“The Seat of Wisdom Shall Not Be Overturned”-Twice Burning of the University Library in Louvain, Belgium: 1914 and 1940.

On August 25, 1914 the University Library in Louvain, Belgium lost 250,000 to 300,000 volumes by fire during German occupation of the city including incunabula, and manuscripts, some dating to the twelfth century.

Many nations helped to rebuild the library including the U.S. and Great Britain. Under the Treaty of Versailles a provision ordered Germany to make reparations.

A special bookplate with the University Seal of the Virgin Mary and Jesus surrounded by flames with the Latin motto, “The Seat of Wisdom Shall Not Be Overturned,” was placed in German reparation volumes.

May 16, 1940 the reconstructed building was again bombed and destroyed by German armed forces.

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References:

Metzger, Philip A. 1980. “The Cover: Catholic University of Louvain Library.” Journal of Library History 15 (3): 326–29.

Ovenden, Richard. Burning the Books A History of Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge. Cambridge, Massachusetts The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2020.

“The Reconstruction of the Library of the University of Louvain: Great Britain’s Contribution, 1914-1925.” 1926. Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 10 (1): 223–67.