It would have been difficult perhaps to have found in those days a body of monks so "bookish" as those of Durham; not only did they transcribe with astonishing rapidity, proving that there was no want of vellum there, but they must have bought or otherwise collected a great number of books; for the see of Durham, in the early part of the 12th century, could show a library embracing nearly 300 volumes.[165]

Nor let the reader imagine that the collection possessed no merit in a literary point of view, or that the monks cared for little else save legends of saints or the literature of the church; the catalogue proves them to have enjoyed a more liberal and a more refined taste, and again display the cloistered students of the middle ages as the preservers of classic learning. This is a point worth observing on looking over the old parchment catalogues of the monks; for as by their Epistles we obtain a knowledge of their intimacy with the old writers, and the use they made of them, so by their catalogues we catch a glimpse of the means they possessed of becoming personally acquainted with their beauties; by the process much light may be thrown on the gloom of those long past times, and perhaps we shall gain too a better view of the state of learning existing then. But that the reader may judge for himself, I extract the names of some of the writers whom the monks of Durham preserved and read:

Alcuin. Ambrose. Aratores. Anselm. Augustine. Aviany. Bede. Boethius. Bernard. Cassian. Cassiodorus. Claudius. Cyprian. Donatus. Esop. Eutropius. Galen. Gregory. Haimo. Horace. Homer. Hugo. Juvenal. Isidore. Josephus. Lucan. Marcianus. Maximian. Orosius. Ovid. Prudentius. Prosper. Persius. Priscian. Peter Lombard. Plato. Pompeius Trogus. Quintilian. Rabanus. Solinus. Servius. Statius. Terence. Tully. Theodulus. Virgil. Gesta Anglorum. Gesta Normanorum.

Hugh de Pussar,[166] consecrated bishop in 1153, is the next who attracts our attention by his bibliomanical renown. He possessed perhaps the finest copy of the Holy Scriptures of any private collector; and he doubtless regarded his "unam Bibliam in iv. magnis voluminibus," with the veneration of a divine and the fondness of a student. He collected what in those times was deemed a respectable library, and bequeathed no less than sixty or seventy volumes to the Durham monks, including his great Bible, which has ever since been preserved with religious care; from a catalogue of them we learn his partiality for classical literature; a Tully, Sedulus, Priscian, and Claudius, are mentioned among them.[167]

Anthony Bek, who was appointed to the see in the year 1283, was a most ambitious and haughty prelate, and caused great dissensions in his church. History proves how little he was adapted for the responsible duties of a bishop, and points to the field of battle or civil pomp as most congenial to his disposition. He ostentatiously displayed the splendor of a Palatine Prince, when he contributed his powerful aid to the cause of his sovereign, in the Scottish war, by a retinue of 500 horse, 1000 foot, 140 knights, and 26 standard bearers,[168] rendered doubly imposing in those days of saintly worship and credulity, by the patronage of St. Cuthbert, under whole holy banner they marched against a brave and noble foe. His arbitrary temper caused sad quarrels in the cloister, which ultimately gave rise to a tedious law proceeding between him and the prior about the year 1300;[169] from a record of this affair we learn that the bishop had borrowed some books from the library which afterwards he refused to return; there was among them a Decretal, a history of England, a Missal, and a volume called "The book of St. Cuthbert, in which the secrets of the monastery are written," which was alone valued at L200,[170] probably in consideration of the important and delicate matters contained therein.

These proceedings were instituted by prior Hoton, who was fond of books, and had a great esteem for learning; he founded a college at Oxford for the monkish students of his church.[171] On more than one occasion he sent parcels of books to Oxford; in a list of an early date it appears that the monks of Durham sent at one time twenty volumes, and shortly after fifteen more, consisting principally of church books and lives of saints.[172] The numbers thus taken from their library the monks, with that love of learning for which they were so remarkable, anxiously replaced, by purchasing about twenty volumes, many of which contained a great number of small but choice pieces.[173]

Robert de Graystane, a monk of Durham, was elected bishop by the prior and chapter, and confirmed on the 10th of November, 1333, but the king, Edward III., wishing to advance his treasurer to that see, refused his sanction to the proceeding; monk Robert was accordingly deposed, and Richard Angraville received the mitre in his stead. He was consecrated on the 19th of December in the same year, by John Stratford, archbishop of Canterbury, and installed by proxy on the 10th of January, 1334.

Angraville, Aungerville, or as he is more commonly called Richard de Bury, is a name which every bibliophile will honor and esteem; he was indeed a bibliomaniac of the first order, and a sketch of his life is not only indispensable here, but cannot fail to interest the book-loving reader. But before entering more at large into his bookish propensities and talents, it will be necessary to say something of his early days and the illustrious career which attended his political and ecclesiastical life. Richard de Bury, the son of Sir Richard Angraville, was born, as his name implies, at Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk, in the year 1287.[174]

Great attention was paid to the instruction of his youthful mind by his maternal uncle, John de Willowby, a priest, previous to his removal to Oxford. At the university he obtained honorable distinction, as much for his erudition and love of books as for the moral rectitude of his behavior. These pleasing traits were the stepping stones to his future greatness, and on the strength of them he was selected as one fully competent to undertake the education of Edward Prince of Wales, afterwards the third king of that name; and to Richard de Bury "may be traced the love for literature and the arts displayed by his pupil when on the throne. He was rewarded with the lucrative appointment of treasurer of Gascony."[175]

When Edward, the prince of Wales, was sent to Paris to assume the dominion of Guienne, which the king had resigned in his favor, he was accompanied by queen Isabella, his mother, whose criminal frailty, and afterwards conspiracy, with Mortimer, aroused the just indignation of her royal husband; and commenced those civil dissensions which rendered the reign of Edward II. so disastrous and turbulent. It was during these commotions that Richard de Bury became a zealous partizan of the queen, to whom he fled, and ventured to supply her pecuniary necessities from the royal revenues; for this, however, he was surrounded with imminent danger; for the king, instituting an inquiry into these proceedings, attempted his capture, which he narrowly escaped by secreting himself in the belfry of the convent of Brothers Minor at Paris.[176]

When the "most invincible and most magnificent king" Edward III. was firmly seated upon the throne, dignity and power was lavishly bestowed on this early bibliomaniac. In an almost incredible space of time he was appointed cofferer to the king, treasurer of the wardrobe, archdeacon of Northampton, prebendary of Lincoln, Sarum, Litchfield, and shortly afterwards keeper of the privy seal, which office he held for five years. During this time he twice undertook a visit to Italy, on a mission to the supreme pontiff, John XXII., who not only entertained him with honor and distinction, but appointed him chaplain to his principal chapel, and gave him a bull, nominating him to the first vacant see in England.

He acquired whilst there an honor which reflected more credit than even the smiles of his holiness—the brightest of the Italian poets, Petrarch of never dying fame—bestowed upon him his acquaintance and lasting friendship. De Bury entered Avignon for the first time in the same year that Petrarch took up his residence there, in the house of Colonna, bishop of Lombes: two such enlightened scholars and indefatigable book collectors, sojourning in the same city, soon formed an intimacy.[177] How interesting must their friendly meetings have been, and how delightful the hours spent in Petrarch's library, which was one of great extent and rarity; and it is probable too that De Bury obtained from the poet a few treasures to enrich his own stores; for the generosity of Petrarch was so excessive, that he could scarcely withhold what he knew was so dearly coveted. His benevolence on one occasion deprived him and posterity of an inestimable volume; he lent some manuscripts of the classics to his old master, who, needing pecuniary aid, pawned them, and Cicero's books, De Gloria, were in this manner irrecoverably lost.[178] Petrarch acted like a true lover of learning; for when the shadows of old age approached, he presented his library, full of rare and ancient manuscripts, many of them enriched by his own notes, to the Venetian Senate, and thus laid the foundation of the library of Saint-Marc; he always employed a number of transcribers, who invariably accompanied him on his journeys, and he kept horses to carry his books.[179] His love of reading was intense. "Whether," he writes in one of his epistles, "I am being shaved, or having my hair cut, whether I am riding on horseback or taking my meals, I either read myself or get some one to read to me; on the table where I dine, and by the side of my bed, I have all the materials for writing."[180] With the friendship of such a student, how charming must have been the visit of the English ambassador, and how much valuable and interesting information must he have gleaned by his intercourse with Petrarch and his books. At Rome Richard de Bury obtained many choice volumes and rare old manuscripts of the classics; for at Rome indeed, at that time, books had become an important article of commerce, and many foreign collectors besides the English bibliomaniac resorted there for these treasures: to such an extend was this carried on, that the jealousy of Petrarch was aroused, who, in addressing the Romans, exclaims: "Are you not ashamed that the wrecks of your ancient grandeur, spared by the inundation of the barbarians, are daily sold by your miscalculating avarice to foreigners? And that Rome is no where less known and less loved than at Rome?"[181]

The immense ecclesiastical and civil revenues which Aungraville enjoyed, enabled him whilst in Italy to maintain a most costly and sumptuous establishment: in his last visit alone he is said to have expended 5,000 marks, and he never appeared in public without a numerous retinue of twenty clerks and thirty-six esquires; an appearance which better became the dignity of his civil office, than the Christian humility of his ecclesiastical functions. On his return from this distinguished sojourn, he was appointed, as we have said before, through the instrumentality of Edward III., to the bishopric of Durham. But not content with these high preferments, his royal master advanced him to still greater honor, and on the 28th of September, 1334, he was made Lord Chancellor of England, which office he filled till the 5th of June, 1335, when he exchanged it for that of high treasurer. He was twice appointed ambassador to the king of France, respecting the claims of Edward of England to the crown of that country. De Bury, whilst negociating this affair, visited Antwerp and Brabant for the furtherance of the object of his mission, and he fully embraced this rare opportunity of adding to his literary stores, and returned to his fatherland well laden with many choice and costly manuscripts; for in all his perilous missions he carried about with him, as he tells us, that love of books which many waters could not extinguish, but which greatly sweetened the bitterness of peregrination. Whilst at Paris he was especially assiduous in collecting, and he relates with intense rapture, how many choice libraries he found there full of all kinds of books, which tempted him to spend his money freely; and with a gladsome heart he gave his dirty lucre for treasures so inestimable to the bibliomaniac.

