English Benedictine Libraries

The Benedictine abbeys were renowned for containing the finest libraries of medieval England. Among the 120 documents brought together in this volume, there are a significant number of catalogues from major libraries in every century from the 12th to the 16th, including a unique 15th-century index catalogue, recently identified as coming from St Mary's Abbey, York. The documentary evidence recorded here varies greatly in form, including not only catalogues and inventories but also records of books borrowed, account rolls detailing expenditure on book production, memoranda on the contributions of individual abbots or priors, wills and simple lists of texts seen by visitors to the libraries. This volume encompasses the whole range of Benedictine libraries, including those which best illustrate what was typical of Benedictine learning in medieval England.