Medieval Seals Research Articles

From the beginnings of Sigilography to the digital age. Projects and repositories of European medieval seals

Con el nacimiento de la Sigilografía como disciplina autónoma se publicaron por toda Europa innumerables inventarios y catálogos de sellos medievales que sentaron las bases teóricas que servirían para el estudio de improntas y matrices sigilares. La mayoría de los catálogos de sellos existentes en España solo han recogido las improntas conservadas en archivos de titularidad estatal, local y en otros fondos singulares de reconocido prestigio, desconociéndose por completo las importantes colecciones que otras instituciones y entidades conservan. A pesar de los avances historiográficos que se han experimentado en los últimos años, y que han dado a conocer algunos sellos medievales de la Corona de Castilla, persisten todavía importantes lagunas. De forma análoga a otros proyectos ambiciosos e innovadores existentes en Portugal o Francia, en España han dado comienzo los trabajos para la creación de una gran base de datos digital –“SIG-NUM”– que trata de erigirse como una herramienta de búsqueda simple y rápida, desarrollándose con un enfoque multidisciplinar en el que converjan la singularidad y serialidad del sello y su naturaleza diplomática con otros aspectos como la heráldica, la emblemática o la epigrafía.

BATTLING THE LION: VISUAL COMMEMORATIONS OF CRUSADE IN TWELFTH- AND THIRTEENTH-CENTURY SEALS FROM THE BRITISH ISLES

This article examines a group of five surviving twelfth- and thirteenth-century wax seal impressions from the British Isles that depict a scene of an armed knight in combat with a lion. This seal motif has tenuously been linked with crusading in the past, and so this paper seeks to address the connections between the sigillants and crusade, as well as the significance of commemoration of crusade culture on medieval seals. It highlights numerous links between this specific design and crusading experiences, literature and allegory. This paper focuses on an aspect of the medieval memory of crusade and the means of displaying chivalric, crusading identities within literate culture (on charters and letters) and in personal adornment.

Material evidence? Re-approaching elite women’s seals and charters in late medieval Scotland

Medieval Scottish women’s seals remain largely unexplored compared to the scholarship on seals and sealing practice elsewhere in medieval Britain. This article has two chief aims. First, it seeks to demonstrate the insufficiencies of the 19th- and 20th-century Scottish seal catalogues as a mediated record of material evidence and the use of them as comprehensive and go-to reference texts within current research on late medieval Scotland. This includes a discussion of the ways in which medieval seals survive as original impressions, casts and illustrations and how these different types of evidence can be used in the construction and reconstruction of the seal’s and charter’s context. Second, this paper will explore the materiality and interconnectedness of seals and the charters to which they are attached. A reading of these two objects together emphasises the legal function of the seal and shows its distinctive purpose as a representational object. While the seal was used in con-texts beyond the basic writ charter, it remained a legally functional and (auto)biographical object, and, as such, the relationship between seal and charter informs meaning in representational identities expressed in both. The article will apply this approach to several examples of seals belonging to 14th- and 15th-century Scottish countesses. Evidence reviewed this way provides new insight into Scottish women’s sealing practice and female use of heraldic device. The deficiencies of assuming women’s design to be formulaic or that their seals can be usefully interpreted in isolation from the charters to which they were attached will be highlighted. The interconnectedness of word and image conveyed personal links and elite ambitions, and promoted noble lineage within the legal context of charter production.

Średniowieczne pieczęcie wystawców kościelnych w zasobie archiwum klasztoru Bożego Ciała w Krakowie. Przyczynek do polskich badań sfragistycznych

The article presents the medieval seals of Polish and foreign church exhibitors kept in the archives of the Corpus Christi Monastery of regular canons in Krakow. These seals are a small part of the collection but are nevertheless valuable for many reasons

Contemporary Perspectives on the Study of Medieval Seals in Western and Romanian Academia: A Comparative Approach

The present paper aims to examine the main directions the historical research of medieval seals has followed in the recent decades. Starting from several sigillography handbooks developed in both Western and Romanian academic environments, but also from the published inquiries of the most important contemporary scholars active in this field of study, the present article focuses on their most relevant contributions, their historiographical impact, as well as the concepts and ideas formulated and debated on these occasions. Therefore, the purpose of this approach is not only to make a brief review of the state-of-the-art research in Western sigillography, but also to point out the main directions the Romanian sigillographic research should pursue in the years to come.

