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A library cart displaying some of the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s newly acquired rare works is seen at the university\u2019s Rare Books and Special Collections Library on July 9, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\nL\u2019Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al has expanded its heritage collection with seven rare acquisitions spanning more than 1,000 years of history, including a manuscript fragment dating to around the year 900 that is now among the oldest documents preserved by a Montreal university.<\/p>\n
The works, acquired through a $250,000 endowment fund supported by donations, have been added to the university\u2019s Rare Books and Special Collections Library, which houses about 150,000 documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recently acquired seven very valuable documents thanks to the generosity of donators, of philanthropists, of people who are interested in books,\u201d said Mathieu Thomas, librarian at the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s Rare Books and Special Collections Library.<\/p>\n
Together, the acquisitions offer a glimpse into how knowledge was created, preserved and shared across centuries \u2014 from medieval handwriting and early printing to the evolution of medical illustration.<\/p>\n
A library cart displaying some of the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s newly acquired rare works is seen at the university\u2019s Rare Books and Special Collections Library on July 9, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n
Medieval fragment offers glimpse into Carolingian writing practices<\/p>\n
The parchment fragment, written in Latin on animal skin, dates to around the time of Charlemagne. Its importance lies in what it reveals about the evolution of writing and manuscript production more than 1,100 years ago.<\/p>\n
The fragment survived in an unusual way: it was reused centuries later as part of the binding of another book.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just one piece of parchment on two sides, like flesh and hair side that we call,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cIt was actually part of a binding of a later book. And in those days, they reused parchment just to solidify the binding. So somebody discovered it in the binding of that book and took it out. And now it\u2019s purchased as a standalone document.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A manuscript fragment dating to around the year 900, recently acquired by the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al, is seen at the university\u2019s Rare Books and Special Collections Library on July 9, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n
For researchers, the fragment provides a rare opportunity to study the development of medieval handwriting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps us get a sense of the evolution of script,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAround those times, around the times of Charlemagne, that\u2019s when you had what they call the Carolingian minuscule. It\u2019s the small way of writing letters that really looks like our current way of writing. So it was like a standardization of writing in those days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ability to study the original document is what makes the acquisition so significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, for the students and professors to have a first-hand copy, not a copy, not a digitized version, just the real thing, to have it in our hands and be able to study it, it\u2019s very, very interesting and very rare,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
A rare acquisition made possible through donations<\/p>\n
The arrival of the collection marked an unusual moment for the library team. Most of the works were purchased from European booksellers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very exciting. It was kind of a bit like Christmas,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWhen you open those boxes, and because most of them were purchased from booksellers in Europe, it really felt special just to take them out of the boxes. You smell them, you look at them, and we\u2019re very excited because it\u2019s not something that happens every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Mathieu Thomas, librarian at the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s Rare Books and Special Collections Library, is seen with some of the university\u2019s newly acquired rare works on July 9, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n
Works spanning centuries of history<\/p>\n
The acquisitions span centuries of history, including richly illustrated Books of Hours, an illuminated psalter, a rare French-language incunabulum \u2014 one of the earliest printed books from the first decades of the printing press \u2014 and a nine-volume French anatomical atlas containing more than 700 hand-coloured lithographs.<\/p>\n
Thomas said the French-language incunabulum is particularly rare. The library already holds about 50 incunabula, but this work is one of only two in the collection that are not written in Latin.<\/p>\n
The book examines legal and political questions surrounding the balance of power between the pope and the monarchy.<\/p>\n
The final acquisition comes from a very different field: medicine. The anatomical atlas, produced in France in the 1860s, contains hundreds of detailed illustrations that were hand-coloured before photography transformed medical publishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe images that are in that volume are just incredible to look at,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cSometimes a little scary too, because they\u2019re so realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
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An anatomical atlas from the 1860s, recently acquired by the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al, is seen at the university\u2019s Rare Books and Special Collections Library on July 9, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n
More than museum pieces<\/p>\n
The rare works were not acquired simply to be displayed.<\/p>\n
The university intends for them to become resources for students, professors and researchers studying subjects ranging from medieval history to the physical construction of books.<\/p>\n
\u201cMainly its purpose is to help for teaching and research,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAnd we have professors that are specializing in medieval studies, medievalists.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A sign for the Rare Books and Special Collections Library is seen at the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al on July 9, 2026. (Adriana Gentile, CityNews)<\/p>\n
For medieval scholars, access to an original manuscript fragment from around the year 900 is particularly significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have access to such a document, which is very uncommon in North America \u2014 usually you would have to go to Europe to have access to those kinds of documents \u2014 so to have one, a real one here in Montreal is something really, really, really special,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Why the original still matters<\/p>\n
In an era when more historical documents are available online, Thomas says the value of original materials has only become clearer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing that compares to having the original document in your hand,\u201d he said. \u201cThe materiality of documents is also something that is studied now, not only the content of the text, but also the physical support, the actual page, or animal skin that it was written on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers increasingly study not only what books say, but how they were made \u2014 the materials, craftsmanship and physical evidence left behind over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery often the format of a document has an influence on the content,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cThe actual material that you\u2019re using, be it like a manuscript that was written by hand or colored by hand, or the early printed books, they definitely have an effect on what information you can put forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
As digital collections continue to grow, Thomas believes original documents offer a connection that cannot be replicated on a screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we are turning more and more to digital sources, it\u2019s as if we\u2019re rediscovering the value of physical books and what they have to tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n
A collection open to the public<\/p>\n
The Rare Books and Special Collections Library is primarily a resource for students, professors and researchers, but members of the public can also visit.<\/p>\n
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