What does this tell us about the Crusades?
Even though this seal is relatively small and would only be used on documents, it still takes on particular importance in the greater context of the Crusades. First, the religious connections promote a sense of divine authority for the emperor, as evident in the image on the obverse side and the inscription on the reverse side. Throughout the previous Byzantine empire and the newly founded Latin empire, the emperor was the ultimate authority in the eyes of God. Seals such as this would authenticate imperial documents and function as divine legitimization. And so, when Emperor Henry of Flanders participated in the Crusades, his motives and actions would be validated through his religious connections.
The imagery on the reverse side of the seal connects to the emperor’s military skill, which would be entirely necessary while embarking on the Crusades. This side of the seal also connects visually to one of the Chertsey Tiles, which shows Richard the Lionheart with the surrounding text. Richard’s tile roundel is very similar to the reverse side of this seal: in both cases, we see an armed ruler mounted on horseback, carrying a shield, presumably heading into battle. This kind of imagery was prevalent on seals, and it may be that Richard’s tile drew on a similar image of Richard himself mounted and armed on his own seal. Another similarity is that both Henry’s seal and Richard’s tile are surrounded with Latin text stating their title “by the grace of God.”
The connections to Crusader heroes, like Richard the Lionheart, and Emperor Henry’s own imagery on his seal allow the Emperor to describe himself, by means of his seal, as a divinely-approved ruler and successful military hero, which would be quite attractive qualities for a leader during the Crusades.