This gradual contains the most important chants for the Mass throughout the liturgical year and for the saints. They are in Hufnagel notation. The graphic relation of text to melody is not always clear.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This small, thin booklet contains a series of prayers for personal use by a woman.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript contains texts for the Liturgy of the Hours. It was probably created at Muri Abbey and was meant for the Hermetschwil nuns' convent. Fol. 125v shows one of the few remaining prints of the “Teigdruck” (paste print) technique: Barbara with a palm branch and a tower.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This monastic antiphonary contains the chants for the Liturgy of the Hours. Throughout, melodies are denoted by neumes without lines and by tonary letters. The supplements on paper are from the end of the 16th century.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript has not survived intact: the beginning, the end, and several quires from the middle are missing. The Latin texts for prayers and instructions for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours occasionally are accompanied by rubrics in German that refer to local customs.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript contains the prayers and instructions for the Liturgy of the Hours. It was made for the nuns of the double monastery of Muri; the manuscript came to Hermetschwil when the convent of nuns relocated there.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter was written during the 12th century in the monastery of Muri. The death records in the calendar include both nuns and monks who were members of the Muri monastic community and are thus an important witness for the existence of the double monastery.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This Dominican-type breviary is from Zurich. It contains texts on the saints' days and on the Commune of saints. Thomas Aquinas is especially emphasized (2r has an initial stretching over 10 lines with a pen drawing of the saint).
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter comes from the Dominican nuns's monastery St. Katharinental near Diessenhofen. The calendar contains several necrological entries. The book's edge is painted.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript is originally from Fraumünster Abbey in Zurich. It contains the dialogue with Mary, attributed to Anselm of Canterbury, in Alemannic dialect.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter is the work of the Engelberg Master. Psalms 1, 51 and 101 are introduced by large initials. Especially remarkable is a knight on 41r.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This prayer book contains prayers in High Alemannic dialect. They are directed to saints, are dedicated to the deceased or contemplate the Passion of Christ.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter was originally made for Selnau Abbey in Zurich. 7r has a portrait of a benefactress. In the 17th century, it was owned by Sister Ottilia Suter of Hermetschwil.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter is from Gnadental Abbey near Bremgarten (AG). A 16th century note names Herr Kopp im Engel zu Bremgarten as scribe.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This diurnal is from the Convent of the Poor Clares Gnadental in Basel. The decorations consist of a great number of faces, drolleries, animals and figures of saints.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This volume contains prayers for the parts of the Liturgy of the Hours to be recited during the day. It also contains texts dedicated to the veneration of the saints. The book has suffered some losses (lost pages in the beginning and at the end, strips of parchment cut away in the lower margin). The volume comes from a convent of Dominican nuns, possibly from Zurich.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This small-format book contains parts of the Liturgy of the Hours for a Convent of the Poor Clares. It contains primarily texts for personal prayer, with a focus on the cult of the dead. The volume was given to Barbara Seiler († 1624), sister at Hermetschwil Convent, by Melchior Roth, parish priest of Erlinsbach.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This small volume contains prayers in memory of the deceased in a convent of Franciscan nuns. It is decorated with initials stretching over several lines of text, consisting of plant motifs in rich colors.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
The book was written by Sister Dorothea Schermann at the Gnadental Convent of the Poor Clares (Basel) and is dated 1 July 1515. It contains the Marian Psalter and the Marian litany in Low Alemannic.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
Othon de Grandson, knight and poet, distinguished himself both through his verses and through his heroic deeds during the Hundred Years War. He was an adviser to Count Amadeus VII of Savoy. After the death of the count, he fled to England. After his return to the land of Vaud he died in an ordeal by battle in the form of a duel in Bourg-en-Bresse in the year 1397. In addition, Othon de Grandson's poetry introduced Valentine's Day to a broader public; it had previously been celebrated primarily in Anglo-Saxon regions.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
This small-format manuscript with a limp binding falls into the category of "livres de besace": mainly it contains a compilation of medical texts (Guy de Chauliac, Jean Le Lièvre, Jean Jacme, Guillaume de Saliceto, anonymous herbaria), most of which have been translated into Middle French, as well as calendars and songs. The main hand wrote in a script from the second half of the 15th century; there are also notes from the 16th and 17th centuries. The first known owner (mentioned on f. 9r) is Jehan Farcy, who is attested as a barber in Lausanne in 1484 and 1496. Pen trials and coats of arms (Valangin and Aarberg, f. 57v) also indicate a regional context. Likewise the parchment from which the binding was made is a reused notarial document prepared in Vaud on April 25, 1448. With the support of private foundations, the Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire - Lausanne acquired this manuscript in 2006.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
Othon de Grandson, knight and poet, distinguished himself both through his verses and through his heroic deeds during the Hundred Years War. He was an adviser to Count Amadeus VII of Savoy. After the death of the count, he fled to England. After his return to the land of Vaud he died in an ordeal by battle in the form of a duel in Bourg-en-Bresse in the year 1397. Othon de Grandson probably wrote his poetic works between 1366 and 1372. This collection volume also contains ballads by thirteen different authors.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
This prayer book is either from the Cologne area, as indicated by the selection of prayer texts and calendars, or from the “Stift Münstereifel”, as the saints Daria and Chrysanthus, who are venerated there, are explicitly mentioned on 218r and 219r. Via Catharina von Wrede (front paste-down), the prayer book reached the Bibliothèque des Cèdres, which became part of the holdings of the Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire - Lausanne in 1966. This small-format volume, illustrated with 18 miniatures, contains a cycle of prayers on the life and passion of Christ, prayers on the truths of the faith, and on various saints. The miniatures and the beginnings of the texts are surrounded by borders with leaf scroll and interlace ornamentation; additional decoration consists of 35 initials in gold, as well as pen flourishes and blue, red and gold Lombard initials in the margins.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
The Biblia Porta manuscript, which bears the name of its last private owner, is an illuminated Bible from the Franco-Flemish region, produced at the end of the 13th century. The value of this unique and extraordinary work lies in the quality of its textual illustrations: 337 scenes of great artistic refinement, very lively and expressive. The illustrations consist of historiated initials, ornamental initials, drolleries and marginal illustrations. The text, which is written in extremely carefully formed calligraphy on very fine parchment, is St. Jerome's Vulgate version of the Bible in Latin, revised in Paris in the second quarter of the 13th century. This document is one of the few remaining works from this particular school of book decoration in northern France.
