Vatican Library
Encyclopedia
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
of the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, currently located in Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
from throughout history. From July 2007, the library had been temporarily closed to the public for rebuilding, and reopened in September 2010.
Historical periods
Scholars have traditionally divided the history of the library into five periods.- Pre-Lateran. The initial days of the library, dating from the earliest days of the church, before it moved to the Lateran PalaceLateran PalaceThe Lateran Palace , formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran , is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main Papal residence....
; only a handful 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 VIIIPope Boniface VIIIPope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
. - Avignon. This period saw a great growth in book collection and record keeping by the popes who were in residence in southern France in AvignonAvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
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, the library moved to the Vatican and a continuous history begins to the present time.
Establishment
Pope Nicholas VPope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...
established the library in the Vatican in 1448 by combining some 350 Greek, Latin and Hebrew codices
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
inherited from his predecessors with his own collection and extensive acquisitions, among them manuscripts from the imperial Library of Constantinople
Library of Constantinople
The Imperial Library of Constantinople, in the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was the last of the great libraries of the ancient world. Long after the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria and the other ancient libraries, it preserved the knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans...
. The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana was established in 1475.
When its first librarian, Bartolomeo Platina
Bartolomeo Platina
Bartolomeo Platina, originally named Sacchi was an Italian Renaissance writer.-Biography:Platina was born at Piadena , near Cremona....
, produced a listing in 1481, the library held over 3,500 items, making it by far the largest in the Western world. Around 1587, Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
commissioned the architect Domenico Fontana
Domenico Fontana
Domenico Fontana was a Swiss-born Italian architect of the late Renaissance.-Biography:200px|thumb|Fountain of Moses in Rome....
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
In 1623, the hereditary Palatine Library of Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
containing about 3,500 manuscripts was given to the Vatican by Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria (who had just acquired it as booty in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
) in thanks for the adroit political maneuvers of Pope Gregory XV
Pope Gregory XV
Pope Gregory XV , born Alessandro Ludovisi, was pope from 1621, succeeding Paul V on 9 February 1621...
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
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1797 and were returned to Heidelberg at the Peace of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1815)
Treaty of Paris of 1815, was signed on 20 November 1815 following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. In February, Napoleon had escaped from his exile on Elba; he entered Paris on 20 March, beginning the Hundred Days of his restored rule. Four days after France's defeat in the...
in 1815, and a gift from Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
of 852 others was made in 1816 to the University of Heidelberg, including the Codex Manesse
Codex Manesse
The Codex Manesse, Manesse Codex, or Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift is a Liederhandschrift , the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German Minnesang poetry, written and illustrated between ca. 1304 when the main part was completed, and ca...
. Aside from that, the Palatine Library remains in the Vatican Library to this day.
In 1657, the manuscripts of the Dukes of Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
were acquired. In 1661, the Greek scholar Leo Allatius
Leo Allatius
Leo Allatius was a Greek scholar, theologian and keeper of the Vatican library....
was made librarian.
Queen Christina of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
's important library (mostly amassed by her generals as booty from Habsburg Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and German cities during the Thirty Years War) was bought by Pope Alexander VIII
Pope Alexander VIII
Pope Alexander VIII , born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was Pope from 1689 to 1691.-Early life:Pietro Ottoboni was born of a noble Venetian family, and was the son of Marco Ottoboni, chancellor of the Republic of Venice...
on her death in 1689. It represented, for all practical purposes, the entire royal library of Sweden at the time. If it had remained where it was in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, it would all have been lost in the destruction of the royal palace by fire in 1697.
Current holdings
Today, the library holds some 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 incunabulaIncunabulum
Incunable, or sometimes incunabulum is a book, pamphlet, or broadside, that was printed — not handwritten — before the year 1501 in Europe...
. The Vatican Secret Archives
Vatican Secret Archives
The Vatican Secret Archives , located in Vatican City, is the central repository for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having primal incumbency until death, owns the archives until the next appointed Papal successor...
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 Graecus 1209, the oldest known nearly complete manuscript of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. The Secret History of Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
was discovered in the library and published in 1623.
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. It was reopened September 20, 2010.
A School of Library Science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
is associated with the Vatican Library.
In 1959, a Film Library was established. This is not to be confused with the Vatican Film Library
Vatican Film Library
The Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library in St. Louis, Missouri is the only collection, outside the Vatican itself, of microfilms of more than 37,000 works from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Vatican Library in Europe. It is located in the Pius XII Library on the campus of Saint Louis...
