This detailed memorandum is a record of financial interests and gifts of land to be given to Dulwich College on the death of Edward Alleyn, its founder. On the other side (verso) is a note of debts owed to him, including £800 owed by ‘the kinges Maiestie in the Exchequer’. ‘Memorandum’ (meaning reminder; something to be called to mind) was used as a title at the head of a note to indicate a record made for future reference. Such notes of memory carry authority as public record, and this function is indicated and reinforced by how it is signed at the bottom by both Alleyn and a witness, Matthew Sweetser.<br /> <br /> The document was written in late September 1626, just two months before Edward Alleyn died, so it is likely that this were to set his financial affairs in order with instructions outlining the business that was to be carried out upon his death. In the preamble to the memorandum, Alleyn states that most of his ‘evidences’ - that is, papers verifying entitlement - were kept in ‘a chest at the bedsfeete in the yellow chamber, the keye where of is in the till of my deske’. The memorandum underlines the importance of record keeping, both as information from memory written down and as stored documents, to the business, financial security and inheritance of wealthy members of the middling.
Edward Alleyn’s Memorandum on Dulwich College (Memorandum), September 1626

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Edward Alleyn’s Memorandum on Dulwich College

Edward Alleyn’s Memorandum on Dulwich College (Memorandum), September 1626

This detailed memorandum is a record of financial interests and gifts of land to be given to Dulwich College on the death of Edward Alleyn, its founder. On the other side (verso) is a note of debts owed to him, including £800 owed by ‘the kinges Maiestie in the Exchequer’. ‘Memorandum’ (meaning reminder; something to be called to mind) was used as a title at the head of a note to indicate a record made for future reference. Such notes of memory carry authority as public record, and this function is indicated and reinforced by how it is signed at the bottom by both Alleyn and a witness, Matthew Sweetser.

The document was written in late September 1626, just two months before Edward Alleyn died, so it is likely that this were to set his financial affairs in order with instructions outlining the business that was to be carried out upon his death. In the preamble to the memorandum, Alleyn states that most of his ‘evidences’ - that is, papers verifying entitlement - were kept in ‘a chest at the bedsfeete in the yellow chamber, the keye where of is in the till of my deske’. The memorandum underlines the importance of record keeping, both as information from memory written down and as stored documents, to the business, financial security and inheritance of wealthy members of the middling.

Object Type Memorandum
Year September 1626
Material Print
Owned By Reproduced by permission of the Folger Library
Keywords memorandum; debts; evidences; witness; records; record-keeping; storage
Image Credit https://luna.folger.edu/

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