Cimelia of the Staatliche Bibliothek Neuburg

In the course of the dissolution of monasteries (secularization) numerous Provincial Libraries were founded in Bavaria, including today's State Library of Neuburg upon the Danube on April 28, 1803. It should house the medieval manuscripts and historical imprints of the secularized monasteries in the surrounding area that had not been claimed by the Munich Court Library, today's Bavarian State Library. In order to ensure proper preservation and cataloguing, the medieval manuscripts were transferred to Munich in 1909 on the instructions of the Royal State Ministry. This collection, known as the 'Neuburg delivery', comprises 98 Latin and 6 German manuscripts, mainly from the Middle Ages. 70 out of the 104 codices came from Kaisheim, one of the oldest Cistercian monasteries on the territory of present-day Bavaria, founded in 1135. They provide insight into the history of the Cistercian order in Germany, from its expansion and institutionalization to its economic decline in the 14th as well as the subsequent revival of Cistercian book culture in the 15th centuries. Of particular interest is the early modern antiphonary, nowadays Clm 28150, which – contrary to the Cistercian ideal of simplicity – was decorated with elaborate initials and vine scrollwork by the Swiss illuminator Nikolaus Bertschy. Thematically, the 'Neuburg delivery' includes mainly theological works, but also treatises on medicine and natural science, for example by Euclid and Albertus Magnus. Some manuscripts of French and Italian origin give evidence for the international network of the Bavarian monastery.