Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/170

 110 THE MTNIMEXTS oF THE ABBEY OF Wl'ST.MlXSTEI?. daut to the charter by a tliiii strip of silken tissue (probably of the twelfth century) passed through a rough hole made between two lines of the writing in such a way as no one ever saw a seal appended — and yet the seal itself has many marks of authenticit3 No other seal of the great bishop is known to exist — no seal of any English bishop of that date is known to exist — no jicndant seal is known in England before the time of Edward the Confessor, and yet the seal may be genuine — in the sense of its having been made by authentic matrices, or its being a genuine example removed from a genuine instrument. On the continent at that })criod seals were always affixed en placard, that is, on the face of the instrument, in ^Yhich an incision was made, and through which the wax protruded and received the counter-seal, Mhich was expressly designed to protect the seal itself from being tampered with. On these accounts this seal of Bishop Dunstan may deserve further consideration. The reverse bears his counter-seal as Bishop of Worcester, a circumstance in itself sti'ongly militating against the authenticity of the seal. Coming now to the charters of Edward the Confessor, eight in number, two of these are certainly spurious, one of which is the noble-looking charter of consecration, dated 2bth December, 10G5, or 5 calends of January, lOlJG, and which is most probably of the twelfth century. A late investigator (Mr. Walter de CJray Birch) has discovered that the Confessor-king used three great seals, of one of which only a small fragment is known, and that is appended to one of the Westminster charters. Several of the other charters i^efore Henry 1. are also doubtful, though the seals may be impressions from genuine matrices ; but this branch of the subject may, I trust, ije further investigated by an abler hand. After the charters may be specifi"il the rolls of accounts of manorial officers, deeds of feojlinent, c^c, and perhaps more than the usual variety of instruments relating to dealings with land anl the exercise of rights thereon. All these are of great value for top^gcaphieal and ai'cha'ological ptn-pose.s, and as to me«lia.'val WosUninster, 1 might say that tlnre is scarcely a square foot of its great extent but what is dealt with l)y tin.' Abbey records, f|-om (he reign of Henry ill. to modern times. 'J'alung one portion as an illustratit)n, the well- known district of Tothill Fields, about which we