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Gabriel Naudé (2 February 1600 – 10 July 1653) was a French
librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...
and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. In 1627, he published an influential book in the field of
library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...
called ''Advice on Establishing a Library''. Naudé was later able to put into practice all the ideas he had put forth in ''Advice'' when he was given the opportunity to build and maintain the
Bibliothèque Mazarine The , or Mazarin Library, is located within the Palais de l'institut de France, or the Palace of the Institute of France (previously the Collège des Quatre-Nations of the University of Paris), at 23 quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement, on t ...
, the library of Cardinal
Jules Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the Chief minister o ...
at Paris. Naudé was a precursor of
Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. He is best known for his '' Historical and Critical Dictionary'', whose publication began in 1697. Many of the more controversial ideas ...
and Fontenelle.


Biography

Naudé was born in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in early 1600 to a family of modest means. His father was a lowly official and his mother a young illiterate woman. He was described by his teachers as tenacious and passionate about his education. Naudé entered college at a young age where he studied philosophy and grammar. Later he studied medicine at Paris and
Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
(where he attended Cesare Cremonini's lessons), and became physician to
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
. At the age of twenty, Naudé published his first book ''Le Marfore ou Discours Contre les Lisbelles''. The work would bring him to the attention of Henri de Mesme, ''
président à mortier President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...
'' of the
Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
. Mesme offered Naudé the job of librarian to his personal collection. Mesmes had a large library for the period (about 8,000 volumes) and it was open to scholars who had the appropriate references. Naudé's service in Mesme's library would give him experience which he would use later to write the book ''Advice on Establishing a Library''. Naudé wrote ''Advice'' for Mesme as a guide for building and maintaining his library. In 1629 he became librarian to Cardinal Guidi di Bagno in Rome, and on Bagni's death in 1641 librarian to Cardinal Francesco Barberini. At the desire of
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
he began a controversy with the
Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
, denying
Jean Gerson Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Cou ...
's authorship of '' De Imitatione Christi''. Richelieu intended to make Naudé his librarian, and on his death Naudé accepted a similar offer from
Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...
. For the next ten years he devoted himself to bringing together from all parts of Europe the assemblage of books known as the ''
Bibliothèque Mazarine The , or Mazarin Library, is located within the Palais de l'institut de France, or the Palace of the Institute of France (previously the Collège des Quatre-Nations of the University of Paris), at 23 quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement, on t ...
''. Mazarin had brought with him to Paris a collection numbering over 5,000 volumes.''World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services'', 3rd Ed., s.v. "Gabriel Naude". Like Naudé, he believed in an open library to be used by the public for the public good. In 1642 he purchased a building to house his library and he instructed Naudé to build up the finest collection possible. The fastest way was to absorb entire libraries into the collection, advice that Naudé included in his book. Naudé plundered secondhand book sellers, and Mazarin instructed his ambassadors, government officials and generals to collect books for him. Naudé was able to travel Europe, and during one trip that lasted several months he collected more than 14,000 volumes. By 1648 the library had built up to an estimated at 40,000 volumes. It was open on a regular basis and had built up a sizable number (almost 100) of regular patrons, and several staff members to keep it functioning properly. It became the first in France to be open for all, without references. Mazarin's library was sold by the Parlement of Paris during the troubles of the
Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...
, and Queen Christina invited Naudé to
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. He was not happy in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, and on Mazarin's appeal that he should re-form his scattered library, Naudé returned at once. His health was broken, however, and he died on the return journey, in
Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...
on 10 July 1653. The friend of Gui Patin, of
Pierre Gassendi Pierre Gassendi (; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi, Petrus Gassendus; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he a ...
and all the liberal thinkers of his time, Naudé was no mere bookworm; his books show traces of the critical spirit which made him a worthy colleague of the humorists and scholars who prepared the way for the better known writers of the ''siècle de
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
''.


