

SEAL. 



Dagubert. Loui -- tin- uly !! with an equestrian figure 



on the rev. ' cuuntortls on the reverse ouiniuvnce with 



I'l.ilip II . UN'.. Limia IX., U'.'2, fint appears with a crown fleury. 

 John II.. 1 MO, has two eagle*' bead* on- hi* chair. Loui* XII., 1500, a 

 double gryphon. The king aeated on the throne continued to be 

 the tyre, with the exception of the great aeal of Louis Philippe, 

 which has on one aide hi* head in profile, and on the other his arms or 

 the two table* of the charter and law. The early coala of the German 

 empire are like the French. Henry II- introduced the seated figure, 

 which, after Frederick I., 1493, wa* aboliahed. Denmark used bronze 

 cab; the Swediah seal* reMmble the German; thoae of Spain date 

 from the 12th century ; the doge* of Venice, 1306, used gold bullic. 



The aeal wa* placed after the name of the chancellor or hU deputy 

 in white wax ; an incision in form of a croaa, or with aaltire edge* 

 turned back, having been made in the parchment and passed through, 

 *o a* to form a cake or mass on both aide*. Thi* mode of sealing 

 <> platard being easily forged, the counter-seal was introduced by the 

 prince* of Lombardy, A.D. 901. The custom of appending seals was 

 not introduced earlier than the 12th century; tails commenced in the 

 18th century, leather, hempen string, silk, parchment, were used for 

 the purpose, and the seals were placed at the bottom, top, sides, or 

 Tea all round the document As many as 350 seals were appended to 

 one document presented to the Council of Constance. Owing to the 

 injuries to which seal* were liable, it was not unusual from the 14th 

 to the 16th centuries to protect them by a little frame work or torse of 

 rush twisted round the seal ; iu the 14th century a wrapper of paper, 

 neat bands of the same, beech, bay, and oak leaves, were placed over 

 seals, and in France in the 15th century they were protected by tin 

 boxes. 



The French regal seals differ from the English and German by the 

 use of the counterseal, which is not more than an inch in diameter; 

 while the great seal of England retained an impression of the same 

 magnitude on both sides. In France, during the 1st race, the seal was 

 held by the rrfamdarita, under the 2nd, or Merovingian, by the 

 aneAicAaacetter ; aprocritain, archinotaire, arrhichapelain, under the 

 3rd, or Capets, by the chancellor, who originally wore the seal round his 

 neck, but when the seal became of large size, it was deposited in a box, 

 and the chancellor always carried the keys about him in a purse, and 

 the4>ox was carried in certain ceremonies on a caparisoned horse. In 

 this box were three others : 1st, for the great seal and counter-seal ; 

 the 2nd, that of Dauphigny ; the 3rd, that of the order of St. Louis, 

 besides which, the king had his private seaL Yellow wax was used for 

 the impressions, except for ordinances, edicts, and letters entitled " a 

 Tous presents et a venir," which were sealed with green wax, and the 

 same colour was used for those of Dauphigny ; other documents of 

 which were sealed in red. In 1 789, the office of chancery disappeared, 

 but a new one was re-established in 1808, and superseded by a com- 

 mission in 1811, and in 1S30 incorporated with the office of minister 

 of justice. 



The earliest seals of the Anglo-Saxon monarch*, Ofla, Ethelwolf, and 

 Edgar, are en piacard; of Coenwulf, 155, there is a leaden bulla ; of 

 Edward the Confessor, two wax seals pendent. Coke mentions seals of 

 Edwy, A.D. 956, of Ofla, A.D. 755-94. The Normans introduced wax 

 seals, at first of moderate size, having on the obverse the king in 

 armour on a caparisoned horse galloping, and on the reverse, the king 

 seated on a throne, a type maintained to the present day. The expense 

 of engraving a new matrix being very considerable, the monorchs were 

 content to use those of their predecessors. Edward 1 1. added to that 

 of Edward I., and Edward III. used the same with the addition of two 

 fleur-de-lis. Edward III. altered his seal eight times for political pur- 

 poses. Richard II. used his father's last matrix, merely inserting his 

 own name. Henry IV. and V., the some, by the same process. 

 Henry VI. a new matrix, like the French, with a count 

 Edward IV. a new gold seal, like that of Bretigny ; Edward V. his 

 father's, and Richard III. the same. Henry VII. a new matrix, like 

 that of Edward IV., and Henry VIII. one in the style of Francis I. 

 The matrix of the seal of^Henry IV. was of gold, the chancellor used 

 a silver matrix, which was of 10 Ibs. weight, and cost 13/. 108. for 

 material alone. The great seals of Scotland commence with Duncan 

 II., 1096, with equestrian and seated royal 6giires. Alexander I., 1107, 

 introduced the counter-seal. There were also great seals for Ireland, 

 commencing with Henry II., a leaden matrix of which is known. There 

 are, besides, the privy seals, having the royal arms only. 



Next in importance to the royal seals are those of the eccclesiastical 

 bodies and dignitaries. At first the bishops only used a private or 

 peculiar seal, but at the close of the 9th century each prolate began to 

 use a particular form of seal, in which was impressed the name and 

 title*, and image, at first half length, then standing or seated, clad in 

 his pontifical dress, and holding a crozier in one hand while giving the 

 benediction, or holding the gospels in the other. During the llth and 

 12th centuries the bishops were presented either standing or seted, 

 but in the 13th and 14th the seated attitude specially designated the 

 episcopal office. Sometimes the figures of the saints were substituted 

 for tho*c of the bishops. During the 13th century mottoes were 

 introduced. In the Hth century the designs became more rich and 

 varied, and in Germany the bishops and other religious functionaries 

 l.lactd their escutcheon on their seals beside their figure. In the 15th 

 century the escutcheon, used at first only for the countcrgcal, became 



substituted for all other devices with fewev .ly the 



device* of the episcopal seals in France have been an imitation of those 

 of the 18th century. The corporate seals of the abbeys, chapters, and 

 other ecclesiastical bodies often have a representation of the religious 

 edifice* to which they belonged, or figures of the patron mints. The 

 abbots and priors and prioresses of ten impressed their own images; the 

 numerous minor functionaries were restricted to a device, or the liyuro 

 of the patron saint. 