, which was established in 1953 at Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Manuscripts
Illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s:
- Vergilius VaticanusVergilius VaticanusThe Vergilius Vaticanus is a 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...
- Vergilius RomanusVergilius RomanusThe Vergilius Romanus , 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 manuscripts. It is 332 by 323 mm with 309 vellum folios...
- Barberini GospelsBarberini GospelsThe Barberini Gospels is an illuminated Hiberno-Saxon manuscript Gospel Book , assumed to be of a late eighth century origin...
- Joshua RollJoshua RollThe Joshua Roll is a Byzantine illuminated manuscript of highly unusual format, probably of the 10th century Macedonian Renaissance, believed to have been created by artists of the Imperial workshops in Constantinople, and now in the Vatican Library....
- De arte venandi cum avibusDe arte venandi cum avibusDe Arte Venandi cum Avibus, literally "The Art of Hunting with Birds", is a Latin treatise on ornithology and Falconry written in the 1240s by Frederick II, and dedicated to his son Manfred....
- Vatican Croatian Prayer BookVatican Croatian Prayer BookVatican Croatian Prayer Book is the oldest Croatian vernacular prayer book and the finest example of early štokavian vernacular literary idiom....
Texts:
- Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209
- Libri CaroliniLibri CaroliniThe Libri Carolini , Opus Caroli regis contra synodum , also called Charlemagne's Books or simply the Carolines, are the work in four books composed on the command of Charlemagne, around 790, to refute the supposed conclusions of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea , particularly as...
Librarians
- Bartolomeo PlatinaBartolomeo PlatinaBartolomeo Platina, originally named Sacchi was an Italian Renaissance writer.-Biography:Platina was born at Piadena , near Cremona....
(1475–1481) - Cesare Baronio
- Marcello Cervini (1548–1555)
- Gulielmus Allen
- Scipione BorgheseScipione BorgheseScipione Borghese was an Italian Cardinal, art collector and patron of the arts. A member of the Borghese family, he was the patron of the painter Caravaggio and the artist Bernini...
(1609–1618) - Lucas HolsteniusLucas HolsteniusLucas Holstenius was the Latinized name of Lukas Holste , German Catholic humanist, geographer and historian.-Life:...
(1653–1649) - Luigi CapponiLuigi CapponiLuigi Capponi was an Italian Catholic Cardinal who became Archbishop of Ravenna.-Biography:Capponi was born in 1582, the son of Senator Francesco Capponi and Ludovica Macchiavelli. The Capponi family had extensive links to Italian political circles and to senior members of the Catholic Church...
(1649-1659) - Flavio ChigiFlavio Chigi (1631-1693)thumb|250px|Cardinal Flavio ChigiFlavio Chigi was an Italian Catholic Cardinal and Duke of Ariccia. He was Cardinal-Nephew to Pope Alexander VII and became a powerful political force inside the Roman Catholic Church during the latter half of the 17th century.-Early life:Flavio Chigi was born 10...
(1659–1661) - Henricus Noris, OSA (1700–1704)
- Benedetto Pamphilj (1704–1730)
- Angelo Maria QuiriniAngelo Maria QuiriniAngelo Maria Quirini or Querini was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.-Biography:Born in Venice, he entered the Benedictine Order in Florence in 1695 and was ordained in 1702...
, OSB (1730–1740) - Giuseppe Simone AssemaniGiuseppe Simone AssemaniGiuseppe Simone Assemani , 1687–1768, was a Lebanese Maronite orientalist.-Life:Giuseppe Simone Assemani was born on August 27, 1687 in Hasroun, Mount Lebanon. When very young he was sent to the Maronite College in Rome, and was transferred thence to the Vatican library. He was ordained priest on...
, (1740–1755) - Domenico Silvio PassioneiDomenico Silvio PassioneiDomenico Silvio Passionei was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.Born in Fossombrone near Urbino, Marche, he went to Rome in 1695, where he studied philosophy at the Collegio Clementino and law at the university La Sapienza...
(1755–1761) - Alessandro Albani (1761–1779)
- Luige Valente Gonzaga (1802–1808)
- Giuseppe Albani (23 April 1830 – 3 December 1834)
- Angelo MaiAngelo MaiAngelo Mai was an Italian Cardinal and philologist. He won a European reputation for publishing for the first time a series of previously unknown ancient texts. These he was able to discover and publish, first while in charge of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan and then in the same role at the...
