This collection contains 275 medieval manuscript books and c. 45 fragments which have been donated to, and purchased by the University in the course of its history. These are all books and fragments written by hand, from the early 11th to the 16th centuries. Many are finely illuminated and decorated. The collection is mainly composed of bibles and liturgical texts, books of hours, treatises of theology and philosophy, legal and medical works, examples of pre-Reformation Scottish music, historical chronicles, and a few literary manuscripts. They are written mostly in Latin – but also in French, Greek, Italian, English, Scots, Dutch, Swedish and German –, and originate from all over Europe, notably from England, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. Some of the most precious and beautiful books in Scotland are preserved in this collection, such as the small, brightly-coloured copy of the Psalms known as the Celtic Psalter (MS 56), which dates from the early 11th century and is possibly the oldest surviving Scottish book still in Scotland.

Catherine Borland’s catalogue describes the 230 manuscripts and fragments present in the library in 1916. She organised them as follows:

MS 231 to MS 236 are Russian and Greek manuscripts (uncatalogued), and MS 237 is a medieval indenture from New College. The references MS 238 to MS 299 are unallocated. The collection continues at MS 300, up to MS 339. MS 300 to MS 331, and MS 337 are described in Neil Ker’s catalogue. They mostly consist of books of hours, the rest being a mix of liturgy, law, and philosophy. MS 332 to MS 339 are uncatalogued manuscripts in Latin, Italian, French, and English.

NB: the creation of catalogue descriptions on ArchivesSpace is still ongoing. The manuscripts are described up to MS 230.