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Description: | A large cast lead seal matrix, which is a pointed oval shape and flat. The pointed oval measures 54.7mm x 35.5mm. The inscription reads : *SIGILLUM OFFICIALITATIS BEDEFORD' which translates from Latin to read the Seal of the Officiality of the Archdeaconry of Bedford. The inscription is within a double pelleted boarder. The central motif shows the Archdeacon kneeling before a statue of the seated Virgin and Child. The Archdeacon can be seen under an architectural canopy. John Cherry comments that: 'It would have been used by the Archdeacon for sealing particular decisions in his court. There is a good series of such seals in Greenwell and Blair, Catalogue of Durham seals part VII 1918.' The reverse is flat and undecorated and has a small pierced (but now broken) lug at the 12 o'clock position. There is a raised rib down the longitudinal axis of the matrix. It probably dates from the first half of the fourteenth century. The matrix is slightly bent.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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