness of Provence. 7.4

116 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 7 Royal Seals cont.

7.5 Seal of the Prince of Wales (later Henry V) Bronze, England, 1408–13 P&E 1987,4-4,1 This seal was made for Henry when he was Prince of Wales. After Owen Glendower’s revolt against the English failed in 1408, Henry wanted to reinforce his power and control in Wales. His seal shows him in a position of authority as 7.5 the Lord of Carmarthen.

Section 8 Noble Lords and Ladies

8.1 Seal of Robert Fitzwalter Silver, England, 1213–19 P&E 1841,6-24,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 332) Robert Fitzwalter, shown fighting a dragon, was one of the barons who made King John attach his seal to Magna Carta. The shield of arms placed close to his horse belonged to his allies, the de Quincy family. 8.1

8.2 Seal of the Guild of St George Gilt-bronze, Italy, 1200–1300 P&E 1936,10-15,1 St George became very popular in Europe after the Third Crusade, 1189–92. This seal was used by the Guild of St George in Ferrara.

8.2

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 117 Handlist Section 8 Noble Lords and Ladies cont.

8.3 Seal of William Fitzhamon Jet, England, c. 1200–30 P&E 1978,1-2,1 Jet was never a common material for seals (it is a rare material and shatters easily); metal seals were preferred.

8.3

8.4 Mathilda Scalers Silver, England, 1200–1300 P&E 1920,4-15,8 (Tonnochy cat. no. 621)

8.5 Seal of Christine de Waig Lead, England, 1200–1300 Donated by Maurice Rosenheim P&E 1913,7-10,9 (Tonnochy cat. no. 627) Christine de Waig’s seal describes her as the daughter of Roger de Waig. 8.4 8.5

8.6 Seal of Mas, wife of Antonio Bronze, Italy, 1300–1400 P&E 1886,3-21,10

8.7 Seal of Eva Machenheimer Lead, Holland or Germany, 1400–1500 P&E 1875,1-20,35 Eva Machenheimer’s seal depicts the coats of arms of her husband’s family. 8.6 8.7

8.8 Seal of Elizabeth of Sevorc Gilt-bronze, France, 1260–1310 P&E 1987,1-3,1 See Cherry and Ellis 1987, 377–8. Women are rarely depicted on horseback on seals. Elizabeth of Sevorc is called ‘Lady Elizabeth’ in her legend. No mention is made of her husband or father and so it is possible that she had lands and wealth of her own. 8.8

118 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 9 Hunting and Love

9.1 Seal with legend ‘Think of doing well’ Bronze, England, 1200–1300 P&E 1936,10-15,3 (Tonnochy cat. no. 763)

9.2 Seal with legend ‘Alas, I am caught’ Bronze, England,1300–1400 P&E 1870,4-2,76 (Tonnochy cat. no. 748) These images depict hunting scenes but such legends could also refer to the pursuits of love. 9.1 9.2

9.3 Seal with legend ‘Seek hares in woods and pleasures in words’ Bronze, England,1200–1300 P&E 1986,6-6,1 The legend is a clever play on words as the Latin for ‘hare’ and ‘pleasure’ are similar.

9.3

9.4 Seal with an image of a rabbit Bronze, England,1300–1400 Donated by Mrs Way. P&E1910,2-9,4 (Tonnochy cat. no. 755)

9.5 Seal with legend ‘You have my heart, do not deceive it’ Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E1837,10-18,9 (Tonnochy cat. no. 733)

9.4 9.5

9.6 Seal with legend ‘Break, read, conceal’ Bronze, England 1300–1400 P&E 1987,4-3,13

9.6

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 119 Handlist Section 9 Hunting and Love cont.

9.7 Seal with legend ‘By the Cross, women are mad’ Bronze, England, 1300–1400 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E 1889,5-7,30 (Tonnochy cat. no. 762) The legend, in English, is an oath against women and may have been used on letters between men as a joke.

9.7

9.8 Seal of Windsor Castle Bronze, England, c. 1400 P&E 1858,2-18,3 (Tonnochy cat. no. 192) Stags were hunted in the royal forests, which were reserved for the king’s use.

9.9 Seal of Jacques de Chabanes, Knight Bronze, French, 1400–1500 P&E1889,5-12,1 9.8 9.9

9.10 Seal of Robert, called the Wolf Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E 1856,6-27,136 (Tonnochy cat. no. 614)

9.11 Seal of Robert Archer Bronze, England, 1300–1400 Donated by Mill Stephenson P&E 1927,2-16,11 (Tonnochy cat. no. 556) The images on both of these seals are rebuses on the owners’ names. 9.10 9.11

120 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 10 Exotic Beasts

10.1 Signet ring of the Percy family Gold, England, c. 1470–1500 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E AF771 Signet rings were used as counterseals, or private seals, for extra security. They were particularly popular from c. 1400. The lion on this signet was the family crest of the Percys. It is used here with 10.1 the motto ‘Now is thus’.

10.2 Seal of Giovanni di Sasolo Bronze, Italy, 1300–1400 P&E 1886,3-21,27

10.3 Seal with legend ‘I am a strong lion’ Bronze, England, 1300–1400 Donated by Mill Stephenson P&E 1927,2-16,5 (Tonnochy cat. no. 741) Lions, as fierce, noble animals were 10.2 10.3 favoured by knights as a sign of nobility.

10.4 Seal with legend ‘Shame on he who deceives’ Bronze, England, 1300–1400 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E 1865,12-20,91 (Tonnochy cat. no. 745)

10.5 Seal with legend ‘Wake me no man’ Bronze, England, 1300–1400 P&E 1889,8-3,6 (Tonnochy cat. no. 744) 10.4 10.5

10.6 Seal of John de la Pole Gilt bronze, England, 1484–85 P&E 1838,12-32,16 (Tonnochy cat. no. 208) This grand seal of John de la Pole declares him to be the nephew of Richard III. This is his seal as Earl of Lincoln and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The coat of arms at the centre is held by two yales. A yale was like a goat, with boar’s teeth and 10.6 coloured spots.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 121 Handlist Section 10 Exotic Beasts cont.

10.7 Seal of Criccieth Town Bronze, Wales, 1284–85 Donated by R H Wood, P&E 1900,6-11,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 172)

10.8 Seal of Walter the deacon Bronze, German, 1200–1300 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E 1877,7-6,35 10.7 10.8 Both seals depict wyverns, a type of two- legged dragon.

Section 11 Towns and Trade

11.1 Seal from Boppard-on-Rhine Bronze, German, 1228–36 P&E 1842,9-26,6 The seal of Boppard is a masterpiece of engraving with a representation of the city’s cathedral. Perched on the roof is a magnificent eagle. St Severus, the patron saint, stands in the gateway 11.1

11.2 Seal of Sir Gilbert Wace, Sheriff of Oxford Bronze, England, c. 1372–79 P&E1903,6-19,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 186)

11.3 Seal matrix of the Bridge Wardens of Rochester Bronze, England, probably1421 P&E1862,2-19,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 187) 11.2 11.3 See Cherry 2006, 233–6.

122 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist

11.4 Seal of the Tailors of Exeter Silver, England, 1475 P&E 1887,7-27,32 (Tonnochy cat. no. 177)

11.5 Seal of Thomas the Purser Bronze, England, c. 1300–30 P&E 1856,7-1,2226 (Tonnochy cat. no. 177)

11.4 11.5

11.6 Seal of Benedict the baker Lead, England, 1200–1300 P&E 1857,12-11,2 (Tonnochy cat. no. 161) This seal is much larger than the others but is made of lead which was cheaper.

11.6

11.7 Seal of Thomas the vintner Bronze, England, 1200–1300 P&E 1838,12-32,50 (Tonnochy cat. no. 168)

11.8 Seal of Matthew an English clerk Bronze, England, c. 1300–30 P&E1864,8-4,3 (Tonnochy cat. no. 163)

11.7 11.8

11.9 Seal of the Controller of the Herring Fishery Bronze, England, 1400–30 P&E 1838,12-32,47 (Tonnochy cat. no. 193)

11.9

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 123 Handlist Section 11 Towns and Trade cont.

11.10 Two seals Lead, England, 1200–1300 P&E 1856,6-27,125 (Tonnochy cat. no. 573); P&E 1863,2-10,2 (Tonnochy cat. no. 600) These simple seals are typical of those owned by large numbers of working men. They are engraved with flowers, stars and crosses. 11.10

11.11 Seal of Robert Witside of Dover Bronze, England, c. 1270–1300 Donated by Maurice Rosenheim P&E 1913,7-10,12 (Tonnochy cat. no. 634)

11.12 Seal of English merchants in the Low Countries Bronze, England, after 1462 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E 1880,6-24,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 156) 11.11 11.12

Section 12 Royal Authority in England

12.1 Seal of Richard, Duke of Gloucester as Admiral Bronze, England, 1461–62 P&E 1889,3-10,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 27) Richard is described in his seal as Admiral for Dorset and Somerset. He became King Richard III in 1483.

12.1

124 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Handlist Section 12 Royal Authority in England cont.

12.2 Royal seal for the Port of London Silver, England, 1272–1307 Donated by Lady Harriet Fellows P&E 1850,9-24,2 (Tonnochy cat. no. 34) Edward I was a great supporter of the English textile industry. This seal conveys his royal authority through the arms of England combined with four swords. 12.2

12.3 Seal for the delivery of wool and hides Bronze, England 1272–1307 Donated by the Lords of the Treasury and Mrs Piggott P&E 1842,12-32,8; P&E 1856,4-28,2 (Both Tonnochy cat. no. 137) Customs seals were two sided. Such seals were carefully controlled and carried the royal coat of arms for England on each 12.3 side. This seal is for customs duties in Carmarthen, Wales.

12.4 Official seal for the Wool Staple, Westminster Silver, England, probably 1393 Donated by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks P&E 1888,11-10,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 36)

12.5 Seal for subsidy on cloth Bronze, England, c. 1272–1307 12.4 12.5 P&E 1887,11-27,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 29)

12.6 Seal for labourers’ passes Bronze, England, 1388 P&E 1863,6-29,1 (Tonnochy cat. no. 191)

12.7 Seal of the Shearmen and Fullers Guild of the Nativity, Coventry Gilt-bronze, England, c. 1439 P&E 1989,6-4,1 This seal, granted by Henry VI, allowed the 12.6 12.7 guild to acquire property as a corporation.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 125 Bibliography

Abbreviations Primary sources Ant J Antiquaries Journal [Aelred of Rievaulx], Spiritual friendship, M.E. Laker (trans.) BAR British Archaeological Reports Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1977. BEFAR Bibliothèque de l’Ecole française de Rome [Alexander of Hales], Summa universale theologiae, B. Klumper et al. BL British Library (eds), Collegium S. Bonaventuræ, Quaracchi, 1924–48. BM Seals Birch, W. de Gray 1887–1900, Catalogue of Seals in the [Bonaventure], Legenda maior s. Francisci, Analecta franciscana sive Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 chronica aliaque varia documnta ad historiam fratrum minorum, vols, London tomus X: Legendae S. Francisci Assisiensis saec. XIII et XIV CRAI Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des conscriptae, Quaracchi, 1926–1941, 557–652. inscriptions et belles-lettres [Bonventure], Legenda minor s. Francisci, Analecta franciscana sive Collect. Top. et Gen. Madden F. , Bandinel B. et al. (and later J.G. chronica aliaque varia documnta ad historiam fratrum minorum, Nichols) 1834–43, Collectanea Topographica et tomus X: Legendae S. Francisci Assisiensis saec. XIII et XIV Genealogica, 8 vols, London conscriptae, Quaracchi, 1926–1941, 655–678. Decr. Gra. See Epistolae decretales Gratian, in Primary Sources [Bonaventure], Opera omnia S. Bonaventuræ Ad Claras Aquas, PP. below. Collegii S. Bonaventurae, 10 vols, Quaracchi 1882–1902. DMS Rahmquist, S. (ed.) 1999, Det medeltida Sverige 4:4, Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, Charles II, 1660–1661, M.A.E. Stockholm Green (ed.), London 1860. DN Diplomatarium Norvegicum I–XXI, Chr. C.A. Lange et Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, Addenda 1660–1685, F.H. al. (eds) Oslo, 1849–1976 Blackburne Daniell and F. Bickley (eds), London 1939. DS See Primary Sources below. Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, William and Mary, vol 1, DTC Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, A. Vacant and 1689–90; vol. 2, 1690–91, W.J. Hardy (ed.), London 1895–1906. E Mangenot (eds), Paris, 1903– Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series of the reign of Anne, 1702–1703, EHR English Historical Review 2 vols, R.P. Mahaffy (ed.), London 1916–1924. HUB See Primary Sources below. Calendar of Treasury Books, 1685–1689, vol. viii, four parts, W.A. Shaw JBAA Journal of the British Archaeological Assocation (ed.), London 1923. JHC Journals of the House of Commons Calendar of Patent Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office, J.B. Black KLNM Kulturhistorisk Leksikon for Nordisk Middelalder et al. and H.C. Maxwell-Lyte (eds), London, 1891 onwards. I–XXII, 1956–78 Carte Antiquae Rolls 1–10, L. Landon (ed.), Pipe Roll Society, London LStBp Linköpings stifts- och landsbibliotek, unpublished 1939. charter Cartulaire de l’abbaye de Saint-Corneille de Compiègne. Tome premier, LUB See Primary Sources below. C. Morel (ed.), Montdidier, 1904. NAS National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh Cartulaire de l’hôpital Saint-Jean de Bruxelles, P. Bonenfant (ed.), NLW National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth Brussels, 1953. NRA Det Norske Riksarkiv Cartulaire des Vaux-de-Cernay. Tome premier 1118–1250, L. Merlet and ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography A.Moutié (eds), Paris, 1838. PSA Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Cellini, Benvenuto, Dve trattati vno intorno alle otto principali arti PSAS Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland dell’oreficeria: L’altro in materia dell’arte della scultura; doue si RAp Riksarkivet, unpublished charter veggono infiniti segreti nel lauorar le figure di marmo, & nel gettarle Registrum Vitus See Liber S. Thome de Aberbrothoc in Primary Sources di bronzo, Florence, 1568. below. Cellini, Benvenuto, Vita di Benuenuto Cellini orefice e scultore RN Regesta Norvegica. Norsk Historisk Kjeldeskriftinstitutt, Oslo 1980, fiorentino... e dedicata all’eccellenza di mylord Riccardo Boyle, I – (in progress) Pietro Martello, Naples, 1728. ROLLR Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Chartulary of the abbey of Lindores, 1195–1479, L. Dowden (ed.), Rutland Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1903. ROMU See Andersen 1997. The Chartulary of the Priory of St. Pancras of Lewes, 2 vols, L.F. Salzman SD See Primary Sources below. (ed.), Sussex Record Society 38 (1932) and 40 (1934). Scots peerage J.B. Paul (ed.) 1904–14, The Scots peerage: founded on The chronicle of Henry of Livonia / Henricus Lettus, J.A. Brundage Wood’s edn of Sir Robert Douglas’ Peerage of Scotland; (trans. and ed.), New York, 2004. containing an historical and genealogical account of the Corpus Iuris Canonici, Pars Secunda. Decretalium Collectiones. nobility of that kingdom, 9 vols, Edinburgh Decretales Gregorii p[apae] IX, E.L. Richter and E. Friedberg (eds), Sigilli Mus. Naz. Sigilli nel Museo Nazionale del Bargello, I, Ecclesiastici, Leipzig, 1881. A. Muzzi, B. Tomasello and A. Tori (eds) 1988, Dante, Alighieri, La Divina Commedia, Vandelli, G. (ed.), Le opera di Florence. Dante. Testo critico della Società Dantesca Italiana, M. Barbi, E.G. SRP See Primary Sources below. Parodi, F. Pellegrini, E. Pistelli, P. Rajna, E. Rostagno, G. Vandelli Theime-Becker Theime U. and Becker F. (and later H. Vollmer) (eds) (eds), Firenze 1960, 443–798. 1907–1950, Allgemeines Lexicon der Bildenden Künstler The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Everyman’s Library edn, London, 1936. von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart begründt von Ulrich Diplomatarium Suecanum, J.G. Liljegren et al. (eds) 1829–, Stockholm. Theime und Felix Becker, 39 vols, Leipzig Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638, revised edn, Tonnochy Tonnochy, A.B. 1952, Catalogue of Seal Dies in the D.E.R. Watt and A.L. Murray (eds), Scottish Record Society, British Museum, London; abbreviated to Tonnochy Edinburgh, 2003. plus entry number in that catalogue [Giraldus Cambrensis], Itinerarium Cambriae, ed. R.C.Hoare, London, TNA The National Archives, Kew 1804. V&A Victoria and Albert Museum, London Gvillelmi Dvranti Rationale Divinorvm Officiorum, A. Davril, and T.M. Vita prima See Thomae Celano in Primary Sources below. Thibodeau (eds), Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaeualis CXL, Turnhout, 1995.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 127 Bibliography

