Manuscripts

At present, the Carpentras library museum conserves 3487 listed manuscripts. These documents are highly varied in nature (corpora or single documents, registries, collections, charters, bundles, illustrated documents, etc.), age (ranging from the 9th to the 20th century) and source (from the local area or further afield).  

Illuminated liturgical books, poetry from the Antiquity and Mediaeval period, and historical documents and chronicles can all be found in great number in the personal collection of d’Inguimbert, the founder of the institution. The Peiresc papers are also particularly notable. Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1580-1637), a learned man from neighbouring Aix-en-Provence, is almost certainly the most notable figure represented in the manuscript collections, with his 116 records of work on astronomy, history, botany, eastern civilisations, and anatomy – none of which were published – as well as some remarkable correspondence.

The history of Carpentras and the Comtat Venaissin takes pride of place in the works and collections of Casimir Barjavel, Denis-Barthélémy Tissot, Antoine Denoves, and the episcopal and capitulary archives. A significant musical section, comprising music scores handwritten by Bach, Schumann and Brahms themselves, was constituted thanks to the donation from Jean-Joseph Bonaventure Laurens in 1888. The political and medical works of François-Vincent Raspail are documented in detail thanks to the bequest of his descendants in 1972. 

The Jewish community of the Comtat Venaissin is also represented through family record books, rituals and marriage certificates. The Félibrige literary and cultural movement is also well represented thanks to the bequest of François Jouve, a storyteller and baker from Carpentras, alongside letters from Frédéric Mistral and Rémy Marcellin. Finally, to truly dive into the history of the Inguimbertine and its libraries, the Robert and Maurice Caillet collection offers a wealth of notes and files kept by one of its most emblematic curators.

Many other documents lie in wait within the Inguimbertine, which is continuing to expand its collections through donations or purchases.