A medieval silk seal bag, dating from the reign of King Henry III, has gone on public display for the first time in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey. Scholars have discovered that this rare artifact is a perfect match to the silk cloth used to wrap the remains of Emperor Charlemagne, who is buried in Aachen Cathedral in Germany.
This remarkable discovery is detailed in the December issue of The Burlington Magazine, a publication dedicated to the fine and decorative arts. A study by researchers from Westminster Abbey, National Museums Scotland, and the Universities of Aberystwyth and Berne reveals that the silk fabrics used for Charlemagne’s burial shroud and the Abbey’s seal bag likely originated from the same weavers.
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The comparison of the silk fabrics showed both feature identical designs of white hares and floral patterns in gold, blue, and red. Though the colours have faded over the centuries, the similarity in craftsmanship is unmistakable.
Comparison between Charlemagne’s burial shroud (left) and Henry III silk bag (right). Photos courtesy Westminster Abbey
Charlemagne (748–814), often called the “Father of Europe,” ruled over a vast empire that united much of Western and Central Europe. He was the first Holy Roman Emperor, marking the restoration of imperial rule in the West after the fall of the Roman Empire. Following his death in 814, Charlemagne was reburied in the Karlsschrein (Charles’s Shrine) at Aachen Cathedral in 1215.
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The shrine was last opened in 1988, when photographs of the burial shroud were taken. These images have allowed experts to compare the shroud’s fabric with the silk from the Abbey’s seal bag, leading to this fascinating connection.
The silk seal bag houses a wax seal—the Great Seal of King Henry III—once attached to an inventory of jewels and treasures from Edward the Confessor’s shrine at Westminster Abbey. Compiled in 1267 during a period of financial strain for Henry III, the inventory documented items that were pawned to Italian merchants to raise funds. The king pledged to return these precious items within 18 months—a promise he appears to have honoured.
The silk used for Charlemagne’s shroud, previously thought to have been produced in Sicily, is now believed to have been woven in the 12th century, either in Spain or, more likely, the eastern Mediterranean. While the silk used for the Abbey’s seal bag is a separate piece, experts conclude it was produced on the same loom by the same weavers.
How such a valuable piece of silk found its way to Westminster Abbey remains a mystery. However, Matthew Payne, Keeper of the Muniments at Westminster Abbey, suggests a plausible theory: the silk could have been a gift from Henry III’s brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall. Richard, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1257—more than 400 years after Charlemagne—was known to have donated precious fabrics to the Abbey.
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The silk seal bag will remain on display in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey until Easter 2025. Visitors can book tickets to view this extraordinary artifact.
Further details of this discovery are available in the article “Veiled in Precious Cloth: A Seal Bag from Westminster Abbey and Its Connections with the Shrine of Charlemagne in Aachen,” by Corinne Muehlemann, Matthew Payne, Helen Wyld, and Elizabeth A. New, published in the December issue of The Burlington Magazine.
A medieval silk seal bag, dating from the reign of King Henry III, has gone on public display for the first time in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey. Scholars have discovered that this rare artifact is a perfect match to the silk cloth used to wrap the remains of Emperor Charlemagne, who is buried in Aachen Cathedral in Germany.
This remarkable discovery is detailed in the December issue of The Burlington Magazine, a publication dedicated to the fine and decorative arts. A study by researchers from Westminster Abbey, National Museums Scotland, and the Universities of Aberystwyth and Berne reveals that the silk fabrics used for Charlemagne’s burial shroud and the Abbey’s seal bag likely originated from the same weavers.
The comparison of the silk fabrics showed both feature identical designs of white hares and floral patterns in gold, blue, and red. Though the colours have faded over the centuries, the similarity in craftsmanship is unmistakable.
Charlemagne (748–814), often called the “Father of Europe,” ruled over a vast empire that united much of Western and Central Europe. He was the first Holy Roman Emperor, marking the restoration of imperial rule in the West after the fall of the Roman Empire. Following his death in 814, Charlemagne was reburied in the Karlsschrein (Charles’s Shrine) at Aachen Cathedral in 1215.
The shrine was last opened in 1988, when photographs of the burial shroud were taken. These images have allowed experts to compare the shroud’s fabric with the silk from the Abbey’s seal bag, leading to this fascinating connection.
The silk seal bag houses a wax seal—the Great Seal of King Henry III—once attached to an inventory of jewels and treasures from Edward the Confessor’s shrine at Westminster Abbey. Compiled in 1267 during a period of financial strain for Henry III, the inventory documented items that were pawned to Italian merchants to raise funds. The king pledged to return these precious items within 18 months—a promise he appears to have honoured.
The silk used for Charlemagne’s shroud, previously thought to have been produced in Sicily, is now believed to have been woven in the 12th century, either in Spain or, more likely, the eastern Mediterranean. While the silk used for the Abbey’s seal bag is a separate piece, experts conclude it was produced on the same loom by the same weavers.
How such a valuable piece of silk found its way to Westminster Abbey remains a mystery. However, Matthew Payne, Keeper of the Muniments at Westminster Abbey, suggests a plausible theory: the silk could have been a gift from Henry III’s brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall. Richard, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1257—more than 400 years after Charlemagne—was known to have donated precious fabrics to the Abbey.
The silk seal bag will remain on display in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey until Easter 2025. Visitors can book tickets to view this extraordinary artifact.
Further details of this discovery are available in the article “Veiled in Precious Cloth: A Seal Bag from Westminster Abbey and Its Connections with the Shrine of Charlemagne in Aachen,” by Corinne Muehlemann, Matthew Payne, Helen Wyld, and Elizabeth A. New, published in the December issue of The Burlington Magazine.
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