A brief discourse touching the office of Lord Chancellor of England / written by ... John Selden ... and dedicated by him to Sir Francis Bacon ... ; transcribed from a true copy there of, found amongst the collections of that judicious antiquary St. Lo Kniveton ... Together with A true catalogue of Lord Chancellors ... from the Norman conquest, untill this present year, 1671 / by William Dugdale.

  • Selden, John, 1584-1654.
Date:
1672
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A brief discourse touching the office of Lord Chancellor of England / written by ... John Selden ... and dedicated by him to Sir Francis Bacon ... ; transcribed from a true copy there of, found amongst the collections of that judicious antiquary St. Lo Kniveton ... Together with A true catalogue of Lord Chancellors ... from the Norman conquest, untill this present year, 1671 / by William Dugdale. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    fame Charter a teftimony ^!fo as ancient, that the Seals were, one of King Edgar^ the fecond ofS^ Diinjian^ and the third of Alfer Duels Merciornm. That teftimony is in a Letter from Godfrie Archdeacon oi Worcejier to Pope Alexander HI. writing of that Charter, and the Authority of it: Noverit^ faith he, SanSiita^ <vcftra ^ ^ernm effe^ quod conferipti Imjm feriptum originale in ^irtuU SanEi(£ Trinitatis ftgilla tria^ trium perfonarmi autenticarum , ad *veritatem^ triplici confrmatione C9mmendat ; Eji autem Sigillum primttm iUnflris Regis Edgari; fecundum Sanfti Dunftani Cantuarienfis Archiepifeopi’^ tertium Alferi Duds Merciorum ; ficut ex diligenti liter arum impreffa- rum inJpeBiofte ez>identer accepi. And it’s reported by thofe which have fearched the Records of Denys Church in France^ there remain two Charters, the one of one 0^, the other of one Edgar ^ with Seals annext v the one of which I have feeri caft off in Lead , and is about the breadth of a Shilling thick, and having a face on the one fide. Likewife amongft the Charta: Antiquee^ divers being reckoned cum Si- giUo^ others fine Sigillo j one is cum Sigillo of King Cnout^ nei¬ ther is there any colour of doubt but that the Confejfor had his Seal, for the Print yet remains in part to^be feen. But not- withftanding thefe fingular examples of Kings Sealing in the Saxons times it’s moft certain it was not a thing common then ^ neither could any in the Chahcellorlhip be denomina- jted from Keeping the Seal, nor in any other Office. Cu- iriofitv in fome particular occafion fwayed more in it, than any Cuftom ^ Although we admit thofe before mentioned for true, which may well be doubted, in regard of the frequent fraud and ignorai^ce in cominkting’it, which in the elder irimes polfefs’d the Church-men. dhut {or the Confejfor s Seal, that was without fcruple certain, and thence may we confi¬ dently derive the Great Seal of England. I 111 'refiimonies of the Chancellorfhip^and Keeperjhip joyned^ in times neer after tfoe^^Norman ln<vafion. AS in the Monuments of the Confeffor Remhald is na¬ med Chancellor ^ fo under the hrO. WilliamJ Maurice Bifliop of London.^ and in the fucceeding times others. Old Stories of the Monks fufficiently mention them. -But little appears i* In the Regi- ftcr of Croj- la»d \t ap¬ pears that the Normafts brought in theufe of J Seals to Charters. Ah'H tV.V V>.V .Vv. jI ■ ^ fi