Among the outstanding treasures stored at the Lower Saxony State Archives in Hanover must be counted the large-format ornate charters whose presentation to the Hanoverian Electoral house conveyed the decisions of the British Parliament in London between 1701 and 1712 that paved the legislative way to the British throne for the House of Guelph. According to Electress Sophia »an eternal testimonial in the Hanoverian archives that she would not exchange for jewels«, these calligraphically and decoratively splendid parchments document the beginning and foundations of the eventful 123-year Personal Union between Great Britain and the Electorship and Kingdom of Hanover. This volume contains the first-ever comprehensive reproduction of all the charters, illuminated by an introduction to their historical context, an art historical analysis, and a precise documentation of their transmission and legal import. / Zu den herausragenden Beständen des Niedersächsischen Landesarchivs in Hannover zählen die großformatigen Prunkurkunden, mit deren Übergabe an das hannoversche Kurfürstenhaus die zwischen 1701 und 1712 gefassten Beschlüsse des Londoner Parlaments zur Thronfolge der Welfen in Großbritannien Rechtskraft [...] den Worten der Kurfürstin Sophie »ein unvergängliches Monument im hannoverschen Archiv, das sie nicht gegen Juwelen eintauschen wollte«, dokumentieren die prachtvoll gestalteten Diplome Anfang und Grundlagen der wechselvollen, 123 Jahre währenden Personalunion zwischen Großbritannien und dem Kurfürstentum/Königreich Hannover. Eine historische Einleitung, eine kunstgeschichtliche Analyse der Prachturkunden und eine genaue Dokumentation von Überlieferung und rechtlichem Inhalt erschließen die in diesem Buch erstmals vollständig abgebildeten [...] the outstanding treasures stored at the Lower Saxony State Archives in Hanover must be counted the large-format ornate charters whose presentation to the Hanoverian Electoral house conveyed the decisions of the British Parliament in London between 1701 and 1712 that paved the legislative way to the British throne for the House of Guelph. According to Electress Sophia »an eternal testimonial in the Hanoverian archives that she would not exchange for jewels«, these calligraphically and decoratively splendid parchments document the beginning and foundations of the eventful 123-year Personal Union between Great Britain and the Electorship and Kingdom of Hanover. This volume contains the first-ever comprehensive reproduction of all the charters, illuminated by an introduction to their historical context, an art historical analysis, and a precise documentation of their transmission and legal import.