The
Cotton or
Cottonian library was collected privately by Sir
Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631), an
antiquarian and
bibliophile, and was the basis of the
British Library. After the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, many priceless and ancient manuscripts that had belonged to the monastic libraries began to be disseminated among various owners, many of whom were unaware of the cultural value of the manuscripts. Cotton's skill lay in finding, purchasing and preserving these ancient documents. The leading scholars of the era, including
Francis Bacon,
Walter Raleigh, and
James Ussher, came to use Sir Robert's library.
Richard James acted as his librarian. The library is of especial importance for sometimes having preserved the only copy of a work, such as happened with
Beowulf and
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.