RARE SCEAU DE JUAN FERNANDEZ

RARE SEAL OF JUAN FERNANDEZ
DE HEREDIA (CA. 1310-1396)
Future XXXIInd Grand Master of the Hospitallers
of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem
between 1377 and 1396
Circular bronze matrix, on the reverse a
on the reverse.
Field engraved with a three-tower masoned castle
castle with three towers flanked by two crosses
surmounted by a star, and a star-shaped terrace
framed by foliage. Orle legend:
+ SEGEL/DOM/FRAY/IOAN/FERNADEZ/DE/
EREDIA engraved in Gothic capitals
between two dotted lines.
Second half of the 14th century.
Diameter: 4.3 cm - Height: 1.3 cm
(Wear, matrix rubbed, corrosion)

Jean Fernandez (or Ferrandes) de Heredia
(circa 1310-1396), born in Munébrega, Aragon,
was the XXXIInd Grand Master of the Order of Saint
John of Jerusalem (now the Order of Malta).
Entering the Order in 1328, he rose through the ranks
becoming commander several times, then
prior of Aragon, Castile, Saint Gilles and Catalonia
of Catalonia and lieutenant to the Grand Master.
A close friend of King Peter IV of Aragon, he took part in
military campaigns, including the conquest of
Majorca, and was appointed governor of Avignon
by the Pope in 1356.
Elected Grand Master in 1377, he attempted to extend
the Hospitallers' influence in Greece, notably by
principality of Achaia, but without success.
but without success. A great patron of the arts, he encouraged
the translation and writing of important
historical works in Aragonese, leaving a lasting mark
the culture of his time. He died in Avignon
in 1396.

His seal, which is not necessarily his Grand Master's seal
his Grand Master's seal, seems to correspond
one of his subordinate functions. More specifically, it could
correspond to the one he used
he used as Prior of Castille, given the emblematic
given the central emblem chosen for the field
for the field, which refers to the coat of arms of the
kingdom of Castile.