seal

An 11th-century Anglo-Saxon seal belonging to King Edward the Confessor has been dramatically rediscovered in Paris, more than four decades after it was declared lost. The wax impression, known as the 'Saint-Denis seal', vanished without official explanation in the 1980s from the Archives Nationales, where it had been preserved for nearly two centuries. The rediscovery of this precious artifact offers fresh insights into the political ambitions and international connections of pre-Norman England. It is considered by far the best-preserved impression of the three seals known to have been used by Edward, and its loss had sparked significant consternation among international historians. The wax artifact was found in 2021 by Clément Blanc, a curator at the Archives Nationales, and Dr. Guilhem