FOOTNOTES:

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].

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.

Fig. 23. Groundplan of part of Furness Abbey.Fig. 23. Groundplan of part of Furness Abbey.

Fig. 24. Arches in south wall of Church at Beaulieu Abbey, Hampshire, once possibly used as book-presses.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 theVoyage Littérairerecord the following arrangement:

Le grand cloître ... est voûté et vitré. Les religieux y doivent garder un perpetuel silence. Dans le côté du chapitre il y a des livres enchaînez 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 adoptedby 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 workThe 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]

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 areused), 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.

Fig. 25. The cloister, Westminster Abbey. From Mr Micklethwaite's plan of the buildings.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 theRites 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 atLincoln. 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 thecarrells. 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 thearmarium commune, or common bookcase (ibid.9). At Durham there is a Norman arched recess in the same place, not mentioned by the writer of theRites, 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 libraryaccording 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 theVoyage Littéraire, 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 où on enfermoit les livres, contre la coûtume des autres monastères de l'ordre, qui avoient cette armoire dans le cloître. On y lit ces vers d'un caractère qui peut avoir cinq cent ans:Pastor jejunat qui libros non coadunatNec panem præbet subjectis quem dare debet[195].A shepherd starves whose store of books is low:Nor can he on his flock their due bestow.

Pastor jejunat qui libros non coadunatNec panem præbet subjectis quem dare debet[195].A shepherd starves whose store of books is low:Nor can he on his flock their due bestow.

Pastor jejunat qui libros non coadunatNec panem præbet 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.

Fig. 26. Part of the ancient press in Bayeux Cathedral, called Le Chartrier de Bayeux. From a photograph.Fig. 26. Part of the ancient press in Bayeux Cathedral, called Le Chartrier de Bayeux. From a photograph.

Fig. 27. Press in the church at Obazine, Central France. From a photograph.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 (Département de la Corrèze). 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 thearmariumthat 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 theRites 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.

Fig. 28. Groundplan of one of the windows in the cloister of Durham Cathedral.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 themonks 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].

Fig. 29. Range of carrells in the south cloister at Gloucester Cathedral. (From Mr Murray's Handbook to the Western Cathedrals.)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.

