Renaissance library collections—their formation, use, and dispersal—reflected the vagaries of Renaissance cultural history. From the great manuscript collection of the dukes of Milan (taken as war spoils to France) to ancient Greek texts in the French royal library printed from freshly designed type, libraries preserved literary masterpieces important to Renaissance readers. These included not only new writing, but also newly edited texts of classical literature that influenced Renaissance authors. The earliest Renaissance libraries of any significance for literature were those of humanistic scholars, beginning with the collection of Francesco Petrarch. Cardinal Bessarion’s (1403-72) collection contained more than 1,000 volumes, most of them Greek manuscripts. Another major humanistic library was that of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-94), which included manuscripts of contemporary literature. Court libraries were symbols of prestige and patronage during the 15th century, for example, those of Naples, Urbino, Mantua, Ferrara, and Milan. in Germany, the outstanding ducal libraries were those in Munich and Wolfenbuttel. The Imperial library in Vienna, rich in Burgundian illuminated manuscripts acquired as dowry, was only beginning to become accessible to readers by the latter 16th century. University and other institutional libraries, often available only to students and faculty, began to open their doors to the educated public toward the close of the 16th century. The Bodleian Library at Oxford, for example, was accessible as of 1602. Private libraries, as one might imagine, tended to focus on the professional interests of the owners. The subjects usually collected were law, medicine, natural history, and technical treatises, rather than literature per se.
World History
