Medieval illuminated manuscripts
Medieval illuminated manuscripts
1.1 Special Collections Manuscripts
1.2 Brotherton Collection Manuscripts
1.3 Ripon Cathedral Manuscripts
2.1 French medieval illuminated manuscripts
2.2 French medieval illuminated manuscripts: part 2
2.3 Southern Netherlands medieval illuminated manuscripts
2.4 Northern Netherlands medieval illuminated manuscripts
2.5 Italian medieval illuminated manuscripts
2.6 German medieval illuminated manuscripts
2.7 English medieval illuminated manuscripts
3 Manuscripts in detail
3.1 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 1]
3.2 Breviarium ad Usum Parisiensem [BC MS 2]
3.3 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 3]
3.4 Hours of Antoine de Crèvecœur [BC MS 4]
3.5 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 5]
3.6 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 6]
3.7 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 7]
3.8 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 8]
3.9 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 9]
3.10 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 10]
3.11 Preces [BC MS 11]
3.12 Preces [BC MS 12]
3.13 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 14]
3.14 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 15]
3.15 Beverley prayer book [BC MS 16]
3.16 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [BC MS 18]
3.17 In epistolas canonicas [BC MS 22]
3.18 Legenda aurea sanctorum [BC MS 23]
3.19 Psalterium [BC MS 24]
3.20 Biblical and genealogical chronicle from Adam and Eve to Louis XI of France [BC MS 100]
3.21 Evangelistarium [MS 124]
3.22 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [MS 498]
3.23 Biblia [Ripon Cathedral MS 1]
3.24 Apocalypsis et Epistolae catholicae, cum glossis [Ripon Cathedral MS 3]
3.25 In Apocalypsim; Threni Ieremie cum glossis [Ripon Cathedral MS 4]
3.26 Three single leaves from medieval liturgical manuscripts [BC MS Frag. 1]
3.27 Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis [Ripon Cathedral MS 9]
Use this resource to explore digitised images of manuscript illumination from the University of Leeds Special Collections. Find out more about the history of the manuscripts, and how they came to Leeds University Library.
Medieval illuminated manuscripts provide unique opportunities for scholarship. We have showcased significant examples of illumination in 27 medieval manuscripts selected from three areas of our collections. The illuminations include miniatures, historiated initials and decorated borders.
We have digitised each page as part of an ongoing project to produce full digital surrogates of each of our medieval manuscripts to sit alongside catalogue records. Over 5000 images have been created so far with relevant descriptive detail added to the catalogue.
Each of the digitised manuscripts can be viewed, detail can be magnified and the descriptions of illuminated pages can be browsed.
The significant provenances of individual manuscripts are described by Dr Katja Monier, former Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections. She explores the distribution of the manuscripts across three collections and provides new insight into the provenances, detailing the geographic origins, ownerships and creators of the illustrations.
You can also search illuminated page descriptions in our medieval manuscripts collection guide.