Materials shelved at MS Q12, 1605 - 1613
Scope and Contents
Miscellaneous notes, drafts, original, and copied documents containing financial accounts, committee reports, orders by the king or other branches of government, petitions, letters, historical surveys of revenues, and proposals for reform. Items were likely collected by Sir Julius Ceasar (1558-1636), a lawyer who held numerous political offices, including senior judge in the High Court of Admiralty and chancellor of the Exchequer. In the latter role, he investigated the state of royal finances in 1606, which he found to be in a sorry state; the king's finances continued to be an issue, and Caesar was involved as a member of the House of Commons in negotiations between Parliament and the king in the 1610s to resolve the king's financial problems.
Dating: All items likely compiled early in King James I's reign, between 1605-1613. Information found in the items, however, may also concern earlier reigns, notably Queen Elizabeth I's, and some items appear to date from the 18th century or were later annotated in the 18th century.
Dates
- Creation: 1605 - 1613
Processing Information
Most items have foliation, indicating that they were previously bound together in a volume or volumes, possibly in the 18th century, but the items were apparently disbound before coming to Spencer Research Library, and from the numbering there appear to be gaps. This foliation, which appears as Roman numerals on the items, is included in [brackets] at the beginning of folder titles in this finding aid. There also appear to be some items that do not belong and may have been added at any point when compiling, binding, and disbinding. Most items appear to have been docketed in the early 17th century, which was later transcribed in an 18th or 19th century hand.
Information in this finding aid is taken from the docketing whenever possible, and folder titles are in [brackets] when Spencer staff summarized contents. Spelling for docketed items has been modernized when possible. Items remain organized according to the Roman numerals on the items themselves, although it is unclear to Spencer staff what purpose this organization served.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository