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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.

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

Pages from the Past Collection

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

Coptic Bible : [1 leaf]

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

Antiphonal

Contents: Contains material for services at Ascension and the vigil of Pentecost; Music: Neumes

Fragmenta Manuscripta 129: Prayer

Medieval parchment fragment with text in one column in black ink (recto).

One column visible with 15 visible lines recto, 6 verso, with bounding lines, recto and verso ruled separately with penpoint.

Fragmenta Manuscripta 045: Psalter, glossed

medieval manuscript leaf fragment in one column written in brown ink, with initials in red and blue and two letter sizes (recto)

Single column with 36 lines visible, alternating text and commentary, writing on top of grid, with bounding lines, ruling with leadpoint on recto…

Fragmenta Manuscripta 193: Bible, subject index to

Medieval parchment fragment ruled with pink lines and containing 7 lines of Gothic text in black ink. (recto)

Contents: Possibly intended as an aid to preaching.

Fragmenta Manuscripta 030: Medical text

Medieval manuscript leaf fragment written in black ink, two columns, with several initials in red and blue inks and with lead ruling (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 040: Bible

medieval manuscript fragment in brown ink written in one column with lead ruling visible (recto)

Contents: Contains part of Exodus.

Fragmenta Manuscripta 184: Martyrologium

Medieval parchment fragment with partial lines of text in a tall Gothic script in black ink. Margins are small, with some marks showing on the left margin. (recto)

One column visible with 6 visible lines, neither bounding lines nor ruling are visible.

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