Seals

Domestic Records Information 30

1. Introduction

Seals are very fragile and must be handled with great care. Many are kept in the Safe Room and can only be viewed by special arrangement.

The term seal is usually applied to the impression produced when an engraved metal die or matrix has been pressed into some soft material such as wax. As personal possessions often bearing their owner's portrait, device or coat of arms they were used to authenticate documents (charters, letters, writs etc) in much the same way as today a banker's card with its unique number, name and signature guarantees accompanying cheque transactions. Seals were also used literally to 'seal' documents, fulfilling the same role today as gum on an envelope.

As the number of written records, including charters, increased from the 12th century onwards seals filtered their way down through society so that even bondsmen possessed their own seals. Corporations, towns, guilds, hospitals, abbeys, institutions followed. Medieval noblewomen and ecclesiastics often used vesica (pointed oval) shaped seals. The courts of the King's Bench and Common Pleas, the Exchequer, the Palatinates of Chester and Lancaster, and France, Scotland, Ireland, and some of the colonies amongst others possessed their own deputed great seals authenticating documents which either had been, or would be, authenticated by the great seal of England. Departments of central government, e.g. the Receipt of the Exchequer, Admiralty, Privy Council, and the Commissioners of Customs in America used smaller official departmental seals. As paper became more common in the 15th century the practice arose of laying paper over the wax which was then pressed with a small matrix to produce a paper seal. From the 16th century small personal seals produced from signet rings became fashionable among the higher echelons of society. In the 19th century wafer seals appeared. These were made of coloured paper embossed with the seal design and then attached to the document.

2. Forgeries

Although rare, forgeries should be considered. Particularly for the seals of the Anglo-Norman kings.

3. Borrowed Seals

Seals were often borrowed to authenticate documents. Check the sealing clause in the text of the document to which the seal is attached since the borrowing may be mentioned and the owner of the borrowed seal identified.

4. 'Anonymous' Seals

Ready-made anonymous seals were common amongst men of sub-knightly rank in the Middle Ages. The legends of such seals often consisted of a simple phrase or motto or even decoration; no owner's name would appear. Thus, if two individuals are found to be using two such identical seals this could mean either one has borrowed from the other or that they both possessed identical seals.

5. Moulds

Moulds have been made for many seals held in The National Archives, and these are recorded on the back of the index cards. Contact the Conservation Seal Department for further information.

6. Photographs

The National Archives is able to photograph seals. Contact The National Archives' Image Library.

7. Means of Reference

There are three means of reference for seals in The National Archives.

Card Index

By far the largest (c.12,000 seals) is the card index, though it is far from complete. Each card gives the name of the seal owner, the date of the document, the colour, shape, size, device (subject) and legend (name and title of owner round seal border) of the seal, additional remarks, The National Archives reference of the document to which the seal belongs, a cross reference to the British Museum's Catalogue of Seals (available on the open shelves), and document references to any further (and sometimes clearer) impressions of the same seal. Moulds of seals are recorded on the backs of cards. In the describing the seals the obverse and reverse are simply the two sides of the seal (front and back), whilst a counterseal is a small seal pressed into the back of a larger seal. Most seal legends begin: 'S[IGILLUM]...' i.e., 'Seal [of] ...'. Green cards refer to bibliographical material, often kept in the Library. The drawers are:

Some Tips on Using the Card Index

The Printed Catalogues

This consists of the three volumes: Roger H. Ellis, Catalogue of Seals in the Public Record Office, Personal Seals, vols I and II (1978 and 1981), and Monastic Seals, vol. I (1986). These are indexed, give the document reference, and contain excellent photographic reproductions of the seals.

The Typescript Catalogues

The third means of reference is the typescript Catalogue of Seals compiled by P D A Harvey and available on the open shelves. At present it includes all the seals in LR 14 , LR 15 , DL 25 and DL 26 . It includes a name and place index.

8. Further Reading

A Guide to Seals in the Public Record Office (revd 1968)
R H Ellis, A Catalogue of Seals in the Public Record Office, Personal Seals I and II (1978 and 1981) and Monastic Seals (1986)
P D A Harvey and A McGuiness, A Guide to Medieval British Seals (1996).

(ri2137) Last updated: 28 June 2004 | © Crown Copyright 2001