Summoning tablets of guilds in Hungary
Péter Nagybákay

Summoning tablets and summoning seals were both used for convening guild meetings, a custom which can be traced far back into the Middle Ages, a time of widespread illiteracy, when people communicated by means of images and symbols. The presentation of an object bearing a guild symbol proved the authenticity of the bearer and his message. Summoning tablet were usually shield-shaped, about 15 to 25 cm long, made of metal, wood or, sometimes, earthenware. The summoning tablet was mainly used in Hungary. They are interesting not only from the point of view of art, ethnography, iconography and technique, but also as examples of guild heraldry rarely found in other countries.