Sealing the deal

Seal of Roger Sturmy, the younger c. 1218 (Penrice & Margam, charter 1986)

Even to archivists familiar with medieval documents in their day to day work, seals have never been high on their list of priorities, neither in terms of describing them in detail nor in terms of undertaking conservation or preservation work to ensure their survival.  They have been viewed solely as a form of authentication, mostly for title deeds, and as a method of guaranteeing transactions, and are not considered worthy of attention in comparison to the deeds themselves.

This dismissive, almost blasé, view of seals is set to change as a result of the Library’s current exhibition ‘Seals in context: Medieval Wales and the Welsh Marches’, one of the outcomes of a project undertaken by the Department of History and Welsh History at Aberystwyth in collaboration with the Department of History and Welsh History at Bangor University. The exhibition includes a selection of seals recorded from across Wales and the Marches, many of them held at the Library, including early medieval seals appended to the Penrice and Margam charters and to the Pitchford Hall estate deeds.

Seal of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, c. 1218-1230 (Penrice & Margam, charter 2046)

As a result of this exhibition, there can no longer be any justification for viewing seals as mere appendages to documents, but rather they must be considered as valuable sources of evidence throwing light on numerous aspects of Welsh medieval society.  Included are seals not only of noblemen and Welsh princes, including that of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (‘Llywelyn Fawr’, 1173-1240), but also of women and those of lower status in the community.  They range in design from the traditional equestrian seal and heraldic shields, to birds and beasts of all kinds, hares riding hounds, and a grotesque creature with a man’s head.

As well as the exhibition, a presentation by two members of the seals project team will be held at the Library’s Drwm on 23 May at 1.15 p.m.

Alwyn J. Roberts