Fig. 30. A single carrell, Gloucester Cathedral.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 noScriptoriumor writing-room. At Durham, according to the author ofRites, 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 thelibrarian 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 KingPeada: In the West Cloyster was the History from the first foundation of the Monastery of KingPeada, to the restoring of it by KingEdgar. 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. § 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 theDictionary of Christian Antiquities, and to the references there given.[117]Hist. Eccl.VI. 20.ηκμαζονδε κατα τουτο πλειους λογιοι και εκκλησιαστικοι ανδρες ων και επιστολας ας προς αλληλους διεχαραττον ετι νυν σωζομενας ενρειν ευπορον αι και εις ημας εφυλαχθησαν εν τη κατα την Αιλιαν βιβλιοθηκη προς του τηνικαδε την αυτοθι διεποντος παροικιαν Αλεξανδρου επισκευασθειοη, αφ' ἡς και αυτοι τας υλας της μετα χειρας υποθεσεως επι ταυτο συναγαγειν δεδυνημεθα.[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 Cæsariensi bibliotheca quam Pamphilus martyr studiose confecit.[120]Comment. in Titum, Chap. 3, v. 9. Unde et nobis curæ fuit omnes Veteris Legis libros quos vir doctus Adamantius in Hexapla digesserat de Cæsariensi 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. § 10 (ed. Migne, Vol. LXI. p. 335). Basilica igitur illa ... reliquiis apostolorum et martyrum intra apsidem trichoram sub altaria sacratis.[125]Ibid.§ 13. Cum duabus dextra lævaque conchulis intra spatiosum sui ambitum apsis sinuata laxetur, una earum immolanti hostias jubilationis antistiti parat; altera post sacerdotem capaci sinu receptat orantes ... § 16. In secretariis vero duobus quæ supra dixi circa apsidem esse hi versus indicant officia singulorum.[126]Book I. Chap. 2.De Acacia.φερεισπερμα εν θυλακοις συνεζευγμενοις τριχωροις η τετραχωροις. 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 Præposito 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 seeThe 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 quadragesimæ.In capitulo nequaquam alia Regulæ sententia legitur quam quæ est de quadragesimâ. Recitatur quoqueBrevislibrorum qui anno præterito sunt ad legendum fratribus erogati. Cum quilibet frater nominatur, surgit, et librum sibi datum reddit: et si eum forte non perlegerit, pro indiligentiâ veniam petit. Est autem unus tapes ibi constratus super quem illi libri ponuntur, de quibus iterum quanti dantur, dantur cumBrevi; 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 Præcentore et Armario.Præcentor et Armarius Armarii nomen obtinuit eo quod in ejus manu solet esse Bibliotheca quæ et in alio nomine Armarium appellatur.[131]Reyner.Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia, fol. 1626. App. Partiii. 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. Partiii. 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, foundeda.d.625.Floriacensis vetus Bibliotheca, 8vo. Lyons, 1605, p. 394.[134]Cantor almaria puerorum juvenum et alia in quibus libri conventus reponentur innovabit fracta præparabit [reparabit?] pannos librorum bibliothecæ reperiet fracturas librorum reficiet.Chronicon monasterii de Abingdon(De obedientariis Abbendoniæ). 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'sSome 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 Carthusiæ,Statuta. Fol. Basle, 1510.Statuta Antiqua, Part 2, Cap.xvi. § 9.[138]Libros cum commodantur nullus contra commodantium retineat voluntatem.Ibid.Cap.xxxii. § 16.[139]Les Monuments primitifs de la Règle 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 Grönendaal near Brussels. MS. in the Royal Library, Brussels, fol. 53 vo.De Armario.[141]As I know of no other passage in a medieval writer which describes anarmarium, 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 Præmonstratensis Ordinis, Cap.vii. ap. Le Paige,Bibliotheca Præm. 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 quærentibus 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 theSpeculum Perfectionis, ed. Sabatier, 8vo. Paris, 1898, p. 11.[144]These Constitutions have been printed by Father F. Ehrle in a paper calledDie ältesten Redactionen der Generalconstitutionen des Franziskanerordens, in "Archiv für Literatur und Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters," Bandvi. 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'École 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 præcipua misericordiæ 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 Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris: "Liber iste de Corbeia: sed prestaverunt nobis usque Pascha."[150]Mabillon,Thesaurus Anecdotorum, Vol. 1. p. 151.[151]Opera Thomæ a Campis, fol. 1523. Fol.xlvii.7. The passage occurs in hisDoctrinale 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. Hæften,Disquisitiones Monasticæ, 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 thePhilobiblonof Richard de Bury, ed. Thomas, p. 241.[157]Opera Thomæ 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 caractères dénotent l'époque carlovingienne." Delisle,ut supra,ii. 121.[159]On the curse invariably used at S. Victor's, see Delisle,ut supra,ii. 227note.[160]Hic est liber Sancti Maximini Miciacensis monasterii, quem Petrus abbas scribere jussit et proprio labore providit atque distinxit, et die cænæ 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 été revue et ponctuée."[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 Jumièges, 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 inThe 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. Jaffé, 8vo. Berlin, 1866, inBibl. Rer. Germ.Vol.iii.p. 301; quoted in Bede's works, ed. Plummer, p. xx.