Research Guides: HIST 111: Ruin and Renewal: Europe to 1500 (HC): Medieval Manuscipt Facsimiles

Manuscript Facsimiles

These are printed facsimiles of medieval manuscripts. They are reproduced with high quality images, and some also copy the original binding and decorations on the covers. They are particularly useful for understanding the visual experiences of medieval readers in terms of the physical book.

See the individual records below to see which titles are in the stacks (and can be checked out), in the folio shelves at the end of the art books and in Special Collections. Books on the folio shelves can be used in Lutnick but not checked out. You can visit Special Collections, Monday through Friday 9-5, to see the books there.

Book of Beasts: A Facsimile of MS Bodley 764 by Christpher de Hamel, ed.
ISBN: 1851243178

Publication Date: 2008-12-31

In the Middle Ages, people believed that studying animals allowed them to read the Divine Order. In image and word, medieval bestiaries illustrated animals in stunning detail and explained their scientific nature as well as their allegorical significance. The bestiary reproduced here dates from the mid-13th century.
Book of hours (Ms. Grandes heures de Jean de Berry) by Jacquemart, de Hesdin, active 1380-1411.
Publication Date: 2012

Full-color facsimile of the manuscript produced for Jean, Duke of Berry, and completed in 1409. Its miniatures are attributed to Jacquemart de Hesdin, the Bedford Master, the Boucicaut Master and others.
The 'Brother' Haggadah: A Medieval Sephardi Masterpiece in Facsimile by Marc Michael Epstein; Raphael Loewe; Jeremy Schonfield (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9780500110294

Publication Date: 2016-05-31

Created by Sephardi (or "southern") artists and scribes in Catalonia in the second quarter of the fourteenth century, this Hebrew manuscript sets out the liturgy and sequence of the Passover Seder with additional historical essays.
Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu
Publication Date: 2012

Facsimile edition of a 15th-century (ca. 1460-1477), heart-shaped song book belonging to Jean de Montchenu (Ms. Occ. Rothschild 2973). The manuscript is housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
The Hours of Catherine of Cleves by Rob Duckers; Ruud Priem
Publication Date: 2010-01-01

Illuminated with spectacular miniatures and borders in glittering gold and splendid colors, this manuscript was made for Catherine of Cleves, Duchess of Guelders The book presents more than 100 leaves of the manuscript, including important scenes from the Old and New Testaments as well as the Stations of the Cross and portraits of the saints.
Illuminating The End of Time: The Getty Apocalypse Manuscript by Nigel Morgan
ISBN: 9781606060711

Publication Date: 2012-03-06

The visionary nature of the Apocalypse - the biblical book of Revelation - along with its detailed descriptions of the end of the world have long made it ideal for illustration. This title offers an illustrated exploration of this 13th-century English Apocalyptic manuscript.
Die Kreuzritterbibel=The Morgan Crusader Bible by Commentary by Daniel H. Weiss
Facsimile reproduction of 46 leaves of an incomplete manuscript of Old Testament illustrations, possibly commissioned by King Louis IX of France and produced in Paris ca. 1250. The manuscript includes Latin texts accompanying the illuminations; in the 17th century it came into the possession of the king of Persia, and Persian explanations were inscribed in the margins; a later owner added commentary in Judeo-Persian. The Morgan Library has made a digitized version of the manuscript available.
The Medieval Housebook by Ristoph Graf Zu Waldburg (Editor)
ISBN: 9783791318387

Publication Date: 1998-01-01

A limited facsimile edition of the Castle Wolfegg medieval manuscript.
Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta by Georg Bocskay; Joris Hoefnagel; Lee Hendrix;
Publication Date: 2020-09-29

In 1561-62 the master calligrapher Georg Bocskay, secretary to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, created the text as a model book of calligraphy. Some thirty years later, Ferdinand's grandson, the Emperor Rudolf II, commissioned Europe's last great manuscript illuminator, Joris Hoefnagel, to embellish the work with illusionistic flowers, fruit, insects, and animals as well as monsters and masks.
Theatrum sanitatis: Biblioteca casanatense by Ibn Buṭlān.
The Tacuinum sanitatis was an 11th century health handbook written by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad. In the 14th century illustrated versions made in Italy the emphasis is on attractive scenes drawing on themes from courtly love, fashionable dress, and estate management for an idealized view of agriculture, food production and the developing stages of shopping and a consumer economy.
The très riches heures of the Duke of Berry
Publication Date: 2010

Commissioned by the influential patron, Jean de Berry, in the early 15th century, this book was illustrated by the three Limbourg brothers. It opens with a calendar showing scenes of daily life during the twelve months and is followed by the prayers of offices celebrated at different times of the day.