Select Digitized Music Manuscript Collections
- Musicologie | Paléographie musicaleDatabase containing bibliography and location information for music manuscripts from the 9th through 20th centuries. (In French)
- PEM | Portuguese Early Music DatabaseAccess to Portuguese music manuscripts, many digitized, dated before 1650 in the early music collection of the FCSH-Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal.
Introduction
This page is designed to provide users with a selection of links to Major Digitized Manuscript Collections as well as a selection of Individual Digitized Manuscript Collections that can be read cover-to-cover online. New links may be added as libraries and museums continue to digitize collections. Please let us know if there are other databases that should be added to this list.
There is also a select list of Digitized Medieval and Early Modern Music Manuscripts in the left column.
Given the number of digitized collections devoted to the 13th century French poem, Le Roman de la Rose, there is also a list of links to websites with Digitized Manuscripts of the Rose that can also be browsed cover-to-cover.
Major Digitized Manuscript Collections
- Digitized Medieval Manuscripts AppThe DMMapp (Digitized Medieval Manuscripts App) links to more than 500 libraries in the world. Each one of these contains digital medieval manuscripts that can be browsed for free.
North American Collections
- Digital ScriptoriumWebsite uniting a consortium of American libraries and museums committed to free online access to their collections of pre-modern manuscripts.
- Morgan Library and Museum Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts ListList of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and rolls in the Morgan Library and Museum's collection. Includes links to digitized images and bibliographic information.
- Beinecke Library Digital Collections, Yale UniversityWebpage for searching digitized manuscripts in the collection of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University.
- Goodspeed Manuscript CollectionSixty-eight early Greek, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, Arabic, and Latin manuscripts ranging in date from the 5th to the 19th centuries.
- Manuscripts and Rare Books | The Walters Art MuseumCollection of digitized western medieval manuscripts in the Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, MD). Searchable by name and date.
- Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts, University of PennsylvaniaOnline database featuring digitized manuscripts in the collection of the Schoenberg Institute of Manuscript Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image | UPennDatabase of illuminated manuscripts in the Schoenberg Center.
- J. Paul Getty Museum Digitized ManuscriptsDatabase for manuscripts housed in the Getty's collection both in site and online.
Latin
- Bibliotheca Latinitatis MediaevalisItalian catalog of digitized Latin manuscripts from the 7-14th centuries.
- Library of Latin Texts - Series ASearchable database of digitized Latin texts, not necessarily digitized manuscripts. Search alphabetically or by title.
- Library of Latin Texts - Series BSearchable database of digitized Latin texts, not necessarily digitized manuscripts. Search alphabetically or by title.
English, Irish, and Scottish
- Cambridge Digital LibraryDatabase for searching and accessing digitized manuscript collections at Cambridge University Library. Website also contains image database and resources for digital manuscript studies.
- Digital Bodleian | OxfordDatabase of digitized western medieval manuscripts in the collection of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
- Digital Bodleain Illuminated Manuscripts | OxfordDatabase of digitized western medieval manuscripts in the Bodleian Library that contain illuminated images.
- Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries DatabaseDigital catalogue of Western manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries and selected Oxford colleges. *Make sure to adjust the settings to search for "Digital Facsimile Online" in order to locate digitized manuscripts.
- The British Library | Catalogue of Illuminated ManuscriptsDatabase for searching the print and digitized manuscript collection at the British National Library.
- Collections Explorer| The Fitzwilliam Museum, CambridgeDatabase of digitized and searchable illuminated manuscripts at the Fitzwilliam Museum.
- CELT: Corpus of Electronic TextsSearchable database for Irish texts, documents, and manuscripts.
French and Francophone
- GallicaBibliothèque Nationale de France digital library. Contains links to digitized manuscripts in the BnF collection.
- InitialeDatabase of medieval manuscripts primarily from libraries in France. Includes images.
- Mandragore, base des manuscrits enluminés de la BnFDatabase of illuminated manuscripts housed at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
- Bibliothéque Nationale de France | Archives et manuscritsDatabase for searching for manuscripts in the collection of the French national library.
- Bibliothèque Virtuelle des Manuscrits Mediévéaux | Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueDatabase of links to partially and totally digitized manuscripts, including illuminated images.
- Institut de recherche e d'histoire des textesResearch institution in France dedicated to the study of pre-modern manuscripts and incunabulae. Site includes links to databases for Latin, Latin liturgical, Arabic, and Syriac manuscripts as well. IRHT is affiliated with CNRS (Centre nationale de la recherche scientifique).
- Rosalis | Bibliothèque numérique de ToulouseCatalog of digitized French manuscripts and select Latin manuscripts.
- Belgica | Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique Digital LibraryDatabase of digitized manuscripts in the collection of the Belgian Royal Library.
Italian
- DigVatLab | Digital Vatican LibraryDigitized manuscripts in the collection of the Vatican Library. Ongoing digitization project of the library's 80,000 codices of mostly medieval and early modern manuscripts.
- Firenze Biblioteca Centrale | ManoscrittiDatabase of digitized manuscripts in the Biblioteca Centrale, Florence.
- Internet Culturale | Catologhi e Collezioni Digitali delle Biblioteche ItalianeSearchable database containing digitized manuscripts from different national Italian libraries. Also includes a catalogue of images.
- Internet Culturale | Manoscritti della Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (Venice)Selection of digitized manuscripts in the collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.
- Nuova Biblioteca Manoscritta | Banca Dati Collettiva dei Manoscritti DigitaliSelect collections of digitized manuscripts from various Italian libraries.
Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese
- Biblioteca Digital Hispánica | Biblioteca Nacional de EspañaDigitized manuscripts in the collection of the Spanish National Library. Searchable by date, language, author name, and material.