[172]See Church'sS. Anselm, ed. 1885, p. 48. The words are: Nunc hyemali frigore rigens, aliis occupationibus vacabo, præsentemque libellum hic terminare fatigatus decerno. Redeunte vero placidi veris sereno, etc.Hist. Eccl.Parsii.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.[175]See above,p. 37.[176]SeeDictionnaire du Mobilier, par Henri Havard,s. v.Armoire, and the passages there quoted.[177]See above,p. 71.[178]The Cistercian Customs prescribe the possession of nine volumes at least, chiefly service-books, before a house can be founded.Documents, p. 253.[179]Origines Françaises de l'Architecture Gothique en Italie, par G. Enlart, 8vo. Paris, 1894. p. 9. This valuable work contains a full and accurate description, copiously illustrated, of Fossa Nuova and other abbeys in remote parts of Italy.[180]The Monastery and Cathedral of Worcester, by John Noake, Lond., 1866, p. 414.[181]Chronica monasterii de Melsa.Rolls Series, Vol. III. App. p. lxxxiii.[182]The wordthecasignified in classical Latin a case or receptacle in which any object was kept. In medieval Latin it was specially used (fideDucange) for the chest in which the bodies or bones or relics of saints, were kept. In this catalogue it is obvious that it may mean either a shelf or a cupboard.[183]Sunt enim in libraria de Tychefeld quatuor columpnæ pro libris imponendis, unde in orientali fronte due sunt videlicet prima et secunda. In latere vero australi est tercia. Et in latere boreali est quarta. Et earum singule octo habent gradus [etc.].[184]Trans. Cumb. and West. Antiq. and Archæol. Soc.Vol. XVI. p. 259. I take this opportunity of thanking my friend Mr Hope for allowing me to use his plan of Furness Abbey, and also for pointing out to me the evolution of the Cistercian book-rooms which I have done my best to describe in the text.[185]Calder Abbey: its Ruins and its History.By A. G. Loftie, M.A.[186]Mr Hope tells me that he has lately re-examined these recesses, and failed to discover traces of furniture or fittings of any kind within them.[187]Voyage Littéraire, Paris, 1717, Vol. I. p. 101.[188]Cat. des Manuscrits des Bibliothèques Publiques de France.Departements, Tom. V. Catalogue des Manuscrits de Citeaux, No. 635 (p. 405). Parvus liber incathenatus ad analogium cathedre ex opposito capituli.[189]The Rites of Durham, ed. Surtees Soc. 1844, p. 70.[190]Notes on the Abbey Buildings of Westminster, Arch. Journ.xxxiii. pp. 15-49.[191]Notes on the Abbey Buildings of Westminster, Arch. Journ.xxxiii. pp. 21, 22.[192]Notes on the Abbey Buildings of Westminster, Arch. Journ.xxxiii.p. 16.[193]MSS, Mus. Brit. MSS. Cotton, Otho. c.xi.fol. 84.[194]See a paper by myself inCamb. Ant. Soc. Proc. and Comm.ix.pp. 47-56.[195]Voyage Littéraire, ed. 1717. Parti.297.[196]Dictionnaire du Mobilier, s. v.Armoire.[197]Viollet-le-Duc,ut supra, p. 4, where full details of the press at Obazine are given. The photograph from which my illustration has been made was specially taken for my use through the kind help of my friend Dr James, who had seen the press in 1899.[198]Viollet-le-Duc,ut supra, p. 14. I have myself examined this press. My friend Mr Hope informs me that there is a press of this character in the nether vestry at S. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, described by him inInventories of the parish church of S. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, Norf. and Norw. Archæol. Soc,xiv.p. 29.[199]See Mr Hope'sNotes on the Benedictine Abbey of S. Peter at Gloucester, inRecords of Gloucester Cathedral, 1897, p. 23.[200]See above,p. 93.[201]Memorials of S. Edmund's Abbey, Rolls Series,ii.327. The writer is describing the mischief done by the rioters of 1327: Deinde claustrum ingressi, cistulas, id est caroles, et armariola fregerunt, et libros et omnia in eis inventa similiter asportaverunt. I owe this quotation to Dr James,On the Abbey of S. Edmund at Bury, Camb. Ant. Soc. Octav. Publ. No.xxviii.p. 158.[202]Liber Evesham, Hen. Bradshaw Soc. 1893, p. 196. Abbat Ombresleye (1367-79) built "paginam illam claustri contiguam ecclesie ubi carolæ fratrum consistunt."[203]Accounts of the Obedientiaries of Abingdon Abbey, ed. Camden Society, 1892, p. 47. "Expense circa sedilia claustri" is the heading of an account for wood bought and for carpenter's work. The sum spent was £2. 15s.3d.[204]Arch. Hist. of the Conventual Buildings of the Monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury. By R. Willis. 8vo, Lond. 1869, p. 45.[205]MSS. Mus. Brit. MSS. Cotton, Faustina, c.xii., fol. 149. De karulis in claustro habendis hanc consideracionem habere debent quibus committitur claustri tutela ut videlicet celerarius seu alii fratres qui raro in claustro resident suas karulas in claustro non habeant, set nec aliqui fratres nisi in scribendo vel illuminando aut tantum notando communitati aut et sibimet ipsis proficere sciant.[206]MSS. Mus. Brit. MSS. Cotton, Faustina, c.xii., fol. 145. ... precentorem et succentorem quibus committitur armariorum custodia. Cantor habebit cathedram suam ante armarium in claustro stantem et carulam suam iuxta desuper lapidem inter columpnas. Succentor vero super scannum iuxta armarium carulam et sedem suam habebit, ut hii duo vel saltem unus eorum possint semper esse parati ad respondendum fratribus seruicium petentibus.[207]History of the Church of Peterburgh.By Symon Gunton: fol. 1686, p. 103. The author gives the subjects and legends of nine windows. I owe this quotation to the kindness of Mr Hope.

