Difference between revisions of "Vatican Library" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Melozzo da Forlì 001.jpg|thumb|210px|[[Pope Sixtus IV]] appoints [[Bartolomeo Platina]] prefect of the Vatican Library, fresco by [[Melozzo da Forlì]], c. 1477 ([[Vatican Museums]])]]
 
[[Image:Melozzo da Forlì 001.jpg|thumb|210px|[[Pope Sixtus IV]] appoints [[Bartolomeo Platina]] prefect of the Vatican Library, fresco by [[Melozzo da Forlì]], c. 1477 ([[Vatican Museums]])]]
The '''Vatican Library''' ([[Latin]]: ''Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana'') is the [[library]] of the [[Holy See]], currently located in [[Vatican City]]. It is one of the oldest libraries and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts including ''Codex Vaticanus,'' one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the [[Bible]]. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 [[codex|codices]] from throughout history.<ref>[http://www.slu.edu/libraries/vfl/about.html Background], Vatican Film Library, Saint Louis University. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref> It holds over 1.6 million books, 8,300 incunabula, 7,500 manuscripts and archival documents, engravings, coins, and medals.
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The '''Vatican Library''' ([[Latin]]: ''Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana'') is the [[library]] of the [[Holy See]], currently located in [[Vatican City]]. It is one of the oldest libraries and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts including ''Codex Vaticanus,'' one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the [[Bible]]. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 [[codex|codices]] from throughout history and 1.6 million printed books.
 
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{{toc}}
From July 2007 the library is temporarily closed to the public for rebuilding, which is expected to be completed by September 2010.<ref>David Willey. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6901606.stm Vatican Library closure irks scholars], BBC news. Tuesday, 17 July 2007, 06:30 GMT 07:30 UK. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref>.
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The library was created based on Pope Nicholas V's vision of a new Rome with extensive public works that would lure [[pilgrimage|pilgrim]]s and scholars alike to the city. Today the Vatican Library is a significant research library for history, law, philosophy, science, and theology. It is open to anyone who can document their qualifications and research needs.  
  
 
== Historical periods ==
 
== Historical periods ==
Scholars have traditionally divided the history of the library into five periods.<ref>Strayer, Joseph Reese. "Vatican Library," ''Dictionary of the Middle Ages.''.</ref>
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Scholars have traditionally divided the history of the library into five periods.<ref>Joseph Reese Strayer, "Vatican Library," ''Dictionary of the Middle Ages''.</ref>
  
 
*'''Pre-Lateran'''. The initial days of the library, dating from the earliest days of the church, before it moved to the [[Lateran Palace]]; only a negligible number of volumes survive from this period, though some are very significant.  
 
*'''Pre-Lateran'''. The initial days of the library, dating from the earliest days of the church, before it moved to the [[Lateran Palace]]; only a negligible number of volumes survive from this period, though some are very significant.  
*'''Lateran'''. Lasted until the end of the [[13th century]] and the reign of Pope [[Boniface VIII]].
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*'''Lateran'''. Lasted until the end of the thirteenth century and the reign of Pope [[Boniface VIII]].
 
*'''Avignon'''. This period saw a great growth in book collection and record keeping by the popes who were in residence in southern France in [[Avignon]] between the death of Boniface and the 1370s when the Papacy returned to Rome.
 
*'''Avignon'''. This period saw a great growth in book collection and record keeping by the popes who were in residence in southern France in [[Avignon]] between the death of Boniface and the 1370s when the Papacy returned to Rome.
*'''Pre-Vatican'''. From about 1370 to 1346 the library was scattered, with parts in Rome, Avignon and elsewhere.
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*'''Pre-Vatican'''. From about 1370 to 1446 the library was scattered, with parts in Rome, Avignon and elsewhere.
 
*'''Vatican'''. Starting around 1448 when the library moved to the Vatican through the present.
 
*'''Vatican'''. Starting around 1448 when the library moved to the Vatican through the present.
  
 
==Establishing the Vatican library==
 
==Establishing the Vatican library==
[[Pope Nicholas V]] established the library in the Vatican in 1448 by combining some 350 Greek, Latin and Hebrew [[codex|codices]] inherited from his predecessors with his own collection and extensive acquisitions, among them manuscripts from the imperial library of [[Constantinople]]. The ''Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana'' was established in 1475.<ref>Ibid. Vatican Film Library. Retrieved May 28, 2008.<ref>Vatican Film Library informational pamphlet</ref>
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[[Pope Nicholas V]] (1447-1455) established the library in the Vatican in 1448 by combining some 350 Greek, Latin, and Hebrew [[codex|codices]] inherited from his predecessors with his own collection and extensive acquisitions, among them manuscripts from the imperial library of [[Constantinople]]. The ''Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana'' was established in 1475.<ref>[https://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=storia Vatican Library History]. Retrieved September 12, 2019.</ref>
  
 
When its first librarian, [[Bartolomeo Platina]], produced a listing in 1481, the library held over 3500 items,
 
When its first librarian, [[Bartolomeo Platina]], produced a listing in 1481, the library held over 3500 items,
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The library was enriched by several bequests and acquisitions over the centuries.  
 
The library was enriched by several bequests and acquisitions over the centuries.  
  
In 1623, the hereditary [[Palatine Library]] of [[Heidelberg]] containing about 3500 manuscripts was given to the Vatican by [[Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria]] (who had just acquired it as booty in the [[Thirty Years War]]) in thanks for the adroit political maneuvers of [[Pope Gregory XV]] that had sustained him in his contests with Protestant candidates for the electoral seat. A token 39 of the Heidelberg manuscripts were sent to Paris in 1797 and were returned to Heidelberg at the [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Peace of Paris]] in 1815, and a gift from [[Pope Pius VII]] of 852 others was made in 1816, including the [[Codex Manesse]]. Aside from that, the Palatine Library remains in the Vatican Library to this day.
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In 1623, the [[Palatine Library]] of [[Heidelberg]] containing about 3500 manuscripts was given to the Vatican by [[Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria]] (who had just acquired it as booty in the [[Thirty Years War]]) in thanks for the adroit political maneuvers of [[Pope Gregory XV]] that had sustained him in his contests with Protestant candidates for the electoral seat. A token 39 of the Heidelberg manuscripts were sent to Paris in 1797 and were returned to Heidelberg at the [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Peace of Paris]] in 1815, and a gift from [[Pope Pius VII]] of 852 others was made in 1816, including the [[Codex Manesse]]. Aside from that, the Palatine Library remains in the Vatican Library to this day.
  
In 1657, the manuscripts of the Dukes of [[Urbino]] were acquired. In 1661 the Greek scholar [[Leo Allatius]] was made librarian. [[Christina of Sweden]] saw to it that her library, which was for all practical purposes the entire royal library of Sweden of the time, became part of the Vatican Library on her death in 1689.
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In 1657, the manuscripts of the Dukes of [[Urbino]] were acquired. In 1661 the Greek scholar [[Leo Allatius]] was made librarian. [[Christina of Sweden]] saw to it that her library, which was for all practical purposes the entire royal library of Sweden of the time, became part of the Vatican Library upon her death in 1689.
  
 
==Current holdings==
 
==Current holdings==
 
[[Image:Fortymartyrs.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A miniature from the Syriac Gospel Lectionary (Vat. Syr. 559), created ca. 1220 near [[Mosul]] and exhibiting a strong Islamic influence.]]
 
[[Image:Fortymartyrs.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A miniature from the Syriac Gospel Lectionary (Vat. Syr. 559), created ca. 1220 near [[Mosul]] and exhibiting a strong Islamic influence.]]
Today, the library holds some 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 [[Incunabulum|incunabula]]. The [[Secret Vatican Archives]] were separated from the library at the beginning of the [[17th century]]; they contain another 150,000 items.
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Today, the library holds some 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.6 million printed books, which include some 8,600 [[Incunabulum|incunabula]]; tens of thousands of sixteenth-century editions (which are included in EDIT16, the ICCU's census of Italian sixteenth-century books) and even more seventeenth-century ones (particularly in the Barberini and Chigi collections), as well as seventeenth- and eighteenth-century books.<ref>[https://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=stampati Printed Books Collection] ''The Vatican Library''. Retrieved August 24, 2019.</ref> The [[Secret Vatican Archives]] were separated from the library at the beginning of the seventeenth century; they contain another 150,000 items.
  
 
Among the most famous holdings of the library is the [[Codex Vaticanus]], the oldest known nearly complete manuscript of the [[Bible]]. The ''Secret History'' of [[Procopius]] was discovered in the library and published in 1623.
 
Among the most famous holdings of the library is the [[Codex Vaticanus]], the oldest known nearly complete manuscript of the [[Bible]]. The ''Secret History'' of [[Procopius]] was discovered in the library and published in 1623.
  
A commonly repeated [[urban legend]] has it that the Vatican Library holds the largest collection of pornography in the world. This is false; the library owns very few pornographic materials, largely file copies of works on the ''[[Index Librorum Prohibitorum]]''. There are also a few mildly erotic works of art, but very little since the [[Renaissance]].
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In order to make the vast contents of the Vatican Library accessible, in 1927 to 1930, librarians mostly from the United States, with funds from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, worked to classify and catalog the contents of the library. Microfilm records were made of most items.  
  
The Vatican Library is a research library for history, law, philosophy, science and theology, open to anyone who can document their qualifications and their research needs to view the collection. Photocopies for private study of pages from books published between 1801 and 1990 can be requested in person or by mail.
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The Vatican Library is a research library for [[history]], [[law]], [[philosophy]], [[science]] and [[theology]], open to anyone who can document their qualifications and their research needs to view the collection. Photocopies for private study of pages from books published between 1801 and 1990 can be requested in person or by mail.
  
The Library closed on 17 July 2007 until September 2010.<ref>{{cite news
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A School of [[library science|Library Science]] is associated with the Vatican Library.
  | last =Willey
 
  | first =David
 
  | title = Vatican Library closure irks scholars
 
  | language = English
 
  | publisher = [[BBC News]]
 
  | date = 17 July 2007
 
  | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6901606.stm
 
  | accessdate =  2007-07-17}}</ref>
 
  
A School of [[library science|Library Science]] is associated with the Vatican Library.
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In 1959, a Film Library was established.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_16111959_statute-film-library_en.html  "Statute of the Vatican Film-Library"]. Retrieved September 12, 2019.</ref> This is not to be confused with the [[Vatican Film Library]], which was established in 1953 in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] that contains microfilm records of much of the content of the Vatican Library.
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From July 2007 the library was temporarily closed to the public for rebuilding.<ref>David Willey, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6901606.stm Vatican Library closure irks scholars], ''BBC news'', July 17, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2019.</ref>.
  
In 1959, a Film Library was established.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_16111959_statute-film-library_en.html  "STATUTE OF THE VATICAN FILM-LIBRARY"]. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref> This is not to be confused with the [[Vatican Film Library]], which was established in 1953 in [[St. Louis, Missouri]].
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In March 2014, the Vatican Library began the project of digitizing its collection of manuscripts, to be made available online.
  
 
==Manuscripts==
 
==Manuscripts==
[[Image:VaticanVergilFol22rFlightFromTroy.jpg|thumb|150px|Folio 22r from the Vatican Virgil contains an illustration from the [[Aeneid]] of the flight from [[Troy]].]]
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[[Image:VaticanVergilFol22rFlightFromTroy.jpg|thumb|200px|Folio 22r from the Vatican Virgil contains an illustration from the [[Aeneid]] of the flight from [[Troy]].]]
[[Image:RomanVirgilFolio014rVergilPortrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Folio 14 recto of the Vergilius Romanus contains an author portrait of [[Virgil]].]]
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[[Image:RomanVirgilFolio014rVergilPortrait.jpg|thumb|200px|Folio 14 recto of the Vergilius Romanus contains an author portrait of [[Virgil]].]]
 
[[Image:BarberiniGospelsFol125rinciptJohn.jpg|thumb|150px|Folio 125r from the Barberini Gospels: The incipit to John.]]
 
