Displaying 1 glossary term in Charter Typology starting with G
Charter Typology
Old English
Gewrit (Royal Writ)
OE gewrit < gewrītan ('to write, carve letters')
A concise, sealed administrative mandate in the vernacular addressed by the king to the bishop, ealdorman, and thegns of a shire-gemot, announcing a grant of land or judicial privilege.
Developed in late Anglo-Saxon England and sealed with the royal two-sided Great Seal, the writ revolutionised administrative governance and became the ancestor of all Anglo-Norman executive instruments.
“+ Ic Abba geroefa cyðe 7 writan hate on ðisum gewrite...”
S 1482 — Early Vernacular Written Instrument
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