GERMANY--FLANDERS--BURGUNDY--ENGLAND.
Almost immediately after the invention of printing in Germany there arose
a vast public demand for all useful kinds of knowledge. The study of
Greek was essential to those who would compete with the Italians in any
of the higher departments of science, and great schools were established
for the purpose by Dringeberg in a town of Alsace, and by Rudolf Lange at
Münster. The Alsatian Academy had the credit of educating Rhenanus and
Bilibald Pirckheimer. Lange filled his shelves with a quantity of
excellent classics that he had purchased during a tour in Italy. Hermann
Busch, the great critic, was taught in this school, and he used to say in
after life that he often dreamed of Lange's house, and saw an altar of
the Muses surrounded by the shadowy figures of ancient poets and orators.
Busch was sent afterwards to Deventer, where he was the class-mate of
Erasmus. Here one day, while the boys were at their themes, came Rudolf
Agricola, the sturdy doctor from Friesland, who wanted to see a Germany
'more Latin than Latium,' and had vowed to abate the 'Italian insolence.'
The visitor told Erasmus that he was sure to be a great man, and patted
the young Hermann on the head, saying that he had the look of a poet;
and he is, indeed, still faintly remembered for the lines in which he
celebrated the triumph of Reuchlin.
Reuchlin had learned Greek at Paris and Poitiers; at Florence he studied
the secrets of the Cabala with Mirandula; and he perfected his Hebrew at
Rome, where he acted as an envoy from the Elector Palatine. Reuchlin for
many years led a peaceful life at Tübingen, an oasis of freedom, in which
he could print or read what he pleased. But in 1509 he was forced into a
quarrel, which involved the whole question of the liberty of the press,
and incidentally associated the cause of the Reformation with the
maintenance of classical learning.
In the year 1509 one Pfefferkorn, a monk who had been a convert from
Judaism, obtained an imperial decree that all Hebrew books, except the
Scriptures, should be destroyed. Reuchlin sprang forth to defend his
beloved Cabala, and maintained that only those volumes ought to be burned
which were proved to have a taint of magic or blasphemy. He was cited to
answer for his heresy before the Grand Inquisitor at Cologne; and the
world, at first indifferent, soon saw that the cause of the New Learning
was at stake. In the summer of 1514 there was a notable gathering of
Reformers at Frankfort Fair. We have nothing in our own days that quite
resembles these mediæval marts; the annual concourse of merchants might
perhaps be compared to one of our industrial exhibitions, or to some
conjunction of all the trade of Leipsic and Nijni Novgorod. The Italians
affected to believe that the Fair by the Main was chiefly taken up with
the sale of mechanical contrivances; the Germans knew that their 'Attic
mart' held streets of book-shops and publishers' offices. Henri Estienne
saw Professors here from Oxford and Cambridge, from Louvain, and from
Padua: there was a crowd of poets, historians, and men of science; and he
declared that another Alexandrian Library might be bought in those
seething stalls, if one laid out money like a king, or like a maniac, as
others might say. In this German Athens a meeting was arranged between
Reuchlin and Erasmus; they were joined at Frankfort by Hermann Busch, who
brought with him the manuscript of his 'Triumph'; and perhaps it was not
difficult to predict that the cause of the old books would be safe in the
hands of Pope Leo X. They found themselves in company with that ferocious
satirist, Ulric von Hutten, memorable for his threat to the citizens of
Mainz, when they proposed to destroy his library, and he answered, 'If
you burn my books, I will burn your town.' The Grand Inquisitor was
utterly overwhelmed by his volume of Pasquinades, a work so witty that it
was constantly attributed to Erasmus, and so carefully destroyed that
Heinsius gave a hundred gold pieces for the copy which Count Hohendorf
afterwards placed among the imperial rarities at Vienna. The satirist's
volume of _Letters from Obscure Men_ completed the rout of the
Inquisition; and we are told by the way that it saved the life of
Erasmus by throwing him into a violent fit of laughter.
