Digital Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts (DigCIM)
in partnership with The British Library and supported by the AHRC

A grant of £300,000 has been awarded to the Institute of English Studies , School of Advanced Study , University of London , in partnership with the British Library, to produce the first ever digitally illustrated and searchable catalogue of western illuminated medieval and renaissance manuscripts held in the British Library's collections. The award has been made by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), under the Resource Enhancement Scheme, and runs for three years to February 2007.

The Project began in March 2005 at the British Library, in partnership with the Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies (CMPS), in the Institute of English Studies , University of London .  It is directed by Professor David Ganz (Associate Director of the Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies) and Peter Kidd (Curator of Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts at the British Library), and has two Research Fellows, Dr Kathleen Doyle and Dr Mara Hofmann. 

The Project provides catalogue descriptions and images of illuminated manuscripts in the British Library's collection on a collection-by-collection basis.  Thus far, entries for illuminated manuscripts in the Burney, Hargrave, King's, and Yates Thompson collections are available online and can be found via the DigCIM website at:

www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts

Work on the Arundel, Lansdowne and Sloane collections is in progress, and by the end of the Project in February 2007 there will be entries for approximately 2000 manuscripts with accompanying images available.  It is envisaged that descriptions of all of the illuminated manuscripts in the British Library's collections will be searchable on the internet, making it one of the world's largest on-line resources for the study of illuminated manuscripts. 

Some of the manuscripts being catalogued are major works of art, including items of international fame. Many others are virtually unknown and the project will open up a wide pool of unique material to scholars, students and the public. Each manuscript will have an electronic description and will be illustrated by a selection of captioned images. The site includes thematic tours, some in the form of 'virtual exhibitions', introducing and exploring aspects of the manuscripts.

Seminars and conference to be held with the Centre for Manuscript and Print Studies (a cross-sectoral partnership for research in Palaeography and the History of the Book) will present new research concerning the manuscripts included in the project.

Several talks related to the DigCIM Project are being given as part of the Medieval Manuscripts Seminar Series. Conferences thus far include the Arudel Manuscript Conference. Further conferences will be advertised on this page and the events pages of the Institute of English Studies.

From the Lindisfarne Gospels (Cotton MS Nero D.IV, f. 29r)	With support from...