The Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Collection contains images of 21 unbound manuscript items and 10 bound manuscript items from the Silver Special Collections Library of the University of Vermont. These manuscripts were written in various locations across Europe and the Middle East, from early in the 12th century to the 17th century C.E. Many of the texts are religious in nature. There are examples from Vulgate Bibles, the Koran, liturgical books, books of private devotion, handbooks for confessors, and a book of church law. Other texts include works by Cicero, Terence, Eberhard Hicfelt, and Ascanio Savorgnano; and contain topical works on medicinal herbs, the island of Cyprus, and the laws of Carpeneto, Italy. The collection also includes a contract and a will, both from Italy.
These beautiful books are often heavily illustrated or decorated, and provide examples of a wide range of scripts, both Gothic and later varieties. Most of the manuscripts are written on parchment, but several are made of paper, including the oldest item, a Koran leaf with a supplied date of 1106. The scope of the collection will facilitate studies of book history, codicology, paleography, and Medieval and Renaissance history.
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