XXV. Auctoribus RR. PP. Soc. Jesu P. Christophoro Browero, et P. Jacobo
Masenio. 2 v. fol. Leodii, 1670. It is headed: Schema voluminum in
bibliothecam (sic) ordine olim digestorum Noviomagi in loco Castrorum
Constantini M. hodiedum in lapide reperto excisum. See also C. G. Schwarz,
_De Ornamentis Librorum_, 4to, Lips. 1756, pp. 86, 172, 231, and Tab. II.,
fig. 4. I learnt this reference from Sir E. M. Thompson's _Handbook of
Greek and Latin Palaeography_, ed. 2, 1894, p. 57, _note_. The Director of
the Museum at Treves informs me that all the antiquities discovered at
Neumagen were destroyed in the seventeenth century.
[88] See above, p. 11.
[89] _Ibid._, p. 12.
[90] _Epigrams_, Lib. IX. _Introduction_.
[91] The whole relief is figured in Seyffert, _Dictionary of Classical
Antiquities_, ed. Nettleship and Sandys, p. 649.
[92] _De Architectura_, Lib. VII, Pref. [Aristophanes] e certis amiariis
infinita volumina eduxit.
[93] _Digesta Justiniani Augusti_, ed. Mommsen. 8vo. Berlin, 1870. Vol.
II. p. 88. Book XXXII. 52.
[94] This is the date of the _Columna cochlis_. Middleton's Rome, II. 24
note.
[95] Nibby, _Roma Antica_, 8vo. Roma, 1839, p. 188.
[96] _Epist._ II. 17. 8. Parieti eius [cubiculi mei] in bibliothecae
speciem armarium insertum est quod non legendos libros sed lectitandos
capit.
[97] I should not have known of the existence of this sarcophagus had it
not been figured, accurately enough on the whole, in _Le Palais de
Scaurus_, by Mazois, published at Paris in 1822. The sarcophagus had
passed through the hands of several collectors since Mazois figured it,
and I had a long and amusing search for it.
[98] _Mittheilungen des K. D. Archaeologischen Instituts Rom_, 1900, Band
XV. p. 171. Der Sarkophag eines Arztes.
[99] The inscription is printed in full in _Antike Bilderwerke in Rom ...
beschrieben von Friedrich Matz., und F. von Duhn_, 3 vols., 8vo. Leipzig,
1881, Vol. II. p. 346, No. 3127^*.
[100] Garrucci, _Arte Christiana_, Vol. IV. p. 39. It would appear from
some curious drawings on glass figured by Garrucci, _ut supra_ Pl. 490,
that the Jews used presses of similar design in their synagogues to
contain the rolls of the law.
[101] The original of this picture is 18 in. high by 9-3/4 in. broad,
including the border. It could not be photographed, and therefore, through
the kind offices of Miss G. Dixon, and Signor Biagi, Librarian of the
Laurentian Library, the services of a thoroughly capable artist, Professor
Attilio Formilli, were secured to make an exact copy in water colours.
This he has done with singular taste and skill. My figure has been reduced
from this copy. The press has also been figured in outline by Garrucci,
_Arte Christiana_, Vol. III., Pl. 126.
[102] The romantic story of the _Codex Amiatinus_ is fully narrated by Mr
H. J. White in _Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica_, 8vo. Oxf. 1890, II. pp.
273-308.
[103] The _Octateuch_, or, the five books of Moses, with the addition of
Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.
[104] _Consol. Philosoph._, Book I. Ch. 5. Nec bibliothecae potius comptos
ebore ac vitro parietes quam tuae mentis sedem requiro.
[105] _Origines_, Book VI. Ch. ii. Cum peritiores architecti neque aurea
lacunaria ponenda in bibliothecis putent neque pavimenta alia quam a
Carysteo marmore, quod auri fulgor hebetat et Carystei viriditas reficiat
oculos.
[106] _Apol. adv. Rufinum_, ii. 20: Opera, ed. Vallarsi, II. 549.
[107] _De Origine Historia Indicibus scrinii et bibliothecae Sedis
Apostolicae commentatio Ioannis Baptistae de Rossi...._ 4to. Romae, 1886,
Chapter V. A brief, but accurate, summary of his account will be found in
Lanciani's _Ancient Rome_, 8vo. 1888, pp. 187-190. Father C. J. Ehrle has
given me much help on this difficult question.
[108] _Sidonii Apollinaris Opera_, ed. Sirmondi. 4to. Paris, 1652. Notes,
p. 33. The words of this letter, which I have translated very freely, are
as follows:
Sed dum haec tacitus mecum revolvo, occurrit mihi quod in Bibliotheca
studiosi saecularium litterarum puer quondam, ut se aetatis illius
curiositas habet, praetereundo legissem. Nam cum supra memoratae aedis
ordinator ac dominus, inter expressas lapillis aut ceris discoloribus,
formatasque effigies vel Oratorum vel etiam Poetarum specialia singulorum
autotypis epigrammata subdidisset; ubi ad praeiudicati eloquii venit
poetam, hoc modo orsus est.
The last three lines of the inscription are from the _AEneid_, Book I. 607.
I owe the most important part of the translation of Rusticus to Lanciani,
_ut supra_, p. 196: that of Virgil is by Professor Conington.
[109] I have taken the text of the inscription, and my account of Agapetus
and his work, from De Rossi, _ut supra_, Chap. VIII. p. lv.
[110] Cassiodorus, _De Inst. Div. Litt._ Chap. XXX. pp. 1145, 46. Ed.
Migne. De Rossi, _ut supra_.
[111] Versus qui scripti sunt in armaria sua ab ipso [Isidoro] compositi.
_Cod. Vat. Pal._ 1877, a MS. which came from Lorch in Germany. De Rossi,
_ut supra_. Chap. VII.
[112] _Isidori Opera Omnia_, 410. Rome, 1803. Vol. VII. p. 179.
[113] See Hen. Stevenson, _Topografia e Monumenti di Roma nelle Pitture a
fresco di Sisto V. della Biblioteca Vaticana_, p. 7; in _Al Sommo
Pontefice Leone XIII. Omaggio Giubilare della Biblioteca Vaticana_, Fol.
Rome, 1881.
[114] Signor Lanciani (_Ancient Rome_, p. 195) was the first to suggest a
comparison between the Vatican Library and those of ancient Rome.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I.
DECORATION OF THE VATICAN LIBRARY.
The system of decoration carried out in this Library, of which I have just
given a summary description, is so interesting, and bears evidence of so
much care and thought, that I subjoin a detailed account of it, which, by
the kindness of Father Ehrle, prefect of the Library, I was enabled to
draw up during my late visits to Rome. The diagrammatic ground-plan (fig.
18) which accompanies this description, if studied in conjunction with the
general view (fig. 16), will make the relation of the subjects to each
other perfectly clear. The visitor is supposed to enter the Library from
the vestibule at the east end; and the notation of the piers, windows,
wall-frescoes, etc., begins from the same end. Further, the visitor is
supposed to examine the east face of each pier first, and then to turn to
the left.
I will begin with the figures on the central piers and half-piers. These
figures are painted in fresco, of heroic size: and over their heads are
the letters which they are supposed to have invented.
1. PILASTER AGAINST EAST WALL.
ADAM.
A tall stalwart figure dressed in short chiton. He holds an apple in his
left hand, and a mattock in his right.
Adam divinitus edoctus primus scientiarum et litterarum inventor.
2. FIRST PIER.
(_a_) ABRAHAM.
Abraham Syras et Chaldaicas litteras invenit.
(_b_) THE SONS OF SETH.
Filii Seth columnis duabus rerum coelestium disciplinam inscribunt.
(_c_) ESDRAS.
Esdras novas Hebraeorum litteras invenit.
(_d_) MOSES.
Moyses antiquas Hebraicas litteras invenit.
On the cornice of the presses round this pier are the following
inscriptions:
(_a_) Doctrina bona dabit gratiam. Prov. xiii. 15.
(_b_) Volo vos sapientes esse in bono. Rom. xvi. 19.
(_c_) Impius ignorat scientiam. Prov. xxix. 7.
(_d_) Cor sapientis quaerit doctrinam. Prov. xv. 14.
3. SECOND PIER.
(_a_) MERCURY.
Mercurius Thovt AEgyptiis sacras litteras conscripsit.
(_b_) ISIS.
Isis regina AEgyptiarum litterarum inventrix.
(_c_) MENON.
Menon Phoroneo aequalis litteras in AEgypto invenit.
(_d_) HERCULES.
Hercules aegyptius Phrygias litteras invenit.
On the cornice of the presses:
(_a_) Recedere a malo intelligentia. Job xxviii. 28.
(_b_) Timere Deum ipsa est sapientia. Job xxviii. 22.
(_c_) Faciendi plures libros nullus est finis. Eccl. xii. 12.
(_d_) Dat scientiam intelligentibus disciplinam. Dan. xi. 12.
4. THIRD PIER.
(_a_) PHOENIX.
Phoenix litteras Phoenicibus tradidit.
(_b_) CECROPS.
Cecrops Diphyes primus Atheniensium rex Graecarum litterarum auctor.
(_c_) LINUS.
Linus Thebanus litterarum Graecarum inventor.
(_d_) CADMUS.
Cadmus Phoenicis frater litteras xvi in Graeciam intulit.
On the cornice of the presses:
(_a_) In malevolam animam non introibit sapientia. Sap. i. 4.
(_b_) Habentes solatio sanctos libros. 1 Mach. xii. 9.
(_c_) Cor rectum inquirit scientiam. Prov. xxvii. 12.
(_d_) Sapientiam qui abiicit infelix est. Sap. iii. 14.
5. FOURTH PIER.
(_a_) PYTHAGORAS.
Pythagoras. Y. litteram ad humanae vitae exemplum invenit.
(_b_) PALAMEDES.
Palamedes bello Troiano Graecis litteris quattuor adiecit.
(_c_) SIMONIDES.
Simonides Melicus quattuor Graecarum litterarum inventor.
(_d_) EPICHARMUS.
Epicharmus Siculus duas Graecas addidit litteras.
On the cornice of the presses:
(_a_) Qui evitat discere incidet in mala. Prov. vii. 16.
(_b_) Non glorietur sapiens in sapientia sua. Ier. ix. 23.
(_c_) Si quis indiget sapientia postulet a Deo. Iac. i. 15.
(_d_) Melior est sapientia cunctis pretiosissimis. Prov. viii. 11.
6. FIFTH PIER.
(_a_) EVANDER.
Evander Carment. F. aborigines litteras docuit.
(_b_) NICOSTRATA.
Nicostrata Carmenta latinarum litterarum inventrix.
(_c_) DEMARATUS.
Demaratus Corinthius etruscarum litterarum auctor.
(_d_) CLAUDIUS.
Claudius imperator tres novas litteras adinvenit.
On the cornice of the presses:
(_a_) Non erudietur qui non est sapiens in bono. Eccl. xxi. 24.
(_b_) Viri intelligentes loquantur mihi. Iac. xxxiv. 34.
(_c_) Non peribit consilium a sapienti. Ier. xviii. 18.
(_d_) Sapientiam atque doctrinam stulti despiciunt. Prov. i. 17.
7. SIXTH PIER.
(_a_) CHRYSOSTOM.
S. Io. Chrysostomus litterarum Armenicarum auctor.
(_b_) VLPHILAS.
Vlphilas Episcopus Gothorum litteras invenit.
(_c_) CYRIL.
S. Cyrillus aliarum Illyricarum litterarum auctor.
(_d_) JEROME.
S. Hieronymus litterarum Illyricarum inventor.
On the cornice of the presses:
(_a_) Scientia inflat charitas vero aedificat. Cor. viii. 1.
(_b_) Sapere ad sobrietatem. Rom. xii. 3.
(_c_) Vir sapiens fortis et vir doctus robustus. Prov. xxiv. 5.
(_d_) Ubi non est scientia animae non est bonum. Prov. xix. 2.
8. PILASTER AGAINST WEST WALL.
CHRIST.
Our Lord is seated. Over His Head [Greek: Alpha], [Greek: Omega]; in His
Hand an open book: Ego sum [Greek: Alpha] et [Greek: Omega]; principium
et finis. At His Feet: Iesus Christus summus magister, caelestis doctrinae
auctor.
On Christ's right hand is a POPE, standing, with triple cross and tiara.
Christi Domini vicarius.
On Christ's left hand is an EMPEROR, also standing, with crown, sword,
blue mantle.
