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Methods of appending or attaching seals
Methods of appending or attaching seals
From a sphragistic viewpoint the way of attaching seals to paper or parchment documents can be called “appending” or “attaching”. Over time the methods changed depending on the diplomatic features of the documents and the materials used. In sigillography the two main categories are represented by pendent seals and applied seals.
Applied seals are the oldest and are made of wax sealing, wax or paper. Metal is never used for applied seals as it is incompatible with this method of attaching.
Pendent seals are appended to documents by cords, or cotton, silk or hemp threads, strips of parchments or tags (tenie). Such elements vary and are braided differently in diverse periods and military orders.
Pendent seals were already in use as from the eleventh century and became very popular in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They are typically found on membranous documents that are more resistant to the pull exerted by the seal.
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