Last week the British Library’s Medieval Manuscripts Blog (which is well worth subscribing to in its own right) published a resource that will be valuable for anyone studying any period of medieval history. They have created a list of all the medieval and early modern manuscripts held at the British Library which have been digitized and are available as facsimiles online (see the post here).
Some of the manuscripts are incredibly important; among the many Bibles, Gospels, Books of Hours and Psalters are some particularly beautiful ones like the Luttrell Psalter (which is famous for its depictions of everyday life as well as it’s odd human-monster figures in the margins), and the Hours of Elisabeth the Queen (which was owned by Cecily Neville, Elisabeth of York and Mary Queen of Scots). There are also Romances in the Arthurian tradition, wills, and letters. The letters of the famous Paston Family (who lived through the Wars of the Roses) can be seen as well.
The entire document is a 94 page PDF!
Students in HIST 395: Later Middle Ages will have the chance to work with a manuscript of their choice during the semester.