The Love of Books: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury

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.