Seal-die of Prince Lazar from Rudnik
Authors: Radicevic Dejan , Cicovic Ana 
Published: January 2017

The medieval settlement on the Rudnik Mountain was established, most
probably, in the final decades of the 13th century. Soon it evolved into one
of the best known mining and commercial centres in the Serbian state and
reached its peak during the 14th and in the first half of the 15th century.
The importance of Rudnik in the medieval period is confirmed by numerous
material traces in the field. The most important discoveries in the course of
archaeological investigations carried out since 2009 have been encountered in
the area called Drenje, not far from the centre of the town of Rudnik (figs.
1, 2).Three churches (two Orthodox and one Roman Catholic), as well as many
profane structures dated to the time of a thriving medieval Rudnik have so
far been discovered. It indicates that in that area are the remains of the
main settlement and the medieval market place of Rudnik, known from written
sources. Among other structures at the site of Drenje, in the garden of S.
Markovi}, the remains of rather a large building consisting, according to
present data, of at least two rooms, have been investigated during the past
three years (fig. 3). Important for dating the structure is a coin of the
Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg (1387-1437), discovered on the floor.
Traces of an earlier phase of life were encountered under the structure (fig.
5). Coins have been found in two earlier pits. In the soil inside pit 11 a
coin of the Hungarian king Charles Robert (1308-1342) was found, while in the
top level of pit 2 a coin attributed to Prince Lazar (around 1370-1389) was
found. Also from pit 2 came a, so far, unique archaeological find in our
territory. It has been explained as a seal-die used for producing seals (fig,
7, 8). The representation in the central field and the contents of the
inscription bear witness to the fact that the seal-die belonged to Prince
Lazar. A helmet with bull horns engraved on the front side is understood to
be the coat of arms of Prince Lazar, also used by his successors. The central
field is surrounded by two concentric circles and between them is a circular
inscription (fig. 9): + SI ? HARB GDNA KNEZA LAZARA SVE SRBSKE ZEMLE
Translation of the inscription: + this is the grace of Lord Prince Lazar of
the whole Serbian lands A seal stamped using the seal-die from Rudnik has not
yet been found. The content of the inscription on the Rudnik sealdie is also
quite unusual and unique. The word har? is translated to mean grace, a word
that has not been recorded on any other stamp to date. On the other hand, the
word grace has a distinct meaning in Serbian charters, denoting the legal
activity of specific contents by which the ruler awarded nobles, the Church,
market-towns, etc. The ruler?s grace as a legal act of distinct content must
have been apparent and public and, as evidence of this grace, there would
have been a distinct document. The very word grace is used in the documents
as the name for a legal public document by which rulers ?created grace?,
?made grace? or allowed something by their grace. Taking this into account,
it could be concluded that any seal stamped with the Rudnik sealdie as a
means of notarisation of the document confirmed that the document represented
the ruler?s grace in the sense of a valid legal public document. Considering
the shape and size of the seal-die, it could be ascribed to the seal-die
group for which it is characteristic that the seal was obtained not by
impressing the seal-die in wax but by pressing the wax onto the seal-die,
disregarding whether it was an applied or hanging seal. Supporting this
assumption is the existence of small notches in the bottom corners of the
Rudnik seal-die that were most probably used for connecting to the top part,
making possible a better stamping of the seal, possibly even allowing the
seal to have representations on both sides. The seal-die is dated from the
time of Lazar?s rule over Rudnik, between 1373 and 1389. Mentioned in the
inscription is the rule of Prince Lazar over all Serbian lands, suggesting
that the date of the seal-die could be fixed in the final decade of Lazar?s
life. It was most probably buried in 1390, during the time of King
Sigismund?s attack on Serbia. One of the most important theatres of war in
that campaign was the Rudnik region.