The
signet ring of King Charles V of France (1337-1380) was set with an
Oriental ruby on which was engraved " the bearded head of a king."
This signet was used by King Charles to seal the letters written by his
own hand. The somewhat vague description in the inventory suggests
that this may have been an antique gem, the supposedly royal head being
that of some Greek divinity. The art of engraving on such hard stones
as the ruby does not seem to have been practised in the thirteenth or
fourteenth centuries, the revival of this art belonging to a later
period. Evidently the head was not that of Charles himself or of any of
his predecessors, for, had this been the case the inventory would
hardly fail to note the fact.66
When
a certain Bratilos was sent as à messenger by the eastern emperor
Cantacuzene (1341-1355) to his empress Irene, to announce the outbreak
of a dangerous revolt, he bore a sealed letter from the emperor.67
While on his journey, however, he began to fear that he might be
waylaid and robbed of the important document. This peril he effectively
provided against by memorizing the letter and then destroying it, after
he had removed the wax impression of the imperial signet, which he
could safely guard in his mouth, and which served to accredit him when
he came before the empress.68 Not long afterward
Cantacuzene was defeated and deposed by John V, Pakeologus, and retired
to a monastery, where he lived until 1411, composing a history of his
own times in his leisure moments; his wife also took the religious vows
under the name of Eugenia.
66 Labarte, " Inventaire du mobilier de Charles V," Paris, 1879, p. 86, No. 555.
67 Joannis Cantacuzeni, " Historiae," vol. i, lib. iii, cap. xlvii.
68 Migne's Patrologia Grœca, vol. cliii, Paris, 1866.