Ecclesiae defensor.
I will now pass to the decoration of the walls. On the south wall, between
the windows, are representations of famous libraries; on the north wall,
of the eight general Councils of the Church. Each space is ornamented with
a broad border, like a picture-frame. In the centre above is the general
title of the subject or subjects below: e.g. _Bibliotheca Romanorum_; and
beneath each picture is an inscription describing the special subject.
Above each window, on the vault, is a large picture, to commemorate the
benefits conferred by Sixtus V. on Rome and on the world. I will describe
the libraries first, beginning as before at the east end of the room.
I. SIXTUS V. AND THE ARCHITECT FONTANA.
(Right of Entrance.)
Sixtus V. Pont. M. Bibliothecae Vaticanae aedificationem
prescribit.
The Pope is seated. Fontana, a pair of compasses in his right hand, is on
one knee, exhibiting the plan of the intended library.
II. MOSES ENTRUSTS THE TABLES OF THE LAW TO THE LEVITES.
(Left of Entrance.)
Moyses librum legis Levitis in tabernaculo reponendum
tradit.
Moses hands a large folio to a Levite, behind whom more Levites are
standing. Soldiers, etc., stand behind Moses. Tents in background.
III. BIBLIOTHECA HEBRAEA.
(On first wall-space south side.)
Esdras sacerdos et scriba Bibliothecam sacram restituit.
Ezra, attired in a costume that is almost Roman, stands in the centre of
the picture, his back half turned to the spectator. An official is
pointing to a press full of books. Porters are bringing in others.
IV. BIBLIOTHECA BABYLONICA.
(Two pictures.)
(_a_) _The education of Daniel in Babylon._
Daniel et socii linguam scientiamque Chaldaeorum
ediscunt.
Daniel and other young men are writing and reading at a table on the right
of the picture. A group of elderly men in front of them to the left.
Behind these is a lofty chair and desk, beneath which is a table at which
a group of boys are reading and writing. In the background a set of
book-shelves with a desk, quite modern in style.
(_b_) _The search for the decree of Cyrus._
Cyri decretum de templi restauratione Darii iussu
perquiritur.
Darius, crowned, his back half turned to the spectator, is giving orders
to several young men, who are taking books out of an _armarium_--evidently
copied from one of the Vatican book-cupboards.
V. BIBLIOTHECA ATHENIENSIS.
(Two pictures.)
(_a_) _Pisistratus arranges a library at Athens._
Pisistratus primus apud Graecos publicam bibliothecam
instituit.
Pisistratus, in armour, over which is a blue mantle, is giving orders to
an old man who kneels before him, holding an open book. Behind the old man
attendants are placing books on desks--others are reading. Behind
Pisistratus is a group of officers, and behind them again a book-press
without doors, and a row of open books on the top.
(_b_) _Restoration of the library by Seleucus._
Seleucus bibliothecam a Xerxe asportatam referendam
curat.
Servants are bringing in books which are being hastily packed into cases.
In the background is seen the sea, with a ship; and the door of the
palace. A picture full of life and movement.
VI. BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA.
(Two pictures.)
(_a_) _Ptolemy organises the library at Alexandria._
Ptolemaeus ingenti bibliotheca instructa Hebreorum libros
concupiscit.
Ptolemy, a dignified figure in a royal habit, stands in the centre. He is
addressing an elderly man who stands on his right. Behind him are three
porches, within which are seen desks and readers. In the central porch are
closed presses, with rows of folios on the top. Below are desks, at which
readers are seated, their backs turned to the presses.
(_b_) _The Seventy Translators bring their work to Ptolemy._
LXXII interpretes ab Eleazaro missi sacros libros
Ptolemaeo reddunt.
Ptolemy is seated on a throne to right of spectator with courtiers on his
right and left. The messengers kneel before him, and hand him volumes.
VII. BIBLIOTHECA ROMANORUM.
(_a_) _Tarquin receives the Sibylline Books._
Tarquinius Superbus libros Sibyllinos tres aliis a
muliere incensis tantidem emit.
Tarquin, seated in the centre of the picture, receives three volumes from
an aged and dignified woman. In front a lighted brazier in which the other
books are burning.
(_b_) _Augustus opens the Palatine library._
Augustus Caes. Palatina Bibliotheca magnifice ornata
viros litteratos fovet.
Augustus, in armour, with imperial mantle, crown and sceptre, stands left
of centre. An old man seated at his feet is writing from his dictation.
Left of the Emperor are five desks; with five closed books lying on the
top of each. These desks are very probably intended to represent those of
the Vatican Library as arranged by Sixtus IV. Two men, crowned with
laurel, are standing behind the last desk, conversing. Behind them again
is a book-case of three shelves between a pair of columns. Books are lying
on their sides on these shelves. Beneath the shelves is a desk, with books
open upon it, and others on their sides beneath it.
VIII. BIBLIOTHECA HIEROSOLIMITANA.
_Alexander, Bishop and Martyr, collects a library at Jerusalem._
S. Alexander Episc. et Mart. Decio Imp. in magna
temporum acerbitate sacrorum scriptorum libros
Hierosolymis congregat.
A picture full of movement, occupying the whole space between two windows.
The saint is in the centre of the picture, seated. Young men are bringing
in the books, and placing them on shelves.
IX. BIBLIOTHECA CAESARIENSIS.
_Pamphilus, Priest and Martyr, collects a library at Caesarea._
S. Pamphilus Presb. et Mart. admirandae sanctitatis et
doctrinae Caesareae sacram bibliothecam conficit multos
libros sua manu describit.
Pamphilus, in centre of picture, is giving orders to porters who are
bringing in a basket of books. On his left a large table at which a scribe
is writing. S. Jerome, seated in right corner of picture, is apparently
dictating to the scribe. Behind them is a large book-case on the shelves
of which books lie on their sides; others are being laid on the top by a
man standing on a ladder. In the left of the picture is a table covered
with a green cloth, on which book-binders are at work. In front of this
table a carpenter is preparing boards. In background, seen through a large
window, is a view of Caesarea.
X. BIBLIOTHECA APOSTOLORUM.
_S. Peter orders the safe-keeping of books._
S. Petrus sacrorum librorum thesaurum in Romana ecclesia
perpetuo asservari jubet.
S. Peter is standing before an altar on which are books and a cross. In
front doctors are writing at a low table.
[A small picture between window and west wall.]
XI. BIBLIOTHECA PONTIFICUM.
_The successors of S. Peter carry on the library-tradition._
Romani pontifices apostolicam bibliothecam magno studio
amplificant atque illustrant.
A pope, his left hand resting on a book, is earnestly conversing with a
cardinal, whose back is half turned to the spectator. Another pope, with
three aged men, in background.
[A small picture on west wall.]
We will now return to the east end of the room, and take the
representations of Councils, painted on the east and north walls, in
chronological order.
I. II. CONCILIUM NICAENUM I.
(On east wall.)
_The first Council held at Nicaea_, A.D. 325.
S. Silvestro PP. Constantino Mag. imp. Christus dei
Filius patri consubstantialis declaratur Arii impietas
condemnatur.
_The burning of the books of Arius._
Ex decreto concilii Constantinus Imp. libros Arianorum
comburi iubet.
III. CONCILIUM CONSTANTINOPOLITANUM I.
_The first Council held at Constantinople_, A.D. 381.
S. Damaso PP. et Theodosio sen. imp. Spiritus Sancti
divinitas propugnatur nefaria Macedonii haeresis
extinguitur.
IV. CONCILIUM EPHESINUM.
_The Council held at Ephesus_, A.D. 431.
S. Caelestino PP. et Theodosio Jun. Imp. Nestorius
Christum dividens damnatur, B. Maria Virgo dei genetrix
praedicatur.
V. CONCILIUM CHALCEDONENSE.
_The Council held at Chalcedon_, A.D. 451.
S. Leone magno PP. et Marciano Imp. infelix Eutyches
vnam tantum in Christo post incarnationem naturam
asserens confutatur.
VI. CONCILIUM CONSTANTINOPOLITANUM II.
_The second Council held at Constantinople_, A.D. 553.
Vigilio Papa et Iustiniano Imp. contentiones de tribus
capitibus sedantur Origenis errores refelluntur.
VII. CONCILIUM CONSTANTINOPOLITANUM III.
_The third Council held at Constantinople_, A.D. 680.
S. Agathone Papa Constantino pogonato Imp. monothelitae
haeretici vnam tantum in Christo voluntatem docentes
exploduntur.
VIII. CONCILIUM NICAENUM II.
_The second Council held at Nicaea_, A.D. 787.
Hadriano papa Constantino Irenes F. imp. impii
iconomachi reiiciuntur sacrarum imaginum veneratio
confirmatur.
IX. X. CONCILIUM CONSTANTINOPOLITANUM IV.
_The fourth Council held at Constantinople_, A.D. 869.
Hadriano papa et Basilio imp. S. Ignatius patriarcha
Constant. in suam sedem pulso Photio restituitur.
_The burning of the books of Photius._
Ex decreto concilii Basilius Imp. chirographa Photii et
conciliab. acta comburi iubet.
In conclusion I will enumerate the series of eighteen large pictures on
the side-walls and in the lunettes at each end of the room, representing,
with some few exceptions, the benefits conferred on Rome by Sixtus. The
most important of these pictures are above the windows (fig. 16), of which
there are seven on each side-wall. A Latin couplet above the picture
records the subject, and allegorical figures of heroic size, one on each
side, further indicate the idea which it is intended to convey.
The series begins at the east end of the room, over the door.
I. _Procession of Sixtus to his coronation._
Hic tria Sixte tuo capiti diademata dantur
Sed quantum in coelis te diadema manet.
ELECTIO SACRA. MANIFESTATIO.
On the left of this, over the First Nicene Council, is
II. _Coronation of Sixtus, with facade of old S. Peter's._
Ad templum antipodes Sixtum comitantur euntem
Jamque novus Pastor pascit ovile novum.
HONOR. DIGNITAS.
With the following picture the series on the south wall begins, above the
windows:
III. _An allegorical tableau. A lion with a human face, and a thunder-bolt
in his right paw, stands on a green hill. A flock of sheep is feeding
around._
Alcides partem Italiae praedone redemit
Sed totam Sixtus: dic mihi major uter.
JUSTITIA. CASTIGATIO.
IV. _The obelisk in front of old S. Peter's. The dome rising behind._
Dum stabit motus nullis Obeliscus ab Euris
Sixte tuum stabit nomen honosque tuus.
RELIGIO. MUNIFICENTIA.
V. _An allegorical tableau. A tree loaded with fruits, up which a lion is
trying to climb. A flock of sheep beneath._
Temporibus Sixti redeunt Saturnia regna
Et pleno cornu copia fundit opes.
CHARITAS. LIBERALITAS.
VI. _A Columna Cochlis surmounted by a statue._
Ut vinclis tenuit Petrum sic alta columna
Sustinet; hinc decus est dedecus unde fuit.
SUBLIMATIO. MUTATIO.
VII. _A crowd assembled in front of a church._
Sixtus regnum iniens indicit publica vota
Ponderis o quanti vota fuisse vides.
SALUS GENERIS HUMANI. PIETAS RELIGIONIS.
VIII. _The Lateran Palace, with the Baptistery and Obelisk._
Quintus restituit Laterana palatia Sixtus
Atque obelum medias transtulit ante foras.
SANATIO. PURGATIO.
IX. _A fountain erected by Sixtus._
Fons felix celebri notus super aethera versu
Romulea passim jugis in urbe fuit.
MISERATIO. BENIGNITAS.
The next two pictures are above the arches leading from the west end of
the library into the corridor:
X. _Panorama of Rome as altered by Sixtus._
Dum rectas ad templa vias sanctissima pandit
Ipse sibi Sixtus pandit ad astra viam.
LAETIFICATIO. NOBILITAS.
XI. _An allegorical representation of the Tiara, with adoring
worshippers._
Virgo intacta manet nec vivit adultera conjux
Castaque nunc Roma est quae fuit ante salax.
CASTITAS. DEFENSIO.
With the following picture the series on the north wall begins:
XII. _Section of S. Peter's, with the dome._
Virginis absistit mirari templa Dianae;
Qui fanum hoc intrat Virgo Maria tuum.
AEQUIPARATIO. POTESTAS.
XIII. _The Obelisk in the Circus of Nero._
Maximus est obelus circus quem maximus olim
Condidit et Sixtus maximus inde trahit.
REAEDIFICATIO. COGNITO VERI DEI.