[115]Epist.XLIX. § 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 theDictionary of Christian Antiquities, and to the references there given.

[117]Hist. Eccl.VI. 20.ηκμαζονδε κατα τουτο πλειους λογιοι και εκκλησιαστικοι ανδρες ων και επιστολας ας προς αλληλους διεχαραττον ετι νυν σωζομενας ενρειν ευπορον αι και εις ημας εφυλαχθησαν εν τη κατα την Αιλιαν βιβλιοθηκη προς του τηνικαδε την αυτοθι διεποντος παροικιαν Αλεξανδρου επισκευασθειοη, αφ' ἡς και αυτοι τας υλας της μετα χειρας υποθεσεως επι ταυτο συναγαγειν δεδυνημεθα.

[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 Cæsariensi bibliotheca quam Pamphilus martyr studiose confecit.

[120]Comment. in Titum, Chap. 3, v. 9. Unde et nobis curæ fuit omnes Veteris Legis libros quos vir doctus Adamantius in Hexapla digesserat de Cæsariensi 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. § 10 (ed. Migne, Vol. LXI. p. 335). Basilica igitur illa ... reliquiis apostolorum et martyrum intra apsidem trichoram sub altaria sacratis.

[125]Ibid.§ 13. Cum duabus dextra lævaque conchulis intra spatiosum sui ambitum apsis sinuata laxetur, una earum immolanti hostias jubilationis antistiti parat; altera post sacerdotem capaci sinu receptat orantes ... § 16. In secretariis vero duobus quæ supra dixi circa apsidem esse hi versus indicant officia singulorum.

[126]Book I. Chap. 2.De Acacia.φερεισπερμα εν θυλακοις συνεζευγμενοις τριχωροις η τετραχωροις. 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 Præposito 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 seeThe 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 quadragesimæ.In capitulo nequaquam alia Regulæ sententia legitur quam quæ est de quadragesimâ. Recitatur quoqueBrevislibrorum qui anno præterito sunt ad legendum fratribus erogati. Cum quilibet frater nominatur, surgit, et librum sibi datum reddit: et si eum forte non perlegerit, pro indiligentiâ veniam petit. Est autem unus tapes ibi constratus super quem illi libri ponuntur, de quibus iterum quanti dantur, dantur cumBrevi; 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 Præcentore et Armario.Præcentor et Armarius Armarii nomen obtinuit eo quod in ejus manu solet esse Bibliotheca quæ et in alio nomine Armarium appellatur.

[131]Reyner.Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia, fol. 1626. App. Partiii. 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. Partiii. 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, foundeda.d.625.Floriacensis vetus Bibliotheca, 8vo. Lyons, 1605, p. 394.

[134]Cantor almaria puerorum juvenum et alia in quibus libri conventus reponentur innovabit fracta præparabit [reparabit?] pannos librorum bibliothecæ reperiet fracturas librorum reficiet.Chronicon monasterii de Abingdon(De obedientariis Abbendoniæ). 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'sSome 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 Carthusiæ,Statuta. Fol. Basle, 1510.Statuta Antiqua, Part 2, Cap.xvi. § 9.

