What Is e-codices and How Do You Use Its Virtual Manuscript Library?
e-codices is a free virtual library that aims to provide access to all medieval manuscripts of Switzerland, plus a selection of modern ones. It currently holds 3,107 manuscripts from 100 different collections, and the site says the library is continuously updated and extended. You can use it if you need to view complete digital reproductions of Swiss manuscripts alongside scholarly descriptions — for research, teaching, or study. The site is available in German, English, French, and Italian.
What you can find
The library links complete digital reproductions of manuscripts with corresponding scholarly descriptions. According to the site, its scope is:
- All medieval manuscripts of Switzerland (the stated goal)
- A selection of modern manuscripts
- 3,107 manuscripts from 100 collections at the time of writing
Because coverage is a stated goal rather than a finished state, treat the collection as growing — a manuscript you can't find today may be added later.
How to browse and search
The main navigation offers Browse & Search, which is the entry point for locating manuscripts. You can also approach the collection through:
- Collections — browse by the collection a manuscript belongs to
- Person Index — look up people associated with the manuscripts
- Annotations — access annotated material
If you already know the manuscript's shelfmark or a related term, search is the faster route; if you're exploring, browsing by collection or institution helps you see what a given library holds.
What a manuscript record contains
Each record combines two things:
- Digital reproductions — complete images of the manuscript
- Scholarly descriptions — the accompanying academic description
The site also documents how this content is built, including metadata encoding, scholarly manuscript descriptions, and manuscript summaries. This matters if you need to cite or evaluate a description: the record is more than images, and the descriptive layer follows the project's own guidelines.
Tools and guidelines worth knowing
Beyond browsing, e-codices provides:
- An annotation tool for working with manuscript content
- A web application (including a v2.0)
- Published guidelines covering guiding principles, selection criteria, reproduction guidelines, conservation guidelines, and data security
- Information on multilingualism and the project's institutions, including the Curatorium, CeCH, partners, and scholarly cooperations
If you plan to reuse images or descriptions, check the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy under Rights before publishing or redistributing anything. The site does not state here that all uses are unrestricted, so confirm the terms for your specific case rather than assuming.
Practical starting points
- To find a specific manuscript: use Browse & Search, then open the record for images and its scholarly description.
- To survey a library's holdings: start from Collections.
- To trace people connected to manuscripts: use the Person Index.
- To work with annotations: use the annotation tool.
- To understand selection and reproduction standards: read the Guidelines section.
- To stay updated: the site offers a newsletter, social networking links, and a News section.
For questions, the site lists separate contacts for e-codices itself and for libraries and collections, so route your inquiry to the right one depending on whether it concerns the platform or a specific holding institution.