Medieval Manuscripts

The University Library of Leipzig was built from book collections from secularized men’s monasteries with a scholarly reputation from 1543 onwards. This led to a large number of manuscripts being acquired by the University, which date back to the founding phase of the monasteries in eastern Middle Germany and provide a unique insight into the educational and cultural history of the region in the Middle Ages. After the founding of the University in 1409, various book collections developed, which grew into significant libraries and were merged with the University Library from the 1680s onwards. They document the scholarly knowledge in the Middle Ages far beyond Leipzig, portray the international biographies of numerous scholars, and date back to the early days of European universities. The collection was significantly expanded and enriched with important individual items by acquisitions and donations, especially since the 19th century, and continues to develop dynamically to this day. With the deposit of the Leipzig Municipal Library’s manuscript collection, the University Library acquired a representative collection of the Leipzig City Council in 1962, featuring a wide range of particularly old, illuminated, and vernacular items.

Since the 2010s, the University Library’s medieval manuscripts have been systematically digitized, supported by funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and especially the Saxon State Digitization Program. We primarily take into account the needs of the scientific community and are grateful for any requests for digitization. To date, the collection has been digitized to around 75%. The IIIF-capable Leipzig digitizations are conveniently accessible together with the available descriptive data via the central German manuscript portal (HSP).