All Special Collections

The collection of illuminated manuscripts held in our Special Collections includes three fragments from religious texts including a Book of Hours, Psalter Hours, and a leaf from a Mass for the Dead all dating between 1260 and 1475. Illuminated Manuscripts were produced between 1100 and 1600 most commonly by monasteries. They are hand-written documents or books that feature painted illustrations and decorations and often include gold or silver. They were often used for prayers and liturgical texts, but were later also created for non-religious documents.