Contributing to the digitization of ancient Greek manuscripts from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

When the project was launched, the first manuscript to be digitized was Vat.gr. 504, a Byzantine manuscript copied in 1105 and containing many works, notably by Maxim the Confessor as well as other patristic authors (Basile d'Ancire, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom).

This manuscript is particularly interesting from a paleographic point of view, as it dates from the period when calligraphy began to lose influence and take on a more cursive form. The work of the copyist in this manuscript constitutes an example of cursive writing characterized by lengthened lines.

In total, 14 books and more than 3,000 pages have been digitized and published online. The latest manuscripts to have been processed are Vat.gr.2210, Vat. Reginensis Gr.37, Vat. gr. 349, Vat.gr.90 et Vat.gr.167.

Conservation techniques being applied to Vat.gr.167.

More information is available in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana newsletter: