Illuminated Manuscripts: Imagebases
- Bodleian Library
With more than 10,000 volumes, the Bodleian Library's Department of Special Collections and Western Manuscripts has one of the greatest collections of Western Medieval manuscripts in the world and has digitized virtually all of the illuminated manuscript leaves from Bodleian manuscripts through the 16th century (1500s). Available from Oxford or via Artstor under Collections: "Manuscripts and Early Printed Books (Bodleian Library, Oxford University)" - British Library's Digital Catalogue of Illuminated ManuscriptsUse this website to find and view descriptions and images of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the British Library, one of the largest collections in the world.
- CORSAIR: The Online Research Resource of the Pierpont Morgan LibraryUse this database to search the holdings of the Pierpont Morgan Library, such as printed books, journals, music as well as museum objects such as illuminated manuscripts, drawings and prints, ancient Near Eastern seals, and art objects.
- Digital ScriptoriumUse this database to search for Illuminated Manuscripts held in academic, research and public libraries in the United States.
- Enluminures: La Base EnluminuresUse this database to search over 120,000 images of more than 5000 medieval manuscripts owned by French municipal libraries.
- Facsimile Finder
Use to view pages from facsimiles -- high quality reproductions -- of over 1,000 rare manuscripts created by Islamic, Jewish and Christian cultures as well as selected ancient texts. - Mandragore, Base des Manuscrits Enluminés de la B.N.FUse this database to search for illuminated manuscripts in the Bibliothéque Nationale's Department of Manuscripts and Library of the Arsenal, the oldest of which go back to the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Searching is enhanced with over 8,000 descriptor (in French).
- Medieval & Early Modern Manuscripts Collection
Contains 215 medieval or Renaissance manuscripts dated between the 11th and 17th centuries. Each manuscript is described in detail and can be browsed or searched via keyword. For an overview of the collection, please consult the finding aid.
Omne Bonum: A Fourteenth-Century Encyclopedia of Universal Knowledge: British Library MSS Royal 6 E VI-6 E VII by
Call Number: Main Library AE2.L463 S26 1996 vol. 1 -2ISBN: 1872501753Publication Date: 1996A facsimile of a mid-14th century English encyclopedia
Facsimiles
The Oberlin Collage Libraries has facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts for student use; a few examples from the Art Library collection are listed here.
To find facsimiles enter the following keyword search in OBIS d:facsimiles and ([your keywords here]).
For example this OBIS search lists about 60.
For more about keyword searching see the Keyword Boolean guide.
The Hours of Jeanne d̓Evreux, Queen of France. by Call Number: Art Library, ND3363.J42 N4 1973
The Hunting Book of Gaston Phebus by ISBN: 1872501974A beautiful example of Parisian book illumination of the early 15th century. The French text, written by the colourful figure Gaston Phebus, Count of Foix, between 1387 and 1389, contains not only technical details about the practice of huntsmanship in the 14th century, but also exact descriptions of the wild animals which were then hunted. Of the 44 known manuscripts with Gaston Phebus's text - most of them dating from the 15th century and a few from the beginning of the 16th century - the present manuscript, dated 1405-10, is one of the best known and most important. All its 87 miniatures are reproduced here in color.
Painting: Corpora
Deutsche Malerei der Gotik by Call Number: Art Library 759.3ST24D vol.1-11Publication Date: 1934-61Census of illuminated books and manuscripts in Germany. A summary English treatment of this text appears in Stange’s German painting, XIV-XVI centuries.
Early Netherlandish painting by Call Number: Art Library 759.949.3F913AE vol.1-15Publication Date: 1967-7615-volume illustrated catalogue of the major Netherlandish artists, arranged by artist. Excellent reference work, and great to flip through.
Les Primitifs flamands: I, II and IIICall Number: Art Library, ND665 .P66 (I); ND665 .P663 (II); ND 665 .P664 (III)Publication Date: 1951-presentAn important corpus of 15th c. & 16th c. Flemish painting. Divided into three series.Entries include: artist, title, physical description, discussion of iconography, history of the piece (including provenance), copies/studies/etc., opinion of the author, an extensive bibliography including archival sources, a list of illustrations, and extensive black and white photos including details.
Also of use
Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts by Call Number: Art Library, ND2889.B76 1994 c.1-3ISBN: 0892362170
- Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada
An inventory of both private and public collections. Provenance is provided for many titles. Commonly referred to as "de Ricci." Scholarship is current through the early 1930's. See also the Supplement which updates the scholarship through the 1960's. - Index of Medieval Medical ImagesThe Index of Medieval Medical Images project indexes imagery with medical components in 13 medieval manuscripts published before 1500. The images were described by librarians at the UCLA ; part of the UCLA Digital Collections.
- Medieval Manuscript Manual
Department of Medieval Studies at Central European University, Budapest. Covers patronage, materials and techniques, structure and arrangement, typology, illumination, and has a glossary.
