In 1533, Humanist Scholar and Classical Poet, John Leland serving as one, of two Chaplains, to King Henry VIII, was commissioned to compile a list of the most notable books contained within all the religious houses and colleges of England in anticipation of the dissolution of the monasteries.
Henry believed these titles would serve as testament to the fact that Britain’s past extended far back to a time well before the Papal Authority, and could therefore be used to support his argument for becoming head of the Church. Britain had existed without a papal connection before and would do so again.
Leland, eager to carry out his duties in support of this new Protestant vision, set off on an extensive tour of Britain’s libraries, listing the titles of works he personally considered the most important and providing us with an account of works that did not survive the Reformation, alongside details of where they were housed. Many of these works were not just religious in nature but spanned across many branches of human knowledge including Science, Mathematics, History, Astronomy, and Medicine. Luckily for us, some of the books that Leland would have seen with his own eyes are still with us today and preserved within the Bodleian and British Libraries.
The figure of Leland however, is a conflicting one. He took his role as Antiquarian, or ‘Antiquarious’ as referred to himself, seriously. He recounts personally returning to the abbey at Bury St Edmonds after its devastation, to see what books remained in the library there. This paints a poignant image of a powerless individual sensible of the irreplaceable loss and damage, yet unable to hold back the tide of forces much greater than himself.
Nonetheless, his active support of the King’s Reformation had directly led to both the widespread dispersal of and indeed, the very deliberate destruction of precious, irreplaceable knowledge. To counteract these effects, he took books into his own possession and ensured acquisitions were made on behalf of the Royal Library.
One imagines books and the preservation of knowledge, above all things, to be his life’s passion. As many works left England’s shores, there exists written testimony to support the supposition that Leland lamented the very real-world effect of the break up of these former libraries. One is forced to contemplate at what point did the moment of truth eventually come? Exactly when did he realise that his own interests were at odds with those determined by his Royal Appointment?
Richard Ovenden in his work, ‘Burning the Books’ suggests that Leland’s processing of these events and subsequent acknowledgement of his part in them was likely delayed for many years after the dissolution. He theorises that such realisations could well have played a part in his descent into madness, near the time of his death in 1552. Though, of course, the true sequence of events, or to what extent these realisations occurred, cannot be known.
Leland's work continued much as it had done before the dissolution. His pursuit of knowledge took him on a series of journeys that would last for six years. As he travelled the length and breadth of England from the West Country to Yorkshire, including parts of Wales and East Anglia, he made detailed topographical notes, known as ‘The Itinerary’ which provide us with what is thought to be the earliest archaeological study of England. The works are filled with astute observations and thorough assessments that would provide a significant source of data for William Camden’s 1586 ‘Britannia’. Part of his journey can be followed today on a trail that begins at King Alfred’s Tower on the Wiltshire/Somerset border and finishes at Ham Hill Country Park west of Yeovil.
He proposed numerous projects designed to make use of all the information he had gathered, which included; a beautiful idea for a Map of the Realm to be engraved upon a silver table, as a gift for the King, a Chronology of Nobility, and a History of England and Wales. He also nearly completed a Biographical Encyclopaedia of Writers.
One can argue about the extent to which Leland betrayed himself as an ardent Antiquarian, but through his own industry and independence, with an enquiring and diligent mind, and a passion for travel, he forged his own path regardless of its constraints. He created for himself, his own life’s work. He succeeded in preserving a bank of knowledge for future generations and what is more, he succeeded in adding to its stores anew, and in this light, he cannot be viewed as anything less than true to himself; a self-made man of the age.
Acknowledgements:
‘Burning the Books’ By Richard Ovenden
En.Wikipedia.Org
Suggested Further Reading: ‘Burning the Books’ By Richard Ovenden