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 65 incunabula. Most of this collection is on permanent loan from the Abbey of Gethsemani, in Trappist, Kentucky. It is a part of the Institute for Cistercian Studies (ICS) Collection located in the Rare Books and Special Collections Department of Waldo library. The earliest volume 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 six 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 academic programs in history, comparative religion, and medieval studies.

The Abbey of Gethsemani still has a library with classical and contemporary books and periodicals for people attending retreats there. These collections may be accessed through their website below: