The Institución Colombina, situated in
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, is the modern-day administrative branch that comprises the ''Biblioteca Capitular'', the ''Biblioteca Colombina'', the ''Cathedral Archives'' (el Archivo de la Catedral), ''Library of the Archbishopric'' (la Biblioteca del Arzobispado) and the ''General Archive of the Archbishopric'' (el Archivo General del Arzobispado). The ''Biblioteca Capitular'' and the ''Biblioteca Colombina'' are private libraries and are not supported financially by the
Spanish government
gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua
, image =
, caption = Logo of the Government of Spain
, headerstyle = background-color: #efefef
, label1 = Role
, data1 = Executive power
, label2 = Established
, da ...
, but by the Fundación Cristóbal Colón and the Institución Colombina.
[Parallel Histories: About The Biblioteca Colombina y Capitular of Seville / Historias Paralelas: La Biblioteca Colombina y Capitular de Sevilla](_blank)
/ref>
Biblioteca Colombina
The ''Biblioteca Colombina'' is situated on the east side of the Patio de los Naranjos. It was enriched by a bequest from Fernando Colón
Ferdinand Columbus (Spanish: ''Fernando Colón'' also ''Hernando'', Portuguese: ''Fernando Colombo'', Italian: ''Fernando Colombo''; c. 24 August 1488 – 12 July 1539) was a Spanish bibliographer and cosmographer, the second son of Christopher C ...
. The library contains incunabula
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
and rare works on the discovery of America. It contains manuscripts written by Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
himself.
History of the Biblioteca Colombina
As an adult, Fernando was known as a scholar. He had a generous income from his father's New World demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
, and used a sizable fraction of it to buy books, eventually amassing a personal library of over 15,000 volumes. This library was patronized by educated people in Spain and elsewhere, including the Dutch philosopher Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
.
Apart from its size, the library was unique in several ways. First, Fernando personally noted each and every book that he or his associates acquired by listing the date of purchase, the location and how much was paid. Secondly, he sought to take advantage of a recent technological development by devoting the bulk of his purchases to printed books instead of manuscripts. As a result, the library acquired a sizable number (currently 1,194 titles) of incunabula (singular: incunabulum
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
) or books printed between the years 1453-1500. Third, he employed full-time librarians who, as the scholar Klaus Wagner
Klaus Wagner (March 31, 1910 – February 6, 2000) was a German mathematician known for his contributions to graph theory.
Education and career
Wagner studied topology at the University of Cologne under the supervision of who had been a student ...
noted, were required to live on the premise in order to ensure that their top priority would be the library itself. After his father's death, Fernando inherited Columbus' personal library, and what remains of these volumes contains much valuable information on Columbus, his interests, and his explorations.
Provisions were made in his will to ensure that the library would be maintained after his death, specifically that the collection would not be sold and that more books would be purchased. Despite this precaution, the ownership of the library was contested for several decades after Fernando's death until it passed into the hands of the Cathedral in Seville, Spain.
During this time of disputed ownership, the size of the library was reduced to about 7,000 titles. However the library, renamed the Biblioteca Colombina, has been well maintained by the Cathedral and today it is accessible for consultation by scholars, students and bibliophiles alike.''La Biblioteca Colombina''
, accessed 04/06/2007
Biblioteca Capitular
The Biblioteca Capitular was founded after Seville was conquered in 1248 by
Fernando III of Castile
Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of ...
. Alfonso donated part of his personal library to the cathedral; this was the start of this library.
References
External links
Institución Colombina
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institucion Colombina
Libraries in Seville