Hugo victor

1568 · 314595 — London 1568. 590 x 405 mm. Ink on parchment old folds signed in a contemporary hand on lower fold docketed in a contemporary hand on verso slightly effaced verso slightly darkened. 590 x 405 mm. Sixteenth century London. This document would be an excellent paleographical example of English secretary hand with interspersed Gothic lettering used for emphasis. <br/><br/>The legal terminology is straigthforward and usual for contemporary documents. Numerous locations within London are named though the hand is sometimes unclear enough to make the place names uncertain<br/><br/>Both signatures -- of William and of Hugo Frankland -- survive clearly on the bottom fold above the vellum tags where wax seals would have originally hung the names above the corresponding seals. The extensive list of witnesses on the verso is of particular interest to any historian of early modern London. Names include: Richard Farmer Thomas Burton Henry Walker John Hellom and others<br/><br/>In addition to its textual and historical interest this document would be excellent for teaching the material aspects manuscript history: it has the characteristically and distinctively "fuzzy" feel of English parchment which is unforgettable once encountered in person. unknown books