Libraries

  • Abbey Library of St. Gall, Switzerland https://www.stiftsbezirk.ch/en/stiftsbibliothek
    • With its 2,100 manuscripts, the Abbey Library (AL) is among the oldest and most significant manuscript libraries in the world. Half of the manuscripts, or codices, were produced in the middle ages, with about 400 volumes produced before the year 1000 A.D. The goal of the “Codices ElectroniciSangallenses” (Digital Library of St. Gall) project is to provide access to medieval and selected early modern manuscripts held by the AL of St. Gall via a virtual library. At the moment, the virtual library contains 468 manuscripts. The virtual library will be continuously updated and extended.
  • Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. One of the largest collections of medieval and renaissance manuscripts and rare books in the United States, open online access, searchable. http://beinecke.library.yale.edu
  • Bibliothèqueroyale de Belgique, Christian Hagiography. Limited access; composed of a team of specialists entirely devoted to hagiographical research: only hagiography, but the whole of it (Latin, Greek, Oriental…). This database offers information on numerous resources, but almost all of them require subscriptions. http://www.kbr.be
  • Carolingian Culture at Reichenau and St. Gall. This website presents digital versions of two of the gems surviving from the monasteries of Reichenau and St. Gall. One is the unique architectural drawing known as the Plan of St. Gall. The other is the extensive ninth-century library collections of the two monasteries, identifiable by their distinctive script. Both of these are complimented by various resources to assist in their study, providing further information about the material and intellectual contexts of Reichenau and St. Gall. Open-access, but must agree to terms of use https://cmrs.ucla.edu/archives/projects/st-gall/
  • Cornell University Library
    • Manuscript, rare book, and special collection holdings https://medievalstudies.cornell.edu/resources
    • Medieval Studies Microfilm and Microfiche Resources – compiled list of microfilms and microfiches of manuscript and early printed materials pertinent to British medieval and Renaissance studies can be found here
  • Duke University Libraries. A variety of library and archival sources support Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Duke. The University libraries contain over 5,000,000 volumes. In addition to large holdings in art history, British history, English literature, musicology, medieval Church history, and Reformation and post- Reformation materials, the various campus libraries contain several distinguished special collections of medieval and early modern materials:
  • Harvard Libraries https://library.harvard.edu/
    • Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection – dedicated to supporting international scholarship in Byzantine, Garden and Landscape, and Pre-Columbian studies through fellowships, meetings, exhibitions, and publications http://www.doaks.org
    • Houghton Library’s Early Books and Manuscripts Collection – includes material dating from approximately 3000 BCE to 1600 CE, and ranges from papyri to early and illuminated manuscripts to early printed books. While there is an emphasis on Western languages and cultures, the collection includes substantial numbers of Arabic, Indic, Persian, and Syriac manuscripts https://library.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton
    • Houghton Library’s Digital Medieval Manuscripts – contains bibliographic data for and images of a growing number of medieval and other materials https://library.harvard.edu/collections/medieval-and-renaissance-manuscripts
    • Medieval Studies Library (MSL) – non-circulating collection of reference works, primary texts (including the Patrologia latina, the Monumenta Germaniae historica, and Acta sanctorum), and facsimiles of medieval manuscripts, including Manuscrites dates, for scholars of the Middle Ages at Harvard University; home to the GSAS Medieval Studies Interdisciplinary Workshop; access is limited to members of the Harvard Community
  • Hathi Trust. A partnership of academic and research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world http://www.hathitrust.org
  • The Internet Archive. A digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts. Provides free access to materials online and in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Daisy, HTML, and DjVu formats. https://archive.org/index.php
  • The Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library at St. Louis University — over 37,000 microfilmed manuscripts from 4th-17th centuries. Greek Bible (Codex Vaticanus), works of Virgil (Virgilius Vaticanus and Virgilius Romanus), and illuminated manuscripts of Dante. On site access only. http://libraries.slu.edu/special_collections/medieval_renaissance
  • Notre Dame, University of — Medieval Institute Library.  Over 100,000 volumes of primary source materials for the study of the middle ages; some access restrictions apply; open searchable databases.  http://medieval.library.nd.edu  Resources include the following, some with links to associated archives offsite:
    • Access to the Middle Ages: Medieval Manuscripts in Facsimile – an introduction to medieval manuscripts and to medieval scripts through a selection of modern facsimile reproductions available at Notre Dame
    • Ambrosiana Microfilm Collection – the Frank M. Folsom Microfilm and Photographic Collection consists of positive and negative microfilms of over 10,000 Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts belonging to the BibliotecaAmbrosiana in Milan, together with about 50,000 photographs of miniatures, illuminated initials, and Old Master drawings supplemented by some 15,000 color slides
    • Anastos Library Collection – a 40,000-volume private collection of one of America’s leading Byzantinists, acquired by Notre Dame in 1997
    • Astrik L. Gabriel Universities Collection – books, microfilms, and other materials on the history of medieval universities assembled by Astrik Gabriel
      • Prémontré Architectural Sites – a collection of photographs of Premonstratensian architectural sites
    • Dante Collection (Rare Books and Special Collections) – the Zahm Dante Collection is one of the best in North America
    • Incunabula (Rare Books and Special Collections) – a guide to the Library’s collections of books printed in Europe before 1501
    • Inquisitio (Rare Books and Special Collections) – manuscript and print sources for the study of Inquisition history
    • Manuscript Microfilms – advanced search for microfilms of manuscripts
    • Manuscripts and Facsimiles – advanced search for manuscripts and facsimiles
    • Medieval Studies – a guide to some basic medieval studies reference materials; limited availability to resources
  • Parker Library on the Web – limited public access without subscription; unavailable electronically at LSU. Interactive, web-based workspace designed to support the study of the historic Parker Library’s manuscripts at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/
  • Sexy Codicology. Open access blog that showcases images from medieval manuscripts. Provides an exhaustive list of the libraries that have placed free, digitized medieval manuscripts online. https://blog.digitizedmedievalmanuscripts.org/
  • University Library, Leeds http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/about/library.html
    • The Brotherton Collection, a celebrated collection of rare books and manuscripts (membership required). There are important collections of medieval manuscripts and incunabula, to which additions continue to be made. A list of the medieval manuscripts is available for consultation
    • Ripon Cathedral Library manuscripts – contain medieval manuscripts and documents https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1500/special-collections
    • A complete list of databases for Medieval studies, includes:
      • Parliament Rolls of Medieval England – subscription required; unavailable at LSU
      • Scopus – subscription required; unavailable at LSU
      • Web of Science – subscription required; available at LSU with a PAWS account
  • Walsh Library, Fordham University – special facilities for medievalists, including a Paleography Room, Archives Room, and the Hare Special Collections; especially strong in its medieval holdings https://www.fordham.edu/resources/libraries/
  • Yorkshire Archaeological Society (YAS) – membership required; contains large medieval holdings as well as books on all aspects of Yorkshire’s history from prehistory to the present day, including local, social, industrial, heraldry, place-names, and architecture http://www.yas.org.uk