The Seals of the Lords and Ladies of Rozoy :the Future of the Three Heraldic Roses of Thiérache.Second part : the Apogee

Les sceaux des sires et dames de Rozoy : le devenir des roses de Thiérache au XIIIe siècle. Deuxième partie : l’apogée

Caroline Simonet (1)

1 CRAHAM - Centre Michel de Boüard - Centre de recherches archéologiques et historiques anciennes et médiévales

After a former article dedicated to the first seals of the Rozoy, a noble family from the North of France, this second article broaches the spread of the use of seals in this lineage. The number of seals owned by members of the Rozoy family have increased during the first part of the Thirteenth century. Roger II de Rozoy owned three great seals and two secret seals. The style of each equestrian seal is very different from one another despite the fact that the images offer the same iconography. The roses, particularly, are engraved in very distinctive manners. They appear on the knight’s shield but also on the caparison covering his charger : the horse cover is ornamented not only with heraldic shields but also scatered roses. Obviously, Roger de Rozoy wanted each new seal to be easily distinguished from the previous one, and also to display his family symbol. We know nothing of his first two wives’ seals. However, his last wife, Alix de Montmorency, used a splendid seal matrix showing her hunting, surrrounded by the three heraldic roses of the lineage. Furthermore, once a re-married widow, she used a new great seal associated to a counter-seal, ornamented with a shield holding three roses. Clémence de Rozoy, Roger’s youngest sister, also used such a counter-seal. Although both women’s great seals show them as standing figures and are entirely dedicated to their husbands, their counter seals point out their attachment to the Rozoy lineage. Indeed, the Rozoy were proud to be related to the French royal family and other aristocratic lineages. Belonging to this family was prestigious, especially since Roger II died during crusade, a glorious death in those times. All those figures’ counter-seals were in fact secret seals. The choice of this specific kind of seal, combined with the heraldic roses, may be an evocation of the expression " sub rosa ", which could be translated " under the seal of discretion ".

Mots clés: sceaux; emblématique; Thiérache; Moyen Âge; lignage; sceaux

Domaines: Art et histoire de l'art; Histoire

Caroline Simonet. Les sceaux des sires et dames de Rozoy : le devenir des roses de Thiérache au XIIIe siècle. Deuxième partie : l’apogée. Revue française d’héraldique et de sigillographie–Études en ligne, 2019, http://sfhs-rfhs.fr/wp-content/PDF/articles/RFHS_W_2019_001.pdf. ⟨hal-02984592⟩