FOOTNOTES:

Repairs done to the books contained in the library over the chapel of our lord the Prior, namely, in new byndyng and bordyng with covers and claspyng and chenyng, together with sundry books of the gift of theaforesaid Prior, namely, in the year of our Lord 1508, and the year of the reign of King Henry VII., 23[346].

The writer goes round the room, beginning at the west end. He proceeds along the north side, and returns along the south side, to the point whence he started, enumerating on his way the bookcases and their shelves, the volumes removed, and, occasionally, a note of the repairs required. For my present purpose I will content myself with his account of a single bookcase, the first on the list. The writer begins thus: "From the upper shelf on the east side in the first seat (de superiori textu[347]ex orienti parte in prima(sic)sedile)." Three volumes are enumerated. "From the lower shelf (de inferiori textu)," two volumes. "From the upper shelf on the other side of the same seat (de superiori textu ex altera parte eiusdem sedilis)," seven volumes. "From the lower shelf (de inferiori textu)," five volumes. In this way eight seats, i.e. bookcases, are gone through on this side of the room. The writer next turns his attention to the south side, and goes through eight more seats, beginning with: "From the east side of the upper shelf on the south side (de textu superiori ex parte australi incipiendo. In parte orientali)." The examination was evidently thorough, and, as the same number of seats is enumerated for each side of the room, we may, I think, safely conclude that all were examined, and that the whole number in the library was sixteen.

The passages I have quoted shew that each of these bookcases had an upper and lower shelf on each side, on which the books stood, so as to be conveniently consulted by readers on each side; the books were chained; and, in consequence, there must have been a desk, presumably below the shelves on each side; and a seat for the reader. I have embodied these requirements in the accompanying sketch or diagram (fig. 89), which indicates a bookcase of the same type as those at Corpus ChristiCollege, Oxford. If we may suppose that each of these cases was two feet wide and eight feet long like those at Merton College, we can accommodate eight cases on each side of the room (fig. 88), with the same interval between each pair as at that college.

Fig. 89. Sketch of the probable appearance of a bookcase, and a reader's seat, in the Library at Christ Church, Canterbury.Fig. 89. Sketch of the probable appearance of a bookcase, and a reader's seat, in the Library at Christ Church, Canterbury.

Let us now consider whether the library as thus arranged would have had sufficient shelf-room. Each bookcase being 8 feet long would contain 32 feet of shelving, and the 16 cases a total of 512 feet. The catalogue made in the time of Prior Henry of Eastry (1285-1331) enumerates 1850 volumes[348]. If we allow two feet and a half for every ten of these we shall require 462½ feet; or in other words we can arrange the whole collection in 14 stalls, leaving 2 over for the additions which must have been made in the interval between the middle of the 14th century and the date of Brother Ingram's researches.

If the sketch here given of the probable aspect of the library at Christ Church, Canterbury, be compared with the view of thelibrary at Merton College, Oxford (fig. 82), a fairly correct idea of a great conventual library will be obtained. A very slight effort of imagination is needed to make the necessary changes in the shelves, and to replace academic students by Benedictine monks. Then, if we conceive the shelves to be loaded with manuscripts, many of which were written in the early days of the English Church, we shall be able to realise the feelings of Leland on entering the library at Glastonbury:

I had hardly crossed the threshold when the mere sight of books remarkable for their vast antiquity filled me with awe, or I might almost say with bewilderment: so that for a moment I could not move a step forward[349].

I propose in the next place to print a translation of the Introduction to the catalogue[350]of the Benedictine Priory of S. Martin at Dover, which was a cell to Canterbury made in 1389 by John Whytfeld. This catalogue does not indicate the stall-system; in fact I am at a loss to define the precise system which it does indicate. I print it in this place on account of its internal interest, and the evidence which it affords of the care taken in the last quarter of the fourteenth century to make books easily accessible to scholars.

