A Tenth-Century Booklist in the Biblioteca Capitolare of Vercelli

Vercelli, Biblioteca capitolare, MS Fragment 50 contains a hitherto unknown tenth-century inventory of books. Analyzing the fragment and the contents of its list in the context of Vercelli libraries in the tenth century, this article seeks to reconstruct the original carrier codex and suggests that the booklist may record the holdings of the old chapter at Santa Maria Maggiore. It further argues that the chapter libraries of Vercelli were reorganized after Bishop Atto's death (ca. 958), probably during the episcopacy of Leo of Vercelli (d. 1027), during which some of their books were destroyed.