IES Book Collecting Seminar: Syon Abbey and the Book Trade

This paper discusses the relationship between Syon Abbey after its return to England in 1861, and its interactions with the antiquarian book trade at the turn of the 20th century, which will be an initial foray into modern Syon’s attempt at a sort of ‘repatriation’ of their medieval libraries. Syon Abbey, England’s first and only Birgittine monastery, was founded in 1415 and its members went into exile on the Continent after the Reformation, eventually settling in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1861 they returned to England, living first in Dorset and then in 1925 moving to Devon. It was at this time that they began devoting their energies to tracing and reacquiring some of their lost possessions, including books that once lived in their renowned medieval libraries. This included locating and purchasing books through the antiquarian book trade, presumably, I argue, in an effort to re-connect with their medieval roots.