Peter of Narbonne, archbishop of al-Bara (and Apameia), 1110-1130. Seal (Lead, 27 mm, 13.00 g, 12 h). Peter of Narbonne standing facing, holding bishop's staff in his right hand and a palm branch in his left, all within two concentric circles. Rev. PETRVS / ALBAREN/SIS ARCHIЄ/PISCOPVS ('Peter of al-Bara, archbishop') in four lines; decorations above and below, flanking a cross. Apparently unpublished save for its previous auction appearance. A well-preserved Crusaders seal of great historical interest. Good very fine.


Peter of Narbonne travelled to the Holy Land in the first Crusade as part of the entourage of Raymond of Toulouse. He became the first Latin prelate in the East when he was ordained bishop of al-Bara in 1098 by the Orthodox patriarch of Antioch. After the capture of Jerusalem, Peter returned to his newly established bishopric, which became part of the principality of Antioch. In the year 1104, in the aftermath of the Battle of Harran, a major defeat for the Crusaders, al-Bara was lost to Radwan, the Seljuk emir of Aleppo, but it was recovered by the Crusaders the following year. Peter of Narbonne became archbishop of Apameia (in Syria) in 1110, and this time, he was ordained by the Latin patriarch of Antioch, Bernard of Valence, under protest of the Greek Orthodox clergy. In the years thereafter, al-Bara was lost and recaptured twice again. The events during the last years of Peter's life are uncertain. He managed to escape the capture of al-Bara in 1123, but when it was recaptured in 1130, Peter was already dead. In any case, our seal must date to the period after 1110, the year of Peter's ordination to archbishop.