The present Register of the Library of the Priory of Dover, compiled in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1389 under the presidency of John Neunam prior and monk of the said church, is separated into three main divisions. The object is that the first part may supply information to the precentor of the house concerning the number of the books and the complete knowledge of them: that the second part may stir up studious brethren to eager and frequent reading: and that the third part may point out the way to the speedy finding of individual treatises by the scholars. Now although a brief special preface is prefixed to each part to facilitate the understanding of it, to this first part certain general notes are prefixed, to begin with, for the more plain understanding of the whole Register.Be it noted, then, first, that this whole Library is divided into nine several classes (Distinctions), marked according to the nine first letters of the alphabet, which are affixed to the classes themselves, in such a way that A marks out to him who enters the first Class, B the second,C the third, and so on in order. Each of the said nine classes, moreover, will be seen to be divided into seven shelves (grades), which are also marked off by the addition of Roman numeral figures, following the letters which denote the classes. We begin the numbering of the shelves from the bottom, and proceed upwards so that the bottom shelf, which is the first, is marked thus, I; the second thus, II; the third thus, III; and so the numbering goes, on up to seven[351].In addition to this, the books of the Library are all of them marked on each leaf with Arabic numerals, to facilitate the ascertaining of the contents of the volumes.Now since many of the volumes contain a number of treatises, the names of these treatises, although they have not always been correctly christened, are written down under each volume, and an Arabic numeral is added to each name shewing on what leaf each tract begins. To this number the letter A or B is subjoined, the letter A here denoting the first page of the leaf, and the letter B the second. The books themselves, furthermore, have their class-letters and also their shelf-marks inserted not only outside on their bindings, but also inside, accompanying the tables of contents at the beginning. To such class-letters a small Arabic figure is added which shews clearly what position the book occupies in the order of placing on the shelf concerned.On the second, third, or fourth leaf of the book, or thereabouts, on the lower margin the name of the book is written. Before it are entered the above-mentioned class-letters and shelf-numbers, and after it (a small space intervening) are immediately set down the words with which that leaf begins, which I shall call the proof of investigation (probatorium cognitionis). The Arabic figures next following will state how many leaves are contained in the whole volume; and finally another numeral immediately following the last clearly sets forth the number of the tracts contained in the said volume.If then the above facts be securely entrusted to a retentive memory it will be clearly seen in what class, shelf, place and order each book of the whole Library ought to be put, and on what leaf and which side of the leaf the beginnings of the several treatises may be found. For it has been the object of the compiler of this present register [and] of the Library, by setting forth a variety of such marks and notations of classes, shelves, order, pagination, treatises and volumes, to insure for his monastery security from loss in time to come, to shut the door against the spite of such as might wish to despoil or bargain away such a treasure, and to set up a sure bulwark of defence and resistance. And in truth the compiler will not be offended but will honestly love anyone who shall bring this register—which is still faulty in many respects—into better order, even if he should see fit to place his own name at the head of the whole work.In the first part of the register, therefore, we have throughout at the top, between black lines ruled horizontally, first the class-letter, in red, and, following it, the shelf-mark, in black characters (tetris signaculis). Then again between other lines ruled in red, vertically: first, on the left a numeral shewing the place of the book in order on its shelf: then the name of the volume: thirdly, the number of the "probatory" leaf; fourthly, the "probatory" words (in the case of which, by the way, reference is made to the text and not to the gloss); fifthly, the number of leaves in the whole volume; and, lastly, the number of the treatises contained in it—all written within the aforesaid lines. In addition there will be left in each shelf of this part, at the end, some vacant space, in which the names of books that may be subsequently acquired can be placed[352].

Be it noted, then, first, that this whole Library is divided into nine several classes (Distinctions), marked according to the nine first letters of the alphabet, which are affixed to the classes themselves, in such a way that A marks out to him who enters the first Class, B the second,C the third, and so on in order. Each of the said nine classes, moreover, will be seen to be divided into seven shelves (grades), which are also marked off by the addition of Roman numeral figures, following the letters which denote the classes. We begin the numbering of the shelves from the bottom, and proceed upwards so that the bottom shelf, which is the first, is marked thus, I; the second thus, II; the third thus, III; and so the numbering goes, on up to seven[351].

In addition to this, the books of the Library are all of them marked on each leaf with Arabic numerals, to facilitate the ascertaining of the contents of the volumes.

Now since many of the volumes contain a number of treatises, the names of these treatises, although they have not always been correctly christened, are written down under each volume, and an Arabic numeral is added to each name shewing on what leaf each tract begins. To this number the letter A or B is subjoined, the letter A here denoting the first page of the leaf, and the letter B the second. The books themselves, furthermore, have their class-letters and also their shelf-marks inserted not only outside on their bindings, but also inside, accompanying the tables of contents at the beginning. To such class-letters a small Arabic figure is added which shews clearly what position the book occupies in the order of placing on the shelf concerned.

On the second, third, or fourth leaf of the book, or thereabouts, on the lower margin the name of the book is written. Before it are entered the above-mentioned class-letters and shelf-numbers, and after it (a small space intervening) are immediately set down the words with which that leaf begins, which I shall call the proof of investigation (probatorium cognitionis). The Arabic figures next following will state how many leaves are contained in the whole volume; and finally another numeral immediately following the last clearly sets forth the number of the tracts contained in the said volume.

