Monreale (Sicily) Lead seal of William II 1184

    Lead seal affixed to a charter of William II (1166-1184) granting property to the church of S. Maria Nova at Monreale (Palermo). The seal depicts on the obverse Christ in Majesty, on the reverse King William II holding the insignia of power. It bears the inscription "William, by the grace of God, king of Sicily, duke of Puglia and prince of Capua".
Both the inscription and the charter are written in Latin, marking the abandoning of Greek and Latin bilingualism at the royal chancellery. However the seal type has changed little from that used during the reign of the first king of Sicily, Roger II (1130-1154), which itself copied the models of the Eastern Empire. It involves a bull, a blank metal disc, struck on both faces. With the representation of Christ on the obverse and of the king on the reverse, the earthly monarchy is thus directly associated with the reign of the divine.

Dimensions of the object
Diameter 3.5 cm

Bibliography
- "L'età normanna e sveva in Sicilia", catalogo della mostra a Palazzo dei Normanni a Palermo, organizzata dall'Assemblea Regionale Siciliana, Palermo, 1994, p. 104

Location
Tabularium of  S. Maria Nova

Photography
G. Cappellani