XIV. _The Tiber, with the Ponte Sisto, and the Ospedale di Santo Spirito._
Quaeris cur tota non sit mendicus in Urbe:
Tecta parat Sixtus suppeditatque cibos.
CLEMENTIA. OPERATIO BONA.
XV. _A similar view._
Jure Antoninum paulo vis Sixte subesse
Nam vere hic pius est impius ille pius.
ELECTIO SACRA. VERA GLORIA.
XVI. _A similar view, with the Obelisk._
Transfers Sixte pium transferre an dignior alter
Transferri an vero dignior alter erat.
RECOGNITIO. GRATITUDO.
XVII. _The Obelisk, now in front of S. Peter's, before it was removed._
Qui Regum tumulis obeliscus serviit olim
Ad cunas Christi tu pie Sixte locas.
OBLATIO. DEVOTIO.
XVIII. _A fleet at sea._
Instruit hic Sixtus classes quibus aequora purget
Et Solymos victos sub sua jura trahat.
PROVIDENTIA. SECURITAS.
[Illustration: Fig. 18. Rough groundplan of the great hall of the Vatican
Library, to illustrate the account of the decoration.]
CHAPTER II.
CHRISTIAN LIBRARIES CONNECTED WITH CHURCHES. USE OF THE APSE. MONASTIC
COMMUNITIES. S. PACHOMIUS. S. BENEDICT AND HIS SUCCESSORS. EACH HOUSE HAD
A LIBRARY. ANNUAL AUDIT OF BOOKS. LOAN ON SECURITY. MODES OF PROTECTION.
CURSES. PRAYERS FOR DONORS. ENDOWMENT OF LIBRARIES. USE OF THE CLOISTER.
DEVELOPMENT OF CISTERCIAN BOOK-ROOM. COMMON PRESS. CARRELLS. GLASS.
The evidence collected in the last chapter shews that what I have there
called the Roman conception of a library was maintained, even by Christian
ecclesiastics, during many centuries of our era. I have next to trace the
beginning and the development of another class of libraries, directly
connected with Christianity. We shall find that the books intended for the
use of the new communities were stored in or near the places where they
met for service, just as in the most ancient times the safe-keeping of
similar treasures had been entrusted to temples.
It is easy to see how this came about. The necessary service-books would
be placed in the hands of the ecclesiastic who had charge of the building
in which the congregation assembled. To these volumes--which at first were
doubtless regarded in the same light as vestments or sacred
vessels--treatises intended for edification or instruction would be
gradually added, and so the nucleus of a library would be formed.
The existence of such libraries does not rest on inference only. There are
numerous allusions to them in the Fathers and other writers; S. Jerome,
for instance, advises a correspondent to consult church-libraries, as
though every church possessed one[115]. As however the allusions to them
are general, and say nothing about extent or arrangement, this part of my
subject need not detain us long[116].
The earliest collection of which I have discovered any record is that got
together at Jerusalem, by Bishop Alexander, who died A.D. 250. Eusebius,
when writing his Ecclesiastical History some eighty years later, describes
this library as a storehouse of historical records, which he had himself
used with advantage in the composition of his work[117]. A still more
important collection existed at Caesarea in Palestine. S. Jerome says
distinctly that it was founded by Pamphilus, "a man who in zeal for the
acquisition of a library wished to take rank with Demetrius Phalereus and
Pisistratus[118]." As Pamphilus suffered martyrdom in A.D. 309, this
library must have been got together soon after that at Jerusalem. It is
described as not only extensive, but remarkable for the importance of the
manuscripts it contained. Here was the supposed Hebrew original of S.
Matthew's Gospel[119], and most of the works of Origen, got together by
the pious care of Pamphilus, who had been his pupil and devoted admirer.
S. Jerome himself worked in this library, and collated there the
manuscripts which Origen had used when preparing his Hexapla[120]. At
Cirta the church and the library were evidently in the same building,
from the way in which they are spoken of in the account of the persecution
of A.D. 303-304. "The officers," we are told, "went into the building
(_domus_) where the Christians were in the habit of meeting." There they
took an inventory of the plate and vestments. "But," proceeds the
narrative, "when they came to the library, the presses there were found
empty[121]." Augustine, on his deathbed, A.D. 430, gave directions that
"the library of the church [at Hippo], and all the manuscripts, should be
carefully preserved by those who came after him[122]."
Further, there appears to be good reason for believing that when a church
had a triple apse, the lateral apses were separated off by a curtain or a
door, the one to contain the sacred vessels, the other the books. This
view, which has been elaborated by De Rossi in explanation of three
recesses in the thickness of the wall of the apse of a small private
oratory discovered in Rome in 1876[123], is chiefly supported by the
language of Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, who lived from about A.D. 353 to
A.D. 431. He describes a basilica erected by himself at Nola in honour of
S. Felix, martyr, as having "an apse divided into three (_apsidem
trichoram_)[124]"; and in a subsequent passage, after stating that there
are to be two recesses, one to the right, the other to the left of the
apse, he adds, "these verses indicate the use of each[125]," and gives the
following couplets, with their headings:
_On the right of the Apse._
Hic locus est veneranda penus qua conditur, et qua
Ponitur alma sacri pompa ministerii.
Here are the sacred vessels stored, and here
The peaceful trappings of our holy rites.
_On the left of the same._
Si quem sancta tenet meditandi in lege voluntas
Hic poterit residens sacris intendere libris.
Here he whose thoughts are on the laws of God
May sit and ponder over holy books.
As De Rossi explains, the first of the two niches was intended to contain
the vessels and furniture of the altar; the second was reserved for the
safe-keeping of the sacred books. The word _trichora_, in Greek [Greek:
tricho], is used by later writers to designate a three-fold division of
any object--as for instance, by Dioscorides, of the seed-pod of the
acacia[126].
Whether this theory of the use of the apse be accurate or fanciful, the
purely Christian libraries to which I have alluded were undoubtedly
connected, more or less closely, with churches; and I submit that the
libraries which in the Middle Ages were connected with cathedrals and
collegiate churches are their lineal descendants.
I have next to consider the libraries formed by monastic communities, the
origin of which may be traced to very early times. Among the Christians of
the first three centuries there were enthusiasts who, discontented with
the luxurious life they led in the populous cities along the coasts of
Africa and Syria, fled into the Egyptian deserts, there to lead a life of
rigorous self-denial and religious contemplation. These hermits were
presently joined by other hermits, and small communities were gradually
formed, with a regular organization that foreshadowed the Rules and
Customs of the later monastic life. Those who governed these primitive
monasteries soon realised the fact that without books their inmates would
relapse into barbarism, and libraries were got together. The Rule of S.
Pachomius (A.D. 292-345), whose monastery was at Tabennisi near Denderah
in Upper Egypt, provides that the books of the House are to be kept in a
cupboard (_fenestra_) in the thickness of the wall. Any brother who wanted
a book might have one for a week, at the end of which he was bound to
return it. No brother might leave a book open when he went to church or
to meals. In the evening the officer called "the Second," that is, the
second in command, was to take charge of the books, count them, and lock
them up.[127]
These provisions, insisted upon at a very early date, form a suitable
introduction to the most important section of my subject--the care of
books by the Monastic Orders. With them book-preserving and book-producing
were reduced to a system, and in their libraries--the public libraries of
the Middle Ages--literature found a home, until the invention of printing
handed over to the world at large the duties which had been so well
discharged by special communities. This investigation is full of
difficulty; and, though I hope to arrive at some definite conclusions
respecting the position, size, dimensions, and fittings of monastic
libraries, I must admit that my results depend to a certain extent on
analogy and inference. It should be remembered that in England the
monasteries were swept away more than three centuries ago by a sudden
catastrophe, and that those who destroyed them were far too busy with
their own affairs to place on record the aspect or the plan of what they
were wrecking. In France again, though little more than a century has
elapsed since her monasteries were overwhelmed by the Revolution, and
though descriptions and views of many of her great religious houses have
been preserved, and much has been done in the way of editing catalogues of
their manuscripts, there is still a lamentable dearth of information on my
particular subject.
I shall begin by quoting some passages from the Rules and Customs of the
different Orders, which shew (1) that reading was encouraged and enforced
by S. Benedict himself, with whom the monastic life, as we conceive it,
may be said to have originated; (2) that subsequently, as Order after
Order was founded, a steady development of feeling with regard to books,
and an ever-increasing care for their safe-keeping, can be traced.
The Rule of S. Benedict was made public early in the sixth century; and
the later Orders were but offshoots of the Benedictine tree, either using
his Rule or basing their own statutes upon it. It will therefore be
desirable to begin this research by examining what S. Benedict said on the
subject of study, and I will translate a few lines from the 48th chapter
of his Rule, _Of daily manual labour_.
Idleness is the enemy of the soul; hence brethren ought,
at certain seasons, to occupy themselves with manual
labour, and again, at certain hours, with holy
reading....
Between Easter and the calends of October let them apply
themselves to reading from the fourth hour till near the
sixth hour.
From the calends of October to the beginning of Lent let
them apply themselves to reading until the second
hour.... During Lent, let them apply themselves to
reading from morning until the end of the third hour ...
and, in these days of Lent, let them receive a book
apiece from the library, and read it straight through.
These books are to be given out at the beginning of
Lent[128].
In this passage the _library_--by which a book-press is probably to be
understood--is specially mentioned. In other words, at that early date the
formation of a collection of books was contemplated, large enough to
supply the community with a volume apiece, without counting the
service-books required for use in the church.
The Benedictine Order flourished and increased abundantly for more than
four centuries, until, about A.D. 912, the order of Cluni was established.
It was so called from the celebrated abbey near Macon in Burgundy, which,
though not the first house of the Order in point of date, became
subsequently the first in extent, wealth, and reputation. As a stricter
observance of the Rule of S. Benedict was the main object which the
founder of this Order had in view, the Benedictine directions respecting
study are maintained and developed. The Customs prescribe the following
regulations for books:
On the second day of Lent the only passage of the Rule
to be read in Chapter is that concerning the observance
of Lent.
Then shall be read aloud a note (_brevis_) of the books
which a year before had been given out to brethren for
their reading. When a brother's name is called, he
rises, and returns the book that had been given to him;
and if it should happen that he has not read it through,
he is to ask forgiveness for his want of diligence.
A carpet on which those books are to be laid out is to
be put down in the Chapter-House; and the titles of
those which are distributed to brethren afresh are to be
noted, for which purpose a tablet is to be made of
somewhat larger size than usual[129].
In a subsequent chapter it is directed that the books are to be entrusted
to the official "who is called Precentor and _Armarius_, because he
usually has charge of the library, which is also called the _armarium_
(press)[130]. This arrangement shews that up to this date all the books,
whether service-books or not, were regarded as belonging to the church.
I come next to the decrees given to the English Benedictines by Archbishop
Lanfranc in or about 1070. "We send you" he says "the Customs of our Order
in writing, selected from the Customs of those houses (_coenobia_) which
are in our day of the highest authority in the monastic order[131]." The
section relating to books is so interesting that I will translate it.
On the Monday after the first Sunday in Lent ... before
the brethren go in to Chapter, the librarian (_custos
librorum_) ought to have all the books brought together
into the Chapter-House and laid out on a carpet, except
those which had been given out for reading during the
past year: these the brethren ought to bring with them
as they come into Chapter, each carrying his book in his
hand. Of this they ought to have had notice given to
them by the aforesaid librarian on the preceding day in
Chapter. Then let the passage in the Rule of S. Benedict
about the observance of Lent be read, and a discourse be
preached upon it. Next let the librarian read a document
(_breve_) setting forth the names of the brethren who
have had books during the past year; and let each
brother, when he hears his own name pronounced, return
the book which had been entrusted to him for reading;
and let him who is conscious of not having read the book
through which he had received, fall down on his face,
confess his fault, and pray for forgiveness.
Then let the aforesaid librarian hand to each brother
another book for reading; and when the books have been
distributed in order, let the aforesaid librarian in the
same Chapter put on record the names of the books, and
of those who receive them[132].
It is, I think, certain that when Lanfranc was writing this passage the
Cluniac Customs must have been before him[133]. It should be noted that
the librarian is not defined otherwise than as "keeper of the books," but
we learn from the Customs of Benedictine houses subsequent to Lanfranc's
time that this duty was discharged by the Precentor, as in the Cluniac
Customs. For instance, in the Customs of the Benedictine house at
Abingdon, in Berkshire, drawn up near the end of the twelfth century, we
read:
The precentor shall keep clean the presses belonging to
the boys and the novices, and all others in which the
books of the convent are stored, repair them when they
are broken, provide coverings for the books in the
library, and make good any damage done to them[134].