If then the above facts be securely entrusted to a retentive memory it will be clearly seen in what class, shelf, place and order each book of the whole Library ought to be put, and on what leaf and which side of the leaf the beginnings of the several treatises may be found. For it has been the object of the compiler of this present register [and] of the Library, by setting forth a variety of such marks and notations of classes, shelves, order, pagination, treatises and volumes, to insure for his monastery security from loss in time to come, to shut the door against the spite of such as might wish to despoil or bargain away such a treasure, and to set up a sure bulwark of defence and resistance. And in truth the compiler will not be offended but will honestly love anyone who shall bring this register—which is still faulty in many respects—into better order, even if he should see fit to place his own name at the head of the whole work.

In the first part of the register, therefore, we have throughout at the top, between black lines ruled horizontally, first the class-letter, in red, and, following it, the shelf-mark, in black characters (tetris signaculis). Then again between other lines ruled in red, vertically: first, on the left a numeral shewing the place of the book in order on its shelf: then the name of the volume: thirdly, the number of the "probatory" leaf; fourthly, the "probatory" words (in the case of which, by the way, reference is made to the text and not to the gloss); fifthly, the number of leaves in the whole volume; and, lastly, the number of the treatises contained in it—all written within the aforesaid lines. In addition there will be left in each shelf of this part, at the end, some vacant space, in which the names of books that may be subsequently acquired can be placed[352].

The meaning of the word "distinction" is the principal difficulty in the way of understanding the above description. I thought at first that it denoted merely difference of subject, and thatgradus, as in the catalogue of Queens' College, Cambridge, was a side of a lectern. But the statement that the grades are numbered "from the bottom and proceed upwards" can hardly be reconciled with any arrangement of lecterns.Distinctioprobably denotes a bookcase or press, divided into 7 grades, and probably placed against the wall, the wordgradushere meaning a flat shelf, instead of one set at an angle as in former instances. If this explanation be correct we have here a very early instance of shelves in such a position.

My second example of a monastic library fitted up according to the stall-system is the library at Clairvaux. As I have already printed a full description of it[353], I need not do more in this place than translate the passage referring to the fittings:

This library is 189 feet long, by 51 feet wide[354]. In it are 48 seats (bancs), and in each seat 4 shelves (poulpitres) furnished with books on all subjects, but chiefly theology.... The building that contains the said library is magnificent, built of stone, and excellently well lighted on both sides with five large windows, well glazed.

As there were so many as 48 bookcases, that is, 24 on each side, the bookcases were evidently spaced without reference tothe lateral windows, which were probably raised high above the floor.

The catalogue, from which I have already quoted the verses commemorating the building of the library, contains much useful information respecting the arrangement of the books. The verses are succeeded by the following introductory note:

Repertorium omnium librorum in hac Clarevallis biblioteca existentium a fratre Mathurino de cangeyo eiusdem loci monacho non sine magno labore editum.LegePro intelligentia presentis tabule seu Repertorii, sciendum est quod a parte aquilonari collocantur libri quorum litere capitales nigre sunt, quorum vero rubre a parte australi. Et omnes in ea ordine alphabetico scribuntur.Utriusque autem partis primum analogium per litteram A signatur, secundum per litteram B, tercium per litteram C, quartum per litteram D, quintum per litteram E. Et consequenter cetera analogia per sequentes litteras alphabeticas.Quodlibet autem analogium quatuor habet partes, quarum prima signatur per litteram A, secunda per B, tercia per C, quarta per D.Prime partis primi analogii primus liber signatur per A. a. 1, secundus per A. a. 2, tercius per A. a. 3, et consequenter.Secunde partis primus liber signatur per A. b. 1, secundus per A. b. 2; et de consequentibus similis est ordinatio.Tercie partis primus liber signatur per A. c. 1, secundus per A. c. 2; et consequenter.Quarte partis primus liber signatur per A. d. 1, secundus per A. d. 2; et consequenter.[In this way five "analogia" are enumerated.]Et eadem est disciplina et ordinacio de ceteris analogiis prout habetur in novissimo quaternione eiusdem tabule, immo et in fronte cuiuslibet analogii in tabella eidem appendente.Hanc tabulam seu repertorium scripsit quondam frater Petrus mauray de Arecis oriundus. Vivus vel defunctus requiescat in bona semper pace. Amen.

Repertorium omnium librorum in hac Clarevallis biblioteca existentium a fratre Mathurino de cangeyo eiusdem loci monacho non sine magno labore editum.

Lege

Pro intelligentia presentis tabule seu Repertorii, sciendum est quod a parte aquilonari collocantur libri quorum litere capitales nigre sunt, quorum vero rubre a parte australi. Et omnes in ea ordine alphabetico scribuntur.

