Seal of the city of Basle

Description

The first decades of the C13 were a period of political and economic improvement for Basle. In 1225-26 the townspeople and bishop constructed a bridge over the Rhine, establishing the town for centuries as an important centre for trade. A toll was charged on through traffic and trades and crafts flourished. It was in these decades that the guilds were founded and the Munster rebuilt. Mendicant orders established themselves in Basle. The council administration, community life and civic self confidence strengthened. A town seal was mentioned for the first time in 1225; it was probably lost in the 1356 earthquake (oldest impression 1256). The oldest surviving seal matrix of the town shows the choir of a church, almost certainly that of Basle Munster, with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet above it, referring to Christ's words "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" (Revelations 21:6). The Latin legend expressly names the signet as the "seal of the citizens of Basle". The same seal picture remained in use with some modifications in style until the C I7. There is an impression of it on the ISOI document of Basle's joining the Confederation.