Incunabula
Incunabula is the plural form of the Latin word Incunabulum .
This term identifies a series of books printed in movable type before the year
1501 when printing was still in its infancy. The word incunabulum is
derived from the Latin word for "cradle," because the type was held
in place by bands, similar to the way an infant was secured in its cradle.
Special Collections has a total of 64 incunabula. Most of this part of the
collection is on permanent loan from Gethsemani Abbey in Trappist, Kentucky.
It is a part of the Institute for Cistercian Studies (ICS) Collection located
in the Rare Books and Special Collections of Waldo library. Our earliest volumes
of in the collection of incunabula dates to 1470. Among the incunabula are works
by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and Saint Benedict of Monte
Cassino. Western Michigan itself owns five of the incunabula.
The incunabula form part of the Dom Edmund Obrecht Collection. During Dom Edmund's
37 years at the abbey, he enjoyed collecting manuscripts and incunabula which
are now held on permanent loan at WMU for research in conjunction with the History,
Religion, and Medieval Studies departments.
However, the Abbey still has a library
with classical and contemporary books and periodicals for people attending retreats
at the abbey. These collections may be accessed through their website below:
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