Before the commencement of the war which arose from the disputed claims of Edward, Richard de Bury returned to enjoy in sweet seclusion his bibliomanical propensities. The modern bibliophiles who know what it is to revel in the enjoyment of a goodly library, luxuriant in costly bindings and rich in bibliographical rarities, who are fully susceptible to the delights and exquisite sensibilities of that sweet madness called bibliomania, will readily comprehend the multiplied pleasures of that early and illustrious bibliophile in the seclusion of Auckland Palace; he there ardently applied his energies and wealth to the accumulation of books; and whilst engaged in this pleasing avocation, let us endeavor to catch a glimpse of him. Chambre, to whom we are indebted for many of the above particulars, tells us that Richard de Bury was learned in the governing of his house, hospitable to strangers, of great charity, and fond of disputation with the learned, but he principally delighted in a multitude of books, Iste summe delectabatur multitudine librorum,[182] and possessed more books than all the bishops put together, an assertion which requires some modification, and must not be too strictly regarded, for book collecting at that time was becoming a favorite pursuit; still the language of Chambre is expressive, and clearly proves how extensive must have been his libraries, one of which he formed in each of his various palaces, diversis maneriis. So engrossed was that worthy bishop with the passion of book collecting, that his dormitory was strewed jucebant with them, in every nook and corner choice volumes were scattered, so that it was almost impossible for any person to enter without placing his feet upon some book.[183] He kept in regular employment no small assemblage of antiquaries, scribes, bookbinders, correctors, illuminators, and all such persons who were capable of being useful in the service of books, librorum servitiis utiliter.[184]

During his retirement he wrote a book, from the perusal of which the bibliomaniac will obtain a full measure of delight and instruction. It is a faithful record of the life and experience of this bibliophile of the olden time. He tells us how he collected his vellum treasures—his "crackling tomes" so rich in illuminations and calligraphic art!—how he preserved them, and how he would have others read them. Costly indeed must have been the book gems he amassed together; for foreign countries, as well as the scribes at home, yielded ample means to augment his stores, and were incessantly employed in searching for rarities which his heart yearned to possess. He completed his Philobiblon at his palace at Auckland on the 24th of January, 1344.[185]

We learn from the prologue to this rare and charming little volume how true and genuine a bibliomaniac was Richard de Bury, for he tells us there, that a vehement love amor excitet of books had so powerfully seized all the faculties of his mind, that dismissing all other avocations, he had applied the ardor of his thoughts to the acquisition of books. Expense to him was quite an afterthought, and he begrudged no amount to possess a volume of rarity or antiquity. Wisdom, he says, is an infinite treasure infinitus thesaurus, the value of which, in his opinion, was beyond all things; for how, he asks, can the sum be too great which purchases such vast delight. We cannot admire the purity of his Latin so much as the enthusiasm which pervades it; but in the eyes of the bibliophile this will amply compensate for his minor imperfections. When expatiating on the value of his books he appears to unbosom, as it were, all the inward rapture of love. A very helluo librorum—a very Maliabechi of a collector, yet he encouraged no selfish feeling to alloy his pleasure or to mingle bitterness with the sweets of his avocation. His knowledge he freely imparted to others, and his books he gladly lent. This is apparent in the Philobiblon; and his generous spirit warms his diction—not always chaste—into a fluent eloquence. His composition overflows with figurative expressions, yet the rude, ungainly form on which they are moulded deprive them of all claim to elegance or chastity; but while the homeliness of his diction fails to impress us with an idea of his versatility as a writer, his chatty anecdotal style rivets and keeps the mind amused, so that we rise from the little book with the consciousness of having obtained much profit and satisfaction from its perusal. Nor is it only the bibliomaniac who may hope to taste this pleasure in devouring the sweet contents of the Philobiblon; for there are many hints, many wise sayings, and many singular ideas scattered over its pages, which will amuse or instruct the general reader and the lover of olden literature. We observe too that Richard de Bury, as a writer, was far in advance of his age, and his work manifests an unusual freedom and independence of mind in its author; for although living in monkish days, when the ecclesiastics were almost supreme in power and wealth, he was fully sensible of the vile corruptions and abominations which were spreading about that time so fearfully among some of the cloistered devotees—the spotless purity of the primitive times was scarce known then—and the dark periods of the middle ages were bright and holy, when compared with the looseness and carnality of those turbulent days. Richard de Bury dipped his pen in gall when he spoke of these sad things, and doubtless many a revelling monk winced under the lashing words he applied to them; not only does he upbraid them for their carelessness in religion, but severely reprimands their inattention to literature and learning. "The monks," he says, "in the present day seem to be occupied in emptying cups, not in correcting codices, Calicibus epotandis, non codicibus emendandis, which they mingle with the lascivious music of Timotheus, and emulate his immodest manners, so that the sportive song cantus ludentis, and not the plaintive hymn, proceeds from the cells of the monks. Flocks and fleeces, grain and granaries, gardens and olives, potions and goblets, are in this day lessons and studies of the monks, except some chosen few."[186] He speaks in equally harsh terms of the religious mendicants. He accuses them of forgetting the words and admonitions of their holy founder, who was a great lover of books. He wishes them to imitate the ancient members of that fraternity, who were poor in spirit, but most rich in faith. But it must be remembered, that about this time the mendicant friars were treated with undeserved contempt, and much ill feeling rose against them among the clergy, but the clergy were somewhat prejudiced in their judgment. The order of St. Dominic, which a century before gloried in the approbation of the pope, and in the enjoyment of his potential bulls, now winced under gloomy and foreboding frowns. The sovereign Pontiff Honorius III. gratefully embraced the service of these friars, and confirmed their order with important privileges. His successor, Gregory IX., ratified these favors to gain their useful aid in propping up the papal power, and commanded the ecclesiastics by a bull to receive these "well-beloved children and preaching friars" of his, with hospitality and respect. Thus established, they were able to bear the tossings to and fro which succeeding years produced; but in Richard de Bury's time darker clouds were gathering—great men had severely chastized them with their pens and denounced them in their preachings. Soon after a host of others sprang up—among the most remarkable of whom were Johannes Poliaco, and Fitzralph, Archbishop of Armagh, who was a dear friend and chaplain of Richard de Bury's and many learned disputations were carried on between them.[187] The celebrated oration of Fitzralph's, cited in the presence of the pope, was a powerful blow to the mendicant friars—an examination of the matter has rather perplexed than cleared the subject, and I find it difficult which side to favor, the clergy seem to denounce the begging friars more from envy and interested motives, for they looked with extreme jealousy at the encroachments they had made upon their ecclesiastical functions of confession, absolution, etc., so profitable to the church in those days. In these matters the church had hitherto reserved a sole monopoly, and the clergy now determined to protect it with all the powers of oratorial denunciation; but, looking beyond this veil of prejudice, I am prone to regard them favorably, for their intense love of books, which they sought for and bought up with passionate eagerness. Fitzralph, quite unintentionally, bestows a bright compliment upon them, and as it bears upon our subject and illustrates the learning of the time, I am tempted to give a few extracts; he sorely laments the decrease of the number of students in the university of Oxford; "So," says he, "that yet in my tyme, in the universitie of Oxenford, were thirty thousand Scolers at ones; and now beth unnethe[188] sixe thousand."[189] All the blame of this he lays to the friars, and accuses them of doing "more grete damage to learning." "For these orders of beggers, for endeless wynnynges that thei geteth by beggyng of the forseide pryvyleges of schriftes and sepultures and othere, thei beth now so multiplyed in conventes and in persons. That many men tellith that in general studies unnethe, is it founde to sillynge a profitable book of ye faculte of art, of dyvynyte, of lawe canon, of phisik, other of lawe civil, but alle bookes beth y-bougt of Freres, so that en ech convent of Freres is a noble librarye and a grete,[190] and so that ene rech Frere that hath state in scole, siche as thei beth nowe, hath an hughe librarye. And also y-sent of my Sugettes[191] to scole thre other foure persons, and hit is said me that some of them beth come home azen for thei myst nougt[192] finde to selle ovn goode Bible; nother othere couenable[193] books." This strange accusation proves how industriously the friars collected books, and we cannot help regarding them with much esteem for doing so. Richard de Bury fully admits his obligations to the mendicants, from whom he obtained many choice transcripts. "When indeed," says he, "we happened to turn aside to the towns and places where the aforesaid paupers had convents, we were not slack in visiting their chests and other repositories of books, for there, amidst the deepest poverty, we found the most exalted riches treasured up; there, in their satchells and baskets, we discovered not only the crumbs that fell from the master's table for the little dogs, but indeed the shew bread without leaven, the bread of angels, containing in itself all that is delectable;" and moreover, he says, that he found these friars "not selfish hoarders, but meet professors of enlightened knowledge."[194]

