The Bodleian Library possesses a significant collection of Latin medieval manuscripts from Germany, most of them acquired and donated by Archbishop Laud in the 1630s. They are precious survivals from the period of the Thirty Years' War. Their significance arises not just from the number of individual manuscripts but from the fact that they represent substantial portions of the libraries of ecclesiastical houses in Wurzburg, Mainz and Eberbach. This book presents a detailed description of the fifty-six manuscripts from Wurzburg in the Bodleian, most of them from the cathedral chapter (the Domstift St. Kilian). The majority date from the ninth century, and are extremely important from a textual and palaeographical point of view: they constitute the most important single library of Carolingian manuscripts in the British Isles. Wurzburg was one of the leading Anglo-Saxon foundations on the continent of Europe, planting cultural roots which are manifested in almost every aspect of the manuscripts themselves. The catalogue provides authoritative and superbly detailed descriptions of these manuscripts in all their aspects, especially their texts - there are many important early copies of the texts of the Church Fathers - and their scripts, some of whose forms are unique to Wurzburg. Detailed attention is also paid to the physical characteristics of the manuscripts, their decoration, binding, and provenance. Each of the manuscripts is illustrated.

The Bodleian Library is one of the few libraries outside Germany with a substantial number of medieval manuscripts from the German-speaking lands. These manuscripts, most of which were acquired by Archbishop Laud in the 1630s, during the Thirty Years' War, mainly consist of major groups of codices from ecclesiastical houses in the Rhine-Main area, that is Wurzburg, Mainz, and Eberbach. Their potential contribution to the religious and intellectual history of these foundations and to the study of German medieval culture as a whole is immeasurable. This book contains descriptions of over one hundred medieval, manuscripts, mostly Latin, from the Charterhouse St Michael at Mainz, founded in the early 1320s. Dating from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries, they reflect the spirituality and literary interest of the Carthusian order. This is the first major publication on the Mainz Charterhouse manuscript collection. Published in two volumes, it provides authoritative and superbly detailed descriptions, including information about the physical characteristics, decoration, binding, and provenance of the manuscripts. Each manuscript is illustrated.