Online Since: 12/21/2009
This codex contains two different texts, both incomplete, in a single 19th century binding. One of these is Henry Suso's Horologium Sapientiae (1-66), a text that was written in Constance and that was in wide use during the late Middle Ages. The other is Petrarch's De Vita Solitaria (67-116). The first is a parchment manuscript of Italian origin that can be dated to the late 14th or early 15th century; it is written by a single hand in a semi-cursive Gothic script in two columns. What makes this manuscript special is that it was written on a parchment palimpsest that originally contained legal texts written in the 13th century. The second part, by another hand and of French or Swiss origin, contains a text by Petrarch written in a bastarda script in two columns, dated to the 15th century. Both texts contain pen-flourish initials and are interspersed with manicules.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
This chronicle, completed in 1513, tells the early history of Lucerne and, beginning with the Battle of Sempach (1386), it tells the history of the Swiss Confederation from the point of view of followers of the Holy Roman Emperor. The 450 illustrations by two different hands, due to their vividness and to the richness of their subjects and details, constitute a unique source of information about late medieval life.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This volume contains St. Bonaventure's Legenda maior of St. Francis, the Vita beati Antonii and two documents regarding the Portiuncula indulgence. The manuscript was written by Elisabeth von Amberg (ff. 1-127) and Katherina von Purchausen (ff. 129-176) in the year 1337. It is decorated with an initial portraying St. Francis as a knight (f. 4r) and a vignette showing the bestowal of the Stigmata (f. 77v). The appearance of the name of St. Clara in the text suggests that the codex was written in a cloister of the Poor Clares, perhaps the Paradise. It came into the posession of the Capuchin cloister in Frauenfeld at the beginning of the 17th century and has been held in the provincial archive of the Capuchins in Lucerne since 1848.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
The Sworn Letter (“Geschworener Brief”), drawn up for the first time in 1252, consists mainly of provisions of criminal law for the sake of maintaining internal peace. It soon attained the status of a social contract that was periodically revised, and the town assembly was sworn into office each year with an oath on this document. COD 1075 presents the last version in a special form: The text was elaborately arranged in calligraphy by chancery clerk Josef Corneli Mahler; the articles are introduced by artistic initials and are accompanied by figures (which bear no reference to the themes of the text). For the binding, the wooden boards are covered in blue and white velvet and have protective book corners, clasps and bosses made of silver.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
In 1433 town clerk Egloff Etterlin compiled a cartulary with copies of documents relevant to the laws of Lucerne, including translations of Latin texts. The volume permitted the council quick access to these texts; thus it served as a finding aid for the originals stored in the water tower (« Wasserturm »). These copies of 150 documents (with 21 translations) do not render the originals in chronological order, but are instead ordered by topic. They were written by various scribes of the Lucerne chancery and go up to the year 1492. This volume receives its name from the magnificent 1505 cover of velvet and taffeta over wooden boards, decorated with silver bosses and clasps with the coat of arms of Lucerne.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
The oldest necrology of St. Urban's Abbey, in a 16th century binding with wooden boards, has unfortunately survived only in fragments. The first part (fol. 3-14v) consist of the abbey's necrology; the second part contains the incomplete Liber anniversariorum benefactorum (only Jan. 1-12, May 1 - Sept. 1, Sept. 4-7, Sept. 22 - Dec. 31) with supplements; the third part comprises the Officium defunctorum, a litany and supplements with a register of members of the abbey's lay brotherhood. After the dissolution of the monastery, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives in 1848.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Liturgical music to be sung during night prayer hours on the feasts of the saints, from the early period of the Cistercian cloister of Saint Urban.
