Behind the Stacks
News from the Reference Library
by Zoe
Greetings from Panhistoria's Reference Library! Spring is just around the corner, but before you escape the confines of your dens, pay a visit to our Library to discover what our members have been up to all winter. Contrary to the popular belief that libraries are silent places, there's been the sound of music in our library lately!
Start your musical journey in Ancient Sumeria by trying out the Lyre and other Sumerian musical instruments. Next, visit Persia and explore Persian Music. Follow the road to Turkey to learn about Turkish and Arabic Musical Instruments
Travel to Scotland to learn about the Bagpipes. Read about famous women composers such as Nadia Boulanger or Clara Wieck Schumann, or learn some of the favorite songs of the Confederacy and the Union.
Tired after all this musical exploration? Then relax, put up your feet, and listen to an Andalusian Concert.
Cassiodorus
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, who lived in the sixth century CE, was a public official under the Ostrogothic king Theodoric until his retirement. Cassiodorus then opened a monastery in the south of Italy at his estate in Calabria. The large number of fishponds along the sea at the site gave it the name of Vivarium, which in Latin means "a place for living things". This also reflected Cassiodorus' belief in a well rounded education for his monks. These ecclesiastics were not there to just hide away from the world and pray, but to learn and preserve learning.
The library at Vivarium was loosely based on the ancient library at Alexandria. In its rooms, the monks copied and translated texts that Cassiodorus collected from all over the known world. Included among these manuscripts were scripture and scripture commentaries, histories and grammar books, and guides to various subjects such as music. There were separate collections of Greek and Roman literary texts.
Among the many writings of Cassiodorus was his Institutiones divinarum et secularum litterarum, which was an early form of the encyclopedia and attempted to organize sacred and secular thought. The Vivarium became a model for monastery libraries all over Europe during the Middle Ages and was still an influence when the library at the Vatican was established in the Renaissance.
Now you know.
Featured Section
What
was life like during the Middle Ages? Discover for yourself in our
Library.
Visit Medieval England or France. Journey to the Holy Lands with the Crusaders. Explore the power and influence of The Church or learn about the roles of Medieval Women. Discuss the Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages or explore the legends of King Arthur.
You can find all this and more in Pan's Reference Library!
Pan's Library is Your Library!
Take some time today to explore Pan's Reference Library. Our library has many articles which may serve as background for your novel writing. If you would like to add something of your own, jump right in! Every member of Panhistoria automatically belongs to our Library, and is welcome to post.
Be sure to check by the main Reference Library page, accessed from your jump menu, each week for the spotlight, the featured post and news of current discussions. You can keep up with all the latest posts by using the Reference Library Daily Index, found on the main Daily Index page.
As always, your Librarians are here to help and encourage you. Please feel free to direct your questions or ideas to any of them. Just look for the purple icon on your IM Panel.
The Last Word
A good library is a place, a palace where the lofty spirits of all nations and generations meet.
Samuel Niger, Yiddish literary critic, 1883-1955
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Featured Character Coordinator: Dr. Taniko Kishimoto
Featured Novel & Reference Book Coordinator: Amashelle
Editor: Myrrhine