The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King

Author:Ross King
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grove Atlantic

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Besides refuting the pugnacious George of Trebizond, Cardinal Bessarion had also been eager, as he put it, to “gather and preserve almost all the works of the Greek wise men.”8 For fifteen years his manuscript hunters had been scouring the occupied or endangered lands of the East in search of these works. No expense was spared, and reports of Bessarion’s spending vary from 15,000 to 30,000 ducats. By 1468 his library encompassed 746 manuscripts, of which 482 were in Greek—the largest and finest collection of Greek literature in Europe at the time.9 But having reached his late sixties, Bessarion was forced to consider what should become of these treasures following his death. Florence would have been a natural beneficiary given its many scholars with their devotion to Greek letters, as well as its public library and sympathetic patrons such as the Medici. Likewise, the Vatican Library in Rome might have made a worthy repository due to the presence of the three printers, especially Sweynheym and Pannartz. Their campaign to print the classics would have ensured that in time the manuscripts were turned into printed books and widely disseminated, thus ensuring their survival.

But Cardinal Bessarion chose neither, instead selecting Venice and donating his manuscripts to the Basilica of San Marco. He made his choice not because of the caliber of Venice’s scholars (in the 1460s the republic was still an intellectual hinterland compared to Florence, Rome, and Naples) but rather for its geographical position between East and West and, perhaps most important, for what he regarded as its political stability. He was also, as Vespasiano pointed out, “on the friendliest of terms with the Venetians.”10 Bessarion was evidently undeterred by the fate of Petrarch’s collection, the remains of which, a century after his bequest, were, despite various promises from the Venetian government of a purpose-built library, decaying and crumbling in a neglected chamber under the roof of San Marco.

In May 1468 Bessarion wrote a letter to the doge, Cristoforo Moro, justifying his gift with an eloquent plea for learning. He pointed out that “there is no more worthy or honorable possession, no more dignified and valuable treasure,” than a book. “They live, they converse and speak with us, they teach us, educate us, console us,” he wrote. Books bring the past to life and place it before our eyes, they offer examples to emulate, they tell us of things both human and divine. Without them, he wrote, we are rendered “barbarous and unlettered.” After referring to “the fall of Greece and the pitiful capture of Byzantium” he described how, having gathered these works together, he now wished to ensure that “they would never be scattered about or lost ever again.”11 In keeping with his humanist beliefs, Bessarion insisted that these manuscripts should be—like those in the library of San Marco in Florence—accessible to the public, with the constant presence of two custodians to safeguard them.

The Venetian Senate graciously accepted this bequest, promising to lodge the books in a part of the ducal palace to be called the “Library of San Marco.

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