|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quick links |
 |
DocumentsOnline is soon to be replaced by Discovery. This means you can both search and download digitised documents, where available, from Discovery. Find out more.
IntroductionYou can search and download over 3000 images of some 2500 seals (some seals are double-sided) from the record series DL 25 and DL 26. These seals are taken from deeds (evidence of title) accumulated by the duchy of Lancaster and dating from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. The vast majority are from the medieval period and are personal seals, though there are examples of monastic, ecclesiastical, official and local seals. What are Seals?A seal can mean two things: the engraved metal die used to create a seal impression and the seal impression itself usually made of beeswax and resin, or of shellac. The seals in this collection are all impressions. Their main function was to authenticate documents as we use signatures today. Seals were also used to close up (seal) documents rather like the gum used on modern-day envelopes. Seals could either be attached to a document by a tag, tongue or cord, or placed directly on to the face of the document. The seals in this collection vary widely in size, shape and design. Red, brown and green are the most common colours. Seals are usually round. Women and churchmen were often portrayed as standing figures usually on pointed oval (vesica) shaped-seals. The smallest seals are often gems on rings, sometimes less than 20 mm across, and the largest were the seals used by the sovereign and government departments being sometimes over 70 mm. Designs range from simple monograms, animals, flowers, birds, dragons, human figures, knights on horseback, women, churchmen, saints, mermaids, coats of arms, castles, and religious buildings. Searching the SealsYou can search the seals by entering any or all of the following:
And, using the keyword box, by:
To search by catalogue reference type the complete catalogue reference into the quick search box, near the top left of the page. Remember to leave a space between "DL" and the numeric reference, for example, DL 25/8. Please note when searching:
What could these records help me to discover?Seals are minor monuments of their age. The iconography and legend of a seal can tell us much about its owner. Seal designs provide strictly and often detailed contemporary examples of costume, armour, buildings, ships, and heraldry. Their use among those of differing status and professions provides valuable insights into how seal owners wished others to see them and where they stood in the social hierarchy. The titles and descriptions in a seal legend can sometimes help date the seal and, therefore, the document to which it is attached. To get an idea of what the seals look like, look at this example of a seal Further researchYou can use our glossary for definitions of the terms which appears in the seal notes. There are three other means of reference for seals in The National Archives. The largest is the card index (c. 12,000) held in the Map and Large Document Reading Room in The National Archives. This also gives a cross-reference to the British Museum’s (now Library’s) catalogue of seals (1887-1900). It is not a index of all the seals in The National Archives. R.H. Ellis (ed.), Catalogue of Seals in the Public Record Office: Personal Seals, 2 vols (London, 1978, 1981) and Monastic Seals (1986). P.D.A. Harvey’s typescript Catalogue of Seals in LR 14, LR 15, DL 25 and DL 26 is available in the Map and Large Document Reading Room in The National Archives. Research guidesBooksA Guide to Seals in the Public Record Office (London, 1968) P.D.A. Harvey and Andrew McGuiness, A Guide to British Medieval Seals (London, 1996) Elizabeth New, Sealing and Sealing Practices (British Records Association, 2010) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