Hansisches Urkundenbuch, K. Höhlenbaum (ed.) 1882–86, III, Halle. 1200–1400, J. Alexander and P. Binski (eds), Royal Academy, Historia et Cartularium monasterii sancti Petri Gloucestriae, vol. 2, London, 1987. W.H. Hart (ed.), London, 1865. Ailes, A.1982, The Origins of the Royal Arms of England: their Holmbäck, Å. & Wessén, E. 1962, Magnus Erikssons landslag development to 1199, Reading. (Rättshistoriskt bibliotek VI), Lund. Ailes, A. 1990, ‘Heraldry in twelfth-century England: the evidence’, in Holmbäck, Å. & Wessén, E. 1966, Magnus Erikssons stadslag D. Williams (ed.), England in the Twelfth Century: Proceedings of the (Rättshistoriskt bibliotek VII), Lund. 1988 Harlaxton Symposium, Woodbridge, 1–16. Inventaire sommaire des archives départementales antérieures à 1790, Ailes, A. 2000, ‘Armorial Portrait Seals of Medieval Noblewomen – Eure. Archives ecclésiastiques, Serie G, Evreux, 1886. Examples in the Public Record Office’, in John Campbell-Kease [Jocelin de Brakelond] Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds, D.E. (ed.), Tribute to an Armorist: Essays for John Brooke-Little to mark Greenway and J.E. Sayers (trans.), Oxford, 1989. the Golden Jubilee of ‘The Coat of Arms’, London, 218–34. [John of Salisbury], Historia Pontificalis, ed. R.L. Poole, Oxford, 1927. Ailes, A. 2002, ‘Heraldry in Medieval England: Symbols of Politics and Joinville and Villehardouin. Chronicles of the Crusades, M.R.B. Shaw Propaganda’, in P. Coss and M. Keen (eds), Heraldry Pageantry and (trans.) Harmondsworth, 1963. Display in Medieval England, Woodbridge, 83–105. Kancelliets Brevbøger 1561–5, L. Laursen (ed.), Copenhagen, 1893–5. Ailes, A. forthcoming. ‘Powerful Impressions: Symbols of Office and Laurentius’ saga. Byskupa sögur III, G. Jónsson (ed.), Reykjavik, 1948. Authority on Secular Seals’, in J. Cherry and A. Payne, Signs and Liber S. Thome de Aberbrothoc, Registrum Abbacie de Aberbrothoc Symbols: Harlaxton Medieval Studies for 2006, Stamford. 1178–1329, C. Innes and P. Chalmers (eds), Bannatyne Club, Ainsworth, P. 1990, Jean Froissart and the Fabric of History: faith, myth Edinburgh, 1848. and fiction in the Chroniques, Oxford. Liber Sancte Marie de Melros munimenta vetustiora Monasterij Amelotti, M., and Costamagna, G. 1975, Alle origini del notariato Cisterciensis de Melros (1124–1625), C. Innes (ed.), Bannatyne Club, italiano, Studi storici sul notariato italiano, 2, Rome. Edinburgh, 1837. Åmodt, O.H. 1981, Nidaros domkapitel fram til ca.1320, unpublished [Willelmi Malmesbiriensis Monachi], De gestis regnum anglorum, 2 M.A. dissertation, University of Trondheim vols, T.D. Hardy (ed.), Oxford, 1840. Andersen, M. 1997, ‘Endnu en samling nyfundne seglstamper fra [Matthaei de Afflictis] Matteo d’Afflitto, Decisiones sacre regii consilii Roskildes middelalder’, ROMU, Årsskrift fra Roskilde Museum Napolitanae, Lyons, 1532. 1996, 45, 137–54. Nevéus, C., Heim, S. and Westling-Karlsson, L. 1997, Medeltida Andersen, M. 2000, ‘Bispens sidste hvilested? Middelalderlige bispers småkonst, Skrifter utgivna av Riksarkivet 19, Stockholm. seglstamper fundet på kirkegårde’, Hikuin 27, 35–54. Recueil des chartes et documents de Saint-Martin des Champs. Tome II, J. Andersen, M. 2002, ‘Seglstamper fra middelalderen i danske Depoin (ed.) Paris, 1913. samlinger’, in Andersen and Tegnér, 59–72. Registrum Episcopatus Brechinensis cui accedunt cartae quamplurimae Andersen, M. & Tegnér, G. (eds.) 2002, Middelalderlige seglstamper i originales, 2 vols, P. Chalmers and C. Innes (eds), Bannatyne Club, Norden, Roskilde. Edinburgh, 1856. Anderson, A.O. 1922, Early Sources of Scottish History ad 500 to 1286, Registrum Monasterii S. Marie de Cambuskenneth, W. Fraser (ed.), 2 vols, Edinburgh, (republished 1990, M. Andersen (ed.), Grampian Club, Edinburgh, 1872. Stamford). [Richard Fitz Nigel], Dialogus de Scaccario. The Course of the Exchequer, Andersson, A. 1983, Medieval Drinking Bowls of Silver Found in Sweden, C. Johnson (ed. and trans.), with ed. and corr. by F.E.L. Carter and Stockholm. D.E. Greenway, Oxford, 1983. Andersson, H. 1990, Sjuttiosex medeltida städer – aspekter på Rotuli Chartarum in Turri Londinensi asservati, vol. 1, pars 1 stadsarkeologi och medeltida urbaniseringsprocess i Sverige och (1199–1216), T.D. Hardy (ed.), London, 1939. Finland (Rapport Medeltidsstaden 73), Stockholm. [Salimbene de Adam], Cronica, nuova edizione critica a cura di Angelucci, A. 1853, Della oreficeria perugina dal XIII alla prima metà del Giuseppe Scalia, Bari, 1966. XVI secolo: discorso letto nell’Accademia di Belle Arti di Perugia il The Statutes of the Realm… 1101–1713, A. Luder et al. (eds), 12 vols, giorno 18 settembre 1853, Perugia. London, 1810–28. D’Anisy, L. 1834–5, Extrait des chartes… dans les archives du Calvados, 2 Svenskt Diplomatarium fr. o. m. år 1401, C. Silfverstolpe and K.H. vols, Caen. Karlsson (eds) 1875–1904, Stockholm. Anon. 1913, ‘Sigilli ecclesiastici dell’Umbria della Collezione Svenska Riksarchivets pergamentsbref 1351–1400, N.A. Kullberg (ed.) Corvisieri’, Archivio per la Storia Ecclesiastica dell’Umbria 1, 1866–72, Stockholm. 92–100. [Symeon of Durham], Libellus de Exordio, D. Rollason (ed. and Anson, W.S.W. 1975, Mottoes and Badges, London. trans.),Oxford, 2000. Arbeiter A.1998, Alt-St. Peter in Geschichte und Wissenschaft, Berlin. Theophilus, The Various Arts: De diversis artibus, C.R. Dodwell (trans.), L’Art des Rois maudits 1998, L’Art au temps des Rois maudits, Philippe le Oxford 1986. Bel et ses fils, exhibition Grand Palais, Paris. [Thomae de Celano] Vita prima Sancti Francisci, E. Menestò and S. Ascarelli, F. and Menato, M. 1989, La Tipografia del ‘500 in Italia Brufani (eds), Fontes francescani, Assisi, 1995. (Biblioteca di Bibliografia Italiana, 116), Florence. [Thomas Elmham], Historia monasterii s. Augustini Cantuariensis, ed. Ash, M. 1990, ‘The Church in the Reign of Alexander III’, in N.H. Reid C. Hardwick, London, 1858. (ed.), Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III, Edinburgh, 31–52. [Thomas Walsingham] Historia Anglicana, vol. 1, ad 1271–1381 in Ash, M. and Broun, D. 1994, ‘The Adoption of St Andrew as Patron Saint Chronica Monasterii S. Albani, H.T. Riley (ed.), Rolls Series xxviii, of Scotland’, in J. Higgitt (ed.), Medieval Art and Architecture in the 12 vols, London, 1863–76. Diocese of St Andrews, British Archaeological Association Urkundenbuch der Stadt Lübeck II, ed. Verein für Lübeckische Conference Transactions for the year 1986, Leeds. Geschichte und Altertumskunde,1858, Lübeck. Ashbee, C.R. (trans.) 1967, The Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini on Goldsmithing and Sculpture, New York. Ashe, L. 2003, ‘The “Short Charter on Christ”: An Unpublished Longer Secondary sources Version, from Cambridge University Library, MS ADD. 6686’, Abbondanza, R. 1973, Il notariato a Perugia: mostra documentaria e Medium Aevum 72/1, 32–48. iconografica per il 16. Congresso nazionale del notariato, Perugia, Ashley, S. and Rogerson, A. 1998, ‘A Norfolk hundred seal matrix Rome. recently found in Kent’, Norfolk Archaeology 43, 180–1. D’Acunto, M. 2005, ‘”Litterae confraternitatis” degli ordini Auerbach, E. 1945, ‘St. Francis of Assisi in Dante’s Commedia’, Italica mendicanti’, in M. Borgolte and C. Damiano Fonseca (eds), 22/4, 166–79 Memoria. Erinnern und Vergessen in der Kultur des Mittelalters / Avery, C. 1999, ‘An “Assumption of the Virgin” by Benvenuto Cellini: A Memoria. Ricordare e dimenticare nella cultura del medioevo, gilt–bronze seal in the Wernher Collection’, Apollo 149/443, 34–9. Berlin, 389–405. Babb L. 1992, ‘A Roman jewel in a medieval seal’, Records of Adorsen, S. 2006, Skulptur fra Nidarosdomen under Håkon Håkonsson Buckinghamshire 34, 183–4. – med hovedvekt på Elefanttronen og Søndre korportal, unpublished Baethgen, F. 1934, ‘Beiträge zur Geschichte Cölestins V’, Schriften der M.A. thesis, University of Oslo. Königsberger Gelehrten Gesellschaft, Geisteswissschaften Klasse Age of Chivalry 1987, Age of Chivalry: Art in Plantagenet England 10/4, 267–317.