Career as a librarian

Naudé, in his career as a librarian, "opposed censorship, and encouraged library owners to allow others to use their books, a practice he considered a great honor for the owner – an honor equal to that of having the opportunity to build a fine library." Naudé found it favorable to collect original format of books and to keep the volumes collected intact. He was a true believer of considering the needs of those that would access them and felt strong consideration to be sought from the experts in each particular field. He was adamant about collecting in all languages, about all religions, subject matters, and literature. During his career in librarianship, Naudé helped instruct collectors and libraries in the selection and acquisition of their titles and how to create catalogs for their libraries. He was a major proponent of scouring secondhand bookshops and print shops for valuable and hard to find literary works. "When Naudé has been in town, the booksellers' shops seem devastated as by a whirlwind. Having bought up in every last one of them all the books, whether in manuscript or in print, dealing in any language whatever with any subject or division of learning no matter what, he has left the stores stripped and bare." Naudé also had interesting ideas on the locale where a library should be located. "While centrally located within the community it serves, a library should be at some distance from the noisiest streets. It should, if possible, be situated between some spacious court and a pleasant garden, from which it may enjoy good light, a wide and agreeable prospect, and pure air, unpolluted by marshes, sinks, or dunghills; the whole arrangement so well planned and ordered that it is compelled to share nothing unpleasant or obviously inconvenient." Probably the most famous library that Naudé helped shape, and in which he served as librarian, was the '' Bibliothéque Mazarine'' in Paris, the library of Cardinal Jules Mazarin in the rue de Richelieu. Naudé spent ten years of his life improving and shaping the ''Bibliothéque''. It became the first publicly accessible library in France because of Naudé's insistence and was open to the public as early as 1644. As a librarian and scholar, Naudé proposed "to direct a wealthy collector into paths of bibliothecarian righteousness" as a result of his belief that the current century had advanced far beyond their predecessors with regard to the quantity and quality of the information or resources that they had access to. Naudé's seminal work on library science, ''Advice on Establishing a Library'', served as an early instruction manual or guide for private collectors who were interested in the book acquisition and maintenance process. Naudé encouraged collectors (and fellow librarians) to organize their books meticulously by "their number and the range of their subject matter, the criteria of selection, and the means of procurement", in addition to the arrangement of the building(s) that book collections may be stored in and other potential methods of book cataloging. Naudé's knowledge and expertise left a lasting impact on both the library community and the world at large, with his influence guiding collectors, scholars, politicians, and religious leaders.


Artistic portrayals

Naudé is the subject of Peter Briscoe's novel, ''The Best Read Man in France.''


Works

Including works edited by him, a list of ninety-two pieces is given in the ''Naudaeana''. The principal ones are: *''Le Marfore, ou discours contre les libelles'' (Paris, 1620), very rare, reprinted 1868; *''Instruction à la France sur la vérité de l'histoire des Frères de la Roze-Croix'' (1623, 1624), displaying their impostures; *''Apologie pour tous les grands personages faussement soupçonnez de magie'' (1625, 1653, 1669, 1712),
Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (;  BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...
,
Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
,
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
Jerome Cardan and
Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
are among those defended; *''Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque'' (1627, 1644, 1676; translated by
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...
, 1661), full of sound and liberal views on librarianship and considered as a founding stone of
library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...
; *''Addition à l'histoire de Louys XI'' (1630), this includes an account of the origin of
printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...
; *''Bibliographia politica'' (Venice, 1633, etc.; in French, 1642); *''De studio liberali syntagma'' (1632, 1654), a practical treatise found in most collections of directions for studies; *''De studio militari syntagma'' (1637), esteemed in its day; *''Considérations politiques sur les coups d'état'' (1639). A disciple of Machiavelli, he considered that politics must be rendered "autonomous from morality, sovereign in relation to religion" A ''Bibliotheca Pontificia'' was completed and seen into print by Louis Jacob.


''Advice on establishing a library''

''Advice'', written as a set of instructions for a private collector, was based on Naudé's own experience and research. In the introduction to his book, Naudé wrote that he is not an expert in the field of librarianship but he presented what he believed to be the most important ideas. He based some of the opinions in ''Advice'' on his own experience in Mesme's library, and wrote out for Mesme the accepted practices and principles of librarians of the time. Chapters each covered topics such as number of books, selecting the books, procuring the books, and so forth. Naudé's first chapter poses the question, "Why establish a library?" He answered the question with a simple message; there is no greater honor than building a great library and sharing it with the public. Naudé believed libraries should model themselves after the best libraries of the world. The first task is to create a plan. Before a person can erect a library, he must educate himself on the subject of collecting and organizing books. A person must also seek the guidance of those who have already built their own libraries or are in the process. He suggested studying and copying the catalogues of other libraries. Naudé devoted an entire chapter to book selection, remarked upon throughout. The first authors who need to be purchased are those considered experts in their respective fields. Regardless whether they are ancient or modern works, if a book were held in high regard by practitioners of a particular field then it should be present in any collection. In addition, any well known interpretations or commentaries that exist are a necessity. Naudé suggested purchasing books in the original languages because meaning can often be lost in translation. He stood strongly against censorship of any kind. Naudé believed that every book has a reader regardless of the subject, and that information should be free and available. Readers could always find use of a book, even if that use were to refute the ideas presented on its pages. Certain books are popular at times but later forgotten: he argued that it would be beneficial to a library if there were multiple copies of these books to accommodate the popular tastes of the times. In his chapter on book acquisition, Naudé offered concise tips. The easiest way is to purchase another library in its entirety. Naudé went on to praise secondhand book sellers who often provided good books at cheap prices. Naudé himself browsed book-binding and printing shops for used paper, and once had discovered a rare manuscript that a book binder was using as scrap paper. Naudé included a chapter in ''Advice'' for arranging the books. In discussing arrangement he quoted
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
's ''
De Oratore ''De Oratore'' (''On the Orator'') is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BC. It is set in 91 BC, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the Social War and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, during which Marcus Antonius, the oth ...
'': "It is order that gives light to memory" (from De Oratore 2.353). He gave instructions that he considered logical. His subject headings included theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, medicine, history, mathematics and humanities. Naudé would add other subject headings in later years, but these categories best represented the known body of knowledge in the world. Each section, he said, should be divided into subheadings and begin with the principal authors followed by the commentaries. Translated into many different languages (including English, German, Danish, Italian, and Modern Greek) and boasting at least 37 different editions, this book is widely regarded as a foundational text for the study of Library Science and Naudé's seminal work.


See also

* Marie de Gournay


Notes


Original source

*


Further reading

* Gabriel Naudé (1627; 1644, 2nd edition, reprinted 1876). ''Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque'' (Advice on Establishing a Library). Paris: Isidore Liseux (2nd ed. reprint). Copie
1

2
at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
. * Gabriel Naudé (1950). ''Advice on Establishing a Library'' (translation of ''Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque''). Berkeley: University of California Press. . Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press (1976 reprint). . * Jackson, Sidney L. (1969). "Gabriel Naude: 'Most Erudite and Most Zealous for the Common Good'." ''Stechert-Hafner Book News'' 23 (5 January 1969) *Nelles, P. (1997) ‘The library as an instrument of discovery: Gabriel Naudé and the uses of history’, in Kelley, D. R. (ed.), ''History and the disciplines: the reclassification of knowledge in early modern Europe'' (Rochester, NY, 1997). * Rice, James V. (1939). ''Gabriel Naudé'', 1600–1653 Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. * Rovelstad, Mathilde V. (2000). "Two Seventeenth-Century Library Handbooks, Two Different Library Theories." ''Libraries & Culture'', 35(4). 540–556.


External links


Biography
of the
Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

''Gabriel Naudé: Symbols, Representations and Rituals in the Coup d'État'' by Joseph Parada F.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naude, Gabriel 1600 births 1653 deaths University of Paris alumni University of Padua alumni Librarians from Paris Occult writers Writers from Paris