The manuscript, which contains among other things a Plenarium in German as well as the treatise “Gegen den Eigenbesitz im Kloster” by Henry of Langenstein, was probably bound towards the end of the fifteenth century at the Basel Charterhouse and kept in the lay brothers' library. All parts of the manuscript were written in the Alemannic linguistic area; part 2 was probably copied in Alsace. The manuscript contains annotations of the charterhouse's barber-surgeon, a lay brother named Melcher, who wrote down, among other things, notes on a planned but never executed cycle of paintings of the Apostles. (stu)

15th century paper manuscript: During his university studies in theology, the Dominican Wernher von Selden near Aarau — and subsequently the prior of the Basel monastery — in 1487/88 transcribed the lectures of two Dominicans on Peter Lombard, including the Lectura super sententiarum libros by Hieronymus Raynerii. (flr)

 A large part of this manuscript was written by the Dominican Heinrich von Rheinfelden (†1433 or later) of Basel during his student days in Vienna in the late 14th century. The codex contains diverse theological writings of early Viennese theologians (the University of Vienna was founded in 1365). Among them are highly regarded authors such as Henry of Langenstein (†1397), as well as authors such as the theologians and university rectors Stefan von Enczensdorf (†1405) or Johannes von Russbach (†1417), of whom no texts are known other than the ones in this manuscript. Heinrich von Rheinfelden himself must have brought the codex to the Dominican monastery in Basel, where it was signed into the library; as part of the holdings of that library, it became part of the University Library Basel after the Reformation. (stu)

The first part of this paper manuscript from the Carthusian Monastery of Basel contains the Tractatus de modo perveniendi ad veram et perfectam dei et proximi dilectionem by the Prior Heinrich Arnoldi (1407-1487) and, in the second part, titled De humilitate, it contains a collection of his minor texts. Both text units are also found in manuscript A X 83, which was written the same year. (flr)

Lecture by Peter Siber about the first two Books of Sentences by Peter Lombard, whose systematic presentation of the whole of theology by means of carefully chosen quotations from Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church has often been commentated. The volume was copied in 1488 by the Dominican Wernher von Selden from Basel during his studies in Cologne. (flr)

The writings of Prior Heinrich Arnoldi (1407-1487) in the first part of the manuscript (the collection De humilitate and the treatise De modo perveniendi) for the most part are the same as those contained in Cod. A X 69. The second part contains the Tractatus de reformatione virium animae by the Dutch theologian Gerardus de Zutphania (1367-1398). This manuscript was written in 1472 by Johannes Gipsmüller (1439-1484) at the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. There must have been a colored woodcut before fol. 1; color residue and a mirror-inverted imprint of the caption are still visible. (flr)

The Psalterium feriatum was written in 1472 by the Carthusian monk Johannes Gipsmüller of Basel. Although there is no note of ownership, it certainly was meant to be used in his monastery. Throughout the Psalter there are hymns, antiphons, etc., many with musical notations. For quickly finding texts in the Liturgy of the Hours, red and white tabs protrude from the front ‬edge. (gam/flr)

In addition to the Rosarium Jesu et Mariae by the Belgian Carthusian Jacobus van Gruitrode, this small-format codex from the Carthusian Monastery of Basel contains letters by two representatives of the Devotio Moderna, Florens Radewijns and Geert Groote, as well as excerpts from the Bible and from commentaries, various prayers, and diverse shorter and longer fragments of varying content. (mue)

Ludwig Moser brought this small-format volume to the Carthusian Monastery of Basel (cf. note of ownership 1r), from where it came to the Basel University Library. It contains the first three of the four books of Thomas à Kempis' De imitatione Christi. This text, which is influenced by the teaching of various mystics, especially Meister Eckhart, offers spiritual people a guide for detaching from the world. It was very well received by Catholics as well as Protestants and is considered one of the most widely read books of Christendom. (mue)

This small-format paper manuscript from the Carthusian Monastery of Basel is mostly by the hand of the librarian Georg Carpentarius, who for the sake of daily spiritual exercises compiled prayers for various occasions, hymns, meditations and other theological texts. Among the identifiable authors are great ones such as Anselm of Canterbury and Bernard of Clairvaux, as well as lesser known names such as Basilius Phrisius. Two colored prints are glued in the covers: St. George with the dragon (front pastedown) and the Mass of St. Gregory (back pastedown). (mue)

