Best Vellum
Codex Regius, also called Konungsbók, is an Icelandic vellum manuscript written in the 13th century and preserved at the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavík. It is the principal manuscript source for the collection conventionally known as the Poetic Edda, containing mythological and heroic poems i...
The Codex Sinaiticus is a late-antique vellum manuscript containing portions of the Greek Old and New Testaments. Discovered in Egypt, it represents one of the oldest known complete versions of the Bible. Its significance lies in providing crucial textual evidence for biblical scholarship and histor...
The Codex Vaticanus is a remarkably well-preserved late-antique Greek manuscript of the Bible. Dating from the fourth century, it contains portions of both the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament and the New Testament Gospels. Its exceptional condition offers invaluable insights for biblical...
The Blue Quran is a dispersed Quran manuscript written in gold Kufic script on parchment dyed a deep blue, with silver used for verse markers. It is generally dated to the ninth or tenth century, although its precise place of production remains debated, with North Africa often proposed. Surviving fo...
Flateyjarbók, catalogued as GKS 1005 fol., is a large Icelandic vellum manuscript compiled between 1387 and 1394. Its Old Norse texts include sagas of Norwegian kings, shorter narratives, poetry, genealogical material, and accounts connected with voyages to Vinland. Preserved in Reykjavik by the Árn...
The Hengwrt Chaucer is an early manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, copied around the beginning of the 15th century. It is commonly attributed to the scribe Adam Pinkhurst and is valued because its text is early and comparatively free from later editorial rearrangement. The manuscript...
The Codex Alexandrinus is a late-antique vellum manuscript containing the complete Greek Old Testament and large portions of the New Testament. Dating from approximately the 5th century, it’s one of the oldest extant copies of the Bible. Its significance lies in providing valuable insight into textu...
The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a significant medieval map created circa 1300 in England. Constructed on vellum, it presents a representation of the world from a Judeo-Christian perspective. This detailed cartographic relic offers valuable insight into medieval beliefs and geographical knowledge. It’s p...
Giovanni Battista Agnese was an influential cartographer of the 16th century who produced some of the most highly regarded portolan atlases of his era. Born in Genoa, he established a thriving workshop in Venice where he compiled and illuminated detailed manuscript nautical charts. His atlases, typi...
The Cathach of Columba is an early Irish psalter containing a surviving portion of the Latin text of the Psalms, traditionally said to have been copied by Saint Columba. Usually dated to the late 6th or early 7th century, it is among the oldest surviving manuscripts from Ireland and an important exa...
AM 468 4to is a 14th-century Icelandic vellum manuscript preserving Njáls saga, one of the major medieval Icelandic family sagas. The narrative concerns interlocking feuds, legal disputes, marriages, killings, and reconciliations centered on Njáll Þorgeirsson and Gunnar Hámundarson. The manuscript b...
The Voynich Manuscript is an illustrated codex written on vellum in an unidentified script that has resisted widely accepted decipherment. Radiocarbon analysis dates its parchment to the early fifteenth century, and its pages contain botanical, astronomical, biological, cosmological, pharmaceutical,...
Codex Upsaliensis, catalogued as DG 11 at Uppsala University Library, is a 14th-century Icelandic manuscript containing a version of Snorri Sturluson's Edda. It is one of the principal medieval witnesses to the work, alongside the Codex Regius, Codex Wormianus, and Codex Trajectinus. Its arrangement...
Codex Wormianus, commonly identified by the shelf mark AM 242 fol., is a fourteenth-century Icelandic vellum manuscript preserved in the Arnamagnæan Collection in Copenhagen. It is one of the principal medieval witnesses to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. The codex is especially important because it...
The Durham Gospels is an incomplete illuminated Gospel book produced in Northumbria during the late seventh century and now held by Durham Cathedral Library. It is associated with the early Insular manuscript tradition and is often linked stylistically to the monastic culture of Lindisfarne. Survivi...
The Askew Codex is a Coptic manuscript, generally dated to late antiquity, that preserves the text commonly known as Pistis Sophia. Written on parchment and later acquired by the physician and collector Anthony Askew, it is now held by the British Library. The codex records an extended dialogue in w...
An early manuscript of Boccaccio's Decameron associated with the Hengwrt collection at the National Library of Wales, significant among the earliest surviving copies of the text.
The St. Gall Gospel Book is a significant Carolingian manuscript that showcases the artistic fusion of various cultures in the 9th century. It features intricate decorations and high-quality vellum work, reflecting the cultural importance of the Abbey of Saint Gall. Its preservation provides a windo...
The Trier Gospels is an early medieval manuscript created around 800 AD. Produced by Irish and Anglo-Saxon artists working in continental Europe, it represents a significant example of Insular art. The book contains Gospel illustrations, primarily elaborate initial letters and portraits of the Evang...
