Long before e-readers and book clubs, a medieval bishop named Richard de Bury celebrated the magic of books. In his Philobiblon, he revealed why these “vessels of reason” deserve our love and care—insights that still speak to book lovers today.
Richard de Bury wasn’t just a bishop or royal tutor—he was one of the Middle Ages’ most devoted bibliophiles. In 1344, near the end of his life, he wrote Philobiblon, a lively reflection on the joy of collecting books, their priceless value, and the care they deserve. Centuries before public libraries and mass printing, he saw books as guardians of wisdom and companions in both fortune and hardship. His words still capture the thrill and reverence that many readers feel today.
Books Keep the Past Alive
Depictions of women reading from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum – British Library MS Kings 9 fol. 55v
For Richard, books were more than ink and parchment—they carried the voices of the dead and the memory of human achievement:
“In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace. All things are corrupted and decay in time; Saturn ceases not to devour the children that he generates; all the glory of the world would be buried in oblivion, unless God had provided mortals with the remedy of books.”
Books, he believed, were the reason knowledge endured even as empires rose and fell.
Priceless Wisdom Is Worth the Price
Manuscripts in the 14th century were expensive luxuries, but Richard believed no cost was too great for wisdom:
“No dearness of price ought to hinder a man from the buying of books, if he has the money that is demanded for them, unless it be to withstand the malice of the seller or to await a more favourable opportunity of buying. For if it is wisdom only that makes the price of books, which is an infinite treasure to mankind, and if the value of books is unspeakable, as the premises show, how shall the bargain be shown to be dear where an infinite good is being bought?”
For him, a book was not a commodity but a treasure that enriched the soul.
When Wars Threaten Words
Richard mourned the destruction that conflict brought to libraries and learning:
“Almighty Author and Lover of peace, scatter the nations that delight in war, which is above all plagues injurious to books. For wars being without the control of reason make a wild assault on everything they come across, and, lacking the check of reason they push on without discretion or distinction to destroy the vessels of reason.”
His words remind us how fragile the written record can be in times of upheaval.
The Thrill of the Hunt for Manuscripts
British Library MS Kings 9 fol. 60v
A true collector at heart, Richard confessed to valuing books above wealth or prestige:
“Indeed, if we had loved gold and silver goblets, high-bred horses, or no small sums of money, we might in those days have furnished forth a rich treasury. But in truth we wanted manuscripts not moneyscripts; we loved codices more than florins, and preferred slender pamphlets to pampered palfreys.”
He worked tirelessly to secure manuscripts within England along with further countries like France, Germany, and Italy—spending freely to acquire new volumes:
“…money flying forth in abundance to anticipate their demands; nor were they hindered by any distance or by the fury of the seas… from sending or bringing to us the books that we required.”
Learning Depends on Every Word
Richard recognised that even small misunderstandings could block the path to knowledge:
“While we were constantly delighting ourselves with the reading of books, which it was our custom to read or have read to us every day, we noticed plainly how much the defective knowledge even of a single word hinders the understanding… Wherefore we ordered the meanings of foreign words to be noted with particular care, and studied the orthography, prosody, etymology, and syntax in ancient grammarians with unrelaxing carefulness, and took pains to elucidate terms that had grown too obscure by age with suitable explanations, in order to make a smooth path for our students.”
For him, language study was not a dry exercise but a key to unlocking all other learning.
Books as Lifelong Companions
British Library MS Kings 9 fol. 62v
Books, he wrote, stood by their owners through both joy and hardship:
“Books delight us, when prosperity smiles upon us; they comfort us inseparably when stormy fortune frowns on us. They lend validity to human compacts, and no serious judgments are propounded without their help.”
Richard marvelled at their power to let readers explore the earth, the seas, and even the depths of time:
“By the aid of books we remember things that are past, and even prophesy as to the future; and things present, which shift and flow, we perpetuate by committing them to writing.”
Handle with Care
Richard also urged meticulous care for these precious companions:
“Whenever defects are noticed in books, they should be promptly repaired, since nothing spreads more quickly than a tear and a rent which is neglected at the time will have to be repaired afterwards with usury.”
Richard de Bury’s words reveal a love of learning that transcends centuries. His Philobiblon reminds us that books—whether hand-copied manuscripts or modern paperbacks—are vessels of wisdom, guardians of memory, and friends that endure beyond fortune and war.
These excerpts are from The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury, edited and translated by Ernest Chester Thomas (1888). You can read it online via Archive.org.
