Donations, testamentary depositions and other ways of acquiring books for the Cistercian library in Szczyrzyc in the Old Polish period

Jolanta M. Marszalska

Abstract

Legacies from the donors of the monastery, testamentary depositions and gifts were the main form of supply of books to the library of Szczyrzyc, both in the early days of the monastery as well as over several hundred years of its existence and operation. It was a quite common phenomenon for the vast majority of monastic libraries in the past centuries. In the light of the preserved archival material, and above all the books from the library of Szczyrzyc, it can be concluded that it was one of the most important sources of enlargement of the monastic library. This statement applies to the entire period of the functioning of this library, but especially to the beginning of its formation when the collections mainly included manuscripts and liturgical codes.On the basis of the information about provenance, it is possible to identify three groups of donors to the library of Szczyrzyc: monks (abbots and priors) from Szczyrzyc, secular clergy, representatives of other religious orders and lay people. Among the donated books are primarily theological and liturgical works as well as the collections of sermons necessary for the effective pastoral care of the parish.