The production of forgery at Westminster Abbey, 1050-c. 1154
The production of forgery at Westminster Abbey, 1050-c. 1154
This essay sets out an analysis of how forgery was produced at Westminster Abbey in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, using the material evidence of the pseudo-original charters rather than the much-used textual evidence. The focus of this study thus lies on how the parchments were prepared, how the seals were used, and what techniques the scribes used to produce archaizing scripts, which are not usually prominent in analysis of charters and related materials. This shows that individual scribal habits shaped how the forgeries were made, but, perhaps more importantly, that there were distinctive practices seen in the forgeries which differed from how authentic originals were made. It is argued that these differences reflect how the scribes envisaged the forged documents would be used, and their knowledge that these usages would differ from those of authentic originals.
Karn, Nicholas
e5a315e3-36a2-4c0d-b535-3c8bead463da
Karn, Nicholas
e5a315e3-36a2-4c0d-b535-3c8bead463da
Karn, Nicholas
(2026)
The production of forgery at Westminster Abbey, 1050-c. 1154.
Early Medieval England and its Neighbours, 52, [e3].
(doi:10.1017/ean.2025.10011).
Abstract
This essay sets out an analysis of how forgery was produced at Westminster Abbey in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, using the material evidence of the pseudo-original charters rather than the much-used textual evidence. The focus of this study thus lies on how the parchments were prepared, how the seals were used, and what techniques the scribes used to produce archaizing scripts, which are not usually prominent in analysis of charters and related materials. This shows that individual scribal habits shaped how the forgeries were made, but, perhaps more importantly, that there were distinctive practices seen in the forgeries which differed from how authentic originals were made. It is argued that these differences reflect how the scribes envisaged the forged documents would be used, and their knowledge that these usages would differ from those of authentic originals.
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Accepted/In Press date: 5 December 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 February 2026
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Local EPrints ID: 510408
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/510408
PURE UUID: 87b1b990-2f0d-4e19-b781-42ac683d9d4d
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Date deposited: 30 Mar 2026 16:46
Last modified: 30 Mar 2026 16:50
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