128 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Bibliography

Baethgen, F. 1960, ‘“Ein Pamphlet Karls I. von Anjou zur Wahl Papst documents de l’Ecole des chartes 34, Paris. Nikolaus’ III’, Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der Bautier, R.H. 1995, ‘Apparition, diffusion et évolution typologique du Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse 7, 18–22. sceau épiscopal au moyen âge’, in C. Haidacher and W. Köfler (eds), Baildon, W. Paley 1912–27, Baildon and the Baildons: A History of a Die Diplomatik der Bischofsurkunde vor 1250. La diplomatique Yorkshire Manor and Family, 3 vols, privately printed. épiscopale avant 1250. Referate zum VIII. Internationale Kongress Bain, J. 1881–8, Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland in the Public für Diplomatik, Innsbruck, 27 September–3 Oktober 1993, Record Office, Edinburgh. Innsbruck, 225–42. Bank of England 2003, Equivalent Contemporary Values of the Pound: A Bayart, P. 1949, ‘Consécration des Églises’, in R. Naz (ed.) 1935–65, Historical Series 1270 to 2004, London. Dictionnaire du Droit Canonique, 7 vols, Paris. Barber, M. 1994, ‘The Order of St Lazarus and the Crusades’, The de Blaauw, S. 1994, Cultus et Decor Liturgia e Architettura nella Roma Catholic Historical Review, 80/3, July, 439–56. Tardoantica e Medievale (Studi e Testi 355, 356), Vatican City. Barron, C.M. 1969, ‘Richard Whittington; the man behind the myth’, in Beaune, C.1991, The Birth of an Ideology: Myths and Symbols of Nation A.E.J. Holleander and W. Kellaway (eds), Studies in London in Late-Medieval France, S.R. Huston (trans.) and F.L. Cheyette History, London, 197–250. (ed.), Berkeley. Barron, C.M. 2002, ‘Chivalry, Pageantry and Merchant Culture in Beaune, C. 1997, Les Manuscrits des Rois de France au Moyen Age, Paris. Medieval London’, in P. Coss and M. Keen (eds), Heraldry, Bedos, B.M. 1980, Corpus des sceaux français du Moyen Age. T.1: Les Pageantry and Social Display in Medieval England, Woodbridge, sceaux des villes, Paris. 219–42. Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 1986, ‘The King enthroned, a new theme in Anglo- Barron, C.M. 2004, London in the Later Middle Ages, Oxford. Saxon royal iconography: the seal of Edward the Confessor and its Barron, C.M. 2004a, ‘The Political Culture of Medieval London’, in L. political implications’, in J.T. Rosenthal, Kings and Kingship, Clark and C. Carpenter (eds), Political Culture in Late Medieval Binghamton, New York (reprinted in Bedos-Rezak 1993, IV, 53–88). Britain, Woodbridge, 111–34. Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 1988, ‘Women, Seals and Power in Medieval Barrow, G.W.S. 1950, ‘An outline itinerary for Roger of Leicester’, France, 1150–1350’, in: M. Erler and M. Kowaleski (eds.) Women Unpublished Archive. and Power in the Middle Ages Athens/London, 61–82 (reprinted in Barrow, G.W.S. and Scott, W.W. 1971, The Acts of William I, King of Bedos-Rezak 1993). Scots, Edinburgh. Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 1990, ‘Towns and seals: representation and Barrow, G.W.S. 2003, Kingship and Unity, reprint of 1981 edn, signification in medieval France’, in B. Pullan and S. Reynolds Edinburgh. (eds), Town Life and Culture in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Barrow, G.W.S. 2003a, The Kingdom of the Scots, Edinburgh. Manchester, 34–47. Barrow, G.W.S. 2005, Robert Bruce and the community of the realm of Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 1993, Form and Order in Medieval France: Studies in Scotland. 4th edn Edinburgh. Social and Quantitative Sigillography, Aldershot. Barruol, G. et al., 1996, Ganagobie, Mille ans d’un monastère en Haute Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 1994, ‘Diplomatic Sources and Medieval Provence, Mane. Documentary Practices: An Essay in Interpretive Methodology,’, in Bartalini, R. 2004 (2005), ‘Nicola Pisano: un rilievo pistoiese e le origini J. van Engen (ed.) The Past and Future of Medieval Studies, Notre del sarcofago parietale’, Prospettiva 115/116, 12–41. Dame and London, 313–43. Bartalini, R. 2005, Scultura gotica in Toscana. Maestri, monumenti, Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 2000, ‘Medieval Identity: A Sign and a Concept’, cantieri del Due e Trecento, Milan. The American Historical Review 105/5, 1489–1533. Bartoli Langeli, A. and d’Acunto, N. 1999, ‘I documenti degli ordini Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 2001 ‘Une image ontologique: sceau et mendicanti’, in G. Avaracci, R.M. Borracini Verducii and G. Borri ressemblance en France préscolastique (1000–1200)’, Etudes (eds), Libro, scrittura, documento della civiltà monastica e d’histoire de l’art offertes à Jacques Thirion. Des premiers temps conventuale nel basso medioevo (secoli XIII–XV), Spoleto, 381–415 chrétiens au XXe siècle, Paris, 39–50 Bascapé, G.C. 1955, ‘Lineamenti di sigillografia ecclesiastica’, Scritti Bedos-Rezak B.M. 2005, ‘Signes d’identité et principes d’altérité au storici e giuridici in memoria di Alessandro Visconti, Milan. XIIe siècle’, in B. Bedos-Rezak and D. Iogna-Prat (eds), L’individu Bascapé, G. 1962, ‘Note sui sigilli dei Francescani (secoli XIII–XVI)’, au Moyen Âge, Paris, 43–7. Collectanea Franciscana 32, 146–64. Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 2006, ‘Replica: Images of Identity and the Identity Bascapé, G.C. 1964, ‘Iconografia dei sigilli e degli stemmi dei of Images’, in J.F. Hamburger and A-M. Bouché (eds), The Mind’s domenicani’, Memorie Domenicane 81, 65–75. Eye. Art and Theological Argument in the Medieval West, Princeton, Bascapé, G. 1978, Sigillografia. Il sigillo nella diplomatica, nel diritto, 46–64. nella storia, nell’arte, 2 vols, Milan. Bedos-Rezak, B.M. 2006a, ‘L’au-delà du soi. Métamorphoses sigillaires Bates, D. 2004, William the Conqueror, Stroud. en Europe médiévale’, Cahiers de civilisation médiévale 49, 337–58. Bateson, M. 1902, ‘The Creation of Boroughs’, EHR 16/66, 284–96. Bell, D.N. 1984. The Image and Likeness. The Augustinian Spirituality of Bateson, M. et al. (eds.) 1899–1974, Records of the Borough of Leicester: William of Saint-Thierry, Kalamazoo. being a series of extracts from the Corporation of Leicester, 7 vols, Belting, H. 1990, Bild und Kult. Eine Geschichte des Bildes vor dem London. Zeitalter der Kunst, Munich (English trans.: 1994, Likeness and Battelli, G. (ed.)1946, Rationes Decimarum Italiae nei Secoli XIII e XIV, Presence. A History of the Image before the Era of Art, Chicago and Latium (Studi e Testi 128), Città del Vaticano 3, Vatican City. London). Baumeister, T.1992. ‘Religionsgeschichtliche und kult-geographische Benocci, C. 1998, La collezione sfragistica: Roma, Museo nazionale del Aspekte der westliche Michaelsverehrung’, Memoriam Sanctorum Palazzo di Venezia (Bollettino di numismatica. Monografia 7), Venerantes Miscellanea in Onore di Msgr. Victor Saxer, Studi di Rome. Antichità Cristiana XLVIII, Rome, 11–19. Bertrand de la Grassière, P. 1960, L’Ordre Militaire et Hospitalier de Bautier, R.H. 1968, ‘Échanges d’influences dans les chancelleries Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem, Paris. souveraines du Moyen Âge, d’après les types des sceaux de Bihl, M. 1911, ‘De Capitulo Generali O.M. Metensi anno ad signando majesté’, CRAI, 212–20. deque antiquo sigillo Ministri Glis’, Archivum Franciscanum Bautier, R.-H. 1971, ‘Origine et diffusion du sceau de juridiction’, CRAI, Historicum 4, 425–35. 304–321 (reprinted in Bautier 1990, 1, 341–58). Birch, W. de Gray 1893–1905, A descriptive catalogue of the Penrice and Bautier, R.-H. 1984–9, ‘Le cheminement de la bulle et du sceau des Margam Abbey manuscripts in the possession of Miss Talbot of origines mésopotamiennes au XIIe siècle occidental’, Revue Margam, 6 vols, London. française d’héraldique et de sigillographie 54–9 (reprinted in Birch, W. de Gray 1887–1900, Catalogue of Seals in the Department of Bautier 1990, vol. 1, 123–66). Manuscripts in the British Museum, 6 vols, London. See also BM Bautier, R.-H 1989, ‘L’authentification des actes privés dans la France Seals in abbreviations above. médiévale. Notariat public et juridiction gracieuse’, Notariado Birch, W. de Gray 1907, History of Scottish Seals, Stirling. público y documento privado, de los origines al siglo XIV, 2 vols Bird, R. 1949, The Turbulent London of Richard II, London. (Valencia, 1989), v. 2, 701–72 (reprinted in Bautier 1990, 1, Bishop, T.A.M. and Chaplais, P. 1957, Facsimiles of English Royal Writs 269–340). to ad. 1100 Presented to Vivian Hunter Galbraith, Oxford. Bautier, R-H. (ed.) 1990, Chartes, sceaux, et chancelleries, Études de Björkman, R. 1917, Det forna Jönköping (Jönköpings historia I), diplomatique et de sigillographie Médiévales, 2 vols, Mémoires et Jönköping.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 129 Bibliography

Björnänger, O. 1960, Ur Köpings medeltidshistoria, Köping. Brouette, E. 1969, ‘Uberto’, Bibliotheca Sanctorum XII, Rome, 736–41. Blair, C.H. Hunter 1911–13, 1914–19. ‘Durham Seals’, Archaeologia Bulgari Calissoni, A. 2003, Maestri argentieri, gemmari e orafi degli Aeliana, 3rd series, 7–9, 11–16, 268–360 (vol. 7), 46–136 (vol. 8), Stati della Chiesa, Rome. 281–336 (vol. 9), 177–276 (vol. 11). Broustet, M.A. (ed.) 1997, La glyptique des mondes classiques. Mélanges Blair, C.H. Hunter 1922, ‘The seals of Newcastle-upon-Tyne’, en homage à Marie-Louise Vollenweider, Bibliothèque nationale, Archaeologia Aeliana, 3rd series, 19, 171–84. Paris. Blair, C.H. Hunter, 1923, ‘Seals of Northumberland and Durham, part Bruce-Mitford, R.L.S. 1974, Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology. Sutton 1’, Archaeologia Aeliana 3rd series 20, 69–186. Hoo and other discoveries, London . Blair, C.H. Hunter, 1924, ‘Seals of Northumberland and Durham, part Burr, D. 2001, The Spiritual Franciscans, University Park, Penn. 2’, Archaeologia Aeliana, 3rd series, 21, 38–120b. Burton, W. 1622, The Description of Leicestershire, London. Blair, C.H. Hunter 1918, ‘The Statute Merchant and the statute staple Burtt, J. 1869, ’Confirmation by Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury of seals of Newcastle York and Westminster’, Archaeologia Aeliana, the Church of Bexley, Kent… to the canons of the Priory of the Holy 3rd series, 8, 60–6. Trinity, London’, Archaeological Journal 26, 84–9. Blair, C.H. Hunter 1940, ‘The Mayors and Lord Mayors of Newcastle Bury, S. 1984, An Introduction to Rings, Victoria and Albert Museum, upon Tyne 1216–1940, and the Sheriffs of the County of Newcastle London. upon Tyne 1399–1940’, Archaeologia Aeliana, 4th series, 18. Special Buschhausen, H. 1980, Der Verduner Altar. Das Emailwerk des Nikolaus publication. von Verdun im Stift Klosterneuburg, Vienna. Blair, C.H. Hunter 1943, ‘Armorials upon English Seals from the Bynum, C.W. 1988, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance Twelfth to the Sixteenth Centuries’, Archaeologia 89, 1–26. of Food to Medieval Women, Berkeley and Los Angeles. Blancard, L. 1860, Iconographie des Sceaux et Bulles antérieure à 1790 Campbell, J. 2001, ‘Power and Authority, 600–1300’, in Palliser 2001, des Archives Départementales des Bouches du Rhône, Paris. 51–78. Bland, A.E., Brown P.A., and. Tawney R.H 1919, English Economic Campbell, M, 1998.‘Medieval Metalworking and Bury St Edmunds’, in History: Select Documents, New York. A. Gransden (ed.) Bury St Edmunds. Medieval Art, Architecture and Blom, G.A. 1956, Trondheim bys historie I, ca.1000–1537, Trondheim. Economy, (BAA Conference Transactions XX), 69–80. Blomkvist, N. 2005, The Discovery of the Baltic. The Reception of a Camille, M. 1992, Image on the Edge, The Margins of Medieval Art, Catholic World-system in the European North (ad 1075–1225), London. Leiden. Carocci, S. 1981, Baroni di Roma, Dominazioni Signorili e Lignacci Bloom, J.H.1906, English Seals, London. Aristocratici nel Duecento e nel Primo Trecento (Collection de l’Ecole Blume, D. 1983, Wandmalerei als Ordenspropaganda. Bildprogramme française de Rome 181), Rome. im Chorbereich franziskanischer Konvente Italiens bis zur Mitte des Carruthers, M. 2003, The Book of Memory, Cambridge. 14. Jahrhunderts, Worms. Casagrande G. 1997, ‘Cera nei poeti el Duecento e in Dante: Una Boardman, J. and Vollenweider, M.-L. 1978, Ashmolean Museum proposta per Rime 22 (LXIX), 7’, in A. Mastri (ed.) Ulysses: Studies Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Finger Rings 1.Greek and in Memory of Emmanuel Hatzantonis, Chapel Hill, 21–33. Etruscan, Oxford. Cenci, C. (ed.) 1990, ‘Constitutiones prenarbonenses’, Archivum Boase, T.S.R. 1933, Boniface VIII, London. Franciscanum Historicum 83, 50–95. Boase,T.S.R. 1953, English Art 1100–1216,Oxford. Chapman, M. Ll. 1998, ‘The Records of the Courts of Great Sessions for Bock, H. 1962, ‘Zum Tabernakelmotiv des 14. Jahrhunderts in England’, Wales’, in J. and S. Rowlands (eds), Welsh Family History a Guide to in Bandmann, G. (ed.) Der Mensch und die Künste, Festschrift für Research, 2nd ed., Aberystywth. Heinrich Lützeler zum 60.Geburtstage, Düsseldorf, 412–17. Chassel, J.-L. 1994, ‘L’usage du sceau au XIIe siècle’, in F. Gasparri (ed.), Bonnaud, J.L. 1997, ‘Le processus d’élaboration et de validation des Le XIIe siècle. Mutations et renouveau en France dans la première comptes de clavaire en Provence’, in K. Fianu and D.J. Guth (eds), moitié du XIIe siècle, Paris, 61–102. Ecrit et pouvoir dans les chancelleries médiévales: espace français, Chassel, J.-L. 1997, ‘L’essor du sceau au Xe siècle’, Pratiques de l’écrit espace anglais, Louvain, 241–53. documentaire au Xie siècle, Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des chartes 155, Bony, P. 2002, Un Siècle de Sceaux Figurés (1135–1235): Le Sceau image de 221–34. la personne en France d’Oїl, Angleterre, Ecosse et pays de Lorraine, Chastel, A. 1983, The Sack of Rome, 1527, B. Archer (trans.) (Bollingen Paris. Series no. 35, vol. 26, Princeton. The Book of Saints 1994, compiled by the Benedictine Monks of St Cheney, C.R. and Jones, B.A. 1986, English Episcopal Acta 11. Augustine’s Abbey, Ramsgate, London. Canterbury 1162–1190, British Academy, Oxford. Borrie, M.A.F. 1969–70, ‘A sealed charter of the Empress Matilda’, The Chenu, M.-D. 1925, ‘Authentica et magistralia’, Divus Thomas xxviii, British Museum Quarterly 34, 104–7. 257–85. Bougerol, J.G. 1984, Francesco e Bonaventura. La “Legenda Maior”, Chenu, M.-D. 1927, ‘Auctor, Actor, Autor’, Bulletin Du Cange 3, 81–6. Vicenza. Cherry J. and Ellis, R.H. 1987, ‘The seal matrix of Elizabeth, Lady of Bourdieu, P. 1991, Language and Symbolic Power, Cambridge. Sevorc’, Antiquaries Journal 67, 377–8. Bourdua, L. 2004, The Franciscans and Art Patronage in Late Medieval Cherry, J. 1991, ‘Heraldry as Decoration in the Thirteenth Century’, Italy, Cambridge. England in the Thirteenth Century: Proceedings of the 1989 Bourreau, A.1989, ‘Saint Georges et le dragon’, in J. Berlioz, C. Harlaxton Symposium, W.M. Ormrod (ed.), Stamford, 123–34. Brémond and C. Velay-Valentin (eds), Formes médiévale du contes Cherry, J. 1993, The Knight in Medieval England 1000–1400, Stroud. merveilleux, Paris. Cherry, J. 1997, ‘Medieval and Post-Medieval Seals’, in Collon 1997, Braibant, C., Meurgey de Tupigny, J. and Y. Metman, Y. 1957, Le 124–42. Centenaire de L’Atelier des Sceaux des Archives Nationales, Paris. Cherry, J. 1999,’Antiquity misunderstood’, in M. Henig and D. Plantzos Branner, R. 1977, Manuscript Painting in Paris during the Reign of Saint (eds), Classicism to Neo-Classicism: Essays dedicated to Gertrud Louis, Berkeley. Seidmann. BAR International series 793, Oxford, 143–7. Braunfels-Esche, S. 1976, Sankt Georg: Legende, Verehrung, Symbol, Cherry, J. and Henig, M. 2000, ‘Seals’, in P. Ellis (ed.), Ludgershall Munich. Castle. Excavations by Peter Addyman 1964–1972, Wiltshire Brentano, R. 1962, Two Churches. England and Italy in the thirteenth Archaeological and Natural History Society Monograph Series 2. century, Princeton. Devizes, 157–8. Bretton, R. 1962–3, ‘Seals of the Statute Merchant’, Coat of Arms 7, Cherry, J. 2002, ‘The breaking of seals’, in Andersen and Tegnér 2002, 203–5. 81–96. Brinchmann, C. 1924, Norske konge-sigiller og andre fyrstelige sigiller Cherry J. 2006, ‘Some Rochester Seals’, in S. Brown (ed.), Medieval Art fra middelalderen, Kristiania. at Rochester, BAA Conference Proceedings, 233–6. Britnell, R. 2006, ‘Town Life’, in R.E. Horrox and W.M. Ormrod (eds), A Chibnall, M. 1991, The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother Social History of Medieval England 1200–1500, Cambridge, 134–78. and Lady of the English, Oxford. Brittain, F.(ed) 1962, The Penguin Book of Latin Verse, Harmondsworth. Christensen, C.A. 1957–9, ‘Stig Andersens benyttelse af Valdemar Brooke, C. and Keir, G. 1975, London 800–1216: the shaping of a city, Atterdags segl og forudsætningerne for salget af Estland i 1346’, London. Historisk Tidsskrift 11, 5 vols, 381–428. Brooke, R.B. 1959, Early Franciscan Government, Cambridge. Christin, A-M. (ed.) 1998, L’écriture du nom propre, Paris/Montreal.