Utriusque autem partis primum analogium per litteram A signatur, secundum per litteram B, tercium per litteram C, quartum per litteram D, quintum per litteram E. Et consequenter cetera analogia per sequentes litteras alphabeticas.

Quodlibet autem analogium quatuor habet partes, quarum prima signatur per litteram A, secunda per B, tercia per C, quarta per D.

Prime partis primi analogii primus liber signatur per A. a. 1, secundus per A. a. 2, tercius per A. a. 3, et consequenter.

Secunde partis primus liber signatur per A. b. 1, secundus per A. b. 2; et de consequentibus similis est ordinatio.

Tercie partis primus liber signatur per A. c. 1, secundus per A. c. 2; et consequenter.

Quarte partis primus liber signatur per A. d. 1, secundus per A. d. 2; et consequenter.

[In this way five "analogia" are enumerated.]

Et eadem est disciplina et ordinacio de ceteris analogiis prout habetur in novissimo quaternione eiusdem tabule, immo et in fronte cuiuslibet analogii in tabella eidem appendente.

Hanc tabulam seu repertorium scripsit quondam frater Petrus mauray de Arecis oriundus. Vivus vel defunctus requiescat in bona semper pace. Amen.

The most important passage in the above note may be thus translated:

ReadFor the right understanding of the present table or method of finding books (tabule seu repertorii), you must know that on the north side are ranged those books whereof the capital letters are black; on the south side those whereof the capital letters are red. All are set down in alphabetical order.On each side the first desk (analogium) is marked by the letter A; the second by the letter B; [and so forth].Each desk has four divisions, the first of which is marked by the lettera, the second by the letterb, the third by the letterc, the fourth by the letterd. The first book on the first shelf of the first desk is marked A. a. i; the second A. a. ii; [and so forth].

Read

For the right understanding of the present table or method of finding books (tabule seu repertorii), you must know that on the north side are ranged those books whereof the capital letters are black; on the south side those whereof the capital letters are red. All are set down in alphabetical order.

On each side the first desk (analogium) is marked by the letter A; the second by the letter B; [and so forth].

Each desk has four divisions, the first of which is marked by the lettera, the second by the letterb, the third by the letterc, the fourth by the letterd. The first book on the first shelf of the first desk is marked A. a. i; the second A. a. ii; [and so forth].

The catalogue as well as the description makes it perfectly clear that each desk, that is to say, each bookcase, had four shelves; and further, as the authors of theVoyage Littéraire(1708) mention chains[355], it may be concluded that there were desks, and seats for readers, between each pair of bookcases. If we place two shelves on each side of the case we get a piece of furniture precisely similar to that in use at Canterbury.

FOOTNOTES:[332]Macray,Annals of the Bodleian Library, p. 7. The words used are: Jam enim si quis, ut fit, uni libro inhæreat, aliis studere volentibus ad tres vel quatuor pro vicinitate colligationis præcludit accessum.[333]Hearne'sGlastonbury, ed. 1722, p. 286.[334]Fasti Herefordenses, by Rev. F. T. Havergal. 4o,1869, p. 181. A Chapter-order dated 16 February, 1589, directed the removal of the books to the Lady Chapel, and the erection of a school on the ground where the Library had once stood.[335]For the historical facts in the following account I am indebted to Mr Henderson's History, to the merits of which I have already drawn attention. I have also made copious extracts from the College account-books. Further, I have carefully studied the library on several occasions, and have had the benefit of the professional assistance of my friend Mr T. D. Atkinson, Architect.[336]In the bursar's accounts for 1605, among other charges for the library, is the following entry: "pro pari cardinum ad sedem in bibliotheca 12d." If I am right in thinking that this refers to the desks for the readers in the west library it proves that the existing cases had been set up before 1605.[337]Wood,Colleges and Halls, p. 551.[338]Add. MSS. Mus. Brit. 5803, MSS. Cole,ii.9.[339]Arch. Hist.iii.453.[340]I have described these fragments inCamb. Ant. Soc. Proc., Vol.viii.p. 18.[341]See my paper inCamb. Ant. Soc. Proc. and Comm., Vol.ix.p. 37.[342]Scrinia reserata: a Memorial ... of John Williams, D.D.... By John Hacket. Fol. Lond. 1693, pp. 46, 47.[343]See above,p. 106.[344]Arch. Hist. of ... Monastery of Chr. Ch. Cant.8vo. 1869, p. 65. This chapel was pulled down at the end of the 17th century and the present library, called the Howley library, built in its place.[345]I have to thank my friend Mr W. H. St John Hope, Assistant Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, for first drawing my attention to it; and the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury for leave to use it.[346]Reparaciones facte circa libros qui continentur in libraria supra capellam domini prioris videlicet in le new byndyng and bordyng cum coopertoriis and le claspyng and chenyng eciam cum diuersis libris ex dono eiusdem prioris videlicet Anno domini Mocccccoviijoand Anno Regni Regis henrici vijoxxiii.[347]This word seems to have been used at Canterbury to denote any piece of joinery. We have already seen it applied to a carrell (p. 99).[348]See above,p. 102.The catalogue has been printed by Edwards,Memoirs of Libraries,i.pp. 122-235.[349]Vix certè limen intraveram cum antiquissimorum librorum vel solus conspectus religionem, nescio an stuporem, animo incuteret meo; eâque de causâ, pedem paullulum sistebam. Leland,De Script. Brit.ed. Hall,i.41.[350]This catalogue is in the Bodleian Library (MSS. 920). I am indebted to my friend Dr James for the admirable translation which I here print.[351]The words thus translated are: "Incipiendo graduum computacionem a loco inferiori in altum procedendo videlicet ut gradus infimus qui primus est sic signetur I."[352]Dr James has pointed out (Camb. Ant. Soc. Oct. Publ., No.xxxii.) that there are six MSS. from Dover Priory among Archbishop Parker's MSS. at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The first of these—a Bible in two volumes—is entered in the catalogue of the Priory as A. 1. 2, 3—that is to say it was indistinctioA,gradus1, and the volumes stood second and third in thegradus.[353]See above,p. 112.[354]The words are: "contient de longueurlxiiipassées, et de largeurxviipassées." I have taken one pace=3 feet.[355]Voyage Littéraire, ed. 1717, Parti.. p. 102.

[332]Macray,Annals of the Bodleian Library, p. 7. The words used are: Jam enim si quis, ut fit, uni libro inhæreat, aliis studere volentibus ad tres vel quatuor pro vicinitate colligationis præcludit accessum.

[333]Hearne'sGlastonbury, ed. 1722, p. 286.

[334]Fasti Herefordenses, by Rev. F. T. Havergal. 4o,1869, p. 181. A Chapter-order dated 16 February, 1589, directed the removal of the books to the Lady Chapel, and the erection of a school on the ground where the Library had once stood.

[335]For the historical facts in the following account I am indebted to Mr Henderson's History, to the merits of which I have already drawn attention. I have also made copious extracts from the College account-books. Further, I have carefully studied the library on several occasions, and have had the benefit of the professional assistance of my friend Mr T. D. Atkinson, Architect.

[336]In the bursar's accounts for 1605, among other charges for the library, is the following entry: "pro pari cardinum ad sedem in bibliotheca 12d." If I am right in thinking that this refers to the desks for the readers in the west library it proves that the existing cases had been set up before 1605.

[337]Wood,Colleges and Halls, p. 551.

[338]Add. MSS. Mus. Brit. 5803, MSS. Cole,ii.9.

[339]Arch. Hist.iii.453.

[340]I have described these fragments inCamb. Ant. Soc. Proc., Vol.viii.p. 18.

[341]See my paper inCamb. Ant. Soc. Proc. and Comm., Vol.ix.p. 37.

[342]Scrinia reserata: a Memorial ... of John Williams, D.D.... By John Hacket. Fol. Lond. 1693, pp. 46, 47.

[343]See above,p. 106.

[344]Arch. Hist. of ... Monastery of Chr. Ch. Cant.8vo. 1869, p. 65. This chapel was pulled down at the end of the 17th century and the present library, called the Howley library, built in its place.

[345]I have to thank my friend Mr W. H. St John Hope, Assistant Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, for first drawing my attention to it; and the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury for leave to use it.

[346]Reparaciones facte circa libros qui continentur in libraria supra capellam domini prioris videlicet in le new byndyng and bordyng cum coopertoriis and le claspyng and chenyng eciam cum diuersis libris ex dono eiusdem prioris videlicet Anno domini Mocccccoviijoand Anno Regni Regis henrici vijoxxiii.

[347]This word seems to have been used at Canterbury to denote any piece of joinery. We have already seen it applied to a carrell (p. 99).

[348]See above,p. 102.The catalogue has been printed by Edwards,Memoirs of Libraries,i.pp. 122-235.

[349]Vix certè limen intraveram cum antiquissimorum librorum vel solus conspectus religionem, nescio an stuporem, animo incuteret meo; eâque de causâ, pedem paullulum sistebam. Leland,De Script. Brit.ed. Hall,i.41.

[350]This catalogue is in the Bodleian Library (MSS. 920). I am indebted to my friend Dr James for the admirable translation which I here print.

