Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/36

20 ready to return to Flanders, the archbishop resigned the chancellorship and the great seal (D.) The king took the seal and caused it to be broken, and ordered another seal (E) newly made for the government of the kingdom, to be delivered into the custody of John de Saint Paul, to keep and use until the coming of the bishop of Chichester, whom he had appointed to be the new chancellor.

And the said seal was accordingly delivered to the bishop of Chichester on the 12th of July, after the king's departure.

The new seal D had but a short existence. It was used, as far as we know, for the first time, on the 8th of February, 1340, and was broken to pieces on the 20th of June.

The impression which corresponds to this history is a coarse, plain, and ill-engraved seal, in which the king's throne is flanked by two towers, and has a clumsy canopy over his head. A shield of France and England quarterly hangs on each side, and the title "Rex Francie et Anglie" appears in the legend.

An impression was exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries in 1834, annexed to a charter, dated Ipswich, June 8, 1340, which date identifies the design in question with the seal D of the history. Mr. Doubleday has an impression of this seal on sale, and an engraving was made for the French "Tresor de Numismatique et de Glyptique." The clumsy design may be accounted for by supposing it to have been made in a hurry, in consequence of Edward's assumption of the title of King of France. It must also have been of foreign workmanship; and its ugliness seems to have condemned it to its rapid destruction.

As to its successor E, "newly made for the government of the kingdom during the king's absence," we must postpone its history until our narrative has given us some farther information. Four seals, A, B, C, D, have been already passed under review, and identified with their respective impressions upon the clear evidence of dates and documents. There remain three seals, E, F, G, whose history is so mixed together, that the historical narrative must be carried to the end of this reign before their respective designs can be examined.