[[Image:BarberiniGospelsFol125rinciptJohn.jpg|thumb|150px|Folio 125r from the Barberini Gospels: The incipit to John.]]
[[Image:Frederick II and eagle.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Frederick II]] and his falcon, from a late 13th century manuscript of ''De arte venandi'' in [[Vatican Library|Biblioteca Vaticana]], Pal. lat 1071)]]
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[[Image:Frederick II and eagle.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Frederick II]] and his falcon, from a late thirteenth century manuscript of ''De arte venandi'' in [[Vatican Library|Biblioteca Vaticana]], Pal. lat 1071)]]
[[Image:Falconry1.jpg|thumb|150px|Illustration for ''De arte venandi''‎]]
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[[Image:Falconry1.jpg|thumb|200px|Illustration for ''De arte venandi''‎]]
[[Image:Vatican_Croatian_Prayer_Book.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Vatican Croatian Prayer Book]]
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[[Image:Vatican_Croatian_Prayer_Book.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Vatican Croatian Prayer Book]]
[[Image:Codex Vaticanus B, 2Thess. 3,11-18, Hebr. 1,1-2,2.jpg|thumb|150px|Page from Codex Vaticanus B (Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. B or 03), written ca. 350 C.E. Page containing Bible Texts 2Thess. 3,11-18, Hebr. 1,1-2,2.jpg]]
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[[Image:Codex Vaticanus B, 2Thess. 3,11-18, Hebr. 1,1-2,2.jpg|thumb|200px|Page from Codex Vaticanus B (Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. B or 03), written ca. 350 C.E. Page containing Bible Texts 2Thess. 3,11-18, Hebr. 1,1-2,2.jpg]]
 
Notable manuscripts in the Library include:
 
Notable manuscripts in the Library include:
 
[[Illuminated manuscript]]s:
 
  
 
*'''Vergilius Vaticanus'''
 
*'''Vergilius Vaticanus'''
  
The Vergilius Vaticanus ([[Vatican City|Vatican]], [[Biblioteca Apostolica]], Cod. Vat. lat. 3225, also known as the '''Vatican Virgil''') is an [[illuminated manuscript]] containing fragments of [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]] and [[Georgics]] made in [[Rome]] in about 400. It is one of the oldest surviving sources for the text of the Aeneid and is the oldest and one of only three illustrated manuscript of classical literature. The two other surviving illustrated manuscripts of classical literature are the [[Vergilius Romanus]] and the [[Ambrosian Iliad]].
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The ''Vergilius Vaticanus'' ([[Vatican City|Vatican]], [[Biblioteca Apostolica]], Cod. Vat. lat. 3225, also known as the '''Vatican Virgil''') is an [[illuminated manuscript]] containing fragments of [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]] and [[Georgics]] made in [[Rome]] in about 400 C.E.. It is one of the oldest surviving sources for the text of the ''[[Aeneid]]'' and is the oldest and one of only three illustrated manuscript of classical literature. The two other surviving illustrated manuscripts of classical literature are the ''[[Vergilius Romanus]]'' and the ''[[Ambrosian Iliad]].''
  
 
*'''Vergilius Romanus'''
 
*'''Vergilius Romanus'''
  
The Vergilius Romanus ([[Vatican City]], [[Biblioteca Apostolica]], Cod. Vat. lat. 3867), also known as the '''Roman Vergil''', is a [[5th century]] [[illuminated manuscript]] of the works of [[Virgil]]. It contains the [[Aeneid]], the [[Georgics]], and some of the [[Eclogues]]. It is one of the oldest and most important Vergilian [[manuscript]]s. It is 332 by 323 mm with 309 [[vellum]] folios. It was written in a [[rustic capitals]] with 18 lines per page.  
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The ''Vergilius Romanus'' ([[Vatican City]], [[Biblioteca Apostolica]], Cod. Vat. lat. 3867), also known as the '''Roman Vergil''', is a fifth century [[illuminated manuscript]] of the works of [[Virgil]]. It contains the ''Aeneid,'' the ''Georgics],'' and some of the ''Eclogues.'' It is one of the oldest and most important Vergilian [[manuscript]]s. It is 332 by 323 mm with 309 [[vellum]] folios. It was written in a [[rustic capitals]] with 18 lines per page.  
  
 
*'''Barberini Gospels'''
 
*'''Barberini Gospels'''
  
The Barberini Gospels is an illuminated [[Hiberno-Saxon]] [[manuscript]] [[Gospel Book]]([[Rome]], [[Vatican City]], [[Biblioteca Apostolica]], Barberini Lat. 570, also known as the '''Wigbald Gospels'''), assumed to be of a late [[eighth century]] origin. After coming to light following its move to the [[Vatican Library]] in 1902 this luxury [[Gospel]] book had been largely ignored by the academic community until it became the subject of a doctoral dissertation in 2004. Earlier writing includes some brief comparisons of its [[iconography]] with that of its contemporaries and an inconclusive debate regarding the site of its production. There have also been speculations about a [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]], an entreaty for the reader to pray for one [[Wigbald]] and its role in providing a connection to a specific historical context.
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The Barberini Gospels is an illuminated [[Hiberno-Saxon]] [[manuscript]] [[Gospel Book]]([[Rome]], [[Vatican City]], [[Biblioteca Apostolica]], Barberini Lat. 570, also known as the '''Wigbald Gospels'''), assumed to be of a late eighth century origin. After coming to light following its move to the [[Vatican Library]] in 1902 this luxury [[Gospel]] book had been largely ignored by the academic community until it became the subject of a doctoral dissertation in 2004. Earlier writing includes some brief comparisons of its [[iconography]] with that of its contemporaries and an inconclusive debate regarding the site of its production. There have also been speculations about a [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]], an entreaty for the reader to pray for one Wigbald and its role in providing a connection to a specific historical context.
  
