Only a small part of medieval manuscripts is currently the subject of research, mostly due to the fact that manuscript research remains primarily devoted to “close reading.” Numerous scholars devote their entire lives to a single book. Were one to proceed based on the current need of researchers, then the digitization of 20% to 30% of these manuscripts should suffice. This could change if the majority or — if possible — almost all of the European medieval manuscripts were digitally edited. The publication of entire manuscript collections would allow us to ask new questions with regard to the study of provenance and the migration of manuscripts, to studies of successful book production such as of books of hours or pocket bibles, to automated image analysis of hundreds of thousands or even millions of manuscript pages, or to all kinds of statistical studies. In order to fundamentally reform manuscript research in the digital age and to develop innovative new methods of inquiry, we must strive to systematically digitize most — if possible, all — manuscripts. Since 2005, e-codices has been advancing towards this goal step by step: currently 1605 manuscripts from 69 collections are accessible online.
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