The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-02-01


throughout his empire in the ninth
century. The Venerable Bede had a
library in the seventh century and ST.
Columbanus and 60 other Irish mis-
sionaries visited France Italy and
Switzerland during the sixth century
preaching the gospel and encouraging
the collection of manuscripts at var
ious places. They founded 100 monas-
teries and each monastery had in time
library. The Benedictine monks
were very active in the movement in
southern Italy, although it was very
difficult to make Roadway during cen
turtles of warfare while the barbarians
were overrunning many of the coun-
tries of Europe. Especially worthy of
mention among the libraries of the ear
ly centuries were those of Fulda,
Richenau, Convey and Sponheim in
Germany and Fleury, st. Riquier,
Cluny and Corbie in France. Fulda
had perhaps the greatest collection of
its time in Christendom. Had it not
been for the zeal and industry of the
monks of the early and middle ages,
many of whom spent their lives in
copying old and valuable manuscripts,
and in protecting them from fires and
disasters, during the barbarian inva-
sions, very little of the literature of
the ancients would have been brought
down to present time. Because of the
time and labor it took in copying the
books, they were of course very valu-
able. Most of them, in our present
money, would cost at least 500 per
volume. 1t was quite difficult to pre-
serve them because of the damaging
effects of moisture, heat and other de-
structive elements The American
Declaration of independence, written
in 1776, has practically faded out and
is no longer allowed to be publicly in
spected. What a task, then, it was to
preserve until the fifteenth century,
when the art of printing was invented,
the many pagan and early Christian
classics. Among the leading Libraries
of the middle ages were those of Can
terbury, Glastonbury, Dover, Bury st.
Edmund's, Durham, Citeaux, Clairvoix,
st. Victors in Paris, and st. Ger
mains. The libraries of the Renais-
sance period are those of Palencia in
Spain, founded in 1912; Salamanca, in
Spain, in 1920; the University of Ok
ford, in 1890; the University of Pra-
que, in 1348, and the Heidelberg Uni
versity library, in 1886. Most of the
modern libraries were established
| of hof of do
mand for books and so difficult was it
to keep track of them and insure their
safe return, that in some places they
had to be chained to shelves so that
they could not be carried away.
Libraries of the Middle Ages.
In Ireland there we're several lib
raries worthy of mention during the
seventh, eighth and ninth and subse-
quent centuries, but they were de-
stroyed during the reigns of Henry
VIII, Elizabeth, Cromwell and the
other British monarchs who demol-
ished or confscated Irish churches
and other institutions of learning dur
ing the sixteenth and seventeenth cen
turtles
Paris, France, has the largest, finest
library in the world, although the
Vatican library in Rome has the most
valuable collections to be found in
Christendom. The Paris library was
founded in 1867. 1t numbers 10000
volumes In 1862 law was passed
requiring library in every primary
school. In 1882 there we're 10000 of
these Libraries. France is noted for
the large number of it's excellent pro-
vincial libraries. Some of them, how
ever, are not so large as are to be
found in the various large cities of
Europe.
Berlin has 70 Libraries. There are
many splendid collections in the other
cities and the universities of the Ger
man empire. We give list of them
below.
'Italy has many of the largest and
best libraries in the world. A great
number of old manuscripts, many OF
them the classics of 1000 years ago,
are to be found in the collections OF
Italy, France and Spain.
Russia has several great libraries
The largest and finest is that of the
Imperial at st. Petersburg. 1t con.
tains over a million volumes. 1t is
open to all over twelve years of age.
There are also large and old libraries
in several other countries of Europe.
; Libraries in the United States.
VERY little interest was taken in the
organization of libraries in the United
States until the last half of the nine
teenth century In 1875 there were
, 1000 registered libraries in our coun
, try, containing approximately 10000,
) 900 volumes, though many of the books
; were not so valuable as those to be
. found in the older libraries of Europe
All of the states now have libraries
, for the general use of their people
During the past twenty years more
libraries have been founded in this
country than during its entire previous
history. The generous donations Of
/ Andrew Carnegie for the construction
. of buildings are, of course, familiar tt
all of our readers.
f "The four great libraries of the
n-.S1 Al