 
*'''Joshua Roll'''
 
*'''Joshua Roll'''
  
The Joshua Roll is an [[illuminated manuscript]] , probably of the 10th century<ref name="eb"> "The 10th-century Joshua Roll is interesting as an example of Byzantine illuminated manuscript that shows the tenacious influence of Greco-Roman painting." Excerpted from [http://p2.www.britannica.com/eb/article-69508 "painting, Western."] ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. 12 January 2007.</ref> created in the [[Byzantine empire]], according to many scholars by artists of the Imperial workshops in [[Constantinople]].<ref>"These illustrated book rolls could well have been derived from classical triumph columns whose artistic contents were rediscovered at the time when our manuscript was made. The Joshua Roll is generally thought to go back to Greco-Roman forms and painting."[http://www.finns-books.com/joshua.htm]. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref> It has heavy Greco-Roman influences<ref name="eb"/> and is rendered in [[grisaille]]. The Roll is  in the [[Vatican Library]].<ref>as "Palat. Gr. 431," in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana[http://www.finns-books.com/joshua.htm]. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref> It is incomplete, dimensions of the surviving parts being 31 cm high and about 10 metres long.<ref name="Arizona">[http://www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/illuman/9-10_08.html Facsimiles of Illuminated Manuscripts of the Medieval Period], The University of Arizona Library
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The ''Joshua Roll'' is an [[illuminated manuscript]], probably of the tenth century created in the [[Byzantine empire]], according to many scholars by artists of the Imperial workshops in [[Constantinople]].<ref> Kurt Weitzmann, ''Joshua Roll: A Work of the Macedonian Renaissance'' (Princeton University Press, 1948).</ref> It has heavy Greco-Roman influences and is rendered in [[grisaille]]. It is incomplete, dimensions of the surviving parts being 31 cm high and about 10 meters long.<ref name="Arizona">[http://www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/illuman/9-10_08.html Facsimiles of Illuminated Manuscripts of the Medieval Period], ''The University of Arizona Library Special Collections''. Retrieved September 12, 2019.</ref>
Special Collections. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref>
 
  
The Roll portrays the [[Old Testament]] [[Book of Joshua]] using a reduced version of the [[Septuagint]] text. It depicts the first 12 chapters, when Joshua was engaged in frequent and successful conquest<ref>"Now believed to have been assembled in the tenth century on the basis of earlier, individual miniatures adorning volumes of the ''[[Octateuch]]'' (first eight books of the Bible: Genesis -Deuteronomy and Ruth, Joshua, and Judges), the Joshua Roll presents the illustrated text of the first twelve chapters of the biblical book of Joshua, when Joshua is most active and successful in his conquests."[http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/library/now/exhibits/facsimilies/roll/]. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref> At roughly this time, the Byzantine empire was enjoying military success in its campaigns in the [[Holy Land]]. The art is by multiple artists, with the coloring added in a separate step later. The lettering is in [[majuscule]] and [[minuscule]] forms.<ref name="Arizona"/> Curiously, the images are slanted at ten degrees, in a continuous [[frieze]] along the ten meters of the roll. Steven Wander, professor at the University of Connecticut, suggests this may be because the roll was a copy of the actual preparatory sketches or working drawings for a real column, possibly to scale, like the bronze Easter column (Latin 'colonna') for Bishop Bernward in Hildesheim.<ref name="stam">in the Stamford Times [http://www.thestamfordtimes.com/stamford_templates/stamford_story/287940574372946.php Professor re-examines mysterious document]. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref>
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The Roll portrays the [[Old Testament]] [[Book of Joshua]] using a reduced version of the [[Septuagint]] text. It depicts the first 12 chapters, when Joshua was engaged in frequent and successful conquest<ref>"Now believed to have been assembled in the tenth century on the basis of earlier, individual miniatures adorning volumes of the ''[[Octateuch]]'' (first eight books of the Bible: Genesis -Deuteronomy and Ruth, Joshua, and Judges), the Joshua Roll presents the illustrated text of the first twelve chapters of the biblical book of Joshua, when Joshua is most active and successful in his conquests." William North, [http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/library/now/exhibits/facsimilies/roll/ The Joshua Roll]. Retrieved September 12, 2019.</ref> At roughly this time, the Byzantine empire was enjoying military success in its campaigns in the [[Holy Land]]. The art is by multiple artists, with the coloring added in a separate step later. The lettering is in [[majuscule]] and [[minuscule]] forms.<ref name="Arizona"/> Curiously, the images are slanted at ten degrees, in a continuous [[frieze]] along the ten meters of the roll. Steven Wander, professor at the University of Connecticut, suggests this may be because the roll was a copy of the actual preparatory sketches or working drawings for a real column, possibly to scale, like the bronze Easter column (Latin 'colonna') for Bishop Bernward in Hildesheim.<ref> Steven Wander, ''Joshua Roll'' (Reichert Verlag, 2012, ISBN 3895008540).</ref>
 
 
Its origins have been much debated by art historians, and the roll is considered to be "one of the most important and difficult problems of Byzantine art."<ref name="jstor">    [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0038-7134%28195104%2926%3A2%3C421%3ATJRAWO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H  "The Joshua Roll: A Work of the Macedonian Renaissance"] -(a review of the named book by [[Kurt Weitzmann]].) Review written by [[Adolf Katzenellenbogen]]. Published in ''[[Speculum]]'', Vol. 26, No. 2. (Apr., 1951), pp. 421-425.</ref> The text is acknowledged to be of the 10th century AD, but the art is sometimes placed in different centuries in differing chronologies and accounts of the Roll.<ref name="jstor"/>
 
  
 
*'''De arte venandi cum avibus'''
 
*'''De arte venandi cum avibus'''
  
De arte venandi cum avibus<ref>Literally "The Art of Hunting with Birds".</ref> is an [[illuminated manuscript]] containing the Latin text of "The art of [[Falconry]]" which was written in the 13th century by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederic II von Hohenstaufen]] and lost in 1248 at Parma. The 2-column 111 [[folio]] parchment [[codex]] is a copy by King [[Manfred of Sicily|Manfred]] which reappeared after 1258, and went to the [[Vatican Library]] with the manuscripts of the [[Bibliotheca Palatina|Palatine Library]]. Besides the treatise on falconry the book contains systematic descriptions of 900 species of birds illuminated by 500 miniatures. The author introduced a binomial taxonomy system similar to that later reinvented or resumed by [[Linnaeus]].
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De arte venandi cum avibus<ref>Literally "The Art of Hunting with Birds".</ref> is an [[illuminated manuscript]] containing the Latin text of "The art of [[Falconry]]" which was written in the thirteenth century by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederic II von Hohenstaufen]] and lost in 1248 at Parma. The 2-column 111 [[folio]] parchment [[codex]] is a copy by King [[Manfred of Sicily|Manfred]] which reappeared after 1258, and went to the [[Vatican Library]] with the manuscripts of the [[Bibliotheca Palatina|Palatine Library]]. Besides the treatise on falconry the book contains systematic descriptions of 900 species of birds illuminated by 500 miniatures. The author introduced a binomial taxonomy system similar to that later reinvented or resumed by [[Linnaeus]].
  