130 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Bibliography

Christin, A-M. 1998, ‘Présentation’, in Christin 1998, 7–16. Demus, O. 1984, Mosaics of San Marco in Venice, Chicago. Church and Art 1997, L. Árnadóttir and K. Kiran (eds), Church and Art – Déprez, E. 1902, Etudes de diplomatique anglaise de l’avènement the Medieval Church in Norway and Iceland, Reykjavik. d’Edouard Ier à celui de Henry VII (1272–1485). Le sceau privé. Le Cioni, E. 1998, Scultura e Smalto nell’Oreficeria Senese dei secoli XIII e sceau secret. Le signet, Paris. XIV, Florence. Deville, E. (ed.) 1912, Cartulaire de l’église de la Ste. Trinité de Beaumont- Clanchy, M.T. 1993, From Memory to Written Record: England 1066– le-Roger, Paris. 1307, 2nd edn, Oxford. Didi-Huberman, G. 1990, Devant l’image, Paris. Coldstream, N. 1994, The Decorated Style: Architecture and Ornament Didi-Huberman, G. 1994, St. George et le Dragon, Paris. 1240–1360, London. Didi-Huberman, G. 1995, Fra Angelico. Dissemblance et figuration, Collins. R, 1994, ‘Queens-Dowager and Queens-Regent in Tenth- Paris. Century León and Navarre’, in J.C. Parsons (ed), Medieval Diederich, T. 1980, Die alten Siegel der Stadt Köln, Cologne. Queenship, Stroud, 79–93. Dillon, J. (ed.) 1831, Inventory of the Ornaments, Reliques, Jewels, Books, Cockayne, G.E.C. (V. Gibbs et al. eds) 1910–59, The Complete Peerage, etc. belonging to the Cathedral Church of Glasgow, with observations London. on the Catalogue of Books, Glasgow. Collon, D. (ed.) 1997, 7000 Years of Seals, London. Douët d’Arcq, L. Cl. 1863–8, Inventaires et Documents publiés par ordre Cook, W.R. 1999, Images of St. Francis in Painting, Stone and Glass from de l’empereur: Collection des Sceaux, 3 vols, Paris. the Earliest Images to c. 1320 in Italy. A Catalogue, Florence. Dowden, J. 1899, ‘The inventory of Ornaments, Jewels, Relicks, Coss, P.R. 1983, ‘Literature and Social Terminology: The vavasour in Vestments, Service-Books , etc., belonging to the Cathedral England’, in T.H. Aston, P.R. Coss, C. Dyer, J. Thirsk (eds), Social Church of Glasgow in 1432, illustrated from various sources, and Relations and Ideas: Essays in Honour of R.H. Hilton, Cambridge. more particularly from the Inventories of the Cathedral of Coss, P. 1993, The Knight in Medieval England 1000–1400, Stroud. Aberdeen’, PSAS XXXIII, 280–329. Coss, P. 1995, ‘Knights, Esquires and Origins of Social Gradations in Driscoll, S.T. 2002, Excavations at Glasgow Cathedral 1988–1997, England’, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 6th series, 5, The Society for Medieval Archaeology monograph 18, Leeds. 155–78. Duncan, A.A.M. 1992, Scotland: the Making of the Kingdom, The Coste, J. 1995, Boniface VIII en Procès. Articles d’accusation et Edinburgh History of Scotland: vol. 1, Edinburgh. dépositions des témoins (1303–1311) (Publications della Fondazione Duncan, A.A.M. 1998, ‘St Kentigern at Glasgow Cathedral in the Camillo Caetani, Studi e Documenti d’Archivio 5), Rome. Twelfth Century, in R. Fawcett (ed.), Medieval Art and Architecture Coulon, A. 1912, Inventaire des Sceaux de la Bourgogne Recueillis dans in the Diocese of Glasgow, British Archaeological Association les Dépôts d’Archives, Musées et Collections Particulières des Conference Transactions XXIII, Leeds. Départements de la Côte-d’Or, de Saône-et-Loire et de l’Yonne, Paris. Dybdahl, A. 1999, Helgener i tiden. I. Vitnesbyrd om helgenkult i Courcelle, P.1967. La Consolation de Philosophie dans la Tradition Trøndelag. Senter for midd.stud. 10, Trondheim. Littéraire, Paris. Dybdahl, A. 1999a, ‘Noen fylkes- og lagtingssegl fra middelalderen’, Christin, A.-M. 1998, ‘Présentation’, in A.-M. Christin (ed.) L’écriture du Collegium Medievale 12, 37–56. nom propre, Paris/Montréal, 7–16. Egan, G. 1991, ‘Aulnage seals and national coinage’, British Numismatic Cronne, H.A. and Davis, R.H.C. 1968, Regesta Regum Anglo- Journal 61, 31–6. Normannorum 1066–1154, vol. 3, Oxford. Ehrle, F. 1888, ‘Die Spiritualen, ihr Verhältnis zum Franziskanerorden Crouch, D. 1986, The Beaumont Twins: The Roots and Branches of Power und zu den Fraticellen, 2’, Archiv für Litteratur- und in the Twelfth Century, Cambridge. Kirchengeschichte 4, 1–190. Crouch, D. 1992, Image of Aristocracy in Britain, 1100–1300, London. Ehrle, F. 1889, ‘Process über den Nachlass Clemens V’, Archiv für Crouch, D. 2002, ‘The Historian, Lineage and Heraldry 1050–1250’, in P. Literatur-und-Kirchen-Geschichte des Mittelalters, Freiburg, 61–79. Coss and M. Keene (eds), Heraldry, Pageantry and Social Display in Ellis, R.H., 1978 and 81, Catalogue of Seals in the Public Record Office: Medieval England, Woodbridge, 17–37. Personal Seals I and II, London. Crouch, D. 2005, The Birth of Nobility: Constructing Aristocracy in Ellis, R.H. 1986, Catalogue of Seals in the Public Record Office, Monastic England and France 900–1300, Harlow. Seals, 1, London. Dalas, M. 1991, Les Sceaux des Rois et de Régence, Paris. English Romanesque Art 1984, G. Zarnecki, J. Holt, and T. Holland Dalton, O.M.1912, Franks Bequest. Catalogue of the Finger Rings, Early (eds), English Romanesque Art 1066–1200, exhibition Hayward Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Mediaeval and later, British Gallery, London. Museum, London. English, B.1979, The Lords of Holderness: 1086–1260: A Study in Feudal Dal Pino, F.A. 2000, ‘I Frati Servi di Santa Maria e la Val d’Elsa’, Society, Oxford. Miscellanea Storica della Valdelsa, CVI, nos. 1–2 (285–286), 71–112. Eubel, C. 1913, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, Münster. Danbury, E. 1989, ‘The Decoration and Illumination of Royal Charters Evans, J. 1879, ‘Note on the seal of Joanna, Queen of Sicily, found at in England, 1250–1509: an Introduction’, in M. Jones and M.Vale Grandeselve Abbey’, PSA 2nd series, 8, 34–9. (eds.), England and her Neighbours 1066–1453: Essays in Honour of Evans, J. 1922, Magical Jewels of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Pierre Chaplais, London, 157–79. particularly in England, Oxford. Danbury, E. 1995, ‘Images of English Queens in the Later Middle Ages’, Evans, J. and Serjeantson, M.S. 1933. English Mediaeval Lapidaries, The Historian 46, 3–9. Early English Text Society, London. Daston, L. 1998, “Nature by Design,” in Jones and Galison 1998, 232– Ewald, W. 1914, Siegelkunde. Munich & Berlin. 53. Eyre, C. 1891, The Episcopal Seals of the Ancient Diocese of Glasgow, Davidson, A. 1998, ‘Miracles of Bodily Transformation, or, How St. Glasgow. Francis Received the Stigmata’, in Jones and Galison 1998, 101–24. Farmer, D.H. 1992, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Oxford. Davis, B.P. 1996, ‘Beating the Bounds Between Church and State: Farrer, W. (ed.) 1914–65, Early Yorkshire Charters, 12 vols (Yorkshire Official Documents in the Literary Imagination’, Essays in Medieval Archaeological Society), Edinburgh. Studies 13, 31–8. Faucon, M. 1882, ‘Les Arts à la Cour d’Avignon’, Mélanges d’archéologie Del Re, N. 1998, La Curia Romana: lineamenti storico–giuridico (4th et d’histoire, IIe année, 36–83. edn), Vatican City. Faussett, T.G.1860, ‘Exhibition of ring of Christine Almarici’, PSA 2nd Delisle, L. and Berger, E. (eds) 1916–20, Recueil des actes de Henri II series 1, 51–3. concernant les provinces françaises etc., Paris. Fawcett, R. 1996, ‘Current thinking on Glasgow cathedral’, in T. Tatton- Delle Donne, F. 2001, ‘Goffredo d’Alatri’, Dizionario Biografico degli Brown and J. Munby (eds), The Archaeology of Cathedrals, Italiani 57, Rome, 531–3. University Committee for Archaeology monograph 42, Oxford, Demay, G. 1873, Inventaire des sceaux de la Flandre, 2 vols, Paris. 57–72. Demay, G. 1875–7, Inventaire des sceaux de l’Artois et de la Picardie, 2 Fawcett, R. 2002, Scottish Medieval Churches – architecture and parts in 1 vol., Paris. furnishings, Stroud. Demay, G. 1877, Des pierres gravées employées dans les sceaux du moyen Felici, G. 1940, La reverenda camera apostolica: studio storico-giuridico, âge, Paris. Vatican City. Demay, G. 1880, Le costume au Moyen Age d’après les sceaux, Paris. Fett, H. 1903, ‘Studier over middelalderens norske sigiller’. Fortidsfor. Demay, G. 1881, La paléographie des sceaux, Paris. Årbok, 65–106.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 131 Bibliography

