Facsimiles of Medieval Manuscripts and Incunabula

Gerona, Museu de la Catedral de Girona, MS 7

The Gerona Beatus was commissioned by Abbot Dominicus according to an inscription at the end of the book. The manuscript includes the commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana and Jerome’s commentary on the Book of Daniel. It is one of the most richly illuminated Beatus Apocalypses.

High Quality Color Facsimile

Manchester, John Rylands University Library, Latin MS 8

High Quality Color Facsimile with Spanish Commentary

New York City, Pierpoint Morgan Library, MS M. 644

The Morgan Beatus includes Evangelist portraits, Beatus’s commentary on the Apocalypse, excerpts from Isidore of Seville, Jerome’s commentary on the Book of Daniel, and a final exposition of the Apocalypse. Its brightly saturated colors, schematic figures and shapes, and use of horizontal color bands are some of the features of the Spanish style of manuscript illumination.

High Quality Color Facsimile

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms. Latin 8846

The Anglo-Catalan Psalter was started in Canterbury around the year 1200 and finished in Catalonia much later, around the year 1340. It is connected to the line of psalters that copy the Utrecht Psalter, including the Harley Psalter and the Eadwine Psalter.

High Quality Color Facsimile with English Commentary

Budapest, Library and Information Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, MS 422

The Kaufmann Haggadah is an illuminated Passover Haggadah from 14th-century Catalonia. Traces of children’s drawings indicates the probable ownership of the manuscript by a family and the potential role children played in the Passover rite.

High Quality Color Facsimile

Manchester, John Rylands University Library, MS Hebrew 6

The Rylands Haggadah was produced in 14th-century Catalonia. It contains numerous full-page miniatures and is an interesting example of Hebrew manuscript illumination in the Middle Ages.

High Quality Color Facsimile with English Introduction

Madrid, Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de El Escorial, MS H.I. 15

A lapidary is a manuscript that describes properties of precious and semi-precious stones, and generally focused on science, magic or astrology, or Christian symbolism. The Lapidary of King Alfonso X of Castile (r. 1252-1284) was an astrological lapidary that pays particular attention to Zodiac relationships with stones.

High Quality Color Facsimile with Spanish Commentary

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS Esp. 12

The Cantar de Mio Cid is the oldest known surviving epic poem from medieval Castile. It is semi-historical, and recounts parts of the Reconquista through the hero, El Cid, which is an honorific title similar to “sir”.

Black and White Facsimile

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France

The Catalan Atlas is a map in the Catalan language from 1375 produced by Cresques Abraham from the Majorcan cartographic school. The map is made up of four leaves, with two additional leaves containing cosmographic, astronomical, and astrological descriptions.

High Quality Color and Black and White Facsimile with German Commentary

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS lat. 8878

The Saint-Sever Beatus is a French illuminated manuscript of the Apocalypse and commentary by Beatus of Liébana. It was produced at Saint-Sever Abbey under Abbot Gregori de Montaner.

Color Unbound Plates with French Introduction

The Pamplona Bible is a picture bible from Pamplona that was produced around the turn of the 13th century. Unusually, it contains almost no text except for the condensed picture captions. There are astonishingly more than 900 images of biblical scenes which are done in a fine black outline with simple color washes.

Black and White Facsimile with English Commentary