Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
CC License:
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Unique ID: PUBLIC-C1D16E
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
~~A flat circular copper-alloy seal matrix, the central design of which is a lion rampant. The Latin inscription is * S' RIC' F' THOME MOLEND' - an abbreviated form of SIGILLVM RICARDI FILII THOME MOLENDINARII, Seal of Richard, son of Thomas the miller. The reverse is plain except for a short tapered median ridge, which terminates in a suspension lug at the top of the seal.
The recorder notes that an online transcript of a circa 13th century document mentions a Richard Molendinus as holding land at the village of Cam, approximately 15 miles from the findspot. The transcript appears to misspell the italicised word* and Richard was one of the most common male names of the time, but it is nevertheless possible that the same person was the holder of the seal.
* The distinction between occupations and occupational surnames is not necessarily clear cut at this period. Richard the miller did not instantly become Richard Miller; the two forms probably co-existed for a generation or more. It does seem likely, however, that where the Latin word is used (and declined accordingly) the intention is to indicate the occupation rather than the surname. The latter would more probably be rendered in the vernacular, 'Miller', and the declension dropped.
In medieval Latin, both 'molendarius' and 'molendinarius' were used as the word for a miller. The genitive case of these two forms is 'molendarii' and 'molendinarii' respectively, but as the word on the present seal is abbreviated to 'Molend', it is unclear which of the two forms was intended.
The transcriber of the medieval document referred to above appears to have interpreted the word on the Latin original as a surname, and rendered it (without translation) in the nominative case, but seemingly incorrectly spelled (i.e. Molendinus, rather than Molendarius or Molendinarius). The spelling error may, of course, occur on the original document.
Class:
personal
Sub class: man
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1300
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Quantity: 1
Weight: 5.91 g
Diameter: 20 mm
Date(s) of discovery: Thursday 20th October 2016
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Other reference: UKDFD 51919
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
No references cited so far.