homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks have been completely digitized -- and you can read them for free

It's a challenging but very rewarding read.

Mihai Andrei
September 7, 2017 @ 1:11 am

share Share

Example of a digitized page from Leonardo’s Codex Arundel. Credits: British Library.

Few people can claim to have had such a strong impact as Leonardo da Vinci. A brilliant artist and scientist alike, Leonardo left behind a legacy on which the dust will never settle. To this day, people are looking through his old notebooks to find inspiration and try to understand his genius. Now, those people will be able to access a valuable trove: Leonardo’s sketches and personal notes.

The British Library has fully digitized one of da Vinci’s visionary notebooks, ‘The Codex Arundel’. The 283-paper codex contains a number of treatises on a variety of subjects, including mechanics and geometry, written from 1480 to 1518. The bound notebook was purchased by the Earl of Arundel in Spain and has since passed into the possession of the British Library.

Credits: British Library.

The core of the notebook is a collection of materials that Leonardo describes as “a collection without order, drawn from many papers, which I have copied here, hoping to arrange them later each in its place according to the subjects of which they treat.”

They’re not really arranged to this day. It was characteristic of Leonardo do bind together all sorts of seemingly scrambled ideas and concepts, and to add more and more to the collection as the years went by.

You can fully access the notebook in high resolution, for free, but don’t expect it to be an easy read. The Codex Arundel is written in Leonardo’s typical right-to-left mirrored handwriting. Leonardo often wrote with this way, and it’s not clear exactly why. Leonardo was often described as writing and painting with his left hand, so it’s likely that writing this way kept his hands clean (writing left-handed from left to right would smudge the ink). Other, more imaginative ideas, say that this made it harder for his rivals to copy his ideas.

Whatever the reason may be, it makes for a rather difficult reading. But if you get through it, it’s really rewarding. Leonardo’s creativity strikes you through the centuries’ old manuscript, and the fact that we can read them online, taking advantage of modern technology, is only fitting.

[ALSO CHECK OUT] Leonardo Da Vinci’s to-do list from 1490 makes you look like a pleb

Credits: British Library.

share Share

New Nanoparticle Vaccine Clears Pancreatic Cancer in Over Half of Preclinical Models

The pancreatic cancer vaccine seems to work so well it's even surprising its creators

Coffee Could Help You Live Longer — But Only If You Have it Black

Drinking plain coffee may reduce the risk of death — unless you sweeten it.

Scientists Turn Timber Into SuperWood: 50% Stronger Than Steel and 90% More Environmentally Friendly

This isn’t your average timber.

A Provocative Theory by NASA Scientists Asks: What If We Weren't the First Advanced Civilization on Earth?

The Silurian Hypothesis asks whether signs of truly ancient past civilizations would even be recognisable today.

This Is How the Wheel May Have Been Invented 6,000 Years Ago

The wheel may have a more surprising origin story than you'd think.

Scientists Created an STD Fungus That Kills Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes After Sex

Researchers engineer a fungus that kills mosquitoes during mating, halting malaria in its tracks

Scientists Froze The 1,350-Year-Old Tomb of a Toddler Buried Like Royalty in a Repurposed Roman Villa. They Call Him The "Ice Prince"

The Ice Prince lived for only 18 months, but his past is wrapped in mystery, wealth, and extraordinary preservation.

From peasant fodder to posh fare: how snails and oysters became luxury foods

Oysters and escargot are recognised as luxury foods around the world – but they were once valued by the lower classes as cheap sources of protein.

This 200-year-old-condom in "mint condition" features erotic art and a striking message

This museum exhibit is a reflection of a turbulent part of European history.

Rare, black iceberg spotted off the coast of Labrador could be 100,000 years old

Not all icebergs are white.