"Da war ein Pergament drin, so schön ringsum bemalt": die Prunkurkunden zur hannoverschen Sukzession

The chapter is part of a commissioned, co-authored book funded by the Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen to celebrate the anniversary of Hanoverian succession to the British throne; the publication is in German and English.
The State Archives of Lower Saxony hold six large parchment charters issued on behalf of the English parliament to outline and to safeguard and secure the Hanoverian succession. While their contents and political implications are well-known, these had never been studied as objects of material culture before. The article analyses their form, which is that of a letters patent, but amplified in the style of ornamented letters usually sent to oriental princes. They are indeed, I argue, the work of the official “Embellisher of letters to the Eastern Princes”. By taking a close look at the ornamentation, the article endeavours to get a clearer idea of how they were produced and how many hands, or scribes, may have been involved. It also provides a description and analysis of how they were handed over, and thereby of court ceremony.