The PeaceHavens Project
Copyright 2022
© Ged Dodd
aka PeaceHavens Project
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the terms
Join here
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PeaceHavensProject/ ..
The meaning
of Symbols on seals
The *T*
Conundrum
(see
http://www.peacehavens.co.uk/NEWT.htm)
Crimping Pliers Symbols
(see
http://www.peacehavens.co.uk/NEWCRIMP.htm)
The Crescent Conundrum
http://www.peacehavens.co.uk/NEWCRESCENT.htm
Flax & Hemp Bar Symbols
http://www.peacehavens.co.uk/NEWBAR.htm
Misc Symbols,
letter dates, +
& X, Ship's Hulls, Caduceus, Anchor & Grapnel
Using letters
and symbols for known dates
+ & X symbols on
Crossed Key Seals
True
Riga
Flax Bale Seals
have crossed keys and
+ others have an X which is not strictly the Riga Coat of Arms. I am speculating
that the + symbol
is used by Christian traders & the X by non Christians (perhaps Jews,
+
Russian State
Tax Seals with Miscellaneous Symbols
ref
date
name
area click symbol
MM2006.13
1758
No 25
Malton
flax flower
IDS 1272
17*75
St Petersburg
Narva
Caduceus
IDS 1874 17*79 St Petersburg
Netherlands
T-bar
IDS 2280 17*80
Archangel
Netherlands
Sail
IDS 1474
17*82
Riga
Germany
Padlock
IDS 2292 17*82
St Petersburg
Netherlands
belay pin
IDS 2276 17*85 St Petersburg
Netherlands
Sail
IDS 1479
17*87
Riga
Germany
key
IDS 1301
17*88
Riga
N.Yorkshire
Padlock
IDS 1478
17*88
Riga
Germany
Padlock
IDS 1471
17*88
Riga
Germany
Padlock
IDS 2291
17*88
Riga
Ashover
Padlock
IDS 1302 17*89 St Petersburg
UK
hull
IDS 1875 17*89 St Petersburg
Netherlands
fish
IDS 1972 17*90
Archangel
Netherlands
hammer
IDS 1873 17*90 St Petersburg
Netherlands
hammer IDS 1208 17*91 St Petersburg France
hull or key IDS 1651 17*93
Archangel
Norway
belay pin
IDS 1546 17*95
Archangel
UK
anchor IDS
1890 17*97
St Petersburg
Netherlands
O IDS
1925 17*97
St Petersburg
Newtownards
O IDS 391 17*98
St Petersburg
Bridport
key IDS
1502 17*98
St Petersburg
Netherlands
key IDS
1047 17*99
St Petersburg
Cheshire
key KRX 05 1813 - - food bowl
IDS 2060
1818
T ???
Knaresborough horseshoe The
religious symbol 4 found on Cloth Seals also signifies
Christianity
The '4' (which can be back to
front or upside down) actually has nothing to do with
the Hindu-Arabic numeral 4 we are all familiar with
today (as it appeared while the West was still using
Roman numerals). The fact that it maps out the path
the hand takes when making the sign of the cross is
the simplest explanation. It appears to be rooted in
Christianity, as the crescent anchor symbol is
anchored in Jesus Christ ... and it's on a lot more
than cloth seals as many different tradesmen used
them. It was particularly popular with seafaring
trades
though none have
yet been found on flax bale seals..
(Courtesy Stuart F Elton).
The
Caduceus of Hermes
The Caduceus is the winged staff of the messenger god
Hermes who was the patron of trade & journeys. A very suitable logo for
companies shipping trade goods overseas as in the many companies who
traded flax and hemp from Russia. Many buildings in St Petersburg have
a protective Caduceus on their facade.
The Crossed Anchor
and Grapnel of Sea & River Ports
The meaning of the circle symbol (O)
between the bows of the anchor and
grapnel of this St Petersburg River & Sea
Port seal is unknown at present. Could be an abbreviation of.. Otrasl
...
Department
Obertsolnery ..
Chief Customs Officers
or
Oblast ..
an
administrative division.