[138]Libros cum commodantur nullus contra commodantium retineat voluntatem.Ibid.Cap.xxxii. § 16.

[139]Les Monuments primitifs de la Règle 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 Grönendaal near Brussels. MS. in the Royal Library, Brussels, fol. 53 vo.De Armario.

[141]As I know of no other passage in a medieval writer which describes anarmarium, 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 Præmonstratensis Ordinis, Cap.vii. ap. Le Paige,Bibliotheca Præm. 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 quærentibus 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 theSpeculum Perfectionis, ed. Sabatier, 8vo. Paris, 1898, p. 11.

[144]These Constitutions have been printed by Father F. Ehrle in a paper calledDie ältesten Redactionen der Generalconstitutionen des Franziskanerordens, in "Archiv für Literatur und Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters," Bandvi. 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'École 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 præcipua misericordiæ 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 Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris: "Liber iste de Corbeia: sed prestaverunt nobis usque Pascha."

[150]Mabillon,Thesaurus Anecdotorum, Vol. 1. p. 151.

[151]Opera Thomæ a Campis, fol. 1523. Fol.xlvii.7. The passage occurs in hisDoctrinale 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. Hæften,Disquisitiones Monasticæ, 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 thePhilobiblonof Richard de Bury, ed. Thomas, p. 241.

[157]Opera Thomæ 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 caractères dénotent l'époque carlovingienne." Delisle,ut supra,ii. 121.

[159]On the curse invariably used at S. Victor's, see Delisle,ut supra,ii. 227note.

[160]Hic est liber Sancti Maximini Miciacensis monasterii, quem Petrus abbas scribere jussit et proprio labore providit atque distinxit, et die cænæ 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 été revue et ponctuée."

[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 Jumièges, 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 inThe 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. Jaffé, 8vo. Berlin, 1866, inBibl. Rer. Germ.Vol.iii.p. 301; quoted in Bede's works, ed. Plummer, p. xx.

[172]See Church'sS. Anselm, ed. 1885, p. 48. The words are: Nunc hyemali frigore rigens, aliis occupationibus vacabo, præsentemque libellum hic terminare fatigatus decerno. Redeunte vero placidi veris sereno, etc.Hist. Eccl.Parsii.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.

[175]See above,p. 37.

[176]SeeDictionnaire du Mobilier, par Henri Havard,s. v.Armoire, and the passages there quoted.

[177]See above,p. 71.

[178]The Cistercian Customs prescribe the possession of nine volumes at least, chiefly service-books, before a house can be founded.Documents, p. 253.

[179]Origines Françaises de l'Architecture Gothique en Italie, par G. Enlart, 8vo. Paris, 1894. p. 9. This valuable work contains a full and accurate description, copiously illustrated, of Fossa Nuova and other abbeys in remote parts of Italy.

[180]The Monastery and Cathedral of Worcester, by John Noake, Lond., 1866, p. 414.

[181]Chronica monasterii de Melsa.Rolls Series, Vol. III. App. p. lxxxiii.

[182]The wordthecasignified in classical Latin a case or receptacle in which any object was kept. In medieval Latin it was specially used (fideDucange) for the chest in which the bodies or bones or relics of saints, were kept. In this catalogue it is obvious that it may mean either a shelf or a cupboard.

[183]Sunt enim in libraria de Tychefeld quatuor columpnæ pro libris imponendis, unde in orientali fronte due sunt videlicet prima et secunda. In latere vero australi est tercia. Et in latere boreali est quarta. Et earum singule octo habent gradus [etc.].

[184]Trans. Cumb. and West. Antiq. and Archæol. Soc.Vol. XVI. p. 259. I take this opportunity of thanking my friend Mr Hope for allowing me to use his plan of Furness Abbey, and also for pointing out to me the evolution of the Cistercian book-rooms which I have done my best to describe in the text.

[185]Calder Abbey: its Ruins and its History.By A. G. Loftie, M.A.