Seal of Bishop Richard de Bury – Wikimedia Commons
Long before e-readers and book clubs, a medieval bishop named Richard de Bury celebrated the magic of books. In his Philobiblon, he revealed why these “vessels of reason” deserve our love and care—insights that still speak to book lovers today.
Richard de Bury wasn’t just a bishop or royal tutor—he was one of the Middle Ages’ most devoted bibliophiles. In 1344, near the end of his life, he wrote Philobiblon, a lively reflection on the joy of collecting books, their priceless value, and the care they deserve. Centuries before public libraries and mass printing, he saw books as guardians of wisdom and companions in both fortune and hardship. His words still capture the thrill and reverence that many readers feel today.
Books Keep the Past Alive
For Richard, books were more than ink and parchment—they carried the voices of the dead and the memory of human achievement:
“In books I find the dead as if they were alive; in books I foresee things to come; in books warlike affairs are set forth; from books come forth the laws of peace. All things are corrupted and decay in time; Saturn ceases not to devour the children that he generates; all the glory of the world would be buried in oblivion, unless God had provided mortals with the remedy of books.”
Books, he believed, were the reason knowledge endured even as empires rose and fell.
Priceless Wisdom Is Worth the Price
Manuscripts in the 14th century were expensive luxuries, but Richard believed no cost was too great for wisdom:
“No dearness of price ought to hinder a man from the buying of books, if he has the money that is demanded for them, unless it be to withstand the malice of the seller or to await a more favourable opportunity of buying. For if it is wisdom only that makes the price of books, which is an infinite treasure to mankind, and if the value of books is unspeakable, as the premises show, how shall the bargain be shown to be dear where an infinite good is being bought?”
For him, a book was not a commodity but a treasure that enriched the soul.
When Wars Threaten Words
Richard mourned the destruction that conflict brought to libraries and learning:
“Almighty Author and Lover of peace, scatter the nations that delight in war, which is above all plagues injurious to books. For wars being without the control of reason make a wild assault on everything they come across, and, lacking the check of reason they push on without discretion or distinction to destroy the vessels of reason.”
His words remind us how fragile the written record can be in times of upheaval.
The Thrill of the Hunt for Manuscripts
A true collector at heart, Richard confessed to valuing books above wealth or prestige:
“Indeed, if we had loved gold and silver goblets, high-bred horses, or no small sums of money, we might in those days have furnished forth a rich treasury. But in truth we wanted manuscripts not moneyscripts; we loved codices more than florins, and preferred slender pamphlets to pampered palfreys.”
He worked tirelessly to secure manuscripts within England along with further countries like France, Germany, and Italy—spending freely to acquire new volumes:
“…money flying forth in abundance to anticipate their demands; nor were they hindered by any distance or by the fury of the seas… from sending or bringing to us the books that we required.”
Learning Depends on Every Word
Richard recognised that even small misunderstandings could block the path to knowledge:
“While we were constantly delighting ourselves with the reading of books, which it was our custom to read or have read to us every day, we noticed plainly how much the defective knowledge even of a single word hinders the understanding… Wherefore we ordered the meanings of foreign words to be noted with particular care, and studied the orthography, prosody, etymology, and syntax in ancient grammarians with unrelaxing carefulness, and took pains to elucidate terms that had grown too obscure by age with suitable explanations, in order to make a smooth path for our students.”
For him, language study was not a dry exercise but a key to unlocking all other learning.
Books as Lifelong Companions
Books, he wrote, stood by their owners through both joy and hardship:
“Books delight us, when prosperity smiles upon us; they comfort us inseparably when stormy fortune frowns on us. They lend validity to human compacts, and no serious judgments are propounded without their help.”
Richard marvelled at their power to let readers explore the earth, the seas, and even the depths of time:
“By the aid of books we remember things that are past, and even prophesy as to the future; and things present, which shift and flow, we perpetuate by committing them to writing.”
Handle with Care
Richard also urged meticulous care for these precious companions:
“Whenever defects are noticed in books, they should be promptly repaired, since nothing spreads more quickly than a tear and a rent which is neglected at the time will have to be repaired afterwards with usury.”
Richard de Bury’s words reveal a love of learning that transcends centuries. His Philobiblon reminds us that books—whether hand-copied manuscripts or modern paperbacks—are vessels of wisdom, guardians of memory, and friends that endure beyond fortune and war.
These excerpts are from The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury, edited and translated by Ernest Chester Thomas (1888). You can read it online via Archive.org.
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