The precentor cannot sell, or give away, or pledge any
books; nor can he lend any except on deposit of a
pledge, of equal or greater value than the book itself.
It is safer to fall back on a pledge, than to proceed
against an individual. Moreover he may not lend except
to neighbouring churches, or to persons of conspicuous
worth[135].
The Customs of the Abbey of Evesham in Worcestershire give the same
directions in a slightly different form.
It is part of the precentor's duty to entrust to the
younger monks the care of the presses, and to keep them
in repair: whenever the convent is sitting in cloister,
he is to go round the cloister as soon as the bell has
sounded, and replace the books, in case any brother
through carelessness should have forgotten to do so.
He is to take charge of all the books in the monastery,
and have them in his keeping, provided his carefulness
and knowledge be such that they may be entrusted to him.
No one is to take a book out unless it be entered on his
roll: nor is any book to be lent to any one without a
proper and sufficient voucher, and this too is to be set
down on his roll[136].
The Carthusians--the second offshoot of the Benedictine tree (1084)--also
preserved the primitive tradition of study. They not only read themselves,
but were actively employed in writing books for others. In the chapter of
their statutes which deals with the furniture allowed to each "tenant of a
cell (_incola celle_)"--(for in this community each brother lived apart,
with his sitting-room, bed-room, and plot of garden-ground)--all the
articles needful for writing are enumerated, "for nearly all those whom we
adopt we teach, if possible, to write," and then the writer passes on to
books.
Moreover he--[the tenant of the cell]--receives two
books out of the press for reading. He is admonished to
take the utmost care and pains that they be not soiled
by smoke or dust or dirt of any kind; for it is our wish
that books, as being the perpetual food of our souls,
should be most jealously guarded, and most carefully
produced, that we, who cannot preach the word of God
with our lips, may preach it with our hands[137].
They did, however, on occasion lend books, for it is provided that when
books are lent no one shall retain them contrary to the will of the
lenders[138]. It would be interesting to know how this rule was enforced.
The Cistercian Order--founded 1128--adopted the Benedictine Rule, and with
it the obligation of study and writing. Moreover, in their anxiety to take
due care of their books, they went further than their predecessors; for
they entrusted them to a special officer, instead of to the precentor, and
they admitted a special room to contain them into the ground-plan of their
houses.
At a later point I shall return to the interesting subject of the
Cistercian book-room. For the present I must content myself with
translating from their Customs the passage relating to books. It occurs in
Chapter CXV., _Of the precentor and his assistant_. After describing his
various duties, the writer proceeds:
With regard to the production and safe-keeping of
charters and books, the abbat is to consider to whom he
shall entrust this duty.
The officer so appointed may go as far as the doors of
the writing-rooms when he wants to hand in or to take
out a book, but he may not go inside. In the same way
for books in common use, as for instance antiphoners,
hymnals, graduals, lectionaries [etc.], and those which
are read in the Prater and at Collation, he may go as
far as the door of the novices, and of the sick, and of
the writers, and then ask for what he wants by a sign,
but he may not go further unless he have been commanded
by the abbat. When Collation is over it is his duty to
close the press, and during the period of labour, of
sleep, and of meals, and while vespers are being sung,
to keep it locked[139].
The Customs of the Augustinian Order are exceedingly full on the subject
of books. I will translate part of the 14th chapter of the Customs in use
at Barnwell[140], near Cambridge. It is headed: _Of the safe keeping of
the books, and of the office of Librarian (armarius)._ As the passage
occurs also in the Customs as observed in France and in Belgium, it may be
taken, I presume, to represent the general practice of the Order.
The Librarian, who is called also Precentor, is to take
charge of the books of the church; all which he ought to
keep and to know under their separate titles; and he
should frequently examine them carefully to prevent any
damage or injury from insects or decay. He ought also,
at the beginning of Lent, in each year, to shew them to
the convent in Chapter, when the souls of those who have
given them to the church, or of the brethren who have
written them, and laboured over them, ought to be
absolved, and a service in convent be held over them. He
ought also to hand to the brethren the books which they
see occasion to use, and to enter on his roll the titles
of the books, and the names of those who receive them.
These, when required, are bound to give surety for the
volumes they receive; nor may they lend them to others,
whether known or unknown, without having first obtained
permission from the Librarian. Nor ought the Librarian
himself to lend books unless he receive a pledge of
equal value; and then he ought to enter on his roll the
name of the borrower, the title of the book lent, and
the pledge taken. The larger and more valuable books he
ought not to lend to anyone, known or unknown, without
permission of the Prelate....
Books which are to be kept at hand for daily use,
whether for singing or reading, ought to be in some
common place, to which all the brethren can have easy
access for inspection, and selection of anything which
seems to them suitable. The books, therefore, ought not
to be carried away into chambers, or into corners
outside the Cloister or the Church. The Librarian ought
frequently to dust the books carefully, to repair them,
and to point them, lest brethren should find any error
or hindrance in the daily service of the church, whether
in singing or in reading. No other brother ought to
erase or change anything in the books unless he have
obtained the consent of the Librarian....
The press in which the books are kept ought to be lined
inside with wood, that the damp of the walls may not
moisten or stain the books. This press should be divided
vertically as well as horizontally by sundry shelves on
which the books may be ranged so as to be separated from
one another; for fear they be packed so close as to
injure each other or delay those who want them[141].
Further, as the books ought to be mended, pointed, and
taken care of by the Librarian, so ought they to be
properly bound by him.
The Order of Premontre--better known as the Premonstratensians, or
reformed Augustinians--repeat the essential part of these directions in
their statute, _Of the Librarian (armarius)_, with this addition, that it
is to be part of the librarian's duty to provide for the borrowing of
books for the use of the House, as well as for lending[142].
Lastly, the Friars, though property was forbidden, and S. Francis would
not allow his disciples to own so much as a psalter or a breviary[143],
soon found that books were a necessity, and the severity of early
discipline was relaxed in favour of a library. S. Francis died in 1226,
and only thirty-four years afterwards, among the constitutions adopted by
a General Chapter of the Order held at Narbonne 10 June, 1260, are several
provisions relating to books. They are of no great importance, taken by
themselves, but their appearance at so early a date proves that books had
become indispensable. It is enacted that no brother may write books, or
have them written, for sale; nor may the chief officer of a province
venture to keep books without leave obtained from the chief officer of the
whole Order; no brother may keep the books assigned to him, unless they
are altogether the property of the Order--and so forth[144]. A century
later, when Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham, was writing his
_Philobiblon_ (completed 24 January, 1344-45), he could say of them and
the other friars--whom, be it remembered, he, as a regular, would regard
with scant favour--
But whenever it happened that we turned aside to the
cities and places where the Mendicants had their
convents we did not disdain to visit their libraries and
any other repositories of books; nay there we found
heaped up amidst the utmost poverty the utmost riches of
wisdom. We discovered in their fardels and baskets not
only crumbs falling from the master's table for the
dogs, but the shewbread without leaven and the bread of
angels having in it all that is delicious; and indeed
the garners of Joseph full of corn, and all the spoil of
the Egyptians and the very precious gifts which Queen
Sheba brought to Solomon.
These men are as ants ever preparing their meat in the
summer, and ingenious bees continually fabricating cells
of honey.... And to pay due regard to truth ... although
they lately at the eleventh hour have entered the Lord's
vineyard ..., they have added more in this brief hour to
the stock of the sacred books than all the other
vinedressers; following in the footsteps of Paul, the
last to be called but the first in preaching, who spread
the gospel of Christ more widely than all others[145].
At Assisi, the parent house of the Franciscan Order, there was a library
of considerable extent, many volumes of which still exist, with a
catalogue drawn up in 1381.
At this point I will resume the conclusions which may be deduced from this
examination of the Benedictine Rule and the Customs founded upon it.
In the first place they all assume the existence of a library. S. Benedict
contents himself with general directions about study. The Cluniacs put the
books in charge of the precentor, who is to be called also _armarius_, and
they prescribe an annual audit of them, with the assignment of a single
volume to each brother, on the security of a written attestation of the
fact. These regulations were adopted by the Benedictines, with fuller
rules for the librarian, who is still precentor also. He is to keep both
presses and books in repair, and personally to supervise the daily use of
the manuscripts, restoring to their proper places those that brethren may
have been reading. Among these rules permission to lend books on receipt
of a pledge first makes its appearance. The Carthusians maintain the
principle of lending. Each brother might have two books, and he is to be
specially careful to keep them clean. The Cistercians appoint a special
officer to have charge of the books, about the safety of which great care
is to be taken, and at certain times of the day he is to lock the press.
The Augustinians and the Premonstratensians follow the Cluniacs and
Benedictines: but the Premonstratensians direct their librarian to take
note of the books that the House borrows as well as of those that it
lends; and they adopt the Cistercian precaution about his opening and
locking the press.
Secondly, by the time that Lanfranc was writing his statutes for English
Benedictines, it was evidently contemplated that the number of books would
have exceeded the number of brethren, for the keeper of the books is
directed to bring all the books of the House into Chapter, and after that
the brethren, one by one, are to bring in the books which they have
borrowed[146]. Among the books belonging to the House there were probably
some service-books; but, from the language used, it appears to me that we
may fairly conclude that by the end of the eleventh century Benedictine
Houses had two sets of books: (1) those which were distributed among the
brethren; (2) those which were kept in some safe place, as part of the
possessions of the House: or, to adopt modern phrases, that they had a
lending library and a library of reference.
Thirdly, it is evident that the loan of books to persons in general, on
adequate security, began at a very early date. On this account I have
already ventured to call monastic libraries the public libraries of the
Middle Ages. As time went on, the practice was developed, and at last
became general. It was even enjoined upon monks as a duty by their
ecclesiastical superiors. In 1212 a Council which met at Paris made the
following decree, but I am not able to say whether it was accepted out of
France:
We forbid those who belong to a religious Order, to
formulate any vow against lending their books to those
who are in need of them; seeing that to lend is
enumerated among the principal works of mercy.
After careful consideration, let some books be kept in
the House for the use of brethren; others, according to
the decision of the abbat, be lent to those who are in
need of them, the rights of the House being
safe-guarded.
From the present date no book is to be retained under
pain of incurring a curse [for its alienation], and we
declare all such curses to be of no effect[147].
In the same century many volumes were bequeathed to the Augustinian House
of S. Victor, Paris, on the express condition that they should be so
lent[148]. It is almost needless to add that one abbey was continually
lending to another, either for reading or for copying[149].
Houses which lent liberally would probably be the first to relax
discipline so far as to admit strangers to their libraries; and in the
sixteenth and following centuries the libraries of the Benedictine House
of S. Germain des Pres, Paris, as well as the already mentioned House of
S. Victor, were open to all comers on certain days in the week.
When we try to realise the feelings with which monastic communities
regarded books, it must always be remembered that they had a paternal
interest in them. In many cases they had been written in the very House in
which they were afterwards read from generation to generation: and if not,
they had probably been procured by the exchange of some work so written.
In fact, if a book was not a son of the House, it was at least a nephew.
The conviction that books were a possession with which no convent could
dispense, appears in many medieval writers. The whole matter is summed up
in the phrase, written about 1170, "claustrum sine armario, castrum sine
armamentario[150]," an epigram which I will not spoil by trying to
translate it; and even more clearly in the passionate utterances of Thomas
a Kempis on the desolate condition of priest and convent without
books[151]. The "round of creation" is explored for similes to enforce
this truth. A priest so situated is like a horse without bridle, a ship
without oars, a writer without pens, a bird without wings, etc.; while the
House is like a kitchen without stewpans, a table without food, a well
without water, a river without fish--and many other things which I have no
space to mention.
Evidence of the solicitude with which they protected their treasures is
not wanting. The very mode of holding a manuscript was prescribed, if not
by law, at least by general custom. "When the religious are engaged in
reading in cloister or in church," says an Order of the General
Benedictine Chapter, "they shall if possible hold the books in their left
hands, wrapped in the sleeve of their tunics, and resting on their knees;
their right hands shall be uncovered with which to hold and turn the
leaves of the aforesaid books[152]." In a manuscript at Monte Cassino[153]
is the practical injunction
Quisquis quem tetigerit
Sit illi lota manus;
and at the same House the possession of handkerchiefs--which were
evidently regarded as effeminate inventions--is specially excused on the
ground that they would be useful--among other things--"for wrapping round
the manuscripts which brethren handle[154]." Of similar import is the
distich at the end of a fine manuscript formerly in the library of S.
