Use this website to view digitised copies of manuscripts and archives in the British Library’s collections,
with descriptions of their contents.
Explore the Library's latest major acquisition, the
St Cuthbert Gospel.
Some other highlights include the Harley Golden Gospels,
Beowulf,
the Silos Apocalypse,
Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebook,
the Petit Livre d’Amour and the
Golf Book.
To consult the British Library’s main catalogue of manuscript material visit
Search our Catalogue Archives and Manuscripts. Selected images of illuminated manuscripts can be found in our
Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.
The content in the Digitised Manuscripts viewer is intended for viewing for research and study purposes.
For any other use please see the British Library website’s terms of use, which can be found
here.
Over 600 Greek manuscripts have been digitised with the generous support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Almost 500 more will be added during the third phase of the Greek manuscripts digitisation project, funded generously
by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the A. G. Leventis Foundation, Sam Fogg, the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation and the
Thriplow Charitable Trust.
The Royal Manuscripts and Botany in British India projects have been funded by the Arts and Humanities
Research Council as a part of its Digital Transformations in Arts and Humanities Theme and contributes to a package
of measures aimed at developing innovative approaches to archiving, accessing and using data for research in the
arts and humanities supported as a part of the additional investment to enhance the national e.infrastructure
for research announced by the Government in October 2011.
Over fifty Thai manuscripts and the Chakrabongse Archive of Royal Letters have been digitised with the generous
support of the Royal Thai Government, in celebration of the occasion of the eightieth birthday anniversary of His
Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on 5 December 2007.
Malay manuscripts, early maps of Singapore and selected papers of Thomas Stamford Raffles are being digitised in
collaboration with the National Library Board of Singapore through the generous support of William and Judith
Bollinger.
Persian manuscripts are being digitised with the support of the Iran Heritage Foundation, Bahari Foundation, Roshan
Cultural Heritage Institute, Friends of the British Library, Soudavar Memorial Foundation and Barakat Trust.
The Zweig Collection of music manuscripts was digitised with the support of the Derek Butler Trust.
The British Library’s Hebrew manuscripts collection is one of the finest and most important in the world. The
collection is a vivid testimony of the creativity and intense scribal activities of Eastern and Western Jewish
communities for over 1,000 years. Thanks to a major grant from the Polonsky Foundation and support from funders
including the American Trust for the British Library, the Ruth and Jack Lunzer Charitable Trust, the Edith and
Ferdinand Porjes Charitable Trust, the Shoresh Charitable Trust, the Maurice Wohl Charitable Trust, and an anonymous
funder, we are undertaking a major project to conserve, catalogue and digitise 1,250 manuscripts from the collection.
