[Translate to English:] Abbildung Handschrift

Manuscripts

Collection supervisor

About the collection

With around 10 000 book manuscripts, the University Library Basel owns a very important and large manuscript collection. The collection of medieval codices, with around 1750 volumes, is the most extensive collection in Switzerland and, as with the collection from the Basel monasteries and the old university, focuses on the Late Middle Ages. In addition, there are modern manuscripts from the era of humanism right up to the 21^st century. Next to the prominent Latin manuscripts there are also many Greek, German and Oriental manuscripts, as well as a collection in Hebrew and some volumes in other languages. The collection of around 70 papyri and medieval manuscript fragments is remarkable and of local, national and international importance.

Search tips

The heterogeneous manuscript holdings are accessible via a large number of different catalogues.

In the long term, all manuscripts should be incorporated in the HAN-catalogue where also all further descriptions and academic writings concerning the individual manuscripts will be recorded.

Ideally, you can start your search in the HAN-catalogue (at the moment still incomplete) and thereafter consult further relevant searching aids.

Both the printed as well as the unprinted finding aids are available in the Special reading room. Please consult the person in charge at the Special reading room Special reading room.

Search the HAN-catalogue

Additional finding aids

Besides HAN, there is a diverse range of finding aids for the manuscripts at the University Library Basel.

This includes, in particular, card indices:

relating to medieval manuscripts (names, titles, matter, objects, incipits, non-Latin texts)
relating to modern manuscripts
relating to letters
relating to university registries

Furthermore, there are publications, unprinted directories and card indices on individual shelves, or rather shelving areas:

Call number	Section	Catalogue	Zugang
A	I-XI	Martin Steinmann: Die Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel. Register zu den Abteilungen A I-A XI und O. Publikationen der Universitätsbibliothek Basel 4. Basel 1982	Standort
B		Die mittelalterlichen Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel, beschreibendes Verzeichnis. Abteilung B, theologische Pergamenthandschriften, Band 3: Register, auf Grund der Vorarbeiten von Gustav Meyer hergestellt von Max Burckhardt und Martin Steinmann. Basel 1975	Standort
C	I-VI	Martin Steinmann: Die Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel. Register zu den Abteilungen C I-C VI, D-F sowie zu weiteren mittelalterlichen Handschriften und Fragmenten. Basel 1998	Standort
	VIa	Zettelkatalog His (ungedruckt)	zugänglich im Sonderlesesaal
D - F		Martin Steinmann: Die Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel. Register zu den Abteilungen C I-C VI, D-F sowie zu weiteren mittelalterlichen Handschriften und Fragmenten. Basel 1998	Standort
G		(= Briefsammlungen)	Briefe Autographen
H	I-V	Register zum Inventar der Abteilung H (ungedruckt)	PDF
L	I	Lambertiana: I. Sachregister, II. Namenregister, III. Orts- und Länderverzeichnis (Zettelkatalog, ungedruckt)	zugänglich im Sonderlesesaal
M	I-III	Zettelkatalog Meier-Spiess (ungedruckt)	zugänglich im Sonderlesesaal
	IV-VI	Zettelkatalog Djeddikar (ungedruckt)	zugänglich im Sonderlesesaal
N		Martin Steinmann: Die Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel. Register zu den Abteilungen C I-C VI, D-F sowie zu weiteren mittelalterlichen Handschriften und Fragmenten. Basel 1998	Standort
O		Martin Steinmann: Die Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek Basel. Register zu den Abteilungen A I-A XI und O. Publikationen der Universitätsbibliothek Basel 4. Basel 1982	Standort
AA		Register zum Inventar der Abteilungen AA, A lambda und AG (ungedruckt)	PDF
A lambda		Register zum Inventar der Abteilungen AA, A lambda und AG (ungedruckt)	PDF
AG		Register zum Inventar der Abteilungen AA, A lambda und AG (ungedruckt)	PDF
Falk Mscr		Rudolf Bernoulli: Register zu den Handschriften der Falkeisen-Bibliothek, 1932 (ungedruckt)	PDF
KiAr Mscr		Rudolf Bernoulli: Register zu den Handschriften des Kirchenarchivs, 1933 (ungedruckt)	PDF
VB Mscr		Register zu den Handschriften der Vaterländischen Bibliothek (ungedruckt)	PDF
Miscellanbände		Zettelkatalog (ungedruckt)	zugänglich im Sonderlesesaal

Literature on individual manuscripts is, as far as the University Library is aware, registered in HAN. Further information on manuscripts which are not yet registered in HAN can be found in our internal databases. We are happy to provide you with more information.

An overview of the collection and its indexing range:
Martin Steinmann: the manuscripts at the University Library Basel. Overview of the collections and their indexing. Publications at the University Library Basel, Nr. 1. 2. Updated edition Basel, 1987. Location

Digital collection

The manuscripts at the University Library Basel which have been digitised are accessible on two platforms:

The majority of the medieval manuscripts can be found on e-codices.
Modern manuscripts can mainly be found on e-manuscripta.

https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/de/searchresult/list/one/ubb/A-II-0001 [Translate to English:] Abbildung Handschrift

Medieval manuscripts

With around 1750 books and more than 500 fragment call numbers, the University Library Basel owns the largest collection of medieval manuscripts in Switzerland. The majority of the collection is in Latin, but there are also many in Greek and German as well as several in Hebrew and oriental languages. Many manuscripts are late medieval and come from pre-Reformation libraries at Basel monasteries. Important manuscripts have also come to the University Library from the Amerbach-Kabinett and Museum Faesch collections.

https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/de/searchresult/list/one/ubb/AN-II-0020 [Translate to English:] Abbildung Handschrift

Modern manuscripts

The collection of more than 8000 modern manuscript volumes arose from the time between the 16^th and 21^st centuries and come from many different provenances. They came into our possession from many libraries and archives, from bequests, individual donations and acquisitions. The first important collection came from the Amerbach-Kabinett, which was bought by the City Council and University of Basel in 1661.

https://aleph.unibas.ch/F/?local_base=DSV05&con_lng=GER&func=find-b&find_code=SYS&request=000225859 [Translate to English:] Abbildung Handschrift

Papyri

The University Library Basel owns a collection of around 70 papyrus fragments in Greek, Latin, Coptic, Hieratic and Persian. Most of the collection is made up of everyday documents such as contracts and letters, with the majority bought for the university library in 1899, financed by the “Freiwilliger Museumsverein der Stadt Basel”.

https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/de/list/one/ubb/M-V-0005 [Translate to English:] Abbildung Handschrift

Oriental manuscripts

With around 800 manuscripts, the oriental collection at the University Library Basel is the largest in Switzerland. It comprises mostly Arabic, modern Persian, and Osman-Turkish manuscripts, although manuscripts in other languages (e.g. Syrian) are also represented. The collection started with the “Basler Koran” from 1242 which arrived during the time of the Basel Council from Constantinople to Basel and was later consulted by theologian and orientalist Theodor Bibliander for the printing of his Latin edition of the “Koran” (1543). The University Library Basel owes thanks for the largest part of its Orientalia to Rudolf Tschudi (1884-1960), Professor for Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Basel from 1922-1949.

You can get copies of the manuscripts as PDF or TIFF files by using EOD.

All prints can be ordered via the catalogue swissbib Basel Bern or the IDS Basel Bern catalogue interface. After the usual delivery time, the items are ready to consult in the Special reading room.

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