Walter de Merton's love for Merton Priory sealed...with a seal?

Walter de Merton received his first living from Merton Priory.  He was their 'well-beloved clerk' for many years and took his name after the priory, changing it from Walter de Basingstoke.  (Just think, it could have been Basingstoke College, Oxford...).  J. R. L. Highfield suggested that the Merton College use of 'hostelry, infirmary, and granary seem to reflect the monastic world of Merton Priory' (Early Rolls of Merton [the College!], p.65).  Walter's closeness to Merton may perhaps also be seen in his seal.

In A companion to seals in the Middle Ages (ed. L. J. Whatley, Leiden 2019), Philippa Hoskins writes that the ‘standard form of the English episcopal seal of dignity had emerged’ by the middle of the 12th century (p.201).  Bishops were depicted always with their crozier, sinister, and benediction, dexter.  ‘From the late twelfth century British bishops begin to be depicted standing on a corbel’ (p.202).  Bishops introduce patterns and motifs to distinguish their seals.  She suggests that Bishop Richard Marsh of Durham is standing ‘on marshy ground.’ (p.203.)  Here he is:

 It was a screenshot from this nice site, so to see it better, click on that link!

Richard Marsh (a bit of a villain) was Adam Marsh's uncle.  Adam knew our Walter.  But back then, it was a small world.  Richard's successor-but-a-couple was Nicholas Farnham, physician and philosopher. His seal is below, left.  Notice the two windows with heads in them.


The Merton College historian Roger Highfield put this seal together with that of Nicholas' clerk, Walter of Merton.  Here he is, which I managed once to track down online, but can't remember where from.  It's in the British Library, anyway.  Highfield is right - there is a resemblance.  Nicholas Farnham was a Surrey man, not too far from the Hampshire Walter's Basingstoke.  Nicholas held the living of Long Ditton from Merton Priory.  Walter, in 1233, was given by Merton the living at Cuddington.  When Nicholas became Bishop of Durham (1241-9), he took various Surrey types with him, including Walter.

Here's Merton Priory's seal from 1241.

Look at the heads!  BUT before we get too excited, here is a bucket of cold water in the shape of J. P. Dalton's The Archiepiscopal and Deputed Seals of York, 1114-1500 (York, 1992).  He says that faces in 'foiled recesses' [now, that needs more investigation - they aren't all foiled - we've noted Nicholas Farnham's lozenges] was quite common in the 13th century:  Archbishop Richard Grant of Canterbury (1229-31); Edmund of Abingdon (1233-40) [a good Merton friend - he has 4!], Bishop Robert Stichill of Durham (1261-74).  At York, Godfrey Ludham, William Wickwane, John le Romeyne, William Melton.  William Greenfield (d.1315) ditched the fussy recesses and just had the heads.  Walter's heads are episcopal; Merton's are canonical.  Nicholas'?  Dunno.

However, there's more to these seals than just the heads.  St Augustine, on the Merton seal, stands on a platform supported by a fleur-de-lys (very appropriate for a Marian dedication).  So does Walter's.  (I can't see whether Nicholas' does.)

Closer inspection of all of them would yield results; meanwhile, it looks very like the Merton Priory influence spreading everywhere...

Interestingly, Walter's seal doesn't have a canopy; it has a star instead.  This star is reminiscent of Jacob the Jew's seal.  This is from the Merton College Archives, as is the seal below.  They also have Ela Longspee's seal.  She's rather an interesting character - definitely a 12th-century blue-stocking, and great friend of both Walter and his college.








Merton College's 14th-century seal (you can see a beautiful BIG picture of it here) has the BVM and Babe - the college is dedicated to St Mary.  It has some Mertonesque features - the ornate canopy, the diapered background (although here just of the seat), and a virga (I think that's what is poking up, sinister), but it's much more like the Oseney's seal:  the BVM is handing Christ the orb, and she leans towards him (and that's similar, too, to Merton's first seal).  Underneath, there's a strikingly similar arch to Oseney's, but with a tonsured supplicant (Walter?) underneath.  Its original seal showed 'five souls held in a cloth in the bosom of Abraham.'  That's a really interesting seal!