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University of Missouri

Manuscript Collections

Special Collections maintains a small collection of manuscripts that date from antiquity to the present. The collection is intended to demonstrate the physical characteristics of the book before printing, and it contains a wide variety of scripts and materials from various time periods. From antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, the collection includes:

  • Eight cuneiform tablets from the Ur III and Old Babylonian periods
  • Around a dozen manuscripts in book form, ranging in date from ca. 1150 to ca. 1600
  • Over 200 leaves and fragments, including seventeenth century book collector John Bagford’s manuscript leaves and fragments, Fragmenta Manuscripta, dating from the eighth to the seventeenth century
  • A handful of leaves from the Koran, palm leaf manuscripts, and other examples of manuscripts from non-Western cultures

Finding Aids for Manuscript Collections

Cuneiform tablets.

Clay tablet with wedge-shaped writing

Special Collections holds eight cuneiform tablets whose exact provenance is unknown. Six of the tablets date from the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE),…

Fragmenta Manuscripta Collection.

Medieval manuscript fragment on parchment with Latin text in brown and red links and early musical notation<br />

​Fragmenta Manuscripta is a collection of over 200 manuscript leaves and fragments dating from the eighth to the seventeenth century. Originally…

Literary and Historical Manuscripts

Special Collections holds modern manuscript materials in the form of books, correspondence, and personal papers. These materials were collected at…

Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts.

Medieval manuscript page with black lettering, occasionally highlighted with blue or red

Special Collections maintains a small collection of European manuscripts intended to demonstrate the physical characteristics of the manuscript books,…

Pages from the Past Collection

Papyrus fragment with Greek letters in black ink

Pages from the Past is a collection of original manuscript and rare book leaves compiled and sold by a New York book dealer Alfred W. Stites from 1964…

Selected Items

Fragmenta Manuscripta 028: Psalter, glossed

Medieval manuscript leaf fragment written in brown ink on parchment with two letter sizes and a large ornamental initial D (recto)

Provenance: John Bagford (1650s-1716) to St. Martin-in-the-Fields; sale 1861 to Sir Thomas Phillipps, n.15758; his sale 22 May, 1913, lot 742; Sir…

Fragmenta Manuscripta 027: Lectionary

Medieval manuscript leaf fragment in two columns written with dark brown ink and with several initials in different colors (recto)

Contents: Contains part of the office for August ?, Bible, Proverbs vi

Fragmenta Manuscripta 042: Homily

medieval manuscript leaf fragment written on parchment in two columns with brown ink (recto)

Number of scribes, f. 1r-v: 1.
Layout, f. 1r-v: Two columns with 22 lines visible, bounding lines, ruling with leadpoint on verso (hair).
Notes: The…

Fragmenta Manuscripta 215: Legal document

Medieval manuscript fragment on rectangular parchment in brown ink with one column and 12 lines of text. Two lines with signatures.<br /> (recto)<br />

One column with 12 lines of text and 2 signature lines.

Fragmenta Manuscripta 055: Bible, glossed

Medieval manuscript on aged parchment with two colums of black Gothic script, one large goldleaf initial and one large blue initial. (recto)

Contents: Contains part of Act; main text has gloss; none on the prologues.

Coptic Bible : [1 leaf]

Papyrus fragment with Greek letters in black ink

Fragment of Greek Papyrus 100-300? A.D. According to Roger Bagnell it is a Coptic Bible. A rare fragment.

Psalter

Contents: Contains Ps. 105 (recto), Ps. 106 (verso)

Penitential theory, Sin and penance (theory of)

Provenance: John Bagford (1650s-1716) to St. Martin-in-the-Fields; sale 1861 to Sir Thomas Phillipps, n.15758; his sale 22 May, 1913, lot 742; Sir…

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