Digital exhibitions from libraries and museums are frequently featured in the Scout Report. The British Library's Medieval England and France, 700-1200 manuscript gallery is one such exhibition that really resonated with readers. Fascinating and often whimsical imagery make this collection intriguing. The variety of learning materials offered (such as animated videos and a detailed glossary) make it a comprehensive resource to learn about medieval history.
Thanks to a collaborative project conducted by the British Library and the Bibliotheque nationale de France (BnF) from 2016-2018, a trove of 800 medieval illuminated manuscripts have been digitized and made available for public viewing. For this project, the British Library and the BnF each selected 400 of their respective collections' most historically and culturally significant manuscripts for digitization. Here, the British Library has created a resource (available in both English and French) to "highlight a selection of the project's manuscripts within their historical and cultural context." Readers can explore this curated selection of approximately 100 manuscripts by themes such as art and illumination; history and learning; or science and nature. Visitors will also find 30 enlightening articles written to help viewers understand the context and meaning of these beautiful manuscripts, several videos about how the manuscripts were made, and a helpful glossary of terms relating to medieval art and culture. For those interested in viewing all 800 manuscripts, the British Library also included a link to the project's main website with the full collection. This joint digitization project was funded by the Polonsky Foundation, a UK-based charity that "primarily supports cultural heritage and research."