We do not suppose that many Germans of that day loved books for their
delicate appearance, or the damask and satin of their 'pleasant
coverture.' Reuchlin may be counted among the bibliophiles, since he
refused a large sum from the Emperor in lieu of a Hebrew Bible.
Melanchthon's books were rough volumes in stamped pigskin, made valuable
by his marginal notes. The library of Erasmus may be shown to have been
somewhat insignificant by these words in his will: 'Some time ago I sold
my library to John à Lasco of Poland, and according to the contract
between us it is to be delivered to him on his paying two hundred florins
to my heir; if he refuses to accede to this condition, or die before me,
my heir is to dispose of the books as he shall think proper.' The
principal bibliophiles in Germany were the wealthy Fuggers of Augsburg,
of whom Charles V. used to say when he saw any display of magnificence,
'I have a burgess at Augsburg who can do better than that.' These
merchants were commonly believed to have discovered the philosopher's
stone: they were in fact enriched by their trade with the East, and had
found another fortune in the quicksilver of Almaden, by which the gold
was extracted from the ores of Peru. Raimond Fugger amassed a noble
library before the end of the fifteenth century. Ulric his successor was
the friend of Henri Estienne, who proudly announced himself as printer to
the Fuggers on many a title-page. Ulric spent so much money on books
that his family at one time obtained a decree to restrain his
extravagance. His library was said to contain as many books as there were
stars in heaven. The original stock received a vast accession under his
brother's will, and he purchased another huge collection formed by Dr.
Achilles Gasparus. On his death he left the whole accumulated mass to the
Elector Palatine, and the books thenceforth shared the fortunes of the
Heidelberg Library. When Tilly took the city in 1622 the best part of the
collection was offered to the Vatican, and Leo Allatius the librarian was
sent to make the selection, and to superintend their transport to Rome.
The Emperor Napoleon thought fit to remove some of the MSS. to Paris;
but, on their being seized by the Allies in 1815, it was thought that
prescription should not be pleaded by Rome: 'especially,' says Hallam,
'when she was recovering what she had lost by the same right of
spoliation'; and the whole collection of which the Elector had been
deprived was restored to the library at Heidelberg.
Flanders had been the home of book-learning in very early times. The
Counts of Hainault and the Dukes of Brabant were patrons of literature
when most of the princes of Europe were absorbed in the occupations of
the chase. The Flemish monasteries preserved the literary tradition. At
Alne, near Liège, the monks had a Bible which Archdeacon Philip, the
friend of St. Bernard, had transcribed before the year 1140. We hear of
another at Louvain, about a century later in date, with initials in blue
and gold throughout, which had taken three years in copying. Deventer was
known as 'the home of Minerva' before the days of St. Thomas à Kempis.
The Forest of Soigny provided a retreat for learning in its houses of
Val-Rouge and Val-Vert and the Sept-Fontaines. The Brothers of the Common
Life had long been engaged in the production of books before they gave
themselves to the labours of the printing-press at Brussels. Thomas à
Kempis himself has described their way of living at Deventer. 'Much was I
delighted,' he said, 'with the devout conversation, the irreproachable
demeanour and humility of the brethren: I had never seen such piety and
charity: they took no concern about what passed outside, but remained at
home, employed in prayer and study, or in copying useful books.' This
work at good books, he repeated, is the opening of the fountains of life:
'Blessed are the hands of the copyists: for which of the world's writings
would be remembered, if there had been no pious hand to transcribe them?'
He himself during his stay at Deventer copied out a Bible, a Missal, and
four of St. Bernard's works, and when he went to Zwolle he composed and
wrote out a chronicle of the brotherhood.
The Abbey of St. Bavon at Ghent was endowed with a great number of books
by Rafael de Mercatellis, the reputed son of Philippe le Bon, Duke of
Burgundy. As Abbot he devoted his life to increasing the splendour of
his monastery. The illuminated MSS. survived the perils of war and the
excesses of the Revolution, and are still to be seen in the University
with the Abbot's signature on their glittering title-pages.