Victor:
Qui servare libris preciosis nescit honorem
Illius a manibus sit procul iste liber[155].
With these injunctions may be compared a note in a fourteenth century
manuscript from the same library:
Whoever pursues his studies in this book, should be
careful to handle the leaves gently and delicately, so
as to avoid tearing them by reason of their thinness;
and let him imitate the example of Jesus Christ, who,
when he had quietly opened the book of Isaiah and read
therein attentively, rolled it up with reverence, and
gave it again to the minister[156];
and the advice of Thomas a Kempis to the youthful students for whose
benefit he composed the treatise called _Doctrinale Juvenum_ which I have
already quoted:
Take thou a book into thine hands as Simeon the Just
took the Child Jesus into his arms to carry him and kiss
him. And when thou hast finished reading, close the book
and give thanks for every word out of the mouth of God;
because in the Lord's field thou hast found a hidden
treasure[157].
In a similar strain a writer or copyist entreats readers to be careful of
his work--work which has cost him an amount of pains that they cannot
realise. It is impossible to translate the original exactly, but I hope
that I have given the meaning with tolerable clearness:
I beseech you, my friend, when you are reading my book
to keep your hands behind its back, for fear you should
do mischief to the text by some sudden movement; for a
man who knows nothing about writing thinks that it is no
concern of his. Whereas to a writer the last line is as
sweet as port is to a sailor. Three fingers hold the
pen, but the whole body toils. Thanks be to God. I
Warembert wrote this book in God's name. Thanks be to
God. Amen[158].
Entreaties so gentle and so pathetic as these are seldom met with; but
curses--in the same strain probably as those to which the Council of Paris
took exception--are extremely common. In fact, in some Houses, a
manuscript invariably ended with an imprecation--more or less severe,
according to the writer's taste[159]. I will append a few specimens.
This book belongs to S. Maximin at his monastery of
Micy, which abbat Peter caused to be written, and with
his own labour corrected and punctuated, and on Holy
Thursday dedicated to God and S. Maximin on the altar of
S. Stephen, with this imprecation that he who should
take it away from thence by what device soever, with
the intention of not restoring it, should incur
damnation with the traitor Judas, with Annas, Caiaphas,
and Pilate. Amen[160].
Should anyone by craft or any device whatever abstract
this book from this place [Jumieges] may his soul
suffer, in retribution for what he has done, and may his
name be erased from the book of the living and not be
recorded among the Blessed[161].
A simpler form of imprecation occurs very frequently in manuscripts
belonging to S. Alban's:
This book belongs to S. Alban. May whosoever steals it
from him or destroys its title be anathema. Amen[162].
A similar form of words occurs at the Cistercian House of Clairvaux, a
great school of writing like S. Alban's, but whether it habitually
protected its manuscripts in this manner I am unable to say:
May whoever steals or alienates this manuscript, or
scratches out its title, be anathema. Amen[163].
A very curious form of curse occurs in one of the manuscripts of Christ
Church, Canterbury. The writer repents of his severity in the last
sentence.
May whoever destroys this title, or by gift or sale or
loan or exchange or theft or by any other device
knowingly alienates this book from the aforesaid Christ
Church, incur in this life the malediction of Jesus
Christ and of the most glorious Virgin His Mother, and
of Blessed Thomas, Martyr. Should however it please
Christ, who is patron of Christ Church, may his soul be
saved in the Day of Judgment[164].
Lastly, I will quote a specimen in verse, from a breviary now in the
library of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge:
Wher so ever y be come over all
I belonge to the Chapell of gunvylle hall:
He shal be cursed by the grate sentens
That felonsly faryth and berith me thens.
And whether he bere me in pooke or sekke,
For me he shall be hanged by the nekke,
(I am so well beknown of dyverse men)
But I be restored theder agen[165].
On the other hand, the gift of books to a monastery was gratefully
recorded and enumerated among the good deeds of their donors. Among the
Augustinians such gifts, and the labour expended upon books in general,
was the subject of a special service[166].
It is not uncommon to find a monastic library regularly endowed with part
of the annual revenue of the House. For instance, at Corbie, the librarian
received 10 sous from each of the higher, and 5 sous from each of the
inferior officers, together with a certain number of bushels of corn from
lands specially set apart for the purpose. This was confirmed by a bull of
Pope Alexander III. (1166-1179)[167]. A similar arrangement was made at
the library of S. Martin des Champs, Paris, in 1261[168]. At the
Benedictine Abbey of Fleury, near Orleans, in 1146, it was agreed in
chapter on the proposition of the abbat, that in each year on S.
Benedict's winter festival (21 March), he and the priors subordinate to
him, together with the officers of the House, should all contribute "to
the repair of our books, the preparation of new ones, and the purchase of
parchment." The name of each contributor, and the sum that he was to give,
are recorded[169]. At the Benedictine Monastery of Ely Bishop Nigel
(1133-1174) granted the tithe of certain churches in the diocese "as a
perpetual alms to the _scriptorium_ of the church of Ely for the purpose
of making and repairing the books of the said church[170]." The books
referred to were probably, in the first instance, service-books; but the
number required of these could hardly have been sufficient to occupy the
whole time of the scribes, and the library would doubtless derive benefit
from their labours. The _scriptorium_ at S. Alban's was also specially
endowed.
We must next consider the answer to the following questions: In what part
of their Houses did the Monastic Orders bestow their books? and what
pieces of furniture did they use? The answer to the first of these
questions is a very curious one, when we consider what our climate is, and
indeed what the climate of the whole of Europe is, during the winter
months. The centre of the monastic life was the cloister. Brethren were
not allowed to congregate in any other part of the conventual buildings,
except when they went into the frater, or dining-hall, for their meals, or
at certain hours in certain seasons into the warming-house
(_calefactorium_). In the cloister accordingly they kept their books; and
there they wrote and studied, or conducted the schooling of the novices
and choir-boys, in winter and in summer alike.
It is obvious that their work must have been at the mercy of the elements
during many months of the year, and some important proofs that such was
the case can be quoted. Cuthbert, Abbat of Wearmouth and Jarrow in the
second half of the eighth century, excuses himself to a correspondent for
not having sent him all the works of Bede which he had asked for, on the
ground that the intense cold of the previous winter had paralysed the
hands of his scribes[171]; Ordericus Vitalis, who wrote in the first half
of the twelfth century, closes the fourth book of his Ecclesiastical
History with a lament that he must lay aside his work for the winter[172];
and a monk of Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire has recorded his
discomforts in a Latin couplet which seems to imply that in a place so
inconvenient as a cloister all seasons were equally destructive of serious
work:
In vento minime pluvia nive sole sedere
Possumus in claustro nec scribere neque studere[173].
As we sit here in tempest in rain snow and sun
Nor writing nor reading in cloister is done.
But, when circumstances were more propitious, plenty of good work that was
of permanent value could be done in a cloister. A charming picture has
come down to us of the literary activity that prevailed in the Abbey of S.
Martin at Tournai at the end of the eleventh century, when Abbat Odo was
giving an impulse to the writing of MSS. "When you entered the cloister,"
says his chronicler, "you could generally see a dozen young monks seated
on chairs, and silently writing at desks of careful and artistic design.
With their help, he got accurate copies made of all Jerome's commentaries
on the Prophets, of the works of Blessed Gregory, and of all the treatises
he could find of Augustine, Ambrose, Isidore, and Anselm; so that the like
of his library was not to be found in any of the neighbouring churches;
and those attached to them used generally to ask for our copies for the
correction of their own[174]."
The second question cannot be answered so readily. We must begin by
examining, in some detail, the expressions used to denote furniture in the
various documents that deal with conventual libraries.
S. Pachomius places his books in a cupboard (_fenestra_); S. Benedict uses
only the general term, library (_bibliotheca_), which may mean either a
room or a piece of furniture; and the word press (_armarium_), with which
we become so familiar afterwards, does not make its appearance till near
the end of the eleventh century. Lanfranc does not use it, but as I have
shewn that he based his statutes, at least to some extent, on the Cluniac
Customs, and as they identify the library (_bibliotheca_) with the press
(_armarium_), and call the librarian, termed by Lanfranc the keeper of the
books, the keeper of the press (_armarius_), we may safely assume that the
books to which Lanfranc refers were housed in a similar piece of
furniture. Moreover, in Benedictine houses of later date, as for instance
at Abingdon and Evesham, the word is constantly employed.
I pointed out in the first chapter that the word press (_armarium_) was
used by the Romans to signify both a detached piece of furniture and a
recess in a wall into which such a contrivance might be inserted[175]. The
same use obtained in medieval times[176], and the passage quoted above
from the Augustinian customs[177] shews that the book-press there
contemplated was a recess lined with wood and subdivided so as to keep the
books separate.
The books to be accommodated in a monastery, even of large size, could not
at its origin have been numerous[178], and would easily have been
contained in a single receptacle. This, I conceive, was that recess in the
wall which is so frequently found between the Chapter-House and the door
into the church at the end of the east pane of the cloister. In many
monastic ruins this recess is still open, and, by a slight effort of
imagination, can be restored to its pristine use. Elsewhere it is filled
in, having been abandoned by the monks themselves in favour of a fresh
contrivance. The recess I am speaking of was called the common press
(_armarium commune_), or common cloister-press (_commune armarium
claustri_); and it contained the books appointed for the general use of
the community (_communes libri_).
A press of this description (fig. 19) is still to be seen in excellent
preservation at the Cistercian monastery of Fossa Nuova in Central Italy,
near Terracina, which I visited in the spring of 1900. This house may be
dated 1187-1208[179]. The press is in the west wall of the south transept
(fig. 21), close to the door leading to the church. It measures 4 ft. 3
in. wide, by 3 ft. 6 in. high; and is raised 2 ft. 3 in. above the floor
of the cloister. It is lined with slabs of stone; but the hinges are not
strong enough to have carried doors of any material heavier than wood; and
I conjecture that the shelf also was of the same material. Stone is
plentiful in that part of Italy, but wood, especially in large pieces,
would have to be brought from a distance. Hence its removal, as soon as
the cupboard was not required for the purpose for which it was
constructed.
[Illustration: Fig. 19. Press in the cloister at the Cistercian Abbey of
Fossa Nuova.]
Two recesses, evidently intended for the same purpose, are to be seen in
the east walk of the cloister of Worcester Cathedral, formerly a
Benedictine monastery. They are between the Chapter-House and the passage
leading to the treasury and other rooms. Each recess is square-headed, 6
ft. 9 in. high, 2 ft. 6 in. deep, and 11 ft. broad (fig. 20). In front of
the recesses is a bench-table, 13 in. broad and 16 in. high. This
book-press was in use so late as 1518, when a book bought by the Prior was
"delyvered to y^e cloyster awmery[180]."
[Illustration: Fig. 20. Groundplan and elevation of the book-recesses in
the cloister of Worcester Cathedral.]
As books multiplied ampler accommodation for them became necessary; and,
as they were to be read in cloister, it was obvious that the new presses
or cases must either be placed in the cloister or be easily accessible
from it. The time had not yet come when the collection could be divided,
and be placed partly in the cloister, partly in a separate and sometimes
distant room. This want of book-room was supplied in two ways. In
Benedictine and possibly in Cluniac houses the books were stored in
detached wooden presses, which I shall describe presently; but the
Cistercians adopted a different method. At the beginning of the twelfth
century, when that Order was founded, the need of additional book-space
had been fully realised; and, consequently, in their houses we meet with a
special room set apart for books. But the conservative spirit which
governed monastic usage, and discouraged any deviation from the lines of
the primitive plan, made them keep the press in the wall close to the door
of the church; and, in addition to this, they cut off a piece from the
west end of the sacristy, which usually intervened between the south
transept and the Chapter-House, and fitted it up for books. This was done
at Fossa Nuova. The groundplan (fig. 21) shews the press which I have
already figured, and the book-room between the transept and the
Chapter-House, adjoining the sacristy. It is 14 ft. long by 10 ft. broad,
with a recess in its north wall which perhaps once contained another
press.
[Illustration: Fig. 21. Groundplan of part of the Abbey of Fossa Nuova.
To shew the book-room and book-press, and their relations to adjoining
structures: partly from M. Enlart's work, partly from my own
measurements.]
