The Augustinians and Dominicans rank next to the Benedictines as lovers of books. Saint Genevieve and Saint Victor had large libraries. The Barefoot Friars and other mendicant orders also collected books in their travels. Richard of Bury, the founder of a library at Oxford and the author of (Philobiblon,) a treatise on the art of collect ing and preserving books, praised their enthu siasm and industry, and Sir Richard Whitting ton (d. 1423) built a library for them at Gr^y Friars, London. In France, monasteries at Fleury, Cluny, Corbie and Saint Riquier pos sessed libraries. After suffering many vicissi tudes the remnant of the Fleury collection was presented to the town library of Orleans (1793). From the Corbie Monastery 400 MSS. were transferred to Saint Germain des Pres in 1638, and in 1794 the remainder was divided between the Bibliotheque Nationale and the town library of Amiens. In Germany the monasteries of Fulda, Corvey, Richenau and Sponheim had excellent collections. At Fulda, it is said that 400 copyists were busy at one time. Sponheim is famous because of its Ab bott, Johannes Trithemius, who established its library. The monastic library of Saint Gall, in Switzerland, founded by its abbots, Gozbert, is still extant. Several general catalogues of monastic libraries have been compiled, the first being one by the Franciscans (14th century), a sort of union catalogue of 160 European libraries. In the early 15th century John Bos ton of Bury, an Augustinian monk, made a list of the books in 195 British libraries, each col lection being designated by a number, making, as John Bale says, 'one library out of man? (cf. Tanner's (Bibliotheca,) 1748, pp. xviii xliiii). John Leland, 1506?-52, the famous antiquarian and librarian of Henry VIII, made notes of the collections in the institutions of England visited in the years 1536-42. These lists are contained in the edition of Leland published by Hearne in 1715.
Renaissance Libraries.—The lamp of learn ing which had burned during the 8th to 10th centuries and had become almost extinguished during the period following the Crusades, flames up again during the 12th-13th centuries, the age of the cathedral builders, and again dies down, not to revive until the 15th century. In Eng land the barbaric invaders from Denmark and Norway had applied the torch to Wearmouth, Jarrow, Whitby and other of Britain's noblest foundations, and the institutions spared by the Danes suffered from fires or from accumu lated wealth. Here, and on the Continent, the interest in learning passed into decay, and the monasteries that had been preservers of books now became their tombs. Boccaccio, in an ac count of a visit to the Abbey of Monte Cassino, vividly describes the condition of its precious manuscripts °personifying them as gentle prisoners held in captivity by barbarous Jailers?' Poggio, who made a journey to the Council of Constance as Apostolic Secretary, also states that the manuscripts in the Abbey of Saint Gall were kept in °a dungeon foul and dark, at the bottom of a tower?' (Consult (Cambridge Modern History,' Vol. I, p. 549). Here and there were free spirits among men, like Pope Sylvester II, who fought against the moral and mental negation of the times, and endeavored to maintain the traditions of learn ing, yet scholarship, save among the Arabs, was at a discount. It was not until the 15th century that a new light was kindled by Petrarch, Poggio and Boccaccio, and the revival of learning began. Stimulated by their example, a world-wide and almost mad search for classic texts began. Palimpsests were discovered and their concealed writings brought to light. The Medici family, in particular, was keenly in terested in learning, and in founding libraries. Cosmo de Medici, while an exile in Venice (1433), founded the library of San Giorgio Maggiore, and later, after his return to Flor ence, was made one of the trustees of the collection of 800 MSS. collected and copied by Niccolo de' Niccoli. Four hundred of these were presented to the library of the Convent of San Marco (1441), the remaining 400 pass ing into his own collection, thus forming the nucleus of the Medicean Library. This joined later with the collection of San Marco, and that of Fiesole, also founded by him, now form a part of the Biblioteca Medicio —Lauren ziana. In this work for libraries the Medici
found an able helper in Vespasiano de Bisticci (1421-98) who might well be termed the father of Italian libraries. Vespasiano also as sisted Federigo de' Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, in creating his splendid collettion of classics, theology, medicine and humanistic literature. Vespasiano tells us that he kept a large staff of scribes at work for 14 years transcribing material. Few of the collections rivalled those of Federigo, but there were other large ones, particularly that of Cardinal Bes sarion, which, according to Vespasiano, con tained 600 Greek and Latin manuscripts. This was presented to San Marco Cathedral, Venice, in 1468, hut a generation passed before it was properly housed. The Vatican Library (q.v.) as now constituted also dates from the 15th century. Earlier collections had been formed by the popes, but it was not until Nicholas V (1447-55) filled the chair that the library re ceived any special attention. The Pope, who as Tommaso Parentucelli, had been librarian of San Marco, Florence, had perhaps imbibed some of the enthusiasm of Vespasiano and the Medici. At any rate the library was greatly increased by him and his immediate succes sors, being housed finally in the splendid apart ment in the Vatican (1475). In manuscripts, the Vatican collections are the richest in the world, many of the items being unique. They number about 34,000. The Humanistic movement spread rapidly over Europe and many private collections of books were devel oped. Among these collectors, John Bale and John Leland in England have already been mentioned, as has Trithemius, the work of the latter being continued by Cardinal Bellar mine in Italy. Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, formed a splendid library, mainly manuscripts, which is said to have numbered 50,000 items. This was dispersed by the Turks after the fall of Buda, 1526. The kings of France, particularly Saint Louis, Charles V and Francis I, encouraged the book arts in their every phase. It has been noted how the religious institutions were the conservers of learning during the Dark Ages and the Mediae val Period, only to become their tombs or to be destroyed during the events of the reli gious wars. Eight hundred, it is said, disap peared at this time. Another group of institu tions, however, now appeared to play the role of the builders of libraries These were the univer sities. Even before the period of Renaissance the universities under direction of the Church had become centres of cultural activity. They sprang into existence throughout Europe, espe cially in France, Germany and Italy. Among these might be noted Paris, Poitiers, Caen, Bordeaux, Nantes, Pisa, Florence, Bologna, Padua, Constance, Basel, Heidelberg, Cologne, Frankfort-on-Oder, Prague, Louvain, Utrecht, etc. In spite of the fact that theology was the main concern of these institutions, never theless they were forums of free discussion, collectors of literature, and presented a strong front against arbitrary restrictions upon their prerogatives. Courses in physical science were offered, and books were gathered. °John of Dalberg, appointed in 1482 Curator of Heidel berg and Bishop of Worms, divided his time between the University and the bishopric; he helped to establish the first chair of Greek, and founded the famous Palatine library. Reuchlin came to Heidelberg in 1496; he was made li brarian and in 1498 professor of Hebrew' (Consult 'Cambridge Modern History,' Vol. I, p. 637). The invention of printing gave a tremendous impetus to the making and the collecting of books. They became so inexpen sive that many printed works could be ob tained at the cost of one manuscript. Libra ries accordingly began to increase rapidly in numbers, and in the size of their collections. The breakdown, of mediaeval institutions, the decline in power of the Holy Roman Empire, and the strengthening of the principle of nationality were also influences that encour aged the development of libraries within the different states of Europe. For this reason their history after the beginning of the modern era can best be told separately.