Nearly 60,000 images of medieval manuscripts have been made freely available online by the National Library of Sweden. The four-year project has digitised 176 manuscripts, opening up a collection ranging from medieval sermons and saints’ lives to illuminated books and complete Bibles.
The National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket, or KB) has completed a major project to digitise 176 medieval Latin manuscripts from its collections, making centuries-old books available to researchers and the public through the Manuscripta digital catalogue.
The manuscripts originate in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe and form part of a collection of more than 300 medieval Latin manuscripts held by the library. Dating from the beginning of the eighth century to the end of the sixteenth century, they contain both ancient texts and medieval works on subjects including theology, law, rhetoric and medicine.
Many of the manuscripts have been kept at the National Library for several hundred years. Until now, however, information about them was largely accessible through physical card catalogues.
A page from manuscript A 225, the Siebenhirter Breviary, dating from the 15th century. Photo: National Library of Sweden (KB)
Funded by the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond), the four-year project focused on 176 theological manuscripts. Every page of every manuscript included in the project was photographed, producing approximately 59,000 images. Detailed descriptions of the volumes were also prepared and added to Manuscripta.
“Now everyone has the opportunity to discover and explore in depth some of Sweden’s most valuable historical books and manuscripts,” says project manager Erika Kihlman. “Medieval manuscripts are, of course, carriers of text, just like today’s books, but they are also historical objects that have much to tell us about our intellectual and cultural heritage.”
Preserving the Originals
Manuscript A 93 – Photo: National Library of Sweden (KB)
The digitisation project also has an important conservation purpose. High-resolution images allow scholars to examine individual pages without having to handle the original manuscripts, reducing wear on fragile books that may be hundreds of years old.
The collection provides material for researchers working in a range of fields, including Latin, history, theology, art history and book history. By placing the images and catalogue descriptions online, the project also makes the manuscripts accessible to anyone interested in medieval history and cultural heritage.
Among the manuscripts highlighted by the National Library is A 93, which contains documents concerning Catherine of Vadstena, the daughter of St Birgitta of Sweden. The material provides evidence for the efforts made to have Catherine canonised during the late fifteenth century.
Manuscript A 167 – Photo: National Library of Sweden (KB)
Another is A 225, commonly known as the Siebenhirter Breviary. Dating from the middle of the fifteenth century, the lavish manuscript contains prayers and numerous illuminated images. It also bears clear physical traces of the fire that swept through Stockholm’s Tre Kronor Castle in 1697.
The project also includes A 167, a complete Bible produced in France in the early thirteenth century. By arranging the text in three columns, its makers were able to fit the entire Bible into a relatively compact and manageable volume.
More Medieval Manuscripts to Explore
Manuscript A 73 – Photo: National Library of Sweden (KB)
The manuscripts made available through the project vary considerably in their origins, contents and physical appearance. Here are five more examples that can now be explored online:
Produced in Bavaria in the late thirteenth century, this small parchment manuscript contains Latin sermons associated with Conrad of Saxony, along with some German material.
Produced at Rostock in Germany in 1461–62, this substantial 556-leaf manuscript contains Bernardus Wissel de Indagine’s commentary on Peter Lombard’s influential theological work.
Manuscript A 15 – Photo: National Library of Sweden (KB)
Produced in Italy in the second half of the fifteenth century, this short Latin manuscript contains an account of the life and miracles of St Birgitta of Sweden. Its surviving 12 parchment leaves were probably once part of a larger manuscript containing Birgittine texts.
A 50a – The Helgeandshus Missal
Made in Stockholm in 1460, this nearly 300-leaf missal was created for the chapel of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost (Helgeandshuset). Its calendar and masses feature several Scandinavian saints, including St Erik, St Olof and St Birgitta, and it retains its late medieval leather binding.
Produced at Vadstena Abbey in the second half of the fifteenth century, this small Latin manuscript contains a life of Petrus Olavi, a letter he wrote to St Birgitta and accounts of miracles attributed to him. Its surviving 22 paper leaves have suffered extensive water damage, leaving some passages almost completely illegible.
Exploring the Collection Online
Manuscript A 50a – Photo: National Library of Sweden (KB)
The manuscripts are available through Manuscripta, the digital catalogue for medieval and early modern manuscripts in Swedish collections. Users can browse digitised pages alongside detailed catalogue records describing such features as a manuscript’s contents, date and place of production, decoration, binding, provenance and physical condition.
The National Library will present the results of the project at a public lecture at KB in Humlegården, Stockholm, on 25 September 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The event will follow the manuscripts through the different stages of the project, from conservation assessment and photography to the final cataloguing work, while also demonstrating how medieval manuscripts can be studied in a digital environment.
