Letters close
Letters close(Latin:litterae clausae) are a type of obsolete legal document once used by thePope,theBritish monarchyand by certain officers of government, which is a sealed letter granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to an individual or to some entity such as a corporation. These letters were personal in nature, and were delivered folded andsealed,so that only the recipient could read their contents.[1]This type of letter contrasts with the better-knownletters patent.
It was necessary to break the seal to open and read the letter, and so its arrival with the seal intact showed that it had not been intercepted or tampered with. However, once the seal was broken, it could no longer confirm the authenticity of the document.
Litterae clausaeof the Pope[edit]
Another example of letters close is papal letters close. These often had theleadenpapal bullaattached to the letter with ahempcord that was a sign that the letter contains an order or the fine silk cord which meant a "gift" or a "grace" being announced to the addressee. The cords were often threaded through the letter to keep it folded, with the address written on thedorse(back) of the document (endorsed) for the entrusted deliverers to read.
In the Kingdom of England[edit]
In this realm the letters could be issued by the monarch or government. The originalchartersofEdward the Confessorcan be considered to be a form of letters close, as they were delivered wrapped, with the seal hanging down.
This type of letter later developed into the formal business letters that we are familiar with today.[citation needed]
It is thought that the earliest surviving English instance remaining unopened dates to the reign ofHenry VIII.[1]InEngland,these letters are typical of those generated by the developing state bureaucracy.[citation needed]From1204,copies ofEnglishletters close transcribed onto theClose Rollsare extant.[2]However, examples of actual letters close, as opposed to the recorded copies in the Close Rolls, are extremely rare, and most of those exist because KingHenry IIrequired the return of some to the government.[1]
Over time, however, as new document series emerged, the scope of the Close Rolls narrowed; and after1533their contents consisted solely of copies of private deeds and awards of enclosure, and the like.[3]
Lordship / Kingdom of Ireland[edit]
In English-ruledIreland,letters close were used for a wider variety of grants, as the Irish chancery only produced two series of enrolments: patent and close rolls.[4]Many, but not all, of the letters close issued by the Irish chancery were recorded on theClose Rolls.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcClanchy, C. T. (1993).From Memory to Written Record: England 1066–1307(Second ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. p.91.ISBN978-0-631-16857-7.
- ^Saul, Nigel(2000). "Government". In Saul, Nigel (ed.).A Companion to Medieval England 1066–1485.Stroud: Tempus. pp. 115–118 at 116.ISBN0-7524-2969-8.
- ^S. H. Steinberg,A New Dictionary of British History(London 1963) p. 75
- ^"The Irish Chancery Rolls | CIRCLE".chancery.tcd.ie.