The volume contains 438 catalogue items with almost 800 inscriptions that could be recorded from the original and copy tradition. The collection reflects the history of Magdeburg from the foundation of the archbishopric by Emperor Otto I in the 10th century to the time of Otto von Guericke in the 17th century. The inscriptions represent the two dynamic centres that promoted Magdeburg's development into a major medieval and early modern city: the archbishop's seat with the cathedral chapter, and the strong city society with the council at its head, which established itself in the 12th/13th century.