MANUSCRIPT LETTERS PATENT WITH SCARCE INTACT ROYAL SEAL DATED 12 FEBRUARY 1442

Henry VI manuscript royal letters patent in black ink on vellum. Calligraphic strapwork of H for Henricus in header’s margin. Twenty lines in medieval Latin, dated 12 February, 1442, at Chichester, with royal seal pendant.

The subject matter concerns a dispute resolution i.r.o. 40 acres of land devolving upon Cardinal John (Morton) of Canterbury, held via a paternal fief dating back to roughly 30 years after the Norman Conquest (c. 1100 ACE) as initially recorded in the old county of Sussex scroll during the reign of Henry I, by Judge Robert (de Auberville). This letters patent simultaneously secures the interests of tenants Willard (thane of Henry VI) and Barham, (families associated with the early development of the English iron and steel industry), to the said property which belonged to the church of St Thomas of Canterbury.

Document condition: Good: Crisp and legible handwriting; 3cm vertical tear to strapwork; two small holes in manuscript body; and usual document fold-creases. Cockling to the calligraphic initial. Minor, non-material crumbling to lower right edge. See close up images.

The ROYAL SEAL (diameter: 700mm) presents in brown wax. Image of the king on his throne with orb and sceptre. The scroll legend reads: HENRICUS DEI GRACIA REX ANGLIE ET FRANCIE (Henry by the grace of God, King of England and France).

Henry VI was crowned King of France in Notre Dame de Paris on 16 December,1431, and declared fit to rule by 1437, at the age of 16, until 1453 - holding the unofficial title of youngest English king ever.

Obverse: The quartered coat of arms of old France and England (gules ~ 3 lions passant guardant (English) & fleur de lys (French), with two collared greyhounds (as royal heraldic supporters). The lions represent rulership over England, and the Duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine. The scroll legend reads SIGILLUM PRO BREVIBUS CORAM IUSTICIARIIS (Seal for the Royal Justices).

Note: The seal was pendant from the document (as opposed to letters close) so that the originator’s seal did not have to be broken for reading.

Seal condition: Very Good

Translation: OCR software (Lingvanex.com) with translation finessing by Gavin Ford (University-level Latin scholar). Document date (20^th year of Henry’s reign) verified by the Curator of Medieval Manuscripts, British Library.

The royal letters patent with its seal pendant is protected in a custom-crafted contemporary museum quality acid-free boxholder, with linen finish, by Elize de Beer, Bookward Bound Bindery, Cork, Ireland (formerly associated with the Brenthurst Library, Johannesburg).