What Does sigillography Mean
The sphragistics is the discipline devoted to the analysis of the seals used for closing sheets and authorization documents. It is a method that is used in history , archeology , law , heraldry , diplomacy and genealogy , among other areas of knowledge.
The purpose of stealth is to study, critically, those stamps that have historically been used to validate or authorize certain documentation, whether state or private.
The object of study of stealth, therefore, are stamps : the impressions that are obtained from the pressure exerted with a matrix to leave a record on a surface. The stamp can be made of sealing wax , wax , paper , metal or other material that allows a sign to be printed .
The medieval seal is one of the most studied by experts in this discipline since at that time it was common for both kings and nobles and other relevant figures to resort to the use of this element to be able to certify their documents and record that they were them. those who endorsed them. Thus, for example, there is no medieval movie or series in which at some point one of the characters does not appear sealing their cards.
Thanks to stealth, knowledge related to the customs , politics and art of each era can be obtained. This is because the stamps reflect various issues of their time in the documents in which they are applied.
It is important to know that it was in the nineteenth century when various scholars and historians shaped sigil as we understand it. And it is that at that moment they made the decision to make it an essential tool to know the past, that is, it could be used as a historical source.
Specifically, that was a measure that from the first moment they bet on promoting figures of the stature of Otto Posse, Germain Demay, Hermann Grotefend or Douet d´Arcq.
At the time of use, the seal has legal value . With the passage of time , however, it acquires other values, such as historical value or cultural value , which are studied by stealth.
At present, sigilography is important in the field of collecting as it provides information of interest about stamps. The discipline allows an assessment of each piece and, in this way, also values the stamp collection in question.
Other interesting facts that are worth knowing about the stamps are the following:
-They could have one face stamped or both directly.
-In the legend that they incorporate, the holder or owner of the stamp is made clear.
-Among the most common forms that the aforementioned stamps can present are the oval, shield-shaped, round, with the appearance of a spindle ...
-As a general rule, the size of the stamps that the sigilography proceeds to study is usually very varied. And there are those that are just a few millimeters in size and others that reach 15 centimeters.