Southwark's First Seal

The Priory of St Mary Overy, or Southwark Priory, was founded in 1106 by Williams Pont de l'Arche and Dauncey.  They were two curiales in the court of Henry I. Henry had quite a lot of curiales. The word means courtier; these were the royal men-of-business. Typically, they came from lesser families and owed their good positions and fortunes to the king - and queen. These two Bills were indeed Henry's men, but they also acted for his wife, Edith-Matilda, whose importance can be overlooked because she was queen-consort, but it must be remembered that she was of royal descent and could argue a position of queen in her own right. Edith-Matilda was fundamental to the establishment of the Augustinian order in England, Wales and (through her brothers) Scotland.

Walter de Gray Birch puts the first seal in the 11th century, but it can't predate the priory, so it must be first quarter of the 12th. Here's his description of Southwark Priory's seal:

Pointed oval: a king, standing, with crown having loose straps terminating in trefoils, as in the great seal of William II; with long open sleeves, in the hands an inscribed ribbon. The inscription is illegible.

+ SIGILLUM SCE MARIE SVDWERKENSIS ECCL'IE

Why it should be a king when the priory was dedicated to Mary, I'm not sure. Kings are also usually depicted seated on a throne. William Rufus' crown type might be similar (it's of the right period), but otherwise, he's, ahem, a red herring. Here are the seals of the Norman kings:

• William the Conqueror
• William Rufus
• Henry I
• Stephen
• The Empress Maud also sits enthroned, stating her legitimacy to rule.
  

Kings, as you can see, don't stand. But queens do. If we compare the Southwark seal to that of Edith-Matilda, we see certain similarities (and some differences).

Here she is. (There's another, better, picture on the Durham seals site.)

I don't know on what grounds WdeGB thought Southwark's figure was a king, but a wide-sleeved standing figure is surely more likely to be female. From this photo, it looks like the figure has a beard, but that might be a bad impression. One day, I'll go and have a look at the seal itself.

I've not come across another seal (yet) with the ribbon or banner. The pattern on the vestment is interesting - and a bit unclear. Perhaps it's the Lamb of God? Some things seem to be projecting from behind the figure's head. A possibility is that this figure isn't royal, but episcopal. Bishops also stood and had wide sleeves. The bishop of Winchester was closely connected to Southwark (indeed, the prostitutes of Southwark were called the Winchester Geese).

Two possible models for this seal exist: Edith-Matilda, patron of the two curalis-founders, and William Giffard, bishop of Winchester (or St Augustine, via him). This seal needs more investigation!

The second seal, also from the 12th century, is the BVM seated, and once I've located a picture of it, it'll be here.