and two windows … to keep out birds and other beasts (oyseaux et autres bestes) by reason of, and protection for, the books that shall be placed there."
The words bancs and lettrins, which I have translated "cases," are both frequently used. . The first commonly denotes the cases in monastic libraries, and the second is the usual word for a reading-desk. I think, therefore, that the two words were applied to describe the same piece of furniture, as "stall" and "desk" were with us. I am now going to shew you two pictures of rooms arranged for study, which fit the above description very well. The first is from a French translation of Boccaccio, Des cas des maleureux nobles hommes et femmes, written and illuminated in Flanders for King Henry the Seventh[1]. Two gentlemen are studying at a revolving desk, which can be raised or lowered by a screw. This is evidently the "wheel" of the French king's library. Behind are their books, either
- ↑ MSS. Mus. Brit. 14. E. v.
