The most formal grants made by the Crown under the Great Seal of England in the Middle Ages were issued as Latin charters addressed to the leaders of society, with elaborate lists of named witnesses. They may be original grants in perpetuity of lands, privileges or other possessions. Often they are a confirmation, or inspeximus (a sealed official copy), of earlier grants: in these cases, the earlier texts would normally be repeated in full, sometimes with the addition of further privileges.