Find uplifting stories about heroes, innovations, and solutions
69 results for "manuscripts"
A beautifully preserved medieval manuscript containing the complete King Arthur legend could soon enter public collections for the first time. The rare 750-year-old book features 126 gold-embossed illustrations and a unique Merlin story never seen in other copies.
A priceless 17th-century manuscript that vanished from Valencia over 100 years ago just turned up in an online listing for €71,900. Spanish police spotted it during routine monitoring and reunited it with historians who thought it was lost forever.
Using advanced imaging technology, researchers revealed "ghost" text from a 1,400-year-old New Testament manuscript that had been erased and rewritten over centuries. The discovery offers a rare glimpse into how early Christians studied and preserved sacred texts.
A Polish-funded project just equipped Iraq's oldest Kurdish university to digitize nearly 2,000 rare manuscripts dating back to the 16th century, rescuing centuries of knowledge from potential loss. The initiative will unlock previously inaccessible Kurdish and Iraqi historical treasures for researchers worldwide.
Millions of centuries-old manuscripts written on palm leaves are being rescued across India using traditional herbal oils and modern climate-controlled labs. These fragile texts contain poetry, medicine, and astronomy that would otherwise crumble into dust.
A French librarian weeks from retirement discovered seven unknown Mozart pieces hidden in the library's archives. The world just heard them for the first time this week.
Researchers discovered a rare copy of the oldest surviving English poem hidden in a Roman library manuscript that crossed the Atlantic twice. The 9th-century find reveals English literature spread across Europe centuries earlier than scholars thought.
%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2Fae%2F70%2Fae706e2f-66fc-48a3-889d-826961a41f7f%2Fthe_rothschild_vienna_mahzor_1415__prayers_for_the_morning_services_of_rosh_hashana_the_jewis.jpeg)
A rare illuminated prayer book stolen by Nazis in 1938 was returned to the Rothschild family's heirs and just sold for $6.4 million. The 600-year-old manuscript decorated with dragons and unicorns survived persecution, world wars, and decades of being forgotten in a library.
Researchers have digitally reconstructed 42 missing pages from a 1,500-year-old New Testament manuscript using advanced imaging technology. The discovery reveals the oldest known chapter divisions for St. Paul's Letters and offers fresh insight into how early Christians preserved sacred texts.
Researchers discovered the oldest known copy of England's first poem hidden in a medieval manuscript that traveled from Italy to New York and back to Rome. The 9th-century text pushes back evidence of English literacy by three centuries.
The world's most famous biblical manuscripts are back on view at Washington DC's Museum of the Bible with a fresh rotation of 2,000-year-old fragments. Discovered in desert caves in 1947, these ancient texts rewrote what scholars knew about the history of the Bible.
Researchers discovered a long-lost manuscript in Rome containing one of the oldest copies of the very first poem written in English. The 1,200-year-old text reveals how much early medieval readers valued English poetry, changing what we know about the birth of English literature.
Researchers discovered a missing copy of the oldest known English poem hidden in a 9th-century manuscript at a Rome library. The find reveals how medieval monks preserved and spread English literature across Europe centuries ago.
%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2Ff5%2F1f%2Ff51f6f23-c444-4a03-8187-c6a7a0ff498c%2Farchimedes.jpg)
A missing page from a rare 1,000-year-old manuscript containing the work of ancient mathematician Archimedes has been rediscovered in a French museum after being lost for over a century. The find promises to reveal more secrets from one of history's greatest scientific minds.
From palm-leaf manuscripts dating back to 1535 to vast colonial archives, six centuries-old libraries across India continue welcoming anyone who wants to explore living history. These aren't museum pieces—they're thriving spaces where ancient knowledge meets modern curiosity. --- ##
Researchers discovered a rare copy of the oldest English poem hiding in plain sight inside a ninth-century manuscript in Rome. The find sheds new light on how early readers treasured English poetry.
A librarian discovered a long-lost Mozart manuscript containing never-before-heard music just weeks before his retirement. The 44-page notebook from 1778 will be performed publicly for the first time this Sunday at France's National Library.
A college student uncovered a rare 41-page handwritten manuscript detailing Thomas White's daring escape from slavery in the 1850s. The fragile document, found among family papers on a screened porch, offers an extraordinary window into one man's journey to freedom.
The University of Warsaw Library has found something artificial intelligence can't do: read centuries-old handwritten manuscripts. Now 240 volunteers are stepping in to unlock historical treasures that machines simply can't crack.
A lost page from one of history's greatest mathematicians has been discovered in a French museum, revealing more of Archimedes' groundbreaking work. The 10th-century manuscript page disappeared sometime after 1906 and was just identified in Blois.
Showing 20 of 69