Founded in 1225 by Duke Leopold VI of Babenberg, the Dominican convent soon grew into an important centre. The foundation was accompanied by the establishment of a school, which provided basic theological education for future priests and monks and later was characterised by close ties to the University of Vienna.

The theological faculty of the University of Vienna almost always recruited lecturers and professors from the neighboring monastery (Predigerkloster). This lively and diverse intellectual exchange can still be seen today in the continuously grown library.

Most of the manuscripts digitised for this project date back to the 15th century. Many of them were produced in Vienna. However, some volumes came to Vienna by purchase, inheritance or via a newly arrived friar who donated his books to the convent from somewhat more distant regions, for example from the Mainz area (Cod. 227/191 and Cod. 228/192), from Cologne (Cod. 212/178) or from Ingolstadt (Cod. 29/29).

Seven manuscripts from the present collection were part of the “Handbibliothek” of Leonhard Huntpichler, a professor of theology from Tyrol. He marked the corresponding works on the binding with his initials and/or a symbol (e.g. Cod. 70/291). These manuscripts found their way only later into the convent library. This library also houses several of the Dominican's own writings, which were very influential at the time.

The handwritten annotations that Leonhard Huntpichler added to many of the books are of particular interest in terms of religious history. Other previous owners of the manuscripts of the collection presented in Kulturpool include the lector Jacobus Dienstel and Frater Jacobus Schwartz (Cod. 12/12), Frater Johannes Fleckel from Kitzbühel (Cod 48/270, Cod. 71/295, Cod. 197/162) and the Magister Studentium Matheus Seydl de Uttendorf as well as his uncle, the lawyer Thomas de Uttendorf (Cod. 227/191 and Cod. 228/192). Johannes Werd, Regens studii and temporary dean of the theological faculty of the University of Vienna, is another prominent scribe from the end of the 15th century (Cod. 86/51 and Cod. 87/52).

The Viennese Dominicans are in the fortunate position of having a library catalogue that provides information about the extent and composition of the late medieval library. This catalogue, which is extremely valuable for the history of the library, is now also available as a digital object (Cod. 232/260). It was written in 1513 by Frater Martin Purkawser.

A large number of the volumes listed in the “Purkawser catalogue” have survived to this day. Some of them have a label with a shelfmark on the front or back cover (e.g. Cod. 216/182), which refers to the corresponding entry in the catalogue: In pulpeto P superiori … P14. Decreti tabula optima per modum alphabeti, incipit AAA triplicatum.

In addition to ownership entries from the late 15th century (Cod. 216/182), the blind stamps on the medieval bindings of many manuscripts also testify to their origin from the Dominican monastery (Cod. 216/182). In the second half of the 15th century, the monastery actually operated its own bookbindery.

Various medieval manuscripts were also added to the library in the modern era: a “Historienbibel” from group IIIa was unknown to the researchers of the field and only rediscovered in the course of this digitisation project (Cod. 244/105). It probably came to the monastery during the Baroque period.

Further vernacular codices came to Vienna from the Dominican convent in Graz in 2013. Among them is a manuscript of rules and constitutions (Cod. 6305), which has an eventful history: it was used in the 15th century to reform two different women's convents (Nuremberg, Dominican convent St. Katharina, Regensburg, Dominican convent Heilig Kreuz).

It is to be expected that the digitisation and access to basic data will encourage further research on the collection. The project thus makes an important contribution to manuscript research in Austria.