406 manuscripts from the library of Benediktinerstift Lambach (Lambach Abbey) in Lambach, Austria, have been added to HMML Reading Room.  This monastery was founded in approximately 1040 and later given to the Benedictines in 1056.  From the 12th century, a scriptorium flourished at Lambach, and in the 15th and 16th centuries, numerous liturgical manuscripts were created there.  The monks also collected other manuscripts and prints, spurred by an interest in science and humanism.  The institution narrowly escaped closing in 1784 under the reforms of Kaiser Joseph II.  While still an important research collection, the library was forced to sell many manuscripts in the 20th century, and the manuscripts preserved by HMML date from the 11th to the 16th century.

This predominantly Latin and German collection showcases the many interests of the monastics who assembled it.  Texts include sermons, commentaries, correspondence, legal works, hagiographies, historical works, and poems. View now