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Richard de Bury
The Love of Books: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury

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The Love of Books: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury

by Richard de Bury

EN·~2 hours·30 chapters

Chapters

30 total

THE LOVE OF BOOKS - THE PHILOBIBLON OF RICHARD DE BURY

0:03

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH - BY - E. C. THOMAS

0:23

The Author of the Book

0:01

PREFACE - The Author of the Book.

2:03

The Bishop as Booklover.

1:56

The Bishop's Books.

0:52

Early Editions of the Philobiblon.

4:51

THE PHILOBIBLON NEWLY TRANSLATED

0:02

Prologue - I That the treasure of wisdom is chiefly contained in books - II The degree of affection that is properly due to books - III What we are to think of the price in the buying of books - IV The complaint of books against the clergy already promoted - V The complaint of books against the possessioners - VI The complaint of books against the mendicants - VII The complaint of books against wars - VIII Of the numerous opportunities we have had of collecting a store of books - IX How, although we preferred the works of the ancients, we have not condemned the studies of the moderns - X Of the gradual perfecting of books - XI Why we have preferred books of liberal learning to books of law - XII Why we have caused books of grammar to be so diligently prepared - XIII Why we have not wholly neglected the fables of the poets - XIV Who ought to be special lovers of books - XV Of the advantages of the love of books - XVI That it is meritorious to write new books and to renew the old - XVII Of showing due propriety in the custody of books - XVIII Showeth that we have collected so great store of books for the common benefit of scholars and not only for our own pleasure - XIX Of the manner of lending all our books to students - XX An exhortation to scholars to requite us by pious prayers

1:21

PROLOGUE

6:39

Description

A thirteenth‑century bishop whose life was as much about politics as about parchment, he spent his days juggling royal duties, diplomatic missions, and a relentless hunger for the written word. Even as he rose to the highest offices of church and state, his chambers overflowed with volumes, and he would listen to a book being read at every meal, turning each discussion into a lively scholarly round‑table.

In his treatise on the love of books, he lays out a surprisingly modern set of principles for gathering, caring for, and sharing manuscripts. He argues that a library belongs not to a single collector but to the community of learners it serves, and he even drafts a plan for a collegiate library that would later inspire the foundations of a great Oxford college. Listeners will be drawn into the medieval world of illuminated pages, passionate debates, and the timeless joy of holding a good book in one’s hands.

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Bibliomania

38 titles

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Essays, Letters & Speeches

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History - Medieval/Middle Ages

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Philosophy & Ethics

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Details

Language

Duration

~2 hours (141K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Charles Keller. HTML version by Al Haines.

Release date

1996-08-01

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

Source

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/626

Subjects

Book collecting Manuscripts, Medieval -- Collectors and collecting Z

About the author

Richard de Bury

1287–1345

A medieval bishop, royal official, and passionate lover of books, he is remembered above all for celebrating reading itself in one of the best-known works on book collecting. His life moved between church, court, and scholarship, leaving behind a reputation as one of England's earliest great bibliophiles.

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