Collections

For 1,600 years, we have been reading texts between two book covers – so it is safe to say the book is an integral part of the cultural history of mankind. In the European Middle Ages, book pages were made of parchment and painstakingly written on by hand. Artful illuminations made of paint and gold leaf testify of the great appreciation, that contemporaries showed for books. In monastic writing rooms, theological texts were copied for personal use as well as literature for rich nobles: Thus, book ownership was an exclusive affair.

The spread of manufactured paper made books cheaper, but it wasn’t until the invention of printing with movable types in the 15th century that a real media revolution started. Early prints, the incunabula, were now also read by educated people in the cities and at universities. Many book treasures from the Middle Ages are unfortunately lost today. However, the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt harbours an unique collection of manuscripts, fragments and early prints.