A more important collection belonged to Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de La
Gruthuyse. As titular Earl of Winchester he was in some degree connected
with this country. When Edward IV. fled from England, and was chased by
German pirates, this nobleman was Governor of Holland. He rescued the
fugitives, and paid their expenses; and when Edward recovered his throne
he rewarded his friend with a title and a charge on the Customs. The
dignity carried no active privileges, and in 1499 it was surrendered to
the King at Calais. The books of La Gruthuyse have been described as 'the
bibliographical marvel of the age.' They were celebrated for their choice
vellum, their delicate penmanship, and their exquisite illustrations.
Louis de Bruges was the friend and patron of Colard Mansion, who printed
in partnership with Caxton. Three copies are known of his work called the
'Penitence of Adam.' One belonged to the Royal Library of France: another
was borrowed from a monastery by the Duc d'Isenghien, an enthusiastic but
somewhat unscrupulous collector, and this copy was sold at the Gaignat
sale in 1769; the third was the property of M. Lambinet of Brussels, and
is remarkable for the miniature in which Mansion is represented as
offering the book to his patron in the garden of La Gruthuyse. After the
death of Louis his books passed to his son Jean de Bruges; but most of
them were soon afterwards acquired by Louis XII., who added them to the
library at Blois, the insignia of La Gruthuyse being replaced by the arms
of France. Others were bequeathed to Louis XIV. by the bibliophile
Hippolyte de Béthune, who refused a magnificent offer from Queen
Christina of Sweden in order that his books might remain in France. A
fine copy of the _Forteresse du Foy_ belonged to Claude d'Urfé, whose
library of 4000 books, 'all in green velvet,' was kept in his castle at
La Bastie; when all the others were dispersed the Gruthuyse volume
remained as an heirloom, and descended to Honoré d'Urfé, the dreariest of
all writers of romance. In 1776 it belonged to the Duc de la Vallière,
and was purchased for the French Government at one of his numerous sales.
Some of the Flemish books remained in their original home. A volume of
Wallon songs was discovered at Ghent in the last generation; and two
other Gruthuyse books in the same language, from the great collection of
M. Van Hulthem, are now deposited in the Burgundian Library at Brussels.
The Dukes of Burgundy were of the book-loving race of the Valois. The
brothers, Charles le Sage, Jean Duc de Berry, and Philippe le Hardi of
Burgundy, were all founders of celebrated libraries. Philippe increased
his store of books by his marriage with the heiress of Flanders; he kept
a large staff of scribes at work, and made incessant purchases from the
Lombard booksellers in Paris. Duke John, his successor, is remembered for
his acquisition of a wonderful _Valerius Maximus_ from the librarian of
the Sorbonne. But the collections of which the remnants are now preserved
in Belgium were almost entirely the work of Duke Philippe le Bon. He kept
his books in many different places. He had a library at Dijon, and
another in Paris, a few volumes in the treasury at Ghent, a thousand
volumes at Bruges, and nearly as many at Antwerp. It has been calculated
that he possessed more than 3200 MSS. in all; and, if that figure is
correct, the House of Bourgogne-Valois was in this respect almost the
richest of the reigning families of Europe.
Under Charles the Bold the libraries appear to have been left alone,
except as regards a few characteristic additions. The Duchess Margaret
was the patroness of her countryman Caxton, whose _Recuyell_, probably
published at Bruges in 1474 during his partnership with Colard Mansion,
was the first printed English book. The taste of the Duchess may answer
for the appearance in the library of the _Moral Discourses_, and the
elegant _Debates upon Happiness_. The _Cyropædia_ and the romance of
_Quintus Curtius_ must be attributed to the warlike Duke. At Berne they
have a relic of the fight where his men were shot down 'like ducks in the
reeds.' It is a manuscript, with a note added to the following effect:
'These military ordinances of the excellent and invincible Duke Charles
of Burgundy were taken at Morat on the 14th of June 1476, being found in
the pavilion of that excellent and potent prince.' When Charles was
killed at Nancy in the following year his favourite _Cyropædia_ was found
by the Swiss in his baggage. This volume was bought in 1833 by the Queen
of the Belgians at a book-sale in Paris, and has now been restored to its
original home at Brussels.
