- This article is about the Bookman organization. For the character known by the same name, see 'Bookman.
The Bookman Clan is an organization dedicated to recording and maintaining the true, aka the hidden,
history of the world. They have been known to ally themselves with various sides of worldwide conflicts. The "good" and the "bad", to them it does not matter as much as recording the truest history of that period. They consider their neutrality especially sacrosanct. Bookman is often seen reminding Lavi to keep himself from getting too attached to those around him and to his Innocence.
Bookman Code
Little is known about how the members of the Bookman Clan operate since the organization is very secretive. It is apparent, however, that it is vital for them to stay unbiased at all times and remain completely neutral. This is because when recording history, even the slightest bias could taint information. As a direct result of this requirement, many other rules have been formed to prevent bias. The foremost of these rules is the prohibition of any attachments or affections. It is unknown to what extent this rule exists, but friendships are forbidden.
As an extension of the required neutrality, the Bookman Clan do not choose sides in wars. They will, however, form temporary alliances with one or both sides of a conflict in order to gain a more detailed record of war and in return may provide information and/or their skills as warriors. This is most apparent when, thirty-five years ago, the current Bookman allied with the Noah Family[1] but at the present is allied with the opposing side, the Black Order. Furthermore, the clan are protected by the Vatican and members of the Black Order of any rank may not interfere with a Bookman's mission to record history.[2]
The Bookman Clan must not interfere with the events of history and act only as observers. In the event that a Bookman allies with one side of a conflict, it appears that only information and battle support is provided under particular circumstances.
When someone takes up the role of Bookman Junior, they have to change their name every time they change the place of their log. The name they take on at the time will become the name of the log, therefore, the log for the current Holy War will be titled “Lavi”. This makes the process of searching for logs easier.[3]
The Bookman clan is a large-scale clan which has members everywhere, and they come together to support the Bookman as the clan's leader by paying for things such as travel expenses, so the leader can focus on their logs. These members need to conceal their Bookman lineage and outwardly lead a normal life, though the reason for hiding their affiliation with the Bookman clan is currently unknown.[3]
History
Very little is known about the history of the Bookman Clan. It was apparently founded with the purpose to record the hidden history a long time ago. Its most ancient known Bookman allied himself with the Noah Family more than 35 years ago to fulfill this purpose. He was forming an apprentice at this time but this apprentice is no longer a Bookman for unknown reasons linked to the Noah Family. It is likely that he was killed given the words of Sheril Kamelot. Bookman witness the confrontation between the Earl and the rebellious Noah The 14th 35 years ago and apparently broke the alliance afterward. He traveled to find another successor and finally chose Lavi 13 years ago. From there they saw many battlefields before allying themselves with and joining the Black Order 3 years ago.
Abilities and Skills
Enhanced Memory: Because Bookmen exist to record the detailed, accurate description of the world's history, it is necessary for a Bookman to possess eidetic memory.[4] It is unclear if this is an ability that is gained upon training as a Bookman or if all Bookmen are chosen for this ability.
A conversation between Bookman and Lavi
Unique Language: On several occasions, Bookman and Lavi have spoken in a language others around them cannot understand, something that is noted by Miranda when the Cross Unit and Kanda fell into Noah's Ark.[5] This language is likely one known only to the Bookman Clan for the sake of keeping the history they record secret from those around them.
Worldly Knowledge: Because they travel the world and record everything they see, Bookmen are inclined to possessing knowledge known only to a select few, as well as mastery of highly refined techniques, such as Bookman's knowledge of acupuncture.[6]
Bookmen are also skilled fighters, despite their pledge to never interfere, but it is likely that this is only used as a survival method.