Lead, 38.17 grams, 36.81 mm dia., approx 4mm thickness. 13th century AD. A lead seal from a document issued by Pope Martin IV. The iconography of papal bulls has not altered since the time of Pope Pasquale II (1099-1118) - one face bears the name of the issuing Pope and the other the opposed profile heads of SS. Peter and Paul with a cruciform emblem between and a form of the identifying abbreviated legend 'SPASPE', (Sanctus Petrus Sanctus Paulus 'Saint Peter, Saint Paul') on the other. The present example shows on the recto the faces executed in low relief in a realistic style within a border of fine dots, below the legend. On the verso is the text MAR/TINUS/PP.IIII. Martin IV was a former chancellor of the French crown; during his tenure (1281-85) the papacy was embroiled in the rivalry between the Aragonese and Angevin states. The bulla is in good very fine condition with a sturdy, thick flan. Provenance: found Naburn, Yorkshire, England.