image: Tuomas Heikkilä, Åslaug Ommundsen, Lars Boje Mortensen and Matthew Collins have won an ERC Synergy Grant to explore medieval book culture in the CODICUM project.
Credit: Åslaug Ommundsen
The CODICUM project brings together experts in history, literature, and bio-codicology from four Nordic universities to explore medieval knowledge networks. This groundbreaking study combines traditional humanities approaches with cutting-edge biomolecular analysis of fragments from medieval books, written on animal skin.
How book culture shaped medieval Europe
The project will investigate approximately 50,000 medieval Latin book fragments preserved in Nordic collections—one of Europe’s largest archives of medieval book culture.
"These fragments represent an extraordinary treasure trove that can transform our understanding of how books and ideas circulated in medieval Europe," Professor Åslaug Ommundsen says. "With this funding we will be able to lift fragment studies to a new level and dramatically increase our knowledge about medieval books and how the Nordic region became part of a pan-european book culture."
Medieval books played a vital role in shaping European history, carrying rituals, stories, and ideas as they were read, copied, and shared across regions. Today, they offer scholars insights into historical trade, craftsmanship, and the religious, social, and intellectual networks that connected Europe. Less than 10% of the European manuscript corpus survives, with an even smaller fraction in Scandinavia.
How binding materials accidentally saved thousands of medieval books
"While most medieval manuscripts in the Nordic countries were destroyed or lost after the Reformation, their leaves were often recycled as binding material for administrative documents. This practice accidentally preserved evidence of thousands of books, most of them Latin books used in churches, and often originating from other parts of Europe," Professor Ommundsen says.
A unique feature of this project is the use of new techniques to trace the geographic origins of manuscript materials and identify previously unknown connections between religious and intellectual centres.
Combining classic humanities with cutting-edge biomolecular analysis
"Using biomolecular methods, we can now extract DNA and protein information from parchment to determine where animals were raised and how manuscripts were produced," Professor Matthew Collins says.
"The fragments are challenging us to rethink how we define 'textual heritage'. Rather than belonging to individual nations, these manuscripts reveal a shared European literary heritage that transcended medieval borders,” says Professor Lars Boje Mortensen.
"By analysing both the texts and materials of these fragments, we hope to unlock a new understanding of how Northern Europe was integrated into broader European intellectual culture," adds Professor Tuomas Heikkilä.
The CODICUM project
The Medieval Book and Networks of Northern Europe c. 1000-1500: Texts, Crafts, Fragments (CODICUM)
Principal investigators:
Professor Åslaug Ommundsen, University of Bergen - Palaeography
Professor Tuomas Heikkilä, University of Helsinki - History
Professor Lars Boje Mortensen, University of Southern Denmark - Literature
Professor Matthew Collins, University of Copenhagen - Bio-codicology
The National Archives in Stockholm and the Royal Library in Copenhagen, are also partners in the project.
Funding: ERC Synergy Grant, around 13 million euro, for 2025-2030, announced by the ERC today.