 
A copy of this book was written by [[Jean II Dampierre]] around 1300. An earlier European book on falconry was written by an anonymous noble of [[Vercelli]] in the tenth century.
 
A copy of this book was written by [[Jean II Dampierre]] around 1300. An earlier European book on falconry was written by an anonymous noble of [[Vercelli]] in the tenth century.
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Vatican Croatian Prayer Book is the oldest Croatian vernacular prayer book and the finest example of early [[Shtokavian dialect|štokavian]] [[Vernacular literature|vernacular literary]] idiom.
 
Vatican Croatian Prayer Book is the oldest Croatian vernacular prayer book and the finest example of early [[Shtokavian dialect|štokavian]] [[Vernacular literature|vernacular literary]] idiom.
  
Written between 1380 and 1400 in [[Dubrovnik]] as a transcript and transliteration from older texts composed in a mixture of Church Slavonic and [[Chakavian dialect|&#269;akavian]] idioms and written down in [[Glagolitic]] and [[Bosnian Cyrillic]] scripts, it retained a few phonological and morphological features found in the original [[manuscript]]s. The book contains the following parts: Offices of the Virgin Mary according to the rites of the Roman Church; seven penitentiary psalms; Offices of the Holy Cross; Offices for the dead; Offices of the Holy Spirit as well as numerous prayers. The script is the Roman Gothic, embroidered with luxuriantly outlined initials and miniatures. The name of the prayer book reflects the fact that it is held in the Vatican library. The text has become widely known from 1859, when influential Croatian historian Franjo Ra&#269;ki drew attention to it, but the first critical edition did not appear until the 20th century: Croatian literary historian and philologist Franjo Fancev published «Vatican Croatian prayer book» in 1934.  
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Written between 1380 and 1400 in [[Dubrovnik]] as a transcript and transliteration from older texts composed in a mixture of Church Slavonic and [[Chakavian dialect|&#269;akavian]] idioms and written down in [[Glagolitic]] and [[Bosnian Cyrillic]] scripts, it retained a few phonological and morphological features found in the original [[manuscript]]s. The book contains the following parts: Offices of the Virgin Mary according to the rites of the Roman Church; seven penitentiary psalms; Offices of the Holy Cross; Offices for the dead; Offices of the Holy Spirit as well as numerous prayers. The script is the Roman Gothic, [[embroidery|embroidered]] with luxuriantly outlined initials and [[miniature painting|miniatures]]. The name of the prayer book reflects the fact that it is held in the Vatican library. The text has become widely known from 1859, when influential [[Croatia|Croatian]] historian Franjo Ra&#269;ki drew attention to it, but the first critical edition did not appear until the twentieth century when Croatian literary historian and philologist Franjo Fancev published the ''Vatican Croatian prayer book'' in 1934.  
Texts:
 
  
 
*'''Codex Vaticanus'''
 
*'''Codex Vaticanus'''
  
The Codex Vaticanus ([[Vatican Library|The Vatican]], Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. '''B''' or '''03''') is one of the oldest extant [[Biblical manuscript|manuscripts of the Bible]]. Probably it is slightly older than [[Codex Sinaiticus]], both of which were probably transcribed in the [[4th century]]. It is written in [[Greek language|Greek]], on [[vellum parchment|vellum]], with [[uncial]] letters.
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The ''Codex Vaticanus'' ([[Vatican Library|The Vatican]], Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. '''B''' or '''03''') is one of the oldest extant [[Biblical manuscript|manuscripts of the Bible]]. Probably it is slightly older than [[Codex Sinaiticus]], both of which were probably transcribed in the [[4th century]]. It is written in [[Greek language|Greek]], on [[vellum parchment|vellum]], with [[uncial]] letters.
  
 
==Librarians of Vatican Library since 1830==
 
==Librarians of Vatican Library since 1830==
Line 122: Line 111:
 
The office of Librarian of Vatican Library has been held at the same time as that of [[Vatican Secret Archives|Archivist of Vatican Secret Archives]] since 1957.
 
The office of Librarian of Vatican Library has been held at the same time as that of [[Vatican Secret Archives|Archivist of Vatican Secret Archives]] since 1957.
  
==See also==
+
==Notes==
 +
<references/>
  
*[[Vatican Secret Archives]]
 
* [[Vatican Film Library]], which contains thousands of documents from the Vatican Library, on microfilm in St. Louis, Missouri
 
