This virtual exhibition will guide you through a selection of
manuscripts of the historical writings preserved in the Old
Royal library which was presented to the nation in 1757 by King
George II and today forms the Royal collection at the British
Library. Books describing and picturing the past occupied a
prominent place in royal manuscript holdings, as the large
number of copies that survive in the Old Royal library suggests.
Knowledge of history was highly recommended to royal readers.
The deeds of their ancestors and other heroes from the past
informed valuable models of kingship, gave lessons in wisdom and
virtue, and provided a source of noble entertainment. History,
recorded in both official documents and legend, was also used in
political argument. Territorial claims and claims to the throne,
as well as the legitimisation of new dynasties were formulated
on historical precedent and with reference to royal genealogies.
Therefore, history, constructed for the use of the present day
played a vital role i