The special aspects of the data use on the trace elements composition in alloys for the attribution of medieval seals matrices

This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education within the State assignment FSRC «Crystallography and Photonics» RAS and Russian Foundation of Basic Research in frame of the Project No. 18-00-00429 (K) (grants 18-00-00407 and 18-00-00292).

Archaeology and Sigillography in Northern Europe

Medieval seals, traditionally considered from the perspective of their documentary function, may also be studied as archaeological artefacts. Pilgrim badges were seal-shaped, and seal matrices and seal impressions can be found on church bells, in altars, and in burial sites. The context in which matrices are excavated provides valuable information on the practices of sealing and on the values attached to seals. This article also reveals a hitherto undescribed late medieval practice whereby papal and Scandinavian royal correspondents exchanged seal matrices.

Medieval Coins and Seals: constructing identity, signifying power. Edited by Susan Solway. 288mm. Pp iv + 547, ills (some col), maps. Brepols Publishers, Turnhout, 2015. isbn 9782503543444. Є175, £124 (hbk).

Medieval Coins and Seals: constructing identity, signifying power. Edited by Susan Solway. 288mm. Pp iv + 547, ills (some col), maps. Brepols Publishers, Turnhout, 2015. <scp>isbn</scp> 9782503543444. Є175, £124 (hbk).

The challenge of the visual: making medieval seals accessible in the digital age

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present and evaluate an innovative classification system for medieval seals that was created as part of the Seals in Medieval Wales (SiMeW) project, funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The classification system developed in response to the cataloguing challenges associated with rapidly gathering sigillographic information on about 2,500 medieval seals from a number of collections in several UK repositories. Design/methodology/approach – This paper outlines the challenges involved in recording and classifying medieval seals from the British Isles, and describes existing systems for organizing sigillographic information. The SiMeW system is explained as a response to the limitations of existing systems. Findings – Designers of systems for recording seals need to take into account the physical characteristics of seal impressions, matrices, and casts, the strength and limitations of digital media, as well as the need of cataloguers and users. Originality/value – In recent years scholars have systematically investigated the problems associated with text-based image indexing and retrieval. Nonetheless, medieval seals have been largely overlooked, even though they are common in UK repositories. SiMeW’s system offers cataloguers an example of an approach that they can use in new and existing seal catalogues, to generate metadata that can help make seals, which are a key component of the cultural legacy of the Middle Ages, more accessible to users.

Le nu antique sur les sceaux du Moyen Âge : le remploi d’intailles (fin XIIe-milieu du XIVe siècle)

The classical nude on medieval seals : the reuse of intaglios (late 12th century to mid-14th century) During the twelfth century, some matrixes for seals were set with antique intaglios or cameos with nude figures. This practice was not restricted to the elite, but touched a broad spectrum of society until the mid-fourteenth century, when it rapidly declined. The presence of female nudes has often been noted on clerical seals, although male nudes predominate on both lay and clerical matrixes. In most cases the degree of understanding of this iconography by medieval society cannot be determined. Some seals, however, reveal a deep knowledge of the classics. These seals were a sign of a high degree of culture that went beyond the religious and courtly dimension and encompassed Antiquity, obviously from the point of view and mentality of medieval taste and usage, but nonetheless quite distinct within contemporary production.

Noël Adams, John Cherry, and James Robinson, eds., Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals. London: British Museum, 2008. Paper. Pp. v, 137; many black-and-white and color figures and 1 table. $50. Distributed in North America by the David Brown Book Co., 28 Main St., Oakville, CT 06779.

Previous articleNext article No AccessNoël Adams, John Cherry, and James Robinson, eds., Good Impressions: Image and Authority in Medieval Seals. London: British Museum, 2008. Paper. Pp. v, 137; many black-and-white and color figures and 1 table. $50. Distributed in North America by the David Brown Book Co., 28 Main St., Oakville, CT 06779.PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Speculum Volume 85, Number 3July 2010 The journal of the Medieval Academy of America Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1017/S0038713410002095 Views: 22Total views on this site Copyright © The Medieval Academy of America 2010PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Use of the Rebus on Medieval Seals and Monuments

The rebus played a distinctive role in medieval seal design as well as on monuments, in architectural ornament, and on the glazing quarries or other subsidiary details of windows. Seals are the largest group and they provide a valuable source of dated material, because they can usually be identified with the user. In this they can be joined to a lesser extent by examples found on monumental brasses or, more rarely, on tombs. Accordingly the present study has been based on a survey of published English medieval seals, with comparanda from the examples found on monumental brasses and tombs.