==Notes==
 
{{reflist}}
 
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
  
*Carlen, Claudia. ''The Popes and the Vatican Library.'' Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich: American Friends of the Vatican Library, 1984.
+
*Carlen, Claudia. ''The Popes and the Vatican Library.'' Grosse Pointe Farms, MI: American Friends of the Vatican Library, 1984.
*Grafton, Anthony. ''Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library and Renaissance Culture.'' Washington: Library of Congress, in association with, 1993. ISBN 0844407674 ISBN 9780844407678
+
*Grafton, Anthony. ''Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library and Renaissance Culture.'' Washington: Library of Congress, in association with, 1993. ISBN 0844407674  
*Labella, Vincenzo, and Daniele Nannuzzi. ''The wonders of the Vatican Library.'' Beverly Hills, CA: Melee Entertainment Home Video, 2003. ISBN 0966721462 ISBN 9780966721461
+
*Labella, Vincenzo, and Daniele Nannuzzi. ''The wonders of the Vatican Library.'' Beverly Hills, CA: Melee Entertainment Home Video, 2003. ISBN 0966721462  
*Laubier, Guillaume de, and Jacques Bosser. ''The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World.'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003. ISBN 0810946343 ISBN 9780810946347
+
*Laubier, Guillaume de, and Jacques Bosser. ''The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World.'' New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003. ISBN 0810946343  
*Matt, Leonard von, Georg Daltrop, and Adriano Prandi. ''Art Treasures of the Vatican Library.'' New York: H.N. Abrams, 1970. ISBN 0810905280 ISBN 9780810905283
+
*Matt, Leonard von, Georg Daltrop, and Adriano Prandi. ''Art Treasures of the Vatican Library.'' New York: H.N. Abrams, 1970. ISBN 0810905280  
*Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). ''The Vatican: Spirit and Art of Christian Rome.'' New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. ISBN 0870993488 ISBN 9780870993480 ISBN 0810917114 ISBN 9780810917118
+
*Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY). ''The Vatican: Spirit and Art of Christian Rome.'' New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. ISBN 0870993488  
*Staikos, K. ''The Great Libraries: From Antiquity to the Renaissance (3000 B.C.E. to A.D. 1600).'' New Castle, Del: Oak Knoll Press, 2000. ISBN 1584560185 ISBN 9781584560180 ISBN 0712306617 ISBN 9780712306614
+
*Staikos, K. ''The Great Libraries: From Antiquity to the Renaissance (3000 B.C.E..E. to A.D. 1600).'' New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2000. ISBN 1584560185  
*Stille, Alexander. ''The Future of the Past.'' New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002. ISBN 0374159777 ISBN 9780374159771 ISBN 0312420943 ISBN 9780312420949
+
*Stille, Alexander. ''The Future of the Past.'' New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002. ISBN 0374159777
*Strayer, Joseph Reese. ''Dictionary of the Middle Ages.'' New York: Scribner, 1982.
+
*Strayer, Joseph Reese. ''Dictionary of the Middle Ages.'' 13 vols. New York: Scribner, [1982] 1989. ISBN 0684190737
*Williman, Daniel, and Karen Corsano. ''Early Provenances of Latin Manuscripts in the Vatican Library: Vaticani Latini and Borghesiani.'' Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 2003. ISBN 8821007340 ISBN 9788821007347
+
* Wander, Steven. ''Joshua Roll''. Reichert Verlag, 2012. ISBN 3895008540
 +
*Weitzmann, Kurt. ''Joshua Roll: A Work of the Macedonian Renaissance''. Princeton University Press, 1948,.
 +
*Williman, Daniel, and Karen Corsano. ''Early Provenances of Latin Manuscripts in the Vatican Library: Vaticani Latini and Borghesiani.'' Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 2003. ISBN 8821007340
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
{{commons-inline|Category:Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana|Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana}}
+
All links retrieved May 7, 2020.
* [http://bav.vatican.va/en/v_home_bav/home_bav.shtml Vatican Library home page], with online catalog search
 
* [http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/portal/libraries/Libraries.php?launch=1&language=en&page=Treasures&country=Vatican%20City  Treasures of the Vatican Library] Exposed via [[The European Library]]
 
*[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/vatican/ Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library & Renaissance Culture], an online exhibition from the [[Library of Congress]].
 
* [http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/402/mintzer.html Toward On-line, worldwide access to Vatican Library materials (1996)]. A collaborative effort (pioneered by Fr. [[Leonard Boyle]] OP Prefect of the Vatican Library) between the Vatican Library and [[IBM]], the primary goal of which is to "provide access via the Internet to some of the Library's most valuable manuscripts, printed books, and other sources to a scholarly community around the world."
 
* [http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,106485,00.asp Vatican to digitize Apostolic Library of 1.6 million volumes for general perusal, ''PCWorld.com'', October 29, 2002]. A joint effort between the Vatican and [[Hewlett-Packard]].
 
* [http://www.slu.edu/libraries/vfl/about.html Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library]. Saint Louis University library that focuses on the collection of the Vatican Library.
 
  
 +
*[http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/vatican/ Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library & Renaissance Culture], an online exhibition from the Library of Congress.
 +
* [https://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php The Vatican Library website]
 +
 
[[Category:library and information science]]
 
[[Category:library and information science]]
 
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{{credits|Vatican_Library|215161198|Vergilius_Vaticanus|211234602|Vergilius_Romanus|211263819|Barberini_Gospels|180591184|Joshua_Roll|190328683|De_arte_venandi_cum_avibus|214872898|Vatican_Croatian_Prayer_Book|207646886|Codex_Vaticanus|213701075}}

Revision as of 06:48, 7 May 2020

Pope Sixtus IV appoints Bartolomeo Platina prefect of the Vatican Library, fresco by Melozzo da Forlì, c. 1477 (Vatican Museums)

The Vatican Library (Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts including Codex Vaticanus, one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Bible. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from throughout history and 1.6 million printed books.

The library was created based on Pope Nicholas V's vision of a new Rome with extensive public works that would lure pilgrims and scholars alike to the city. Today the Vatican Library is a significant research library for history, law, philosophy, science, and theology. It is open to anyone who can document their qualifications and research needs.

Historical periods

Scholars have traditionally divided the history of the library into five periods.[1]

  • Pre-Lateran. The initial days of the library, dating from the earliest days of the church, before it moved to the Lateran Palace; only a negligible number of volumes survive from this period, though some are very significant.
  • Lateran. Lasted until the end of the thirteenth century and the reign of Pope Boniface VIII.
  • Avignon. This period saw a great growth in book collection and record keeping by the popes who were in residence in southern France in Avignon between the death of Boniface and the 1370s when the Papacy returned to Rome.
  • Pre-Vatican. From about 1370 to 1446 the library was scattered, with parts in Rome, Avignon and elsewhere.
  • Vatican. Starting around 1448 when the library moved to the Vatican through the present.

Establishing the Vatican library

Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455) established the library in the Vatican in 1448 by combining some 350 Greek, Latin, and Hebrew codices inherited from his predecessors with his own collection and extensive acquisitions, among them manuscripts from the imperial library of Constantinople. The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana was established in 1475.[2]

When its first librarian, Bartolomeo Platina, produced a listing in 1481, the library held over 3500 items, making it by far the largest in the Western world. Around 1587, Pope Sixtus V commissioned the architect Domenico Fontana to construct a new building for the library; it is still in use today. Books were displayed on benches to which they were chained.

