A metal detectorist has discovered the seal stamp of a 14th century archbishop in a field in West Jutland. The inscription identified its owner as Esger Juul, Archbishop of Lund, who died on January 17th, 1325, so exactly 700 years ago.
The seal it a pointed oval with a central image of St. Francis of Assisi wearing his long, plain robe with his arms raised and hands outstretched. At each of his flanks are fleurs-de-lys lying on their sides. Other seals of Esger Juul also feature prominent fleur-de-lys. It has a suspension loop at the top, indicating the Juul wore it as a pendant from a chain around his neck, an important security measure to keep his legal signature on his person. The inscription reads: “S’ ESGERI FILII NICHOLAI IUUL DE DACIA” which translates to ‘Seal for Esger Son of Nielsen Juul from Denmark’.
Esger Juul’s father Niels was a Jutland nobleman and member of the Danehof (medieval Denmark’s parliament), who ruled for King Eric V of Denmark against Duke Valdemar IV of Schleswig when the latter claimed the island of Als. His son entered the church at a young age, and then followed in his father’s footsteps supporting Eric’s son King Eric VI in his dispute with Jens Grand, who was then Archbishop of Lund. The dispute dragged on for a decade, and in 1299, Esger traveled to Rome, negotiating with papal authorities on behalf of the King to secure the transfer of Jens Grand. He was so successful at mediating the rapprochement between the king of Denmark and the Pope that he was appointed Bishop of Aarhus in 1306 and when the seat was finally vacant in 1310, he was appointed Archbishop of Lund making Esger the head of the Danish church.
Esger traveled extensively in his role as archbishop both inside Denmark and abroad (Vienna, Avignon, Sweden, Germany). That explains why his seal inscription references his Danish nationality. It wouldn’t have been necessary if he’d been a homebody and only had to use his seal locally.
The seal stamp was found on Store Skindbjerg Mark in Dejbjerg parish – between Ringkjøbing and Skjern. This may indicate that Esger Juul’s family originally came from this area. In 1310, Esger Juul donated all his estates in the Skast district to the canons of Ribe, and in 1312 three farms – also in the Skast district – to Ribe Cathedral.
“We don’t know exactly where Esger Juul’s family originates in Jutland, but the seal stamp indicates that he may have had his origins and connection to this area. This part of West Jutland is an area where there has already been quite a lot of activity throughout several historical periods, so it would be fun if Esger Juul could also be linked to this. It confirms how important West Jutland has been in various ways throughout Danish history,” says Michelle Wølch Staffe, archaeologist and museum curator at Archaeology West Jutland.
The Danish bishop Absalon (1128-1201) had been born into the Hvide clan, and he was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church. From 1178–1201, however, he served as Archbishop of Lund.
Why I mention him, you may ask? 🤔️
He played a role in what would become the Northern Crusades, a successful attempt to make the Wends, (the historic) Prussia and later Lithuania Catholic. Note here that by the late 13th century, crusades to the Holy Land had become more and more difficult.
At Arkona, on the German island of Rügen, the Danes conquered the fortress, and Absalon toppled the wooden god Svantevit. Since then, at least since 1290, the family of one of my classmates played a role on Rügen, and they later branched off into Frankonia, where my classmate comes into play.
In the late Middle Ages, dubbed as the “Prussian journey”, a.k.a “Lithuanian journey”, young noble travelers from allover Western Europe enlisted on military summer campaigns, in support of the Teutonic Order. However, after the Polish–Teutonic War, the Order was completely ousted from Prussia by 1521.
So do we have any documents imprinted with this seal?
We do not, unfortunately