The corporate seals of the 12th century have the towers, castles, 

 gates, or city walls, the use of armorial bearings, which superseded 

 ultimately all other subjects, not being older than 1365. The i 

 and other municipal functionaries used a device or the city arms. In 

 England the cinque ports have ships of war. The devices of the seals 

 for the passes or passports of labourers were prescribed by the statute 

 12 Richard II., 1388. 



The use of seals, as a legal formality, was introduced into England by 

 the Normans during the llth and 12th centuries. All persons of the 

 ranks of knights and above used a horseman armed at all points going 

 to the fight or chase ; females had their effigies ; but rude forms, birds, 

 eagles, hawks, lions, dragons, crescents, and stars, are the common 

 devices of the period. The legend surrounding the device, generally 

 in Latin, contained the name and titles of the bearer. Secular persons 

 used circular seals, ecclesiastics and women the pointed oval ; counter- 

 seals, Kcrcta, do not occur earlier than 1170 : the wax used was white 

 bees'-wax, sometimes painted red, but green wax became common at 

 the close of the 12th century; during the 13th and 14th centuries 

 armorial bearings were introduced by the knights and others entitled 

 to wear them, while the middle casses adopted arbitrary devices 

 fleur-de-lis, agnus dei, &c., grotesques, and emblems of their croft or 

 calling. From the reign of Henry III. the style and art muoli im- 

 proved ; the shape of almost all the seals of this period is oval, the 

 wax generally green, and the counterseal from the year 1200 in e 

 use. After the year 1400, personal seals, not of an armorial character, 

 decline in size and importance ; and merchants' marks composed of 

 monograms, introduced by the Flemings, are common devices of the 

 15th and 16th centuries. From the 12th to the 15th century antique 

 gems set in silver were often used. 



Personal seals have either the representation of the person to whom 

 they belong, armorial bearings or arbitrary devices ; only the nubility' 

 used personal effigies, as armed, on horseback, or holding their shields ; 

 ladies stand holding a bird or fleur-de-lis. Equestrian seals are circular, 

 the others pointed. Armorial bearings begin hi the 12th and continue 

 till the 13th century ; at the end of the 15th the middle class assumed 

 coats of arms. Plain arms on pointed shields are the oldest ; at the 

 15th century the shields are surrounded with drapery. They are 

 generally orbicular, elliptic, or in form of a shield, and the matrices 

 were flat, with a dorsal ridge and little ring ; at the middle of the 1 4th, 

 helms with feathers, crests, and support appear, and Gothic letters, 

 which become common in the 15th century. Seals with grotesque 

 devices and mottoes, assumed at pleasure, were in general use during 

 the 14th and 15th centuries : love seals had two heads facing; anil a 

 favourite device was a squirrel. But after the 15th, and in the 

 beginning of the 16th, a great change took place, the wax was c 

 with white paper and impressed, and at a later period wafers | 

 between paper were introduced, while sealing-wax was invmteil by 

 Rousseau in the 17th century, and the seal, originally the substitute for 

 the signature, at last degenerated into a legal formality and fiction. 



The matrices of the early mediaeval wax seals were made of lead 

 for the middle and poorer classes, silver appears to have been used by 

 the nobility ; and iu the 13th century a mixed metal resembling brass, 

 long confined to Cologne, was used for the matrices; jet was used 

 occasionally, and the matrices worn as amulets. The matric. 

 generally flat disks, about inch thick, sometimes with a dorsal ridge 

 and a ring or loop for suspension. The double seals have projecting 

 rings at the sides, with pins for securing them when in the press. 

 The shape varied at different epochs: under the Merovingians they 

 were orbicular; under the Carlovingions, small oval. In the 14th and 

 15th century the sizes increased ; but the ordinary forms are pointed 

 vesica, oval, and angular; although trefoil, horseshoe, lozenge, square, 

 octagonal, and other varieties occur. The matrices were soni. 

 forged, dies of Pius II. for making false bulhc having been found in 

 London, and a false leaden matrix of Henry II. for Ireland still 

 ing. The colour of the wax differed according to the period : white 

 was employed by the French kings of the first three races, the 

 emperors and prelates of Germany, till the 13th century ; the kings of 

 England from the time of Charles I., and some orders of knighthood. 

 In I'Y.mee, Louis VII., A.D. 1137, first used red wax; William II., in 

 England; ami l-'ivUiiek Barbarossa, in Germany; and monastic 

 orders and territorial barons for judgments, quittances, and other 

 charters during the 14th and 15th centuries. Philip Augustus, A.D. 

 1180, Cr^t employed green wax, which was also used by the nubility 

 and ladies. Black was employed by the Teutonic order in the 13th 

 century. The form of the letters of the inscriptions changed In nn 

 time to time ; Roman capitals were in use till the 12th century, when 

 Gothic letters commenced with the form SI, SIG, or SIG1L1.X M ; 

 nml in the 14th century the legend was preceded by a cross + , and 

 later by a rosette or star. Latin was the language usually employed. 

 The name of the ecal was sometimes on the legend, as tiyilhu. 



