Manuscripts
The University library holds a large collection of manuscripts from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, encompassing both European and Oriental works.
Europäische Handschriften
Mittelalter
Die SUB Göttingen besitzt über 420 Handschriften aus dem Mittelalter. Die Sammlung ist sowohl geographisch, sprachlich als auch inhaltlich vielfältig. Den größten Teil bilden lateinische Handschriften aus dem mitteleuropäischen Raum, doch finden sich auch zahlreiche Stücke in deutschen Dialekten sowie in englischer, französischer und griechischer Sprache. Stark vertreten sind besonders theologische und juristische Werke sowie Texte der Antikenrezeption.
Zu den herausragenden mittelalterlichen Handschriften zählt das Fuldaer Sakramentar aus dem 10. Jahrhundert. Mit über 500 teils vergoldeten Initialen und mehr als 30 Miniaturen gilt es als eines der schönsten Beispiele frühmittelalterlicher Buchkunst. Ebenso bewahrt die SUB Göttingen die beiden ältesten Exemplare des Bellifortis, die einst König Ruprecht von der Pfalz und König Wenzel von Böhmen gewidmet waren. Die reich illustrierten Codices geben einen umfassenden Einblick in das spätmittelalterliche Kriegswesen und dokumentieren zugleich bedeutende technische und kulturelle Innovationen.
(Early) Modern Period
With over 7,000 items, the library’s holdings of early modern and modern manuscripts reflect its long-standing focus on scholarship and learning. In the library’s early years, a particular emphasis was placed on legal studies. Numerous manuscripts and documents, primarily of a legal nature, were donated by Gerlach Adolph von Münchhausen, the University's first curator. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the collection grew substantially through notable additions such as the personal papers of Gottfried Achenwall in 1772, the collected letters of Theodor Strobel in 1796, and the correspondence of Johann David Michaelis in 1804.
From the 16th to the 18th centuries, SUB Göttingen systematically acquired manuscripts on German history, focusing on the regional history of Lower Saxony and Hanover and on Protestant church history. To this day, the library continues to enrich its collections on the history of the university through the acquisition of lecture notes, scholarly manuscripts, and Alba amicorum.
SUB Göttingen also preserves a small collection of music manuscripts, primarily works by Protestant church musicians from the late 17th to the 19th century. In 1928, the Protestant parish of Bösenrode entrusted them to the library as a permanent deposit.
Oriental Manuscripts
At SUB Göttingen, the term “Oriental manuscripts” has been used since the 19th century to describe manuscripts written in Asian or African languages. The classification into a specific language family is based on the manuscript’s main language. Many of these classifications reflect 19th-century knowledge and do not always match the categories used in modern Asian and African linguistics. The collection is organised into three main groups:
- Islamic manuscripts with texts in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish
- South Asian manuscripts
- Smaller groups and single items from the MENA region and Southeast Asia
Islamic Manuscripts
The origins of the collection are closely linked to the development of Oriental studies at the University of Göttingen. In 1748, the theologian and orientalist Johann David Michaelis offered the first course in Arabic studies. In 1788, the first Chair of Oriental Languages was established under his student Johann Gottfried Eichhorn. Eichhorn and numerous renowned Arabists who taught in Göttingen - including Thomas Christian Tychsen, Heinrich August Ewald, Ferdinand Wüstenfeld, Paul de Lagarde, Mark Lidzbarski and Hans Heinrich Schaeder - contributed significantly to the expansion of the "oriental" manuscript collection. Around 250 Orientalia came to Göttingen through the donations of the Russian doctor and alumnus of the university, Georg Thomas von Asch. The majority of these were probably captured or acquired during Russia's wars with the Ottoman Empire.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the collection of Islamic manuscripts continued to grow through the acquisition of individual items, smaller collections and donations. The most recent significant addition was the Barudi Collection, which was purchased in 1995 with the support of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. This is the library of a Damascene family of Hussainite origin, which has been maintained since the 18th century.
Südasiatische Handschriften
Die SUB Göttingen besitzt mehr als 1.000 Handschriften aus dem indischen Kulturkreis. Dabei handelt es sich überwiegend um Schriftzeugnisse in Sanskrit, die vom 12. bis ins 20. Jahrhundert datieren, mit einem besonderen Schwerpunkt auf dem Zeitraum ab dem 18. Jahrhundert. Inhaltlich prägen den Bestand Werke der vedischen und klassischen Literatur, Dichtung, Dharma (religiöses Gesetz und Ethik), Ritualtexte, (shivaitische) Philosophie, Grammatik sowie Astronomie und Astrologie.
Den größten Teil der frühen Sammlung verdankt die SUB Göttingen Franz Kielhorn, Professor für Indologie in Göttingen. Zwischen 1887 und 1892 überließ er der Bibliothek 83 Handschriften als Geschenk, nach seinem Tod erhielt sie weitere 90 Handschriften von seiner Witwe. In den frühen 1960er Jahren erwarb die Bibliothek vier bedeutende indische Privatsammlungen: Cod. Ms. Sanscr. Mu., Cod. Ms. Sanscr. Madh., Cod. Ms. Sanscr. Sham. und Cod. Ms. Sanscr. Vish.
Search our Collections
Find our main manuscript databases and catalogues in the Search section. For more detailed information on selected collections, visit the Sammlungskatalog.
Use our Collections
Manuscripts can be consulted in the reading room of the Historical Building by appointment. For more information, see Visiting the Reading Room.
