Casgliadau Arlein

Obverse. The king sitting on a low cushioned throne, wearing an open crown of five points terminating in crosses, with two chin-straps hanging loosely at the sides of his face, and a short cloak fastened at the throat covering a tight-sleeved tunic; the costume corresponds (on the obverse) to the civil, and (on the reverse) military, dress seen on the Bayeux tapestry. In his left hand, the monarch holds an orb with long cross paty pommety; in his right, a broad deeply grooved sword, its point inclined towards his head. (The appearance of a sceptre is then discontinued until the second seal of Henry II). The backless throne contains three arches in both its upper and lower panels, the king’s feet resting upon a rectangular foot-board. In the field: to either side, a circle enclosing a six-foiled flower, possibly a rose, and perhaps included to distinguish this seal from that of the Conqueror; it is an early use of the later heraldic badge. The legend omits the title, ‘Duke of Normandy’, but includes the phrase ‘By the Grace of God’, for the first time upon an English royal seal.