[MR] History Blog: Medieval Finds: Ring and Seal Matrix

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble friends,

The latest posts from the History Blog highlight two delightful finds of
great interest to us, and hopefully to our A&S crafters.

One find is a charming ornate gold ring set with a blue "stone" (possibly
blue glass imitating a sapphire). It was found during  a salvage excavation
in advance of sewer work in Tønsberg, Norway. The ring is very small
suggesting it belonged to a woman. Its style dates to between the 9th and
11th centuries. Sapphires, and their imitations, represented purity.

The ring story is found at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/75042 .

An earlier story concerns a seal found by a metal detectorist in Essex,
England. The silver seal includes a Roman-era carved carnelian center piece
depicting two horses pulling a chariot. The outer ring is engraved
(backwards) with "+SECRETVM RICARDI", meaning "Richard's private seal".

Seals with Roman centers were highly prized by the English elites for
their personal day-to-day correspondence rather than more public documents
like charters. This one is tentatively dated to 1200-1400. But, "Richard
who?" one wonders.

The seal can be viewed at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/75037 .

Yours Aye,

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