I noticed in the logs of who has visited this site that one person found me by doing a Google search for “what was written in medieval manuscripts.” This is actually a good question: it’s the kind of obvious question that a lot of people never think to ask. So I’ll answer the question.

The short answer is: pretty much everything. After all, manuscripts were the only books they had in the Middle Ages. But of course, that’s oversimplifying things. So here’s a list of some of the types of texts that are commonly found in medieval manuscripts:

• Devotional Texts – These are some of the most common. By devotional texts, I mean psalms, prayers, instructional treatises, biographies of saints, and meditations. They would have been read by clergy and laypeople alike.
• Other Religious Texts – There were a lot more religious texts that were used more specifically by the clergy, such as collections of sermons, theological treatises, liturgy, explanations of Church doctrine, commentaries on religious texts, etc.
• Literature – This is a huge category, and includes prose, poetry, and plays in Latin and the vernacular languages. Some of the devotional and religious texts are also quite literary, especially the biographies of saints. Literature also would have included epics, and works by famous medieval authors like Dante and Chaucer.
• Law – It wasn’t until the late Middle Ages that clear law codes were written down (and even those were often more theoretical than real), but lawyers wrote a lot of treatises about law and the theory behind law. They also wrote down examples of legal proceedings that could serve as good precedents for future law cases.
• Philosophy and Scholastic Texts – Medieval philosophers were busy fellows, and they wrote a lot of treatises and commentaries. Everyone who went to school had to study Aristotle, so his texts were copied a lot.
• History – Manuscripts often contained historical texts: histories of the world, of a country, of a monastery or church, of a family – lots of historical texts were written. Some are simple little diary-entry type of documents that don’t really have a narrative, while others are well-constructed and well-researched narratives. Sometimes, legal documents would be included with histories, especially in monastic histories – they would include copies of all of the deeds of donations that were given to them, so that the growth of their estates was a part of their history.
• Records – Manuscripts often contain financial and legal records. The most famous example is the Domesday Book, which is a giant survey of all the land in England, what assets it has, and who owns it. But there are lots of smaller similar surveys: lords would keep regular records of their estates and what they produce. Legal cases were also often recorded in manuscripts. Guilds kept records of their activities in manuscripts.

That is a broad summary of the kinds of texts that can commonly be found in medieval manuscripts. It was very common for manuscripts to contain a wide variety of texts – they often didn’t put just religious texts or historical texts or financial records in different books, but mixed them all in a single book. I’m sure I have forgotten some kind of text here, but hopefully this gives a broad answer to the question.

One of the largest collections of images of medieval manuscripts can be found at the Digital Scriptorium. This is a collaborative project among dozens of libraries, most of them at colleges and universities. You won’t find complete digitized manuscripts here, but highlights from various books. Most of the libraries that have contributed images have fairly small collections, but some, such as Columbia University, have some of the best collections of medieval manuscripts in the country. All of the contributing libraries are in the United States: this makes for an interesting collection, because it means that all of the manuscripts have been imported – the vast majority of them were created before Europeans had even discovered North America.

You will find a really wide array of manuscripts on the Digital Scriptorium, which is one of the things I really like about it – you’ll find everything from elaborate and opulent manuscripts owned by the nobility to everyday, run-of-the-mill books that would have been used by poor students or lower gentry. To get a broad idea of the range of manuscripts that were made in the Middle Ages, this is a great place to go and browse.

The Irish Script on Screen is a great resource and inspiration for me. It is a collection of images of manuscripts written in the Insular minuscule script, which is one of my favorite scripts – it’s the one I use most often in my art. It’s a delightfully quirky script, and is entirely unique to the British Isles. The script was first developed towards the end of the 6th century, when the Romans brought Christianity and Latin to Ireland and Great Britain. By the 10th century the script had fallen out of favor in England, Scotland, and Wales, but the Irish continued to use this script into the 17th century, as you will see if you browse the images in The Irish Script on Screen.

Manuscripts written in Insular minuscule are often decorated with Celtic knots and fantastical creatures, but many of them are quite plain. I enjoy the plain ones just as much as the elaborately decorated ones – even without any ornamentation, they have an amazing grace and beauty.

In my calligraphy, I simplify the Insular minuscule script. The form of it used in the Middle Ages is rather difficult for modern eyes to read (“g” and “r” are especially strange-looking), so I have done my best to simplify it for modern eyes, while retaining the original quirkiness of the medieval script.

I’ve mentioned that I’m a graduate student, so I probably ought to tell you a bit more about my research.

I’m working on a PhD in medieval history at Fordham University in New York City, although I’m done with my coursework so I live in Seattle. My primary areas of research are British history, the fourteenth century, medieval manuscripts, social history, women and family, and lay spirituality.

I’m writing my dissertation now, a seemly endless process. It’s entitled “The Manuscript Context of Medieval Welsh Prophecies.” Welsh literature is full of prophecies, usually political, which predict that a hero like King Arthur will come and unite the Welsh against the English, kick the English out of the British Isles, and take over Britain. I’m examining the manuscripts in which these prophecies were written, trying to get an idea of why people wrote them down, what they found interesting in them, and what they thought about them. Welsh history is challenging because we really don’t have many sources, so you have to make really creative use of sources. There are 19 manuscripts written in Wales between 1200 and 1500 that contain prophecies, so I’m looking at the texts alongside the prophecies, any markings in the margins, and that sort of thing. A lot of the prophecies aren’t available in modern editions, so I’m also transcribing them – it means I spend a lot of time staring at my microfilm machine.

In a later post, I’ll put up some images of the manuscripts I’m working with. If you have any questions about the Middle Ages, don’t hesitate to ask me!

The Cambridge Illuminations Virtual Exhibition is another of my favorite websites about medieval manuscripts. It is based on an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in 2005. The website has lots of wonderful images of some exceptionally pretty manuscripts. You can zoom in to get a really good look at the images.

The website also has a nifty interactive feature called “Making Art: Medieval Manscripts” that takes you step-by-step through the process of making manuscripts. It doesn’t really tell you anything that the Medieval Manuscript Manual, which I blogged about recently, doesn’t tell you, but it is a little more flashy and interactive.

I hope you can take some time to browse this lovely online exhibition!