Bequests and acquisitions

The Sistine Hall of the Vatican Library.

The library was enriched by several bequests and acquisitions over the centuries.

In 1623, the Palatine Library of Heidelberg containing about 3500 manuscripts was given to the Vatican by Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria (who had just acquired it as booty in the Thirty Years War) in thanks for the adroit political maneuvers of Pope Gregory XV that had sustained him in his contests with Protestant candidates for the electoral seat. A token 39 of the Heidelberg manuscripts were sent to Paris in 1797 and were returned to Heidelberg at the Peace of Paris in 1815, and a gift from Pope Pius VII of 852 others was made in 1816, including the Codex Manesse. Aside from that, the Palatine Library remains in the Vatican Library to this day.

In 1657, the manuscripts of the Dukes of Urbino were acquired. In 1661 the Greek scholar Leo Allatius was made librarian. Christina of Sweden saw to it that her library, which was for all practical purposes the entire royal library of Sweden of the time, became part of the Vatican Library upon her death in 1689.

Current holdings

A miniature from the Syriac Gospel Lectionary (Vat. Syr. 559), created ca. 1220 near Mosul and exhibiting a strong Islamic influence.

Today, the library holds some 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.6 million printed books, which include some 8,600 incunabula; tens of thousands of sixteenth-century editions (which are included in EDIT16, the ICCU's census of Italian sixteenth-century books) and even more seventeenth-century ones (particularly in the Barberini and Chigi collections), as well as seventeenth- and eighteenth-century books.[3] The Secret Vatican Archives were separated from the library at the beginning of the seventeenth century; they contain another 150,000 items.

Among the most famous holdings of the library is the Codex Vaticanus, the oldest known nearly complete manuscript of the Bible. The Secret History of Procopius was discovered in the library and published in 1623.

In order to make the vast contents of the Vatican Library accessible, in 1927 to 1930, librarians mostly from the United States, with funds from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, worked to classify and catalog the contents of the library. Microfilm records were made of most items.

The Vatican Library is a research library for history, law, philosophy, science and theology, open to anyone who can document their qualifications and their research needs to view the collection. Photocopies for private study of pages from books published between 1801 and 1990 can be requested in person or by mail.

A School of Library Science is associated with the Vatican Library.

In 1959, a Film Library was established.[4] This is not to be confused with the Vatican Film Library, which was established in 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri that contains microfilm records of much of the content of the Vatican Library.

From July 2007 the library was temporarily closed to the public for rebuilding.[5].

In March 2014, the Vatican Library began the project of digitizing its collection of manuscripts, to be made available online.

Manuscripts

Folio 22r from the Vatican Virgil contains an illustration from the Aeneid of the flight from Troy.
Folio 14 recto of the Vergilius Romanus contains an author portrait of Virgil.
Folio 125r from the Barberini Gospels: The incipit to John.
Frederick II and his falcon, from a late thirteenth century manuscript of De arte venandi in Biblioteca Vaticana, Pal. lat 1071)
Illustration for De arte venandi
Vatican Croatian Prayer Book
Page from Codex Vaticanus B (Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. B or 03), written ca. 350 C.E. Page containing Bible Texts 2Thess. 3,11-18, Hebr. 1,1-2,2.jpg

Notable manuscripts in the Library include:

  • Vergilius Vaticanus

The Vergilius Vaticanus (Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica, Cod. Vat. lat. 3225, also known as the Vatican Virgil) is an illuminated manuscript containing fragments of Virgil's Aeneid and Georgics made in Rome in about 400 C.E.. It is one of the oldest surviving sources for the text of the Aeneid and is the oldest and one of only three illustrated manuscript of classical literature. The two other surviving illustrated manuscripts of classical literature are the Vergilius Romanus and the Ambrosian Iliad.

  • Vergilius Romanus

The Vergilius Romanus (Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Cod. Vat. lat. 3867), also known as the Roman Vergil, is a fifth century illuminated manuscript of the works of Virgil. It contains the Aeneid, the Georgics], and some of the Eclogues. It is one of the oldest and most important Vergilian manuscripts. It is 332 by 323 mm with 309 vellum folios. It was written in a rustic capitals with 18 lines per page.

  • Barberini Gospels

The Barberini Gospels is an illuminated Hiberno-Saxon manuscript Gospel Book(Rome, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Barberini Lat. 570, also known as the Wigbald Gospels), assumed to be of a late eighth century origin. After coming to light following its move to the Vatican Library in 1902 this luxury Gospel book had been largely ignored by the academic community until it became the subject of a doctoral dissertation in 2004. Earlier writing includes some brief comparisons of its iconography with that of its contemporaries and an inconclusive debate regarding the site of its production. There have also been speculations about a colophon, an entreaty for the reader to pray for one Wigbald and its role in providing a connection to a specific historical context.

  • Joshua Roll

The Joshua Roll is an illuminated manuscript, probably of the tenth century created in the Byzantine empire, according to many scholars by artists of the Imperial workshops in Constantinople.[6] It has heavy Greco-Roman influences and is rendered in grisaille. It is incomplete, dimensions of the surviving parts being 31 cm high and about 10 meters long.[7]

The Roll portrays the Old Testament Book of Joshua using a reduced version of the Septuagint text. It depicts the first 12 chapters, when Joshua was engaged in frequent and successful conquest[8] At roughly this time, the Byzantine empire was enjoying military success in its campaigns in the Holy Land. The art is by multiple artists, with the coloring added in a separate step later. The lettering is in majuscule and minuscule forms.[7] Curiously, the images are slanted at ten degrees, in a continuous frieze along the ten meters of the roll. Steven Wander, professor at the University of Connecticut, suggests this may be because the roll was a copy of the actual preparatory sketches or working drawings for a real column, possibly to scale, like the bronze Easter column (Latin 'colonna') for Bishop Bernward in Hildesheim.[9]

  • De arte venandi cum avibus

De arte venandi cum avibus[10] is an illuminated manuscript containing the Latin text of "The art of Falconry" which was written in the thirteenth century by Frederic II von Hohenstaufen and lost in 1248 at Parma. The 2-column 111 folio parchment codex is a copy by King Manfred which reappeared after 1258, and went to the Vatican Library with the manuscripts of the Palatine Library. Besides the treatise on falconry the book contains systematic descriptions of 900 species of birds illuminated by 500 miniatures. The author introduced a binomial taxonomy system similar to that later reinvented or resumed by Linnaeus.

A copy of this book was written by Jean II Dampierre around 1300. An earlier European book on falconry was written by an anonymous noble of Vercelli in the tenth century.

  • Vatican Croatian Prayer Book

Vatican Croatian Prayer Book is the oldest Croatian vernacular prayer book and the finest example of early štokavian vernacular literary idiom.

Written between 1380 and 1400 in Dubrovnik as a transcript and transliteration from older texts composed in a mixture of Church Slavonic and čakavian idioms and written down in Glagolitic and Bosnian Cyrillic scripts, it retained a few phonological and morphological features found in the original manuscripts. The book contains the following parts: Offices of the Virgin Mary according to the rites of the Roman Church; seven penitentiary psalms; Offices of the Holy Cross; Offices for the dead; Offices of the Holy Spirit as well as numerous prayers. The script is the Roman Gothic, embroidered with luxuriantly outlined initials and miniatures. The name of the prayer book reflects the fact that it is held in the Vatican library. The text has become widely known from 1859, when influential Croatian historian Franjo Rački drew attention to it, but the first critical edition did not appear until the twentieth century when Croatian literary historian and philologist Franjo Fancev published the Vatican Croatian prayer book in 1934.

  • Codex Vaticanus

The Codex Vaticanus (The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. B or 03) is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Bible. Probably it is slightly older than Codex Sinaiticus, both of which were probably transcribed in the 4th century. It is written in Greek, on vellum, with uncial letters.

Librarians of Vatican Library since 1830

  • Giuseppe Cardinal Albani (23 April 1830 - 3 December 1834)
  • Angelo Cardinal Mai (27 June 1853 - 9 September 1854)
  • Antonio Cardinal Tosti (13 January 1860 - 20 March 1866)
  • Jean-Baptiste-François Pitra (19 January 1869 - 12 May 1879)
  • Alfonso Capecelatro di Castelpagano ( 1899 - 11 November 1912)
  • Francis Aidan Gasquet (9 May 1919 - 5 April 1929)
  • Franz Ehrle (17 April 1929 - 31 March 1934)
  • Giovanni Mercati (1936 - 1957)
  • Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent Tisserant (14 September 1957 - 27 March 1971 )
  • Antonio Cardinal Samore (25 January 1974 - 3 February 1983)
  • Alfons Maria Cardinal Stickler (8 September 1983 - 1 July 1988)
  • Antonio María Javierre Ortas (1 July 1988 - 24 January 1992)
  • Luigi Cardinal Poggi (9 April 1992 - 7 March 1998 )
  • Jorge María Mejía (7 March 1998 - 24 November 2003)
  • Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran (24 November 2003 - 25 June 2007)
  • Raffaele Farina (25 June 2007 - )

The office of Librarian of Vatican Library has been held at the same time as that of Archivist of Vatican Secret Archives since 1957.

Notes

  1. Joseph Reese Strayer, "Vatican Library," Dictionary of the Middle Ages.
  2. Vatican Library History. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  3. Printed Books Collection The Vatican Library. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  4. "Statute of the Vatican Film-Library". Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  5. David Willey, Vatican Library closure irks scholars, BBC news, July 17, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  6. Kurt Weitzmann, Joshua Roll: A Work of the Macedonian Renaissance (Princeton University Press, 1948).
  7. 7.0 7.1 Facsimiles of Illuminated Manuscripts of the Medieval Period, The University of Arizona Library Special Collections. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  8. "Now believed to have been assembled in the tenth century on the basis of earlier, individual miniatures adorning volumes of the Octateuch (first eight books of the Bible: Genesis -Deuteronomy and Ruth, Joshua, and Judges), the Joshua Roll presents the illustrated text of the first twelve chapters of the biblical book of Joshua, when Joshua is most active and successful in his conquests." William North, The Joshua Roll. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  9. Steven Wander, Joshua Roll (Reichert Verlag, 2012, ISBN 3895008540).
  10. Literally "The Art of Hunting with Birds".

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Carlen, Claudia. The Popes and the Vatican Library. Grosse Pointe Farms, MI: American Friends of the Vatican Library, 1984.
  • Grafton, Anthony. Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library and Renaissance Culture. Washington: Library of Congress, in association with, 1993. ISBN 0844407674
  • Labella, Vincenzo, and Daniele Nannuzzi. The wonders of the Vatican Library. Beverly Hills, CA: Melee Entertainment Home Video, 2003. ISBN 0966721462
  • Laubier, Guillaume de, and Jacques Bosser. The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003. ISBN 0810946343
  • Matt, Leonard von, Georg Daltrop, and Adriano Prandi. Art Treasures of the Vatican Library. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1970. ISBN 0810905280
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY). The Vatican: Spirit and Art of Christian Rome. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. ISBN 0870993488
  • Staikos, K. The Great Libraries: From Antiquity to the Renaissance (3000 B.C.E. to A.D. 1600). New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2000. ISBN 1584560185
  • Stille, Alexander. The Future of the Past. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002. ISBN 0374159777
  • Strayer, Joseph Reese. Dictionary of the Middle Ages. 13 vols. New York: Scribner, [1982] 1989. ISBN 0684190737
  • Wander, Steven. Joshua Roll. Reichert Verlag, 2012. ISBN 3895008540
  • Weitzmann, Kurt. Joshua Roll: A Work of the Macedonian Renaissance. Princeton University Press, 1948,.
  • Williman, Daniel, and Karen Corsano. Early Provenances of Latin Manuscripts in the Vatican Library: Vaticani Latini and Borghesiani. Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 2003. ISBN 8821007340

External links

All links retrieved May 7, 2020.

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