Medieval Chained Libraries

“In the Middle Ages, books were very expensive. They were made from vellum, special animal skins, that was much more expensive to make than paper is today. Also, books were hand copied by scribes. The best books were done only by the master scribes, who had years of training. So books were made carefully and painstakingly, not mass produced like they are today. Typically they were owned only by the very wealthy.

So, for universities (where most Medieval libraries were located) who wanted to make books available to students but minimize the risk of theft… chained libraries were the solution!

Each book would have an iron loop attached to it so it could be chained to the bookcase. The chain would be long enough to reach to a nearby table for study, but no further. Some libraries even had chains over the bookcases, locking the books in tight for extra security. So a librarian with keys was needed to access the shelves.

The library pictured is the chained library inside of Hereford Cathedral, England”

by ThatGurl at Bubblews.