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53 - Books and Libraries within Monasteries

from Part IV - Forms of Monasticism in the Late Middle Ages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2020

By
Eva Schlotheuber ,
John T. McQuillen ,
Eva Schlotheuber  and
Eliza Jaeger
Edited by
Alison I. Beach  and
Isabelle Cochelin
Alison I. Beach
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Isabelle Cochelin
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

To Jerome of Mondsee (d. 1475), master of the University of Vienna and proponent of the Melk reform, the omnipresence of books within monasteries was self-evident. He expressed this sentiment in the title of his short work “Remarks that religious should have table readings, not only in the refectory, but also in other places (within the monastery).” Reading aloud was thought to make the contents of a text more accessible, individual reading to promote introspection, and above all, to encourage compliance with the rule of silence, since reading aloud to one’s self was not the same as talking. Humbert of Romans (1200–77), Dominican master general, wrote in his instructions for the various offices of the order that the librarian was to open the library regularly, but also to ensure that the books that most of the brothers did not personally possess were located in “appropriate places of silence,” usually chained to desks.

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Chapter
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The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West , pp. 975 - 997
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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