Bibliomania in the Middle Ages | Page 4

to
project over the covers; or by the insertion in the covers of stout leather
strings with which the two covers were tied together. Ornamentation
was entirely neglected, for a book of this character was made for use
and not for show. These methods of binding were mostly applied to
small books intended for the pocket; the workmanship was rough, but
the binding was strong and serviceable."
The book of Mr. Merryweather, here reprinted, is thought worthy of
preservation in a series designed for the library of the booklover. Its
publication followed shortly after that of the works of Digby and
Maitland, but shows much original research and familiarity with early
authorities; and it is much more than either of these, or of any book
with which we are acquainted, a plea in defense of bibliomania in the
middle ages. Indeed the charm of the book may be said to rest largely
upon the earnestness with which he takes up his self-imposed task. One
may fancy that after all he found it not an easy one; in fact his
"Conclusion" is a kind of apology for not having made out a better case.
But this he believes he has proven, "that with all their superstition, with
all their ignorance, their blindness to philosophic light--the monks of
old were hearty lovers of books; that they encouraged learning, fostered

it, and transcribed repeatedly the books which they had rescued from
the destruction of war and time; and so kindly cherished and husbanded
them as intellectual food for posterity. Such being the case, let our
hearts look charitably upon them; and whilst we pity them for their
superstition, or blame them for their pious frauds, love them as brother
men and workers in the mines of literature."
Of the author himself little can be learned. A diligent search revealed
little more than the entry in the London directory which, in various
years from 1840 to 1850, gives his occupation as that of bookseller, at
14 King Street, Holborn. Indeed this is shown by the imprint of the
title-page of Bibliomania, which was published in 1849. He published
during the same year Dies Dominicæ, and in 1850 Glimmerings in the
Dark, and Lives and Anecdotes of Misers. The latter has been
immortalized by Charles Dickens as one of the books bought at the
bookseller's shop by Boffin, the Golden Dustman, and which was read
to him by the redoubtable Silas Wegg during Sunday evenings at
"Boffin's Bower."[6]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Hallam, Henry. "Introduction to the Literature of Europe." 4 vols.
London.
[2] Digby, Kenelm. "Mores Catholici; or Ages of Faith." 3 vols.
London, 1848.
[3] Maitland, S. R. "The Dark Ages; a Series of Essays Intended to
Illustrate the State of Religion and Literature in the Ninth, Tenth,
Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries." London, 1845.
[4] Putnam, George Haven. "Books and their Makers during the Middle
Ages; a Study of the Conditions of the Production and Distribution of
Literature from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Close of the
Seventeenth Century."
[5] Lacroix, Paul. "Arts of the Middle Ages." Our author, however
(vide page 58, note), quotes the accounts of the Church of Norwich to

show that parchments sold late in the thirteenth century at about 1 d.
per sheet; but Putnam and other writers state that up to that time it was
a very costly commodity.
[6] Dickens's Mutual Friend.
CHAPTER I.
Introductory Remarks--Monachism--Book Destroyers--Effects of the
Reformation on Monkish Learning, etc.
In recent times, in spite of all those outcries which have been so
repeatedly raised against the illiterate state of the dark ages, many and
valuable efforts have been made towards a just elucidation of those
monkish days. These labors have produced evidence of what few
anticipated, and some even now deny, viz., that here and there great
glimmerings of learning are perceivable; and although debased, and
often barbarous too, they were not quite so bad as historians have
usually proclaimed them. It may surprise some, however, that an
attempt should be made to prove that, in the olden time in "merrie
Englande," a passion which Dibdin has christened Bibliomania, existed
then, and that there were many cloistered bibliophiles as warm and
enthusiastic in book collecting as the Doctor himself. But I must here
crave the patience of the reader, and ask him to refrain from
denouncing what he may deem a rash and futile attempt, till he has
perused the volume and thought well upon the many facts contained
therein. I am aware that many of these facts are known to all, but some,
I believe, are familiar only to the antiquary--the lover of musty
parchments and the cobwebbed chronicles of a monastic age. I have
endeavored to bring these facts together--to connect and string them
into a continuous narrative, and to