Online Since: 07/25/2006
This manuscript contains two texts: the Speculum virtutis by Abbot Engelbert von Admont (ca. 1250-1331), which is a reflection on leadership in the Aristotelian spirit, and a tract by Marquard von Lindau (d. 1392) on the merits of all living beings based on their divine creation and on the merits of the human soul.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
In addition to sermons and sermon-related material pertaining to Sundays, saints' days and feast-days dedicated to Mary, the manuscript contains part of S. Bonaventure's (1221-1274) commentary on the four books of the Sentences of Peter Lombard, and the treatise De arca Noe by Marquard of Lindau (d. 1392).
Online Since: 06/09/2011
This manuscript contains the commentaries of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Exodus and Leviticus, with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Commentaries by the Franciscan monk Nicholas of Lyra (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel (I and II Kingdoms), with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Contains the commentaries of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
The commentary of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Contains the commentaries of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Wisdom, and Sirach.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
This manuscript contains books 1-8 of the history of the world by the French Dominican monk Vincent of Beauvais († 1264) in the version of Douai in 32 books.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
This manuscript contains books 17–24 of the history of the world by the French Dominican monk Vincent of Beauvais († 1264) in the version of Douai in 32 books.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
This manuscript contains books 25-32 of the history of the world by the French Dominican monk Vincent of Beauvais († 1264) in the version of Douai in 32 books. Ff. 372-378 contain an early copy of the Historia Tartarorum by Frater C. de Bridia.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
This manuscript contains the life of Ulrich by Berno of Reichenau and the lives of St. Gall and St. Othmar. by Walafrid Strabo, as well as a copy of a document on the early history of St. Urban's Abbey, which is among the oldest surviving manuscripts in the St. Urban library.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This antiphonary from the 2nd half of the 14th century includes the texts from Pentecost to the end of the liturgical year, as well as the corresponding saints' days and texts for the Commune sanctorum. The origin is unknown, but based on the inclusion of certain saints' days, the manuscript originated in the Cologne area. Written in a uniform script, with neumes on four lines throughout and a few later additions with neumes on five lines; signs of usage and later notes. Five larger and five smaller initials are covered in gold leaf, and in addition there are 36 plainer initials; all initial letters are set off in red or blue, the rubrics are in red. A father from Marienstein, who worked at the Kollegium of Altdorf, received the manuscript second-hand. From there the manuscript came to Mariastein in 1981. Not published.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This booklet, with notes and decorated with three initials, contains the texts for the Office of the Dead, the seven penitential psalms, and prayers for a deceased Dominican nun, probably in the convent in Colmar. Judging by the script, it is from the first half of the 15th century. The book belonged to Sister Martha Gosslerin. In 1782 it was acquired by Philipp Jakob Steyrer, Abbot of St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest; through him, the booklet came to Mariastein Abbey.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This composite manuscript from the middle of the 15th century is from the Augustinian hermitage in Basel. Since 1470, several brothers there cared for the pilgrimage site Mariastein. This volume was probably left there and was found by the monks from Beinwil, when they took over the pilgrimage site in 1636. It contains, among others, sacred (S. Bonaventura), profane (Cicero, Sallust), historical (Piccolomini/Pius II.) and rhetorical (Laurentius de Aquileja) texts. The second part of the volume, containing the Rhetorica , was written in 1465/66 by the Augustinian Matthias Glaser from Breisach in Basel. A fragment glued to the interior of the front cover gives information regarding the content of the volume.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This work by brother Alonso de Oropesa OSH († 1469) must be considered in the context of the attacks on converted Jews in Spain (and above all in Toledo), the so-called conversos. As a general of the Order of the Hieronymites (since 1457), but also as a close confidant and adviser of King Henry IV of Castile (1454-1474), Alonso advocated a tolerant attitude towards converted Jews. In 1450, he began writing the 'Lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloria plebis Dei Israel' - De unitate fidei et de concordia et pacifica equalitate fidelium (f. 1-203, Tabula 204-207); in 1465, he dedicated the completed book of 52 chapters to the Archbishop Alfonso Carrillo of Toledo (1410-1485). The announced second part of the work apparently was never written.In 1979, Luis A. Diaz y Diaz prepared a Spanish translation based on the three manuscripts then known. The present manuscript has not yet been acknowledged in research; it thus constitutes the fourth manuscript known so far. It was certainly written still in the 15th century and is made up of parchment and paper leaves. Despite its significance, no Latin text edition of the work has yet been prepared.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
This 10th century Latin manuscript originated in the St. Gall scriptorium. It belonged to the Bishop of Strasbourg Erchembald (965-991) and was kept in the Cathedral of Strasbourg. The humanist Wimpheling mentions consulting it in Strasbourg in the early years of the 16th century. This manuscript appeared in the sales catalog of the Ambroise Firmin-Didot collection and was bought by the Mulhouse alderman Armand Weiss (1821-1892); after his death, he left it to the Industrial Society of Mulhouse. The Carolingian Gospel Book was written on vellum and contains 300 initials decorated with gold and silver. The beginning and end of the manuscript contain historical annotations. The original binding no longer exists; it was replaced with a contemporary binding during restoration at the Bibliothèque Nationale around 1970.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
