White Ladies, Brewood

 A slight departure - no seal for this one yet, but some capitals instead.

White Ladies, or the Priory of St Leonard, Brewood, was founded during the reign of Henry II by - well, no-one knows whom.  English Heritage suggests a wealthy patron because the church was built in a single campaign, but that patron didn't give the priory any suitable endowment.  The White Ladies remained gently poor; the church is as it was (albeit now in rather more ruinous a state) when it was first built, and the nuns numbered no more than half a dozen.  Although in a very different part of the kingdom, this priory recalls Sylvia Townsend Warner's fictitious Oby Priory.  The only thing I can ever remember about White Ladies is one 14th-century prioress (Alice Harley) being chastised for going hunting with her hounds. 

A friend insists on finding nice, interesting places to stretch one's legs on a journey, and that's how we found ourselves at White Ladies. Only the remains of the church are left - nothing of the conventual buildings stands.

The capitals are here:

They are unlike, for example, those at Buildwas, but they may bear comparison with Lilleshall. I stick them up here to invite comparisons!

Lesnes

Richard's son Geoffrey would become bishop of Winchester, and continue a close relationship between the de Lucies and various Austin houses of his province, including Merton.

The remains of Lesnes, with Toby,
who runs the children's entertainment at
Merton Priory

 Lesnes Abbey was founded by Richard de Lucy in 1178.  Richard had had a distinguished career:  he started out serving Henry I, was governor of Falaise under Stephen, and became chief justiciar under Henry II, who didn't seem to mind that Richard had stood against him in the civil war.

As justiciar, Richard was instrumental in Henry's campaign to remove or reign-in Thomas Becket.  Becket's murder in 1170 rode on the European Zeitgeist and Becket was canonised (made a saint) in 1173 - a remarkably short time.  Thomas' sainthood did Henry II's reputation no favours, and he undertook a pilgrimage of penance in 1174 to Canterbury to get his former friend's forgiveness.  

Four years later, in 1178, Richard de Lucy founded Lesnes Abbey (at the Westwode in Lesnes).  As well as being dedicated to the BVM (the usual saint for Austin houses), Lesnes was dedicated was to St Thomas the Martyr, so we may imagine that this was Richard's penance.  Richard retired to Lesnes that year and died a few months later, in July 1179.

A seal survives, showing Thomas, vested for mass, right hand in benediction, left hand holding his staff of office. This is typical for episcopal seals; the cross of his crozier shows that he is archbishop.  The 12th century was the inventor of heraldry, and an important part of heraldry is canting, or punning.  Either side of Thomas are two great fish.  These are pikes - or luces, to give them their other name.

De Gray Birch's description: 13th cent. Pointed oval : St Thomas Becket, full-length, with mitre and pall, lifting up the r. h. in benediction, in the 1. h. a crozier. In the field, on each side a luce or pike hauriant palewise, in allusion to the arms of the founder, Richard de Lucy ; on the r. also a pierced mullet of eight points.  *SIGILL' ECCL'IE S THOME MARTIRIS DE LIESNES.

He also notes a small round counterseal with the mark of the matrix handle: St. Thomas, half-length.

De Gray Birch seems to be describing the seal of our image.  (The image of the seal is from lucy.net, which has lots more information on the Lucies and lots of pictures of Lesnes.)  However, his dating of 13th century seems too late to me. The style of Thomas' mitre is much more 12th-century, when they wore them side-on (at least, they did on seals). Compare Nigel of Ely (left).  I suspect that the Lesnes seal was made pretty soon after the abbey's foundation.

Lesnes Abbey makes a nice day out.

Monasteries and the importance of seals

Monks (or canons or nuns) were not supposed to have personal property.  Presumably this extended to seals.  Apart from rules about possessions, the reason for restricting the ownership and use of seals within a monastery is pretty obvious, and is illustrated beautifully by a story from 12th-century St Albans Abbey.  In 1146, Ralph, treasurer to the bishop of Lincoln, was appointed abbot of St Albans, as the bishop had promised.  Not too long afterwards, he found an uncut seal at the workbench of Brother Anketil - who had, prior to taking his vows, been moneyer to the king of Denmark and therefore was probably a skilled engraver.  Ralph suspected forgery afoot, and sacked the prior, whom he thought was behind it all as part of a move to depose him (Ralph).  He who had the monastic seal had monastic power.

Abbot Samson swept the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds thoroughly with a stiff new broom.  He took inventories and accounts, and stopped certain practices.  One of his reforms concerned seals:

On a certain day he made an order in chapter, that every one who had a seal of his own should give it up to him, and so it was accordingly done, and there were found three-and-thirty seals. He himself explained the reason of this order, forbidding that any official should incur any debt above twenty shillings without the assent of the prior and convent, as had been the custom heretofore. To the prior and to the sacrist, indeed, he returned their seals, but kept the rest himself.

Seals gave authority and authenticity to documents and transactions. In order to control income and expenditure, you needed to control who had a seal - who was authorised to make or take payments on behalf of the monastery.  33 seals is rather a large number and suggests a somewhat anarchic approach to monastic economics!

 

Early Oxford Colleges

Yes, you're right - these aren't Augustinian seals, so this is a tangent.