In the seventh chapter of his work, he deplores the sad destruction of books by war and fire, and laments the loss of the 700,000 volumes, which happened in the Alexandrian expedition; but the eighth chapter is the one which the bibliomaniac will regard with the greatest interest, for Richard de Bury tells us there how he collected together his rich and ample library. "For although," he writes, "from our youth we have ever been delighted to hold special and social communion with literary men and lovers of books, yet prosperity attending us, having obtained the notice of his majesty the king, and being received into his own family, we acquired a most ample facility of visiting at pleasure and of hunting, as it were, some of the most delightful covers, the public and private libraries privatas tum communes, both of the regulars and seculars. Indeed, while we performed the duties of Chancellor and Treasurer of the most invincible and ever magnificently triumphant king of England, Edward III., of that name after the conquest, whose days may the Most High long and tranquilly deign to preserve. After first inquiring into the things that concerned his court, and then the public affairs of his kingdom, an easy opening was afforded us, under the countenance of royal favor, for freely searching the hiding places of books. For the flying fame of our love had already spread in all directions, and it was reported not only that we had a longing desire for books, and especially for old ones, but that any one could more easily obtain our favors by quartos than by money.[195] Wherefore, when supported by the bounty of the aforesaid prince of worthy memory, we were enabled to oppose or advance, to appoint or discharge; crazy quartos and tottering folios, precious however in our sight as well as in our affections, flowed in most rapidly from the great and the small, instead of new year's gift and remunerations, and instead of presents and jewels. Then the cabinets of the most noble monasteries tunc nobilissimos monasterios were opened, cases were unlocked, caskets were unclasped and sleeping volumes soporata volumina which had slumbered for long ages in their sepulchres were roused up, and those that lay hid in dark places in locis tenebrosis were overwhelmed with the rays of a new light. Books heretofore most delicate now become corrupted and abominable, lay lifeless, covered indeed with the excrements of mice and pierced through with the gnawing of worms; and those that were formerly clothed with purple and fine linen were now seen reposing in dust and ashes, given over to oblivion and the abode of moths. Amongst these, nevertheless, as time served, we sat down more voluptuously than the delicate physician could do amidst his stores of aromatics, and where we found an object of love, we found also an assuagement. Thus the sacred vessel of science came into the power of our disposal, some being given, some sold, and not a few lent for a time. Without doubt many who perceived us to be contented with gifts of this kind, studied to contribute these things freely to our use, which they could most conveniently do without themselves. We took care, however, to conduct the business of such so favorably, that the profit might accrue to them; justice suffered therefore no detriment." Of this, however, a doubt will intrude itself upon our minds, in defiance of the affirmation of my Lord Chancellor; indeed, the paragraph altogether is unfavorable to the character of so great a man, and fully proves the laxity of opinion, in those days of monkish supremacy, on judicial matters; but we must be generous, and allow something for the corrupt usages of the age, but I cannot omit a circumstance clearly illustrative of this point, which occurred between the bibliomanical Chancellor and the abbot of St. Alban's, the affair is recorded in the chronicle of the abbey, and transpired during the time Richard de Bury held the privy seal; in that office he appears to have favored the monks of the abbey in their disputes with the townspeople of St. Alban's respecting some possessions to which the monks tenaciously adhered and defended as their rightful property. Richard de Wallingford, who was then abbot, convoked the elder monks convocatis senioribus, and discussed with them, as to the most effectual way to obtain the goodwill and favor of de Bury; after due consideration it was decided that no gift was likely to prove so acceptable to that father of English bibliomania as a present of some of their choice books, and it was at last agreed to send four volumes, "that is to say Terence, a Virgil, a Quintilian, and Jerome against Ruffinus," and to sell him many others from their library; this they sent him intimation of, and a purchase was ultimately agreed upon between them. The monks sold to that rare collector, thirty-two choice tomes triginta duos libros, for the sum of fifty pounds of silver quinginta libris argenti.[196] But there were other bibliophiles and bookworms than Richard de Bury in old England then; for many of the brothers of St. Alban's who had nothing to do with this transaction, cried out loudly against it, and denounced rather openly the policy of sacrificing their mental treasures for the acquisition of pecuniary gain, but fortunately the loss was only a temporary one, for on the death of Richard de Bury many of these volumes were restored to the monks, who in return became the purchasers from his executors of many a rare old volume from the bishop's library.[197] To resume our extracts from the Philobiblon, De Bury proceeds to further particulars relative to his book-collecting career, and becomes quite eloquent in detailing these circumstances; but from the eighth chapter we shall content ourselves with one more paragraph. "Moreover," says he, "if we could have amassed cups of gold and silver, excellent horses, or no mean sums of money, we could in those days have laid up abundance of wealth for ourselves. But we regarded books not pounds, and valued codices more than florens, and preferred paltry pamphlets to pampered palfreys.[198] In addition to this we were charged with frequent embassies of the said prince of everlasting memory, and owing to the multiplicity of state affairs, we were sent first to the Roman chair, then to the court of France, then to the various other kingdoms of the world, on tedious embassies and in perilous times, carrying about with us that fondness for books, which many waters could not extinguish."[199] The booksellers found Richard de Bury a generous and profitable customer, and those residing abroad received commissions constantly from him. "Besides the opportunities," he writes, "already touched upon, we easily acquired the notice of the stationers and librarians, not only within the provinces of our native soil, but of those dispersed over the kingdoms of France, Germany, and Italy."[200]

Such was bibliomania five hundred years ago! and does not the reader behold in it the very type and personification of its existence now? does he not see in Richard de Bury the prototype of a much honored and agreeable bibliophile of our own time? Nor has the renowned "Maister Dibdin" described his book-hunting tours with more enthusiasm or delight; with what a thrill of rapture would that worthy doctor have explored those monastic treasures which De Bury found hid in locis tenebrosis, antique Bibles, rare Fathers, rich Classics or gems of monkish lore, enough to fire the brain of the most lymphatic bibliophile, were within the grasp of the industrious and eager Richard de Bury—that old "Amator Librorum," like his imitators of the present day, cared not whither he went to collect his books—dust and dirt were no barriers to him; at every nook and corner where a stationer's stall[201] appeared, he would doubtless tarry in defiance of the cold winds or scorching sun, exploring the ancient tomes reposing there. Nor did he neglect the houses of the country rectors; and even the humble habitations of the rustics were diligently ransacked to increase his collections, and from these sources he gleaned many rude but pleasing volumes, perhaps full of old popular poetry! or the wild Romances of Chivalry which enlivened the halls and cots of our forefathers in Gothic days.

We must not overlook the fact that this Treatise on the Love of Books was written as an accompaniment to a noble and generous gift. Many of the parchment volumes which De Bury had collected in his "perilous embassies," he gave, with the spirit of a true lover of learning, to the Durham College at Oxford, for the use of the Students of his Church. I cannot but regret that the names of these books, of which he had made a catalogue,[202] have not been preserved; perhaps the document may yet be discovered among the vast collections of manuscripts in the Oxonian libraries; but the book, being written for this purpose, the author thought it consistent that full directions should be given for the preservation and regulation of the library, and we find the last chapter devoted to this matter; but we must not close the Philobiblon without noticing his admonitions to the students, some of whom he upbraids for the carelessness and disrespect which they manifest in perusing books. "Let there," says he, with all the veneration of a passionate booklover, "be a modest decorum in opening and closing of volumes, that they may neither be unclasped with precipitous haste, nor thrown aside after inspection without being duly closed."[203] Loving and venerating a book as De Bury did, it was agony to see a volume suffering under the indignities of the ignorant or thoughtless student whom he thus keenly satirizes: "You will perhaps see a stiffnecked youth lounging sluggishly in his study, while the frost pinches him in winter time; oppressed with cold his watery nose drops, nor does he take the trouble to wipe it with his handkerchief till it has moistened the book beneath it with its vile dew;" nor is he "ashamed to eat fruit and cheese over an open book, or to transfer his empty cup from side to side; he reclines his elbow on the volume, turns down the leaves, and puts bits of straw to denote the place he is reading; he stuffs the book with leaves and flowers, and so pollutes it with filth and dust." With this our extracts from the Philobiblon must close; enough has been said and transcribed to place the Lord Chancellor of the puissant King Edward III. among the foremost of the bibliomaniacs of the past, and to show how valuable were his efforts to literature and learning; indeed, like Petrarch in Italy was Richard De Bury in England: both enthusiastic collectors and preservers of ancient manuscripts, and both pioneers of that revival of European literature which soon afterwards followed. In the fourteenth century we cannot imagine a more useful or more essential person than the bibliomaniac, for that surely was the harvest day for the gathering in of that food on which the mind of future generations were to subsist. And who reaped so laboriously or gleaned so carefully as those two illustrious scholars?

Richard de Bury was no unsocial bookworm; for whilst he loved to seek the intercourse of the learned dead, he was far from being regardless of the living. Next to his clasped vellum tomes, nothing afforded him so much delight as an erudite disputation with his chaplains, who were mostly men of acknowledged learning and talent; among them were "Thomas Bradwardyn, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury; and Richard Fitz-Raufe, afterwards Archbishop of Armagh; Walter Burley, John Maudyt, Robert Holcote, Richard of Kilwington, all Doctors in Theology, omnes Doctores in Theologia; Richard Benworth, afterwards Bishop of London, and Walter Segraffe, afterwards Bishop of Chester;"[204] with these congenial spirits Richard de Bury held long and pleasing conversations, doubtless full of old bookwisdom and quaint Gothic lore, derived from still quainter volumes; and after meals I dare say they discussed the choice volume which had been read during their repast, as was the pious custom of those old days, and which was not neglected by De Bury, for "his manner was at dinner and supper time to have some good booke read unto him."[205]

And now in bidding farewell to the illustrious Aungraville—for little more is known of his biography—let me not forget to pay a passing tribute of respect to his private character, which is right worthy of a cherished remembrance, and derives its principal lustre from the eminent degree in which he was endowed with the greatest of Christian virtues, and which, when practised with sincerity, covereth a multitude of sins; his charity, indeed, forms a delightful trait in the character of that great man; every week he distributed food to the poor; eight quarters of wheat octo quarteria frumenti, and the fragments from his own table comforted the indigent of his church; and always when he journeyed from Newcastle to Durham, he distributed twelve marks in relieving the distresses of the poor; from Durham to Stockton eight marks; and from the same place to his palace at Aukeland five marks; and and when he rode from Durham to Middleham he gave away one hundred shillings.[206] Living in troublous times, we do not find his name coupled with any great achievement in the political sphere; his talents were not the most propitious for a statesman among the fierce barons of the fourteenth century; his spirit loved converse with the departed great, and shone more to advantage in the quite closet of the bibliomaniac, or in fulfilling the benevolent duties of a bishop. Yet he was successful in all that the ambition of a statesman could desire, the friend and confidant of his king; holding the highest offices in the state compatible with his ecclesiastical position, with wealth in abundance, and blessed with the friendship of the learned and the good, we find little in his earthly career to darken the current of his existence, or to disturb the last hours of a life of near three score years. He died lamented, honored, and esteemed, at Aukeland palace, on the fourteenth of April, in the year 1345, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and was buried with all due solemnity before the altar of the blessed Mary Magdalene, at the south angle of the church of Durham. His bones are now mingled with the dust and gone, but his memory is engraven on tablets of life; the hearts of all bibliomaniacs love and esteem his name for the many virtues with which it was adorned, and delight to chat with his choice old spirit in the Philobiblon, so congenial to their bookish souls. No doubt the illustrious example of Richard de Bury tended materially to spread far and wide the spirit of bibliomania. It certainly operated powerfully on the monks of Durham, who not only by transcribing, but at the cost of considerable sums of money, greatly increased their library. A catalogue of the collection, taken some forty years after the death of De Bury, is preserved to this day at Durham, and shows how considerably they augmented it during a space of two hundred years, or from the time when the former list was written. If the bibliomaniac can obtain a sight of this ancient catalogue, he will dwell over it with astonishment and delight—immaculate volumes of Scripture—fathers and classics bespeak its richness and extent, and Robert of Langchester, the librarian who wrote it, with pious preference places first on the list the magnificent Bible which bishop Hugo gave them many years before. This rare biblical treasure, then the pride and glory of the collection, is now in the Durham Library; but to look upon that fair manuscript will make the blood run cold—barbarous desecration has been committed by some bibliopegistical hand; the splendid illuminations so rich and spirited, which adorned the beauteous tomes, dazzled an ignorant mind, who cut them out and robbed it of half its interest and value.

From near 600 volumes which the list enumerates, I cannot refrain from naming two or three. I have searched over its biblical department in vain to discover mention of the celebrated "Saint Cuthbert's Gospels." It is surprising they should have forgotten so rich a gem, for although four copies of the Gospels appear, not one of them answers to its description; two are specified as "non glos;" it could not have been either of those, another, the most interesting of the whole, is recorded as the venerable Bede's own copy! What bibliophile can look unmoved upon those time-honored pages, without indeed all the warmth of his booklove kindling forth into a very frenzy of rapture and veneration! So fairly written, and so accurately transcribed, it is one of the most precious of the many gems which now crowd the shelves of the Durham Library, and is well worth a pilgrimage to view it.[207] But this cannot be St. Cuthbert's Gospels, and the remaining copy is mentioned as "Quarteur Evangelum," fol. ii. "se levantem;" now I have looked at the splendid volume in the British Museum, to see if the catchword answered to this description, but it does not; so it cannot be this, which I might have imagined without the trouble of a research, for if it was, they surely would not have forgotten to mention its celebrated coopertoria.

Passing a splendid array of Scriptures whole and in parts, for there was no paucity of sacred volumes in that old monkish library, and fathers, doctors of the Church, schoolmen, lives of saints, chronicles, profane writers, philosophical and logical treatises, medical works, grammars, and books of devotion, we are particularly struck with the appearance of so many fine classical authors. Works of Virgil (including the AEneid), Pompeius Trogus, Claudius, Juvenal, Terence, Ovid, Prudentius, Quintilian, Cicero, Boethius, and a host of others are in abundance, and form a catalogue rendered doubly exciting to the bibliophile by the insertion of an occasional note, which tells of its antiquity,[208] rarity, or value. In some of the volumes a curious inscription was inserted, thundering a curse upon any who would dare to pilfer it from the library, and for so sacrilegious a crime, calling down upon them the maledictions of Saints Maria, Oswald, Cuthbert, and Benedict.[209] A volume containing the lives of St. Cuthbert, St. Oswald, and St. Aydani, is described as "Liber speciales et preciosus cum signaculo deaurato."

Thomas Langley, who was chancellor of England and bishop of Durham in the year 1406, collected many choice books, and left some of them to the library of Durham church; among them a copy of Lyra's Commentaries stands conspicuous; he also bequeathed a number of volumes to many of his private friends.

There are few monastic libraries whose progress we can trace with so much satisfaction as the one now under consideration, for we have another catalogue compiled during the librarianship of John Tyshbourne, in the year 1416,[210] in which many errors appearing in the former ones are carefully corrected; books which subsequent to that time had been lost or stolen are here accounted for; many had been sent to the students at Oxford, and others have notes appended, implying to whom the volume had been lent; thus to a "Flores Bernardi," occurs "Prior debit, I Kempe Episcopi Londoni." It is, next to Monk Henry's of Canterbury, one of the best of all the monkish catalogues I have seen; not so much for its extent, as that here and there it fully partakes of the character of a catalogue raisonne; for terse sentences are affixed to some of the more remarkable volumes, briefly descriptive of their value; a circumstance seldom observable in these early attempts at bibliography.

In taking leave of Durham library, need I say that the bibliomaniacs who flourished there in the olden time, not only collected their books with so much industry, but knew well how to use them too. The reader is doubtless aware how many learned men dwelled in monkish time within those ancient walls; and if he is inquisitive about such things has often enjoyed a few hours of pleasant chat over the historic pages of Symeon of Durham,[211] Turgot and Wessington,[212] and has often heard of brothers Lawrence,[213] Reginald,[214] and Bolton; but although unheeded now, many a monkish bookworm, glorying in the strict observance of Christian humility, and so unknown to fame, lies buried beneath that splendid edifice, as many monuments and funeral tablets testify and speak in high favor of the great men of Durham. If the reader should perchance to wander near that place, his eye will be attracted by many of these memorials of the dead; and a few hours spent in exploring them will serve to gain many additional facts to his antiquarian lore, and perhaps even something better too. For I know not a more suitable place, as far as outward circumstances are concerned, than an old sanctuary of God to prepare the mind and lead it to think of death and immortality. We read the names of great men long gone; of wealthy worldlings, whose fortunes have long been spent; of ambitious statesmen and doughty warriors, whose glory is fast fading as their costly mausoleums crumble in the hands of time, and whose stone tablets, green with the lichens' hue, manifest how futile it is to hope to gain immortality from stone, or purchase fame by the cold marble trophies of pompous grief; not that on their glassy surface the truth is always faithfully mirrored forth, even when the thoughts of holy men composed the eulogy; the tombs of old knew as well how to lie as now, and even ascetic monks could become too warm in their praises of departed worth; for whilst they blamed the great man living, with Christian charity they thought only of his virtues when they had nothing but his body left, and murmured long prayers, said tedious masses, and kept midnight vigils for his soul. For had he not shown his love to God by his munificence to His Church on earth? Benedicite, saith the monks.

FOOTNOTES:

[153] Bede's Eccles. Hist., B. iii. c. xvi.

[154] Bede, B. iv. c. xxvii.

[155] Marked Nero, D. iv. in the Cottonian collection.

[156] The illuminations are engraved in Strutt's Horda.

[157] There is prologue to the Canons and Prefaces of St. Jerome and Eusebius, and also a beautiful calendar written in compartments, elaborately finished in an architectural style.

[158] He also transcribed the Durham Ritual, recently printed by the Surtee Society; when Alfred wrote this volume he was with bishop Alfsige, p. 185, 8vo. Lond. 1840.

[159] For an account of this rare gem of Saxon art, see Selden Praef. ad. Hist. Angl. p. 25. Marshall Observat. in Vers. Sax. Evang., 491. Dibdin's Decameron, p. lii. Smith's Bibl. Cotton. Hist. et Synop., p. 33.

[160] Simeon of Durham translated by Stevens, p. 87.

[161] Simeon of Durham, by Stevens.

[162] Ep. viii.

[163] Tertia Quinquagina Augustini, marked B. ii. 14.

[164] Surtee publications, vol. i. p. 117.

[165] This catalogue is preserved at Durham, in the library of the Dean and Chapter, marked B. iv. 24. It is printed in the Surtee publications, vol. i. p. 1.

[166] "King Stephen was vncle vnto him."—Godwin's Cat. of Bishops, 511.

[167] He died in 1195.—Godwin, p. 735. He gave them also another Bible in two volumes; a list of the whole is printed in the Surtee publications, vol. i. p. 118.

[168] Surtee's Hist, of Durham, vol. i. p. xxxii. "He was wonderfull rich, not onely in ready money but in lands also, and temporall revenues. For he might dispend yeerely 5000 marks."—Godwin's Cat. Eng. Bish. 4to. 1601, p. 520.

[169] Robert de Graystane's ap. Wharton's Angl. Sacr. p. 748, tom. i.—Hutchinson's Durham, vol. i. p. 244.

[170] Surtee publ. vol. i. p. 121.

[171] Raine's North Durham, p. 85.

[172] Surtee public. vol. 1. p. 39-40.

[173] Ibid., vol. i. p. 41.

[174] Chambre Contin. Hist. Dunelm. apud Wharton Angliae Sacra, tom. i. p. 765.

[175] Lord Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors, vol. i. p. 219.

