The Schøyen Collection comprises most types of manuscripts from the whole world spanning over 5000 years. It is the largest private manuscript collection formed in the 20th century. The whole collection, MSS 1-4517, comprises 12,536 manuscript items, including 2,083 volumes. 6,178 manuscript items are from the ancient period, 3200 BC - 500 AD; 3,848 are from the medieval period, 500 - 1500; and 2,510 are post-medieval. [...] This is not a catalogue of the collection. It is a checklist with descriptions of a small selection of 222 manuscripts, or 2,6 %, of the whole of The Schøyen Collection. A full catalogue will be published in a few years. 60 % of the collection, has so far been catalogued.