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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

801–900

The Ninth Century

1 work

c. 810–820

Latin

The Crown of Monks

Diadema Monachorum

Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel · d. c. 840

A hundred short chapters on the virtues, arranged for reading aloud one each evening before the monks retire.

Western Monastic · AnthologyRead elsewhere

1101–1200

The Twelfth Century

2 works

c. 1125–1130

Latin

The Didascalicon

Hugh of Saint Victor · c. 1096–1141

What to read and in what order, dividing all knowledge into theoretical, practical, mechanical, and logical, and insisting the mechanical arts belong in the scheme.

Victorine · EducationRead elsewhere

c. 1150–1173

Latin

The Ladder of Monks

Scala Claustralium

Guigo II · d. 1188

Four rungs — reading, meditation, prayer, contemplation — described with a domestic image: reading puts food in the mouth, meditation chews it, prayer finds the flavour.

Western Monastic · DevotionalRead elsewhere