ABSTRACT
Leibniz had been pleased to accept a formal document signed by Duke Ernst August on August 10, 1685, specifying his position as not just librarian and privy councilor but also as court historian. It had committed him to the production of a history of the noble house of Celle-Hannover and Guelph. He had been offi cially relieved of most of his other duties so that he could devote himself exclusively to the research and writing of this important work. His research in Southern Germany, Vienna, and Italy had been a marvelous vehicle for collecting the documents necessary for writing the history and incidentally meeting many fascinating people who had nothing to do with the historical project.
