Every medieval manuscript was made and decorated by hand for a particular purpose at a certain moment in history. To hold and to turn the pages of a manuscript is to touch hands directly with medieval Europe. Nearly everything we know about the early history of language, literature, the Bible, poetry, music, art, family life, medicine, travel, science, religion, philosophy, and piety comes to us through manuscripts and cannot be studied without them. The number of medieval manuscripts remaining in private hands gets fewer and fewer every year, and those that remain become more valuable and more keenly sought after.
Les Enluminures offers the largest and most wide-ranging inventory of text manuscripts currently on the market. The archive of the site alone numbers nearly 1,000 sold items. We have the largest and best qualified staff among dealers, from some of the greatest universities, and are represented in America, Europe, and Britain. We welcome inquiries from serious collectors and libraries, as well as from anyone who delights in experiencing and knowing about the European Middle Ages, at any level.
Our Program: Manuscripts in the Curriculum
30 new manuscripts online
We are inaugurating a second revised program. Applications are due October 15, 2018.
An unusual material understanding of the Universe in William of Auvergne's De Universo.