The seals of the bishops in the Salzburgian metropolis

The intended research project will seamlessly be attached to the previous one. It will comprise the seals of the archbishops and bishops of Salzburg, Gurk, Chiemsee, Seckau and Lavant from the diocesan regulation by Joseph II (1786) to the present, as well as the in the 20th century in the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg newly established dioceses Innsbruck and Feldkirch. The research project is a desideratum insofar as the sphragistic (sigillography) is mostly confined to the Middle Ages in the study of seals. Hence the development of the usage of seals in a closed geographical period until the present will be investigated. Knowing about the seals and classifying them is important for local historiography and documentation, especially as seals are repeatedly being lost. Moreover the historical complementary sciences will profit from these scientific investigations as well as Ecclesiastical- and Art history. The classification and description of the seals is based on photographs, to ensure a description of the development of the seals in this specific area in a comparative study. The method of investigation is based on sphragistic, which describes the seals according to a clearly defined schema and takes several essential features into account: user of the seal, date, diocese of the certificate subscription, avers-type, avers-picture content, avers-transcription, style of seal, type of seal, form, measures, material of the seal, colour, provenance, fastening, state of condition, repository, habitat (if known), photography, illustration, contributors, literature; only to mention the most important contents. A collaboration with a designated sphragistic specialist, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Georg Scheibelreiter, is in progress. The results of this systematic examination with illustrations will be presented for scientific community as well as for the public: Publication of a catalogue; Installation of an internet database as an online representation of the seal collection; In order to make sure that the general public is also given an understanding of the research topic, an exhibition is additionally planned; Dissertation on the seals of the Salzburgian metropolis, which determines scientifically the manifold developments and traditions of seals and their imaginary as carriers of meaning in an examination, analysis and interpretation.

The research project The Bishops Seals of the Salzburg Metropolis actually consisted of two consecutive projects (P22135 und P27122) and undertook a study of the seals of the archbishops of Salzburg as well as those of the bishops of Gurk, Chiemsee, Seckau, Lavant, Innsbruck, and Feldkirch.The significance of the research project lies in the first-time comprehensive documentation of all known bishops seals of this geographic region from the oldest seal of the archbishop of Salzburg Friedrich I. (958-991) up to the present day, comprising a total of 819 documents with 753 seals. The seals are photographed, for the most part drawn, described according to sphragistic standard practice and since the end of 2017 have been made publicly accessible through the free internet database under https://gams.uni-graz.at/context:epis. This database sets new standards in the field of sphragistics and numismatics in relation to a scheme set up to work out the content of entries as well as a computer-compatible diacritical input procedure as well as the presentation on the web including photographs and drawings. This project is also highly relevant, as seals constitute important identification marks of a person or institution; as such their function is not so simply seal or authenticate, but they are similarly a historic source, a means of representation and in some cases pieces of art of exquisite quality. Within the field of sphragistics, bishop seals are of special significance due to their great age and their rich tradition. The archdiocese of Salzburg holds a special place here, thanks to its geographic location at one of the central points of European politics and culture. These seals are not only a means of authentication, but of representation, mirroring historic and art-historic developments. Starting with the first seals of archbishops in Salzburg, the history of Salzburgs seals covers more than a millennium and has produced a number of iconographically innovative and art-historically highly valuable specimens. Martin Feiner is carrying out an analysis and interpretation of the material gained from the two projects in the framework of his dissertation, which is due to be submitted shortly. A publication of the complete findings is also being prepared which will include a catalogue of all seals that have been described and imaged and will be available as a lasting documentation. The knowledge of seals and their categorisation is of eminent importance to local historiography and documentation, also given the fact that seals have time and again been lost over time. The research undertaken is also of interdisciplinary relevance and the resulting collection of seals can now be accessed by scholars of historical ancillary sciences, art and history of art for their own research. The research project thus presents a piece of fundamental research, which will also provide an impulse for future research in this field.