[351]The words thus translated are: "Incipiendo graduum computacionem a loco inferiori in altum procedendo videlicet ut gradus infimus qui primus est sic signetur I."

[352]Dr James has pointed out (Camb. Ant. Soc. Oct. Publ., No.xxxii.) that there are six MSS. from Dover Priory among Archbishop Parker's MSS. at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. The first of these—a Bible in two volumes—is entered in the catalogue of the Priory as A. 1. 2, 3—that is to say it was indistinctioA,gradus1, and the volumes stood second and third in thegradus.

[353]See above,p. 112.

[354]The words are: "contient de longueurlxiiipassées, et de largeurxviipassées." I have taken one pace=3 feet.

[355]Voyage Littéraire, ed. 1717, Parti.. p. 102.

THE LECTERN-SYSTEM IN ITALY. LIBRARIES AT CESENA, AT THE CONVENT OF S. MARK, FLORENCE, AND AT MONTE OLIVETO. VATICAN LIBRARY OF SIXTUS IV. DUCAL LIBRARY AT URBINO. MEDICEAN LIBRARY, FLORENCE. SYSTEM OF CHAINING THERE USED. CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDIEVAL LIBRARIES. NAMES OF MEDIEVAL BOOKCASES AND BOOKSHELVES.

While the "stall-system" was being generally adopted in England and in France, a different plan was being developed in Italy. It consisted in a return to the "lectern-system," with the addition of a shelf below the lectern, on which the books lay on their sides when not wanted; and an ingenious combination of a seat for the reader with the desk and shelf.

The earliest library fitted up in this manner that I have been able to discover is at Cesena, a city of north Italy between Forli and Ravenna. It is practically in its original condition.

In the fifteenth century Cesena was governed by the powerful family of Malatesta, one of whom, Domenico Malatesta Novello, built the library in 1452, and placed it under the charge of the convent of S. Francesco. Two burghers were associated with the Friars in this duty. The library was always public. It was designed by Matteo Nuzio of Fano, a celebrated architect of the day, as we learn from an inscription originally inserted into the wall on the right of the door of entrance, but now placed inside the library:

MATHEVS. NVTIVS.FANENSI EX VRBE. CREATVS.DEDALVS ALTER. OPVS.TANTVM. DEDVXIT. AD VNGVEM.

Fig. 90. Ground-plan and section of Library at Cesena.Fig. 90. Ground-plan and section of Library at Cesena.

Fig. 91. Ground-plan and section of Library at Cesena.Fig. 91. Ground-plan and section of Library at Cesena.

Fig. 92. General view of the Library at Cesena. From a photograph.Fig. 92. General view of the Library at Cesena. From a photograph.

The general plan and arrangement will be readily understood from the ground-plan (fig. 90), and the longitudinal section (fig. 91), copied on a reduced scale from those given by the learned Giuseppe Maria Muccioli, who published a catalogue of the MSS. in the library in 1780[356], and also from the general view of the interior (fig. 92). It is a long narrow building, 133 ft. 4 in. long, by 34 ft. broad[357], standing east and west, so that its windows face north and south. It is on the first floor, being built over some rooms which once belonged to the convent, and is entered at the west end through a lofty marble doorway. Internally it is divided into three aisles, of which the central is the narrowest, by two rows of ten fluted marble columns. Against the side-walls and partly engaged in them, are two rows of similar columns. The aisles are divided by plain quadripartite vaults, resting partly on the central columns, partly on those engaged in the side-walls, into eleven bays, each lighted by two windows (fig. 91). These aisles are about 12 ft. wide. The central aisle, 8 ft. 3 in. wide between the columns, has a plain barrel vault, extending from end to end of the building.

The influence of the Renaissance may readily be detected in the ornamentation of the columns, but traces of medieval forms still linger in the room. If the central alley were wider it might be taken for the nave of a basilica.

Fig. 93. Bookcases at west end of south side of Library, Cesena.Fig. 93. Bookcases at west end of south side of Library, Cesena.

There are 29 bookcases in each aisle. Between each pair of cases there is a wooden floor, raised 3½ in. above the general level of the room; and there is an interval of 2 ft. 3 in. between the cases and the wall, so that access may be readily obtained to them from either end. The room is paved with unglazed tiles.

The westernmost bay is empty (fig. 90), being used as avestibule, and the first bookcase, if I may be allowed the expression, on each side, is really not a bookcase but a seat (fig. 93)[358].

Fig. 94. Part of a bookcase at Cesena to shew the system of chaining.Fig. 94. Part of a bookcase at Cesena to shew the system of chaining.

