Lost seal of Edward the Confessor found after being missing for 40 years
It was found while researchers were sorting through old artefacts
Last updated 13th Apr 2026
An 11th-century Anglo-Saxon seal belonging to Edward the Confessor has been rediscovered more than 40 years after being declared lost.
The wax impression of the “Saint-Denis seal” disappeared without official explanation in the 1980s from the Archives Nationales in Paris, where it had resided for almost 200 years.
By far the best-preserved impression of the three seals known to have been used by Edward, its loss sparked great consternation among international historians.
But it has now emerged that the wax artefact was found by a curator and a PhD student conducting research in a section of the Paris archive that contained a collection of detached and damaged seals.
This rediscovery, in 2021, has been revealed for the first time in an academic paper co-authored by the finder, Dr Guilhem Dorandeu, and Professor Levi Roach, of the University of Exeter.
The historians say the seal, and the document with which it was used, demonstrates that the last Anglo-Saxon King of England consciously drew upon Byzantine and European influences in this aspect of statehood.
Dr Dorandeu said: “Pendant seals were two-sided, wax impressions that were attached to a document by a cord or ribbon, which hung below it.
“Historically, these were used by monarchs to authenticate and approve important state papers.
“Edward’s seal is, therefore, a precious historical monument, and its recovery offered us a great opportunity to study it closely and consider what it says about the ambitions and influences swirling around the King and his advisers.”
Dr Dorandeu had been granted access to the detached seals section of the Archives Nationales by the curator, Clement Blanc.
As they sifted through the scores of artefacts, they found and immediately recognised the missing Saint-Denis seal.
Then, they set about contacting several experts in the field, among them Professor Roach.
“It was a genuine wow moment,” said Professor Roach.
“This is our most important seal from pre-Conquest England, not least because it is the only intact one we have, and so the only one that offers us the chance to study its iconography and decipher its place in the diplomatic affairs of the country.
“Having it back is, in and of itself, important, but it was also an opportunity to reopen questions that have lain dormant for four decades.”
The two authors say the inscription “Anglorum basileus” – the latter term being the title used for the Byzantine emperor – was “if not a nod to Byzantine traditions of rule” then a likely reinterpretation of their venerable style.
The inclusion of a sword on one side of the seal is also evocative of contemporary Byzantine coins that depicted sword-bearing rulers, such as Constantine the Great.
– The article, Lost and Found: the Saint-Denis Seal Impression of Edward the Confessor and the Development of the Early English Writ-Charter, is published in the journal Early Medieval England and its Neighbours.