Russian monastic libraries during Peter I’s early reign: Their role in the dissemination of books and the development of printing

Abstract

This work focuses on Russian monastic libraries. The primary source materials are the numerous monastic inventories produced after 1701 in connection with the reestablishment of the Monastic Department (Monastyrskii prikaz). The study focuses on the middle-sized and smaller monasteries of the Russian North, Uglich and the surrounding district, as well as monasteries of the southern outskirts of the Muscovite state. The authors conclude that in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, typical provincial monastic libraries contained literature characteristic of the Russian Middle Ages. However, the great bulk of these books were printed, which is characteristic of contemporary practice. Given the size of monastic libraries, it is possible to conclude that monasteries were among the prime users of the products issued by the first presses. In this respect, they had an important influence on the development of book consumption and, consequently, on the development of the book market. This leads to the conclusion that in Russia, as in Europe, monasteries exerted a considerable influence on the development of printing technology.