Edmunds, John Boston by name--possibly the librarian
of that house--expanded the register by increasing to
nearly seven hundred the number of authors, and by adding
a score of names to the list of libraries. He also provided
a short biographical sketch of each author "drawn from
the best sources at his disposal; so that the book in its
completed form might claim to be called a dictionary of
literature."[2]
[1] MS. Bodl. Tanner, 165.
[2] Camb. MKod. Hist., i. 592; James, xlix.
Section III
We would fain fill in the outline we have given, for the
friars and their book-loving ways are interesting. But
enough has been written to show the origin and growth of
libraries among the religious both of the abbeys and the
friaries. Of the later days of monachism it is not so
pleasant to write. The story has been well told many
times, but no two writers, even in a broad and general way,
let alone in detail, have read the facts alike. On the one
hand it is urged that monachism became degenerate, both
in reverence for spiritual affairs and in love of learning.
Many monks, we are told, came to find more enjoyment in
easy living than in ascetic and religious observances.
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