- Libros de Horas | Biblioteca Digital HispánicaCollection of digitized Books of Hours in the National Library of Spain's digitized manuscript catalog.
- Manuscrits de la Biblioteca di Catalunya - BarcelonaCollection of digitized manuscripts in the Biblioteca di Catalunya. Searchable by author name, date, and material.
German and Dutch
- Manuscripta MediaevaliaSearchable digital catalogs of major manuscript collections in German libraries (Berlin, Munich, etc.). Also includes all digitized manuscripts.
- Das Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum (MDZ)Munich DigitiZation Center (MDZ) handles the digitization and online publication of the cultural heritage preserved by the Bavarian State Library and by other institutions.
- Medieval Manuscripts in Dutch CollectionsCollection of digitized Dutch manuscripts, includes images and resources for paleography studies.
Select Individual Digitized Manuscripts
Latin
- Breviary of Jost von Silenen, pars hiemalis, LM 4624.1 | Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum (Zürich)Breviary in two volumes, created in 1493 for Jost von Silenen († 1498), the Bischop of Sion from 1482 until his dismissal in 1497. Richly decorated, the miniatures are the work of an itinerant artist active in Fribourg, Bern and Sion during the final decades of the 15th century and known by the name Master of the breviary of Jost von Silenen. 373 folios, in Latin.
French
- Livre de la cité des dames, 1177 | Gallica (Bibliothèque Nationale de France)Digitized 15th century illuminated manuscript. Christine de Pizan, c. 1401-1500. In French.
- Hours of the Virgin, Christ Church MS 100 | Bodleian Library (Oxford)Contains the Hours of the Virgin, Use of Rome and prayers. In Latin and Middle French, c. 1450-1499.
Italian
- Decameron, Holkham misc. Ms. 49 | Bodleian Library (Oxford)Select folios from 15th century manuscript of Boccaccio's "Decameron". Contains illuminated images and marginal decorations. In Italian, c. 1467 or slightly earlier.
- Trionfi, Beinecke MS 438 | Beinecke Library, Yale UniversityPetrarch's Trionfi with six fine miniatures. In Italian, c. third quarter of the 15th century.
- Rerum vulgarium fragmenta, Marston MS 261 | Beinecke Library, Yale UniversityIlluminated manuscript containing Petrarch's Rerum vulgarium fragmenta and Triumphi. In Italian, c. 1464.
- Dante Online | Manoscritti della Commedia visionabiliProject to digitize and provide bibliographical information for manuscripts of Dante's Divine Comedy.
German and Dutch
- Herpin | Heidelberg University LibraryGerman adaptation of the French chanson de geste, "Lion de Bourges".
- De civitate Dei, Cod. Bodamer 12 | Foundation BodamerOnly medieval Italian translation of Augustine's "De civitate Dei", attributed to Jacopo Passavanti, early 15th century. 319 folios with some miniatures. Foundation Bodamer, Cologny (Geneva) Switzerland.
- Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae, Cod. Sang. 825 | Stiftsbibliothek, St. Gallen (Switzerland)Latin text with Old High German translation and commentary on the work "De consolatione philosophiae" of Boethius by the St. Gall monk Notker the German († 1022) in the only extant copy from the first half of the 11th century.
- Book of Hours, Ms. McLean 96 | Fitzwilliam Museum, CambridgeThree digitized pages of a 15th century Book of Hours in Latin and Dutch. Written c. 1450-75, Dutch prayers added in 17th century hand.
Visualizing the Roman de la Rose
The Lover Views the Garden, from the Roman de la Rose. Ms. Ludwig XV 7, folio 5v. French, unknown artist, c. 1405. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
More digitized manuscripts of the Roman de la Rose can be found in the column below.
For more information about working with illuminated images see this guide's page on images, containing resources for archiving images pre- and post- research, a list of databases with digitized image collections, and tips for using images in research, publication, and teaching.
The Roman de la Rose Digitized
General Databases
- Margot | Reading the Roman de la Rose in Text and ImageDigital research project devoted to publishing fully searchable editions of either generally inaccessible texts from the French Middle Ages and the Early Modern period (the Ancien Régime) or of texts in connection with a specific project from the same time period. Licensed under a Creative Commons Licence © 2012, hosted by the University of Waterloo (CA).
- Roman de la Rose | Digital LibraryDatabase designed to provide digital access to all manuscripts of the Roman de la Rose. Joint project of Johns Hopkins University and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
Individual Manuscripts
- University of Chicago, Ms 1380, c. 1365Roman de la Rose & Le jeu des échecs moralisé, University of Chicago
- Morgan Pierpont Library, MS M.132, c. 138014th century French manuscript. 187 leaves in two columns, includes miniatures.
- J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XV 7, c. 1405Select digitized folios from an early 15th century manuscript of the "Rose". Contains 101 miniatures in 256 pages, from a Parisian workshop.
- Bodleian Library (Oxford), MS. Selden Supra 57, c. 1348French codex on parchment, contains fine miniatures (some defaced).
- Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms fr. 25526, 14th centuryIncludes miniatures and detailed marginalia designs.
- Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms fr. 24389, 14th century140 leaves, includes miniatures.
- Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms fr. 19157, 13th or 14th century126 leaves in two columns. Contains limited miniatures, and some notes in the margins in a 14th century hand.
- Bibliothèque de Genève, Ms. fr. 178, c. 1353191 folios, includes miniatures, and Jean de Meun's "Testament".
Subject Specialists
- Catherine Mardikes, Humanities, General
- Nancy Spiegel, Art & History
- Andrea Twiss-Brooks, History of Science & Technology
- Other Bibliographers Organized by Subject Specialty