On this page, you can learn more about the encyclopedias in our western medieval manuscript collection.
MS 5
MS 5 contains a copy of an encyclopedic text known as Etymologiae sive de universo, written by Hrabanus Maurus (d. 856). This manuscript was produced in England in the twelfth century. MS 5 is notable for its elaborate scheme of decoration, including the impressive initial shown here.
MS 51
MS 51 contains a copy of Alexander Nequam’s De naturis rerum (‘On the Natures of Things’). It is notable for containing an early account of the directional properties of magnets. MS 51 was produced in England at the turn of the thirteenth century.
MS 88
MS 88 is a copy of an encyclopedic text known as Etymologiae sive de universo, written by the Benedictine monk and theologian Hrabanus Maurus (d. 856). This manuscript was produced in England early in the twelfth century, and it was once owned by Chichester cathedral.