RKD Research enriched with medieval miniatures

19 March 2025
Gregoriusmis (miniatuur) en Zielen in het vagevuur (gehistorieerde initiaal). Getijdenboek, vermoedelijk gemaakt voor iemand uit de familie van Lochorst, met geschilderde voorstellingen en margeversieringen door de Meester van Katherina van Kleef. Utrecht, ca. 1460 (Den Haag, Huis van het boek, Ms. MMW 10 F 50, ff. 147v-148r)

More than 27,000 descriptions of medieval manuscripts and their illustrations have recently been added to RKD Research. This milestone was celebrated on 18 March during a symposium on illuminated manuscripts organised by the RKD. 

Leden van het Alexander Willem Byvanck Genootschap tijdens de feestelijke lancering van de overgang van de Byvanckdatabase op 18 maart
1. Members of the Alexander Willem Byvanck Genootschap during the festive launch of the transfer of the Byvanck database on 18 March 

Online access to illuminated manuscripts  

The vast heritage of illuminated manuscripts is a little-known but essential part of Dutch art history. These handwritten and decorated medieval books contain tens of thousands of painted images – many more than the number of panel paintings that survive from the period. For some years now, the RKD has been running a project to make this cultural treasure available online: Medieval miniatures from Byvanck to RKD. This project builds on the Byvanck database, which was founded in 1989 by a working group of specialists, the Alexander Willem Byvanck Genootschap.  

2. Gregoriusmis (miniatuur) en Zielen in het vagevuur. Getijdenboek uit Utrecht, ca. 1460, collectie Huis van het boek, Den Haag
2. Mass of St Gregory (miniature) and Souls in Purgatory. Book of hours from Utrecht, c. 1460, collection Huis van het Boek, The Hague 

From Byvanck database to RKD Research 

The Byvanck database provides access to almost 3,000 illuminated manuscripts in Dutch collections. In addition to these, the Byvanck database contains around 1,000 manuscripts in foreign collections that are known to have been produced in the Northern Netherlands. The database describes not only the manuscripts, but also the images they contain: from full-page miniatures to smaller marginal illustrations. The database has recently been integrated in RKD Research. All-in all, more than 27,000 descriptions of medieval manuscripts and their illustrations have been added. These records have been linked to 23,000 images, so that the manuscript illustrations, like the many other works of art in RKD Research, are now available online for everyone to study and enjoy.