Custodians, presses, cords: a few remarks on the terminology and working methods of the Moscow chancellery of the XVth–XVIIth centuries
Keywords:
the Moscow state of the XVth–XVIIth centuries, the grand ducal/royal chancery, the custodians, the press for seals, the color of seals, the color of cords for hanging seals, the gold-lettered design of letters, the chancery of the Embassy order, the open sealAbstract
Despite the significant fruitful work done over the past two centuries on the introduction of letters of the XVth–XVIIth centuries into scientific circulation, it should be recognized that certain difficulties still remain in this matter, caused primarily by the lack of elaboration of the terminological apparatus and the inattention of publishers to a number of details of the design of published documents. The least attention is paid to applied and hanging seals, as well as to the artistic design of letters. As an example, we can cite the story of a long-running dispute about what the open seals were. In addition, there are still questions about the form in which documents were transported and a number of other technological issues. The author has attempted to summarize the material accumulated to date on certain issues of the work of the grand ducal and royal chancelleries of this period. In particular, an attempt has been made to understand what is currently understood by custody, what is affixing, open seals, how the practice of hanging hanging seals has transformed, and evidence of the existence of seal presses has been collected. This material makes it possible to lift the veil over
