Editing Vatican Library (section)

==Collections==
[[File:Fortymartyrs.jpg|thumb|A miniature from the Syriac Gospel Lectionary (Vat. Syr. 559), created {{circa|1220}} near [[Mosul]] and exhibiting a strong Islamic influence]]
While the Vatican Library has always included Bibles, canon law texts, and theological works, it specialized from the beginning in secular books. Its collection of Greek and Latin classics was at the center of the revival of classical culture during the [[Renaissance]].<ref name=Loc/> The oldest documents in the library date back to the first century.<ref name=itworld/>

The library was founded primarily as a manuscript library, a fact reflected in the comparatively high ratio of manuscripts to printed works in its collection. Such printed books as have made their way into the collection are intended solely to facilitate the study of the much larger collection of manuscripts.<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia">{{cite web|title=The Vatican Palace, as a Scientific Institute|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15286a.htm|website=Catholic Encyclopedia|publisher=New Advent|access-date=2 August 2014|archive-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204001421/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15286a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The collection also includes 330,000 Greek, Roman, and papal coins and medals.<ref name=ibiblio/>

Every year about 6,000 new books are acquired.<ref name=ibiblio/>

The library was enriched by several bequests and acquisitions over the centuries.

In 1623, in thanks for the adroit political maneuvers of [[Pope Gregory XV]] that had sustained him in his contests with Protestant candidates for the post of [[Prince-elector|Elector]], the hereditary [[Palatine Library]] of [[Heidelberg]], containing about 3,500 manuscripts, was given to the [[Holy See]] by [[Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria]]. He had just acquired it as loot in the [[Thirty Years' War]]. A token 39 of the Heidelberg manuscripts were sent to [[Paris]] in 1797 and were returned to Heidelberg at the [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Peace of Paris]] in 1815. A gift of 852 others was made in 1816 by [[Pope Pius VII]] to the [[University of Heidelberg]], including the [[Codex Manesse]]. Aside from these cases, the Palatine Library remains in the Vatican Library to this day.

In 1657, the manuscripts of the Dukes of [[Urbino]] were acquired. In 1661, the Greek scholar [[Leo Allatius]] was made librarian.

Queen [[Christina of Sweden]]'s important library (mostly amassed by her generals as loot from Habsburg [[Prague]] and German cities during the [[Thirty Years' War]]) was purchased on her death in 1689 by [[Pope Alexander VIII]]. It represented, for all practical purposes, the entire royal library of Sweden at the time. Had it remained where it was in [[Stockholm]], it would all have been lost in the destruction of the royal palace by fire in 1697.

Among the most famous holdings of the library is the [[Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209]], the oldest known nearly complete manuscript of the [[Bible]]. The ''Secret History'' of [[Procopius]] was discovered in the library and published in 1623.

[[Pope Clement XI]] sent scholars into [[the Orient]] to bring back manuscripts, and is generally regarded as the founder of the library's Oriental section.<ref name=UofA/>

A School of [[library science]] is associated with the Vatican Library.

In 1959, the [[Vatican Film Library]] was established.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statute of the Vatican Film Library|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_16111959_statute-film-library_en.html|website=vatican.va|access-date=28 July 2014|archive-date=3 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140603213749/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_16111959_statute-film-library_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This is not to be confused with the [[Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library]], which was established in 1953 at [[Saint Louis University]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri]].

The library has a large collection of texts related to Hinduism, with the oldest editions dating to 1819.<ref>{{cite news|title=Vatican Library carries extensive collection of ancient Hindu scriptures|url=http://www.eurasiareview.com/29062014-vatican-library-carries-extensive-collection-ancient-hindu-scriptures/|access-date=28 July 2014|work=eurasia review|date=29 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728211440/http://www.eurasiareview.com/29062014-vatican-library-carries-extensive-collection-ancient-hindu-scriptures/|archive-date=28 July 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

During the library's restoration between 2007 and 2010, all of the 70,000 volumes in the library were tagged with [[Radio-frequency identification|electronic chips]] to prevent theft.<ref name=nbcnews/>

===Manuscripts===
[[File:Sandro Botticelli - The Abyss of Hell - WGA02853.jpg|thumb|''The Abyss of Hell'', coloured drawing on parchment by [[Sandro Botticelli]] (1480s)]]
[[File:Wandalbert von Prüm, July, Martyrologium.jpg|thumb|Wandalbert von Prüm, July, Martyrologium (c860)]]

{{Main|Category:Manuscripts in the Vatican Library}}

Notable manuscripts in the library include:

