Iconographic changes of ecclesiastic seals in the medieval Hungarian Kingdom (illustrated by the example of Spis chapter provosts)

Abstract

The study deals with the evolution of great seals used by provosts of the St. Martin´s Spis Collegiate Chapter in the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. A seal image used to be an important part of seals. From the iconographic point of view the most interesting are seals of clerical institutions and dignitaries. These items, containing a large number of depicted motifs, became an important source of research in the area of medieval iconography, hagiography, heraldry and the history of art in general. The study introduces the evolution and metamorphoses of motifs as they appeared on Spis provosts´ seals during the thirteenth–fifteenth centuries.