After the death of Charles the Bold his library at Dijon was given by the
French King to George de la Tremouille, the governor of the province. It
passed to the family of Guy de Rocheford, and in the course of time many
of the best works have found their way into the national collection. Mary
of Burgundy retained the other libraries at Brussels. After her marriage
with Maximilian her family treasures were for the most part dispersed in
France, Germany, and Sweden, the needy prince being unable to resist the
temptation of pilfering and pawning the books; but the generosity of
Margaret of Austria, a great collector herself of fine copies and first
editions, in some measure repaired the loss; and Mary of Austria, who
became Regent in 1530, continued the work of restoration.
The magnificence of the Burgundian Court and the commercial prosperity of
the Low Countries led to a continuous demand for fine books among the
other productions of luxury. We learn also by the Venetian Archives that
throughout the fifteenth century books were being imported into England
by the galleys that brought the produce of the East to our merchants in
London and Southampton. There were as yet but slight signs of literary
activity; but it has been well said that 'the seed was germinating in the
ground'; and many foreign works were brought home from time to time by
those who had studied or travelled in Italy. It was the fashion of the
day to learn under Guarini at Ferrara; the list of his scholars includes
the names of Robert Fleming, and Bishop William Gray, and the book-loving
John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, whose virtue and learning became the
object of William Caxton's celebrated eulogy. We may commemorate here the
earlier labours of Lord Cobham, who caused Wicliffe's works to be copied
at a great expense and to be conveyed for safety to Bohemia, and of Sir
Walter Sherington, who early in the same century built a library at
Glastonbury, and furnished it with 'fair books upon vellum.' Towards the
end of the century learning began to flourish under the patronage of Lord
Saye, and the accomplished Anthony Lord Rivers: and its future in this
country was secure, when the English scholars began to flock towards
Florence to hear the lectures of Chalcondylas and his successor Politian.
Grocyn, our first Greek Professor, had drawn his learning from that
source, and Linacre had sat there in a class with the children of Lorenzo
de' Médici. Cardinal Pole and the Ciceronian De Longueil shared as
students in those tasks and sports at Padua which were so vividly
described by the English churchman in his record of their life-long
friendship. Thomas Lilly, the master at St. Paul's, not only worked at
Florence but went to perfect his Greek in the Isle of Rhodes. Sir Thomas
More was the pupil of Grocyn, whom he seems to have excelled in
scholarship. His affection for books is known by his son-in-law's careful
biography. An anecdote cited by Dibdin preserves a record of the fate of
his library. When the Chancellor was arrested, the officers were expected
to listen to his talk with certain spies, on the chance that the prisoner
might be led into a treasonable conversation; but, as Mr. Palmer said in
his deposition, 'he was so busy trussing up Sir Thomas More's books in a
sack that he took no heed to their talk'; and Sir Richard Southwell on
the same occasion deposed, that 'being appointed only to look to the
conveyance of the books, he gave no ear unto them.' Erasmus praised More
as 'the most gentle soul ever framed by Nature.' He was astonished at his
learning, and indeed at the high standard that had already been attained
in England. 'It is incredible,' he said, 'what a thick crop of old books
spreads out on every side: there is so much erudition, not of any
ordinary kind, but recondite and accurate and antique, both in Greek and
Latin, that you need not go to Italy except for the pleasure of
travelling.' Hallam remarked that Erasmus was always ready with a
compliment; but he admitted that before the year 1520 there were probably
more scholars in England than in France, 'though all together they might
not weigh as heavy as Budæus.'