There is a similar book-room at Kirkstall Abbey near Leeds, built about
1150. The plan (fig. 22, A) shews its relation to the adjoining
structures. The _armarium commune_ (_ibid._ B) is a little to the north
of the room, as at Fossa Nuova. A room in a similar position, and destined
no doubt to the same use, is to be seen at Beaulieu, Hayles, Jervaulx,
Netley, Tintern, Croxden, and Roche.
[Illustration: Fig. 22, Groundplan of part of Kirkstall Abbey, Yorkshire.
A, book-room: B, _armarium commune_.]
The catalogue of the books at the Abbey of Meaux in Holderness[181],
founded about the middle of the 12th century, has fortunately been
preserved; and it tells us not only what books were kept in one of these
rooms, but how they were arranged. After the contents of the presses in
the church, which contained chiefly service-books, we come to the "common
press in the cloister (_commune almarium claustri_)." On the shelf over
the door (_in suprema theca[182] supra ostium_) were four psalters. The
framer of the catalogue then passes to the opposite end of the room, and,
beginning with the top shelf (_suprema theca opposita_), enumerates 37
volumes. Next, he deals with the rest of the books, which, he tells us,
were in other shelves, marked with the letters of the alphabet (_in aliis
thecis distinctis per alphabetum_). If I understand the catalogue
correctly, there were eleven of these divisions, each containing an
average of about 25 volumes. The total number of volumes in the collection
was 316.
Again, the catalogue of the House of White Canons at Titchfield in
Hampshire, dated 1400, shews that the books were kept in a small room, on
sets of shelves called _columpnae_, set against the walls. The catalogue
begins as follows:
There are in the Library at Tychefeld four cases to set
books on; two of which, namely the first and the second,
are on the eastern side. The third is on the south side;
and the fourth is on the north side. Each of these has
eight shelves [etc.][183].
Nor was this book-closet confined to Cistercian Houses. In the Cluniac
Priory at Much Wenlock in Shropshire there is a long narrow room on the
west side of the south transept, opening to the cloister by three arches,
which could hardly have been put to any other purpose. It is obvious that
no study could have gone forward in such places; they must have been
intended for security only.
As time went on, and further room for books became necessary, it was
provided, at least in some Cistercian Houses, by cutting off two
rectangular spaces from the west end of the Chapter-House. There is a good
example of this treatment to be seen at Furness Abbey, built 1150--1200.
The following description is borrowed from Mr W. H. St John Hope's
architectural history of the buildings.
From the transept southwards the whole of the existing
work is of later date, and distinctly advanced
character. The ground storey is pierced with five large
and elaborate round-headed doorways with good moldings
and labels, with a delicate dog-tooth ornament. Three of
these next the transept form a group....
The central arch opened, through a vestibule, into the
Chapter House. The others open into large square
recesses or chambers, with ashlar walls, and rubble
barrel-vaults springing from chamfered imposts on each
side. In the northern chamber the vault is kept low and
segmental, on account of the passage above it of the
dorter stair to the church.... The southern chamber has
a high pointed vault. Neither chamber has had doors, but
the northern has holes in the inner jamb, suggestive of
a grate of some kind, of uncertain date.
The chambers just described probably contained the
library, in wooden presses arranged round the
walls[184].
To illustrate this description a portion of Mr Hope's plan of Furness
Abbey (fig. 23) is appended. Each room was about 13 ft. square.
[Illustration: Fig. 23. Groundplan of part of Furness Abbey.]
[Illustration: Fig. 24. Arches in south wall of Church at Beaulieu Abbey,
Hampshire, once possibly used as book-presses.]
Rooms in a similar position are to be seen at Calder Abbey[185] in
Cumberland, a daughter-house to Furness; and at Fountains Abbey there are
clear indications that the western angles of the Chapter-House were
partitioned off at some period subsequent to its construction, probably
for a similar purpose. As the Chapter-House was entered from the cloister
through three large round-headed arches, each of the rooms thus formed
could be entered directly from the cloister, the central arch being
reserved for the Chapter-House itself. The arrangement therefore became
exactly similar to that at Furness. Mr Hope thinks that the series of
arches in the church wall at Beaulieu in Hampshire, two of which are here
shewn (fig. 24), may have been used for a like purpose[186]. There is a
similar series of arches at Hayles, a daughter-house to Beaulieu; and in
the south cloister of Chester Cathedral there are six recesses of early
Norman design, which, if not sepulchral, may once have contained books.
The use of the Chapter-House and its neighbourhood as the place in which
books should be kept is one of the most curious features of the Cistercian
life. The east walk of the cloister, into which the Chapter-House usually
opened, must have been one of the most frequented parts of the House, and
yet it seems to have been deliberately chosen not merely for keeping
books, but for reading them. At Clairvaux, so late as 1709, the authors of
the _Voyage Litteraire_ record the following arrangement:
Le grand cloitre ... est voute et vitre. Les religieux y
doivent garder un perpetuel silence. Dans le cote du
chapitre il y a des livres enchainez sur des pupitres de
bois, dans lesquels les religieux peuvent venir faire
des lectures lorsqu'ils veulent[187].
A similar arrangement obtained at Citeaux[188].
Having traced the development of the Cistercian book-closet, from a simple
recess in the wall to a pair of more or less spacious rooms at the west
end of the Chapter-House, I return to my starting-point, and proceed to
discuss the arrangement adopted by the Benedictines. They must have
experienced the inconvenience arising from want of space more acutely than
the Cistercians, being more addicted to study and the production of books.
They made no attempt, however, to provide space by structural changes or
additions to their Houses, but were content with wooden presses in the
cloister for their books, and small wooden studies, called carrells, for
the readers and writers.
The uniformity which governed monastic usage was so strict that the
practice of almost any large monastery may be taken as a type of what was
done elsewhere. Hence, when we find a full record of the way in which
books were used in the great Benedictine House at Durham, we may rest
assured that, _mutatis mutandis_, we have got a good general idea of the
whole subject. I will therefore begin by quoting a passage from that
valuable work _The Rites of Durham_, a description of the House drawn up
after the Reformation by some one who had known it well in other days,
premising only that it represents the final arrangements adopted by the
Order, and takes no account of the steps that led to them.
In the north syde of the Cloister, from the corner over
against the Church dour to the corner over againste the
Dorter dour, was all fynely glased from the hight to the
sole within a litle of the grownd into the Cloister
garth. And in every wyndowe iij Pewes or Carrells, where
every one of the old Monks had his carrell, severall by
himselfe, that, when they had dyned, they dyd resorte to
that place of Cloister, and there studyed upon there
books, every one in his carrell, all the after nonne,
unto evensong tyme. This was there exercise every daie.
All there pewes or carrells was all fynely wainscotted
and verie close, all but the forepart, which had carved
wourke that gave light in at ther carrell doures of
wainscott. And in every carrell was a deske to lye there
bookes on. And the carrells was no greater then from one
stanchell of the wyndowe to another.
And over against the carrells against the church wall
did stande certaine great almeries [or cupbords] of
waynscott all full of bookes, wherein did lye as well
the old auncyent written Doctors of the Church as other
prophane authors with dyverse other holie mens wourks,
so that every one dyd studye what Doctor pleased them
best, havinge the Librarie at all tymes to goe studie in
besydes there carrells.[189]
At Durham the monastic buildings stood to the south of the church, and the
library-walk of the cloister was that walk, or alley, or pane, or syde
(for all these words are used), which had the church to the north of it.
The library was placed there partly for the sake of warmth, partly to
secure greater privacy. At Canterbury and at Gloucester, where the church
was to the south of the conventual buildings, the library-walk of the
cloister was still the walk next to the church, the other walks, as Mr
Hope has pointed out to me, being apparently kept clear for the Sunday
procession.
[Illustration: Fig. 25. The cloister, Westminster Abbey.
From Mr Micklethwaite's plan of the buildings.]
I propose to explain the system indicated in the above quotation by
reference to a plan of the cloister at Westminster Abbey, drawn by my
friend Mr J. T. Micklethwaite (fig. 25)[190], and by quotations from his
notes upon it. At Durham every vestige of ancient arrangement has been so
completely destroyed that it is better to go to another House, where less
mischief has been done, and it happens fortunately that, so far as the
position of the cloister with reference to the church is concerned,
Westminster is the exact counterpart of Durham. I will consider first the
last paragraph of my quotation from the _Rites of Durham_, that namely
which deals with the presses for books, there called "almeries or
cupbords."
Mr Micklethwaite shews that the two bays at the north end of the west walk
of the cloister, and the second bay from the west in the north walk (fig.
25, nos. 1, 2, 4), were appropriated to the novices, by the existence of
several sets of nine holes, evidently cut by boys in their idle moods for
the playing of some game. Similar holes have been found at Canterbury,
Gloucester, and elsewhere. Next he points out that "the nosing of the
wall-bench for six feet of the third bay from the west in the north walk,
and in the whole of the fourth and fifth bays, and nearly all the sixth,
has been cut away flush with the riser, as if some large pieces of
furniture had been placed there (_ibid._ nos. 5, 5, 5, 5). These were
evidently bookcases." Eastward of these indications of bookcases "the
bases of the vaulting-shafts are cut in a way which seems to shew that
there was a double screen there (_ibid._ nos. 6, 6), or perhaps there were
bookcases arranged so as to form a screen, which is, I think, very likely.
Beyond this screen to the right are appearances in the wall [next the
cloister-garth] which seem to indicate a blocked-up locker, but they are
rather doubtful. And on the left is a large double locker blocked (_ibid._
7), and the blocking appears to be ancient. This locker is of the date of
the wall (Edw. I.), and may have been an additional book-closet provided,
because that on the other side of the church-door [to be described
presently] had become too small, and [was] blocked up when the larger
bookcases were made opposite the carrells[191]."
Lastly, at the risk of some repetition, I will quote a passage from a
letter which Mr Micklethwaite was so good as to write to me on this
subject, as it brings out some additional points, and states the whole
question with great clearness. After describing the position of the
bookcases, he proceeds:
There was thus a space, the width of the bench, between
the back of the case and the cloister-wall, which would
help to keep things dry. Whether the floor was boarded
we cannot now tell, but there is evidence that this part
of the cloister was cut off from the rest by screens of
some sort at both ends, which would make it a long
gallery lighted on one side, and with bookcases ranged
along the other, not unlike Wren's at Lincoln. The
windows must have been glazed; indeed remains of the
glazing existed to the end of the 17th century; and
there were within my memory marks of fittings along the
windows-side which I did not then understand, but which,
if they still existed, would I have no doubt tell us
something of the _carrells_. A "thorough restoration"
has taken away every trace of them.
The "bookcase on the other side of the church door" mentioned above was in
the northernmost bay of the east cloister. Mr Micklethwaite says of it:
"Entering the cloister from the church by the east cloister door (_ibid._
no. 8), we find on our left hand a very broad bench against the wall,
extending as far as the entrance to the Chapter-House (_ibid._ 10). In the
most northern bay the wall-arcade, instead of being brought down by shafts
as in the others, is stopped off at the springing by original brackets, as
if to allow of some large piece of furniture being placed against the
wall. Here, I believe, stood in the thirteenth century the _armarium
commune_, or common bookcase (_ibid._ 9). At Durham there is a Norman
arched recess in the same place, not mentioned by the writer of the
_Rites_, because before his time its use had ceased, books having become
more numerous, and being provided for elsewhere[192]."
These notes enable us to imagine what this library was like. It was about
80 feet long by 15 feet broad, extending along four bays of the cloister.
It was cut off by a screen at one end, and possibly at the other also; the
book-presses stood against the wall, opposite to the windows, which were
probably glazed, as we know those at Durham were; and there might have
been a wooden floor. Further, the older monks sat in "carrells," as we
learn from the custumary of Abbat Ware, who was in office 1258-83. The
writer is speaking of the novices, and says that after they have attained
a certain degree of proficiency they may sit in cloister, and "be allowed
to glance at books taken out of the presses (_armaria_) belonging to the
older monks. But they must not be permitted as yet to write or to have
carrells[193]."
Whatever may have been the discomfort of this library according to our
ideas, there is good reason for believing that it was in use till 1591,
when Dean Williams fitted up part of the Dorter as a library for the use
of the Dean and Canons[194].
The practice of placing the book-press in the cloister obtained with equal
force in France, for the Benedictines who wrote the _Voyage Litteraire_,
and who would of course be well acquainted with what was usual in their
own Order, remark with surprise when they visit the ancient abbey of Cruas
on the Rhone, that the press is in the church.
