Leonardo's Notebooks
Manuscripts, codices, and organization pathways
This will be a collection without order, made up of many sheets which I have copied here, hoping afterwards to arrange them in order in their proper places according to the subjects of which they treat.
- Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Arundel
The Major Codices
Primary collection hubs for manuscript exploration
Codex Arundel
Mathematics, mechanics, and design studies from different phases of Leonardo's career.
Codex on Flight
18 folios on aerodynamics, wing mechanics, and human flight. Complete 44-leaf facsimile reader.
Codex Atlanticus
Large compilation with engineering, geometry, military studies, and visual investigations.
Content AvailableCodex Leicester
Water, geology, astronomy, and natural philosophy. Complete 36-page facsimile reader with mirror handwriting.
Madrid Codices
Mechanics, machine design, and architectural studies rediscovered in the 20th century.
Content AvailableRoyal Collection (Windsor)
Anatomy, figure studies, horses, and major drawing sequences.
Content AvailableParis Manuscripts
Optics, hydraulics, military architecture, and painting theory across multiple notebooks.
Content AvailableCodex Trivulzianus
Early vocabulary and self-education materials, with language and architecture notes.
Content AvailableForster Codices
Three pocket notebooks with Last Supper studies, Sforza Horse casting recipes, stereometry, and physics.
Anatomy Manuscripts
Anatomical investigations and connected medical/scientific studies.
Content AvailableCodex Ashburnham
Recovered manuscript fragments tied to broader Paris manuscript history.
Content AvailableTreatise on Painting
Melzi's compilation (Codex Urbinas 1270) with the Paragone, perspective, sfumato, and moti mentali.
How to Navigate the Notebook Universe
Choose the route that matches your research goal
The Notebook Library — Facsimiles
Explore surviving manuscript codices, digitized leaves, and source documents across international collections including the Codex Atlanticus, Codex Arundel, and Royal Collection.
The Complete Text — Every Passage
All 1,553 surviving passages of the notebooks in one searchable corpus — Richter's sections and sub-headings, subject tags, and cross-links between related passages.
By Subject
Browse theme-based pages such as anatomy, optics, flight, water, and perspective.
By Organization Model
Use process frameworks (science, craft, content) to connect pages across collections.
By Scholar
Compare how major researchers arranged and interpreted Leonardo's dispersed manuscripts.
By Biography and Time
Follow life-period clusters and timeline eras tied to projects, patrons, and locations.
Source Collections & Editions
Follow catalogued manuscript leaves, diplomatic transcriptions, and concordance indexes across European library repositories.
Handwriting & Palaeography
Examine Leonardo's mirror script, high-resolution folio captures, diplomatic transcriptions, and machine-assisted palaeographic analysis.