Libraries

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Libraries

Renaissance libraries were important centers of learning and culture. More than just collections of books, they gave scholars a place to study languages and to explore ancient ideas. Many libraries treated books and manuscripts as works of art, prized as much for their beauty as for their content. They often displayed volumes alongside cabinets of interesting objects—ancient artifacts*, natural wonders, or scientific instruments. From the private collections of individuals to the glorious libraries of royal courts, libraries formed the focus of Renaissance scholarship.

Early Humanist Libraries. During the Renaissance, humanist* scholars kept some of the finest book collections in Europe. The Italian poet Petrarch, the scholar most associated with the birth of humanism, called book collecting his "passion." His private collection contained about 200 volumes. Most of them were ancient works in Latin and writings by the early leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. Petrarch carried his books with him in his travels throughout Italy.

Other humanists also kept notable libraries. One of the most impressive private collections belonged to the Italian scholar Giovanni Picodella Mirandola. His thousand-volume library contained more than 100 Hebrew manuscripts—one of the largest such collections in all of Italy. Pico's other volumes ranged from literature of his day to ancient Latin texts on religion, philosophy, and science.

Church Libraries. Since the Middle Ages, religious houses had served as centers of learning in Europe. Catholic monasteries often held rich collections of manuscripts. During the Protestant Reformation*, many Protestant states broke up the monasteries. Their holdings fell into the hands of courts, universities, and private individuals. In Catholic lands, however, monastic* libraries became tools for renewing the church.

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church kept some of the most impressive private collections in Europe. Many cardinals associated with humanist scholars and took an interest in recovering ancient texts from both pagan* and Christian traditions. Some cardinals kept quite small collections, while others had as many as a few hundred volumes. The largest library belonged to Bessarion, a Greek monk who had moved to Italy in the 1400s and become a cardinal in the Catholic Church. He owned more than 1,000 volumes, with a strong focus on Greek manuscripts.

Cardinals' libraries increased in size and splendor as the Renaissance progressed. Founded in the early 1600s, the library of Cardinal Federico Barberini (the nephew of Pope Urban VIII) became one of the richest in Rome. It was second only to the Vatican Library, founded around 1450 by Pope Nicholas V. Although popes had kept collections of books and documents for centuries, Nicholas wanted to open a library "for the common convenience of the learned." His own collection became the core of the new library, which occupied three rooms in the Vatican. By the late 1500s it had expanded to several thousand texts and required a building of its own. However, the popes of the early 1600s no longer made the collection open to the public. Only those with special permission could enter for a few hours at a time on certain days.

Court Libraries. Kings, queens, and other nobles kept some of the finest libraries in Europe. Developed partly to house accounts and legal documents, court libraries became important centers of scholarship. Naples was home to the oldest major court library in Italy. Started in the 1200s, it grew dramatically in the mid-1400s under the patronage of Alfonso, the king of Aragon and Naples. Other major libraries in Italy included the collections of the Gonzaga family in Mantua, the Visconti in Milan, and the Este in Ferrara. Each of these noble families possessed hundreds of manuscripts.

In 1520 the humanist scholar Guillaume Budé established the new royal library of the French king Francis I at Fontainebleau. Within 25 years, the collection had grown to about 2,686 volumes. By the end of the 1500s the library had been moved to Paris. One of the largest court libraries of the Renaissance was the Escorial near Madrid in Spain. In addition to its books, this library housed a large collection of mathematical and scientific instruments. It also served as a personal spiritual retreat* for Spain's king Philip II.

The court library had its greatest impact in Germany and central Europe. In the German city of Augsburg, the wealthy merchants and bankers of the Fugger family created a library based on Italian models and even hired an Italian architect to design it. The Fugger collection later became part of the court library of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria. In the late 1500s, books taken from Catholic monasteries enriched the court libraries of Protestant Germany. The library at Wolfenbüttel, in northern Germany, eventually became the largest in all of Europe. By the middle of the 1600s, it held more than 100,000 volumes.

Private and Public Libraries. Private book collections grew throughout the Renaissance. Many professionals, such as lawyers and doctors, kept large private libraries of books about their areas of interest. Especially in northern Europe, such private libraries were used for both teaching and study in a number of fields.

Some private collections helped to promote new ideas. For example, physician Nicolò Leoniceno, who taught medicine at the University of Ferrara in the late 1400s, kept a large collection of scientific texts. Among them were over 100 Greek works covering every major area of science. Libraries such as his helped to revive interest in ancient Greek medicine. Similarly, collections of Greek mathematical manuscripts led the rebirth of mathematics in the 1500s.

During the Renaissance many "private" collections became semipublic, providing places for scholars to meet, study, and exchange ideas. A few libraries took on a form similar to the modern public library. In 1444 the library of the monastery of San Marco in Florence opened its doors to the public. Like later public libraries, it began as a private collection, originally belonging to humanist Niccolò Niccoli. Another important public library opened at Oxford University in 1602. English politician and writer Francis Bacon said that he hoped the new library would serve as "an ark of learning."

* artifact: ornament, tool, or other object made by humans
* humanist: referring to a Renaissance cultural movement promoting the study of the humanities (the languages, literature, and history of ancient Greece and Rome) as a guide to living

* Protestant Reformation: religious movement that began in the 1500s as a protest against certain practices of the Roman Catholic Church and eventually led to the establishment of a variety of Protestant churches
* monastic: relating to monasteries, monks, or nuns
* pagan: referring to ancient religions that worshiped many gods, or more generally, to any non-Christian religion