Fjordholm, O. 1996, ‘Seglet til Inge, av Guds nåde konge av Norge’, Gilson, E. 1960, Die Philosophie des hl. Bonaventura, P.A. Schlüter Collegium Medievale 9/1–2, 73–113. (trans.), Darmstadt (originally published as La philosophie de Saint Fleetwood, H. 1936–1947, Svenska medeltida kungasigill, Stockholm. Bonaventure, Paris 1924). von Flemming, V. 2003, ‘Gezähmte Phantasie: Cellini’s Entwürfe für Glenn, V. 1999, ‘Thirteenth-century seals – Tayside, Fife and the wider das Akademie-Siegel’, in A. Nova, and A. Schreurs (eds), Benvenuto world’, Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal 5, 146–62. Cellini: Kunst und Kunsttheorie im 16. Jahrhundert, Cologne, Glenn, V. 2003, Romanesque and Gothic – decorative metalwork and 59–98. ivory carvings in the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. Flood, D. (ed.) 1979, Hugh of Digne’s Rule. Commentary, Spicilegium Goez, W. 1993, ‘Über Kardinalssiegel’, in S. Glaser and A.M. Kluxen Bonaventurianum 14, Grottaferrata. (eds), Musis et litteris: Festschrift für Bernhard Rupprecht, Munich, Flood, D. and Paul, J. 1975, ‘Le commentaire de Hugues de Digne sur la 93–114. règle franciscain’, Revue d’Histoire d’Eglise de France 61, 231–41. Goodall, J.A. 1959, ‘The Use of Armorial Bearings by London Aldermen Forbes, A.P. 1874, The Lives of St. Ninian and St. Kentigern compiled in in the Middle Ages’, Transactions of the London and Middlesex the Twelfth Century, Edinburgh. Archaeological Society 20, 17–21. Forbes, M.D. 1928–30, Clare College 1326–1926, 2 vols, Cambridge. Gras, N.S.B. 1918, The Early English Customs System, Cambridge, Mass. Ford, D.A. and Henig, M.1998, ’Two medieval gem-set rings’, West Green, M.J. 1992, Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, London. Midlands Archaeology 41, 80–2. Greenhalgh, M. 1989, The Survival of Roman Antiquities in the Middle Forrer, L.S. 1904–1930, Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Coin, Ages, London. Gem and Seal-Enravers etc., Ancient and Modern, with Reference to Grévin, B. and Véronèse, J. 2004, ‘Les caractères magiques au Moyen their Works (8 vols.), London. Age (XIIe–XIVe siècle)’, Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des chartes 162, 305– Fortnum, C.D.E. 1885, ‘Notice of a few more Early Christian gems’, 79. Archaeological Journal 42, 159–70. Griffiths, R. 1981, The reign of King Henry VI: the exercise of authority, Fortnum, C.D.E. 1887, ‘The seal of Cardinal Andrea della Valle, ad 1517, 1422–61, London. with remarks on some other cardinals’ seals of that period ascribed Grinder-Hansen, K. and Posselt, G. (eds) 1992, Danmarks to Lautizio da Perugia and to Cellini’, Archaeologia 50, 118–28. middelalderlige skattefund c. 1050–c. 1550, Nordiske Fortisminder, Fox-Davies, A.C. 1993, A Complete Guide to Heraldry (1929, reprinted Serie B. Bind 12,1 and 12,2, Copenhagen. 1993), London. Guenée, B. 1981, ‘Authentique et approuvé: recherches sur les principes Fraenkel, B. 1992, La signature. Genèse d’un signe, Paris. de la critique historique au Moyen Age,” La lexicographie du latin Fraenkel, B. 1998 ‘La signature comme exposé du nom propre’, in médiéval et ses rapports avec les recherches actuelles sur la Christin 1998, 215–31. civilisation du Moyen Age, Paris, 215–29, reprinted in Politique et Francesco d’Assisi 1982, Francesco d’Assisi. Documenti e Archivi, codici e histoire au Moyen Age, Paris, 265–78. biblioteche, miniature, exhibition, Assisi, Narni, Perugia, Todi and Guillemain, B. 1951, ‘Le personnel de la cour de Clément V’, Mélanges Folgno, Milan. d’archéologie et d’histoire LXIII, 139–81. Franklin, M.J, 1993, English Episcopal Acta 8. Winchester 1070–1204, Guth, M. 1983, Die franziskanischen Siegel in der Straßburger British Academy, Oxford. Ordensprovinz, Archives de l’Eglise d’Alsace 42, 191–225. Frenz, T. 1986, Die Kanzlei der Päpste der Hochrenaissance (1471–1527), Hall, A. (ed.) 1722, Nicolai Triveti Annalium Continuatio; ut et Adami Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom Bd. 63, Murimuthensis Chronicon, cum eiusdem Continuatione: quibus Tübingen. accedunt Joannis Bostoni Speculum Coenobitarum, et Edmundi Frugoni, C. 1993, Francesco e l’invenzione delle stimmate. Una storia per Bolton Hypercritica, Oxford. parole e immagini finoa Bonaventura e a Giotto, Turin. Hamburger, J.F. 2002, St John the Divine: The Deified Evangelist in Fryde, E.B., Greenway, D.E., Porter, S. and Roy, I. (eds) 1986, Handbook Medieval Art and Theology, Berkeley and Los Angeles. of British Chronology, 3rd edn, London. Hamre, L. 1958, ‘Domkapitel, Norge’, KLNM III, 195–8. Gandilhon, R. 1931–2, ‘La dactyloscopie et les sceaux’, Mémoires de la Häring, N.M. 1952, ‘St.Augustine’s Use of the Word Character’, société historique, littéraire et scientifique du Cher 39, 98–100. Mediaeval Studies 14, 79–97. Gardner, J. 1972, ‘The Louvre Stigmatization and the Problem of the Häring, N.M. 1955, ‘Character, Signum und Signaculum. Die Narrative Altarpiece’, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 45, 217–47. Entwicklung bis nach der karolingischen Renaissance’, Scholastik Gardner J. 1975, ‘Some cardinals’ seals of the thirteenth century’, 30, 481–512. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 38, 72–96. Häring, N.M. 1956, ‘Character, Signum und Signaculum. Der Weg von Gardner J. 1982, ‘The Louvre Stigmatization and the problem of the Petrus Damiani bis zur eigentlichen Aufnahme in die narrative altarpiece’, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 45, 217– 47. Sakramentenlehre im 12. Jahrhundert’, Scholastik 31, 41–69. Gardner J. 2000, ‘The artistic patronage of the Fieschi Family Harvey, P.D.A. 1991, ‘Personal Seals in Thirteenth-Century England’, in 1243–1336’, in C.A. Quintavalle (ed.), Le vie del Medioevo, Congresso I. Wood and G.A. Loud (eds), Church and Chronicle in the Middle Internazionale, Parma 1997, Milan, 309–18. Ages. Essays presented to John Taylor, London and Rio Grande, 117– Gardner J. 2003, ‘Likeness and/or representation in English and 27. French Royal Portraits c. 1250–c. 1300’, in M. Buchsel and P. Harvey, P.D.A. 1996, Public Record Office, Duchy of Lancaster Ancient Schmidt (eds), Das Portät vor der Erfindung des Porträts, , Mainz, Deeds (DL25 and DL26): Catalogue of Seals, unpublished. 141–52. Harvey, P.D.A. and McGuinness, A. 1996, A Guide to British Medieval Gardner, J. 2006, ‘Opus Anglicanum, Goldsmithswork, Manuscript Seals. London. illumination and Ivories in the Rome of Boniface VIII’, Le culture di Haskins, CH. 1927. The Renaissance of the 12th century, Cambridge, Bonifacio VIII Atti del Convegno organizzato nell’ambito delle Mass. celebrazioni per il VII Centenario della morte Bologna 13 –15 Hausen, R. 1900, Finlands medeltidssigill, Helsinki. dicembre 2004, Rome, 163–79. Hedeman, A.D. 1991, The Royal Image: Illustrations of the Grandes Gardner von Teuffel, C. 1978, ‘Ikonographie und Archaeologie das Chroniques de France, 1274–1422, Berkeley and Los Angeles. Pfingsttriptychon in der Florentiner Akademie an seinem Heinrich der Löwe 1995, J. Luckhardt and F. Niehoff (eds), Heinrich der ursprunglichen Aufstellungsort’, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 41, Löwe und seine Zeit, Braunschweig. 16–40. Henig, M. 1974, ‘A medieval sealing in Exeter College archives’, Garnier, F. 1982–8, Le Langage de l’image au Moyen Age, 2 vols, Paris. Oxoniensia 39, 98–9. Garrison, E.B. Jr. 1946, ‘A Ducciesque Tabernacle at Oxford’, The Henig, M. 1976, ‘The Seal of William de Melcombe’, Proceedings of the Burlington Magazine 88, no. 522, 214–33. Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 98, 67–9. Garrison, M.B. 1996, ‘The Identification of Artists and Workshops in Henig, M. 1983, ’Archbishop Hubert Walter’s Gems’, Journal of the Sealed Archival Contexts: the Evidence from Persepolis’, in M.-F.O. British Archaeological Association 136, 56–63. Boussac and A. Invernizzi (eds), Archives et sceaux du monde Henig, M. 1983a, ’A question of standards’, Oxford Journal of hellénistique: Archivi e sigilli nel mondo ellenistico: Torino, Villa Archaeology 2, 109–12. Gualino 13–16 Gennaio 1993, Athens, 29–51. Henig, M. 1994, Classical Gems. Ancient and Modern Intaglios and Gauthier, M.M. 1972, Emaux du Moyen Age occidental, Fribourg. Cameos in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Cambridge. Gee, H. 1928, ‘The City of Durham’, in W. Page (ed.) Victoria History of Henig, M. 1997, ‘Roman Sealstones’, in Collon 1997, 88–106. the Counties of England: Durham, London, vol. 3, 1–53. Henig, M. 2000. English Gem-Set Seals, Finds Research Group 700–