I'm just looking at the histories of Merton, Univ and Balliol Colleges, all founded in the 1260s.  

The Merton seal (from their archives) is from the 14th century. It is the BVM and Babe, she with orb, and with the half-figure of Walter de Merton praying under an arch below. I'd like to draw your attention to the seals of Oseney Abbey and Merton Priory - Walter had associations with both (especially with Merton, whom he named himself after).  Both monasteries were, like so many Austin houses, dedicated to the BVM. Merton's chapel is dedicated jointly to the BVM and St John the Baptist.  Walter's own seal has similarities to Merton's, too.

A quick look on the internet has failed to provide Univ's seal, but here's Balliol's, from 1282.  Although John de Balliol is credited with founding the college, it was actually his wife Dervorguilla of Galloway.

This seal has again the BVM and Babe and is very like Oseney's or, with its canopy, Merton Priory's. But in addition, they BVM and Babe are sitting atop a building (the scholars' hall?), with John and Dervorguilla praying underneath.  Unlike Merton College's seal, this one is very heraldic, showing the secular, noble origin of the founders. John holds his shield (Gules, an orle Argent. By the BVM and Babe are, sinister, the arms of her mother Margaret of Huntingdon (Or, three piles Gules.  Margaret was great-granddaughter of David I, brother of Edith-Matilda - both of whom were responsible for several early Augustinian foundations. The other arms (per pale Gules and Azure, three garbs Or) are the de Lacy arms. Alan of Galloway married first and thirdly de Lacy women. (It's interesting she displays de Lacy rather than Galloway/ Scotland.)  Dervorguilla's own seal is here, for comparison.

Huntingdon

 This post lacks a picture, owing to the difficulty of getting into the BL, and there being no picture anywhere on the internet.  So for the moment, we'll just have to have de Gray's description.

This post also led to me editing the Wikipedia article on Huntingdon Priory.  Hopefully more people will add to it, amend it, etc.  Huntingdon was one of the original Augustinian priories, and is, like so many, dedicated to the BVM.

Its surviving seal is from the 14th century:

"the Coronation of the Virgin, in a circular panel, cusped and quatrefoiled. Over it the head of Our Lord with cruciform nimbus, between a crescent on the left and an estoile on the right over which are the sacred letters AO. At each side a four-winged seraph. In base, The Resurrection of the Dead at the Day of Judgment, two angels blowing long trumpets, three human figures rising from the ground, and a bishop or mitred Abbat rising from a sepulchre.

: * : S' : COMMVNE : RVM : . . MARIE : HVNTINGDONE.

R. The Priory Church, with central spire and crested roof. In the middle, under a trefoiled arch, St. Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, seated, lifting up the right hand in benediction, in the left hand a crozier. At each side in a niche with trefoiled arch two canons praying. Over each niche in a circular panel window the head, on the left of St. Peter, on the right of St. Paul. In the field, on the left the keys of St. Peter, on the right the sword of St. Paul, each betw. two roses. In base, under an arcade, four busts in profile to the left Over the roof the words CLEM. V., in reference to Pope Clement V., A.D. 1305-1315."

The legend is a rhyming hexameter couplet: CANONICIS : LEGES : P’R : AVGVS / DE : H' PIA DONA TVIS.

I'll improve this post when I have a photo or two.

Holyrood

 Holyrood Abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland, brother of Edith-Matilda, one of the key figures in the establishment of the Augustinians in the British Isles.  David's founding canons were from Merton Priory, but unlike Merton and many other Austin houses, Holyrood is not dedicated to the BVM, but to, er, the Holy Rood (St Cross).  This could have been because David, about to be gored by a stag who'd already managed to unhorse him, saw the holy cross and was miraculously saved, or (/ and) because David brought there a fragment of the True Cross from Waltham, which had been given it by David's mother Margaret (the Queen of Queensferry and founder of Dunfermline Abbey).  After being a centre of spiritual and political importance for the next few centuries, Holyrood was trashed by the English in the 1540s and then by the Scottish reformers of the 1550s.  In 2006, Time Team dug up various bits of it.

The first seal of Holyrood is a church (compare St Andrews, for example).  It's lovely.  Look at the tiles; the dome is beautifully Romanesque, and the arcade also classic Romanesque.  The ground below it is interesting - a forecourt?  De Gray Birch gives this a date of c.1141.  The legend is SIGILLVM S[ANC[TE] [I can't make the next bit out] EDINBURGENSIS ECCLE[SI]E

©National Museums Scotland

From a century or so later is Abbot Adam's seal.  This shows Adam kneeling in prayer, with his crozier, to the Holy Rood, and there are crosses aplenty.  Legend:  S' ABBATIS SANCTE CRVCIS DE EDINGBORG.

 

 

 

The final seal, at least on this page, is the Abbey's seal from much later - de Gray Birch's example from 1559.  It's definitely Late Mediaeval, though could be 15th- or 16th-century.  It is busy, with Christ crucified in the middle (St Cross, again) and the BVM and John (I presume) either side - these two centuries loved the Passion story, as you can hear from the numerous Eton Choirbook examples (like this one).   Beneath is the BVM and Babe, and the arms of Scotland.  Lovely elegant Perp columns and canopies.  (Again, I can't quite make out the legend from this picture.)

 

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.