Register of ownership compiled in 1394, at the behest of Abbess Luzia I, by the notary Jakob von Schluderns; a fair copy was written on parchment by his son Peter. The register records 517 leaseholds in 36 localities. The ornamentation is simple, but beautifully executed. Important are two large figures in color, representing John the Baptist as patron and Charlemagne as founder of the monastery. Valuable from the point of view of historical linguistics is a passage in the vernacular that is copied in the urbarium as part of a Latin document from 1389. This is the oldest testimony of the Romansh language of the Engadine, or rather of the Val Müstair.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This manuscript lacks a beginning, has much-trimmed margins, and was written by a variety of hands, is datable to the second half through the end of the 9th century. It contains readings from the Gospel texts for the feasts from Christmas through Pentacost as well as those of a few saints. The first words of the Gospel texts were augmented later (12th century) in the outer margin. The text for the feast celebrating the birth of the Archangel Michael (129v-131v) is specially highlighted with a pen sketch of the saint in the margin and a marker in the lower corner. The flyleaf is a notarial document dated 1373 in favour of Isabelle von Neuenburg.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
A manuscript without beginning. The titel was added later (18th century?). The parchment used is very uneven in quality. In the late Middle Ages, probably towards the end of the 15th century, the manuscript was carefully restored, with parts of the text re-copied. This is a choir book in several volumes, which was used for daily Mass by a community of clerics. Numerous additions from the 14th and 15th century attest to its use at Notre-Dame Abbey in Neuchâtel. Two (of four?) volumes have survived. It can be deduced that they follow the calendar in use at St. Jean Cathedral in Besançon. The first volume contains the sanctoral cycle from May 6th until November 30th. In 1813, the governing council donated the volume to the library of Neuchâtel.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
A manuscript without beginning. The titel was added later (18th century?). The parchment used is very uneven in quality. In the late Middle Ages, probably towards the end of the 15th century, the manuscript was carefully restored, with parts of the text re-copied. This is a choir book in several volumes, which was used for daily Mass by a community of clerics. Numerous additions from the 14th and 15th century attest to its use at Notre-Dame Abbey in Neuchâtel. Two (of four?) volumes have survived. It can be deduced that they follow the calendar in use at St. Jean Cathedral in Besançon. Volume II contains the temporal cycle from Holy Saturday until the last Sunday after Pentecost as well as the sanctoral cycle from April 14th until May 3rd. In 1813, the governing council donated the volume to the library of Neuchâtel.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
A Franciscan Gradual written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis of Locarno, which received it together with the antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and Codice III as well as the antiphonary de sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316. At the end of the text (fol. 181r) is a Praefatio (Statutum pro libris choralibus scribendis), which would normally be placed at the beginning, containing the guidelines for editing choral books for the order. On the last page Brother Giacomo di Rastelli Orelli transcribed some records concerning the cloister: a note about the provision of the library cabinets, the dedication document from the year 1316, and a note about a donation for the purchase of liturgical paraphernalia.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains the first part of the Proprium de Tempore (from the eve of the first Sunday of Advent to the fifth Sunday after Epiphany) and a selection of holy days from the Proprium Sanctorum (from St. Andrew's eve to the Annunciation) for use by the Fransciscans. Written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice III and de sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains the second part of the Temporale (from the eve of Septuagesima Sunday through the first Sunday in the November calendar) for use by the Franciscans. Written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and de Sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains songs for saints' days, the Office of the Dead, and an Office for Anthony of Padua. It was written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna) and is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and II Codice III on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316. The front pastedown had a sheet of paper affixed to it, detached during the most recent restoration, on which both sides contained an annotated plan for a "rivellino", a type of bulwark normally found in fortifications.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This breviary, which contains only the winter part, is dated to the first half of the 14th century. It is from the diocese of Besançon (with which Porrentruy was also affiliated), as indicated by certain saints that appear in the litanies, such as St. Ferreolus or St. Germanus, the responsories for the Sundays of Advent, as well as the Holy Triduum.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (first part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 3. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (second part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 2. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This manuscript contains a Latin version of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, translated and glossed by Robert Grosseteste (1175-1253), Bishop of Lincoln. The decoration of monochrome as well as red and blue fleuronné initials at the beginning of the chapters (e.g., 3r) and the colorfully decorated initials at the beginning of the books (e.g., 1r) attest to an origin in Southwestern Germany in the third quarter of the 15th century. The manuscript was originally part of the episcopal library; during the French Revolution it came to the library of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy; in the 20th century it finally became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, datable to around 1300. In the 15th century, a part containing the Ordo Missae was added, preceded by a Crucifixion miniature. The binding was restored in 1992 and replaces the unpreserved original binding.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
