Treasure House

August 2, 2012 6:19 AM

The beautiful library of the Abbey of St. Gall in Switzerland contains over 2000 manuscripts, including hundreds from the Abbey's glory days of the 9th and 10th centuries. The library is open to the public and to scholars, and the Codices Electronici Sangallenses project is making selected codices - 436 so far - available online.
posted by Catch (7 comments total)

Some 3D models of the Plan of St. Gall.

(cue Dr. Tongue music)
posted by Egg Shen at 6:35 AM on August 2, 2012

Some 3D models ...

How can we be expected to teach monks to learn how to read... if they can't even fit inside the building?!
posted by Catch at 6:39 AM on August 2, 2012 [5 favorites]

Fascinating—thank you. It says here that the Codices Electronici Sangallenses project now ‘forms one component of a larger successor project, e-codices – Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland,’ which currently offers a total of 902 manuscripts (including the 436 from St. Gallen).
posted by misteraitch at 6:54 AM on August 2, 2012

Number 146 is so sweet. Somebody has drawn little hands everywhere to show where a new paragraph begins.
posted by Jehan at 7:32 AM on August 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Ah, good old Sg. (the abbreviation used in Thurneysen's Grammar of Old Irish)! Some of the earliest sources for Old Irish are marginalia from St. Gall manuscripts. Thanks for the post, it takes me back to (painful but educational) grad school days.
posted by languagehat at 8:11 AM on August 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks for sharing. I've some fond fond memories from St Gallen; been there ten years back, to the library there, even. Lovely to read about it once again.
posted by the cydonian at 8:29 AM on August 2, 2012

OK, a) this is really neat and b) I am glad you gave us an introduction, so it isn't unmitigated Gall.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:08 AM on August 2, 2012 [1 favorite]