[186]Mr Hope tells me that he has lately re-examined these recesses, and failed to discover traces of furniture or fittings of any kind within them.

[187]Voyage Littéraire, Paris, 1717, Vol. I. p. 101.

[188]Cat. des Manuscrits des Bibliothèques Publiques de France.Departements, Tom. V. Catalogue des Manuscrits de Citeaux, No. 635 (p. 405). Parvus liber incathenatus ad analogium cathedre ex opposito capituli.

[189]The Rites of Durham, ed. Surtees Soc. 1844, p. 70.

[190]Notes on the Abbey Buildings of Westminster, Arch. Journ.xxxiii. pp. 15-49.

[191]Notes on the Abbey Buildings of Westminster, Arch. Journ.xxxiii. pp. 21, 22.

[192]Notes on the Abbey Buildings of Westminster, Arch. Journ.xxxiii.p. 16.

[193]MSS, Mus. Brit. MSS. Cotton, Otho. c.xi.fol. 84.

[194]See a paper by myself inCamb. Ant. Soc. Proc. and Comm.ix.pp. 47-56.

[195]Voyage Littéraire, ed. 1717. Parti.297.

[196]Dictionnaire du Mobilier, s. v.Armoire.

[197]Viollet-le-Duc,ut supra, p. 4, where full details of the press at Obazine are given. The photograph from which my illustration has been made was specially taken for my use through the kind help of my friend Dr James, who had seen the press in 1899.

[198]Viollet-le-Duc,ut supra, p. 14. I have myself examined this press. My friend Mr Hope informs me that there is a press of this character in the nether vestry at S. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, described by him inInventories of the parish church of S. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, Norf. and Norw. Archæol. Soc,xiv.p. 29.

[199]See Mr Hope'sNotes on the Benedictine Abbey of S. Peter at Gloucester, inRecords of Gloucester Cathedral, 1897, p. 23.

[200]See above,p. 93.

[201]Memorials of S. Edmund's Abbey, Rolls Series,ii.327. The writer is describing the mischief done by the rioters of 1327: Deinde claustrum ingressi, cistulas, id est caroles, et armariola fregerunt, et libros et omnia in eis inventa similiter asportaverunt. I owe this quotation to Dr James,On the Abbey of S. Edmund at Bury, Camb. Ant. Soc. Octav. Publ. No.xxviii.p. 158.

[202]Liber Evesham, Hen. Bradshaw Soc. 1893, p. 196. Abbat Ombresleye (1367-79) built "paginam illam claustri contiguam ecclesie ubi carolæ fratrum consistunt."

[203]Accounts of the Obedientiaries of Abingdon Abbey, ed. Camden Society, 1892, p. 47. "Expense circa sedilia claustri" is the heading of an account for wood bought and for carpenter's work. The sum spent was £2. 15s.3d.

[204]Arch. Hist. of the Conventual Buildings of the Monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury. By R. Willis. 8vo, Lond. 1869, p. 45.

[205]MSS. Mus. Brit. MSS. Cotton, Faustina, c.xii., fol. 149. De karulis in claustro habendis hanc consideracionem habere debent quibus committitur claustri tutela ut videlicet celerarius seu alii fratres qui raro in claustro resident suas karulas in claustro non habeant, set nec aliqui fratres nisi in scribendo vel illuminando aut tantum notando communitati aut et sibimet ipsis proficere sciant.

[206]MSS. Mus. Brit. MSS. Cotton, Faustina, c.xii., fol. 145. ... precentorem et succentorem quibus committitur armariorum custodia. Cantor habebit cathedram suam ante armarium in claustro stantem et carulam suam iuxta desuper lapidem inter columpnas. Succentor vero super scannum iuxta armarium carulam et sedem suam habebit, ut hii duo vel saltem unus eorum possint semper esse parati ad respondendum fratribus seruicium petentibus.

[207]History of the Church of Peterburgh.By Symon Gunton: fol. 1686, p. 103. The author gives the subjects and legends of nine windows. I owe this quotation to the kindness of Mr Hope.

Back to Index Next