====Manuscripts relating to Christianity====
*[[Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209]], one of the oldest extant Bibles in Greek language
*[[Barberini Gospels]]
*[[Gelasian Sacramentary]], one of the oldest books on [[Christian liturgy]]
*[[Joshua Roll]]
*[[Lorsch Gospels]], an illuminated gospel book written and illustrated from 778 to 820, which is spread up between various museums. The carved ivory rear cover and the Gospels of Luke and John are kept in the Vatican Library
*''[[Menologion of Basil II]]''<ref>{{cite book|author=John W. Wohlfarth|title=Elysium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85mXFf_BbiUC&pg=PA128|date=1 September 2001|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-0-7596-5406-8|page=128}}</ref>
*[[Vatican Croatian Prayer Book]]
*Three [[Literary fragment|fragments]] of the [[Old Saxon Genesis|Old Saxon ''Genesis'']] and one fragment of ''[[Heliand]]'' comprise the ''Palatinus Latinus'' 1447<ref>{{cite book|author=John M. Jeep|title=Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4uHav3mZLsC&pg=PA57|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-8240-7644-3|page=57}}</ref>
*''[[Libri Carolini]]''

====Classic Greek and Latin texts====

*[[Vergilius Vaticanus]]
*[[Vergilius Romanus]]
*[[Vergilius Augusteus]], four [[Leaf (books)|leaves]] are at the Vatican Library with three leaves at [[Berlin State Library]]<ref>{{cite book| url=http://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/ocm03166470| title=Vergilius Augusteus : vollst. Faks.-Ausg. im Originalformat : Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3256 d. Biblioteca apostolica vaticana u. Codex Latinus fol. 416 d. Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz| website=Catalog - UW-Madison Libraries| publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Madison]] Libraries| access-date=29 July 2014| year=1976| archive-date=3 May 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503185145/http://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/ocm03166470| url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Codex Vaticanus Ottobonianus Latinus 1829]], an important 14th-century manuscript of Catullus' poems
*[[Codex Vaticanus Latinus 3868]], a 9th-century [[facsimile]] of [[Terence]]'s comedies<ref>{{cite book|author=C. R. Dodwell |author-link=Charles Reginald Dodwell |title=Anglo-Saxon Gestures and the Roman Stage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kKJZVOkeAoUC&pg=PA3|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-66188-1|page=3}}</ref>
*Parts of [[Euclid's elements|Euclid's ''Elements'']], most notable Book I, Proposition 47, one of the oldest Greek texts on the [[Pythagorean Theorem]]<ref name="God's Librarians" />

====Medieval Greek and Latin texts====
*Codex Vaticano Rossi 215, fragments of the [[Rossi Codex]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Christopher Kleinhenz|title=Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2CTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA136|date=8 January 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-94880-1|page=136}}</ref>
*Vaticanus Graecus 1001, the original manuscript of the ''[[Procopius#Secret History|Secret History]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.artinfo.com/secrethistoryofart/2011/11/16/vatican-mysteries-whats-so-secret-about-procopius-secret-history-2/|title=Vatican Mysteries: What's So Secret about Procopius' "Secret History?"|last=Charney|first=Noah|author-link=Noah Charney|website=Blouinartinfo|publisher=[[Louise Blouin Media]]|date=16 November 2011|access-date=28 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222070232/http://blogs.artinfo.com/secrethistoryofart/2011/11/16/vatican-mysteries-whats-so-secret-about-procopius-secret-history-2/|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
*''[[De arte venandi cum avibus]]'', a [[Latin]] treatise on [[falconry]] in the format of a two-column parchment codex of 111 folios written in the 1240s

====Others====

*[[Codex Borgia]], an extensive [[Mesoamerica]]n manuscript that depicts mythology and foundational rituals in the hieroglyphic texts and iconography made of animal skins
*Codex Vat. Arabo 368, the sole manuscript of the ''[[Hadith Bayad wa Riyad]]'', an Arabic love story<ref>{{cite journal |last=D’Ottone |first=Arianna |year=2010 |title=Il manoscritto Vaticano arabo 368: Hadith Bayad wa Riyad. Il codice, il testo, le immagini |url=https://www.academia.edu/430197 |journal=Rivista di Storia della Miniatura |publisher=Centro Di |volume=14 |page=55 |access-date=25 July 2014 |language=it |url-access=registration |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216224249/https://www.academia.edu/430197 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Codex Vaticanus 3738]], the Codex Ríos,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.famsi.org/research/graz/vaticanus3738/|title=FAMSI - Akademische Druck - u. Verlagsanstalt - Graz - Codex Vaticanus 3738|website=Akademische Druck - u. Verlagsanstalt - Graz CODICES|publisher=[[FAMSI]]|access-date=29 July 2014|archive-date=18 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618225056/http://www.famsi.org/research/graz/vaticanus3738/|url-status=live}}</ref> an accordion folded Italian translation of a Spanish colonial-era manuscript, with copies of the [[Aztec]] paintings from the original [[Codex Telleriano-Remensis]], believed to be written by the Dominican friar Ríos in 1566
*Borgiani Siriaci 175, a manuscript scroll of the ''[[Diwan Abatur]]'', a [[Mandaean text]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Van Rompay |first=Sandi |date=2010 |title=The Tree Šatrin and its Place in Mandaean Art |url=https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/secure/POJ/downloadpdf.php?ticket_id=6088397bf191a |journal=ARAM Periodical |volume=22 |pages=183–207 |doi=10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131037 |access-date=22 June 2023 |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622160011/https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/secure/POJ/downloadpdf.php?ticket_id=6088397bf191a |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Qurans====
The library contains over 100 Quran manuscripts from various collections, cataloged by the Italian Jewish linguist [[Giorgio Levi Della Vida]]: ''Vaticani arabi'' 73; ''Borgiani arabi'' 25; ''Barberiniani orientali'' 11; ''Rossiani'' 2. The largest manuscript in the library, ''Vat. Ar. 1484'', measures 540x420mm. The smallest, ''Vat. Ar. 924,'' is a circle of 45mm diameter preserved in an octagonal case.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/374780 |first=Ezra |last=Gozeler |title=A Study on Qurʾān Manuscripts in the Vatican Library in terms of Physical and Content Features |date=2017 |volume=21 |issue=3 |journal=Cumhuriyet Flahiyat Dergisi-Cumhuriyet Theology Journal |access-date=April 5, 2022 |archive-date=5 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505014001/https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/374780 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Digitization projects===