First part of a Bible (second part in Ms. 6b) containing the books of the Old Testament from Genesis to Iesus Sirach. The manuscript was produced in the same workshop as Ms. 6b and 6c; based on the style of the initials, it was made in Southwestern Germany during the second third of the 15th century. The decoration consists of small red and blue filigreed initials for the prologues and of larger ornamental initials at the beginning of the books. The manuscript is mentioned in the inventory of Prince-Bishop Philipp von Gundelsheim (1487-1553); according to a note on f. 1r, during the 19th century it became the property of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy, after which it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Second part of a Bible (first part in Ms. 6a) which, as also Ms. 6a and 6c, was produced in Southwestern Germany during the second third of the 15th century. The manuscript consists of two parts: the first part contains the remaining books of the Old Testament (Isaia to II Maccabeorum), the second part contains those of the New Testament. The books in the second part (105r-219v) are introduced by historiated or ornamental initials, while the beginnings of the chapters have blue red filigreed initials. The manuscript is mentioned in the inventory of Prince-Bishop Philipp von Gundelsheim (1487-1553); according to a note on f. 1r, during the 19th century it became the property of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy, after which it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, commissioned by Christoph of Utenheim, prince-bishop of Basel between 1502 and 1527; he had his coat of arms, crossed with that of the Diocese of Basel, painted in the lower margin of f. 2r. The Canon of the Mass, decorated with a historicized initial depicting the Mass of St. Gregory, is not original but was added later. The border with flower decoration in the side margin and the presumed miniature of the Crucifixion in the beginning were removed.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Given the liturgy and the presence of the Office for the Saint, this breviary originated in St. Lebuinus Church in Deventer (Netherlands). It belonged to Swibert de Keyserswerth (died after 1551), paternal grandfather of the Dutch organist and composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621).
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This manuscript contains the De institutis coenobitorum and the Collationes patrum by John Cassian. It was acquired new by Schönensteinbach Cloister (France), thanks to a donation for this purpose from the nun Magdalena Bechrerin. The manuscript belonged to Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach, Bishop of Basel from 1782 to 1794. A manuscript with identical content and similar colophon, dated 1408, originated in the Dominican Convent of Nuremberg and is now held in that city's library.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Paper manuscript dated 1457; it contains a register of canon law with glosses, attributed in the codex itself to Dominicus de S. Geminiano.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
A 15th century Psalter following the liturgical custom of the Collegiate Church of Saint-Ursanne; in form and content it is a perfect copy of the Basel manuscript AN VIII 39. Both pastedowns consist of fragments of Vincent of Beauvais' Speculum historiale; on f. 36r there is a 16th century pen drawing of the Virgin Mary. The manuscript remained in the Collegiate Church of Saint-Ursanne until it came into the possession of the Library of the Canton of Jura in the 20th century.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Gradual dating from the 12th century, used by the Prémontré order at the Abbey of Bellelay.
Online Since: 04/26/2007
This missal is preceded by a calendar of saints (September-December) containing saints from the regions of Lausanne and of Basel, as well as by a dedication to the cathedrals of these two dioceses. Some parts of the text follow the usage of the diocese of Lausanne, others follow that of the diocese of Basel. A note on the inside cover indicates that the missal comes from Saint-Ursanne.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
This breviary was meant for use in the diocese of Basel. There are still partially visible traces of coats of arms that were painted on ff. 33r, 41r, 129r and 279r and were later erased; these allow the codex to be attributed to Arnold of Rotberg, Bishop of Basel from 1451 to 1458. His successor, Jean de Venningen (1458-1478) noted on f. 5r the repurchase of the manuscript from Porrentruy Castle on June 29th 1461.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
This manuscript, entitled “Protocol 3”, contains election documents, credentials and other documents by Louis, Abbot of Lucelle: “Protocol 3, anno 1473 super varia instrumenta electioni chartas visitatorias, litteras commendatitias credentiales, coeteraque formularia à Ludovico abbate Lucellensi”. It comprises an index (ff. 159r-162v) and an ex-libris dated 1630 on the flyleaf (V1r).
Online Since: 10/08/2020
This manuscript contains two grimoires (magic textbooks), the Dragon rouge (pp. 4-100) and the Poule noire (pp. 101-108), which were copied in 1846 from a 1521 original. The Dragon rouge “ou l'art de commander les esprits célestes, aériens, terrestres et infernaux” (p. 2) is a collection of writings in French, Italian and Latin. As for the Poule noire, this is a ritual for conjuring ghosts. Several ungainly drawings embellish the work, depicting, for instance, the devil (p. 33, 55) or cabalistic diagrams (p. 19, 54).
