Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
320 Z. Soós and on the seal of the Zagreb chapter (Takács 1992, 42, 99). Another important detail in the chronological identification is related to the background ornament formed by rhomb shaped net with a dot in the middle. Exactly the same motif one can see on the Zagreb seal but it is the late Anjou period in the Hungarian kingdom, when this type of decoration is widely used. On more elaborate seals instead of the dot like decoration one can see different ornaments such as the lily (Takács 1992, 42). Based on the existing medieval Hungarian ecclesiastic church seal collection presented in the book of I. Takács it is clear that most of the preserved seals were made earlier in the 13th, first half of the 14th centuries and that the material from the second half of the 14th century does not offer very good analogies. It is very likely, that for further and more exact results one should research the Austrian or German ecclesiastic seals from the same period. Taking into account the vicinity of Győr to the Austrian border and its large German population it seems logical that most probably the seal was made by a foreign goldsmith workshop like Vienna. A last and important element that helps the chronological identification of the Győr seal is the representation of the figure of Saint Elisabeth. The mantle of the saint is arranged in wimples, it covers her left shoulder, where she seems to have a larger cloth buckle. The wimples are more accentuated on her shoulder, her hip seems to be a little wider and her mantle is elegantly stretched at her knees. The way of arranging the mantle and the almost S like contra post of the saint’s figure, based on the analogies5 indicates that the seal was probably made in the second half of the 14th century. Gathering the three essential chronological elements the possible production date of the seal is very likely the second half of the 14th century. The filling of the cellar can be dated to the mid 15th century based on the large number of coins. This means that the seal after a few decades of use was lost or intentionally thrown in the garbage after the death of the guardian of the Győr Franciscan friary. We know from documents that guardians of friaries were sent to analyze the activity of the friaries in different districts and with the occasion of the local assemblies. The seal of the Győr guardian shows that he was here in an official mission and it also means that important delegations were sent from remote friaries in order to obtain an objective description of an important friary or of a region. This is one of the possible explanations on how the seal of the guardian of the Győr friary was brought to Tärgu Mures. The smaller seal (PI. 1/2) was dated to the late 16th-early 17th century, found in the filling of the stone made cellar built in the early 15th century. It was found in C23 at the depth of 1.5 m in square □ 1/d. The seal has an octagonal shape with four longer and four shorter sides. Its handle is narrowed until its end, formed by a larger buckle and it was probably hanged in its owner’s neck. On the seal one can see a moving lion raising its front right leg placed in a heraldic shield. The lion shows its tongue and it has a raised tail. Above the shield there is a small separated field with two initials G D. These two letters probably are referring to the first letters of the owner. The whole representation and the letters are surrounded by a decoration composed of a pearl row. Based on the shape, size and characteristics of the seal, it belonged very likely to a nobleman. On the basis of its shape and the letter types, the seal can be dated to the mid 16th century and it was lost or thrown during the late 16th-early 17th century. Unfortunately the coat of arms and the initials are still unknown; therefore, the identity of the seal’s owner could not be identified. 5 Regarding the iconographical representation, for the clothing the most relevant analogies are from the late 14th early 15th century, see the statues of the Buda castle or the Madonna statues from Toporec/Toporc (Slovakia) and Cisnádioara/Kisdisznód (Romania) in the collection of Hungarian National Museum (Marosi 1987,362,388,390).
