The seal of Alaric, rex Gothorum
Genevra Kornbluth
A sapphire ring stone in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna which bears legend ALARICVS REX GOTHORVM fits well into a late fifth/early sixth-century context. Forgery is highly unlikely. It was probably meant to seal letters and secure valuables, though chancery use possible. Its composition, most modelled on imperial coinage, combines with an extremely high-status medium present flattering picture of Alaric as peaceful king. This paper suggests that Theoderic Ostrogoth may have commissioned intaglio effort avert war between Franks Visigoths, enhance his own status.
Early Medieval Europe