Cambridge and Heidelberg: digitisation of Greek manuscripts

Project details

Cambridge University Library, Trinity College and eleven other Cambridge Colleges, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Heidelberg University Library and the Vatican Library collaborated in a three-year project to digitise 800 Medieval manuscripts.

© Cambridge University Libraries

Launched in March 2019, the project between two of Europe’s oldest universities, both renowned for their medieval collections, has seen the digitisation of every medieval Greek manuscript in Cambridge and all those belonging to the Bibliotheca Palatina collection, split between Heidelberg and the Vatican. It provides a unique insight into the chronological range of Greek manuscript culture, from the early Christian period to the early modern.

The important collaboration between the ancient universities of Cambridge and Heidelberg represents a significant development for both institutions. For Heidelberg it completes the virtual reconstruction of the Palatine Library that has been carried out with the Vatican Library. For Cambridge it is the first phase of a collaboration among the University Library and other colleges to digitise their collections of Western Medieval manuscripts.

Benefiting from the extraordinary opportunities afforded by digitisation, the project brings together riches of these great institutions and makes them available to researchers and the wider public in innovative and attractive ways.

Links & downloads:
https://www.cam.ac.uk/GreekManuscripts
https://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/Englisch/wir/projekt_palatina_polonsky.html

Subject area: Cultural heritage and digitisation