132 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Bibliography

1700, Datasheet 27, Stoke-on-Trent. Jenkinson, H. 1968, Guide to Seals in the Public Record Office,2nd edn, Henig, M. 2007, A Corpus of Roman Engraved Gemstones from British Public Record Office Handbook no.1, London. sites, BAR British series 8, 3rd edn, Oxford. Jewitt, L. and Hope, W.H. St. John 1895, The Corporation Plate and Henig, M. and Gilmour, L. 2004, ‘Seven “Treasures” from Oxfordshire: Insignia of Office, London. Recent purchases by Oxfordshire County Museum Service’, Johns, S.M. 2003, Noblewomen, Aristocracy and Power in the Twelfth- Oxoniensia 69, 418–22. century Anglo-Norman Realm, Manchester. Henig, M. and Heslop, T.A. 1986, ‘Three thirteenth-century seal Johnson, A.F. 1958, Short-title catalogue of books printed in Italy and of matrices with intaglio stones in the Castle Museum, Norwich’, Italian books printed in other countries from 1465 to 1600 now in the Norfolk Archaeology 39, 305–9. British Museum, London. Henig, M. and Heslop, T.A.1986a,‘The Great Cameo of St Albans’, JBBA Jones, C.A. and Galison, P. (eds) 1998, Picturing Science, Producing Art, 139, 148–53. New York and London. Henig, M. and Leahy, K. 2003, ‘A Medieval Intaglio from Newstead, Jones, M.K. and Underwood, M.G. 1992, The King’s Mother: Lady near Brigg, North Lincolnshire’, JBBA 156, 167–9. Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, Cambridge. Henig, M. and Whiting, M.1987, Engraved Gems from Gadara in Jordan. Josi, E. and Cheletti, M.C. 1961, ‘Agapito’, Bibliotheca Sanctorum, I, The Sa’d Collection of Intaglios and Cameos, Oxford University Rome. Committee for Archaeology, Oxford. Jounel, P. 1977, Le culte des saints dans les basiliques du Latran et du Herde, P. 1981, Cölestin V. (1294) (Peter von Morrone) Der Engelpapst. Vatican au douzième siècle (Collection de l’Ecole française de Rome (Päpste und Papsttum 16), Stuttgart. 26), Rome. Heslop, T.A. 1980, ‘English seals from the mid-ninth century to 1100’, Joys, C. 1955, ‘Tidsrommet 1253–1450,’, in A. Fjellbu (ed.) Nidaros JBAA 33, 1–16. erkebispestol og bispesete: 1153–1953, Trondheim, 327–449. Heslop, T.A. 1981, ‘The Virgin Mary’s Regalia and 12th-century English Justice, S. 1994, Writing and Rebellion: England in 1381, Berkeley. seals’, in A. Borg and A. Martindale (eds), The Vanishing Past: Kalusok, M. 1996, Tabernakel und Statue. Die Figurennische in der Studies of Medieval Art, Liturgy and Metrology presented to italienischen Kunst des Mittelalters und Renaissance, Münster. Christopher Hohler, Oxford, 53–62. Karn, N. 2005. English Episcopal Acta 31. Ely 1109–1197, British Heslop, T.A. 1984. ‘Seals’, in English Romanesque Art 1984, 298–319. Academy, Oxford. Heslop, T.A. 1987, ‘English Seals in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Keene, D. 2001, ‘London from the post-Roman period to 1300’, in Centuries’, in Age of Chivalry 1987, 114–17. Palliser 2001, 187–216. Heslop, T.A. 1991, ‘The Seals of the Twelfth-Century Earls of Chester’, Keyser, R. 1856–8, Den norske Kirkes Historie under Katholisismen, I–II. Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 71, 179–97. Christiania. Hildebrand, B.E. 1862–1867, Svenska sigiller från medeltiden, Kielland, T. 1927, Norsk guldsmedkunst i middelalderen. Oslo Stockholm. Kingsford, H.S. 1929, ‘The Epigraphy of English Medieval Seals’, Hildebrand, H. 1894, Sveriges medeltid I:2, Stockholm. Archaeologia, 79, 166–77. Hillaby, J. and Hillaby, C. 2006, Leominster Minster: Priory and Kingsford, H.S. 1937, ‘The Seals of the Franciscans’, in A.G. Little (ed.), Borough c. 660–1539, Friends of Leominster Priory, Little Logaston. Franciscan History and Legend in English Medieval Art, British Hinton, D.A. 2005. Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins. Possessions and People Society of Franciscan Studies 18–19, Manchester, 81–100. in Medieval Britain, Oxford. Kingsford, H.S. 1940, ‘Some English medieval seal engravers’, The Hohler, E. 2002, ‘Registrering av seglstamper i Norge’, in Andersen and Archaeological Journal 97, 155–79. Tegner, 39–50. Kircher, A. 1665, Historia Evstachio-Mariana, Rome. Holdsworth, Sir William 1922–72, A History of English Law, 17 vols, Klackenberg, H. and Tegnér G. 2002, ‘Sigillstampar från medeltiden i London. svenska samlingar’, in Andersen and Tegnér 2002. Middelalderlige Holman, B.L. 2005, ‘For “Honor and Profit”: Benvenuto Cellini’s Medal seglstamper i Norden, 25–38. of Clement VII and His Competition with Giovanni Bernardi’, Kölzer, T. 1995, ‘Der Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis des Renaissance Quarterly 58/2, 512–75. Petrus de Ebulo’, in Heinrich der Löwe 1995, Bd. 2, 41–6. Holt, J.C. (ed.) 1987, Domesday Studies, Woodbridge. Krüger, K. 1992, Der frühe Bildkult des Franziskus in Italien. Gestalt und Hope, W.H. St. John 1885–87, ‘The Seals of English Bishops’, PSA 2nd Funktionswandel des Tafelbildes im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert, Berlin. series 11, 271–306 Kühn-Steinhausen, H. 1951, ‘Il cardinale Pietro Colonna e la sua Hope, W.H. St. John 1894–5, ‘Municipal Seals of England and Wales’, biblioteca’, Rivista di Storia della Chiesa in Italia 5, 350–7. PSA 2nd series 15, 434–55. de Laborderie, N. 1995, ‘Richard the Lionheart and the birth of a Hope, W.H. St John 1881–3, ‘Statute Merchant Seal for Kingston on national cult of St George in England: origins and development of a Hull’, PSA 2nd series, XV, 36–54. legend’, Nottingham Medieval Studies 39, 37–53. Horgen, R. (ed.) 2000, Middelaldersalen I Historisk Museum I Oslo, Ladner, G.B. 1965, Ad Imaginem Dei: The Image of Man in Medieval Art, Universitetets kulturhistoriske museer, Oslo. Latrobe. Huneycutt, L. 2003, Matilda of Scotland: a study in Medieval Queenship, Ladner, G.B 1983, Images and Ideas in the Middle Ages, Rome. Woodbridge. Laing, H. 1850, Descriptive Catalogue of Impressions from Ancient Hyacinthe, R. 2003, L’Ordre de Saint-Lazare de Jerusalem au Moyen Age, Scottish Seals, Edinburgh. Milites Christi 1, Bez-et-Esparon. Lange, B. 1967, ‘Olav den hellige. Ikonografi,’, KLNM XII, 568–77. Innamorati, G. (ed.) 1970, La cortigiana/Pietro Aretino, Turin. Lange, C. 1865, De Norske Klostres Historie i Middelalderen, Christiania. Ingvarsdóttir, B. (ed.) 2005, Making of a Nation – Heritage and History Lapsley, G.T. 1924 The County Palatine of Durham: a study in in Iceland (A Guide Book for the National Museum of Iceland’s constitutional history, Cambridge, Mass. Permanent Collection), Reykjavik. Larsson, L-O. 1991, Växjö genom 1000 år, Stockholm. Jackson, K.H. 1958, ‘Sources for the Life of Kentigern’, in N. Chadwick Lasko, P. 1994, Ars Sacra, 800–1200, 2nd edn, New Haven and London. (ed.) Studies in the early British Church, Cambridge, 273–357. Laurent, R. 1985, Sigillographie, Brussels. Jacobsen, M.A. 1978, ‘Lautizio da Perugia and the seal of Cardinal Laurent, R. 1987, Les sceaux et la mer, Brussels. Giulio de’ Medici’, Apollo 108/198, 120–1. Laurent, R. 1993, Les sceaux des princes territoriaux belges, 3 vols, Jägerstad, H. (ed.) 1959, Strängnäs stads historia, Lund. Brussels. Jankrift, K.P. 1996, Leprose als Streiter Gottes: Institutionalisierung und Lightbown, R.W. 1992. Mediaeval European Jewellery with a catalogue Organisation des Ordens vom Heiligen Lazarus zu Jerusalem von of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Victoria and seinen Anfängen bis zum Jahre 1350, Vita Regularis, 4, Münster. Albert Museum, London. Javelet, R. 1967, Image et ressemblance au 12e siècle, de saint Anselme à Linenthal, R. and Noel, W. 2004. Medieval Seal Matrices in the Schøyen Alain de Lille, 2 vols, Paris. Collection, Oslo. Jefferson, L. (ed.) 2003, Wardens’ accounts and court minute books of Lippens, P.H. 1939, ‘De litteris confraternitatis apud fratres minores ab the Goldsmith’s mistery of London, 1334–1446, Woodbridge. ordinis initio ad annum usque 1517’, Archivum Franciscanum Jenkinson, H. 1915, ‘Mary de Sancto Paulo, Foundress of Pembroke Historicum 23, 49–88. College, Cambridge’, Archaeologia 66, 401–46. Little, W. (ed.) 1955, The Oxford Universal Dictionary, 3rd revised edn, Jenkinson, H. 1936, ‘The Great Seal of England: Deputed or Oxford. Departmental Seals’, Archaeologia 87, 293–340. Littledale, W.A. 1922, ‘The Seal of Robert FitzMeldred’, and

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 133 Bibliography

C.H. Hunter Blair, ‘Notes on the FitzMeldred Seals’, Antiquaries McRoberts, David, 1959, ‘Material destruction caused by the Scottish Journal ii, 211–17. reformation’, Innes Review 10, 126–72. Ljung, S. 1949, Arboga stads historia I, Arboga. Menestò, E. 1982, ‘La Biblioteca di Matteo d’Acquasparta’, Francesco Ljung, S. 1949a, Söderköpings historia I, Söderköping. d’Assisi Documenti e Archivi, Codici e Biblioteche Miniature, Milan, Ljung, S. 1963, Enköpings stads historia I, Enköping. 104–8. Lloyd, T.H. 2005, The English Wool trade in the Middle Ages, Cambridge. Mercati, A. 1932, ‘Il decreto e la lettera dei cardinali per l’elezione di Longpré, E. 1928, ‘Art. Matthieu D’Aquasparta’, DTC 10, 375–89. Celestino V’, Bullettino del Istituto Storico Italiano e Archivio Loyd, L.C., and Stenton, D.M. (eds) 1950, Sir Christopher Hatton’s Book Muratoriano 48, 1–16. of Seals, Oxford. Meyer, A. 1986, ‘Felix et inclitus notarius’. Studien zum italienischen Loyd, L.C. (Clay, C.T. and Douglas, D.C. (eds) 1951, The Origins of some Notariat vom 7. bis 13. Jahrhundert, Bibliothek des Deutschen Anglo-Norman families, Harleian Society, vol. CIII, Leeds. Historischen Instituts in Rom 92, Tübingen, 1986. Maaskant-Kleibrink, M. 1978, Catalogue of the Engraved Gems in the Michetti, R. (ed.) 2004, Notai, miracoli e culto dei santi, Studi storici sul Royal Coin Cabinet The Hague. The Greek, Etruscan and Roman notariato italiano 12, Milan. Collections, The Hague. Middeldorf Kosegarten, A. 1993/1994, ‘Die erste Marmorstatue des hl. Mackenzie, E. 1827, A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and Franziskus’, Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte XLVI/XLVII: County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle. Beiträge zur mittelalterlichen Kunst Teil 2, 495–506. Mackinlay, J.M. 1914, Ancient Church dedications in Scotland, ii, Non von Mitis, O. 1949,‘Daktyloskopie und Siegelkunde’, Mikroskopie 4, Scriptural, Edinburgh. 361–7. Madan, F. 1925, Oxford outside the guidebooks, Oxford. Mohler, L. 1914, Die Kardinäle Jakob und Peter Colonna (Quellen und Madden F. , Bandinel B. et al. (and later J.G. Nichols) 1834–43, Forschungen aus der Gebiete der Geschichte 17), Paderborn. Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, 8 vols, London. Mollat, G. 1950, Les Papes d’Avignon 1305–1378, Paris. Magrath, J.R. 1921, The Queen’s College, 2 vols, Oxford. Moorman, J. 1968, A History of the Franciscan Order from its Origins to Maleczek, W. 2004, ‘Die Siegel der Kardinäle von den Anfängen bis the Year 1517, New York. zum Beginn des 13. Jahrhunderts’, Mitteilungen des Instituts für von Moos, P. (ed) 2004, Unverwechselbarkeit. Persönliche Identität und Österreichische Geschichtsforschung, 112, Hft.1–4, 177–203. Identifikation in der vormodernen Gesellschaft, Vienna. Manni, D.M. 1739–1744, Osservazioni istoriche di Domenico Maria Morgan, N. 2004, ‘Dating, styles and groupings,’, in E.B. Hohler, N.J. Manni Academico Fiorentino sopra i sigilli antichi de’ secoli bassi,18 Morgan, and A.Wichstrøm (eds), Norwegian Altar Frontals of vols, Florence. Norway 1250–1350, 2 vols, vol. 1, Artists, Styles and Iconography, Marchetti Longhi, G.1952, ‘Il cardinale Gottifredo di Alatri, la sua London, 20–38. famiglia, il suo stemma ed il suo palazzo’, Archivio della Società Morris, C. 1993, ‘Hands up for the individual: the role of attribution Romana di Storia Patria 75, 17–49. studies in Aegean prehistory’, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 3, Marcombe, D. 2002, ‘The Confraternity Seals of Burton Lazars 41–66. Hospital and a newly discovered matrix from Robertsbridge, Munitz, M.K. 1992, The Question of Reality, Princeton. Sussex’, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Muñoz, A. 1944, La Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le mura, Rome. Historical Society 76 , 47–58. Müntz, E. 1898, Les Arts à la Cour des Papes Innocent VIII, Alexandre VI, Marcombe, D. 2003, Leper Knights: the order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem Pie III (1484–1503): recueil de documents inédits ou peu connus, in England, c. 1150–1544, Woodbridge. Paris. Marcombe, D. 2006, ‘Lepers, Land and Loyalty: the order of St Lazarus von Mure, K. 1968, in W. Kronbichler (ed.) Die Summa de arte prosandi, of Jerusalem in England and the Holy Land’, in J. Bergtorf and H. Zürich. Nicholson (eds), International Mobility in the Military Orders, Nelson, P. 1936, ‘Some British Medieval Seal-Matrices’, Archaeological Cardiff, 173–89. Journal 36, 1–44. Margrete I 1997, P. Grinder-Hansen (ed.),Margrete I, Regent of the North Neri, D. 1924, ‘Iconografia delle Stimmate di S. Francesco nel secolo – the Kalmar Union 600 years, The National Museum of Denmark, III’, Studi francescani 22 , 289–322. Copenhagen. New, E.A. 2002, ‘Christological Personal Seals and Christocentric Marioli, L. 1985, ‘L’antico “Typarium” della Custodia Assisiensis’, San Devotion in Later Medieval England and Wales’, Ant J 82, 47–68. Francesco 65, 50–3. New, E.A. 2008, ‘Representation and identity in medieval London: the Marks, R., and Payne, A. (eds) 1978, British Heraldry from its Origins to evidence of seals’, in M. Davies and A. Prescott (eds), London and c. 1800, London. the Kingdom. Proceedings of the 2004 Harlaxton Symposium, Martini, A. & Lombardi, P. 2004, ‘Fondo Veneto I: (1–1421)’, Stamford, 246–58. unpublished catalogue, Vatican City. New, E.A. unpublished, Catalogue of seals in the Bridge House Deeds Matrod, H. 1906, Les Stigmates de Saint François. Leur plus ancienne series, London Metropolitan Archives. représentation connue, Paris. Niccolini, U. 1982, ‘I francescani tra scuole e Università in Umbria’, in Matthews, A.W. 1913, ‘The King’s Green Wax Seal’, Trans. Francesco d’ Assisi 1982, 119–34. Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Soc. 9, 94. Nieus, J.F. 2006, ‘L’avoine des Candavène. Retour sur l’emblème des Mauro, L.1993, ‘Matteo e Bonaventura’, Matteo d’Acquasparta comtes de Saint-Pol et la naissance des armoiries’, Archiv für Francescano, Filosofo, Politico, Atti del XIX Convegno storico Diplomatik 52, 191–212. internazionale, Todi, 11–14 ottobre 1992, Spoleto, 172–96. Nisbet, A. 1722, A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical, Maxwell-Lyte, Sir H.C. 1926, Historical Notes on the use of the Great Seal Edinburgh (1984 Mercat Press reprint). of England, London. Nisbet, A. 1816, ‘Historical and Critical Remarks on the Ragman Roll’, A McEwan, J. 2006, ‘Horses, Horsemen and Hunting: Leading Londoners System of Heraldry, vol. 2, Edinburgh (1984 Mercat Press reprint). and Equestrian Seals in the Late Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Norberg, R. 1970, ‘Sigillförfalskning’, KLNM XV, 208–9. Centuries’, Essays in Medieval Studies 20, 77–93. Nordberg, M. 1995, I kung Magnus tid, Stockholm. McEwan, J. 2007, ‘Medieval London: The Development of a Civic Olofsson, S.I. 1968, Medeltiden och nya tiden till 1860, Södertälje stads Political Community, c. 1100–1300’, unpublished PhD thesis, historia I, Södertälje. University of London. Oliger, L.1937, ‘De Sigillo Fr. Angeli Clareni’, Antonianum 12, 61–4. McGuinness, A.F. 1986, ‘Non-Armigerious Seals and Seal-Usage in Van Os, H.W. 1974, ‘St. Francis of Assis as a second Christ in early Italian Thirteenth-Century England’, in P.R. Cross and S.D. Lloyd (eds), painting’, Simeolus 7, 115–32. Thirteenth Century England vol.5: Proceedings of the Newcastle- Owen, G. 1906, Description of Pembrokeshire III (Publication of the Upon-Tyne Conference, 1985, Woodbridge, 165–77. Cymmorodorion Record Society III, London. McMurtrie, D. 1943, The Book: the Story of Printing & Bookmaking (3rd Pace, V. 1993, ‘La committenza artistica del cardinale Matteo rev. edn.), London. d’Acquasparta nel quadro della cultura figurativa del suo tempo’, McNall, C. 2002, ‘The business of statutory debt registries, 1283–1307’, Matteo d’Acquasparta Francescano, Filosofo, Politico, Atti del XIX in P.R. Schofield and N.J. Mayhew (eds), Credit and Debt in Convegno storico internazionale, Todi, 11–14 ottobre 1992, Spoleto, Medieval England c. 1180–c. 1350, Oxford, 68–88. 311–30. McNeill, P.G.B. and MacQueen, H.L. (eds.) 1996, Atlas of Scottish Palliser, D.M. (ed.) 2001, The Cambridge Urban History of Britain. Vol. 1, History to 1707, Edinburgh. 600–1540, Cambridge.

