Hereford Cathedral's Mappa Mundi and the Chained Book Library, 2009

Among Hereford cathedral's most important and unique treasures are the 13th century Mappa Mundi (map of the world) and its two chained libraries. World maps are not unusual, but 13th century Christian maps are. This one is about a meter square, on vellum, in one hand. Pictured here is a replica (photography not allowed), but you can see the original on the web by appropriately googling (mappa mundi hereford would do). As with everything else in the European middle ages, the map liberally mixes theology with whatever else is under discussion, in this case, geography. Shelve under fiction.

In Medieval times, a book was as valuable as a farm or house (!!!), yet much more removable and portable and thus vulnerable to theft. The medieval answer to this problem was the so-called chained library, in which all the books are chained individually to a central rod, one on every shelf of the bookcase. Most other chained libraries have disappeared, but Hereford's was in use well into the 18th century. Vicki commends this approach to all former fellow librarians concerned about library theft. Confronted with theft in her own libraries, she always found consolation in the thought that "well, they might be reading them."  Myself, I am reminded that, at SMU, where the central libraries once reported to me, the highest theft rates were always in the law and theology libraries.

Mappa Mundi replica

Books in chains