The Christianization of Lithuania in 1387 ended one of the most violent processes of Christianization in European history and sparked the formation of a network of dioceses in the last pagan country in Europe (Rabikauskas 2002; Ališauskas 2006; Kiaupienė 2019, 5). Christianity eventually became solidified as the dominant faith in the co untry. This paper will consider the heraldry of bishops' seals in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th century. Coats of arms can be found on heraldic seals (Pokora 2011, 109-90; 2015, 145-96), at armorials of the 16th century (Rimša 2015, 142-47) and later, in books, on church necessities (Budrys 2002) and inventories, tomb monuments (Urbanavičius 2008), memorial plaques, and numerous other items. These signified that the bishops started their activities and had their stamps (matrix) created and the documents of these bishops were certified with seals.
The legislation related to seals and the seals themselves were different in each state and in different historical periods (Sipavičiūtė 2020). As Andrea Stieldorf (2004) has put it very vividly, by sealing a document a seal holder would assume long-term obligations, but notwithstanding the great significance of a seal, there was no global seal legislation that would be uniformly applied and defined in a written document, a kind of "Constitution of Sphragistics". Some regulations have been found that controlled what kind of documents could have a seal, and by whom and when they could be stamped, although they were period- or region-specific and thus were possibly different. In order to learn about these regulations and norms, the practice of seal use is analyzed by looking at documents sealed by a specific group of persons from a specific region over a selected time period. In this article, the concept of seal legislation is defined by examining the following four points:
1. Region: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
2. Seals: seals of bishops from the 16th century, but mainly of the bishop of Vilnius, Paulius Alšėniškis (Paulus Holshansky).
3. Period: 16th century
4. Names and naming in seals of Vilnius bishop Paulius Alšėniškis.
This paper draws on work by Edmundas Rimša (2008), the most important historian of heraldry and sphragistics in Lithuania. In his book Heraldry Past To Present (2015, 142-47), the historian has presented several important topics he did not research, so as new material is discovered in the archives, I will continue to expand this topic. The heraldry depicted in the images of bishops’ seals has changed. For example, on the earliest seals of bishop you can see the pontifical images of bishops or their patron saints.
It is hard to pinpoint what distinguished the coats of arms of bishops from the 14th-15th centuries from the heraldry of other noble personages. The fashion of supplementing arms with signs denoting the clergy probably did not exist at that time. Entirely new attributes in the heraldry of church hierarchs appeared at the end of the 15th century, namely mitres and pastorals (Rimša 2015, 143). The use of pontifical images of bishops or their patron saints was discontinued. In addition to a mitre and pastoral, a sword can be found behind the shield in the heraldry of bishops early in the 16th century.
I have discovered a lot of unique information about the coats of arms and seals of one of the most important bishops of the 16th century: Paulus Holshansky (Paulius Alšėniškis), the Bishop of Lutsk (1507-1536) and of Vilnius (1536-1555). Throughout the 15th century, the Holshansky (Alšėniškiai) family was particularly involved in the political life of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Petrauskas 2003, 65; 2016, 83-98; Šedvydis 2011; Jovaiša 2016, 54). One of the most famous members of this family was bishop Paulius Alšėniškis. According to historian of medieval studies in Lithuania, Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas (2016, 95-6):
Bishop Paulius was one of those high-ranking Church officials who, apart from state and private or family interests, diligently took care of the affairs of the bishoprics entrusted to them. While still in Lutsk in 1517 he convened the first synod of bishopric in the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was interested in humanist literature all his life, accumulated one of the richest private libraries of that time, and undertook the reconstruction of the Vilnius Cathedral.
The Alšėniškiai were one of the few families of old Lithuania that had the right to the title of duke. According to Petrauskas (2016, 83-4):
Since the establishment of the Gediminas dynasty, the rule has been in effect that only persons with the blood of this ruling family are titled princes, but from the fog of medieval sources today we cannot say exactly why the rulers of Lithuania granted them this exclusive privilege. By choosing the symbol of the Centaur (Antoniewicz 1997; 2013), they declared their desire to belong to the world of kings and dukes. Also, the Centaur coat of arms was very suitable for the 15th century to emphasize the legend of the origin of Lithuanians from the Romans. The creation of this legend was based on the fact that the Alšėniškiai had connections with the families of the sovereigns of Central and Eastern Europe. This is a legend about the arrival of Roman senators from the family of the Centaur coat of arms to Lithuania and the beginning of the Alšėnai dukes.
