ABSTRACT
The complex nature of production has been attested in the contemporary accounts of the staff of the royal secretariat, in which reference to the writing, sending, receiving, and reading of letters is an almost constant feature. There is an evident disproportion between the documentary evidence of the initial phases of production and that of the 'post-production' after the royal sign manual, which makes us understand the significance of record-keeping. The signet would eventually become a public office and move out of court, following the same trajectory as both Chancery and Privy Seal. Through the analysis of the corpus of Cecil Papers, it has been possible to identify further smaller clusters of collaboration, or partnerships, for the production of letters. The secretariat of the Cecils has been closely investigated by Alan G. R. Smith, who also provides a complete list of the secretaries in service between 1580 and 1612.
