Leighton Library, Dunblane

Scotland's oldest purpose-built independent library founded in 1687

Leighton Library has 1613 edition of "Hymne du ciel" by Pierre de Ronsard

Added at 08:21 on 11 September 2025

#OnThisDay 11 September 1524 French poet known as a "prince of poets" Pierre de Ronsard was born. The Leighton Library has a 1613 edition of his "Hymne du ciel" ("Hymn of the Sky"), one of a series of long poems celebrating natural phenomena or abstract ideas, inspired by the ancient Greek poet Callimachus.

This explores the heavens not just as stars and planets, but as a symbol of divine truth and the soul’s journey. The commentary in this edition by Nicolas Richelet, decades after Ronsard’s death, helped readers of the time understand Ronsard’s poetic language and deeper meanings.

< Leighton Library has 1549 edition of "Polubion Megalopolitou 'Istorion biblia" by Wolfgang Musculus