The dynasty of the rulers of Lithuania thus allegedly originated from this family. Figure 1 shows their heraldry. The third coat of arms has three hunting horns (from mother Sofija Sudimantaitė). The fourth depicts a crescent moon, and a star above it, the coat of arms of Leliva (the coat of arms of the maternal grandmother Jadvyga Manvydaitė). A bishop's mitre and pastoral are placed above the shield.
There is very interesting information about the coat of arms and naming of bishop Paulius Alšėniškis in his super ex libris found on the cover of a book from his library (Volume 4 of the Works by John Chrysostom published in Basel in 1539), which is currently held at the Martynas Mažvydas national Library of Lithuania (Figure 2). According to Jadvyga Misiūnienė (2015), this book is stamped at the top of the upper hardcover with ‘QVARTVS TOMVS’, at the bottom of the binding with the date of binding ‘MDXXXXXXII’ (1542), and in the centre with a separate stamp of the super ex-libris of Paulus Alšėniškis. The legend around the coat of arms reads ‘PAVLVS D[EI] G[RATIA] EP[ISCOP]VS VILNEN[SIS] DVX OLSCHANENSIS’ (in English, ‘Paulus, by the Divine Grace Bishop of Vilnius, Prince of Alšėnai’). The super ex-libris is dated 1533, but according to the binding of the book it is dated 1542, which is why the super ex-libris of Paulus of Alšėnai is currently considered to be the oldest Lithuanian super ex-libris.
In 1536, Paulius Alšėniškis became Bishop of Vilnius, and his sphragistics reveal some very interesting heraldic material. It is worth exploring whether his seal remained the same as it was during his Bishopric of Lutsk, or whether it was changed or supplemented in any way. The first privilege to consider is the 1536 Agreement between the Bishops of Vilnius and Lutsk mediated by the Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland and the Grand Duchess of Lithuania (Figure 3). Four seals are attached to the document. One of them is the seal of Paulius Alšėniškis. The seal legend reads in Latin, ‘‘S PAVLI DVCIS OLSANENSIS EPI [SCOPVS] VILNENSIS’. In English, ‘seal of Paulius, Duke of Alšėnai, the Bishop of Vilnius’. The image of the seal shows a quartered shield from the mature Renaissance period.
Figure 3. The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. LMAVB RS F1-120.
Figure 4. The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, LMAVB RS F3-98.
Another example is the 1536 privilege of Paulius Alšėniškis (Figure 4). The legend is decayed, only a few words in Latin can be seen: ‘S • PAVL… • EPI • VI…’. In English, ‘… the seal of the Bishop of Vilnius... Paul’. Below the shield is the date, 1536. This allows us to accurately identify the date when the stamp was made. It is interesting that the shield bearer depicted on the heraldic left on the side of the shield appears to be a human figure.
Another important privilege is from 1544 where we find the seal of Paulius Alšėniškis, Bishop of Vilnius (Figure 5). Although the image of the seal is a little faded, we can clearly see the impressive heraldry. The image of the stamp depicts Mary cradling Jesus Christ in her arms. Paulius Alšėniškis is kneeling on Mary's heraldic right. Above it is St. Paul with a sword in his hand. The heraldic figure on the left is a shield bearer - an angel holding a shield with the quartered coat of arms. Around the seal is the legend in Latin,‘...PAVLI DEIGRA EPI VILNENSIS [the letters (E) and (N) combined to create the ligature (EN)], ... DVCIS OLSANENSIS [the letters (N) and (E) combined to create the ligature (NE)].’ In Lithuanian, ‘The seal of Paul, by the Divine God the Bishop of Vilnius... Duke of Alšėnai’. The image shows a ribbon with the following Latin letters: ‘S...VB...TVM PRESI...CON’. In Latin, ‘SUB TUUM PRAESIDIUM CONFUGIMUS’. In English, ‘We call for your protection’. It is a prayer to the Virgin Mary in Latin.