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This complete Gradual (square notation) contains the temporal (f. 1r-70v), the sanctoral and the Commune Sanctorum (f. 70v–103v), votive masses (f. 103v-107v), the Kyriale and litanies (f. 107v–111v), antiphons and processional responsories (f. 112r–113v), the tropes of the Kyrie Cunctipotens and Fons bonitatis (f. 113v–115r) and several additions from the 14th century (f. 115r-127v). According to the analysis of the calendar, this copy could date back to the middle of the 13th century, between 1246 (mention of Saint Lambert by the first hand, f. 100r) and 1255 (no mention of the mass for Saint Dominic on August 5th, f. 95r). Contrary to what is suggested by the labels (back and inside cover), this codex was copied before the end of the 1260s, since the mass of Saint Anthony (f. 75v) was noted by a second hand. In addition, f. 98v contains no mention of an octave of St. Bernard, which is usually included in all Cistercian books from 1295 on. A study of the musical and liturgical content shows that manuscript FiD 5, which is a faithful copy of the older Gradual of the order (Abbazia Tre Fontane 47, around 1140/1143), probably originated in Hautcrêt Abbey (Oron VD), which was the motherhouse of Fille-Dieu until 1536.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This volume contains copies of various documents, which were meticulously collected by the pastor of Tavannes, Théophile Rémy Frêne (1727-1804), over a period of several decades, but especially in the last third of the 18th century. It thus gathers memories, correspondence, numerous documents and even lists which reveal the pastor's diverse scholarly activities, especially in the areas of history, geography and politics. The collection allows us to grasp his most personal interests. These writings, organized in thematic series, focus mainly on the Principality of Basel and the region of Neuchâtel. The volume thus would attest an extensive project describing the Principality of Basel, which in the end Frêne did not publish - some of the information the pastor gathered have been included by Charles-Ferdinand Morel in his Abrégé de l'histoire et de la statistique du ci-devant Evêché de Bâle (Strasbourg, 1813). It also reflects the fundamental role that pastors held in the second half of the 18th century as promoters of regional knowledge.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
This small 12th century prayer book, the oldest in the German language, was written for a woman. It contains various prayers in German and Latin, including the famous "Mary Sequence of Muri" ("Mariensequenz aus Muri"), the oldest known German language version of the Latin sequence model, the Ave preclara maris stella. During the 19th century the manuscript was linked to Queen Agnes (ca. 1281-1364), who had lived in the Cloister of Königsfeld. It is listed in the manuscript catalog of the monastery of Muri as of 1790.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This large-format manuscript from the 14th century contains the oldest version of an illustrated copy of the so-called Klosterneuburger Evangelienwerk, a German prose translation of the Gospels, together with the Lives of the Apostles and various Apocrypha from the New Testament. Over 400 pen and ink wash drawings, irregularly interspersed throughout the manuscript, accompany and illustrate the text.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
This large-format paper manuscript containg the German rendition of the Franciscan Nicholas of Lyra's commentary on the Psalter (Postilla super Psalterium) was given to the Stadbibliothek in 1646 by Sebastian Grübel (note of donation, f. 2r). Contrary to what has long been assumed, Heinrich von Mügeln was not responsible for the translation, but rather an anonymous person known to the scientific community as the “Österreichischer Bibelübersetzer” [“Austrian Bible-translator”], who is also deemed the author of the “Klosterneuburger Evangelienwerk” (cf. Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen, Gen. 8). The manuscript, written in northeastern High Alemannic, was copied in a book cursive by at least two hands, probably in southwestern Germany in the third quarter of the fifteenth century. Ornamentation is limited to red lombards, some of which are pen-flourished (f. 178v) and a five-line green leaf and flower initial (fol. 2r).
Online Since: 12/14/2022
This manuscript of 182 leaves can be dated to the last quarter of the 15th century and can be placed in the area between Ulm and Memmingen (linguistically Swabian). The binding, made of wooden boards covered in leather and featuring a clasp, was made by a bookbinder who was active in Memmingen. The three treatises in the manuscript are from the field of pharmacology/medical science: the “Büchlein der Ordnung der Pestilenz” (2r-47v) by Heinrich Steinhöwel, the Ulmer Wundarznei (50r-144r) and “Von den gebrannten Wässern” by Michael Puff (147r-179v). The text is augmented with drawings of instruments (96v, 97r, 98v, 99r, 148v). Magnus Bengger (who names himself on 179v) should be considered the scribe; he also copied manuscript Schaffhausen Gen. 9, which likewise contains medical works. He uses a cursiva libraria. In several places, drolleries in the shape of faces spread from individual letters, always in the first line (e.g., 45v, 50r). The chapter titles, the (decorated) initials at the beginning of a chapter, dots at half-height, as well as individual, usually Latin words in the text generally are rubricated. Sentence-initial lexemes, however, are marked by Lombard initials in red. In keeping with the character of a medical housebook, to which one can add one's own recipes, there are additions by four other hands (mostly between or after the treatises, such as 48r, 145r, 180r).