[176] Absconditus est in Campanili fratrum minorum.—Chambre ap. Wharton, tom. i. p. 765.

[177] In one of his letters Petrarch speaks of De Bury as Virum ardentis ingenii, Pet. ep. 1-3.

[178] Epist. Seniles, lib. xvi. ep. 1.

[179] Foscolo's Essays on Petrarch, p. 151.

[180] Foscolo's Essays on Petrarch, p. 156. Famil. ep. lxxii.

[181] Hortatio ad Nicol. Laurent Petrar., Op. vol. i. p. 596.

[182] Apud Wharton Ang. Sac. tom. i. p. 765.

[183] Ibid.

[184] MS. Harleian, No. 3224, fo. 89, b.

[185] There are two MSS. of the Philobiblon in the British Museum, which I quote in giving my Latin Extracts. The first is in the Cotton collection, marked Appendix iv. fol. 103. At the end are these lines, Ric. de Aungervile cognominato de Bury, Dunelm. Episc. Philobiblon completum in Manerio de Auckland, d. 24 Jan. 1344, fol. 119, b. The other is in the Harleian Collection, No. 3224, both are in fine preservation. The first printed edition appeared at Cologne, 1473, in 4to., without pagination, signatures, or catchwords, with 48 leaves, 26 lines on a full page; for some time, on account of its excessive rarity, which kept it from the eyes of book-lovers, bibliographers confused it with the second edition printed by John and Conrad Huest, at Spires, in 1483, 4to. which, like the first, is without pagination, signatures, or catchwords, but it has only 39 pages, with 31 lines on a full page. Two editions were printed in 1500, 4to. at Paris, but I have only seen one of them. A fifth edition was printed at Oxford by T. J(ames), 4to. 1599. In 1614 it was published by Goldastus in 8vo. at Frankfort, with a Philologicarium Epistolarum Centuria una. Another edition of this same book was printed in 1674, 8vo. at Leipsic, and a still better edition appeared in 1703 by Schmidt, in 4to. The Philobiblon has recently been translated by Inglis, 8vo. Lond. 1834, with much accuracy and spirit, and I have in many cases availed myself of this edition, though I do not always exactly follow it.

[186] "Greges et Vellera, Fruges et honea, Porri et Olera, Potus et Patera rectiones sunt hodie et studio monachorum."—MS. Harl. 2324, fol. 79, a; MS. Cot. ap. iv. fo. 108, a.

[187] Wharton Ang. Sac., tom. i. p. 766, he is called Ricardus Fitz-Rause postomodum Archiepiscopus Armachanus.

[188] Scarcely.

[189] Translated by Trevisa, MS. Harleian, No. 1900, fol. 11, b.

[190] The original is grandis et nobilis libraria.

[191] Chaplain.

[192] Could not.

[193] Profitable.

[194] Philobiblon, transl. by Inglis, p. 56.

[195] "Curiam deinde vero Rem. publicam Regni sui Cacellarii, viz.: est ac Thesaurii fugeremur officiis, patescebat nobis aditus faciles regal favoris intuitu, ad libros latebras libere perscruta tandas amoris quippe nostri fama volatitis jam ubiqs. percreluit tam qs. libros et maxime veterum ferabatur cupidite las vestere posse vero quemlibet nostrum per quaternos facilius quam per pecuniam adipisa favorem."—MS. Harl. fo. 85, a. MS. Cott. 110, b.

[196] MS. Cottonian Claudius, E. iv. fol. 203, b. Warton's Hist. of Poetry, Dissert. ii.; and Hallam's Middle Ages, vol. ii. p. 611. Both notice this circumstance as a proof of the scarcity of books in De Bury's time.

[197] Ibid. Among the MSS. in the Royal Library, there is a copy of John of Salisbury's Ententicus which contains the following note, "Hunc librum fecit dominus Symon abbas S. Albani, quem postea venditum domino Ricardo de Bury. Episcope Dunelmensi emit Michael abbas S. Albani ab executoribus praedicti episcopi, A. D. 1345." Marked 13 D. iv. 3. The same abbot expended a large sum in buying books for the library, but we shall speak more of Michael de Wentmore by and bye.

[198] "Sed revera libros non libras maluimus, Codicesque plus quam florenos, ac pampletos exiguos incrussatis proetulimus palafridis."—MS. Harl. fo. 86, a. MS. Cott. fo. 111, a.

[199] Inglis's Translation, p. 53.

[200] Inglis's Translation, p. 58.

[201] The Stationers or Booksellers carried on their business on open Stalls.—Hallam, Lit. Europe, vol. i. p. 339. It is pleasing to think that the same temptations which allure the bookworm now, in his perambulations, can claim such great antiquity, and that through so many centuries, bibliophiles and bibliopoles remain unaltered in their habits and singularities; but alas! this worthy relic of the middle ages I fear is passing into oblivion. Plate-glass fronts and bulky expensive catalogues form the bookseller's pride in these days of speed and progress, and offer more splendid temptations to the collector, but sad obstacles to the hungry student and black-letter bargain hunters.

[202] Philob. xix.

[203] Inglis, p. 96. "In primis quidam circa claudenda et apienda volumina, sit matura modestia; ut nec praecipiti festinatione solvantur, nec inspectione finita, sina clausura debita dimittantur." MS. Harl. fol. 103.

[204] Chambre ap. Wharton, tom. i. p. 766.

[205] Godwin Cat. of Bish. 525.

[206] Chambre ap. Wharton, tom. i. p. 766.

[207] It is marked A, ii. 16, and described in the old MS. catalogue as De manus Bedae, ii. fol. Baptizatus.

[208] The attractive words "Est vetus Liber" often occur.

[209] From a volume of Thomas Aquinas, the following is transcribed: "Lib. Sti. Cuthberti de Dunelm, ex procuratione fratis Roberti de Graystane quem qui aliena verit maledictionem Sanctorum Mariae, Oswaldi, Cuthberti et Benedicti incurrat." See Surtee publications, vol. i. p. 35, where other instances are given.

[210] Surtee publ. vol. i. p. 85.

[211] He wrote The Chronicle of Durham Monastery in 1130.

[212] His book on the Rights and Privileges of Durham Church is in the Cottonian Library, marked Vitellius, A, 9.

[213] Lawrence was elected prior in 1149, "a man of singular prudence and learning, as the many books he writ manifest." Dugdale's Monast. vol. 1. p. 230.

[214] Wrote the Life and Miracles of St. Cuthbert, the original book is in the Durham Library.



CHAPTER VI.

Croyland Monastery.—Its Library increased by Egebric.—Destroyed by Fire.—Peterborough.—Destroyed by the Danes.—Benedict and his books.—Anecdotes of Collectors.—Catalogue of the Library of the Abbey of Peterborough.—Leicester Library, etc.

The low marshy fens of Lincolnshire are particularly rich in monastic remains; but none prove so attractive to the antiquary as the ruins of the splendid abbey of Croyland. The pen of Ingulphus has made the affairs of that old monastery familiar to us; he has told us of its prospering and its misfortunes, and we may learn moreover from the pages of the monk how many wise and virtuous men, of Saxon and Norman days, were connected with this ancient fabric, receiving education there, or devoting their lives to piety within its walls. It was here that Guthlac, a Saxon warrior, disgusted with the world, sought solitude and repose; and for ten long years he led a hermit's life in that damp and marshy fen; in prayer and fasting, working miracles, and leading hearts to God, he spent his lonely days, all which was rewarded by a happy and peaceful death, and a sanctifying of his corporeal remains—for many wondrous miracles were wrought by those holy relics.

Croyland abbey was founded on the site of Guthlac's hermitage, by Ethelred, king of Mercia. Many years before, when he was striving for the crown of that kingdom, his cousin, Crobrid, who then enjoyed it, pursued him with unremitting enmity; and worn out, spiritless and exhausted, the royal wanderer sought refuge in the hermit's cell. The holy man comforted him with every assurance of success; and prophesied that he would soon obtain his rights without battle or without bloodshed;[215] in return for these brighter prospects, and these kind wishes, Ethelred promised to found a monastery on that very spot in honor of God and St. Guthlac, which promise he faithfully fulfilled in the year 716, and "thus the wooden oratory was followed by a church of stone." Succeeding benefactors endowed, and succeeding abbots enriched it with their learning; and as years rolled by so it grew and flourished till it became great in wealth and powerful in its influence. But a gloomy day approached—the Danes destroyed that noble structure, devastating it by fire, and besmearing its holy altars with the blood of its hapless inmates. But zealous piety and monkish perseverance again restored it, with new and additional lustre; and besides adding to the splendor of the edifice, augmented its internal comforts by forming a library of considerable importance and value. We may judge how dearly they valued a Bibliotheca in those old days by the contribution of one benevolent book-lover—Egebric, the second abbot of that name, a man whom Ingulphus says was "far more devoted to sacred learning and to the perusal of books than skilled in secular matters,"[216] gladdened the hearts of the monks with a handsome library, consisting of forty original volumes in various branches of learning, and more than one hundred volumes of different tracts and histories,[217] besides eighteen books for the use of the divine offices of the church. Honor to the monk who, in the land of dearth, could amass so bountiful a provision for the intellect to feed upon; and who encouraged our early literature—when feeble and trembling by the renewed attacks of rapacious invaders—by such fostering care.

In the eleventh century Croyland monastery was doomed to fresh misfortunes; a calamitous fire, accidental in its origin, laid the fine monastery in a heap of ruins, and scattered its library in blackened ashes to the winds.[218] A sad and irreparable loss was that to the Norman monks and to the students of Saxon history in modern times; for besides four hundred Saxon charters, deeds, etc., many of the highest historical interest and value beautifully illuminated in gold (aureis pictures) and written in Saxon characters,[219] the whole of the choice and ample library was burnt, containing seven hundred volumes, besides the books of divine offices—the Antiphons and Grailes. I will not agonize the bibliophile by expatiating further on the sad work of destruction; but is he not somewhat surprised that in those bookless days seven hundred volumes should have been amassed together, besides a lot of church books and Saxon times?

