Facsimiles of Medieval Manuscripts and Incunabula

Trier, Stadtbibliothek, Codex 31

High Quality Color Facsimile with German Commentary

Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS Theol. graec. 31

The Vienna Genesis, a purple codex, dates to the first half of the 6th century and is the oldest surviving illustrated biblical codex. There are twenty-four surviving folios, each with miniatures at the bottom of both recto and verso that directly relate to the text above them.

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Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Mss. Lat. 14000

The Codex Aureus is a luxuriously illuminated Gospels book that was made for Charles the Bald, King of the Franks (840-877) and Holy Roman Emperor (875-877). The name “Codex Aureus,” meaning Golden Book, refers to the heavy use of gold leafing and the gold, jewel-encrusted binding. The manuscript was signed by scribes Beringar and Liuthard, who dated it in 870. After Charles the Bald’s death in 877, the manuscript was acquired by his cousin the King of Bavaria, who donated it to the Abbey of St. Emmeram in Regensburg.

High Quality Color Unbound Plates with German Commentary

Florence, Bibliotheca Medicea Laurenziana, cod. Plut. I, 56

The Rabbula Gospels is a well-known Syriac Christian gospel book with some of the earliest developed Christian iconography in large miniatures. The manuscript takes its name from the signature of its scribe.

Color Partial Facsimile

Rossano, Biblioteca Capitolare 6 (Codex Purpureus Rossanensis)

The Rossano Gospels, a purple codex, date to the 6th century and are the earliest surviving illuminated manuscript of the New Testament. There are now 188 folios, among which is a prefatory cycle of miniatures illustrating scenes from the life of Christ.

Black and White Partial Facsimile

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS Latinus fol. 416 d, and Vatican City, Biblioteca Apolica Vaticana, MS lat. 3256

The Vergilius Augusteus is a late antique manuscript containing works by Virgil, including Georgics and the Aeneid. Only seven leaves of the manuscript have survived. The pages are not illustrated but do contain the earliest known instances of decorated initials. Unlike later illuminated initials, the letters here do not mark the division of a new text.

High Quality Color Facsimile with German and English introduction

Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Cod. F. 205 P. inf.

The Ambrosian Iliad is the only surviving illustrated copy of Homer from antiquity. The miniatures have been individually cut out, so the surviving portion of the manuscript does not contain the text column.

High Quality Color Facsimile with multilingual introduction

London, British Library, Add. MS 43725 (and Leipzig University, Saint Catherine's Monastery, Russian National Library)

The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four Greek Christian Bible codices, written in 4th century uncials. Although most of the Old Testament is missing, scholars believe it once contained the entire Hebrew Bible. In its current form the Codex Sinaiticus contains half the Septuagint, the complete New Testament, the entire Deuterocanonical books, the Epistle of Barnabas, and portions of the Shepherd of Hermas. The manuscript was begun after 325 C.E. because it contains the Eusebian Canons, and was most likely completed around the middle of the 4th century.

High Quality Color Facsimile