Figure 5. The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, LMAVB RS F6-182.
Figure 6. The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. LMAVB RS F6-201.
Another privilege from 1552 (Figure 6) states that Paulius Alšėniškis is selling a plot of land in Vilnius to Albertas Jasinskis. The seal of Paulius Alšėniškis is affixed under the privilege. In the legend of the seal it is written in Latin ‘PAVLVS + EPS + VILNENSIS · DVX · OLSAN 1550’. In Lithuanian, ‘Paulius Vilnius Bishop, Duke of Alšėnai 1550’. From the legend of the seal we learn that it was important for Paul to not only mention his already established title of bishop, but also that he was the Duke of Alšėnai as well. We also learn from the legend that the stamp was made in 1550.
I have found several surviving signet seals of Paulius Alšėniškis on documents, where the image of the seal shows only one coat of arms of the Hippocentaurus on the shield. Consider the seal on the document from 1545 as an example (Figure 7). The shield is surmounted by a bishop's mitre, with the following two figures on either side of the shield crossed behind the shield: a pastoral on the heraldic right and a sword on the heraldic left. There are two initial letters on the sides of the shield and one letter under the shield. On the heraldic right of the shield are the letters P and V, on the heraldic left are letters E and D, and under the shield is the letter O. This means ‘P[AVLVS] + E[PISCOPVS] + V[ILNENSIS] · D[VX]· O[LSANSIS]’. In English, ‘Bishop of Vilnius, Duke Paulius of Alšėnai’. There is the date 1536 above the shield, on both sides of the mitre, the date of the stamp.
Figure 7. Document from 1545, but a seal from 1536 of Paulius Alšėniškis, the Bishop of Vilnius. Vilnius university library, VUB RS F4-(A322)-18326.
Another document from 1541 (Figure 8) carries an oval signet seal of the same heraldic design of Paulius Alšėniškis, but with fewer initials of the Bishop. The image of the seal, the shield, also contains the coat of arms of the Hippocentaur. Above the shield is a bishop’s mitre, and crossed behind the shield are a pastoral on the heraldic right and a sword on the heraldic left. The initials on the sides of the shield are ‘P[AVLVS]’ – ‘Paulius’, the first letter of the bishop’s name, and the second letter is illegible. I would assume this is the letter E for ‘E[PISCOPVS]’, ‘bishop’. I have found the same signet seal of the same heraldic design on a document from 1554 (Figure 9). As we can see from the initials, there are fewer of them in these signet seals, which suggests that Povilas Alšėniškis used several types of signet seals.
In conclusion, legends of bishops’ seals and signets are primarily evidence of the territories and cities of bishops. Bishops’ signets usually contain not legends, but shorter initials of just 2-5 letters. Of course, as more seals of this bishop are found in the future, some of the conclusions of this article may be adjusted. This article thus aims to confirm that sphragistics, being one of the auxiliary historical sciences, can reveal great amounts of important material not only about the seals themselves, but also about the bishops. The seals are really interesting material for any historian who knows how to make them speak.
* This research will be published in full in a forthcoming edition of Heraldisk Tidsskrift 2024.
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Dr Justina Sipavičiūtė is a researcher at The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuania Academy of Sciences, Lithuania. She is consistently interested in and researches historical seals, their development and their use, as well as heraldry.
From 2009-2015, Dr Sipavičiūtė studied at Vilnius University in the Faculty of History where she earned a Bachelor's degree in history (Seals law in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th -18th c.) and a Master's degree in history (Seals of the land court in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th-18th c.). She has been a PhD student at Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Institute of History from 2015-2019. Her PhD thesis was successfully defended in 2020: "The Seal in Courts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th-18th Centuries" (Humanities Science, History and archaeology). In 2019, Justina was awarded a scholarship from the Research Council of Lithuania for her academic achievements. Now she writes scientific articles and attends conferences across Europe.
Email: justinasipav@gmail.com.
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