Nearly 60,000 images of medieval manuscripts have been made freely available online by the National Library of Sweden. The four-year project has digitised 176 manuscripts, opening up a collection ranging from medieval sermons and saints’ lives to illuminated books and complete Bibles.
The National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket, or KB) has completed a major project to digitise 176 medieval Latin manuscripts from its collections, making centuries-old books available to researchers and the public through the Manuscripta digital catalogue.
The manuscripts originate in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe and form part of a collection of more than 300 medieval Latin manuscripts held by the library. Dating from the beginning of the eighth century to the end of the sixteenth century, they contain both ancient texts and medieval works on subjects including theology, law, rhetoric and medicine.
Many of the manuscripts have been kept at the National Library for several hundred years. Until now, however, information about them was largely accessible through physical card catalogues.
Funded by the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond), the four-year project focused on 176 theological manuscripts. Every page of every manuscript included in the project was photographed, producing approximately 59,000 images. Detailed descriptions of the volumes were also prepared and added to Manuscripta.
“Now everyone has the opportunity to discover and explore in depth some of Sweden’s most valuable historical books and manuscripts,” says project manager Erika Kihlman. “Medieval manuscripts are, of course, carriers of text, just like today’s books, but they are also historical objects that have much to tell us about our intellectual and cultural heritage.”
Preserving the Originals
The digitisation project also has an important conservation purpose. High-resolution images allow scholars to examine individual pages without having to handle the original manuscripts, reducing wear on fragile books that may be hundreds of years old.
The collection provides material for researchers working in a range of fields, including Latin, history, theology, art history and book history. By placing the images and catalogue descriptions online, the project also makes the manuscripts accessible to anyone interested in medieval history and cultural heritage.
Among the manuscripts highlighted by the National Library is A 93, which contains documents concerning Catherine of Vadstena, the daughter of St Birgitta of Sweden. The material provides evidence for the efforts made to have Catherine canonised during the late fifteenth century.
Another is A 225, commonly known as the Siebenhirter Breviary. Dating from the middle of the fifteenth century, the lavish manuscript contains prayers and numerous illuminated images. It also bears clear physical traces of the fire that swept through Stockholm’s Tre Kronor Castle in 1697.
The project also includes A 167, a complete Bible produced in France in the early thirteenth century. By arranging the text in three columns, its makers were able to fit the entire Bible into a relatively compact and manageable volume.
More Medieval Manuscripts to Explore
The manuscripts made available through the project vary considerably in their origins, contents and physical appearance. Here are five more examples that can now be explored online:
A 204 – Sermons on the Saints
Produced in Bavaria in the late thirteenth century, this small parchment manuscript contains Latin sermons associated with Conrad of Saxony, along with some German material.
A 15 – Commentary on Peter Lombard’s Four Books of Sentences
Produced at Rostock in Germany in 1461–62, this substantial 556-leaf manuscript contains Bernardus Wissel de Indagine’s commentary on Peter Lombard’s influential theological work.
A 73 – Life and Miracles of St Birgitta
Produced in Italy in the second half of the fifteenth century, this short Latin manuscript contains an account of the life and miracles of St Birgitta of Sweden. Its surviving 12 parchment leaves were probably once part of a larger manuscript containing Birgittine texts.
A 50a – The Helgeandshus Missal
Made in Stockholm in 1460, this nearly 300-leaf missal was created for the chapel of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost (Helgeandshuset). Its calendar and masses feature several Scandinavian saints, including St Erik, St Olof and St Birgitta, and it retains its late medieval leather binding.
A 64 – Life and Miracles of Petrus Olavi
Produced at Vadstena Abbey in the second half of the fifteenth century, this small Latin manuscript contains a life of Petrus Olavi, a letter he wrote to St Birgitta and accounts of miracles attributed to him. Its surviving 22 paper leaves have suffered extensive water damage, leaving some passages almost completely illegible.
Exploring the Collection Online
The manuscripts are available through Manuscripta, the digital catalogue for medieval and early modern manuscripts in Swedish collections. Users can browse digitised pages alongside detailed catalogue records describing such features as a manuscript’s contents, date and place of production, decoration, binding, provenance and physical condition.
The National Library will present the results of the project at a public lecture at KB in Humlegården, Stockholm, on 25 September 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The event will follow the manuscripts through the different stages of the project, from conservation assessment and photography to the final cataloguing work, while also demonstrating how medieval manuscripts can be studied in a digital environment.
Click here to visit Manuscripta: A Digital Catalogue of Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts in Sweden
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