Digression: the Imperial Signum (a diplomatic1 note) Documents of the Imperial Chancellery express imperial authority through titles, seals, and bulls, but, as can be seen in the Golden Bull of Talabheim above, often also through monograms or
signa. Indeed, the first and no doubt most famous
signum is that Sigmar himself.
2 In this monogram, the four consonants
S G M R are attached to the ends of the cross-arms (representing the four wind directions), while the three vowels,
I, A, and
V (V=U in Reman), are joined in the central rhomb of the cross. Read clockwise, they form the name
SIGMARVS. The monogram is accompanied by a
signum line in Reman, which translates into “Sign of Sigmar, the most glorious Emperor.”
Although Sigmar could wield the pen as well as the hammer, the signum was usually prepared by the Chancellery, and Sigmar himself only added the finishing touch (the so called
Vollzugslinie).
In later times, the imperial
signa become more and more elaborate. For example, the
signum of Emperor Sigismund II (reigned 479 - 505)
is to be read
SIGisMUNDus dEi gRATia imPeratOr semper augustus , or ”Sigismund, by the grace of god, Emperor, ever venerable."
3 Note that the
signum contains each letter only once, with AM and VN linked, while E is contained in G, and O in D.
The accompanying
signum line usually reads:
Signum verum serenissimi principis Sigismundi divina favente clementia imperatoris invictissimi et gloriosissimi (True sign of the most serene prince Sigismund, by the favour of divine mercy, the most invincible and most glorious emperor.)
The
signum of Wilhelm III (here taken from the Golden Bull of Talabheim)
constitutes both culmination and end of the Imperial
signa, at least in documents. His successors will start to use their coat of arms instead, or even keep it limited to just their signature.
As with the
signum of Sigmar, the basis is formed by a cross, as symbol of unity, with at the top a stylised twin comet.
This basis is then expanded to form the name Wilhelm III.
To the main frame, the letters
DG AC ES IV are added as abbreviations of the imperial titels
Imperator Dei Gratia Augustus Caesar Electus Sigmari Invictus (Emperor by the grace of god, Augustus Caesar, Chosen of Sigmar, the Invincible).
The monogram also contains the two principles of Wilhelm’s rule:
PAX and
LEX (Peace and Law).
To keep the symmetry,
lex is written from right to left.
Last but not least, we detect the famous but enigmatic vowel-combination
AEIOV, which can be found on most buildings, books and other objects related to Wilhem III.
In his diary, Wilhem III writes:
Pei welhem pau oder auff welhem Silbergeschir oder kircngebant oder andern klainaten aeiov der strich und die funff puestaben, stend, das ist mein, herczog Wilhelm des Jungern, gebessen oder ich hab das selbig paun oder machen lassen(On whatever building or on whatever silver dishes or church clothes or other precious goods the line and the five letters AEIOV stand, that is the property of me, Duke Wilhelm the Younger, or I myself have had it build or made.)To give just some examples:
4. Psalterium with hymns for Sigmar, dated 2477, Imperial Library, Altdorf.
5. The "Giant’s Bone" found during the reconstruction of the Great Cathedral in Altdorf; Imperial Museum, Altdorf.
Wilhelm himself does not seem to have ever explained the meaning, but next to the letters in the diary another hand has added, in both the classical “
Altdorf est imperare orbi universo”, and the vernacular “
Aller Erd’ Imperium oblieget uns” (Altdorf/we are to rule the whole world), which has become the most widely accepted interpretation.
Epigraphic analysis shows that the entry, although not by Wilhem himself, was made during his lifetime. Indeed, other contemporary sources give the same interpretation. However, as this part of the diary was written at a time when Altdorf was not the imperial capital, and Wilhelm had just become Grand-Duke of Reikland, with no prospect of becoming Emperor, this explanation seems unlikely to be the original one.
Later in the same diary, the following elegiac couplet in the classical language can be found:
En, amor ellectis [
sic],
iniustis ordinor ultor;
Sic Wilhelmus ego rengna [
sic]
mea rego.
(Look, I was appointed as love for the chosen and avenger against the unjust.
Thus, I ,Wilhelm, rule over my realms.) As our readers will have already discerned, the couplet contains both spelling and metrical errors – Wilhelm’s grasp of the classical language seems to have been somewhat wanting.
A recently found fragment of a Chronicle
6 written around 2460 seems to have the correct version:
Der kayser het auch in derselben zeit nach seinem willen an der purkh ze Altdorff aines tails pawen und sein liberey, die funff vocalpüchstaben, an manigen steten der purkh kostlich machen lassen. Da het ainer dem kayser ze smach uber dieselben püchstaben geschriben: Altdorffs Ehr is offenbahr verdorben.' Dem kayser das missuielle und liess die abhin. Welcherlay auslegung der kayser auf denselben puchstaben het, ist in disen zwain classischen versen begriffen, die dises püches zesambseczer an ainer kostlichen almar desselben kaysers gesehen hat:
En! Amor Electis, Iniustis Ordinor Ultor.
Sic Wilhelmus ego rex mea iura rego.Das ist teutsch sovil geredt: Sehet, ich pin geordnet lieb den erwellten, und recher den ungerechten; also regier ich, kunig Wilhelm, meine recht.(At the same time, the emperor had part of the castle in Altdorf and his library built according to his wishes, and had the five vowels at various places of the castle richly adorned. To the shame of the emperor, someone had written over those letters: “Altdorf’s honour is obviously tainted”. The emperor was dismayed and had it removed. What interpretation the Emperor had of the same letters, is comprised in these two classical verses, which the compiler of this book has seen on a precious book cabinet of the same emperor:
En! Amor Electis, Iniustis Ordinor Ultor.
Sic Wilhelmus ego rex mea iura rego.
That is in Teutsch as much as: Look, I was appointed as love for the chosen and avenger against the unjust., thus, I , king Wilhelm, rule over my rights.) But again, the plural “
regna mea” (or
mea iura in the version of the Chronicle) indicates that this too was probably written only after his election to Emperor. Note also the very first occurrence of the many parodies of the device.
There are also two precious chalices belonging to Wilhelm III (one dated to 2451) that bear above the vowel-combination the words: “
Aquila Ejus Iuste Omnia Vincet” (His Eagle will justly vanquish all).
Whether we will ever know the original meaning remains doubtful. Some scholars have invested great time and effort to come to a definitive solution, producing vast volumes with arguments pro and contra certain interpretations, but I fear “
Am End Ist Olles Umsonst” (in the end, everything is in vain).
1. Diplomatic (British English) or diplomatics (American English): the study of documents.
2. Own invention based on the signum of Charlemagne.3. Signum of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg (1368-1437)4. Cod. 3079, fol 1r, (original date 1477 modified) Österreichische Nationalbibliothek , Wien
5. Femur of a mammoth, found in 1443, when the foundations were laid for the gothic north tower of the Stephansdom in Vienna; Geologisches Archiv, Wien.
6. Modified text from Lhotsky, A., Eine unbeachtete Chronik Österreichs aus der Zeit Kaiser Friedrichs III., in: Festschrift zur Feier des zweihundertjähr. Bestandes des Haus-, Hof- u. Staatsarchivs, hrsg. v. Leo San tifa 11 e r, 1. Bd. (Mitteilungen d. Österr. Staatsarchivs, Erg. Bd. 2), Wien 1949, S. 538-548