The Fisher Library actively continues to expand its holdings of medieval manuscripts, with particular interest in finding texts that will support the work of students and scholars in the Latin codicology and paleography programs.

The most recent addition arrived in December and is an elegant and complete copy of the Dialogues of Pope Gregory I (d. 604), transcribed and decorated at Paris about the year 1240. The Dialogi is considered one of Gregory’s most important works; indeed, so important is it that in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Gregory is actually known as "the Dialogist" rather than "the Great," his common sobriquet in the West.

One of the most interesting features of this manuscript is the fact that it displays all of the characteristics of books made in the professional scriptoria of Paris. Simply put, it is a catalogue of miracles, signs and wonders, joined together with one of the earliest biographies of St Benedict, all combining to make the Dialogi one of the most important and beloved of all of the Patristic texts. The manuscript is simply but beautifully decorated with contrasting red and blue pen flourishes, as well as clear and extensive ruling. (See images below.) The script is upright, but slightly more rounded than the narrow lettering one comes to expect of the high gothic period.

All in all, a beautiful complement to the Fisher’s growing medieval collection.

Gregory the Great Manuscript