Library of the St. Nikolaus Hospital (Bernkastel-Kues)

Handwriting of De docta ignorantia by Nikolaus von Kues. (Codex 218, 1r.)

The library of the St. Nikolaus Hospital in Bernkastel-Kues is one of the most valuable private manuscript collections. The library, which is accessible to visitors during the guided tours through the complex, is housed in a late Gothic library room above the chapel. Its sponsor is the Cusanus Foundation.

Benefactor

Cardinal Nikolaus von Kues (1401–1464) determined in his will that his library should always remain with the hospital he founded in 1458. The majority of the manuscripts come from his own possession (approx. 270); further volumes were later added to the inventory.

Manuscripts

Most of the 314 manuscripts cataloged by Jakob Marx are in Latin. Only seven manuscripts contain German texts. They were recorded in 1909 by Conrad Borchling for the “manuscript archive”. All manuscripts were filmed in the 1960s.

Old stock

The library has a historical inventory of 1841 titles, which is not being increased. 132 of these are incunabula (listed in Marx's manuscript catalog ). The 16th century accounts for 153 titles, the 17th century 323 titles, the 18th century 550 titles and the 19th century 683 titles.

According to the handbook of historical book holdings, the old holdings are structured as follows:

Pastoral Theology, Homiletic and Catechetical Literature (308 Titles)
Ascetic and Mystical Literature (226 titles)
Biblical Studies and Exegesis (128 titles, including 33 titles on the New Testament)
Secular and ecclesiastical law (118 titles)
Liturgical science with mass and breviary (68 titles)
Dogmatics (64 titles)
Patristic (31 titles, including 20 text editions by the church fathers)
Post-Patriotic Theology (12 titles)
Councils and Synods, especially on the Tridentinum (21 titles)
Biography, hagiography, pilgrimage (13 titles)
History (244 titles)
Literary studies (91 titles, including ancient classics in 41 editions from the 16th to 17th centuries, the rest belong to fiction, literary studies and grammar)
Art history (34 titles)
Philosophy with Education and Psychology (30 titles)
Natural Sciences and Geography (57 titles with a focus on cosmology)
Reference works and language dictionaries (55 titles)

literature

Marc-Aeilko Aris : The reader in the book. Nikolaus von Kues as a manuscript collector. In: Alessandra Beccarisi, Ruedi Imbach , Pasquale Porro (eds.): Per perscrutationem philosophicam. New Perspectives in Medieval Research. Meiner, Hamburg 2008, p. 375 ff.

Franz Xaver Kraus: The manuscript collection of the Cardinal Nicolaus von Cusa , in: Serapeum Vol. 25 and 26 (several episodes) online at DigiZeitschriften

Jakob Marx: Directory of the manuscript collection of the hospital zu Cues near Bernkastel a. Moselle . Trier 1905 PDF on Wikimedia Commons ; Unchanged reprint Minerva GmbH, Frankfurt a. M. 1966.

Wilhelm Stockhausen: The Cusanus Library , in: Sankt Wiborada 5 (1938), pp. 1–9

Peter Volkelt: The picture decorations of the Cusanus library , in: Communications and research reports of the Cusanus Society [MFCG] 4 (1964), pp. 230-253

Konrad Beyerle: Astronomical Manuscripts from the Bohemian Royal Court , in: Communications of the Institute for Austrian Historical Research 39 (1922/23), pp. 116-122.

Franz Ronig: Illuminated book pages from the manuscripts of the library of the St. Nikolaus Hospital. On the art history of the illustrated book pages , in: Access to Nikolaus von Kues. Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the Cusanus Society. Bernkastel-Kues 1986, pp. 157-182

Wolfgang-M. Hamm: Library of the St. Nikolaus Hospital (Cusanus-Stift) , in: Handbook of historical book collections in Germany. Hildesheim [u. a.] 6 (1993), pp. 132-134 ISBN 3-487-09580-7 Online

G. Mantese: A notarial inventory of books and valuables from the estate of Nikolaus von Kues, in: MFCG 2 (1962), 85–116

Gabriele Neusius: The library of the St. Nikolaus Hospital in Bernkastel-Kues, in: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholisch-Theologischer Bibliotheken: Mitteilungsblatt 43 (1996), pp. 203-208