Early Manuscripts Online
Thanks to digitization efforts by libraries around the world, images of early manuscripts are becoming increasingly available for free online. This makes them more accessible and goes beyond the many physical limitations that are often associated with these materials: fragilility, careful handling, travel, special permissions, etc...
Here are links to several collections, including one that is housed here at Ohio Wesleyan.
- "discarding images" A collection of Medieval images made available via tumblr. Claims to be updated on a regular basis. There is also a Facebook page available at https://www.facebook.com/discardingimages.
- Manuscript Road Trip In this blog, Dr. Lisa Fagin Davis details her visits to early manuscript collections around the country. She seeks to enable a "survey of the state of digital humanities as it applies to medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in American collections." Her entries often provide images and/or links to the collections she discusses. Dr. Fagin aims to focus on lesser known manuscript collections.
- Medieval Manuscripts and Incunabula (Ohio Wesleyan University) Professor Patricia DeMarco, along with OWU Libraries Special Collections staff, have created a digital exhibition of the 'Festive Collectarium Of Abbot Sigismund' which is part of a collection of manuscripts and early printed books.
- Scanned Bindings of the National Library of France You will need to translate the page. More updates forthcoming.
- Mandrake, Illuminated Manuscripts from the National Library of France (BNF) You will need to translate these pages.
Recommended Books
- Using Primary SourcesOpen access textbook edited by Dr. Jonathan Hogg. Must select the chapters devoted to Medieval Sources.
Early Manuscripts
Gaston Phoebus, Livre de la Chasse.
Brittany, ca. 1430-1440
LA, Getty, Ms. 27, fol. 81v
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