Ingulphus, who has so graphically described the destruction of Croyland monastery by the Danes in 870, has also given the particulars of their proceedings at the monastery of Peterborough, anciently called Medeshamstede, to which they immediately afterwards bent their steps. The monks, on hearing of their approach, took the precaution to guard the monastery by all the means in their power; but the quiet habits of monastic life were ill suited to inspire them with a warlike spirit, and after a feeble resistance, their cruel enemies (whom the monks speak of in no gentle terms, as the reader may imagine), soon effected an entrance; in the contest however Tulla, the brother of Hulda, the Danish leader, was slain by a stone thrown by one of the monks from the walls; this tended to kindle the fury of the besiegers, and so exasperated Hulda that it is said he killed with his own hand the whole of the poor defenceless monks, including their venerable abbot. The sacred edifice, completely in their hands, was soon laid waste; they broke down the altars, destroyed the monuments, and—much will the bibliophile deplore it—set fire to their immense library "ingens bibliotheca," maliciously tearing into pieces all their valuable and numerous charters, evidences, and writings. The monastery, says the historian, continued burning for fifteen days.[220] This seat of Saxon learning was left buried in its ruins for near one hundred years, when Athelwold, bishop of Winchester, in the year 966, restored it; but in the course of time, after a century of peaceful repose, fresh troubles sprang up. When Turoldus, a Norman, who had been appointed by William the Conqueror, was abbot, the Danes again paid them a visit of destruction. Hareward de Wake having joined a Danish force, proceeded to the town of Peterborough; fortunately the monks obtained some intelligence of their coming, which gave Turoldus time to repair to Stamford with his retinue. Taurus, the Sacrist, also managed to get away, carrying with him some of their treasures, and among them a text of the Gospels, which he conveyed to his superior at Stamford, and by that means preserved them. On the arrival of the Danes, the remaining monks were prepared to offer a somewhat stern resistance, but without effect; for setting fire to the buildings, the Danes entered through the flames and smoke, and pillaged the monastery of all its valuable contents; and that which they could not carry away, they destroyed: not even sparing the shrines of holy saints, or the miracle-working dust contained therein. The monks possessed a great cross of a most costly nature, which the invaders endeavored to take away, but could not on account of its weight and size; however, they broke off the gold crown from the head of the crucifix, and the footstool under its feet, which was made of pure gold and gems; they also carried away two golden biers, on which the monks carried the relics of their saints; with nine silver ones. There was certainly no monachal poverty here, for their wealth must have been profuse; besides the above treasures, they took twelve crosses, made of gold and silver; they also went up to the tower and took away a table of large size and value, which the monks had hid there, trusting it might escape their search; it was a splendid affair, made of gold and silver and precious stones, and was usually placed before the altar. But besides all this, they robbed them of that which those poor monkish bibliophiles loved more than all. Their library, which they had collected with much care, and which contained many volumes, was carried away, "with many other precious things, the like of which were not to be found in all England."[221] The abbot and those monks who fortunately escaped, afterwards returned, sad and sorrowful no doubt; but trusting in their Divine Master and patron Saint, they ultimately succeeded in making their old house habitable again, and well fortified it with a strong wall, so that formerly it used to be remarked that this building looked more like a military establishment than a house of God.

Eminently productive was the monastery of Peterborough in Saxon bibliomaniacs. Its ancient annals prove how enthusiastically they collected and transcribed books. There were few indeed of its abbots who did not help in some way or other to increase their library. Kenulfus, who was abbot in the year 992, was a learned and eloquent student in divine and secular learning. He much improved his monastery, and greatly added to its literary treasures.[222] But the benefactors of this place are too numerous to be minutely specified here. Hugo Candidus tells us, that Kinfernus, Archbishop of York, in 1056, gave them many valuable ornaments; and among them a fine copy of the Gospels, beautifully adorned with gold. This puts us in mind of Leofricus, a monk of the abbey, who was made abbot in the year 1057. He is said to have been related to the royal family, a circumstance which may account for his great riches. He was a sad pluralist, and held at one time no less than five monasteries, viz. Burton, Coventy, Croyland, Thorney, and Peterborough.[223] He gave to the church of Peterborough many and valuable utensils of gold, silver, and precious stones, and a copy of the Gospels bound in gold.[224]

But in all lights, whether regarded as an author or a bibliophile, great indeed was Benedict, formerly prior of Canterbury, and secretary to Thomas a Becket,[225] of whom it is supposed he wrote a life. He was made abbot of Peterborough in the year 1177; he compiled a history of Henry II. and king Richard I.;[226] he is spoken of in the highest terms of praise by Robert Swapham for his profound wisdom and great erudition in secular matters.[227] There can be no doubt of his book-loving passion; for during the time he was abbot he transcribed himself, and ordered others to transcribe, a great number of books. Swapham has preserved a catalogue of them, which is so interesting that I have transcribed it entire. The list is entitled:

DE LIBRIS EJUS.

Plurimos quoque libros 3 scribere fecit, quorum nomina subnotantur.

Vetus et Novum Testamentum in uno volumine.

Vetus et Novum Testamentum in 4 volumina.

Quinque libri Moysi glosati in uno volumine.

Sexdecim Prophetae glosati in uno volumine.

Duodecim minores glosati Prophetae in uno volumine.

Liber Regum glosatus, paralipomenon glosatus. Job, Parabolae Solomonis et Ecclesiastes, Cantica Canticorum glosati in uno volumine.

Liber Ecclesiasticus et Liber Sapientiae glosatus in uno volumine.

Tobyas, Judith, Ester et Esdras, glosati in uno volumine.

Liber Judicum glosatus.

Scholastica hystoria.

Psalterium glosatum.

Item non glosatum.

Item Psalterium.

Quatuor Evangelia glosata in uno volumine.

Item Mathaeus et Marcus in uno volumine.

Johannes et Lucas in uno volumine.

Epistolae Pauli glosatae Apocalypsis et Epistolae Canonicae glosata in uno volumine.

Sententiae Petri Lombardi.

Item Sententiae ejusdem.

Sermones Bernardi Abbatis Clarevallensis.

Decreta Gratiani.

Item Decreta Gratiani.

Summa Ruffini de Decretis.

Summa Johannes Fuguntini de Decretis.

Decretales Epistolae.

Item Decretales Epistolae.

Item Decretales Epistolae cum summa sic incipiente; Olim. Institutiones Justiniani cum autenticis et Infortiatio Digestum vetus.

Tres partes cum digesto novo.

Summa Placentini.

Totum Corpus Juris in duobus voluminibus.

Arismetica.

Epistolae Senecae cum aliis Senecis in uno volumine.

Martialis totus et Terentius in uno volumine.

Morale dogma philosophorum.

Gesta Alexandri et Liber Claudii et Claudiani.

Summa Petri Heylae de Grammatica, cum multis allis rebus in uno volumine.

Gesta Regis Henrica secunda et Genealogiae ejus.

Interpretatione Hebraicorum nominum.

Libellus de incarnatione verbi. Liber Bernardi Abbatis ad Eugenium papam.

Missale.

Vitae Sancti Thomae Martyris.[228]

Miracula ejusdem in quinque voluminibus.

Liber Richardi Plutonis, qui dicitur, unde Malum Meditationes Anselmi.

Practica Bartholomaei cum multis allis rebus in uno volumine.

Ars Physicae Pantegni, et practica ipsius in uno volumine.

Almazor et Diascoridis de virtutibus herbarum.

Liber Dinamidiorum et aliorum multorum in uno volumine.

Libellus de Compoto.

Sixty volumes! perhaps containing near 100 separate works, and all added to the library in the time of one abbot; surely this is enough to controvert the opinion that the monks cared nothing for books or learning, and let not the Justin, Seneca, Martial, Terence, and Claudian escape the eye of the reader, those monkish bookworms did care a little, it would appear, for classical literature. But what will he say to the fine Bibles that crown and adorn the list? The two complete copies of the Vetus et Novum Testamentum, and the many glossed portions of the sacred writ, reflect honor upon the Christian monk, and placed him conspicuously among the bible students of the middle ages; proving too, that while he could esteem the wisdom of Seneca, and the vivacity of Terence, and feel a deep interest in the secular history of his own times, he did not lose sight of the fountain of all knowledge, but gave to the Bible his first care, and the most prominent place on his library shelf. Besides the books which the abbots collected for the monastery, they often possessed a private selection for their own use; there are instances in which these collections were of great extent; some of which we shall notice, but generally speaking they seldom numbered many volumes. Thus Robert of Lyndeshye, who was abbot of Peterborough in 1214, only possessed six volumes, which were such as he constantly required for reference or devotion; they consisted of a Numerale Majestri W. de Montibus cum alliis rebus; Tropi Majestri Petri cum diversis summis; Sententiae Petri Pretanensis; Psalterium Glossatum; Aurora; Psalterium;[229] Historiale. These were books continually in requisition, and which he possessed to save the trouble of constantly referring to the library. His successor, abbot Holdernesse, possessed also twelve volumes,[230] and Walter of St. Edmundsbury Abbot, in 1233, had eighteen books, and among them a fine copy of the Bible for his private study. Robert of Sutton in 1262, also abbot of Peterborough, possessed a similar number, containing a copy of the Liber Naturalium Anstotelis; and his successor, Richard of London, among ten books which formed his private library, had the Consolation of Philosophy, a great favorite in the monasteries. In the year 1295 William of Wodeforde, collected twenty volumes, but less than that number constituted the library of Adam de Botheby, who was abbot of Peterborough many years afterwards, but among them I notice a Seneca, with thirty-six others contained in the same volume.[231]

