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Description: | Complete cast copper alloy 13th century seal matrix. This seal matrix is circular in plan and flat in section. The die face is carved with the negative design of a perched bird of prey. The inscription runs around the die, also in negative, and reads S?IONIS DE FLEXMERE. The reverse of the matrix is plain. A central rib runs along the length of the die terminating in a loop. The loop is intact with a circular perforation. The seal die has a diameter of 20.16mm and is 2.4mm thick. The object weighs 4.63g. The original surface survives with an even dark green patina and the seal matrix is in generally good condition.
This is a non-heraldic personal seal, presumably of Ionis (John) of Flexmere. Internet research reveals (www.british-history.ac.uk) that the manor of Flexmere, as mentioned in Domesday, was part of the Hundred of Hitchin (in Hertfordshire) but the modern equivalent of Flexmere remains unidentified. It is possible that Ionis was a landowner within the hundred, who would have required a seal to undertake official business connected with his holdings. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 1200
1300 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Caroline McDonald | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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