Online Since: 10/04/2018
Part of a complete bible in four volumes, three of which have survived (Min. 2, Min. 3, Min. 4), listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). Contents: Samuel, Kings, Chronicles. Written in two columns, by one hand, with numerous corrections on erasures. The initial I on the incipit page (f. 7v) corresponding to 24 lines, the F on the ornamental page (f. 10v) corresponding to 22 lines, and the initials with scroll ornamentation at the beginning of the individual books and prologues are executed in pen with red ink; their inner grounds are pale blues and greens, which differ from the rich colors in Min. 3 and Min. 4. Signs of wear and discoloration on f. 1r and f. 261v suggest that the manuscript remained unbound until it received its current binding in the 15th century. The wooden boards are covered with brown Cuir de Cordoue embossed with animal and plant motifs; the same motifs also decorate the perforated base plate of the two central brass bosses.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Part of a four-volume Latin Bible in parchment, produced in the scriptorium of Allerheiligen monastery in Schaffhausen shortly after 1080. The codex has numerous initials with scroll ornaments, a page decorated with colours and gold featuring an initial V (the vision of Isaiah), and a historiated inital with scroll ornaments (the calling of Jeremiah), in which the influence of manuscripts from Reichenau can be recognized. Along with Min. 18, Min. 4 is one of the most important codices from the prime of Allerheiligen, when the monastery, founded in 1049, supported, under Abbot Siegfried (d. 1096), the reforms of Hirsau and, for this purpose established a library.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
A copy on parchment of Part 1 of the Commentaries on the Minor Prophets by Jerome. An otherwise unknown artist contributed to this manuscript, created after 1100 in the scriptorium of the monastery of Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen. The initial “I” in gold and opaque paints on the Incipt page (1v) is his work: a bear, two birds of prey, and a dog frolic among grape-covered vines; a lion tears into a rabbit, a rooster and a fox feast on the grapes, and a hunter spears a boar. The beginning of the text (4r) has been decorated by the same artist with an initial “V”, in the gold tendrils of which four animals (dragon, dog, bird of prey, deer) are artfully entwined.
Online Since: 12/19/2011
This manuscript, a copy of 59 letters by Jerome created in the scriptorium of the monastery of Allerheiligen (All Saints) in Schaffhausen, is mentioned in the supplements to the booklist of the monastery in Schaffhausen (Min. 17, f. 306v). Evidence for dating the manuscript around 1100 comes from the Romanesque binding and the style of the initials with scroll ornamentation. A note of ownership by the monastery from the year 1365 and a note that the manuscript was borrowed by Frater Jacobus Winkelshan in that same year testify to the use of the codex in the late Middle Ages.
Online Since: 12/13/2013
This copy of Augustine's Enarrationes in psalmos 1–50, written in two columns, is listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); together with Min. 16, it completes the older Min. 17. Beautiful parchment, the same layout with large margins as in Min. 16, several hands. The initials with scroll ornamentation are rather small and often are not completed. The ornate decorative capital on the incipit page (f. 1v) confirms that it was created later. Judging by its shape, the leather binding is Romanesque and was equipped with five bosses and clasps in the 14th/15th century. The handwritten note of ownership on the front pastedown and the title label on the back cover probably are from the same period.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This copy of Augustine's Enarrationes in psalmos 51-100, written in two columns, is listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); together with Min. 15, it completes the older Min. 17. Beautiful parchment, the same layout with large margins as in Min. 15, several hands. The I on the incipit page (f. 1r) and the Q on the page with the decorative initial (f. 3v) are executed in gold and opaque paint and are protected by sewed-on fabric. The 12th century binding was redone and historiated in the 19th century.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This copy of Augustine's Enarrationes in psalmos 101-150 is written in two columns; several hands contributed to this manuscript. Although it is the third of three volumes, Min. 17 is older than Min. 15 and Min. 16, which complete it. The I on the incipit page (f. 1r), the E on the page with the decorative initial (f. 2v), and the initial E with scroll ornamentation on f. 1v are drawn in red and have light blue and light green inner grounds. There are red pen and ink drawings of initials with scroll ornamentation stretching over 12-15 lines at the beginnings of the psalms. The binding probably is from the 19th century. Discolorations and reinforcements on f. 1r and f. 307v suggest that the manuscript remained unbound for a while, which may explain the loss of a quire after f. 199. The great significance of Min. 17 arises from its listing in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (f. 306v), which mentions books that were acquired or were copied in the abbey's scriptorium during the time of Abbot Siegfried (deceased 1094) and in the first years after his death.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This copy of Augustine's De civitate Dei, written in two columns and executed by several hands, has numerous corrections, variants and Nota monograms in the margins; it is listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). The volume opens with an incipit page and an ornate decorative page with the initial E in a red pen and ink drawing on a light green background. Red initials with scroll ornamentation stretching over 10-12 lines mark the beginning of individual books. A quire was lost between f. 137/138 and between f. 193/194, before this codex, like many others, received a new binding in the 15th century with metal bosses, two clasps and the title written on the front cover; as with Min. 20, Min. 24, Min. 40, Min. 53, Min. 55 and Min. 104, fragments from a 14th century necrology of Allerheiligen Abbey were used as back flyleaf and pastedown (f. 292, 293).
