Search

The publication of the catalogue raisonné of the collection of seals in the Cabinet des Médailles of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France provided the occasion to unearth a certain number of exceptional medieval seal matrixes, like those used by the Abbaye du Saint-Sépulcre in Cambrai during the 12th and 13th centuries. This article provides the occasion for a fresh look at these objects, which until now had not been studied for their iconographical and stylistic interest. Thanks to a manuscript, realized in 1740 by a monk from Saint-Sépulcre, which is today in the collection of the Bibliothèque Municipale in Douai, it is possible to accurately identify the seals used by the establishment. Thus it is known that the abbey successively used four seals, all dedicated to the scene of the Resurrection. However, while on the first two large seals, realized in the 12th century, the scene is reduced to a metonymy of the episode of the visit of the Holy Women on the morning of Easter through three key elements: the empty tomb, the angel and his gesture, on the two seals engraved during the next century, the narrative scene is much more developed. Christ steps out of the tomb, while in the lower part the soldiers can be seen sleeping. The matrixes of the Saint-Sépulcre also provide the opportunity to return to two major problematic concerns of the study of seals: falsification and re-engraving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a seal mold from the secular city of Eu in Upper Normandy, France, conserved at the French national library Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, France. It notes that the mold was mentioned for the first time in the journal "Trésor de numismatique et glyptique" in 1837. The author discusses the history of the city of Eu and its status as a capital due to its commercial and military position and proceeds to describe the seal which depicts an eagle surrounded by a fragmented Latin inscription and its back seal which depicts a feline also surrounded by a Latin inscription. It is suggested that the mold's engraving can be traced back to the late 12th century.

The article focuses on the legend of the knight and swan depicted on a seal from the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. It discusses the city's seal from 1270 which depicts its mayor riding a horse and its addition of a counter-seal depicting a knight standing in a boat holding a shield, a swan swimming next to the boat, and the moon and featuring the inscription NOBISCUM DEUS. The text "Geste du chevalier au cygne et de la première croisade" which recounts the legend of Frankish knight Godefroi de Bouillon and the First Crusade and the city's reason behind its decision to depict this legend on its seal are discussed.