The construction of these cases is most ingenious, both as regards convenience and economy of space. If they were designed by the architect who built the room, he must have been a man of no ordinary originality. Each piece of furniture consists of a desk to lay the books on when wanted for use, a shelf for those not immediately required, and a seat for the reader, whose comfort is considered by a gentle slope in the back (fig. 93). At the end next the central alley is a panel containing the heraldic devices of the Malatesta family.

The principal dimensions of each case are as follows:

Length10 ft. 2½ in.Height4 ft. 2¼ in.Width of seat3 ft. 1 in.Width of foot-rest11 in.Height3½ in.Height of seat from ground1 ft. 10½ in.Width1 ft. 4 in.Distance from desk to desk4 ft. 1 in.Angle of slope of desk45°.

Fig. 95. Piece of a chain, Cesena.Fig. 95. Piece of a chain, Cesena.

The books are still attached to the desks by chains. The bar which carries them is in full view just under the ledge of the desk (fig. 94), inserted into massive iron stanchions nailed to the underside of the desk. There are four of these: one at each end of the desk, and one on each side of the central standard. The bar is locked by means of a hasp attached to the standard in which the lock is sunk.

The chains are of a novel form (fig. 95). Each link, about 2¼ in. long, consists of a solid central portion, which looks as though it were cast round a bent wire, the ends of which project beyond the solid part. The chain is attached to the book by an iron hook screwed into the lower edge of the right-hand board near the back.

The volume which I figure next (fig. 96), entitledLumen animæ seu liber moralitatum,was printed at Eichstädt in Bavaria, in 1479. M. Ferd. Vander Haeghen, librarian of Ghent, bought it in Hungary a few years since, and gave it to the library which he so ably directs. The chain is just 24 in. long. The links, of which there are ten, are slightly different from any which I have figured, each link being compressed in the middle so that the two sides touch each other. There is no ring, but a link, rather larger than the rest, is passed round the bar. It will be observed that the chain is fastened to the left-hand board, and not to the right-hand board as in Italy. The presence of a title written onparchment kept in place by strips of leather, and five bosses of copper, shew that the left-hand board was uppermost on the desk. The position of the chain shews that when it was attached the book was intended to lie on a desk, where the bar must have been in front of, or below, the desk; but there is also a scar on the upper edge of the right-hand board, which shews that at some previous period it lay on a desk of what I may call the Zutphen type, where the bar was above the sloping surface.

With the library at Cesena may be compared that attached to the Dominican Convent of S. Mark at Florence, built in 1441 for Cosmo dei Medici—the first public library in Italy. It is on the first floor, and is approached by a staircase from the cloister. It is 148 ft. long by 34 ft. 6 in. wide[359], divided into three aisles by two rows of eleven columns. The central aisle, 9 ft. wide between the columns, has a plain barrel vault; the side aisles, 11 ft. wide, have quadripartite vaults. In each of the side-walls there are twelve windows. In all these details the library resembles that at Cesena so closely that I cannot help suspecting that Malatesta or his architect may have copied it.

Fig. 96. Chained book at Ghent.Fig. 96. Chained book at Ghent.

The original fittings have been removed, but we learn from the catalogue[360]that the books were originally contained in 64banchi, half of which were on the east side and half on the west side of the room. There was an average of about sixteen books to eachbanchus. The catalogue also mentions a Greek library, which had sevenbanchion each side. This was probably a separate room.

There is a similar library at the Benedictine Convent of Monte Oliveto, near Siena, but it is on a much smaller scale. Like the others, it is divided into three aisles by two rows of six columns. The central aisle has a barrel vault, and the side aisles quadripartite vaults. It is 85 ft. long by 32 ft. broad. There are seven windows on one side only. At the end of the library, approached by a flight of thirteen stairs, is a room of the same width and 21 ft. long, which may have been used as an innerlibrary. An inscription over the door of entrance records that this library was built in 1516[361].

While discussing the arrangements of Italian libraries, I must not omit that at the Convent of S. Francis at Assisi[362]. The catalogue, dated 1 January, 1381, shews that the library, even at that comparatively early date, was in two divisions: (1) for the use of the brethren; (2) for loans to extraneous persons. This catalogue, after a brief preface stating that it includes "all the books belonging to the library of the Holy Convent of S. Francis at Assisi, whether they be chained, or whether they be not chained," begins as follows:

In the first place we make a list of the books which are chained to benches (banchi) in the Public Library as follows, and observe that all the leaves of all the books which are in this catalogue, whether they are in quires of 12, 10, 8, or any other number of leaves larger or smaller,—every one of these books contains the denomination of the quires, as appears in the first quire of each book on the lower margin: all the quires being marked at beginning and end in black and red with the figure here shewn, and the number of the quire within it.Moreover, the letters of the alphabet that are placed on the top of the covers ought all to be fairly large and entirely black, as marked below [in this catalogue] at the end of each book[363].

