Facsimile Editions: World Famous Manuscripts

A UNESCO World Heritage document and arguably the most famous manuscript in the world: the mystical masterpiece of insular illumination

Monastery of Iona (United Kingdom) — Ca. 800

Our picture of the Middle Ages, created by the Limbourg brothers for the Duke of Berry: one of the most beautiful, valuable, and famous manuscripts in the world

Paris and/or Bourges (France) — 1410–1416 and 1485–1489

The famous great song manuscript from Heidelberg: a unique treasure of German literature, medieval history, and Gothic book illumination

Zurich/Lake Constance area (Zwitzerland) — After 1310 until ca. 1340

Part of the Imperial Insignia, written in gold ink on purple parchment: each German emperor swore his oath with his hand on this book

Court School of Charlemagne, Aachen (Germany) — Shortly before 800

A milestone of medicine written 1500 years ago in Byzantium: the largest and most influential work on herbal medicine in history

Istanbul (Turkey) — Ca. 512

From King Louis the Saint into the possession of J. P. Morgan in New York via the Shah of Persia: one of the most beautifully illuminated and famous manuscripts of the Middle Ages

Paris (France) — Ca. 1250

De arte venandi cum avibus, one of the most famous manuscripts of the Middle Ages: the masterpiece of falconry, written by the Staufer Emperor Frederick II

Rotunda or Naples (Italy) — Ca. 1258–1266

The oldest manuscript from the famous monastery of Reichenau and a UNESCO World Heritage Document today: a splendid Ottonian evangeliary in gold and silver commissioned by Archbishop Gero of Cologne

Monastery of Reichenau (Germany) — ca. 696

Auctioned for 32.5 million D-marks, it was the most expensive work of art in the world for a long time: an opulently illuminated masterpiece of the German Romanesque period, created for Duke Henry the Lion, the great rival of Emperor Barbarossa

Helmarshausen (Germany) — Around 1175–1188

Secret teachings, a work of extraterrestrials, or just an elaborate joke: undoubtedly the most mysterious and puzzling manuscript in the history of book illumination

France, Italy or Spain — End of 15th century or during the 16th century

Bought at auction by Bill Gates in 1994 for over $30 million: Leonardo da Vinci's fascinating studies of nature, named after their former owner Armand Hammer

Italy — 1508–1510

Possibly the greatest masterpiece from Reichenau Monastery, illuminated in gold and found today on the UNESCO World Heritage list: the only preserved apocalypse from the Ottonian period

Monastery of Reichenau (Germany) — Around 1000–1020

The Bedford Master's magnum opus with splendid full-page miniatures and more than 1,250 medallions: one of the richest and most beautiful illuminated manuscripts of all time

Paris (France) — Written 1410–1415, illuminated 1415–1430

One of the most important and beautiful manuscripts in Spain: the masterfully illuminated luxury Hebrew Bible of Moses Ibn Zaraba

La Coruña (Spain) — 1476

Made on behalf of Theophanus, adorned with a breathtakingly splendor cover, written entirely in gold: arguably the most magnificent and beautiful manuscript ever

Echternach Abbey (Luxembourg) — 1020–1050

Created at the famous court of King Wenceslas IV in Prague: the "Constitution" of the Middle Ages, magnificently illuminated and richly decorated with gold

Prague (Czech Republic) — 1400

The last and at the same time largest manuscript of the famous Spanish Beatus tradition: over 100 Gothic miniatures, some of them double-pages, created for the daughter of King Alfonso III of Castile

Las Huelgas Monastery, Burgos (Spain) — 1220