The Philobiblon

One of the earliest treatises on the value of preserving neglected manuscripts, building a library, and book collecting, Richard De Bury's The Philobiblon was written in 1345 and circulated widely in manuscript form for over a century. The first printed edition appeared in Cologne in 1473, and several others soon followed as the invention of the printing press spread throughout the late Medieval world.

The chapter titles of this legendary work reflect its nature, combining the author's love for and commitment to the importance of books and the knowledge they contain with thoughts on collecting them, lending them, teaching with them, and simply enjoying them: "That the Treasure of Wisdom is chiefly contained in books," "What we are to think of the price in the buying of books," "Who ought to be special lovers of books," and "Of the manner of lending all our books to students." The Prologue ends with the following thought:

"And this treatise (divided into twenty chapters) will clear the love we have had for books from the charge of excess, will expound the purpose of our intense devotion, and will narrate more clearly than light all the circumstances of our undertaking. And because it principally treats of the love of books, we have chose after the fashion of the ancient Romans fondly to name it by a Greek word, Philobiblon."

This volume offers modern bibliophiles a splendid edition of one of the first books ever to study, define, and, above all, praise their passion: the all-encompassing love of books.

About the Author

Richard De Bury (1287–1345) was descended from an English knight who fought with William the Conqueror in the 11th Century. De Bury studied at Oxford, became a priest, ultimately rising to be Bishop of Durham, and tutored the future English King Edward III. After Edward III became King in the 1320s, De Bury served Edward's administration in various administrative and diplomatic posts.

On a diplomatic visit to the papal court in exile at Avignon in 1330, De Bury met the Italian scholar and poet Petrarch, with whom he shared his devotion to and enthusiasm for books, and who left a brief account of meeting his English counterpart.

Wherever he went, De Bury assiduously collected manuscripts and bound books, and in time composed his short collection of Latin essays, The Philobiblon, the title having been created by De Bury from the Greek words meaning "the love of books." De Bury completed the text in 1344, though of course it was not printed until after the invention of printing in the middle of the following century.