134 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Bibliography

Palmer, N. and Seaby, W.A. 1983–4, ‘An early thirteenth century hoard documents inédits, Brussels. from Cross on the Hill, near Stratford-on-Avon’, Transactions of the Plantzos, D. 1999, Hellenistic Engraved Gems, Oxford. Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society 93, 105–10. Pollestad, K.A. 2001, Kirkeliv i Norden før svartedauden. Biskop Paravicini Bagliani, A. 1970, ‘Le biblioteche dei Cardinali Pietro Laurentius’ saga, Oslo. Peregrosso († 1295) e Pietro Colonna († 1326)’, Zeitschrift für Pollock, F. and Maitland, F. 1911, The history of English Law before the Schweizerische Kirchengeschichte 64, 104–39. time of Edward I, 2 vols, Cambridge. Paravicini Bagliani, A. 1972, Cardinali di Curia “Familiae cardinalizie Pompei, A. 1979, ‘L’Esperienza spirituale di San Francesco nelle dal 1227 al 1254, Italia Sacra 18, Padua. “Leggende” e negli scritti spirituali di San Bonventura’, in G. Paravicini Bagliani, A. 1980, I Testamenti dei Cardinali del Duecento Cardaropoli and M. Conti (eds), Lettura biblico-teologica delle Fonti (Miscellanea della Società Romana di Storia Patria XXV), Rome. Francescane, Rome, 261–91. Park, D. 1998, ‘Late twelfth-century polychromy from Glasgow Poole, A.L. 1946, Obligations of Society in the XII and XIII Centuries, Cathedral, in Richard Fawcett (ed.), Medieval Art and Architecture Oxford. in the Diocese of Glasgow, The British Archaeological Association Poole, R.L. 1912, ‘Henry Symeonis’, EHR 27, 515–17. Conference Transactions, XXIII, 35–41. Porteous, J.1989, ‘Crusader coinage with Greek or Latin Inscriptions’, Park, K. 1998, ‘Impressed Images: Reproducing Wonders’, in Jones and in H. Hazard and N. Zacour (eds), The Impact of the Crusades on Galison 1998, 254–71. Europe, Madison, 354–87. Park, D. and Howard, H. 2002, “Late 12th-century Architectural Posse, O. 1909–13, Die Siegel der deutschen Kaiser und Könige von 751 bis Polychromy”, in Driscoll 2002, 96–102. 1913, 5 vols in 3, Dresden. Parmentier, R.J. 2002, ‘Representing semiotics in the new Poulet, A. 1994, ‘Capetian Women and the Regency: the genesis of a millennium,” Semiotica 142, 291–314. vocation’, in J.C. Parsons (ed.) Medieval Queenship, Stroud, 93–116. Parry, G. 1995, A Guide to the Records of the Great Sessions in Wales, Pratesi, A. 1982, ‘Gli ordini francescani come istituzioni ecclesiastiche’, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. Francesco d’Assisi. Documenti e Archivi. Codici e Biblioteche. Parsons, J.C. 1992, ‘Ritual and Symbol in the English Medieval Miniature, Milan, 11–35. Queenship to 1500’, in L.O. Fradenburg (ed.), Women and Prou, M.1885, ‘Inventaire des meubles du Cardinal Geoffroi d’Alatri’, Sovereignty, Edinburgh, 60–77. Mélanges d’Archéologie et d’Histoire 5, 382–411. Parsons, J.C. (ed.) 1994, Medieval Queenship, Stroud. le Prevost, A. 1862–9, Mémoires et Notes pour servir à l’histoire du Parsons, J.C. 1995, Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth- département de l’Eure, recueillis et publiés par L. Delisle et L. Passy, 3 Century England, New York. vols, Evreux . Parsons, J.C. 1997, ‘The intercessory patronage of Queens Margaret Quinton, E. 2000, ‘The Drapers of London, c. 1350–c. 1550’, and Isabella of France’, in M. Prestwich, R. Britnell and R. Frame unpublished PhD thesis, University of London. (eds), Thirteenth Century England VI: Proceedings of the Durham Ratzinger, J. 1959, Die Geschichtstheologie des hl. Bonaventura, Munich. Conference 1995 Woodbridge, 145–56. Reddaway, T.F. and Walker, L. 1975, The Early History of the Goldsmiths’ Passerini, L. 1869, ‘Sigillo dei Cardinali Giulio e Ippolito de’Medici’, Company 1327–1509, London. Periodico di numismatica e sfragistica per la storia d’Italia 2, 95–8, Reiss, S.E. 1992, ‘Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici as a Patron of Art pl. IV. 1513–1523’, unpublished PhD thesis, Princeton. Passerini, L. 1873, ‘Sigillo del Cardinale di San Andrea della Valle’, Reudenbach, B.1980, ‘Säule und Apostel. Überlegungen zum Periodico di numismatica e sfragistica per la storia d’Italia 5, 265– Verhältnis von Architektur und architekturexegetischer Literatur 70, pl. X. im Mittelalter’, Frühmittelalterliche Studien 14, 310–51. Pastoureau, M. 1981, Les sceaux, Typologie des sources du moyen âge Reynolds, P.L. 2003, ‘Bonaventure’s Theory of Resemblance’, Traditio occidental fasc. 36, Turnhout. 58, 219–55. Pastoreau, M. 1986, ‘Les graveurs de sceaux et la création Rigby, S.H. and Ewan, E. 2001, ‘Government, Power and Authority, emblématique’, in X. Barral i Altet (ed.), Artistes, artisans et 1300–1540’, in Palliser 2001, 291–312. production artistique au Moyen Age: colloque international, Centre Riley, H.T. (ed.) 1859–62, Munimenta Gildhallae Londoniensis: Liber National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Rennes II, Albus, Liber Custumarum et Liber Horn, 3 vols, Rolls Series, Haute-Bretagne 2–6 Mai (1: Les hommes), 515–22. London. Pastoureau, M. 1996, ‘Les sceaux et la fonction sociale des images’, in J.C. Roberts, A.M. 2004, ‘The horse and the hawk: representations of Mary Schmitt (ed.), L’Image Fonctions et Usages des Images dans of Burgundy as sovereign’, in D.S. Areford and N.A. Rowe (eds), l’Occident Médiéval (Cahiers du Léopard d’Or 5), Paris, 275–308. Excavating the Medieval Image: Manuscripts , Artists, Audiences: Pastoureau, M. 1997, ‘Du nom à l’armoirie. Héraldique et essays in Honor of Sandra Hindman, Aldershot, 135–50. anthroponymie médiévales’, Genèse médiévale de l’anthroponymie Rogerson A. 1995, ‘A Late Neolithic, Saxon and Medieval Site at Middle moderne. Vol. 4: Discours sur le nom: normes, usages, imaginaires Harling, Norfolk, East Anglian Archaeology Report 74, 62–3. (Vie–XVIe siècle), Tours, 83–105. Rogerson, A. and Ashley, S. 2002, ‘Medieval seal matrices from Norfolk Pastoureau, M. 2005, ‘Le doigt dans la cire. Cent mille empreintes 2001’, Norfolk Archaeology 44, pt I, 133. digitales médiévales’, The Human Skin/Le pelle umana. Micrologus Roman, J. 1912, Manuel de Sigillographie Française, Paris. 13, 331–44. Romano, S. 1995 ‘Sancta Sanctorum; gli affreschi’, in C. Pietrangeli Patterson, R.B.1973, Earldom of Gloucester Charters. The Charters and (ed.), Sancta Sanctorum, Milan. Scribes of the Earls and Countesses of Gloucester to AD 1217, Oxford. Romano, S. 1992 Eclissi di Roma Pittura murale a Roma e nel Lazio da Pedrick, G. 1904, Borough Seals of the Gothic Period, London. Bonifacio VIII a Martino V (1295–1431), Rome. Pegge, Rev. Dr. 1786, ‘A dissertation on a most valuable gold coin of Romano, S. (ed.) 2006, Riforma e Tradizione 1050–1198, La Pittura Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III’, Archaeologia 4, 190–4. Medievale a Roma, Corpus IV, Milan. Pentcheva, Bissera V. 2000 , ‘Rhetorical Images of the Virgin. The icon Roosval, J. 1918, Die Steinmeister Gottlands, Stockholm. of the “usual miracle” at the Blachernai’, Res 38, 34–55. Rosenthal J.T. (ed.) 1986, Kings and Kingship, (Acta 11), Binghamton, Pentcheva, Bissera V. 2006, Icons and Power: the Mother of God in New York: Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Byzantium, University Park, Penn. Rosier-Catach, I. 2004, La parole efficace. Signe, rituel, sacré, Paris. Perceval, C.S. 1876–8, ‘Statute Merchant Seals’, PSA 2nd series VII, Ross, A. 1993, Pagan Celtic Britain, London. 107–19 Rossi, A. 1868, L’Arte Tipografica in Perugia durante il secolo XV e la Perceval, C.S. 1881–3, ‘Exhibition of Statute Merchant seal of Wigan’, Prima Metà del XVI: Nuove Richerche, Perugia. PSA 2nd series 9, 253–61. Rossi Scotti, G. 1872, ‘Manico del sigillo di Pietro Bembo e testamento Peringsköld, J. 1725, Ättartal för Swea och Götha Konunga Hus, inedito del maestro Lautizio da Perugia’, Giornale di erudizione Stockholm. artistica 1, 358–65. Pétiet, R. 1914, Contribution à l’Histoire de l’Ordre de Saint-Lazare de Roth, E. 1957, Der volkreiche Kalvarienberg in der deutschen Malerei des Jérusalem en France, Paris. Spätmittelalters Herkunft und literarische Beziehung, Petersen, H. 1886, Danske Gejstlige Sigiller fra Middelalderen, Disseratation, Freiburg im Uechtland. Copenhagen. Round, J.H. 1899, Calendar of Documents Preserved in France, London. Pinchart, A.J. 1858, Récherches sur la vie et les travaux des graveurs de Rubin, M. 1991, Corpus Christi. The Eucharist in Late Medieval Culture, médailles, de sceaux et de monnaies des Pay-Bas, d’après des Cambridge.

