More than 300 medieval manuscripts from the Bibliotheca Vossiana now available in open access
The most important group of medieval manuscripts from the Special Collections of the University Libraries of Leiden (UBL), the Codices Vossiani Latini, is now available in open access via the Digital Collections. The 324 Latin manuscripts copied in medieval Europe, along with 48 post-medieval manuscripts, were part of the private library of Isaac Vossius, which was purchased in 1690 by Leiden University.
Bibliotheca Vossiana
Isaac Vossius (1618-1689), classical philologist and collector of manuscripts and books, was the librarian of Queen Christina of Sweden. After Christina’s abdication in 1654, her enormous library was broken up. Vossius was allowed to choose items from the library as compensation for the loss of his own books and manuscripts, which he had brought with him from Amsterdam. These were mixed with the Royal Library (during Vossius’ absence from the court) and could not be found in the chaos resulting from several relocations.
By the time Vossius died, his carefully curated private library contained around 700 manuscripts and almost 4000 printed works. The heirs of Vossius sold the Bibliotheca Vossiana for 33,000 guilders to Leiden University, whereby the Library’s collection – then housed in the former church of the Begijnhof on the Rapenburg – doubled in size. The printed works belonging to Vossius were shelved among the existing books, according to their subject and size. The Codices Vossiani – the manuscripts – were kept together as part of the Western manuscript collection, classified according to language and format.
Fodder for philologists and book historians
On account of the, in excess of 300, medieval Latin manuscripts of Vossius, the name and fame of Leiden University Library spread worldwide. The manuscripts are of great intellectual value, not only for the reconstruction of classical texts but also for historical research into the production and use of early medieval handwritten books. The highlights include various ninth-century manuscripts: the Aratea, of course, with its miniatures of the constellations, which came from the Carolingian court library (VLQ 79), but also the oldest known manuscripts of the pedagogic poem of Lucretius (99-55 BC) – the De rerum natura (VLF 30 and VLQ 94) and of the philosophical works of Cicero (106-43 BC) – such as De natura deorum (VLF 84 and VLF 86). All of the Latin manuscripts of Vossius were described by Dr Karel de Meyïer (1906-1980), as detailed in his catalogue, the Codices Vossiani Latini. This four-part catalogue is available online: Codices in folio (1973), in quarto (1975), in octavo (1977); Index (1984).
Collaboration with Brill
Brill Publishers B.V. and the UBL have a long and rich history of collaboration in every possible area of publication. Brill, the oldest academic press in the Netherlands, published many of the catalogues of the collections of the library, including De Meyïer’s Codices Vossiani Latini. Given their extensive activities in online publishing, Brill was the logical partner in the 2010s for the digitisation and making available of various manuscript collections, including the Codices Vossiani Latini. From 2025 onwards, the Latin manuscripts of Isaac Vossius are available in Digital Collections under a CC-BY Creative Commons licence.
About Digital Collections
The UBL makes digitised and born-digital material available via Digital Collections. The platform facilitates various functionalities, such as full-text searching in printed books, zooming-in on images, and the option to download HD-images oneself. One can also search for particular types of materials, filter search actions, link to the library catalogue, while simultaneously searching different collections. Every collection is also separately accessible via the collection pages. The digitised materials are accompanied by permalinks suitable for referencing on websites and in academic publications. A CC-BY licence applies for many of the materials: the materials can be used by everyone. And the UBL is continuously making new material accessible through Digital Collections. Many of the items can be viewed in the Leiden IIIF Advanced Viewer. To optimise use of the functionalities of Digital Collections, users can view the Digital Collections’ instructional videos.
