Des flammes à l’écran
Conservation, numérisation et étude des manuscrits sinistrés de Chartres
abstract
On 26 May 1944, the library of Chartres was destroyed by fire. Of its 518 medieval manuscripts, mainly coming from the cathedral and the abbey of Saint-Père-en-Vallée, about 40% survive in fragments of varied states of conservation. The manuscripts were restored at the Bibliothèque nationale of Paris between 1944 and 1948. Since 2005, l’Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (CNRS) has directed a complex project that includes the digitalisation of manuscripts (in some cases, following the relaxation of the parchment), their publication in the IRHT virtual library (BVMM, Bibliothèque virtuelle des manuscrits médiévaux), the virtual rearrangement of fragments in their correct order, the study of manuscripts, theirs owners and old libraries, the maintenance and up-dates of the dedicated website.
Keywords: Restoration • Digitization • Chartres • Medieval libraries • Burnt manuscripts