The Philobiblon Tapa dura -

Richard De Bury (1287-1345) was descended from an English knight who fought with William the Conqueror in the 11th Century. De Bury studied at Oxford, became a priest, ultimately rising to be Bishop of Durham, and tutored the future English King Edward III. After Edward III became King in the 1320s, De Bury served Edward's administration in various administrative and diplomatic posts. On a diplomatic visit to the papal court in exile at Avignon in 1330, De Bury met the Italian scholar and poet Petrarch, with whom he shared his devotion to and enthusiasm for books, and who left a brief account of meeting his English counterpart. Wherever he went De Bury assiduously collected manuscripts and bound books, and in time composed his short collection of Latin essays, The Philobiblon, the title having been created by De Bury from the Greek words meaning "the love of books." De Bury completed the text in 1344, though of course it was not printed until after the invention of printing in the middle of the following century.