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. From July 2007 the library is temporarily closed to the public for rebuilding which is expected
to be completed by September 2010.[1].
Historical periods
Scholars have traditionally divided the history of the library into five periods.[2]
- 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.
- Lateran. Lasted until the end of the 13th 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 1370s when the Papacy returned to
Rome.
- Pre-Vatican. From about 1370 to 1447 the library was scattered, with parts in Rome, Avignon and elsewhere.
- Vatican. Starting around 1448 when the library moved to the Vatican and a continuous history begins to the present
time.
Establishing the Vatican library
Pope Nicholas V 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.
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 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 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.
Current holdings
Today, the library holds some 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 incunabula. The Secret Vatican Archives were separated from
the library at the beginning of the 17th 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.
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.
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.[3]
A School of Library Science is associated with the Vatican Library.
Theft
In 1995 it was determined that Anthony J. Melnikas, a retired Ohio State University art history professor, had stolen a number of pages from rare books in the
Vatican Library over a number of years. He was eventually prosecuted and the pages were returned.[1]
Manuscripts
A miniature from the Syriac Gospel Lectionary (Vat. Syr. 559), created ca. 1220 near
Mosul and
exhibiting a strong Islamic influence.
Notable manuscripts in the Library include:
Illuminated manuscripts:
Texts:
Librarians of Vatican Library since 1830
The office of Librarian of Vatican Library has been held at the same time as that of Archivist of Vatican Secret Archives since 1957.
See also
References
- ^ See "Vatican Library closure irks scholars", BBC news.
- ^ See "Vatican Library", Dictionary of the Middle Ages.
- ^ Willey, David. "Vatican Library closure irks
scholars", BBC News, 17 July 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. (English)
External links
Media related to Biblioteca apostolica
Vaticana from the Wikimedia Commons.- Vatican Library home
page, with online catalog search
- Treasures
of the Vatican Library Exposed via The European Library
- Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library &
Renaissance Culture, an online exhibition from the Library of Congress.
- On the pornography urban
legend, by snopes.com
- 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."
- 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.
- Knights of Columbus Vatican Film
Library. Saint Louis University library that focuses on the collection of the
Vatican Library.
Coordinates:
41°54′17″N, 12°27′16″E
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