Gerard of Zutphen", Says Thomas a Kempis, "Was Our Librarian at Deventer
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THE,,DE LIBRIS TEUTONICALIBUS" BY GERARD ZERBOLT OF ZUTPHEN BY A. HYMA M. A. "Gerard of Zutphen", says Thomas a Kempis, "was our librarian at Deventer. He copied few books himself, but encouraged others to read, asserting that the reading of 'sacred writings' was more help- ful than sermons. These writings were the light and sustenance of our souls. One could better afford to do without the sacraments of the Church, than without the use of the 'sacred writings"' 1). Never- theless, it was not profitable, Zerbolt believed, to read books in a foreign language. Gerard Groote, the founder of the new brotherhood at Deventer, of which both Gerard of Zutphen and Thomas of Kem- pen were members in the year 1398, had had the same opinion, wherefore he had begun to translate parts of the Bible for the benefit of his followers 2). Who knows how much more he might not have done, if not the hand of death had so suddenly intervened in August z384? At any rate, the Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life were reading parts of the Scriptures in their vernacular, when Zer- bolt was librarian in the brethren-house at Deventer. For this and many other reasons they were now being attacked by the Dominicans and other members of the clergy. Zerbolt found it necessary, therefore, to write a treatise in their defense, usually called "Super modo vivendi devotorum hominum simul commoran- tium". This treatise was divided into eleven chapters, of which the seventh was called: "Quod licitum est libros teutonicales legere et , habere; quales libri teutonicales sint laycis periculosi vel prohibiti" 3 ) 1) Th. a Kempis,Opera, ed. H. Sommalii,Col. Agr. 1728,Tom. III, p. 94. 2) W. MolLGeert Grootc's dietsche vertalingen, in : Verhandelingender koninklijkeakademie van wetenschøppen,afdeeling Ie1>rkuncl deel XIII, Amsterdam fizz0. ' 3) A. Hyma, Is GerardZerbolt of Zutphen the author of the "Super modovivendi"? in: NederlandschArchiel voor Kerkgaschiedenis, N. S., DI. 16, 's-Gravenhage1922 blz. t 19. 43 This chapter has twice been edited in its original, viz., by dr. F. Jostes i) and by Dr. W. Preger2), while a middle-Dutch or Flemish translation was edited by Dr. C. G. N. de Vooys3). At present it is generally believed that this seventh chapter of the "Super modo vivendi" is identical with a work by Zerbolt, found by J. Revius at Deventer4), wherefore it usually is referred to as the "De libris teu- tonicalibus". For Jostes claims that Revius merely found a version of this chapter which had already undergone many changes. Some- body seems to have added another treatise to it, named "De pre- cibus vernaculis", is his conclusion. Now it is a well-known fact that mediaeval copyists did often make certain slight changes in the . works they copied. The "De libris teutonicalibus" which Revius found, however, differs in so many respects from what we have been wont to call Zerbolt's "De libris teutonicalibus" that the latter work would seem to owe its existence not so much to the labors of a fif- teenth century copyist as to the pen of our Zerbolt himself. The treatise mentioned by Revius is a finished piece of work; it is more than a mere collection of excerpts, such as the various chapters of the "Super modo vivendi" are. No mediaeval copyist would have dared to change the chapter in question into the real "De libris teutonicalibus", as long as he was acting as copyist. With these thoughts in his mind the writer searched for the lost work of Zerbolt until finally he discovered it in a library where he had not expected to find it: in the Stadtbibliothek at Nuremberg. It is in fact difficult to determine why Nuremberg should possess this treatise rather than The Hague, Brussels, Li?ge, Cologne, or Vienna. Ms. Centuria II, no. 10 of the Stadtbibliothek contains two pro- ductions by Gerard Zerbolt: the "De libris teutonicalibus", and the "Scriptum pro quodam", both of which have thus far remained un- published. Its covers are made of wood, reinforced with parchment; its leaves are also of parchment. This "De libris teutonicalibus" is a literary production of great historical significance. It throws much welcome light on the activities of the Brethren of the Common Life. 1) F. Jostes, Die Schriftendes GerhardZerbolt van Zutphen,in: HistorischeJahrblicfier der G6rres-Ge,sellschatt,Bd. XI, Miinchen1890, S. 1-2Z S. 709-719- 2) W. Preger,A usGerhards Zerbolts von Ziitphen Schutzschritt tür die Briederund Schwestern vomgemeinsamen Leben, in : Abhandlungender historischenKlasse der k6niglichenbayerischen Akademieder Wissenschatten,Bd. XXI, Mdnchen1894, S.54--61- 3) C. G. N. De Vooys,De Dielsetekst van het tsaktaat "De libris Teutonicalibus'in : Ned. Arch. voor blz. Kerkgesch.,'s-Gravenhage 1907, 113-134.. ' 4) J. Revius, Daventriaillustrata. Lugd. Bat. 1651.pp. 41-58. .