On voit encore dans l'eglise l'armoire ou on enfermoit
les livres, contre la coutume des autres monasteres de
l'ordre, qui avoient cette armoire dans le cloitre. On y
lit ces vers d'un caractere qui peut avoir cinq cent
ans:
Pastor jejunat qui libros non coadunat
Nec panem praebet subjectis quem dare debet[195].
A shepherd starves whose store of books is low:
Nor can he on his flock their due bestow.
No example of an English book-press has survived, so far as I know, but it
would be rash to say that none exists; nor have I been so fortunate as to
find one in France, though I have taken a great deal of pains to obtain
information on the subject. In default of a press made specially to hold
books, I must content myself with representations of two well-known pieces
of furniture--both preserved in French churches.
The first (fig. 26) stands in the upper sacristy of the Cathedral of
Bayeux, over the south transept. The name usually given to it, _le
Chartrier de Bayeux_, implies that it was made to hold documents. M.
Viollet-le-Duc does not accept this view, but considers that it contained
reliquaries, with which he probably would not object to associate other
articles of church-plate.
[Illustration: Fig. 26. Part of the ancient press in Bayeux Cathedral,
called _Le Chartrier de Bayeux_.
From a photograph.]
[Illustration: Fig. 27. Press in the church at Obazine, Central France.
From a photograph.]
It is of oak, very coarse, rough, and massive. It is 9 ft. 3 inches high,
from floor to top, 17 ft. 2 inches long--(it was originally 3 ft.
longer)--and 3 ft. deep. There are two rows of cupboards each 3 ft. 8
inches high, with massive doors that still preserve their original
ironwork. The whole piece of furniture has once been painted, indications
of which still exist, but the subjects can no longer be made out. M.
Viollet-le-Duc[196], who possibly saw the paintings when they were in a
better state of preservation than when I examined them in 1896, decides
that they once represented the translation of relics.
My second example (fig. 27) is in the church of Obazine in Central France
(Departement de la Correze). It is far simpler and ruder than the press in
Bayeux Cathedral; and the style of ornamentation employed indicates a
somewhat earlier date; though M, Viollet-le-Duc places the construction of
both in the first years of the 13th century. It is 6 ft. 7 in. high, by 7
ft. broad, and 2 ft. 7 in. deep. The material is oak, which still bears a
few traces of having once been painted[197].
These pieces of furniture were certainly not made specially for books;
but, as they belong to a period when the monastic system was in full,
vigorous, life, it is at least probable that they resemble those used by
monks to contain their books. I have shewn in the previous chapter that in
ancient Rome the press used for books was essentially the same as that
used for very different purposes; and I submit that it is unnecessary to
suppose that monastic carpenters would invent a special piece of furniture
to hold books. They would take the _armarium_ that was in daily use, and
adapt it to their own purposes.
Before I leave this part of my subject I must mention that there is a
third press in the Church of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, Paris. It stands
in a small room over the south end of the west porch, which may once have
been a muniment room. It was probably made about a century later than
those which I have figured. In arrangement it bears a general resemblance
to the example from Bayeux. It consists of six cupboards arranged in two
tiers, the lower of which is raised to the level of a bench which extends
along the whole length of the piece of furniture, with its ends mortised
into those of the cupboards. The seat of this bench lifts up, so as to
form an additional receptacle for books or papers[198].
The curious wooden contrivances called carrells, which are mentioned in
the above quotation from the _Rites of Durham_, have of course entirely
disappeared. Nothing is said about their height; but in breadth each of
them was equal to the distance from the middle of one mullion of a window
to the middle of the next; it was made of wainscot, and had a door of open
carved work by which it was entered from the cloister. This arrangement
was doubtless part of the systematic supervision of brother by brother
that was customary in a monastery. Even the aged, though engaged in study,
were not to be left to their own devices. I have carefully measured the
windows at Durham (fig. 28); and, though they have been a good deal
altered, I suppose the mullions are in their original places. If this be
so the carrells could not have been more than 2 ft. 9 in. wide, and the
occupant would have found but little room to spare. There are eleven
windows, so that thirty-three monks could have been accommodated, on the
supposition that all were fitted with carrells.
[Illustration: Fig. 28. Groundplan of one of the windows in the cloister
of Durham Cathedral.]
In the south cloister at Gloucester there is a splendid series of twenty
stone carrells (fig. 29), built between 1370 and 1412. Each carrell is 4
ft. wide, 19 in. deep, and 6 ft. 9 in. high, lighted by a small window of
two lights; but as figures do not give a very vivid idea of size, and as I
could not find any one else to do what I wanted, I borrowed a chair from
the church and a folio from the library, and sat down to read, as one of
the monks might have done six centuries ago (fig. 30). There is no trace
of any woodwork appertaining to these carrells; or of any book-press
having ever stood near them. The easternmost carrell, however, differs a
good deal from the others, and it may have been used as a book-closet.
There is a bench-table along the wall of the church opposite to the
carrells; but it does not appear to have been cut away to make room for
book-presses, as at Westminster. The south alley appears to have been shut
off at the east end, and also at the west end, by a screen[199].
[Illustration: Fig. 29. Range of carrells in the south cloister at
Gloucester Cathedral.
(From Mr Murray's _Handbook to the Western Cathedrals_.)]
This drawing will help us to understand the arrangement of the wooden
carrells used at Durham and elsewhere. Each carrell must have closely
resembled a modern sentry-box, with this difference, that one side was
formed by a light of the window looking into the cloister-garth, opposite
to which was the door of entrance. This, I imagine, would be of no great
height; and moreover was made of open work, partly that the work of the
occupant might be supervised, partly to let as much light as possible pass
through into the cloister-library. The seat would be on one side of the
carrell and the desk on the other, the latter being so arranged that the
light would enter on the reader's left hand.
[Illustration: Fig. 30. A single carrell, Gloucester Cathedral.]
Carrells seem to have been usual in monasteries from very early times, not
to have been introduced at a comparatively late date in order to ensure
greater comfort. The earliest passage referring to them is that which I
have already quoted[200], shewing that they were in use at Westminster
between 1258 and 1283; at Bury S. Edmunds the destruction of the carrells
is mentioned among other outrages in a riot in 1327[201]; they occur at
Evesham between 1367 and 1379[202]; at Abingdon in 1383-84[203]; and at
Christ Church, Canterbury, it is recorded among the good deeds of Prior
Sellyng (1472-94), that in the south alley of the cloister "novos Textus
quos Carolos ex novo vocamus perdecentes fecit"; words which Professor
Willis renders "constructed there very convenient framed contrivances
which are now-a-days called carols[204]." Their use--at any rate in some
Houses--is evident from an injunction among the Customs of S. Augustine's,
Canterbury, to the effect that the cellarer and others who rarely sit in
cloister might not have carrells, nor in fact any brother unless he be
able to help the community by copying or illuminating, or at least by
adding musical notation[205]. They were in fact devices to provide a
certain amount of privacy for literary work in Houses where there was no
_Scriptorium_ or writing-room. At Durham, according to the author of
_Rites_, they were used exclusively for reading.
The above-mentioned Customs of S. Augustine's, written between 1310 and
1344, give a valuable contemporary picture of the organization of one of
the more important cloister-libraries. The care of the presses is to be
entrusted to the Precentor and his subordinate, called the Succentor. The
former is to have a seat in front of the press--which doubtless stood
against the wall--and his carrell is to stand at no great distance, on the
stone between the piers of the arches next the cloister-garth. The
Succentor is to have his seat and his carrell on the bench near the
press--by which the bench which commonly ran along the cloister-wall is
obviously meant. These arrangements are made "in order that these two
officers, or at least one of them, may always be at hand to satisfy
brethren who make any demand upon their time[206]." In other words, they
were the librarian and sub-librarian, who were to be always ready to
answer questions. It is clear that brethren were not allowed to handle the
books as they pleased.
The cloister at Durham, or at least that part of it which was used as a
library, was glazed; but whether with white glass or stained glass we are
not informed. So obvious a device for increasing both the comfort and the
beauty of a much-frequented part of the monastic buildings was doubtless
adopted in many other Houses. At Bury S. Edmunds part at least of the
cloister had "painted windows representing the sun, moon and stars and the
occupations of the months"; at Christ Church, Canterbury, Prior Sellyng
(1472-94) "had the south walk of the cloister glazed for the use of the
studious brethren"; at Peterborough the windows of the cloister
were all compleat and fair, adorned with glass of
excellent painting: In the South Cloyster was the
History of the Old Testament: In the East Cloyster of
the New: In the North Cloyster the Figures of the
successive Kings from King _Peada_: In the West Cloyster
was the History from the first foundation of the
Monastery of King _Peada_, to the restoring of it by
King _Edgar_. Every window had at the bottom the
explanation of the History thus in Verse[207].
At Westminster, as recorded above, traces of the insertion of glass have
been observed.
In later times, when regular libraries had been built for the monasteries,
a special series of portraits occasionally appeared in glass, on a system
similar to that worked out in other materials in Roman and post-Roman
libraries; and sometimes, in other libraries, subjects are to be met with
instead of portraits, to indicate the nature of the works standing near
them. But I cannot say whether cloister-glass was ever treated in this
way.
FOOTNOTES:
[115] _Epist._ XLIX. Sec. 3. Ad Pammachium. Revolve omnium quos supra
memoravi commentarios, et ecclesiarum bibliothecis fruere et magis concito
gradu ad optata coeptaque pervenies.
[116] I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to the article "Libraries," in
the _Dictionary of Christian Antiquities_, and to the references there
given.
[117] _Hist. Eccl._ VI. 20. [Greek: ekmazon de kata touto pleious logioi
kai ekklesiastikoi andres on kai epistolas as pros allelous diecharatton
eti nun sozomenas enrein euporon ai kai eis emas ephylachthesan en te kata
ten Ailian bibliotheke pros tou tenikade ten autothi diepontos paroikian
Alexandrou episkeuastheioe, aph' hes kai autoi tas ulas tes meta cheiras
upotheseos epi tauto sunagagein dedunemetha].
[118] _Epist._ XXXIV., _Ad Marcellum._ De aliquot locis Psalmi cxxvi.
Migne, Vol. XXII. 448.
[119] _Ibid._ _De Viris Illustribus_, Chap. 3. Migne, Vol. XXIII. 613.
Porro ipsum Hebraicum habetur usque hodie in Caesariensi bibliotheca quam
Pamphilus martyr studiose confecit.
[120] _Comment. in Titum_, Chap. 3, v. 9. Unde et nobis curae fuit omnes
Veteris Legis libros quos vir doctus Adamantius in Hexapla digesserat de
Caesariensi bibliotheca descriptos ex ipsis authenticis emendare.
[121] Optatus: _De schismate Donatistarum._ Fol. Paris, 1702. App. p. 167.
[122] _Augustini Opera_, Paris, 1838, XI. p. 102.
[123] _Bullettino di Archeologia Christiana_, Serie terza, 1876, p. 48.
[124] _Epist._ XXXII. Sec. 10 (ed. Migne, Vol. LXI. p. 335). Basilica igitur
illa ... reliquiis apostolorum et martyrum intra apsidem trichoram sub
altaria sacratis.
[125] _Ibid._ Sec. 13. Cum duabus dextra laevaque conchulis intra spatiosum
sui ambitum apsis sinuata laxetur, una earum immolanti hostias
jubilationis antistiti parat; altera post sacerdotem capaci sinu receptat
orantes ... Sec. 16. In secretariis vero duobus quae supra dixi circa apsidem
esse hi versus indicant officia singulorum.
[126] Book I. Chap. 2. _De Acacia._ [Greek: pherei sperma en thulakois
sunezeugmenois trichorois e tetrachorois]. Comp. also Book IV. Chap. 167.
The use of the apse is discussed by Lenoir, _Architecture Monastique_,
4to. Paris, 1852, Vol. I. p. 111.
[127] Holsten, _Codex Regularum_, fol. 1759, 1. Regula S. Pachomii, No. c.
p. 31. Nemo vadens ad collectam aut ad vescendum dimittat codicem non
ligatum. Codices qui in fenestra id est intrinsecus parietis reponuntur ad
vesperum erunt sub manu secundi qui numerabit eos et ex more concludet.
The word fenestra is illustrated by a previous section of the Rule, No.
