Singuli in singulis libris legentes

Abstract

The remains of medieval libraries in the 153 Cistercian abbeys of the Iberian Peninsula make it possible to assessing how exegesis was received and produced. The proportion of books belonging to the exegetical genre seems to follow the general norm for monks in male abbeys, however is inferior for nuns in female abbeys. Carolingian authors were not to be found frequently, unlike Beatus of Liébana. Texts related to university teaching were often present, however, strangely not the usual Cistercian authors, with the exception of Bernard of Clairvaux. To familiarize themselves with exegesis, Cistercian monks had opportunities other than the daily moments of individual reading, and they kept themselves informed on the evolution of its practice in the universities. There was no specific Cistercian production of exegetical texts before the very end of the 15th c. and a short essay by the monk of Alcobaça João Claro.

Keywords

• Cistercians
• exegesis
• Iberian Peninsula
• libraries
• manuscripts
• reading