[CHARLES QUINT]. [GROSSE]. Parchment accompanied by the seal of Charles V. c. 1533. Parchment, 61 x 59.5. This is a "grosse", a copy of a court decision following a trial before the council of Artois around 1533. Lacquer wax seal, 10 cm in diameter. Obverse: The sovereign is depicted seated in majesty in the centre. The throne is protected under a canopy, and he is wearing all the signs of his power: crown, sword, globe. He also wears the collar of Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece founded by his grandfather Philip the Good. Around him, a garland of shields evokes each of the provinces under his control. Finally, the inscription lists his most important honorary titles. The two columns allude to the Columns of Hercules, the nickname of the mountains on either side of the Straits of Gibraltar: they symbolise the separation between the known world and the wild world, the New World, which the emperor has brought under his control.Reverse/counter seal: titles Caesar Carolus V (Caesar Charles V), Semper Augustus (always Augustus), references to the titles of the emperors of ancient Rome: a parallel is drawn with the Holy Roman Empire, represented here by the double-headed eagle. Shield with the Emperor's coat of arms in the centre.