Explore one of our most significant digitized collections: Medieval Greek Manuscripts from the 14th Century.
This 14th-century illuminated manuscript contains philosophical meditations attributed to a Greek mystic, written in Byzantine Greek with richly elaborate margins. The text explores themes of spiritual asceticism and divine contemplation.
Item ID: GR-CON-MAN-1423 | Digitized in 2024
This manuscript is one of the last handwritten works recorded in the Byzantine Greek script before the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. It contains rare theological commentary and is considered a bridge between Eastern Orthodox monastic traditions and Renaissance humanism.
The document's margins contain cryptic annotations in a mix of Greek and early Turkish, revealing the complex cultural exchanges happening in late Byzantium. The vellum pages were discovered in a monastery in 1922 and donated to the Ετοπσ foundation in 2015.
Our digitization team used UV and IR spectroscopy to reveal previously hidden annotations. The resulting 3D model allows users to view the manuscript under different lighting conditions to study the ink composition and paper fibers.