seals-bib - 11/29/02 A bibliography on medieval seals and useful comments on creating modern seals by Master Magnus Malleus, OL. NOTE: See also the files: seals-msg, sealing-wax-msg, casting-msg, mailng- scrols-msg, wax-tablets-msg, metalwork-msg, ivory-msg, bone-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with seperate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the orignator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous mark.s.harris@motorola.com stefan@florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 16:57:57 -0400 From: rmhowe To: Metalcasting@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: Seals > Corwyn and Carowyn > Wax Seal Stamps? > > There are some people in my shire who would > like to find a person to create some personal wax > seal stamps. Is anyone here interested? Please > contact me off-list at so we > can talk. We're looking at 3 stamps at the very > least, and I haven't mentioned it to the whole > shire yet. > -Caro ............ > From: Todd > Subject: Re: Wax Seal Stamps? > > Some simpler period wax seals were done in stone. Can you cite a reference for this? I have yet to see a medieval one except perhaps Roman era spoilia reused in medieval rings. Not to be a smartass, but the subject interests me. Follows a list of some of my resources: ............ The Antiquaries Journal reprint, July 1939 (Vol. XIX, No. 3), plate LX, includes picture of Seal of Simon de Montfort. ........... There are three Surviving Anglo-Saxon seals, one of which was done in Ivory. Two of which are in the following book: Blair, John: Anglo-Saxon Oxfordshire; Sutton Publishing Ltd. / Oxfordshire Books, 1994/8, 230pp., 102 illustrations. Ivory seal of Godwine the minister from Wallingford, gold wire ring, 11th century seal of an eighth century princess - Saint Frideswide. ISBN 0750917504 pb, £14.99 .......... Clark, John: Saxon and Norman London; The Museum of London, 1989. John Clark is in the Department of Antiquities (MoL), 48 page colour and black and white paperback, 1989, 1st printing, ISBN 0112904580 £3.95 The Seal of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital 34. The Common Seal of the City of London 39 with St. Paul bearing sword with banner before the City of London - Says Seal of the Barons of London, On the opposite face to the figure of St. Paul (see page 39) was that of St. Thomas Beckett enthroned over the London skyline 44. Charter of King John with Seal 9 May 1215 page 43. .............. Clay, Charles: The Seals of the Religious Houses of Yorkshire; Oxford, Society of Antiquaries of London, 1928. Reprint from Archaeologia LXXVIII, pp. 1-36 and Plates I-IX. ............ Russian Novgorod: Artsikhovskii, A.V. & Kolchin, B.A. (eds.): Trudy Novgorodskoi Arkheologicheskoi Ekspeditsii. Tom I. (Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR. 55.) 248, (2)pp. Prof. illus. Lrg. 4to. Cloth. Moskva (Izdatel’stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR), 1956. Novogorod I 1956 Archaeological Study by Artsikhovsky, Topography, stratigraphy and chronology by B. A. Kolchin, Pendant seals 51-4 by V.L. Yannin .............. Artsikhovskii, A.V. & Kolchin, B.A. (eds.): Trudy Novgorodskoi Arkheologicheskoi Ekspeditsii. Tom II. (Materialy i Issledovaniia po Arkheologii SSSR. 65.) Moskva (Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR), 1959. 362, (2)pp. Prof. illus. Lrg. 4to. Novgorod 1958 Volume II Iron and Steel by B.A. Kolchin, Weapons A. F. Medvedev, Leatherwork and Shoemaking by S.A. Izyumova, Metal articles of dress and adornment by M.V. Sedova, Seals, Agriculture. .............. Blair, C. H. Hunter, M.A., F.S.A.: Some Medieval Seal Matrices; Antiquaries Journal, 4, (3), 1924, pp. 240-8, depicts seven varied seals and one seal matrice. .............. The Treatises of Benvenuto Cellini on Goldsmithing and Sculpture ISBN 0486215687 ............... Cherry, John, M.A: The Dunstable Swan Jewel, reprinted from the Journal of the Archaeological Association, Third Series, Vol. XXXXII, 1969, pp38-53 and plates XXIV-XXVI, includes Illustrations of both sides of jewel, seal of the office of the Cockett, lead badges, and roundel in bronze. ............ Cherry, John: A Note on Two Seal Matrices, pp. 320-3, in folder with: Spencer, Brian: Pilgrim Souvenirs from the Medieval Waterfront Excavations at Trig Lane, London, 1974-6; in Lond. Mid. Arch. 33, 1982, pp. 304-20. ........ Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities: New Acquisitions No. 1 (1976-78) Part II Post Medieval, British Museum Occaisional Paper No. 10, 1980. Includes a history of post medieval seal matrices and what happened to them and concentrates on the Seal Matrices of Queen Victoria. ........... Arthur Fox-Davies books on heraldry are full of Seals, as are a number of other heraldry books. ........ Gravett, Christopher: Bosworth 1485 - Last Charge of the Plantagenets; Osprey Military Campaign Series 66; ISBN 1855328631, PB, 96 pages, 1999. Battle scene plates by Graham Turner. Depicts: Seal of Richard III as Admiral of the fleet - English Royal castellated fighting ship with royal arms on sail - p. 6-7. Lead Boar Hat Badge of Richard III found in the moat of Middleham Castle, Yorkshire page 12. Collars of Maintenance. A late 15th C. gold seal ring with a bezel bearing the emblem of an enameled Boar, believed dropped by a supporter of Richard III and supposedly found on the battle site at Bosworth (belongs to Duke of Devonshire) p. 77, quite fancy. ........... A Guide to the Seals in the Public Record Office by the P.R.O. ........... Harvey, P.D.A and Andrew McGuinness: A Guide to British Medieval Seals; A well-written and lucid introduction to the development, design and use of all types of medieval seals. 133p, 109 illus (British Library & Public Record Office 1996) Hb £29.00 oxbow 1998. ........... Hinton, John: Medieval Jewellery From the Eleventh to the Fifteenth Century; Shire Archaeology 21, 1982 1st UK ed., Princes Risborough, UK, With B&W illus. 1982 first edition, 48pp., ISBN 0852635761, List of plates, introduction, materials, types of jewels, Jewellery and History; Note; Museums to visit; further reading, Plates, index. Two gold finger rings engraved for use as seals; Bronze signet ring from Christchurch Priory. ......... Jenkinson, Hilary: Some Notes on the Preservation, Moulding and Casting of Seals; Antiq. Journal 4, 1924, pp.388-403. ........... Jones, Michael: The Seals of John IV, Duke of Brittainy, 1364-1399; Antiquaries Journal 55, 1975, pp366-81. ........... Kingsford, H: Seal Matrices with Screw-out Centres; Antiq. Journal 4, 1924 pp249-56. .......... McGregor, Arthur: Bone, Antler, Ivory, & Horn; Long out of print mid 80's ISBN 0389205311 ........... Mills, Nigel: Medieval Artefacts; 1999, ISBN 1897738277. Buckles; strapends and belt mounts; seal matrices; thimbles; pilgrim badges; finger rings; brooch buckles; harness pendants; locks, keys and weights; spoons, knives and pottery; arrowheads, spurs and edged weapons; purses, pins, buttons, pendants, mirrors, and whistles; ecclestiastical objects; select bibliography .......... Knights Hospitaller (1) 1100-1306; by David Nicolle, Phd.; Illustrated by Christa Hook; Osprey Warrior Series 33; ISBN 1841762148; PB, 64 pages including 10 plates. Bibliography and Glossary one page each. Depicts: Various citadels and fortified abbeys; sculpture of warriors on different capitals; 12th C. Great Seal of the Hospitaller Convent p. 17 f&B; Seals of Father Roger de Moulins (F&B), Front and Back of the Great Seal of the Master, Father Nicholas Lorgne, dating from around 1282, Wax Seal of the Master, Father Hugues Revel , dating from around 1268. ........... Royal Armouries Yearbook 6; 2001, £17.50 before shipping. Pyrotechnic Devices from Coburg Castle; by Alfred Geibig, pp. 88-97. 89-1 Limepot (Sturmtopf) from Coburg Castle with the original seal, surrounded by caltrops smeared with remnants of quicklime from another pot. ........... Saunders, Peter and Eleanor: Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue Part I, published by the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, The King's House, 65 The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2EN, England, ISBN 0947535136. Contains an article on Seal Matrices by John Cherry pp. 29-39 with a half page bibliograhy. ........... Tait, Hugh: Jewelry: 7000 Years; ISBN 0810981033 ............. Ward Perkins, J B.: London Museum Medieval Catalogue 1940. Anglia Publishing, 1993. Catalogue of the wide-ranging collection: weapons, tools, horse furniture, pendants, keys, purses, weights, lighting, household utensils, plate, pottery, tiles, pilgrim souvenirs, buckles, chapes, figures, wood, bone, ivory, glass, pipeclay, whetstones, seals. 322pp, illustrated boards, profusely illustrated with photos and drawings. New. Book #16 £24.50 (approx. $38.89) Anglia Publishing , Unit T, Dodnash Priory Farm Hazel Shrub, Bentley, Ipswich, United Kingdom , IP9 2DF Phone 01473 311138 / Fax 01473 312288, anglia@anglianet.co.uk ('99) ........ Welch, Martin: Anglo-Saxon England; English Heritage PB Edition, Batsford, 1992-2000, ISBN 0713465662. 144pp., 91 illustrations, appendices, 2 1/2 page bibliography. contains a replica of Childeric’s signet seal ring, 7th C.. .......... Cylinder seals of stone and baked clay were used in ancient times. I have at least one book on that. Those are very very old. European Merchant tags were used on bags of shipped materials in period o=o folded over and stamped. > I believe that in the Orient there were stone stamps as well. Called Chops. In cast metal also. One of the things the Japanese brought up from the bottom of the (Hakone?) bay where the Mongols attempted an unsuccessful invasion (mostly due to weather) is a large bronze probably general's seal. Also it was custom for oriental merchants to affix their steel stamp mark to silver passing through their shops. I have a spanish piece of eight that looks like a bowl and is over twice normal size due to the eighty or more chopmarks on it. > You may want to consider a group project in soapstone and let > people carve their own.. > Mistakes are easily fixed with a piece of sandpaper... :o) Be aware that most soapstone except Montana white contains asbestos and that talc is also a known carcinogen. Talc (with asbestos) is the main ingredient of soapstone. I suggest a down draft fan, a bathroom fan with attendant hose, placed on the table behind your carving work, hooked up to a hole in a panel placed in your window. $20 is cheaper and easier than dying slowly of cancer and emphysema. My mother took a year and a half. Could barely whisper the last six months. My surrogate father also had emphysema but the intestinal cancer got him first. Still wasn't pretty. You can also get stomach cancer or intestinal cancer, or even skin problems caused by asbetos fibers. You can also pass it to members of your family by way of washing clothes together. National Geographic had a picture of a man, a ship fitter, members of whose family had caught it this way a decade or so ago. > Pieces can also be carved to look like chess pieces or other > decorations so that they can sit out on tabletop. Only the bottom > needs to be carved for impressing the wax - and since the carving > would most likely be a negative, it'd stand out quite well in the > wax. It's an easily workable Idea though. So is Bone, which you can obtain sanitised at a good pet food store. Carving impressions could be checked by Silly Putty or Kleen Clay as you progress. At least small ones could be checked this way. I still carve a bit of bone when the wife allows me near it. The results in my muscles wear both of us out. Ann has to do a lot of heavy acupressure with her elbows on me as a result. > The key is using good stampable wax, not a parafin base. > > Dafydd Years ago, before I became disabled with a muscle/nervous system disability I prepared a polished cast iron blank for the Atlantian Seal to be engraved on. I'd been engraving for years at the time. Unfortunately I didn't get the cooperation promised by the Atlantian Kingdom Herald at the time. In fact I got none at all despite repeated requests. So, curiously, after I was made a Laurel, Duke Badouin asked what had happened to that project. Well, the above happpened. As what had disabled me by my Laurelling was Fibromyalgia, and since has progressed to chronic myofascial pain it's not likely to get done now. Atlantia has a very complicated set of devices. (It turned out to be like one of those things you know you should have bought when you saw it the first time. Gone now.) If I do it in the future it will have to be done in very carefully modeled wax to be cast as opposed to engraved. That equipment's needed area and venting is presently awaiting a lot of remodelling to be able to use. But since the wife's position of 33 years just got reduced in force by the state we may be a bit closer to getting to it. After a couple hundred feet of badly needed bookcases. Master Magnus Malleus, OL, GDH, Atlantia © 2002 R.M. Howe *No reposting my writings to newsgroups, especially rec.org.sca, or the SCA-Universitas elist. I view this as violating copyright restrictions. As long as it's to reenactor or SCA -closed- subscriber based email lists or individuals I don't mind. It's meant to help people without aggravating me.* Inclusion, in the http://www.Florilegium.org/ as always is permitted. Edited by Mark S. Harris seals-bib 6