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The oldest survivor, a compendium dating to the 9th – 10th century, contains a valuable “tonale”, i.e. a collection of liturgical hymns arranged in the order of the eight keys of what was later to become known as Gregorian chant. Surviving examples of miniature illuminations include the famous vellum miniatures from a manuscript of the Mortifiement de vaine plaisance of King René of Anjou, painted by Jean Colombe according to a design of Bartholomaeus van Eyck, or the psalter and book of hours intended for use in Metz and created in a local atelier around the year1300. Besides these remarkable codices, mention could also be made of the numerous legal manuscripts, most of which had once belonged to the canons of the cathedral, or of works on the natural sciences or history.

The strong emphasis on encyclopaedic compilation which is such a feature of the collection of manuscripts is also a very marked characteristic of the general collection of early printed works, where biblical and theological scholarship is by no means the predominant source of inspiration.