View of King's College, Aberdeen, with figures in the foreground

This picture is a copy of the earliest known view of the college dating to c.1640, in the university's collection. King's College was founded in 1495 by Bishop William Elphinstone (1483-1514) under a Papal Bull from Pope Alexander IV. Work began on the first structure, King's College Chapel, in April 1500. The chapel's tower was topped with an imperial crown and it is suggested that this architectural feature supported the Scottish crown's claim to Imperial authority within Scotland. King's College was also designed as a defensive structure, to this end it was built completely enclosed with fortified towers at the south corners of the college's perimeter.