[201] The ex-king of Naples' library possesses a _Book of Hours_, on the illuminations of which (Vasari tells us) Giulio Clovio spent nine years. It certainly is a marvel of human patience and misdirected skill; the text was written by a famous scribe named Monterchi, who was specially renowned for the beauty of his writing. [202] An interesting little volume on this subject has been published by Eug. Müntz, _La Bibliothèque du Vatican_, Paris, 1886; it deals chiefly with the growth of the library during the sixteenth century. [203] Fra Sebastiano was called "del Piombo" from his office as superintendant of the pendant lead seals, _piombi_ or _bullae_, which were attached to Papal Briefs and other documents, one class of which were called _Bulls_ from their lead _bullae_. [204] See Montault, _Livres de choeur des églises de Rome_, Arras, 1874, p. 9. [205] The Fitzwilliam Museum possesses two noble vellum choir-books of this class dated 1604 and 1605. Though the miniatures are poor, the writing of the text and the music might well pass for the work of a fifteenth century scribe. [206] A valuable but by no means exhaustive list of manuscript illuminators is given by J. W. Bradley, _Dictionary of Miniaturists, Illuminators and Caligraphers_, London, 1887. The names of Italian miniaturists are specially numerous, partly because Italian manuscripts are more frequently signed by their illuminators than the manuscripts of other countries. See also Bernasconi, _Studj sopra la storia della pittura Italiana dei secoli xiv e xv_, Verona, 1864. [207] J. R. Green, in his _Short History of the English People_, chap. III., gives an interesting sketch of the development of literature and the art of the scribe in the great Monasteries of England, especially from the eleventh to the fourteenth century. [208] The carvings on the _misericords_ (or turn-up seats) of choir-stalls were frequently a vent for the pent-up humour and even spite of many a monastic carver. [209] The Poems of Walter Map were edited by Thos. Wright for the Camden Society, 1841. [210] Walter Map subsequently obtained various degrees of preferment, and in 1197 became Archdeacon of Oxford. [211] Theophilus, _Schedula diversarum Artium_, I. 30-33, writes as if every illuminator had to beat out or grind his own gold. [212] In this respect, as is noted above at page 33, the manuscripts of classical date appear to have been inferior to those of the mediaeval period. [213] Monte Cassino the first and chief of the Benedictine monasteries, founded by Saint Benedict himself, was for many centuries one of the chief centres in Italy for the writing and illumination of manuscripts.