Monmouth College library staff is often asked “What is the oldest book in the collection?” The answer is: Incipit legenda sanctoru[m] que Lombardica nominatur historia. Better known as Legenda Sanctorum (Sacred Legends) or Legenda Aurea (Golden Legends), this book was the medieval equivalent to a best-seller, containing tales of the lives of the Saints. Originally written around 1260 by Jacobus de Voragine, a member of the Dominican order who later became an Archbishop, the work was recopied many times and widely distributed throughout the middle ages. Hewes volume was copied around 1450. There are over 900 known exemplars of this book, copied at various dates, still in existence.
Technically, it is not a book, but an illuminated manuscript, hand written and decorated in the late Middle Ages by monks. An interesting fact about this book is that despite its age, it is more safely handled than many newer items in the collection. The thickness of the paper, made from calf-skins and known as vellum and the sturdiness of the binding make it much less fragile than say an old newspaper from the 1963 Kennedy assassination or a late 19th century book which was printed at a time when highly acidic paper was used in the printing process. It is not a complete copy as portions of the beginning and ending are missing, but it is a fairly complete copy.
This item does not circulate but can be viewed anytime the library is open by asking a staff member.
No comments:
Post a Comment