Discovering Sacred Texts

10th-century Qur’an

Manuscript Created date: 900–1000

Probably copied in Egypt, this 10th-century Qur’an is written in Eastern kufic script on vellum. The manuscript The desi...

11th-century Qur'an from Iraq or Persia

Manuscript Created date: 11th century

This elegant, detailed Qur’an is one of the earliest dated examples of naskhi script. What is special this script? This...

13th-century English Book of Hours

Manuscript Created date: Late 13th century

An early Book of Hours from England. Popular in the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, Books of Hours were pra...

14th-century Mamluk Qur’an

Manuscript Created date: 1300–1399

This 14th-century Qur’an from Egypt. The manuscript This Qur’an is written in muhaqqaq script, with ornamental chapter ...

14th-century pilgrim's travel guide

Manuscript Created date: first half of the 14th century

This is a 700-year-old traveller’s guidebook: a practical manual for pilgrims walking St James’s Way to Santiago de Comp...

14th-century Wycliffite Bible

Manuscript Created date: 1375–1425

This is a manuscript copy of the ‘Wycliffite Bible’ – the first complete copy of the Bible in the English language. Why...

15th-century Wycliffite Bible

Manuscript, Illuminated manuscript Created date: Early 15th century

A manuscript containing the Later Version of the Middle English translation of the Bible produced by followers of the re...

17th-century Chinese Qur’an

Manuscript Created date: 17th century

This 17th-century Chinese Qur’an shows how Islamic styles of calligraphy and illumination were combined with local style...

17th-century depiction of the Holy Shrine of Mecca

Illumination Created date: 1500–1699

The Haram at Mecca with the Kaʻbah in the centre, from a manuscript of Futūḥ al-Ḥaramayn, a poetical description of the...

A 17th century textbook on comparative religion

Manuscript Created date: 17th century

What is the work about? This important 17th-century encyclopaedia, the Dabistān-i Maz̲āhib (‘School of Religions’) can b...

A 17th-century Ashkenaz Torah Scroll

Manuscript, Scroll Created date: 17th century

A 17th-century Ashkenaz Torah Scroll. What is the Torah Scroll? The Torah Scroll is the holiest object in Judaism. It i...

A Buddhist scroll with illustrated cover

Manuscript, Scroll Created date: 943 CE

This very long scroll was copied in the mid-10th century for a Buddhist patron, who requested long life for himself and...

A Chinese-Tibetan manuscript of the Lankavatara Su...

Manuscript, Concertina Created date: 800–850

This concertina manuscript contains a Chinese commentary on the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, with the text of the sūtra also writt...

A collection of Shaker hymns

Book

This is the first published collection of Shaker hymns, written and collated to convey the Shaker religious philosophy t...

A guide book for pilgrims, including a 17th-centur...

Manuscript Created date: 17th century

A 17th-century copy of the Futūḥ al-Ḥaramayn, a poetical description of the holy shrines of Mecca and Medina and the rit...