(27 June 1853 – 9 September 1854) - Antonio TostiAntonio TostiAntonio Tosti was Catholic Cardinal-Priest of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome and later Camerlengo of the Sacred College of Cardinals and Librarian of the Vatican Library.-Cardinal-Priest:...
(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 EhrleFranz EhrleFranz Ehrle was a German Jesuit, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archivist of the Holy Roman Church, he was named cardinal during the consistory of 11 December 1922, given the titulus of San Cesareo in Palatio.-Early years and formation:Franz was the son of Franz Ehrle, a physician,...
(17 April 1929 – 31 March 1934) - Giovanni MercatiGiovanni MercatiGiovanni Mercati was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and Librarian of the Vatican Library from 1936 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1936.- Biography :Giovanni Mercati was born in Villa Gaida, Reggio...
(1936–1957) - Eugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent TisserantEugène-Gabriel-Gervais-Laurent TisserantEugène Tisserant was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Elevated to the cardinalate in 1936, Tisserant was a prominent and long-time member of the Roman Curia. He was also, for a time, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre...
(14 September 1957 – 27 March 1971) - Antonio Samore (25 January 1974 – 3 February 1983)
- Alfons Maria SticklerAlfons Maria SticklerAlfons Maria Stickler, SDB, JCD was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church from 1985 to 1988. Stickler was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985, and was the oldest member of the College of Cardinals...
(8 September 1983 – 1 July 1988) - Antonio María Javierre OrtasAntonio María Javierre OrtasAntonio María Javierre Ortas S.D.B. was a cardinal of the Catholic Church, and former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Vatican....
(1 July 1988 – 24 January 1992) - Luigi PoggiLuigi PoggiLuigi Poggi was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.-Early life:Born in Piacenza, Poggi did all his studies prior to priestly ordination in that city and was sent to Rome in 1944 primarily to study diplomacy at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy...
(9 April 1992 – 7 March 1998 ) - Jorge María MejíaJorge María MejíaJorge María Mejía is an Argentine Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is Archivist Emeritus of the Holy Roman Church and Librarian Emeritus of the Holy Roman Church.-Early life and ordination:...
(7 March 1998 – 24 November 2003) - Jean-Louis Tauran (24 November 2003 – 25 June 2007)
- Raffaele FarinaRaffaele FarinaRaffaele Farina, SDB is an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives, Librarian of the Vatican Library, and president of Scuola Vaticana di Paleografia, Diplomatica e Archivistica...
(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
Vatican Secret Archives
The Vatican Secret Archives , located in Vatican City, is the central repository for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having primal incumbency until death, owns the archives until the next appointed Papal successor...
since 1957.
See also
- Vatican Film LibraryVatican Film LibraryThe Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library in St. Louis, Missouri is the only collection, outside the Vatican itself, of microfilms of more than 37,000 works from the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the Vatican Library in Europe. It is located in the Pius XII Library on the campus of Saint Louis...
, which contains thousands of documents from the Vatican Library, on microfilm in St. Louis, Missouri - Vatican Secret ArchivesVatican Secret ArchivesThe Vatican Secret Archives , located in Vatican City, is the central repository for all of the acts promulgated by the Holy See. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having primal incumbency until death, owns the archives until the next appointed Papal successor...
External links
- Vatican Library home page
- Vatican Library old 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 CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. - 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 BoyleLeonard BoyleFather Leonard Eugene Boyle was an Irish and Canadian scholar in medieval studies and palaeography and was the first Irish and North American Prefect of the Vatican Library in Rome from 1984 to 1997....
OP Prefect of the Vatican Library) between the Vatican Library and IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, 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-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
. - Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library. Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis UniversitySaint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
library that focuses on the collection of the Vatican Library. - The Secret History of Art by Noah Charney on the Vatican Library and Procopius. An article by art historian Noah CharneyNoah CharneyNoah Charney is an American art historian and novelist. He is the author of The Art Thief, a mystery novel about a series of thefts from European museums and churches, and is the founder of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art.-Early life and education:Charney was born in New...
about the Vatican Library and its famous manuscript, Historia Arcana by ProcopiusProcopiusProcopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
.