[1592/4/73]¹

Touching the authentic dating and registering of signatures

²Our sovereign lord, with advice of his estates, has statute and ordained that no signature shall pass the registers of his ordinary officers of state underwritten unless the date thereof be filled up with the hands of the treasurer, collector, comptroller, treasurer of augmentations and secretary, or their principal clerk's own hands; and that the registration of the signature or letter bear not only upon the back of it (registered) but the day and date of the registration with the number of the leaves of the book wherein it is registered, which book shall be marked by the hand of the clerk register or his depute constituted to that effect; and also that the keeper of the signet shall write on the back of the signature the special day that he affixed the signet, and the writer, keeper of the privy seal, shall write likewise upon the back of the letter the day that he writes and passes the same the privy seal, which warrants so marked shall be made forthcoming to any party interested for trial of the antedate by the keepers of the signet and privy seal; and that the trial of the said antedates shall not be received without very great adminicles and certain circumstances of falsehood, and that the sum consigned for improbation be made very great; the form of the improbation shall only be received by the writers of the signatures, the principal officers, their deputes or clerks, keepers of the registers, keepers of the signet, privy seal and their servants, writers of the precept and writers to the great seal and keepers of the same and no others, and the punishment of such falsehood if any be found and tried shall be punished with the pain of falsehood and lese-majesty, and three parts of the lands and goods of the offender to be adjudged to the king and the fourth part to the party grieved.