The 9th-century Holy Trinity manuscript reunited at Abbaye de Saint-Mihiel

A 9th-century manuscript on the Holy Trinity was stolen during World War I and languished in a Hamburg bookshop until 2007. It is now a highlight of the collection at the Abbaye de Saint-Mihiel. The abbey is a historic site and home to a variety of significant medieval works.

The Benedictine abbey was founded in 708 by a Count named Wulfoalde and his wife Adalsinde to house relics Wulfoalde brought from Italy. It was dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel and sat under the authority of a chaplain to Charlemagne. Over the centuries, the abbey was popular with royalty, emperors, and dukes until it was dissolved during the French Revolution.

Today, the abbey is best known for its library, which is housed in a purpose-built building constructed in 1775. The site is now shared with a school and the town hall. The collection includes 8780 books, 86 incunabula, and 74 manuscripts from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries. The church also contains a walnut sculpture of the swooning of Mary by Ligier Richier dated 1531 (or 1537).

Many of the more valuable works in the municipal library are now available online in digital form. This allows the public to access the special collection, which includes the reunited 9th-century manuscript on the Holy Trinity by Pseudo-Athanasius.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons