Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

Predating the Aztec Empire, the Merton College Library in Oxford has been in continuous use for more than seven centuries, serving everyone from celebrated 14th-century mathematicians to J.R.R. Tolkien. In an exclusive interview with the BBC marking its 750th anniversary, its librarian explained what makes it so unique, AzerNEWS reports, citing foreign media.

At Merton College, there is an antique wooden chest that once required three key-holders to open. In the Middle Ages, all three had to be summoned together to unlock its contents. But the treasure inside was not gold or jewels—it was books.

Such strict security may seem excessive today, but in an age before the printing press, manuscripts were extraordinarily valuable. Each book could take months, sometimes years, to produce, as every page had to be carefully copied by hand. As a result, books were treated as precious intellectual assets rather than everyday objects.

Like modern universities that rely on alumni donations, Merton College required its 13th-century fellows to contribute books to the library. In 1276, a decree issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury formalized this expectation, laying the foundations for what would become one of the oldest continuously operating libraries in the English-speaking world.

“There is no single definition of a library,” notes Professor Teresa Webber, highlighting how its purpose has evolved over time while maintaining its core mission of preserving knowledge.

To put its longevity into perspective, the Merton College Library predates the Aztec Empire, the Black Death, and even the invention of the printing press. It has survived wars, pandemics, and centuries of political change, yet has never ceased functioning as a center of learning.

Over the centuries, its readers have included medieval scholars, philosophers, and later literary figures such as J.R.R. Tolkien, who drew inspiration from Oxford’s academic environment while writing The Lord of the Rings.

Today, the library stands not only as a repository of ancient texts but also as a living link between the medieval world and modern scholarship, preserving a continuous chain of knowledge spanning more than 750 years.