Collection items

Selected

Creator

Date

Format

Language

Held by

Showing 49 results

  • A page from a 14th-century copy of the New Testament in Greek, featuring the Gospel of St John, with an elaborate decorated headpiece in red ink.

    14th-century Greek New Testament

    Manuscript

    Most Greek manuscripts of the Bible tend only to include a small sub-section of biblical books, for instance, the four G...

  • A 2nd-century wax tablet featuring a writing exercise in Ancient Greek.

    2,000-year-old homework book

    Writing tablet

    These two wax tablets, once bound together with string, are pages of a Greek homework book from around 2,000 years ago. ...

  • A page from a 12th-century manuscript of the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles, featuring a scribal colophon and mathematical calculations in Arabic numerals at the bottom of the page.

    Acts and Epistles

    Manuscript

    Copied by a certain Andreas Olenes between 1108-1111, this manuscript preserves the second part of the New Testament fro...

  • A page from a 13th-century collection of Aristotle's works, featuring marginal glosses and a historiated initial depicting the burning of books before a friar and a seated king.

    Aristotle in Latin

    Manuscript

    This 13th-century manuscript contains Gerard of Cremona's (c. 1114-87) translations of Aristotelian works on natural phi...

  • The opening page of a 14th-century collection of monastic texts copied by Matthew, Metropolitan of Ephesus, featuring a decorated headpiece and the title in red.

    Ascetical works by Matthew of Ephesos

    Manuscript

    Matthew of Ephesus (also known as Manuel Gabalas) was a cleric and scholar in the turbulent world of 14th-century Byzant...

  • A full-page portrait of the Evangelist St Luke, from the Askew Gospel-book.

    Askew Gospel Book

    Manuscript

    This 12th-century Gospel book (now divided into two volumes) was copied by the monk Gregory. A note at the end of the se...

  • A page from a 16th-century manuscript of Athenaeus' Deipnosophistae, featuring an elaborate decorated initial and headpiece.

    Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae

    Manuscript

    The 3rd-century CE author Athenaeus is known today for his long work, the Deipnosophistae (‘Dinner Sophists’). This work...

  • A page from a Carolingian Greek Grammar, featuring parallel columns of Latin and Greek words.

    Carolingian Greek Grammar

    Manuscript

    A range of different resources were used by Latin scholars in the 8th and 9th centuries to learn Greek. Examples of some...

  • A charred fragment of a 1st-century scroll from Herculaneum.

    Charred scroll fragments from Herculaneum

    Manuscript

    These seven fragments are what remain of a complete scroll of the 1st century BCE containing a portion of a work by the ...

  • A page from a 13th-century collection of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, featuring a decorated headpiece and an epigram in gold ink.

    Collected works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

    Manuscript

    Collected works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

  • A text page from a 16th-century volume of complimentary verses to Edward VI, written in Latin and Greek by the pupils of Winchester College.

    Complimentary verses to Edward VI

    Manuscript

    In 1552, the young king Edward VI was passing through Hampshire. The students of Winchester College wrote complimentary...

  • A text page from a 16th-century volume of complimentary verses in Greek and Latin, written for Elizabeth I by members of St Paul’s School.

    Complimentary verses to Elizabeth I

    Manuscript

    Written around 1573, this volume of complimentary verses dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I was compiled by the boys and the...

  • A 1st-century papyrus roll, featuring the text of Aristotle's work On The Constitution of Athens, written in Ancient Greek.

    Constitution of the Athenians

    Papyrus

    The school of the philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) researched and recorded the constitutions of 158 ancient Greek cit...

  • A fire-damaged page from the Cotton Genesis, featuring a large illumination depicting Abraham meeting two angels.

    Cotton Genesis

    Manuscript

    The Cotton Genesis is one of the great treasures of the British Library. Created probably in Egypt in the 5th or 6th cen...

  • A page from the Dawes Illuminated Gospel-book, featuring the end of the Gospel of St Matthew with the colophon written in large cursive Greek letters.

    Dawes Illuminated Gospel-book

    Manuscript

    Created in the early 14th century, probably on Cyprus, this manuscript of the Gospels contains illuminations of the four...