[MR] History Blog: Seal Bags and Charlemagne’s Shroud

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today the History Blog story is all about a "seal bag" attached to a
document in the Westminster Abbey archives.

"And what", you ask, "is a seal bag?" Well, it is a small pouch that was
slipped over a wax seal impression affixed to an official document. It
protects the fragile wax from damage and deterioration, thus preserving
what amounted to a legal signature.

The impression and its bag are affixed to a 1267 promissory note from King
Henry III for valuable items borrowed from the Abbey to pay his war debts
(probably pledging what the king didn't really own as collateral). That
means the document was sort of an IOU or a royal pawn ticket. The King
apparently redeemed his pledge to the Abbey, but had he failed it would
have no doubt provided an interesting scandal for historians to ponder.

And the Charlemagne connection? Charlemagne (748-814 CE) was, as you
probably remember, the first Holy Roman emperor. What you may not know is
that Frederick Barbarossa (another HRE) had him dug up in 1115. In 1215 yet
another HRE, Frederick II, had Charlemagne's remains wrapped in a fancy
shroud made from costly fabrics, and reburied with great pomp (Charlemagne
was now considered a saint). The tomb was opened in 1988, and the shroud
was photographed and documented.

Now let's back up a bit. Henry III's brother was Richard Earl of Cornwall,
who went on to become HRE in 1257. Richard is known to have gifted
expensive fabrics to Westminster Abbey. The seal bag is a match for the
Charlemagne shroud, though the burial cloth is intact. The fabric for the
bag must have come from the same workshop, maybe from the same bolt of
cloth as the shroud. Now is this cool, or what?

The History Blog story is at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/71882 .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.