James VI and I, King of Scotland, Ireland and England
Lordship and Regalitie of Dunfermline [Fife], 1620
£4,000
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 17 June 2020 at 11:00 BST
Description
Charles, Prince of Scotland and Wales, Duke of Rothesay and Albany, Cornwall and York, Lord of the Lordship and Regalitie of Dunfermline (later King Charles I).
Charter in Latin, Confirmation of an earlier Charter given by Magister John Edmonston of Newtown (Haddingtonshire) to William Murray, Knight, of all the lands and town of Newtown lying in the Lordship and Regalitie of Musselburgh in the district of Edinburgh, dated at 'Halierindhous' (Holyrood House), Edinburgh, 15th July 1620, complete with the rare seal of Charles as Prince of Scotland, with the stamped signatures of James and Charles, and holograph signatures of Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermlin, Lord Chancellor; John Erskine (2nd or 7th Earl of Mar, Lord High Treasurer; Thomas Hamilton, Earl of Melrose, Secretary of State; John Murray, 1st Earl of Annandale, Keeper of the Privy Purse, and William Oliphant, Lord Newton, Lord Advocate, on vellum, 49 x 37cm, folded, with seal attached, preserved in folding cloth box with black morocco label
Footnote
Note: The Lordship and Regalitie of Dunfermline was a wedding day gift given by James VI of Scotland to his bride Princess Anna of Denmark at the door of the church in accordance with Danish custom. James VI of Scotland became King James I of England after the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603. Queen Anna died in 1619 leaving the Lordship of Dunfermline to her son, the future Charles I.
On ascending the English throne in 1603 James moved to London with his family and never returned to Scotland again. Important state documents relating to Scotland had to be sent to London for signature; however for documents of less import a set of wooden stamps had been made bearing the signatures of James, Anna and Charles. Authorisation to use these had been given to leading Scottish statesmen who also held the seal matrices for the Royal Seals of Scotland. Such documents as were issued by them with the stamped signatures also had to bear their actual signatures. This Charter bears the stamp signatures of James and Charles, a very rare combination.