In 2012, plans were announced to digitize, in collaboration with the [[Bodleian Library]], a million pages of material from the Vatican Library.

On 20 March 2014, the Holy See announced that [[NTT Data|NTT Data Corporation]] and the library had concluded an agreement to digitize approximately 3,000 of the library's manuscripts within four years.<ref>{{cite news | last=McKenna | first=Josephine | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/10712906/Vatican-library-plans-to-digitise-82000-of-its-most-valuable-manuscripts.html | title=Vatican library plans to digitise 82,000 of its most valuable manuscripts | work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | date=20 March 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324015700/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/10712906/Vatican-library-plans-to-digitise-82000-of-its-most-valuable-manuscripts.html | archive-date=24 March 2014| access-date=23 March 2014 }}</ref> NTT is donating the equipment and technicians, estimated to be worth 18&nbsp;million Euros.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-digital-idUSBREA2J1ML20140320 | title=Vatican library will digitize its archives and put them online | work=Reuters | date=20 March 2014 | access-date=28 July 2014 | author=Denti, Antonio | archive-date=12 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312123754/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-digital-idUSBREA2J1ML20140320 | url-status=live }}</ref> It noted that there is the possibility of subsequently digitizing another 79,000 of the library's holdings. These will be high-definition images available on the library's Internet site. Storage for the holdings will be on a three petabyte server provided by [[EMC Corporation|EMC]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/23/storage-giant-emc-looks-to-ease-concerns-about-flash-technology/?__lsa=a4be-3315 | title=Storage giant EMC looks to ease concerns about Flash technology | publisher=Financial Post.com | date=23 July 2014 | access-date=28 July 2014 | author=Greiner, Lynn | archive-date=9 August 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809222520/http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/23/storage-giant-emc-looks-to-ease-concerns-about-flash-technology/?__lsa=a4be-3315 | url-status=live }}</ref> It is expected that the initial phase will take four years.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Denti|first1=Antonio|title=Vatican library will digitize its archives and put them online|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-digital-idUSBREA2J1ML20140320|access-date=1 August 2014|work=Reuters|date=20 March 2014|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312123754/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-digital-idUSBREA2J1ML20140320|url-status=live}}</ref>

DigiVatLib is the name of the Vatican Library's digital library service. It provides free access to the Vatican Library's digitized collections of manuscripts and incunabula.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digi.vatlib.it/about|title=DigiVatLib|website=digi.vatlib.it|access-date=2017-01-17|archive-date=19 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619162332/http://digi.vatlib.it/about|url-status=live}}</ref>

The scanning of documents is impacted by the material used to produce the texts. Books using gold and silver in the illuminations require special scanning equipment.<ref name=digitize/> Digital copies are being served using the [[CIFS]] protocol, from network-attached storage hardware by [[Dell EMC]].<ref name=itworld/>

===Gallery of holdings===
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="170px">
File:Bible Persian Manuscript (14th century).jpg|[[Gospel of Matthew]] in [[Persian language|Persian]], the first Persian manuscript to enter the Vatican Library
File:Barbireau illum.jpg|Manuscript page with the five-voice "Kyrie" of the Missa Virgo Parens Christi by [[Jacques Barbireau]]
File:Tavola di Velletri.jpg|[[Borgia map|Mappamondo Borgiano]], also known as "Tavola di Velletri", consisting of two copper tablets (1430)
File:Chronography of 354 Mensis Maius.png|Month of May from in the ''Chronography of 354'' by the 4th century calligrapher [[Filocalus]]
File:Anton Raphael Mengs, The Triumph of History over Time (Allegory of the Museum Clementinum), ceiling fresco in the Camera dei Papiri, Vatican Library, 1772 - M0tty.jpg|[[Anton Raphael Mengs]], ''The Triumph of History over Time (Allegory of the Museum Clementinum)'', ceiling fresco in the Camera dei Papiri, Vatican Library
File:Szent Imre legenda02.jpg|Illumination from the legend of [[Saint Emeric of Hungary]], c. 1335
File:DavidGoliathBAVVatGr752Fol448v.jpg|Battle between David and Goliath, Book of Psalms, c. 1059
File:Codexaureus 02.jpg |The ivory panels from the back cover of [[Codex Aureus of Lorsch]]
</gallery>