[1] I have to acknowledge the kind permission to use the following illustrations—by Messrs. Virtue and Co., four blocks from Cutts' Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages, 1872; by Messrs. Mitchell and Hughes, six blocks from Dr. Jackson Howard's Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica; by Messrs. Nichols and Son, sixteen blocks from The Herald and Genealogist, Collectanea Genealogica et Heraldica, The Topographer and Genealogist, and The Visitation of Huntingdon, 1613 [Camden Society]; by Messrs. Parker, eight blocks from Hewitt's Ancient Arms and Armour and The ArchÆological Journal, vol. iv; by the Society of Antiquaries, eight blocks published in their Proceedings; and by the Royal ArchÆological Institute, one block from The ArchÆological Journal, vol. xi.

[2] Randle Holme's Academy of Armoury, book i. p. 9, tells us how Froissart, describing the battle of Poictiers, says that the Black Prince commanded the body of the Lord Richard Duras to be laid on a shield, and that five men should bear the same to the Cardinal of Peregorth for a present, &c. Also, that towards the end of the reign of Edward III, the Frenchmen, to save themselves from the liberal shot of the English archers, had shields made of elme-wood, seven feet in length and three in breadth and an inch in thickness, which were made sharp at the foot to pitch into the ground.

[3] It would be curious to ascertain, if we could, how long the die sinkers in early times required to make these large and splendid seals. I have only noted a few instances which throw light upon it, but, no doubt, a careful search might show the earliest dates after their succession when the several kings used their new great seals. Rymer's Foedera contains many orderings and surrenderings of such seals; the great difficulty is to connect the impression with the thing ordered or dealt with. Blackstone [The Great Charter and the Charter of the Forest, 4to, 1759, pp. xxix and xliii] informs us that the great Charter of Henry III, dated 12th November, 1216 (he was crowned at Gloucester, 28th October, 1216), was sealed—as declared in the document—with the seals of Gualo the Legate and William Earl of Pembroke; King John's seal having been lost in passing the Washes of Lincolnshire, and no new seal being made for King Henry till two years after. About 6th November, 1218, a new great seal was made for King Henry III, and then began to be used in sealing writs, of course, but was forbidden to be put to anything which might tend to perpetuity till the king should arrive to full age; and a footnote is added, "It has not even in later times been altogether unusual for the successor to defer for a while the making of a new great seal,—and in the interim to use his predecessor's:—The Editor has met with a patent of Rich^d Cromwell, dated 18 Nov. 1658, [11 weeks after his protectorship commenced] which was sealed with Oliver's seal." Roger de Hoveden notes, under the year 1194, that Richard I. ordered a new great seal to be made, but the earliest deed to which it is known to be attached bears date 18th May, 1198—that is, four years afterwards. (M. Deville's Treatise on the Seals of Richard I., and ArchÆological Journal, vol. iii, p. 372.) Among the Standish Deeds, which I had lately the honour to lay before this Society, was one—a licence to found a chantry at Standish—granted by Edward III. on 12th February, 1328, and with apparently an unfinished seal. The impression is a bad one, but the lions afterwards on the horse clothing seem to be wanting. He only ascended the throne 25th January, 1327. On the fourth day of his reign, viz., 28th January, 1327, he delivered his great seal to the Bishop of Ely as Chancellor, two fleur-de-lys having been engraved on the under side thereof (Rymer's Foedera, vol. ii, p. 683). This was his father's seal, thus slightly altered on one side. In October of the same year Edward III. stated by proclamation that he had a new great seal, different on both sides from the seal hitherto used; which great seal was to have authority from 4th October, 1327. Rymer, vol. ii, p. 718, records that the previous seal was broken up in the king's presence, in his chamber in the Castle of Nottingham. See Professor Willis on the great seals of Edward III., a learned paper printed in the ArchÆological Journal, vol. ii, p. 14.