LXXXII. p. 30. Nullus habebit separatim mordacem pavulam ad evellendas
spinas si forte calcaverit absque Praeposito domus et secundo: pendeatque
in fenestra in qua codices collocantur. Ducange says that the word is used
for the small cupboard in which the Sacrament was reserved. Here it is
evidently a recess in the wall closed by a door--like one of the later
armaria. On Pachomius and his foundation see _The Lausiac History of
Palladius_, by Dom Cuthbert Butler, Camb. 1898, and esp. p. 234.
[128] _Benedicti Regula Monachorum_, ed. E. Woelfflin, Leipzig, Teubner,
1895.
[129] _De secunda feria quadragesimae._ In capitulo nequaquam alia Regulae
sententia legitur quam quae est de quadragesima. Recitatur quoque _Brevis_
librorum qui anno praeterito sunt ad legendum fratribus erogati. Cum
quilibet frater nominatur, surgit, et librum sibi datum reddit: et si eum
forte non perlegerit, pro indiligentia veniam petit. Est autem unus tapes
ibi constratus super quem illi libri ponuntur, de quibus iterum quanti
dantur, dantur cum _Brevi_; et ad hoc est una tabula aliquantulum major
facta. _Antiquiores Consuetudines Cluniacensis Monasterii._ Lib. I. Cap.
LII. D'Achery, _Spicilegium_, ed. 1723, I. 667.
[130] _Ibid._ Lib. III. Cap. X. _Ibid._ 690. _De Praecentore et Armario._
Praecentor et Armarius Armarii nomen obtinuit eo quod in ejus manu solet
esse Bibliotheca quae et in alio nomine Armarium appellatur.
[131] Reyner. _Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia_, fol. 1626. App. Part
III. p. 211. As Lanfranc styles himself in the prologue Bishop of Rouen,
these decrees must have been issued between August 1067 and August 1070,
when he was made Archbishop of Canterbury.
[132] Reyner, _Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia_, fol. 1626. App. Part
III. p. 216.
[133] I am aware that the Customs printed by D'Achery are dated 1110; but
it need not be assumed that they were written in that year. Similar
directions are to be found among the Veteres Consuetudines of the
Benedictine Abbey of S. Benoit sur Loire, or Fleury, founded A.D. 625.
_Floriacensis vetus Bibliotheca_, 8vo. Lyons, 1605, p. 394.
[134] Cantor almaria puerorum juvenum et alia in quibus libri conventus
reponentur innovabit fracta praeparabit [reparabit?] pannos librorum
bibliothecae reperiet fracturas librorum reficiet. _Chronicon monasterii de
Abingdon_ (De obedientariis Abbendoniae). Rolls Series, II. 371.
[135] Cantor non potest libros vendere dare vel impignorare. Cantor non
potest libros accommodare nisi pignore, quod tanti vel majoris fuerit,
reposito. Tutius est pignori incumbere quam in personam agere. Hoc autem
licet facere tantum vicinis ecclesiis vel excellentibus personis. _Ibid._
pp. 373, 374.
[136] _Mon. Angl._ II. 39. The last sentence runs as follows in the
original: Nullus librum capiat nisi scribatur in rotulo ejus; nee alicui
liber aliquis mutuo tradatur absque competenti et sufficienti memoriali,
et hoc ponatur in rotulo ipsius. I owe this quotation and the last to
Father Gasquet's _Some Notes on Medieval Monastic Libraries_, 1891, p. 10.
[137] Adhuc etiam libros ad legendum de armario accipit duos quibus omnem
diligentiam curamque prebere monetur ne fumo ne puluere vel alia qualibet
sorde maculentur; Libros quippe tanquam sempiternum animarum nostrarum
cibum cautissime custodiri et studiosissime volumus fieri vt qui ore non
possumus dei verbum manibus predicemus. Guigonis, Prioris Carthusiae,
_Statuta_. Fol. Basle, 1510. _Statuta Antiqua_, Part 2, Cap. XVI. Sec. 9.
[138] Libros cum commodantur nullus contra commodantium retineat
voluntatem. _Ibid._ Cap. XXXII. Sec. 16.
[139] _Les Monuments primitifs de la Regle Cistercienne_, par Ph.
Guignard, 8vo. Dijon, 1878, p. 237.
[140] _The Observances in use at the Augustinian Priory of S. Giles and S.
Andrew at Barnwell_: ed. J. W. Clark. 8vo. Camb., 1897, p. 15. This
passage also occurs in the Customs of the Augustinian House at Groenendaal
near Brussels. MS. in the Royal Library, Brussels, fol. 53 v^o. _De
Armario._
[141] As I know of no other passage in a medieval writer which describes
an _armarium_, I transcribe the original text: Armarium, in quo libri
reponuntur, intrinsecus ligno vestitum esse debet ne humor parietum libros
humectet vel inficiat. In quo eciam diversi ordines seorsum et deorsum
distincti esse debent, in quibus libri separatim collocari possint, et
distingui abinvicem, ne nimia compressio ipsis libris noceat, vel querenti
moram inuectat.
[142] Statuta primaria Praemonstratensis Ordinis, Cap. VII. ap. Le Paige,
_Bibliotheca Praem. Ord._ fol. Paris, 1633, p. 803. The words are: Ad
Armarium pertinet libros custodire, et si sciverit emendare; Armarium
librorum, cum necesse fuerit, claudere et aperire ... libros mutuo
accipere cum necesse fuerit et nostros quaerentibus commodare sed non sine
licentia Abbatis vel Prioris absente Abbate et non sine memoriali
competenti.
[143] The delightful story of S. Francis and the brother who wished for a
psalter of his own is told in the _Speculum Perfectionis_, ed. Sabatier,
8vo. Paris, 1898, p. 11.
[144] These Constitutions have been printed by Father F. Ehrle in a paper
called _Die aeltesten Redactionen der Generalconstitutionen des
Franziskanerordens_, in "Archiv fuer Literatur und Kirchengeschichte des
Mittelalters," Band VI. pp. 1-138. The passages cited above will be found
on p. 111.
[145] _The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury._ ed. E. C. Thomas, 8vo. Lond.
1888, p. 203.
[146] In the Cluniac Customs those volumes only which had been assigned to
particular brethren are to be laid on the carpet. It is difficult to
understand the reason for this formal assignment of a book to each brother
who chose to ask for one. As brethren in those early times had no separate
cubicles or cells, it could hardly imply more than a precaution against
the difficulty of two brethren requiring the use of the same volume.
Possibly the whole intention was disciplinary, to ensure study as
prescribed by the Rule.
[147] Delisle, _Bibl. de l'Ecole des Chartes_, Ser. 3, Vol. I. p. 225.
Interdicimus inter alia viris religiosis, ne emittant juramentum de non
commodando libros suos indigentibus, cum commodare inter praecipua
misericordiae opera computetur. Sed, adhibita consideratione diligenti,
alii in domo ad opus fratrum retineantur; alii secundum providentiam
abbatis, cum indemnitate domus, indigentibus commodentur. Et a modo nullus
liber sub anathemate teneatur, et omnia predicta anathemata absolvimus.
Labbe, _Concilia_, XI. 69.
[148] Delisle, _Cab. des Manuscrits_, II. 226.
[149] M. Delisle (_ut supra_, II. 124) cites an inscription in one of the
MSS. of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris: "Liber iste de Corbeia: sed
prestaverunt nobis usque Pascha."
[150] Mabillon, _Thesaurus Anecdotorum_, Vol. 1. p. 151.
[151] _Opera Thomae a Campis_, fol. 1523. Fol. XLVII. 7. The passage occurs
in his _Doctrinale Juvenum_, Cap. V.
[152] _Medieval Monastic Libraries_: by F. A. Gasquet, p. 15. The passage
translated above occurs in a Custumary of S. Augustine's, Canterbury, MSS.
Cotton, Faustina, c. XII. fol. 196 b.
[153] _Cat. Monte Cassino_, II. 299.
[154] Theodmarus Cassinensis to Charlemagne, ap. Haeften, _Disquisitiones
Monasticae_, fol. 1644, p. 1088.
[155] Delisle, _ut supra_, II. 227.
[156] Delisle, _ut supra_, II. 227. Tu, quicunque studebis in hoc libro,
prospice, et leviter atque dulciter tractes folia, ut cavere possis
rupturam propter ipsorum tenuitatem; et imitare doctrinam Jesu Christi,
qui cum modeste aperuisset librum Ysaie et attente legisset, tandem
reverenter complicuit ac ministro reddidit. This injunction occurs, in
substance, in the _Philobiblon_ of Richard de Bury, ed. Thomas, p. 241.
[157] _Opera Thomae a Campis_, fol. 1523. Fol. XLVII.
[158] Amice qui legis, retro digitis teneas, ne subito litteras deleas,
quia ille homo qui nescit scribere nullum se putat habere laborem; quia
sicut navigantibus dulcis est portus, ita scriptori novissimus versus.
Calamus tribus digitis continetur, totum corpus laborat. Deo gratias. Ego,
in Dei nomine, Vuarembertus scripsi. Deo gratias. From a MS. in the Bibl.
Nat. Paris (MS. Lat. 12296) from the Abbey of Corbie: "les caracteres
denotent l'epoque carlovingienne." Delisle, _ut supra_, II. 121.
[159] On the curse invariably used at S. Victor's, see Delisle, _ut
supra_, II. 227 _note_.
[160] Hic est liber Sancti Maximini Miciacensis monasterii, quem Petrus
abbas scribere jussit et proprio labore providit atque distinxit, et die
caenae domini super sacrum altare sancti Stephani Deo et sancto Maximino
habendum obtulit, sub hujusmodi voto ut quisquis eum inde aliquo ingenio
non reddituius abstulerit, cum Juda proditore, Anna et Caiapha atque
Pilato damnationem accipiat. Amen. From a Benedictine House at Saint
Mesmin, Loiret. Delisle, _ut supra_, III. 384. M. Delisle considers that
the words "providit atque distinxit" mean "a ete revue et ponctuee."
[161] Quem si quis vel dolo seu quoquo modo isti loco substraxerit anime
sue propter quod fecerit detrimentum patiatur, atque de libro viventium
deleatur et cum iustis non scribatur. From the Missal of Robert of
Jumieges, ed. H. Bradshaw Soc., 8vo. 1896, p. 316.
[162] Hic est liber sancti Albani quem qui ei abstulerit aut titulum
deleverit anathema sit. Amen. I owe this quotation to the kindness of my
friend Dr James.
[163] _Cat. des MSS. des Departements_, 4to. Vol. I. p. 128 (No. 255).
[164] Quicunque hunc titulum aboleverit vel a prefata ecclesia Christi
dono vel vendicione vel accommodacione vel mutacione vel furto vel
quocunque alio modo hunc librum scienter alienaverit malediccionem Ihesu
Christi et gloriosissime Virginis matris ejus et beati Thome martiris
habeat ipse in vita presenti. Ita tamen quod si Christo placeat qui est
patronus ecclesie Christi eius spiritus salvus in die judicii fiat. Given
to me by Dr James, from a MS. in the library of Trinity College,
Cambridge.
[165] I have to thank my friend Dr Venn for this quotation. He tells me
that it was first pointed out by Dr Swete in _The Caian._ II. p. 127.
[166] See above, p. 71.
[167] Delisle, _ut supra_, II. 124.
[168] _Ibid._ p. 239.
[169] _Ibid._ p. 365. Edwards, _Memoirs of Libraries_, I. 283.
[170] _Supplement to Bentham's Ely_, by Wm Stevenson, 4to. 1817, p. 51. I
have to thank my friend the Rev. J. H. Crosby, Minor Canon of Ely
Cathedral, for a transcript of Bp Nigel's deed.
[171] _Monumenta Moguntina_, ed. Jaffe, 8vo. Berlin, 1866, in _Bibl. Rer.
Germ._ Vol. III. p. 301; quoted in Bede's works, ed. Plummer, p. xx.
[172] See Church's _S. Anselm_, ed. 1885, p. 48. The words are: Nunc
hyemali frigore rigens, aliis occupationibus vacabo, praesentemque libellum
hic terminare fatigatus decerno. Redeunte vero placidi veris sereno, etc.
_Hist. Eccl._ Pars II. lib. IV.
[173] This couplet, written on the fly-leaf of a MS. in the library of the
University of Cambridge (Hh. VI. II), was pointed out to me by my friend
F. J. H. Jenkinson, M.A., Librarian.
[174] Herimanni liber de restauratione S. Martini Tornacensis: ap. Pertz,
_Mon. Germ._ XIV. 313.