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 135 Bibliography

Rubin, M. 1993, ‘Choosing death? Experiences of martyrdom in late Utrecht’, Art Bulletin 14, 1–52. medieval Europe’, in D. Wood (ed.), Martyrs and Martyrologies, Solberg, G.E. 1992, ‘A reconstruction of Taddeo di Bartolo’s Altar-Piece Studies in Church History 30, Oxford, 153–83. for S. Francesco al Prato, Perugia’, Burlington Magazine 134, no. Rubin, M. 2006, ‘Identities’, in R.E. Horrox and W.M. Ormrod (eds), A 1075, 646–56. Social History of Medieval England, Cambridge, 369–82. Spalding, M.C. 1914, The Middle English Charters of Christ, Rusconi, R. 1994, ‘Clerici secundum alios clericos’: Francesco d’Assisi e Philadelphia. l’istituzione ecclesiastica, in Frate Francesco d’Assisi, XXI Convegno Spencer, B. 1984, ‘Medieval seal-dies recently found at London’, Ant J internazionale di studi francescani, Assisi, 14–16 ottobre 1993, 64, 376–82. Spoleto, 71–100. Stang M.C. 1997, Olavsskulpturer i tre 1200–1350, KULT skrifter 84, Rye, Walter (ed.) 1909, Catalogue of Antiquities in Norwich Castle Oslo Museum, Norwich. Steiner, E. 2003, Documentary Culture and the Making of Medieval Rygh, K. 1875, ‘Liste over Oldsager indkomne til det Throndhjemske English Literature, Cambridge. Videnskabsselskabs Oldsaksamling i 1875’, Fortidsforeningens Stenton, F.M. 1934, Norman London: an essay. With a translation of Aarbog, 57–8. William FitzStephen’s Description by Professor H.E. Butler. Sabatier, P. (ed.) 1900, Francisci Bartholi de Assisio Tractatus de Historical Association Leaflets nos 93, 94, London. Indulgentia Sanctae Mariae de Portiuncula, Paris. Sternfeld, R. 1905, Der Kardinal Johann Gaëtan Orsini (Papst Nikolaus Salter, H.E., 1914–17, A Cartulary of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, 3 III.) 1244– 1277. Ein Beitrag zur geschichte der römischen Kurie im 13. vols, Oxford Historical Society, Oxford. Jahrhundert, Historische Studien 52, Berlin. Sandford, F. 1707, A Genealogical History of the Kings and Queens of Stewart, Ian Halley 1971, ’Scottish Mints’, in R.A.G. Carson (ed.) Mints, England and Monarchs of Great Britain, etc. from the Conquest, Dies and Currency, London, 165–289. Anno 1066, to the year 1707, London. Stewart, I.H. 1976, The Scottish Coinage with Supplement, London. Satchell, M. 1998, ‘The Emergence of Leper-Houses in Medieval Stolt, B. 2001, Grötlingbo. Sveriges Kyrkor 226, Stockholm. England, 1100–1250’, unpublished D. Phil. thesis, University of Strinati, C. 1987, ‘Alternative sull’attribuzione dell’affresco in S. Oxford. Giorgio in Velabro’, Restauri agli Affreschi del Cavallini a Roma, Sauerländer, W. 1959, ‘Sens and York: an enquiry into the sculptures Quaderni di Palazzo Venezia 4, 63–70. from St. Mary’s Abbey in the Yorkshire Museum’, Journal of the Stringer, K.J. 1985, Earl David of Huntingdon, Edinburgh. British Archaeological Association 22, 53–69. Studer, P. and Evans, J. 1924. Anglo-Norman Lapidaries, Paris. Sauerländer, W. 1966, Von Sens bis Strassburg. Ein Beitrag zur Suggett, R. 1997, ‘The Welsh Language and the Court of Great kunstgeschichtlichen Stellung der Strassburger Sessions’, in G. Jenkins (ed.), The Welsh Language before the Querhausskulpturen, Berlin. Industrial Revolution, Cardiff. Sauerländer, W. 1970, Gotische Skulptur in Frankreich 1140–1270, Sullivan, J.E. 1963, The Image of God. The Doctrine of St. Augustine and Munich. its Influence, Dubuque, Iowa. Sauerländer, W. 1970, Gothic Sculpture in France, London. Svenskt biografiskt lexikon 1918–ongoing, Stockholm. Scatassa, E. 1915, ‘Notizie inedite intorno alla ricostruzione di due Sveriges traktater med främmande makter 1877–1934, Stockholm. chiese di Roma’, Rassegna Bibliografica dell’ Arte Italiana 18, 11–15. Tamás, G and György, R. 2006, Antike Gemmensiegel im Schück, A. 1926, Studier rörande det svenska stadsväsendets uppkomst mittelalterlichen Ungarn, Debrecen. och äldsta utveckling, Stockholm. Tamba, G. 1998, Una corporazione per il potere. Il notariato a Bologna in Schwarz, B. 1973, Das Notariat in Bologna im 13. Jahrhundert, Quellen età comunale, Bologna. und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 53, Theime-Becker 1907–1950, U. Theime and F. Becker (later H. Vollmer) 49–92. (eds), Allgemeines Lexicon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis Searle, E. (ed.) 1980, The Chronicle of Battle Abbey, Oxford. zur Gegenwart begründt von Ulrich Theime und Felix Becker, 39 vols, Sella, P. and Laurent, M.-H. 1937, I Sigilli dell’Archivio Vaticano Leipzig. Inventari dell’ Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Vatican City. Thiset, A. 1917, Danske Kongelige Sigiller samt Sønderjydske Hertugers Sena Chiesa, G. 1997, ’Nova Gloria vetustatis. Intailles et camées dans la og andre til Danmark Knyttede Fyrsters Sigiller 1085–1559. Croix de Didier de Brescia’, in Broustet 1997, 97–114. Copenhagen. Sena Chiesa, G. 2002, Gemme dalla corte imperiale alla corte celeste, Thomas, A., Faucon, M., Digard, G. and Fawtier, R. (eds) 1894–1939, Les Milan. Registres de Boniface VIII (1294–1303) (BEFAR s. 2.4, 1–17), Paris. Seppelt, F.X. 1921, Monumenta Coelestiniana, Quellen zur Geschichte Thorpe, L. (trans. and ed.) 1978, Gerald of Wales – The Journey through des Papstes Coelestin V, Quellen und Forschungen aus dem Gebiete Wales and the Description of Wales, Harmondsworth. der Geschichte 19, Paderborn. Thrupp, S. 1982, The Merchant Class of Medieval London, new edn, Ann Seton, K.W. (ed.) 1969–89, The History of the Crusades, 6 vols, Madison. Arbor. Sharpe R.R. (ed.) 1890, Calendar of Wills Proved and Enrolled in the Tilley, C. et al. (eds) 2006, Handbook of Material Culture, London. Court of Husting, London, ad 1258–ad 1688, 2 vols, London. Tomei, A. 2000, Pietro Cavallini, Rome. Shenton, C. 2002, ‘Edward III and the symbolism of the leopard’, in P. Tonnochy, A.B. 1952, Catalogue of Seal Dies in the British Museum, Coss and M. Keen (eds), Heraldry Pageantry and Display in London. Medieval England, Bury St Edmunds, 69–81. Touati, F-O. 1998, Maladie et société au Moyen Age: la lèpre les lépreux et Sicart Giménez, A. 2003, ‘The pórtico de la gloria of the cathedral of les léproseries dans la province ecclésiastique de Sens jusqu’au milieu Santiago de Compostela’, in P. Lindley (ed.) Making Medieval Art, du XIVe siècle, Bibliothèque du Moyen Age 11, Paris. Donington. Tout, T.F. (ed.) 1913, Dioecesis Karleolensis Registrum Johannis de Il sigillo 1985, S. Ricci (ed.), Il sigillo nella storia e cultura: mostra Halton, The Register of John de Halton Bishop of Carlisle ad documentaria, exhibition catalogue, Archivo di Stato Venezia and 1292–1324 (Canterbury and York Society 12, 13) London. Archivo Segreto Vaticano, Rome. Tout, T.F. 1920–33, Chapters in the Administrative History of Medieval Il sigillo 1989, E. Cioni (ed.), Il sigillo a Siena nel Medioevo, exhibition England: the Wardrobe, the Chamber and the small seals, 6 vols, catalogue, Siena. Manchester. Sigsjö, R. (Strand, A. ed.) 1985, Skara – stadsplan, arkeologi och historia Toynbee, J. and Ward Perkins, J. 1956, The Shrine of Saint Peter and the in Skara I, Skara. Vatican Excavations, London. Simpson, G. and Galbraith, J.D. 1986, Calendar of Documents relating to Trætteberg, H. 1953, ‘Geistlige segl i Nidaros’, in S. Marstander (ed.) Scotland preserved in the Public Record Office, vol. V 800 års jubileet for opprettelesen av den norske kirkeprovins 1153– (supplementary), Edinburgh. 1953. Katalog for den historiske utstilling, Trondheim, 41–55 Siltberg, T. 2005, Gotlands landskapssigill och äldre judiciella sigill, Trætteberg, H. 1958, ‘Domkapitelssigill, Norge’, KLNM III, 203–6. Landsarkivet i Visby 1905–2005,Visby. Trætteberg, H. 1968, ‘Geistlige segl i Bergens bispedømme c. Sisto, A. 1971, Figure del primo francescanesimo in Provenza. Ugo e 1250–1530’, in P. Uvkam (ed.), Bjørgvin bispestol. Frå Selja til Douceline de Digne, Florence. Bjørgvin, Oslo, 63–112. Smeijers, F. 1996, Counterpunch: making type in the sixteenth century, Trætteberg, H. 1970 ‘Sigillstamper’, KLNM XV, 215–22. designing typefaces now, London. Trætteberg, H.1976, ‘Øks; sakralt, ikon. og herald’, KLNM XX, 668–74 Snijder, G.A.S. 1932, ‘Antique and mediaeval gems on bookcovers at Trætteberg, H. 1977, Geistlige segl i Oslo bispedømme c. 1200–1537, Oslo.

136 | Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals Bibliography

Tremlett, T.D. and London, H.S. (eds) 1967, Rolls of Arms, Henry III, Oxford. Oxford. Watt, D.E.R. and Murray, A.L. 2003, Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae Ad Trésors des Abbayes 1979, Trésors des Abbayes Normandes, Musée des Annum 1638, The Scottish Record Society, n.s. 25, Edinburgh. antiquités, Rouen. Way, A. 1850, ‘On a seal of the hundred of Stapeloe’, Archaeological Trésors des Églises 1965, Les Trésors des Églises de France, Musée des Arts Journal 7, 106. Décoratifs, Paris. Weill-Parot, N. 2002. Les ‘images astrologiques’ au Moyen Age et à la Trésor gothique 1966, V. Huchard and H. Westermann-Angerhausen Renaissance. Spéculations intellectuelles et pratiques magiques (eds), Un trésor gothique – la châsse de Nivelles, Schnügten- (XIIe–XVe siècle), Paris. Museum, Cologne and Musée de Cluny, Paris. Weinstein, D.and Bell, R. 1982, Saints and Society, Chicago. af Ugglas, C. 1931, Lödöse. Historia och arkeologi, Gothenburg. Welber, M. 1984, Sigillografia. Vol. 3: Il sigilli nella storia del diritto Vale, M. 1970, English Gascony, 1399–1453, Oxford. italiano, Milan. Vauchez, A. 1968, ‘Les stigmates de saint François et leur détracteurs Wentzel, H. 1953, ‘Portraits “à l’antique” on French Medieval Gems and dans les derniers siècles du moyen âge’, Mélanges d’Archéologie et Seals’, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 16, 342–50. d’Histoire 80, 595–625. Wentzel, H. 1957, ‘Das Medaillon mit dem Hl. Theodor und die Vermiglioli, G.B. 1816, Della zecca e delle monete perugine: memorie e venezianischen Glaspasten in byzantinischen Stil’, Festschrift für documenti inediti, Perugia. Erich Meyer zum sechsigsten Geburtstag 29. Oktober 1957, Hamburg, Vian, P. 2002, ‘Bonifacio VIII e i Colonna: una riconsiderazione’, 50–67. Bonifacio VIII, Atti del XXXIX Convegno Storico Internazionale Todi, Wentzel, H. 1962, ‘Die Kamee mit dem Hl. Georg in Schloss zu Windsor. 13–16 ottobre 2002, Centro di Studi sulla Spiritualità Medievale Zur Ikonographie der byzantinischen Kameen mit hl. Ritter’, dell’Università degli Studi di Perugia, 215–72. Variae Formae Veritas Una, Festchrift Friedrich Gerke, Baden- Viard, J. 1907, ‘Singularité sigillographique’, Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des Baden, 103–12. chartes 68, 428. Wight, S.W. 1998, ‘The Chancery of Henry the Liberal, Count of Viking Heritage 1996, I. Jansson (ed.), The Viking Heritage – a Dialogue Champagne 1158–1181)’, http://scrineum.unipv.it/wight/cell10. between Cultures/Nasledie variagov: dialog kul’tury, exhibition htm. catalogue, Stockholm and Moscow. Williams, D.H. 1993, Catalogue of Seals in the National Museum of Wales Villamena, R. 1998–99, ‘Per un censimento della documentazione I, Cardiff. edita degli ordini mendicanti: le “litterae confraternitatis”’, Williams, G.A. 1962, Medieval London: from Commune to Capital, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e London. Filosofia 2. Studi Storici-Antropologici 36, ns 22, 87–111. Williams, W.L. 1916, ‘The King’s Court of Great Sessions in Wales’, Y Vocabulaire international de la Sigillographie, Pubblicazioni degli Cymmrodor 26, 1–87. Archivi di Stato, sussidi 3, 1990, Rome. Williams, W.R. 1899, The History of the Great Sessions in Wales, 1542– Waagen, G.F. 1857, Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain: being 1830, Brecon. an account of more than forty collections of Paintings, Drawings, Wilson, C. 1998, ‘The Stellar Vaults of Glasgow Cathedral’s Inner Crypt Sculptures, mss., &c. &c. visited in 1854 and 1856, and now for the and Villard de Honnecourt’s Chapter-House Plan: A Conundrum first time described... forming a supplemental volume to the Revisited’, Medieval Art and Architecture in the Diocese of Glasgow, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, London. British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions 23, Wade, J. 1994, ‘The Overseas Trade of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the late 55–76. middle ages’, Northern History 30, 31–48. Wolf, G. 2002, Schleier und Spiegel. Traditionen des Christusbildes und Wade, J. (ed.) 1995, The Customs Accounts of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, die Bildkonzepte der Renaissance, Munich. 1450–1500. Surtees Society 202, Durham. Wolff, R. 1996, Der heilige Franziskus in Schriften und Bildern des 13. Waetzoldt, S.1964, Die Kopien des 17. Jahrhunderts nach Mosaiken und Jahrhunderts, Berlin. Malereien in Rom (Römische Forschungen derBibliotheca Hertziana, Wolters, W. 1976, La Scultura Veneziana Gotica (1300–1460), Venice. XVIII), Vienna/Munich. Wyon, A.B. 1887, Great Seals of England, London. Waley, D. 1952, Medieval Orvieto,Cambridge. Wyon, A. 1893, ‘Royal Judicial Seals in Wales’, JBAA XLIX, 1–14. Walford, W.S. and Way, A, 1854, ‘Examples of medieval seals’, Wyon, A. 1894, ‘Notes on some new Seals of the King’s Great Sessions of Archaeological Journal 11, 378–80. Wales’, JBAA L, 67–70. Walsh, D.A. 1982, ‘The Iconography of the Bronze Doors of Barisanus of Zwierlein-Diehl, E. 1997, ‘“Interpretatio Christiana”: Gems on the Trani’, Gesta 21/2, 91–106. Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne’, in C.M. Brown, Engraved Walczak, M. 2001, “Alter Christus”. Studia nad obrazowaniem świętości Gems: Survivals and Revivals, Studies in the History of Art 54, The w sztuce średniowiecznej na przykładzie św. Tomasza Becketa, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 62–83. Krakow. Zwierlein-Diehl, E, 1997, ‘Constantinopolis et Roma. Intailles du ive et Ward, A., Cherry, J., Gere, C. and Cartlidge, B. 1981, The Ring, London. du ve siècle après Jésus-Christ’, in Broustet 1997, 83–96. Warren, J. 1999, Renaissance Master Bronzes from the Ashmolean Zwierlein-Diehl, E. 1998, Die Gemmen und Kameen des Museum Oxford: the Fortnum Collection, Oxford. Dreikönigenschreines, Cologne. Watt, D.E.R. 1977, Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Graduates,

Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals | 137