Moreover, the letters of the alphabet that are placed on the top of the covers ought all to be fairly large and entirely black, as marked below [in this catalogue] at the end of each book[363].

This introduction is succeeded by the list of books. They are chained to nine benches on the west side of a room, and to the same number on the east side. The total is 170.

The second part of the catalogue has the following heading:

In the name of the Lord, Amen. Here begins the list of all the books which are in the Reserved Library (libraria secreta) of the Holy Convent of S. Francis at Assisi, appointed to be lent to prelates, masters, readers, bachelors, and all other brethren in orders, according as the amount of knowledge or line of study of each demands them.

This part of the collection is contained in eleven presses (for which the unusual wordsolarium[364]is used) arranged along the east and west walls of a room, but whether the same as the last we are not informed. The number of manuscripts is 530.

A considerable number of the manuscripts here registered still exists. They are well taken care of in the Town Hall, and a list of them has been privately printed. Several are in their original condition, bound in boards about a quarter of an inch thick, covered with white leather. The title, written on a strip of parchment, is pasted on the top of the right-hand board. It usually begins with a capital letter in red or black, denoting the desk or press in which a given MS. would be found, thus:

F Postilla MagistriNicolai de lyra super psalmosreponatur uersus orientem in banco vjo.

In the next place I will tell at length the story of the establishment of the Vatican Library by Pope Sixtus IV., as it is both interesting in itself and useful for my present purpose[365].

The real founder of the Vatican Library, as we understand the term, was Nicholas V. (1447-1455), but he was unable to do more than collect books, for which no adequate room was provided till the accession of Sixtus IV. in 1471. In December of that year, only four months after his election, his chamberlain commissioned five architects to quarry and convey to the palace a supply of building-stone "for use in a certain building there to be constructed for library-purposes[366]"; but the scheme for an independent building, as indicated by the terms here employed, was soon abandoned, and nothing was done for rather more than three years. In the beginning of 1475, however, a new impulse was given to the work by the appointment of Bartolommeo Platina as Librarian (28 February)[367]; and from that date until Platina's death in 1481 it went forward without let or hindrance. This distinguished man of letters seems to have enjoyed the full confidence of the Pope, to have been liberally supplied with funds, and to have had a free hand in the employment of craftsmen and artists to furnish and decorate his Library. It is pleasant to be able to record that he lived to see his work completed, and all the books under his charge catalogued. The enumeration of the volumes contained in the different stalls, closets, and coffers, with which the catalogue of 1481 concludes, is headed by a rubric, which records, with pathetic simplicity, the fact that it was drawn up "by Platina, librarian, and Demetrius of Lucca his pupil, keeper, on the 14th day of September, 1481, only eight days before his death[368]."

Fig. 98. Ground-plan of the rooms in the Vatican Palace fitted up for library-purposes by Sixtus IV. E. Wilson, CambridgeFig. 98. Ground-plan of the rooms in the Vatican Palace fitted up for library-purposes by Sixtus IV. E. Wilson, Cambridge

It is evident that the Library had suffered considerably from the negligence of those in whose charge it had been. Many volumes were missing, and those that remained were in bad condition. Platina and his master set to work energetically to remedy these defects. The former engaged a binder, and bought materials for his use[369]; the latter issued a Bull (30 June) of exceptional severity[370]. After stating that "certain ecclesiastical and secular persons, having no fear of God before their eyes, have taken sundry volumes in theology and other faculties from the library, which volumes they still presume rashly and maliciously to hide and secretly to detain"; such persons are warned to return the books in question within forty days. If they disobey they areipso factoexcommunicated. If they are clerics they shall be incapable of holding livings, and if laymen, of holding any office. Those who have knowledge of such persons are to inform against them. The effect produced by this document has not been recorded; nor are we told what the extent of the loss was. It could hardly have been very extensive, for a catalogue which Platina prepared, or perhaps only signed, on the day of his election, enumerates 2527 volumes, of which 770 were Greek and 1757 Latin[371]. The number of the latter had more than doubled in the twenty years that had elapsed since the death of Nicholas V., an augmentation due, in all probability, to the activity of Sixtus himself.

The place selected to contain this extensive collection was the ground-floor of a building which had been erected by Nicholas V. and subsequently used as a provision store. The position of it, and its relations to neighbouring structures, will be understood from the accompanying plan (fig. 97), which I borrow from M. Fabre's paper. In order to shew how the building was arranged when it was first built, before other structures abutted against it, I have prepared a second plan (fig. 98) drawn from measurements taken by myself.

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