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University Libraries

Manuscripts

Introduction

This page lists resources for locating English manuscript held by libraries in the United States and other countries. English manuscripts are held by national, academic, research, public, and private libraries. These manuscripts are in languages including Anglo Saxon / Old English, Middle English, and English.

The left column contains books for Anglo-Saxon / Old English and Middle English.  The right column contains general resources, web resources for select national, academic, public and libraries, and books for Modern English.  The books consist of indexes, handlists, and catalogs; the books are arranged alpabetically by title.   These books are found in multiple locations: Religious Studies and Philosophy Library, Greek and Latin Seminar Room, Reference, and Stacks.  Some of the books are listed in several categories since the book covers multiple periods.

Keep in mind that books on English manuscripts are found in multiple call number ranges: Z, PR, and PS.

Anglo Saxon / Old English (mid 5th century to the mid 12th century)

Middle English (late 12th century to the late 15th century)

General Resources

The section on general resources consists of databases (subscriptions and free), catalogs, directories, and a dictionary which concern Old English, Middle English, and and English.  The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) and WorldCat are two great resouces for beginning manuscript research.

Battle of Calais between the Kg. of England under Sr. Walter de Manny and the French

The print from a medieval manuscript, Froissart's Chronicles, depicts the Battle of Calais.
© Trustees of the British Museum
Object Type: Print
Materials: Paper
Techniques: Etching and Aquatint
Production Person: Print made by John Harris the Senior
Date: 1790s-1834

English Collections - Web Resources (National, Academic, Research, and Public Libraries)

The section on libraries (national, academic, research, and public) provides the websites of libraries whose collections include Old English, Middle English, and English.  Sometimes these libraries have digitized the manuscripts in their collections.

Academic library collections may include the manuscripts of American or British authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien (Marquette University), F. Scott Fitzgerald (University of South Carolina), Edgar Allan Poe (The University of Texas at Austin), Mark Twain (University of California, Berkeley), Tennessee Williams (The University of Texas at Austin), Jane Austen (Goucher College), Kurt Vonnegut (Indiana University), and Flannery O'Connor (Georgia College).

Modern English (late 15th century to the 21st century)