Abbot Godfrey, elected in the year 1299, was a great benefactor to the church, as we learn from Walter de Whytlesse, who gives a long list of donations made by him; among a vast quantity of valuables, "he gave to the church two Bibles, one of which was written in France," with about twenty other volumes. In the war which occurred during his abbacy, between John Baliol of Scotland and Edward I. of England, the Scots applied to the pope for his aid and council; his holiness deemed it his province to interfere, and directed letters to the king of England, asserting that the kingdom of Scotland appertained to the Church of Rome; in these letters he attempt to prove that it was opposed to justice, and, what he deemed of still greater importance, to the interests of the holy see, that the king of England should not have dominion over the kingdom of Scotland. The pope's messengers on this occasion were received by abbot Godfrey; Walter says that "He honorably received two cardinals at Peterborough with their retinues, who were sent by the pope to make peace between the English and the Scotch, and besides cheerfully entertaining them with food and drink, gave them divers presents; to one of the cardinals, named Gaucelin, he gave a certain psalter, beautifully written in letters of gold and purple, and marvellously illuminated, literis aureis et assuris scriptum et mirabiliter luminatum.[232] I give this anecdote to show how splendidly the monks inscribed those volumes designed for the service of the holy church. I ought to have mentioned before that Wulstan, archbishop of York, gave many rare and precious ornaments to Peterborough, nor should I omit a curious little book anecdote related of him. He was born at Jceritune in Warwickshire, and was sent by his parents to Evesham, and afterwards to Peterborough, where he gave great indications of learning. His schoolmaster, who was an Anglo-Saxon named Erventus, was a clever calligraphist, and is said to have been highly proficient in the art of illuminating; he instructed Wulstan in these accomplishments, who wrote under his direction a sacramentary and a psalter, and illuminated the capitals with many pictures painted in gold and colors; they were executed with so much taste that his master presented the sacramentary to Canute, and the psalter to his queen."[233]

From these few facts relative to Peterborough Monastery, the reader will readily perceive how earnestly books were collected by the monks there, and will be somewhat prepared to learn that a catalogue of 1,680 volumes is preserved, which formerly constituted the library of that fraternity of bibliophiles. This fine old catalogue, printed by Gunton in his history of the abbey, covers fifty folio pages; it presents a faithful mirror of the literature of its day, and speaks well for the bibliomanical spirit of the monks of Peterborough. Volumes of patristic eloquence and pious erudition crowd the list; chronicles, poetry, and philosophical treatises are mingled with the titles of an abundant collection of classic works, full of the lore of the ancient world. Although the names may be similar to those which I have extracted from other catalogues, I must not omit to give a few of them; I find works of—

Augustine. Ambrose. Albinus. Cassiodorus. Gregory. Cyprian. Seneca. Prosper. Tully. Bede. Basil. Lanfranc. Chrysostom. Jerome. Eusebius. Boethius. Isidore. Origin. Dionysius. Cassian. Bernard. Anselm. Alcuinus. Honorius. Donatus. Macer. Persius. Virgil. Isagoge of Porphry. Aristotle. Entyci Grammatica. Socrates. Ovid. Priscian. Hippocrates. Horace. Sedulus. Theodulus. Sallust. Macrobius. Cato. Prudentius.

But although they possessed these fine authors and many others equally choice, I am not able to say much for the biblical department of their library, I should have anticipated a goodly store of the Holy Scriptures, but in these necessary volumes they were unusually poor. But I suspect the catalogue to have been compiled during the fifteenth century, and I fear too, that in that age the monks were growing careless of Scripture reading, or at least relaxing somewhat in the diligence of their studies; perhaps they devoured the attractive pages of Ovid, and loved to read his amorous tales more than became the holiness of their priestly calling.[234] At any rate we may observe a marked change as regards the prevalence of the Bible in monastic libraries between the twelfth and the fifteenth century. It is true we often find them in those of the later age; but sometimes they are entirely without, and frequently only in detached portions.[235] I may illustrate this by a reference to the library of the Abbey of St. Mary de la Pre at Leicester, which gloried in a collection of 600 volumes, of the choicest and almost venerable writers. It was written in the year 1477, by William Chartye,[236] prior of the abbey, and an old defective and worn out Bible, Biblie defect et usit, with some detached portions, was all that fine library contained of the Sacred Writ. The bible defect et usit speaks volumes to the praise of the ancient monks of that house, for it was by their constant reading and study, that it had become so thumbed and worn; but it stamps with disgrace the affluent monks of the fifteenth century, who, while they could afford to buy, in the year 1470,[237] some thirty volumes with a Seneca, Ovid, Claudian, Macrobius, AEsop, etc., among them, and who found time to transcribe twice as many more, thought not of restoring their bible tomes, or adding one book of the Holy Scripture to their crowded shelves. But alas! monachal piety was waxing cool and indifferent then, and it is rare to find the honorable title of an Amator Scripturarum affixed to a monkish name in the latter part of the fifteenth century.

FOOTNOTES:

[215] Gough's Hist. Croyland in Bibl. Top. Brit. xi. p. 3.

[216] Inguph. in Gale's Script. tom. i. p. 53.

[217] "Debit iste Abbas Egebricus communi bibliothecae clanstralium monachorum magna volumina diversorum doctorum originalia numero quadraginta; minora vero volumina de diversae tractatibus et historiis, quae numerum centenarium excedibant." Ingul. p. 53.

[218] The fire occurred in 1091. Ingulphus relates with painful minuteness the progress of the work of destruction, and enumerates all the rich treasures which those angry flames consumed. I should have given a longer account of this event had not the Rev. Mr. Maitland already done so in his interesting work on the "Dark Ages."

[219] Gale's Remin. Ang. Scrip. i. p. 98.

[220] Ingulph. ap. Gale i. p. 25.

[221] See Gunter's Peterborough, suppl. 263.

[222] Hugo Candid, p. 31; Tamer Bib. Brit. et Hib. p. 175. Candidus says, "Flos literaris disciplina, torrens eloquentiae, decus et norma rerum divinarum et secularium."

[223] Hugo Candid. ap. Sparke, Hist. Ang. Scrip. p. 41. Gunter's Peterboro, p. 15, ed. 1686.

[224] Hugo Candid. p. 42.

[225] Leland de Scrip. Brit. p. 217.

[226] Published by Hearne, 2 vol. 8vo. Oxon. 1735.

[227] Rt. Swap. ap. Sparke, p. 97. "Erat. enin literarum scientiae satis imbutus; regulari disciplina optime instructus; sapientia seculari plenissime eruditus."

[228] Swapham calls this "Egregium volumen," p. 98.

[229] Now preserved in the library of the Society of Antiquaries.

[230] Gunter, Peterborough, p. 29.

[231] Ibid, p. 37.

[232] Walter de Whytlesse apud Sparke, p. 173.

[233] Gunter's Hist. of Peterborough, p. 259.

[234] At any rate, we find about thirty volumes of Ovid's works enumerated, and several copies of "de Arte Amandi," and "de Remedis Amoris."

[235] Let the reader examine Leland's Collect., and the Catalogues printed in Hunter's Tract on Monastic Libraries. See also Catalogue of Canterbury Library, MS. Cottonian Julius, c. iv. 4., in the British Museum.

[236] Printed by Nichols, in Appendix to Hist. of Leicester, from a MS. Register. It contains almost as fine a collection of the classics and fathers as that at Peterborough, just noticed, Aristotle, Virgil, Plato, Ovid, Cicero, Euclid, Socrates, Horace, Lucan, Seneca, etc., etc. are among them, pp. 101 to 108. It is curious that Leland mentions only six MSS. as forming the library at the time he visited the Abbey of Leicester, all its fine old volumes were gone. He only arrived in time to pick up the crumbs.

[237] At least during the time of William Charteys priorship. See Nichols, p. 108.



CHAPTER VII.

King Alfred an "amator librorum" and an author.

The latter part of the tenth century was a most memorable period in the annals of monkish bibliomania, and gave birth to one of the brightest scholars that ever shone in the dark days of our Saxon forefathers. King Alfred, in honor of whose talents posterity have gratefully designated the Great, spread a fostering care over the feeble remnant of native literature which the Danes in their cruel depredations had left unmolested. The noble aspirations of this royal student and patron of learning had been instilled into his mind by the tender care of a fond parent. It was from the pages of a richly illuminated little volume of Saxon poetry, given to him by the queen as a reward for the facility with which he had mastered its contents, that he first derived that intense love of books which never forsook him, though the sterner duties of his after position frequently required his thoughts and energies in another channel. Having made himself acquainted with this little volume, Alfred found a thirst for knowledge grow upon him, and applied his youthful mind to study with the most zealous ardor; but his progress was considerably retarded, because he could not, at that time, find a Grammaticus capable of instructing him,[238] although he searched the kingdom of the West Saxons. Yet he soon acquired the full knowledge of his own language, and the Latin it is said he knew as well, and was able to use with a fluency equal to his native tongue; he could comprehend the meaning of the Greek, although perhaps he was incapable of using it to advantage. He was so passionately fond of books, and so devoted to reading, that he constantly carried about him some favorite volume which, as a spare moment occurred, he perused with the avidity of an helluo librorum. This pleasing anecdote related by Asser[239] is characteristic of his natural perseverance.

