The Great Libraries: From Antiquity to the Renaissance (3000 B.C. to A.D. 1600)Beginning with the clay-tablet libraries of the ancient Sumerian and Assyro-Babylonian empires, to those inspired by the Italian Renaissance, Mr. Staikos reveals the majesty of western literature within these great depositories of human knowledge. Using over 400 illustrations [200 in full color] the reader is treated to hundreds of beautifully photographed interiors of these legendary libraries and their rare treasures. Chapter by chapter the stories of the fabled libraries of Alexandria, Greece and Rome unfold like an unbroken chain, connecting the wisdom of the ancients to the magnificent libraries of the European Renaissance. The author also shares with us the very personal stories of the founders and the unsung librarians, who struggled during wars and countless disasters to preserve and protect their precious holdings. The chapters on the contributions of the Byzantine and Greek monastic libraries, the foundation of the Western Renaissance, are especially revealing. Mr. Staikos' original scholarship and well-written prose makes a very readable work of surprising originality. He has created a literary masterpiece that captures the rich heritage of one of man's greatest achievements. This is a very special, large format volume no bibliophile will want to be without. Co-published with The British Library. - Publisher. |
Contents
CHAPTER ONE THE PEOPLES OF MESOPOTAMIA 317 | 3 |
CHAPTER TWO EGYPT 1927 | 19 |
CHAPTER THREE THE HELLENIC WORLD 2955 | 29 |
Copyright | |
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Other editions - View all
The Great Libraries: From Antiquity to the Renaissance (3000 B.C. to A.D. 1600) K. Staikos No preview available - 2000 |
Common terms and phrases
Abbey Abbot Aldus Aldus Manutius ancient architectural archives Aristotle Aristotle's Athens Beatus Rhenanus Bessarion Biblioteca Biblioteca Marciana Bibliothèque Byzantine catalogue centre century B.C. Cesena CHAPTER 9 Byzantium Charta Christian Church Cicero classical codex codices collection Constantinople Constantius II copies copyists Corvinian Library court death Demetrius Diogenes Laertius early edition Egypt Egyptian Emperor Empire Engraving Florence Gall Giovanni Greek books Greek manuscripts Herzog August Library humanist illuminated imperial intellectual Ioannes Italian Italy Johannes King known Laskaris Latin literature letter librarian Library of Alexandria literary Medici monasteries monastic libraries monks Museum Niccolò Oxford papyrus papyrus rolls parchment Paris Patmos Patriarchal Library Pergamum philosophical Photios Plato Pope printed printers private libraries Ptolemy public library published pupils reign Renaissance Rome scholars scribes script scriptorium Sélestat Strahov tablets teacher tion tradition translation Venice writings written wrote καί τῆς τοῦ τῶν