Project details
The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries and the German library, Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, have collaborated on a three-year project to digitise 600 Western Medieval manuscripts. These have been made freely available online to researchers and the public worldwide.
The digitised collections focus specifically on manuscripts from German-speaking lands that originate from monasteries in the lower Saxony, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg regions: Medingen, Braunschweig, Hildesheim, Helmstedt, Clus, Würzburg, and Eberbach. The Medingen manuscripts, from a nunnery in the area, are of particular importance and are highly illustrated.
Most of the manuscripts held at the Herzog August Bibliothek were collected in the 17th century by Duke August and the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Wolfenbüttel while the items held in the Bodleian Libraries were brought to England by Archbishop William Laud around the same time and included 46 important Latin manuscripts.
The manuscripts digitised through this project will be of interest to scholars in religious studies, German studies, medieval studies and history, amongst other areas. With approximately 133,000 images from the Bodleian Libraries and 100,000 images from the Herzog August Bibliothek, the digitisation effort will also benefit scholars by virtually uniting materials that have been dispersed between the two collections over the centuries.
Links & downloads:
https://hab.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/en/
‘Manuscript Journeys’ by the Bodleian Libraries.
Subject area: Cultural heritage and digitisation
Subject areas
Cultural heritage and digitisation
We support major libraries and museums in digitising and displaying the riches of their collections, to make them available to researchers and the wider public in innovative and attractive ways.
Humanities education and research
We support research in the humanities at significant academic institutions, educational initiatives to inspire young people about the humanities, and the broadening of educational opportunity.
Excellence and innovation in the arts
We support artistic heritage, the development of new creative work and the nurturing of young performers.