This volume, originally from Ludwig Moser's private book collection (cf. note of ownership 2r) came to the Basel University Library as part of the holdings of the library of the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. It contains various theological texts in German, beginning with a version of Wilhelm Textoris' Migrale vel Ars moriendi (Sterbebuch, a book on the art of dying), which Moser himself translated into German. This is followed by Henry Suso's "Büchlein von der Wahrheit”, Thomas Peuntner's "Büchlein von der Liebe Gottes”, and several sermons by Johannes Tauler and Meister Eckhart. (mue)

This obsequiale, written by Prior Jacob Lauber in his own hand, governs the Office of the Dead at the Carthusian Monastery in Basel. The inserted prayers (among them the Lord's Prayer in Latin and in German) as well as the chants with musical notation are situated in a liturgical context. (stu)

This paper manuscript from the Carthusian Monastery of Basel contains ordinaries for priests (among them an address in German to the lay brothers), deacons and subdeacons, instructions for the office of the sacristan, as well as a number of shorter and longer pieces of liturgical music. Among the latter, otherwise all in Latin, there is a German version of the sequence Ave praeclara maris stella (135r-135v) written by Sebastian Brant. This manuscript was written by Thomas Kress, the last Carthusian in Basel (†1564), at the beginning of his monastic career (more precisely: in the third year of his period of profession, cf. 102v). (mue)

This composite manuscript, comprising originally separate parts from the holdings of St. Leonhard Monastery in Basel, contains, among others, texts by Hugh of Saint Victor and Thomas à Kempis. Among the volume's shorter pieces are two German texts (“Fünf Mittel gegen die Ungeduld” and “Zwölf Zeichen der Minne”), as well as three small glossaries: one Hebrew-Latin, one Greek-Latin and one Latin-German. The intact thorn-clasp on the coeval binding is also noteworthy. (mue)

Commentary on the Sentences by the Dominican theologian Robertus Holcot (ca. 1290-1349), who critically discusses the theological problems raised by Lombard. Robertus Holcot gave lectures on biblical theory at Oxford and was held in high esteem by his contemporaries. This volume, originally a catenatus from the Dominican monastery in Basel, was created between 1429 and 1431. (flr)

This paper manuscript, transferred from the Basel Charterhouse to the University Library in 1590 contains (from f. 15r) a complete annual cycle of sermons, which begin with a biblical passage (the pericope) as a theme, which first has an extensive, literal explanation, and then follows, in a second ‘spiritual' part, with a heavily Neoplatonic, mystical-contemplative reading. The Latin text, more suitable for advanced self-study, occasionally contains interspersed German: translations of specific terms, probably for further use in popular sermons. (mag)

This manuscript, written mostly in German, consists of various parts, all of which probably date from the same time, the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th century. This codex belonged to the library of the lay brothers of the Carthusian monastery in Basel and may have been written, at least in part, in this same monastery. Among the texts in this devotional book are the exemplum of the pious [female] miller, the “Guten-Morgen-Exempel” often attributed to Meister Eckhart, a recounting of the history of the Carthusian order, as well as various sermons, prayers, sayings and exempla. (stu)

This German devotional book was written by a single hand; it is from the library of the lay brothers of the Carthusian Monastery in Basel. In addition to the Office of the Virgin, which is at the beginning and takes up about half of the manuscript, this codex also preserves various prayers and other devotional texts. (stu)

This manuscript contains, among others, prayers by Johannes von Indersdorf for Duke William III of Bavaria, the seven Penitential Psalms, as well as texts on the passion and the deposition of Christ. The major part of the prayer book was written in the years 1534 and 1540, more prayers filled in blank sections until the 1560s. The exact provenance of the manuscript is unknown, but the written language as well as the textual tradition suggest the East Upper German-speaking area (the region of Bavaria/Austria). The prayer book receives its name from Elisabeth Blumin, deceased 23 May 1550, who is mentioned at the end, and who may have been the first owner of this manuscript. (stu)

This small-format codex probably is from the Carthusian monastery of Mainz, from where it came to the Carthusian monastery of Basel, where numerous ownership notes were added. It contains a great variety of excerpts from religious, historical and other literature from the Middle Ages and antiquity. The length of the texts also varies considerably: in addition to short excerpts and two- or four-line verses about various things such as popes or bees, there are longer pieces such as Hugh of Fouilloy's De rota verae et falsae religionis or the first half of Paradisus Animae by Pseudo-Albertus Magnus. (mue)