The Polonsky Foundation Greek Manuscripts Project

The Polonsky Foundation Greek Manuscripts Project

Since 2019 Cambridge University Library and Heidelberg University Library have been collaborating in a major project to digitise treasured medieval manuscripts. Funded by the Polonsky Foundation, we are digitising, cataloguing and conserving more than 800 medieval and early modern Greek manuscripts.

As they journey from physical to digital, we are celebrating their life stories. 

 Explore their lives with us...

 

Heidelberg University Digitised Manuscripts

Bibliotheca Palatina digital, codices palatini graeci

Cambridge University Digital Library

Cambridge Digital Library Logo

The Polonsky Foundation

the Polonsky foundation

Find out more about the project

Our medieval Greek manuscripts hold a wealth of knowledge, not just in their texts but in the connections they have made through their life journeys. One travelled from Constantinople to England over 800 years ago; others were used in churches as the wax dripped on their pages shows. Some survived war and were taken as booty; others were written by scribes in exile. 

During the project, our conservation team surveyed and prepared over 400 manuscripts for digitisation. This gave the team an opportunity to learn about how books were bound in the past while conserving them with a mix of ancient and modern methods.

Tell us what you think about our stories!

Reach out on Twitter @theULSpecColl, using the #PolonskyGreek hashtag.

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