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Title: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury

Author: Richard de Bury

Translator: E. C. Thomas

Posting Date: July 26, 2008 [EBook #626]
Release Date: August, 1996

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHILOBIBLON OF RICHARD DE BURY ***

Produced by Charles Keller. HTML version by Al Haines.

THE LOVE OF BOOKS

THE PHILOBIBLON OF RICHARD DE BURY

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

BY

E. C. THOMAS

"TAKE THOU A BOOK INTO THINE HANDS AS SIMON THE JUST TOOK THE CHILD
JESUS INTO HIS ARMS TO CARRY HIM AND KISS HIM. AND WHEN THOU HAST
FINISHED READING, CLOSE THE BOOK AND GIVE THANKS FOR EVERY WORD OUT OF
THE MOUTH OF GOD; BECAUSE IN THE LORD'S FIELD THOU HAST FOUND A HIDDEN
TREASURE."

THOMAS A KEMPIS: Doctrinale Juvenum

PREFACE

The Author of the Book.

Richard de Bury (1281-1345), so called from being born near Bury St.
Edmunds, was the son of Sir Richard Aungerville. He studied at Oxford;
and was subsequently chosen to be tutor to Prince Edward of Windsor,
afterwards Edward III. His loyalty to the cause of Queen Isabella and
the Prince involved him in danger. On the accession of his pupil he
was made successively Cofferer, Treasurer of the Wardrobe, Archdeacon
of Northampton, Prebendary of Lincoln, Sarum, and Lichfield, Keeper of
the Privy Purse, Ambassador on two occasions to Pope John XXII, who
appointed him a chaplain of the papal chapel, Dean of Wells, and
ultimately, at the end of the year 1333, Bishop of Durham; the King and
Queen, the King of Scots, and all the magnates north of the Trent,
together with a multitude of nobles and many others, were present at
his enthronization. It is noteworthy that during his stay at Avignon,
probably in 1330, he made the acquaintance of Petrarch, who has left us
a brief account of their intercourse. In 1332 Richard visited
Cambridge, as one of the King's commissioners, to inquire into the
state of the King's Scholars there, and perhaps then became a member of
the Gild of St. Mary--one of the two gilds which founded Corpus Christi
College.

In 133