Bibliotheca Palatina

The Bibliotheca Palatina in Heidelberg was one of the most important German Renaissance libraries with extensive collections of medieval manuscripts and early prints ( incunabula ). The stocks are now largely in the Vatican Apostolic Library, the German manuscripts in the University Library.

History

On Elector Ludwig III. of the Palatinate (reigned 1410-1436 ) goes back to the founding of the Abbey Library of Holy Ghost Church in Heidelberg, which formed the core of the later Bibliotheca Palatina. But only Elector Otto Heinrich (reigned 1556-1559 ) united the book collections of the University, the Abbey Library in the Holy Ghost Church and the castle library of the Elector Palatine to the actual Bibliotheca Palatina. Among its holdings including the Lorsch Gospels from the court school of Charlemagne, the Manesse ( CPG 848 ) and the Falk Book ( CPL 1071 ) of Emperor Frederick were II With the union of the book collection created Ottheinrich together with the introduction of the Reformation in the Palatinate and the transformation of the University of Heidelberg in a Protestant country high school a Protestant center of teaching. Following the example of the University of Wittenberg stood an extensive library available, but in contrast to the Wittenberg not found space on the castle, but in the city, in the galleries of the Heidelberg Church of Holy Spirit, making access for teachers and students was facilitated. After the death of Ulrich Fugger Augsburgers (1526-1584) went 86 more some very famous manuscripts in the possession of the library over, the Otfrid manuscript ( CPL 52 ), and the manuscript of the Sachsenspiegel ( cpg 164). With such important manuscripts, the Bibliotheca Palatina had the character of an imperial library, and was considered at the time of their bloom - after the acquisitions of the 16th century - as the "mother of all libraries ."

Especially because of the extensive collection of theological (mostly Protestant ) literature, it was the Catholics as a haven of heresy. When the Electoral Palatinate was conquered by troops of the Catholic League under Johann t'Serclaes of Tilly in August 1622 was the Bavarian Duke Maximilian I take the famous library to Munich, but she had to Pope Gregory XV. left on the explicit request. Only the Ottheinrich Bible and a superb choir book Ottheinrich came to Munich. From December 1622 transported to Rome by the papal envoy and later librarian of the Vatican, Allacci Leone ( 1586-1669 ) was organized. Also selected books of other Heidelberg libraries, the private library of the Elector, the University Library, the electoral law firm and the private library of Jan Gruter, the last librarian of the Palatine, were taken and transported on the backs of 200 mules across the Alpine passes into Italy.

In August 1623 the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana took over 184 boxes of 3,500 manuscripts and 12,000 prints, which are largely of their bindings had been deprived for weight reduction ( Allacci kept 12 more boxes themselves). They were newly included in the further course of the 17th century. As already Ottheinrich many of his books had made new embed today are barely covers from before 1550 to refer to the Palatine.

Because of agreements during the Congress of Vienna in 1816 were the German manuscripts return to the Heidelberg University Library. All prints and the foreign-language manuscripts are still in Rome. The German medieval manuscripts ( Codices Palatini germanici ) today form a relatively closed and literature historically significant collection.

Only a few hundred volumes, which had been well considered duplicates, remained in Germany. There, they found their way into different libraries. In 1998, 67 volumes of the Bibliotheca Palatina were discovered in the University and City Library of Cologne. The rest is still preserved today in the Vatican. The 600th anniversary of the Ruprecht -Karls- University of Heidelberg in 1986 many books came for a unique exhibition at their old location back.

Digitizing

The manuscripts of the Bibliotheca Palatina to 2009 were fully digitized and made ​​available online. The prints are available in Germany since 1996 as microfiche available. In cooperation with the Vatican and funded by the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation since 2012 are also the Latin codices of the former Palatine Library, located in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, digitized.

Catalogs

• Leonard Boyle (ed.): Bibliotheca Palatina, pamphlets, microfiche edition, Munich 1989 to 1995, ISBN 3- 598-32880 -X ( complete works ), ISBN 3-598-32919-9 (index)
• Elmar Mittler (Ed.): Bibliotheca Palatina, pamphlets, catalog to the Microfiche Edition, Volume 1-4, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-598-32886-9
• Enrico Stevenson: Inventario dei libri stampati palatino - vatican, ed by ordine di SS Leone XIII P.M., 4 volumes, Rome 1886-1891
• Enrico Stevenson: Codices Palatini manuscripti Graeci Bibliothecae Vaticanae descripti praeside IB Cardinali Pitra Episcopo Portuensi SRE bibliotecario, Rome 1885
• Enrico Stevenson: Codices Palatini Latini Bibliothecae Vaticanae descripti praeside IB Cardinali Pitra Episcopo port. S. R. E. bibliothecario, Rome 1886
• The medical manuscripts of the Codices Palatini Latini in the Vatican Library, described by Ludwig Schuba, Wiesbaden 1981, Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag ( Heidelberg University Library catalogs 1), ISBN 3-88226-060-2
• The quadrivium - manuscripts of the Codices Palatini Latini in the Vatican Library, described by Ludwig Schuba, Wiesbaden 1992, Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag ( Heidelberg University Library catalogs 2), ISBN 3-88226-515-9
• The historical and philosophical manuscripts of the Codices Palatini Latini in the Vatican Library ( Cod Pal. Lat. 921-1078 ), described by Dorothea Walz, Wiesbaden 1999, Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag ( Heidelberg University Library catalogs 3), ISBN 3-89500 -046-9
• The humanist, the trivium and Reformation manuscripts of the Codices Palatini latini in the Vatican Library ( Cod Pal. Lat. 1461-1914 ), described by Wolfgang Metzger, Wiesbaden 2002, Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag ( Heidelberg University Library Catalogues 4), ISBN 3 -89500-214-3
• To catalogs of the German Codex Palatinus Germanicus manuscripts see