Dr. Laura J. Whatley, Auburn University at Montgomery
"Seals and Sealing in the Thirteenth-Century Chronicles of Matthew Paris"
This presentation explores the relationship between history writing and sealing culture in England as evidenced in Matthew Paris’s historical manuscripts. It considers text /image relationships, explores iconographic correspondence between drawings and real seals, and locates Matthew’s impulse to record sealed documents and seals within broader historical practices. Matthew Paris offers a unique paradigm for seal use in relation to documentary culture, their the visual impact, the recording of seals viz. the art of drawing, and writ authentication in relation to history writing.