A 1793 St Petersburg River and Sea Port Seal with an O
symbol
O A Б B Г Д E Ё Ѣ Ж З І И Й К Л M H O П Р С Т У Ф Ѳ Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ы Э Ю Я A B V G D E Ё E
Zh Z I I J K L M N O P R S T U F
Th
Kh
Ts
Ch
Sh
Shch Y E
Yu
Ya
Ь is an
apostrophe '
Ъ is usually found at the end
of a name
In Old Russian a T
may have 3 vertical
lines making it look
more like an M
In Old Russian this letter is used
in place of the Cyrillic У which is the letter
U in English (Latin)
An Ю rotated vertically
is used as a symbol for
the Russian State Arms on
Customs tax seals.
HF
- - - - - - - - - - -- - - -
From the Suffolk
Medieval Graffiti Survey, VV symbols.
Of course, in the context of seal names the W usually
means the letter W.
The History of the
Cyrillic Alphabet
The
Cyrillic alphabet owes its name to the 9th century Byzantine
missionary St. Cyril, who, along with his brother, Methodius,
created the first Slavic alphabet—the Glagolithic—in order to
translate Greek religious text to Slavic. It is on the basis of
this alphabet that the Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the First
Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD
The Cyrillic
alphabet has gone through many reforms in both Russia and other countries. In
Russia, the first reformer of the Cyrillic was printer and publisher Ivan
Fyodorov. He eliminated the letters Е and С
and many forms of the letter О. Most reforms saw
the number of letters decrease and the simplicity of their inscription
increase. But the reverse has also happened: at the end of 18th century the
Russian writer and historian Nikolay Karamzin suggested to introduce the
letter Ё. Letters Э and Й
were officially added to the alphabet in 18th century.
Thanks for your kind support .. Ged
ged.dodd@blueyonder.co.uk
Copyright 2022
© Ged Dodd
aka PeaceHavens Project
Click here for
the terms
of free copy & share &
supporting your Project
The Star *
Conundrum
http://www.peacehavens.co.uk/NEWSTAR.htm
Christian Fish/Key Symbols
http://www.peacehavens.co.uk/NEWFISHKEY.htm
+
+
x
x
IDS 1943
IDS
IDS 1567
Seals on flax bale seals are Christian Symbols
+
IDS 823 belay pin
When
two or more letters are joined together they are called a ligature. A
monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or
other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the
initials of an individual or of a company, used as recognizable symbols or
logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a cypher
and is not a monogram. The examples below are the ligatures known as monogram
motifs.
HP
an old
Ф
Although probably one of the most common inscriptions to come
across, on timber, stone, tombs and lead-work, it is also
probably one of the most enigmatic. Often shown inverted to
resemble a capital ‘M’, or even upon its side, some churches
can be found to contain several dozen examples. The symbol has
been traditionally associated with the cult of the Virgin Mary,
and the ‘V V’ have been regarded as the initial letters of the
term ‘Virgo Virginum’ (Virgin of Virgins). Whilst this may very
well be the case with the obviously medieval examples, the fact
is that the symbol continues to be used well into the 18th
century – making it likely that, although a ‘traditional’
marking, its meaning may well have changed. It is also one of
the few ritual protection marks that made the occasional
cross-over into more traditional church art form. The west door
of Fakenham church, in North Norfolk, contains a flint
flushwork shield in each of the spandrels. One is a monogram of
the name ‘MARIA’, being a reference to the Virgin Mary, whilst
the other contains the enigmatic VV symbol.
by the followers of the
brothers, who were beatified as saints. Based on the
Greek ceremonial script, the original Cyrillic alphabet included the 24
letters of the Greek alphabet and 19 letters for sounds specific to the Slavic
language.
The Cyrillic alphabet achieved its current form in 1708 during the reign of
Peter the Great. He introduced lower case characters (before all letters were
written with capital letters) and mandated the use of westernized letter
forms, making the modern Cyrillic similar to the modern Latin font. The very existence of the Cyrillic alphabet in Russia was once under threat.
In 1919 there was an idea to replace it with the Latin one and bring it into
harmony with the alphabet used in Western countries. That could have made the
process of learning Russian much easier for some, but this was not to be and
we can still enjoy the masterpieces of Russian literature in their original
script.
Today Cyrillic is the third official script of the European Union, following
the Latin and Greek scripts. It is used in over 50 different languages,
especially those of Slavic origin, mainly in Russia, Central Asia, and Eastern
Europe. In Russia the Old
Slavic language, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet has been historically used
for religious services, and is sometimes used for these purposes today. The
modern Russian alphabet differs from its forefather dramatically, and only
experts will be able to tell how the letters of the original Cyrillic alphabet
looked like and were read in texts using it. Courtesy of RT.News
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