The 18th century inventory of the Veszprém Archdiocesan Library contains the registry of Márton Padányi Biró’s books. The bishop occupied the episcopal seat between 1745-1762. He governed his diocese from the residence he built in Sümeg, where he established a library room according to the requirements of the era.
The inventory contains 607 volumes, the majority of which were purchased in Vienna, according to the records.
Every book has a handwritten possessor’s record in Latin. Ex libris Martini Biró de Padany episcopi Veszprimiensis (From the books of of Márton Padányi Biro bishop of Veszprém). The inventory lists the titles in thematic classification. Bibles are in the first place. The second group includes the Bible exegeses and the works of Church Fathers. You can find here the works of St. Augustine, St. Anselm, pope St. Gregory the Great, St. Jerome, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Gregory of Nazianzus. These are followed by theological, ethical and legal works and Hungarian history. The first of these is Bonfini’s Rerum Ungaricum decades. The next group comprises church history works and volumes of homilies. The inventory is concluded by Biró’s theological and philosophical notes. Most of the books are in Latin, the homily books contain some Hungarian works too.
A curiosity is the chronogram at the beginning of the inventory, from which the reader can find out the year of taking the book into the inventory.
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eXpensis & rarIorI InDUstrIa MartInI bIronII eXqUIsItI, & IstI bIbLIotheCae InsertI LIbrI,, CLare DICaM,, stoMaCho DeLICato hosCe LIbros non CoMeDes. |
Translation: “Books taken into the library on the expenses of Márton Biró and by his keen diligence; I warn you in advance that you will not digest these books with sensitive stomach.” The first four lines combined, then the fifth, the sixth and the seventh lines separately give the date of stock taking (1751).