Exchanging Medieval Material Culture Studies on archaeology and ...

<strong>Medieval</strong> and later trade in textiles between
Belgium and England. The picture from some finds
of cloth seals
Geoff Egan
1 Introduction
What follows has been compiled by the writer over a number
of years through the kindness of archaeologists, curators and
other correspondents in Belgium and elsewhere, who have
made the information available and expedited examination of
collections of fi nds during a couple of visits. Almost certainly
signifi cant material in Belgium will have been missed by the
writer, for which he can only apologise. Th e evidence then
available for this complicated subject was briefl y summarised
in a single paragraph some fi ft een years ago1. Since then not
only have many more seals pertinent to the two-way trade been
found and identifi ed, but issues from production centres then
unrepresented by fi nds have also emerged. Potential seals of
Brussels or Bruges with little more specifi c than a prominent
letter B currently present problems of identifi cation (at least
for a researcher based in England). Some of these and other
seals have what looks like a ‘Belgic’ lion as a prominent feature
of the stamps. For most cloth seals wherever they are found,
close dating evidence is scarce. Th is paper must inevitably be
considered only a preliminary listing and it will hopefully be
superseded by further work particularly by Belgian colleagues.
2 The sealing of cloth
Th e historical background of the medieval textile industries in
the area of modern Belgium and their trade and subsequent
development are very well documented2. For the English
speaker, several of the works of John Munroe are particularly
useful, as are the publications of Harding3. Th e diligent
research by economic historians has traced the scale of production
in thousands and even hundreds of thousands for decades
on end for several of the most signifi cant production centres.
1 Egan 1995b, 320.
2 e.g. Laurent 1935; De Poerck 1951.
3 Munroe 1983; Idem 1994; Harding 1987; Idem
1998.
4 cf. Egan 1995a, viii.
55
Th e use of seals, presumably of lead, to mark individual, newly
woven cloths as being of good enough quality for the market
(determined by examination by local offi cials) was part of the
quality-control of this important industry. Diff erent regulations
were in force in each production centre, and diff erent
fabrics, too, required specifi c stipulations and particular seals.
Th e earliest north-European cloth seals known to the writer
among English fi nds are stamped with the lion rampant of
Flanders, and seem to date from the late 13th century onwards.
Th e tradition of sealing textiles in Belgium continued at
least into the early 18th century (and perhaps into the early
19th century) refl ecting the fortunes of the various branches of
production there.
3 Seals from cloths woven in the area of
modern Belgium found in England
3.1 Introduction
Most items found in London are in the Museum of London
(mol) – these have excavation-site codes or individual accession
numbers, and others are in the British Museum (bm);
items found in Salisbury are in the Salisbury and South
Wiltshire Museum (sswm); all items lacking collection attributions
are in private hands. Finds discovered in circumstances
other than formal excavation from 1996 onwards are in pas =
Portable Antiquities Scheme (for website database see under
fi nds.org.uk).
All seals in the listing below are of the two-disc type, apart
from those originating in Brussels and Salisbury, which have
four4.