The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club
The illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages are among the greatest works of European art and literature. But we generally think much less about the people who made, saved and sometimes destroyed medieval manuscripts, over a thousand years of history.
New Medieval Books: The Book of Marvels: A Medieval Guide to the Globe
The Book of the Marvels of the World was created in 15th-century France and four manuscript copies survive. This book showcases many beautiful images from these manuscripts and reveals much about what medieval Europeans believed about what lies in the far corners of the world.
How to Transcribe a Million Manuscripts with eScriptorium
Recent advances in machine learning combined with the availability of millions of images of manuscript pages means that we are now able to produce automatic transcriptions of medieval and other manuscripts, with over 99% accuracy in the right circumstances.
New Medieval Books: The Kennicott Bible
Not only do you get a study of this late-medieval Hebrew Bible but it also comes with over 150 pages from the text.
Explore the Book of Kells Like Never Before
A new world-class digital exhibition at Trinity College Dublin transports visitors into the illuminated pages of the ninth-century Book of Kells. This experience allows visitors to delve into one of Ireland’s greatest cultural treasures and top tourist attractions.
New Medieval Books: Medieval Humour
What did people in the Middle Ages find funny? This book has six essays that examine what would be humourous in medieval Western culture, whether it be in manuscripts, writings, or even in the monastery.
30 medieval manuscripts digitized
Fans of medieval manuscripts have even more to explore with new additions to e-codices, the Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland. The database has put online 48 manuscripts, 30 of which date between the 9th and 15th centuries.
This Summer at The Getty: The Book of Marvels
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles will be hosting a new exhibition this summer focusing on medieval manuscripts. The Book of Marvels: Wonder and Fear in the Middle Ages, will run from June 11 to August 25, 2024.
462 medieval manuscripts to be digitized
Mainz University Library will be digitizing 462 medieval manuscripts over the next three years. The manuscripts, which can be found in the German cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz, have over 170,000 pages.
Panorama of Black Writing Inks: From Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages
Ira Rabin talks about the evolution of black writing inks and why iron gall ink became so popular in the Middle Ages.
New Medieval Books: Weird Medieval Guys
A fun book about the Middle Ages, filled with many manuscript images. Half the book deals with medieval daily life while the other half – The Bestiary – focuses on animals and beasts from the period.
Dirty Books with Kate Rudy
Through grime, stains, and wax droplets, the filthiest, most well-loved manuscripts tell us the story of how medieval people used – and abused – their books. This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Kate Rudy about what we can learn from the smudges the people of the Middle Ages left behind, how modern technology helps us figure it out, and why we should all appreciate a really dirty book.
Seven videos on making medieval manuscripts
What goes into making a medieval manuscript? Here are seven videos from The British Library where Patricia Lovett, a professional calligrapher and illuminator explains the process, tools and techniques used in designing an illuminated page.
The Humour of Medieval Scribes
Thanks to new research, we are now finding many more examples of medieval scribes’ sense of humour, as they wrote jokes, complaints and even complete nonsense.
Medieval Manuscripts: Scribes’ Secret Humor Revealed
How medieval scribes were leaving jokes, complaints and even complete nonsense in their manuscripts.
Medieval Manuscripts Take Center Stage in Innovative New Game
Inkulinati, a turn-based strategy game, launches today. Gamers on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One can now get into the Middle Ages by playing with characters right out of medieval manuscripts
Deciphering medieval shorthand – can a digital tool solve the ‘Tironian Notes’?
Medieval manuscript writers created a system of shorthand known as ‘Tironian Notes’. A new project hopes to develop a digital tool to decipher it.
Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books returns to TEFAF Maastricht 2024
Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books returns to The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht this year with a splendid selection of precious manuscripts and rare books. Their highlights this year the Pèlerinage de la Vie Humaine, the Histoire Ancienne, and the Liechtenstein Tacuinum Sanitatis. All three are outstanding, historically significant books that convey the breadth and beauty of medieval manuscript illumination.
Visualizing Persian History: The Illustration of Persian Manuscript Histories
How did medieval chroniclers writing in Persian narrate their past and present history and – the main focus of this paper – how were the historical events depicted in the manuscripts in which their work was written?
Images of Medieval Astrology: The Liber astrologiae
An excerpt from Kristen Lippincott’s introduction to Liber astrologiae (Abū Maʿshar Treatise), a 14th-century manuscript and its beautiful medieval imagery.
Need a Medieval Christmas Gift? Perhaps a 14th-century quadrant
A Christie’s auction in London will be featuring medieval manuscripts, early printed books and a 14th-century quadrant. Many of these items are expected to get bids in tens of thousands of pounds.
Searching for comets in Late Medieval manuscripts
The observation and representation of comets has intertwined the history of art and science since ancient times.
A Medieval Manuscript for a Healthy Life: Tacuinum Sanitatis
Through 130 beautiful pictures the Tacuinum Sanitatis provides unparalleled insights into 15th-century life.
Secret Code, Lost Language, Nonsense, or Hoax: The Voynich Manuscript’s Enduring Mysteries
Lisa Fagin Davis gives a tour of the ‘world’s most mysterious manuscript.’