Monastery Library

The university is housed in the upper portion of the Dominican Monastery right inside Ploče gate. One of my friends who works for the university gave some of the professors and myself a tour. The two upper wings of the Monastery where the school is situated were the original inhabitants library. The collection of books dates back to the 12^th -13^th centuries but few books remain from that time. Most of the collection that is left is from the 14^th-15^th century. When the French took over the city under Napoleon they stole large portions of the collection. The Hymnals that remained within the collection are about 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall. They where made to be used by everyone so the notations for the songs needed to be legible to all, hence the size. You can also see the older ones from the before the 15^th century do not posses the bars or lines we associate with modern musical notation like this http://www.classicaldiscoveries.org/images_playlist/chant_music_manuscript.jpg. The books need conservational attention desperately as there are insect holes in almost all of the books as well as general deterioration.