Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The British Library (BL) in London has taken the monumental decision to digitise and post online a quarter of its Greek manuscripts, equal to more than 280 volumes.
The initiative, funded by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, is an effort to make rare documents available to a wider public.
The initiative, funded by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, is an effort to make rare documents available to a wider public.
The BL collections include over 1000 Greek manuscripts, more than 3000 Greek papyri and an extensive compilation of early Greek printing, rendering the British Library one of the most important research centres for the study of the Classical and Byzantine World.
The digitised Greek manuscripts bear witness of the rich Hellenic culture and give scholars access to valuable research material. Mary Beard, professor of classics at the University of Cambridge, stressed that "this is exactly what we have all hoped for from new technology, but so rarely get. It opens up a precious resource to anyone - from the specialist to the curious - anywhere in the world, for free."
The highly illustrated Theodore Psalter produced in Constantinople in 1066 and Babrius's fables, found on Mount Athos in 1842, which contains 123 Aesopic fables feature among the highlights of the digitised manuscripts.
