Seite 13 [13]
The Biblotheca Corvina amongst the
contemporary collections
Why is the Bibliotheca Corvina special? 2008 was deemed the Renaissance Year in
Hungary, and at numerous events tied to this distinction it was mentioned count¬
less times that it is the greatest or the second greatest library of that period, with
scholars estimating the collection to be 2000-2500 items.!
‘The first question that comes to mind is which library should it be compared
to. If we ask about the known libraries in China during the Ming dynasty (1368—
1644) we shall hear of improbably large collections.’
It is similar to many libraries that are known in the Arabic world; one of the
most famous ones is the learning centre and library established in Timbuktu dur¬
ing the Mali Empire, which flourished during the Songhai Empire (1464-1492),
during the same time Matthias Corvinus was king (1458-1490).
None in the Hungarian Kingdom likely knew about it, but probably the book
collections of Mehmet II (1444-1446 and 1451-1481) and Bajazid II (1481-1512)
were familiar to them. The inventory of the so-called inner library of the Sultan’s
Palace is preserved in the Oriental Collection of the Library of the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences.* Thanks to the previously referenced analysis we now know
the detailed history of the 15'"-16"-century sultans’ libraries. In order to show
a comparison, since it might be lesser known than the libraries of the Western
Christian sovereigns, within this small aside I will introduce this bibliotheca.
Similarly to many kings who ruled the Christian cultural sphere or even the Pope
himself, there were Ottoman emperors who also sought to collect all the knowl¬
edge of the known world.
‘The collection was designated "the treasury of knowledge”, foreshadowing to¬
day’s popular movement to call libraries “knowledge hubs”. The other conventional
expression was “the armoury of wisdom”. Oriental scholars also frequently warned
against the vanity of unread books. Too many collected but unread, unused books
are really just the lack of wisdom, when the quantity and not the quality interests
the collector.* In Baghdad, the Persian Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur (819-893), a librar¬
ian and writer, proposed a “world” biobibliography as a general book of authors,
Ibn al-Nadim (+995/998) bibliographer of Baghdad followed suit by complied a
1 LoMEIER 1669, 188.; LOMEIER 1680, 204.; Lometer 1705, 157. He mentions 50,000 books, which is
obviously a figment of his imagination. We could not find his source, for although he refers to Angelo
Poliziano (1454-1494) (PoLızıano 1536, 258-262), his letter does not include this number.
Cr. Ferenczy, ed., A Tiz Bambusz Csarnoka, 2003; Tokaji Zs. 2013.
Touari 2003.
NeEc1Po&LU-KAFADAR-FLEISCHER, eds., Treasures of Knowledge, 2019.
AL-JAHIZ (776-868), Kitab al-Hayawan, I, 61; al-Mas ûdi (896-956), Prairies d'Or, II, 374.
UR &w D
11