When he ascended the throne, he lavished abundant favors upon all who were eminent for their literary acquirements; and displayed in their distribution the utmost liberality and discrimination. Asser, who afterwards became his biographer, was during his life the companion and associate of his studies, and it is from his pen we learn that, when an interval occurred inoccupied by his princely duties, Alfred stole into the quietude of his study to seek comfort and instruction from the pages of those choice volumes, which comprised his library. But Alfred was not a mere bookworm, a devourer of knowledge without purpose or without meditation of his own, he thought with a student's soul well and deeply upon what he read, and drew from his books those principles of philanthropy, and those high resolves, which did such honor to the Saxon monarch. He viewed with sorrow the degradation of his country, and the intellectual barrenness of his time; the warmest aspiration of his soul was to diffuse among his people a love for literature and science, to raise them above their Saxon sloth, and lead them to think of loftier matters than war and carnage. To effect this noble aim, the highest to which the talents of a monarch can be applied, he for a length of time devoted his mind to the translation of Latin authors into the vernacular tongue. In his preface to the Pastoral of Gregory which he translated, he laments the destruction of the old monastic libraries by the Danes. "I saw," he writes, "before alle were spoiled and burnt, how the churches throughout Britain were filled with treasures and books,"[240] which must have presented a striking contrast to the illiterate darkness which he tells us afterwards spread over his dominions, for there were then very few paucissimi who could translate a Latin epistle into the Saxon language.

When Alfred had completed the translation of Gregory's Pastoral, he sent a copy to each of his bishops accompanied with a golden stylus or pen,[241] thus conveying to them the hint that it was their duty to use it in the service of piety and learning. Encouraged by the favorable impression which this work immediately caused, he spared no pains to follow up the good design, but patiently applied himself to the translation of other valuable books which he rendered into as pleasing and expressive a version as the language of those rude times permitted. Besides these literary labors he also wrote many original volumes, and became a powerful orator, a learned grammarian, an acute philosopher, a profound mathematician, and the prince of Saxon poesy; with these exalted talents he united those of an historian, an architect, and an accomplished musician. A copious list of his productions, the length of which proves the fertility of his pen, will be found in the Biographica Britannica,[242] but names of others not there enumerated may be found in monkish chronicles; of his Manual, which was in existence in the time of William of Malmsbury, not a fragment has been found. The last of his labors was probably an attempt to render the psalms into the common language, and so unfold that portion of the Holy Scriptures to our Saxon ancestors.

Alfred, with the assistance of the many learned men whom he had called to his court, restored the monasteries and schools of learning which the Danes had desecrated, and it is said founded the university of Oxford, where he built three halls, in the name of the Holy Trinity; for the doctors of divinity, philosophy, and grammar. The controversy which this subject has given rise to among the learned is too long to enter into here, although the matter is one of great interest to the scholar and to the antiquary.

In the year 901, this royal bibliophile, "the victorious prince, the studious provider for widows, orphanes, and poore people, most perfect in Saxon poetrie, most liberall endowed with wisdome, fortitude, justice, and temperance, departed this life;"[243] and right well did he deserve this eulogy, for as an old chronicle says, he was "a goode clerke and rote many bokes, and a boke he made in Englysshe, of adventures of kynges and bataylles that had bene wne in the lande; and other bokes of gestes he them wryte, that were of greate wisdome, and of good learnynge, thrugh whych bokes many a man may him amende, that well them rede, and upon them loke. And thys kynge Allured lyeth at Wynchestre."[244]

FOOTNOTES:

[238] Flor. Vigorn. sub. anno. 871. Brompton's Chron. in Alferi, p. 814.

[239] Asser de Alfredi Gestis., Edit. Camden i. p. 5. William Malmsbury, b. ii. c. iv.

[240] Preface to Pastoral.

[241] Much controversy has arisen as to the precise meaning of this word. Hearne renders this passage "with certain macussus or marks of gold the purest of his coin," which has led some to suppose gold coinage was known among the Saxons. William of Malmsbury calls it a golden style in which was a maucus of gold. "In Alfred's Preface it is called an AEstel of fifty macuses."—V. Asser a Wise, 86 to 175; but the meaning of that word is uncertain. The stylus properly speaking was a small instrument formerly used for writing on waxen tablets, and made of iron or bone, see Archaeologia, vol. ii. p. 75. But waxen tablets were out of use in Alfred's time. The AEstel or style was most probably an instrument used by the scribes of the monasteries, if it was not actually a pen. I am more strongly disposed to consider it so by the evidence of an ancient MS. illumination of Eadwine, a monk of Canterbury, in Trinity Coll. Camb.; at the end of this MS. the scribe is represented with a metal pen in his hand.

[242] Vol. i. pp. 54, 55.

[243] Stowe's Annals, 4to. 1615, p. 105.

[244] Cronycle of Englonde with the Fruyte of Tymes, 4to. 1515.



CHAPTER VIII.

Benedict Biscop and his book tours.—Bede.—Ceolfrid.—Wilfrid.—Boniface the Saxon Missionary—His love of books.—Egbert of York.—Alcuin.—Whitby Abbey.—Caedmon.—Classics in the Library of Withby.—Rievall Library.—Coventry.—Worcester.—Evesham.—Thomas of Marleberg, etc.

The venerable Bede enables us to show that in the early Saxon days the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow possessed considerable collections of books. Benedict Biscop, the most enthusiastic bibliomaniac of the age, founded the monastery of Wearmouth in the year 674, in honor of the "Most Holy Prince of the Apostles." His whole soul was in the work, he spared neither pains or expense to obtain artists of well known and reputed talent to decorate the holy edifice; not finding them at home, he journeyed to Gaul in search of them, and returned accompanied by numerous expert and ingenious workmen. Within a year the building was sufficiently advanced to enable the monks to celebrate divine service there. He introduced glass windows and other ornaments into his church, and furnished it with numerous books of all descriptions, innumerabilem librorum omnis generis. Benedict was so passionately fond of books that he took five journeys to Rome for the purpose of collecting them. In his third voyage he gathered together a large quantity on divine erudition; some of these he bought, or received them as presents from his friends, vel amicorum dono largitos retulit. When he arrived at Vienne on his way home, he collected others which he had commissioned his friends to purchase for him.[245] After the completion of his monastery he undertook his fourth journey to Rome; he obtained from the Pope many privileges for the abbey, and returned in the year 680, bringing with him many more valuable books; he was accompanied by John the Chantor, who introduced into the English churches the Roman method of singing. He was also a great amator librorum, and left many choice manuscripts to the monks, which Bede writes "were still preserved in their library." It was about this time that Ecgfrid[246] gave Benedict a portion of land on the other side of the river Wire, at a place called Jarrow; and that enterprising and industrious abbot, in the year 684, built a monastery thereon. No sooner was it completed, than he went a fifth time to Rome to search for volumes to gratify his darling passion. This was the last, but perhaps the most successful of his foreign tours, for he brought back with him a vast quantity of sacred volumes and curious pictures.[247] How deeply is it to be regretted that the relation of the travels which Ceolfrid his successor undertook, and which it is said his own pen inscribed, has been lost to us forever. He probably spoke much of Benedict in the volume and recorded his book pilgrimages. How dearly would the bibliomaniac revel over those early annals of his science, could his eye meet those venerable pages—perhaps describing the choice tomes Benedict met with in his Italian tours, and telling us how, and what, and where he gleaned those fine collections; sweet indeed would have been the perusal of that delectable little volume, full of the book experience of a bibliophile in Saxon days, near twelve hundred years ago! But the ravages of time or the fury of the Danes deprived us of this rare gem, and we are alone dependent on Bede for the incidents connected with the life of this great man; we learn from that venerable author that Benedict was seized with the palsy on his return, and that languishing a few short years, he died in the year 690; but through pain and suffering he often dwelt on the sweet treasures of his library, and his solemn thoughts of death and immortality were intermixed with many a fond bookish recollection. His most noble and abundant library which he brought from Rome he constantly referred to, and gave strict injunctions that the monks should apply the utmost care to the preservation of that rich and costly treasure, in the collection of which so many perils and anxious years were spent.[248]

We all know the force of example, and are not surprised that the sweet mania which ruled so potently over the mind of Benedict, spread itself around the crowned head of royalty. Perhaps book collecting was beginning to make "a stir," and the rich and powerful among the Saxons were regarding strange volumes with a curious eye. Certain it is that Egfride, or AElfride, the proud king of Northumbria,[249] fondly coveted a beautiful copy of the geographer's (codice mirandi operis), which Benedict numbered among his treasures; and so eagerly too did he desire its possession, that he gave in exchange a portion of eight hides of land, near the river Fresca, for the volume; and Ceolfrid, Benedict's successor, received it.

How useful must Benedict's library have been in ripening the mind that was to cast a halo of immortality around that old monastery, and to generate a renown which was long to survive the grey walls of that costly fane; for whilst we now fruitlessly search for any vestiges of its former being, we often peruse the living pages of Bede the venerable with pleasure and instruction, and we feel refreshed by the breath of piety and devotion which they unfold; yet it must be owned the superstition of Rome will sometimes mar a devout prayer and the simplicity of a Christian thought. But all honor to his manes and to his memory! for how much that is admirable in the human character—how much sweet and virtuous humility was hid in him, in the strict retirement of the cloister. The writings of that humble monk outlive the fame of many a proud ecclesiastic or haughty baron of his day; and well they might, for how homely does his pen record the simple annals of that far distant age. Much have the old monks been blamed for their bad Latin and their humble style; but far from upbraiding, I would admire them for it; for is not the inelegance of diction which their unpretending chronicles display, sufficiently compensated by their charming simplicity. As for myself, I have sometimes read them by the blaze of my cheerful hearth, or among the ruins of some old monastic abbey,[250] till in imagination I beheld the events which they attempt to record, and could almost hear the voice of the "goode olde monke" as he relates the deeds of some holy man—in language so natural and idiomatic are they written.