Cambridge Library Releases Digitization Project (Photo)

Ahmed Yasser

By: Ahmed Yasser

CAIRO, Apr.3. (SEE)- Cambridge University Library, 12 Cambridge colleges, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Heidelberg University Library and the Vatican Library announced on March 28, a major project as part of a two year £1.6m project, funded by the Polonsky Foundation to digitise more than 800 medieval manuscripts.

15th-century copy of Thucydides’ History

In a great collaboration the project between two of Europe’s oldest universities, both renowned for their medieval collections, will see the digitisation of every medieval Greek manuscript in Cambridge.

It will provide a unique insight into the chronological range of Greek manuscript culture, from the early Christian period to the early modern, according to Cambridge University.

The centuries manuscripts feature the works of Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles and Euripides. Also, detail of Christ from an illuminated Greek New Testament manuscript owned by Cambridge University Library.

Saint Mark from a Greek New Testament

In addition to important treatises on religion, mathematics, history, drama and philosophy, the most current catalogues of the collections date from the 19th century, and the fragile condition of the texts poses significant challenges to archivists.

Once digitized, the Cambridge manuscripts will join the works of Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking and Alfred Lord Tennyson on the Cambridge Digital Library, as well as Newton’s Principia Mathematica making headlines around the world.The collection will be available to anyone with access to the internet.

Greek New Testament manuscript dated to 1297

Meanwhile, Suzanne Paul keeper of rare books and early manuscripts at Cambridge, explained that Cambridge collections witness the enduring legacy of Greek culture, classical and Byzantine and the lasting importance of Greek scholarship.

Among Cambridge Greek manuscripts, around 210 are held at the University Library, 140 at Trinity College and a further 60 spread across 11 other colleges and the Fitzwilliam Museum.