Lesson plan
Chained library
. Unique in London churches, a medieval library, containing a "Vinegar Bible" of 1717. These were a gift of Sir Hans Sloane. A chained library is a library where the books are attached to their bookcase by a chain, which is long enough to allow the books to be taken from their shelves and read, but not removed from the library itself. The practice was usual for reference libraries (that is, the vast majority of libraries) from the Middle Ages to around the 18th century. This would prevent theft of the library's materials. Since the chaining process was also expensive, it was not used on all books. Instead, only the more valuable books, such as reference works or large books in a collection, were chained. Librarians in the Middle Ages often invoked curses as well to keep books from being stolen. One such curse written into a book was: It is standard for chained libraries to have the chain fitted to the corner or cover of a book. This is because if the chain were to be placed on the spine the book would suffer greater wear from the stress of moving it on and off the shelf. Because of the location of the chain attached to the book (via a ringlet) the books are housed with their spine facing away from the reader, with only the pages' fore-edges visible. This is so that each book can be removed and opened without needing to be turned around, hence avoiding tangling its chain.…
Article summary
. Unique in London churches, a medieval library, containing a "Vinegar Bible" of 1717. These were a gift of Sir Hans Sloane. A chained library is a library where the books are attached to their bookcase by a chain, which is long enough to allow the books to be taken from their shelves and read, but not removed from the library itself. The practice was usual for reference libraries (that is, the vast majority of libraries) from the Middle Ages to around the 18th century. This would prevent theft of the library's materials. Since the chaining process was also expensive, it was not used on all books. Instead, only the more valuable books, such as reference works or large books in a collection, were chained. Librarians in the Middle Ages often invoked curses as well to keep books from being stolen. One such curse written into a book was: It is standard for chained libraries to have the chain fitted to the corner or cover of a book. This is because if the chain were to be placed on the spine the book would suffer greater wear from the stress of moving it on and off the shelf. Because of the location of the chain attached to the book (via a ringlet) the books are housed with their spine facing away from the reader, with only the pages' fore-edges visible. This is so that each book can be removed and opened without needing to be turned around, hence avoiding tangling its chain.…
Key claims
- date of establishment: 1598 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- The record states that the date of establishment is "1598". What evidence would count against this claim?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372189327
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.