Alternatively, from the main highlights page the user can browse image anthologies dealing with church and society, Christian holidays, various topics like “fabulous animals” or “devils and demons,” and the Bible.įor students working on projects requiring thematic comparison, the site’s “browse by subject” page is an excellent entry point.
#ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS SERIES#
A cartoon-style introduction links the user to a series of images with text commentary on saints in the Middle Ages, books of hours, the liturgical year, and classical mythology.
“Highlights” is an attractive starting point for users who want to browse casually or learn about themes for more specialized searches. This link offers an indispensable overview of the site’s structure and contents. It also contains links to a description of the cataloging process and a substantial introduction to the “scope and purpose of the web catalogue”. The “general introduction” succinctly explains three ways the user can access the site’s image holdings: via collection highlights, a “browse by subject” page, or an “expert search” engine. One advantage of this system is that it is not dependent on language-specific keywords for searches.
#ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS CODE#
So, for example, a 13th-century miniature depicting Joseph on his way to find his brothers bears the code “71D1221,” indicating alphanumerically from left to right that the illustration is from the Bible (7), specifically the Old Testament Joseph story in Genesis (71D), and is one of the events leading up to Joseph’s enslavement and journey to Egypt (71D12). This system uses alphanumeric codes to categorize each image through 10 major thematic topics. Most portions of the site are available in either English or Dutch the keyword search in the “browse by subject” page (discussed below) can be conducted in English, French, or German.Ī key feature of this site is its use of the Iconclass classification system. Only illuminations, not entire manuscripts, have been digitized for the site. The vast majority of the manuscripts are from France and the Low Countries. The primarily late medieval images are drawn from close to 400 manuscripts from the 8th through 16th centuries, although more than half date to the 15th century alone. It has been developed in several phases with a number of partners and funders including the Getty Foundation, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the University of London.This site offers searchable database access to almost 11,000 manuscript illuminations (miniatures, initials, and border decorations) from the National Library of the Netherlands and the Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum in The Hague. The Online Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts was initiated in 1997-98 and launched in 2003.
The online digital Catalogue is based on an inventory of manuscripts by British Museum curators in 1997, surveying the entire manuscripts collection. Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination. A few important collections are not yet included in the Catalogue.
#ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS FULL#
The full text of images is not searchable. In addition there is a glossary of terms and virtual exhibitions covering various aspects of the library's holdings. Many of the manuscript descriptions are accompanied by extensive selections of high quality images. The manuscript descriptions can be searched or browsed by keyword, manuscript collection and number, author, scribe, place of origin, dates, codicological information and so on. At November 2011, the Catalogue included 35,661 images from 4,231 different manuscripts. The British Library holds one of the richest collections of medieval manuscripts in the world. This resource is of interest to many scholars in manuscript studies. Because it includes such a wide range of material, it serves as a useful resource for those working in a variety of disciplines. The Catalogue includes descriptions and images of western manuscripts with pictorial and decorative embellishments, from fully painted miniatures to decorated initials. The Library holds one of the richest collections of medieval and renaissance manuscripts in the world, and aims to provide access to images and information about its manuscripts to students, scholars, and the general public. The Online Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts is a searchable database of some of the western illuminated manuscripts in the British Library. Descriptions and images of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the British Library, one of the richest collections in the world Contents
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