Portrait of St John the Evangelist, from a 12th-century Greek manuscript of the Four Gospels (British Library Add MS 39591, f. 124v).

We are happy to say that imaging has begun on the third phase of the Greek Manuscripts Digitisation Project, generously funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. In the coming months, we will be adding over 300 more Greek manuscripts to Digitised Manuscripts, and there will be many blog posts detailing the process. Among other exciting items, this phase of the project will see the digitisation of the Codex Crippsianus (Burney MS 95), the Howard Greek Lectionary, a Gospel lectionary owned and annoted by John Ruskin, Burney MS 69, containing illustrated Greek treatises on warfare, and a wide variety of other manuscripts, including many of those from the collections of Charles Burney, Robert Curzon, Samuel Dawes, and Sir Ivor Bertie Guest.

In the meantime, however, we would like to make it known that as a result of this project, a number of Greek manuscripts will be temporarily unavailable to readers between now and March 2015. These items will typically be unavailable for 8-12 weeks while preparation and imaging take place. Once digitised the material will become available online in addition to being available for consultation in our Manuscripts Reading Room.

We strongly advise readers intending to consult Greek manuscripts that have not already been made available on Digitised Manuscripts to contact the British Library's Manuscripts Reference Team ([email protected]) before planning a visit. Please note that this project will not affect the availability of any Greek papyri.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. We look forward to sharing more images of our wonderful Greek manuscripts with you all!

Cillian O'Hogan