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This is a meticulous copy of Augustine's De trinitate, written in a single-column; it has an opening page and a page with a decorative initial, as well as several initials with scroll ornamentation of varying heights at the beginning of each book. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps; as with Min. 24 and Min. 40, fragments from a 14th century necrology of All Saints Abbey were used as pastedowns and flyleaves.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
This copy of a collection of authentic and spurious sermons by Augustine, written in a single-column and undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation, is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps; fragments of a 14th century necrology were used as pastedowns.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This manuscript is a copy of a collection of authentic and spurious sermons by Augustine containing Collectio quinquaginta homiliarum as well as a sermon by Haymo of Halberstadt; it is written in a single-column and undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and a clasp as well as a title label on Ir. In the 20th century a narrow fragment of an Irish manuscript, used as a reinforcing strip, was discovered and removed.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This copy of several works by Augustine was written by a single hand in one column; it has a beautiful opening page with a table of contents as well as an initial with scroll ornamentation. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with an inscribed front cover, metal bosses and a clasp, as well as a title label on 1r.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This single-column manuscript contains five partly incomplete texts by Augustine; it consists of two parts that clearly differ from one another, but that have been a single unit since before 1100, as can be seen from the entry in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). While the second part (69 ff.) is undecorated, the first part has an incipit page and an initial with scroll ornamentation. In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with an inscribed front cover, metal bosses and a clasp, as well as a title label on 1r; a fragment from a 12th century missal with neumes was used for the front pastedown.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This single-column copy of five texts by Augustine is undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation; the manuscript is listed in the All Saints Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 19th century this codex received a new binding using the original Romanesque wooden boards.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This single-column manuscript contains, in addition to two works by Augustine, the Allerheiligen Abbey Library's only copy of a work by Alcuin (commentary on Genesis); the manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 as an addendum (Min. 17, f. 306v). The display script in the beginning, the three initials with scroll ornamentation, and the incipit page of the Genesis commentary stylistically suggest a later origin. Particular mention should be made of the original period Romanesque binding; only the labels on the spine are a later addition.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This copy of texts and letters by Augustine is written in a single column and is undecorated except for two initials with scroll ornamentation; the manuscript is listed in the All Saints Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). The period table of contents (1r) underscores the unity of the manuscript, to the writing of which numerous hands contributed. Particular mention should be made of the Romanesque binding, which has been preserved without later alterations.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This manuscript is a copy of Augustine's De Genesi ad literam; it is written in a single-column and undecorated except for one page with a decorative initial. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps. As with Min. 44, a fragment from a 13th century manuscript was used as front pastedown; in addition, a bifolium from Cassiodors Historia ecclesiastica was bound into the front.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
This is a mostly undecorated copy of the second book of Gregory's Homeliae in Ezechielem, written in a single-column. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). Onto the verso of the first leaf and the recto of the last, which perhaps were originally intended as pastedowns, there later were copied documents from the 12th century. In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
This unadorned, single-column copy of Gregory's Dialogues, in which many hands had a share, has numerous gaps as well as later erasures and corrections. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); however, except for an addition to the text from the 12th century (f 58 r/v), it was not written in Schaffhausen. It remains to be determined whether it served as (one of) the models for Min. 48. Signs of wear on the first (f 1r) and last (f 121v) page suggest that the manuscript remained unbound until the 15th century when, like many others, it received a leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This manuscript, listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v), consists of two parts. The first part contains a careful copy of Gregory's Dialogues in a single-column, which is also transmitted in Min. 47; it has a page with a decorative initial (f 1r) and a portrait of the author (f 1v). Especially remarkable are the life of Benedict in Book 2 (f 23r) and the beginnings of Book 3 (38r) and 4 (69r), which exhibit large initials with scroll ornamentation. The binding is Romanesque; it is not clear whether quire V between f 32v and f 33r was missing from the start or whether it was lost during a modern restoration. The second part (from f 104r, quires XV to XVIII) contains a mostly undecorated copy of the life of John Eleymon by Leontios of Neapolis.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This is the first part of a six-volume copy of Gregory's Moralia in Iob (Min. 50-55), containing Books 1-5; it is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). It is written in a single column and is mostly undecorated except for the incipit page (f. 1r) and an initial with scroll ornamentation (f. 1v). On f. 129 sermo by Odo of Cluny. Discolorations and signs of wear on the first (f. 1r) and last (f. 132v) page suggest that the manuscript remained unbound until the 15th century when, like many others, it received a leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps. Two leaves from Min. 110 (2nd half of the 12th century) were used as pastedowns.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This is the fourth part of a six-volume copy of Gregory's Moralia in Iob (Min. 50-55), containing Books 17-22 and designated as IIII. Pars on f. 1r; it is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). It is written in a single column, is clean, and is undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation. In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses, two clasps and a title label (1r). As with Min. 20, Min. 24, Min. 40 and Min. 55, fragments from a 14th century necrology of All Saints Abbey were used as flyleaves (f. 169r-v; the front flyleaf has been lost).
Online Since: 03/22/2017