AUSSTELLUNGEN DES JAHRES 2000 IN UNGARN IM ZEICHEN DES MILLENNIUMS

Summary In this survey of the most important exhibitions of art historical interest the following exhibitions and (if published, also with the indication of their texts or summaries in an other language then Hungarian) their catalogues are reviewed. History and its Images, the Relationships between Past and Art in Hungary – Hungarian National Gallery/Budapest Images of Hungarian History – Historical Gallery of the Hungarian National Museum/Budapest Medieval History in the Mirror of Seals. Medieval Seals of Esztergom – Cathedral Treasury/Esztergom Cult and Relics of Hungarian Saints – Christian Museum/Esztergom The Center of Europe around 1000 (an international exhibition) – Hungarian National Museum/Budapest „Basilica grandis et famosa‘ The Provostry Church of the Holy Virgin (stone carvings of the medieval royal Provostry of Szekesfeharvar) – Museum of King St. Stephan/Szekesfeharvar Three Codexes (the Csatar-Admont Bible, the Hungarian Angevin Legendary and the Psalter of Bishop Urban Nagylucsei) – Szec...

Three Gems in the Society's Collection

The purpose of this note is to mark the transfer to the Society's museum of three Roman gemstones which came into my possession as gifts at different times and which I decided I would like to share with the Fellowship in general. The Society, indeed, has long owned a number of medieval and later seals and sealings, a few of which were recently displayed in the entrance lobby, and it has long seemed to me that the inclusion of Roman intaglios would make its holdings more representative for future students. Historians of medieval sigillography in the past were rather ignorant of Roman gems and, indeed, of Classical iconography in general and more curiously were hardly aware that the seal use of the Middle Ages almost exactly parallels earlier Roman practice. However, since the recent publication of a general book on sealing, the basic continuity of the tradition should be obvious to all.

Medieval

The Goths. By Peter Heather Utraeque Res Publicae. The Emperor Anastasius I's Gothic Policy (491–518). Second Revised Edition. By Jan Prostko‐Prostyn´ski Cambridge Illustrated Atlas. Warfare: The Middle Ages 768–1487. By Nicholas Hooper and Matthew Bennett The Middle Ages in the North‐West. Edited by Tom Scott and Pat Starkey Anglo‐Saxon Glastonbury: Church and Endowment. By Lesley Abrams St Mary's Church, Deerhurst, Gloucestershire: Fieldwork, Excavations and Structural Analysis, 1971–1984. By Philip Rahtz and Lorna Watts The Commercialisation of English Society, 1000–1500. Second Edition. By Richard Britnell The Restoration of the Monastery of St Martin of Tournai. By Herman of Tournai Marriage, Family and Law in Medieval Europe: Collected Studies. By Michael M. Sheehan, CSB A Guide to British Medieval Seals. By P. D. A. Harvey and Andrew McGuinness Straws in the Wind. Medieval Urban Environmental Law: The Case of Northern Italy. By Ronald E. Zupko and Robert A. Laures An Illustrated History of Late Medieval England. Edited by Chris Given‐Wilson Progress and Problems in Medieval England. Essays in Honour of Edward Miller. Edited by Richard Britnell and John Hatcher William Wallace: Brave Heart. By James Mackay The Pipe Roll of the Bishopric of Winchester 1301–2. Edited by Mark Page Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century. By Kelly DeVries Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages. By David Nirenberg Living and Dining in Medieval Paris: The Household of a Fourteenth‐Century Knight. By Nicole Crossley‐Holland The Register of William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, 1344–1355. Volume 1. Edited by Phyllis E. Pobst The Plumpton Letters and Papers. Edited by Joan Kirby

The Earliest Imprese, A Study of some Medieval Seals and Devices

The Earliest Imprese, A Study of some Medieval Seals and Devices

Two Medieval Seals from County Louth

Two Medieval Seals from County Louth

Early Heraldry: How to Crack the Code

Previous articleNext article No AccessEarly Heraldry: How to Crack the CodeMeredith Parsons LillichMeredith Parsons Lillich Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Gesta Volume 30, Number 11991 Sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/767008 Views: 9Total views on this site Citations: 2Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1991 International Center of Medieval ArtPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Elizabeth Carson Pastan Glazing Medieval Buildings, (Feb 2019): 627–656.https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119077756.ch26John Alexander McEwan The challenge of the visual: making medieval seals accessible in the digital age, Journal of Documentation 71, no.55 (Sep 2015): 999–1028.https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-12-2013-0163

A note on the medieval borough seals of Wilton

A note on the medieval borough seals of Wilton

The recording of medieval (and some later) seals

The recording of medieval (and some later) seals