PARIS.- The history of Notre-Dame cannot be solely defined by its famous building: it has also been shaped by books, manuscripts and prints which were used for worship or study. From 19 November 2024 to 16 March 2025, the Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge in Paris is deep diving into the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) collections for the ‘Feuilleter Notre- Dame. Chefs-d’œuvre de la bibliothèque médiévale’ (Leafing through Notre-Dame. Masterpieces of the Medieval Library) exhibition, organised in collaboration with the BnF.

Since 1756 most of Notre-Dame’s medieval manuscripts – some 300 documents – have been stored at the BnF. And now the Musée de Cluny exhibition is revealing the richness of this collection through a curated selection of around 40 documents. In addition to precious medieval manuscripts from the Department of Manuscripts and the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal in Paris (part of the BnF), it features two illuminated pages from the Musée de Cluny’s collections, five chapter registers documenting the cathedral’s book management; three manuscripts and a map on loan from the Archives nationales, as well as an illuminated manuscript from the Archives historiques de l’Archevêché.

Structured around four key themes – library management, text books, witnesses to worship and the future of the medieval library in modern times – the visitor journey offers a snapshot of the cathedral’s rich intellectual, artistic and religious life during the Middle Ages.

The first section examines the history and management of the library, providing visitors with an insight into the structure and organisation of a cathedral library in the medieval period. Among the items on display, the public will have the opportunity to discover, for the very first time, two heritage acquisitions that have recently been added to Notre-Dame’s collection in the BnF’s Department of Manuscripts: a missal from around 1400 and a 16th-century ritual.

The Notre-Dame library was one of the very first ‘public’ libraries in Paris and open to underprivileged theology students. Its content reflects both the Notre-Dame’s liturgical vocation and the canons’ areas of interest. As some were also masters of theology at the University of Paris, the library collection consists of text books (works about theology, church history, canon and civil law as well as the works of classic authors) and biblical and liturgical books. A handful of pristine copies used for religious services offer valuable evidence of Parisian liturgical practices and their dissemination during the Middle Ages.

The library saw its collection of medieval manuscripts flourish under the Old Regime thanks to the generosity of Claude Joly, one of the cathedral cantors. Several highlights from his personal collection are on display in the final section, including History of the Franks by Grégoire de Tours, which dates back to the Merovingian period; a Carolingian gospel book from Reims, and the earliest known exemplar of Christine de Pisan’s The Book of the City of Ladies.

The exhibition ‘Leafing through Notre-Dame. Masterpieces of the Medieval Library’ has been organised by the BnF at the Musée de Cluny as part of the ‘Dans les collections de la BnF’ programme with the generous support of the National Archives.

Overseeing the curation is Charlotte Denoël, Chief Curator and Head of the Department of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at the BnF; supported by Éric Landgraf, a Doctor of History and Head of the Documentation, Library and Archive Department at the Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge.