Library Of Monastery Research Articles

"About permanent order in the library": "lnstruction ... " and „Index of titles" of the Troškūnai Bernardins' monastery library catalogue

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A Palimpsest with the Martyrdom of Proklos and Hilarios (BHG 2374) in Christian Palestinian Aramaic Translation from the Monastery Library of sSaint Catherine (Sin., CPA NF Frg. 7, fol. 5/6)

A Palimpsest with the Martyrdom of Proklos and Hilarios (BHG 2374) in Christian Palestinian Aramaic Translation from the Monastery Library of sSaint Catherine (Sin., CPA NF Frg. 7, fol. 5/6)

Parchment Glutamine Index (PQI): A novel method to estimate glutamine deamidation levels in parchment collagen obtained from low-quality MALDI-TOF data

Parchment was used as a writing material in the Middle Ages and was made using animal skins by liming them with Ca(OH)2. During liming, collagen peptides containing Glutamine (Q) undergo deamidation resulting in a mass shift of 0.984 Da. Assessing the extent of deamidation can inform us about parchment production patterns and quality. In this study, we propose a simple three-step workflow, developed as an R package called MALDIpqi(), to estimate deamidation in parchment derived collagen using low-resolution MALDI-TOF spectra. After pre-processing raw spectra, we used weighted least-squares linear regression to estimate Q deamidation levels from the convoluted isotopic envelope for seven collagen-peptide markers. Finally, we employed a linear mixed effect model to predict the overall deamidation level of a parchment sample termed Parchment Glutamine Index (PQI). To test the robustness of the workflow, we applied MALDIpqi() to previously published ZooMS data generated from almost an entire library of the Cistercian monastery at Orval Abbey, Belgium. In addition to reliably predicting PQI, we observed interesting patterns pertaining to parchment production. MALDIpqi() holds excellent potential for biocodicological and other archaeological studies involving collagen, such as bone, but we also foresee its application in the food and biomedical industry.

Նոր Ջուղայի հայկական գրադարանների մասին

Based on personal observations, we presented the libraries of New Jugha, which were created at three important bases. а) Educational center. In 1831, KhachaturKesaratsi opened a monastery school, on the basis of which many schools were created. At present, there are “Armen,” “Kananyan,” “Katarinyan” schools, the Department of Armenian Studies of the University. b) Typography. In 1637, Kesaratsi founded the first printing house in Persia, which printed educational, theological, moral, historical and folklore books. c) A book. The Armenians of Jugha listed the manuscripts and books they brought from their homeland, as well as the books printed in their new place of residence. Today there are three basic libraries in New Jugha: 1) the monastery library, 2) the state university library, 3) the “Ararat” union library, where there are also valuable dialectological monographs.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OF A LIBRARIAN OF MONASTIC BOOK COLLECTIONS IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE: CHARACTERISTICS, FUNCTIONS, FEATURES

In the proposed article by Viktor Sokolov «Professional activities of a librarian in medieval Europe’s monastic libraries: characteristics, functions, peculiarities» the information concerning the activities of a librarian in Western European monastic libraries in the middle ages is analyzed and summarized. The relevance of this study is due to the need to study the specifics and development of the functional duties of monastic librarians, which have not been studied before, against the background of the formation and evolution of monastic libraries in the Early middle ages. The purpose of this article is to identify and characterize the features of the activities of librarians of monastic libraries in medieval Europe (mainly Western). The methodology of this scientific work consists in the application of both general scientific research methods (description, comparison, analogy, deduction, induction, analysis, etc.) and historical (historical-comparative, historical-typological, chronological, etc.) methods. Methods of terminological analysis, analysis of dictionary definitions, etymological and word-formation analysis, bibliographic and other research methods were also used. The article explores the main areas and areas of activity of a librarian in Western European monastic libraries, as well as some features of the development of book and library business in monasteries through the prism of the functional duties of a librarian. The content and significance of his professional activities in the dissemination of reading, education, development of book and library business are analyzed. The study made it possible to reveal the peculiarities of the interpretation of the terms that determine the activities of the librarian of Western European monastic libraries in the middle ages, in particular, the term «armarius» in modern book science and library research. The main factors and features of the formation of the meaning of the term «armarius» in the process of becoming a professional activity of monastic librarians are revealed. The scientific novelty of the work lies in expanding the understanding of the professional activities of the librarian of Western European monastic libraries in the period, mainly, the early middle ages and revealing the significance of his activities in the development of not only book and library science, but also the spiritual culture of the middle ages as a whole. The study shows that monastic librarians played an important role in organizing systematic reading among monks – both individual (including for educational purposes, in the form of obedience) and collective – using the method of reading aloud to familiarize themselves with the content of certain (predominantly theological) books. The position is confirmed that for the monastic librarian, a wide education, erudition and knowledge of books was considered an indispensable feature of his professionalism. Performing professional tasks at the proper level required from the monastery librarian certain analytical abilities in working with text, knowledge of several foreign languages (including ancient ones), detailed content of religious books, the ability to describe books and compile catalogs, as well as perform various functions that require conscientiousness, accuracy, ingenuity, etc. The article shows that the monastic librarian had to organize the work of the library at the appropriate level and monitor the proper use of books by the monks, as well as monitor their reading needs. The librarian not only supervised the work of the monastery library, ensured the preservation of books and control over their proper use, but also actively engaged in book business through the management of the scriptorium, controlling all stages of book creation. Conclusions. The activity of the monastic clergy, including monastic librarians, spreading the Christian doctrine, thereby contributed to the spread of literacy and reading among a certain part of not only the monks, but also the population as a whole. Gradually, writing became an integral part of monastic life, where books and libraries occupied an important place. The decisive place in these processes was occupied by the librarians of the monastery libraries as the keepers of book collections and bearers of the spiritual and educational mission, book culture among the clergy and laity.

Contributions to the reconstitution of the list of books from the Hancu Monastery library

Hâncu Monastery, an old monastic center in the central part of Bessarabia, had an archive and library very rich in documents, manuscripts and printed books, which disappeared after its liquidation in 1950. Some of the printed books were taken by the monks, and when it was reactivated in 1990, they were returned to the monastery. Most of the library’s books were taken to the Hâncu monastery, some of which are still preserved today. Based on the sources, we restored the list of books before the liquidation (118 books), and based on the specialized literature, field research and current literature (75 books). In the library of the Hâncu monastery, there were books printed in Romanian in: Buzau, Iași, Râmnic, Bucharest, Sibiu, Brașov, Vienna, Buda, the Neamț monastery, Chișinău and Saint Petersburg. Fewer have been identified in library and museum holdings. The oldest books in the library of this monastic center were printed in Buzău and date from the end of the 17th century, followed by those from Iași and Bucharest, from the first half of the 18th century. More numerous are the books printed at the Neamț monastery and in Chisinau from the 19th century. The monks from Hâncu were also interested in religious books in Romanian, printed in Brașov, Vienna, Buda, Saint-Petersburg, which circulated in eastern Moldova at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Currently, the library of the Hâncu monastery is being restored, and following research we have identified over 70 Romanian books, preserved in good conditions.

Books from the Valaam Monastery Library in the collections of the National Library of the Republic of Karelia

The aim of the author is to present various ways to demonstrate the belonging of printed publications to the Valaam Monastery Library in the second half of the XIX–first quarter of the XX centuries. The study was conducted in 2021 in the regional library – the National Library of the Republic of Karelia (Petrozavodsk), which received in 1945 a batch of books from Valaam. When compared with the 1945’s inventory books of the National Library of the Republic of Karelia the list of transferred literature made it possible to reveal more than eighty copies of books and periodicals of the XVIII – the first quarter of the XX centuries with the undoubted signs of their former belonging to the Valaam Monastery. The article presents two types of owner’s stamps of the Valaam library. However, the author notes that cases of their use are rare; while the use of a sheet inscription to demonstrate the monastery’s ownership of the book is much more common (more than 60 volumes with similar inscriptions were found in the National Library of the Republic of Karelia).Moreover, a number of copies have traces of belonging to the personal book collections of the monastery inhabitants. The article provides examples of various marks of belonging, donation and other inscriptions that indicate the ownership of books by such famous persons as, for example, Abbot Damaskin (Kononov), Archbishop of Karelia and Finland Pavel (Olmari), monastery librarian Hieroschemonach Antipas (Polovinkin), etc. As a practical result of the study, the information about the ownership of all identified copies of the Valaam Monastery Library (before 1945) was included in the electronic catalog of the National Library of the Republic of Karelia. It allows, if necessary, to form any information resource from these electronic bibliographic records: from a simple list of literature to a virtual collection representing a part of the stock of the Valaam Monastery Library, preserved in the National Library of the Republic of Karelia.

THE ATTEMPT TO RECONSTRUCT THE LIBRARY OF THE KREMENETS BASILIAN MONASTERY OF THE FIRST DECADES OF THE XIX CENTURY

The article attempts to reconstruct the genre and thematic composition of the library of the Kremenets Basilian Monastery, which was formed in the early 1820s, based on an analysis of the visitation protocol, in which a significant part is a description of the monastery library. At the beginning of the XIX century, the library had 2,156 volumes (1,241 works) published in the XVI–XVIII centuries and until 1821. Of these, 508 works (41%) date from the second half of the XVIII century. The presence in the library of 283 works (23%) published in 1801–1821 indicates that the library continued to be regularly replenished with new books. The geography of the publications covered the cities of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Kyiv, Moscow, and Saint Petersburg. The basis of the library were works in Polish and Latin, numbered 640 and 440, respectively (52% and 35%). There were only 54 (4%) Cyrillic editions. The entire book collection is divided into thematic sections: Holy Scripture, divinity, law (civil and canonical), "books of ascetics," homiletics, philosophy, physics and mathematics, chemistry, geography, economics, history, rhetoric and poetics, "letters," grammar, medicine. In terms of the number of works, the largest is the section "History," which includes periodicals published in Warsaw and Vilnius in the early nineteenth century and fiction of instructive content. It is noted that many works by ancient authors, textbooks in many mathematical disciplines, dictionaries, phrasebooks, and grammars in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Polish, German, French, and Russian were kept in the monastery library. The conclusion is that the themes of the monastery library in Kremenets in the early XIXth century reflected the state of the rich spiritual life of the Basilians, which closely combined the traditions of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. The Basilians, through preaching and missionary activity, indeed spread and consolidated in society the spiritual and moral values that they nurtured within the walls of the monastery. The library in general, reflected the development of education, science, art, and contemporary socio-political thought in the Ukrainian lands.

Klosterneuburger Librettodrucke aus dem 18. Jahrhundert – neu bewertet

The music collections of the monasteries and convents in Central Europe contains many interesting sources. To date, they have been only partially accessed and catalogued. Furthermore, not only the music itself has to be considered, but also various other types of sources such as librettos, periochæ, inventories, invoices, requests, diaries, correspondence etc. These sources need to be described and evaluated in a detailed manner, and only on this basis may questions about the interweaving of repertoire or personnel between the different monasteries – both in the field of liturgical and secular music – arise. The aim of this paper is to take a closer look at a valuable source material, namely the libretti preserved in Klosterneuburg Abbey. The Klosterneuburg libretto collection currently contains a total of 77 exemplars in three different groups. The oldest prints date from the last decade of the 17th century to the most recent from 1765. The largest proportion is made up of the Lenten oratorios and those oratorios performed at the Holy Sepulchre during Holy Week (46 pieces). The second group represents a series of oratorios in honour of St. John of Nepomuk (14 pieces), and the last comprises various homage and occasional works (17 pieces). This paper follows on from the essay by Otto G. Schindler, who did the fundamental cataloguing of the libretti in the library of the Augustinian canons' monastery of Klosterneuburg in the second half of the 20th century. This text attempts to classify the librettos of the Abbey library according to the current state of research and to present some interesting examples.

Nová dílčí zjištění k dějinám františkánské knihovny u Panny Marie Sněžné v Praze

The article summarises new findings and complements earlier studies concerning the history of the library of the Franciscan monastery of Our Lady of the Snows in the New Town of Prague. Its first part deals with the maker of rococo bookcases from 1764, the second part summarises previously unused information on the library rules created by the Franciscan provincial Bernard Sannig in 1685, and the third part reports on the rediscovered copy of a Czech printed book from the 16th century, which was, together with other books, donated to the Franciscans of Prague by Jan Sferýn of Sferýn, a New Town burgher, and which was stolen from the library at Our Lady of the Snows in the first half of the 19th century.

Зөвлөлт, оросын монголч эрдэмтэн П. Балданжаповын монголын түүхийн сурвалж судлалд оруулсан хувь нэмэр (= О вкладе советского, российского ученого П. Б. Балданжапова в изучение монгольских исторических источников)

Introduction. In 1958, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences launched the “Monumenta Historica” series, which was to become the main venue of modern historical science in Mongolia for over fifty years of research in the field. Several factors were influential for the series reputation: i) leading Mongolian scholars, as well as scholars outside of Mongolia, worked hard in the country and abroad to collect a large amount of material on Mongolian sources; ii) the Mongolian-Soviet team of scholars published “History of Mongolia”, which contributed to the study of research methods of historical sources; and iii) a large number of sources and scholarly works were published by Russian and Soviet scholars at the time, including such authors as A. M. Pozdneev, Ts. Zh. Zhamtsarano, L. S. Puchkovsky, N. P. Shastina, S. D. Dylykov, etc. whose contribution to the development of the source studies was invaluable. Among these scholars, we would like to single out Purbo B. Baldanzhapov. The present article aims to describe Baldanzhapov’s contribution to the study of Mongolian historical sources. Materials and methods. The main research methods employed for the study were biographical, historical-problematic, and historical-descriptive. Baldanzhapov’s major publications in the field and a wide range of published sources on Mongolian history were the materials selected for the undertaken research. Results. The scholar’s studies were focused on the main sources on the history of Mongolia, such as Galdan’s “Erdeniin Erikhe” (Precious Rosary), “Tsagaan tukhe” (White History), “Altan Tobchi” (Golden History) by Mergen-gegen, etc. He had an excellent command of Mongolian script, perfectly understood the content of the original monuments, and was a master of the source analysis. Baldanzhapov made several visits to Mongolia and during his stays copied many sources, including “Tsagaan tukhe” from the collection in the library of the Gandantegchenlin monastery. Conclusions. Granted a close friendly relationship between Baldanzhapov and the first editor-in-chief of the “Monumenta Historica”, Sh. Natsagdorj, who knew each other since their postgraduate days in Moscow, it may be assumed that the latter’s knowledge of his friend’s research methodology, as well as of Baldanzhapov’s published works had an overall influence on the methodology of publications in the series. Baldanzhapov’s studies of Mongolian sources have not lost their relevance, his elaborate contributions to Mongolian history and written tradition studies have served as a methodological guide for young Mongolian scholars.

ДЖЕРЕЛОЗНАВЧИЙ ПОТЕНЦІАЛ ІНВЕНТАРІВ БІБЛІОТЕК РИМО-КАТОЛИЦЬКИХ МОНАСТИРІВ ЛУЦЬКО-ЖИТОМИРСЬКОЇ ДІЄЦЕЗІЇ КІНЦЯ XVIII – ПОЧАТКУ ХІХ СТ.

Анотація. Інвентарі бібліотек римо-католицьких монастирів Луцько-Житомирської дієцезії є важливим історичним джерелом з історії інтелектуального життя ченців, монастирської культури, а також шкіл, які діяли при монастирях. Вони є складовою частиною монастирської візитації – універсального документу, що містив опис всього монастирського комплексу та його майна. Мета статті – дослідити джерелознавчий потенціал бібліотечних інвентарів римо-католицьких монастирів Луцько-Житомирської дієцезії кінця XVIII – початку ХІХ ст. Методологія підпорядкована принципам науковості та історизму. Вона ґрунтується на методах джерелознавчого аналізу та синтезу. Акцент зроблено на методі критичного аналізу документального матеріалу. Наукова новизна. Вперше проаналізовано джерелознавчий потенціал інвентарів бібліотек одинадцяти монастирів Луцько-Житомирської римо-католицької дієцезії, що є складовою частиною візитацій, датованих кінцем XVIII – початком ХІХ ст. та збережених у фондах Державного архіву Житомирської області. Особи, які проводили візитацію, не керувалися визначеними вимогами щодо складання інвентаря бібліотеки. Віднайдені нами в архівних фондах інвентарі мають різну інформаційну наповненість. Деякі з них містять детальні відомості про наявні в бібліотеці монастиря книжки: автор/автори, назва книжки (повна чи скорочена), місце та рік друку, кількість наявних томів і примірників. Часто укладачі інвентарів записували лише назву книжки, її розмір, фізичний стан, кількість примірників. Зрідка зазначалися лише тематичні розділи книжкового фонду та кількість книжок у кожному з них. 
 Одна з найбільших бібліотек належала Луцькому монастирю тринітаріїв, про що свідчать візитації цього монастиря за 1799 р, 1816 р. та 1819 р. Однак лише інвентар бібліотеки за 1799 р. є детальним (займає 45 аркушів). У ньому було записано назву книжки, рік та місце виходу. Вивчення усіх трьох інвентарів дає змогу прослідкувати динаміку книжкового фонду бібліотеки: у 1799 р. він налічував 2177 книг, у 1816 р. – 2578, а у 1819 р. – 2368. Зменшення кількості книг у 1819 р. могло бути пов’язане з передачею начальної літератури для потреб парафіяльної школи, яка діяла при монастирі. 
 У 1799 р. монастир тринітаріїв у містечку Шумбар Кременецького повіту мав всього 19 книг, а основний бібліотечний фонд був перевезений до монастиря в Берестечку, де місцеві отці-тринітарії утримували школу. Станом на 1816 р. в їхньому розпорядженні було близько півтори тисячі книг, але інвентарний опис цієї книгозбірні дає можливість лише визначити її жанровий репертуар та вказати особу бібліотекара. Ним був отець Норберт Підвисоцький.
 Велику бібліотеку (близько тисячі книжок) згромадили реформати у селі Дедеркали біля Кременця. Наявність детального інвентаря дає змогу визначити її тематичну наповненість, час і місце друку творів. Найбільше з книг походили з друкарень Венеції, Львова, Варшави та Кракова. 
 У візитації монастиря піарів у Дубровиці Рівненського повіту 1818 р. книгозбірня поділялась на костельну, монастирську, парафіяльної школи та колегіуму (повітової школи), які функціонували при монастирі. Найбільше книжок налічувала бібліотека колегіуму: у розпорядженні учнів та учителів закладу було 2087 творів, виданих у XVI – на початку ХІХ століття. 
 Візитації двох францисканських монастирів (у Межирічі Острозькому і Кременці) за 1819 р., в яких вміщені невеликі інвентарні описи книгозбірень, засвідчують, що францисканці зібрали порівняно небагато книжок (близько трьохсот), головним чином, твори, необхідні для проповідницької діяльності. 
 Висновки. Проаналізовані інвентарі монастирських бібліотек подібні між собою кількома рисами: поділом на тематичні розділи (хоча інколи по-різному названі), чисельною перевагою латиномовних книжок, домінуванням серед творів польською мовою проповідницької і навчальної літератури, відсутністю інкунабул, збереженістю книг, виданих переважно у XVIII столітті.
 Ключові слова: інвентар бібліотеки, монастирська бібліотека, церковна візитація, стародруки, римо-католицькі монастирі, Луцько-Житомирська дієцезія, Волинська губернія.

Teksty liturgiczne w wielogłosowych mszach żałobnych ze zbioru rękopisów Biblioteki Ojców Paulinów na Jasnej Górze w Częstochowie

Europejska tradycja muzyczna przekazuje w zachowanych zbiorach pokaźną liczbę wielogłosowych opracowań Missa pro defunctis (np. benedyktyni w Kremsmünster, Einsiedeln, Lambach, cystersi w Stams, Heiligenkreuz, kapucyni w Pradze, urszulanki w Bratysławie). Również w repertuarze kapel muzycznych funkcjonujących przy kościołach w dawnej Rzeczpospolitej (XVII i XVIII w., w okresie zaborów w XIX w.) znajdowały się wielogłosowe kompozycje do tekstu mszy żałobnej. Requiem wykonywały zespoły działające przy kościołach klasztornych (cystersów, dominikanów, pijarów, jezuitów) oraz diecezjalnych. Były to utwory kompozytorów polskich oraz zagranicznych.
 W tę tradycję wpisuje się również działalność muzycznej kapeli jasnogórskiej w Częstochowie, której zachowany repertuar zawiera ponad 40 kompozycji rekwialnych pochodzących z drugiej połowy XVIII i XIX w. Są to dzieła muzyków działających przy zespole paulińskim (L. Maader, F. Gotschalk) oraz innych twórców polskich (np. M. Zwierzchowski, J. Engel, J. Elsner) i zagranicznych (m.in. W.A. Mozart, E. Pausch, J. Gotsche, J.M. Dreyer).
 Celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie utworów requiem zachowanych w zbiorach Biblioteki Klasztoru oo. Paulinów na Jasnej Górze oraz ich recepcji w innych ośrodkach Polski oraz Europy. Zostanie przedstawione wykorzystanie tekstu liturgicznego mszy żałobnej oraz jego tłumaczenie i interpolacje zastosowane przez twórców, a także wskazanie funkcjonowania kompozycji Missa pro defunctis na Jasnej Górze.

Microclimatic monitoring for book heritage preservation in historic buildings: preliminary investigation on “Sala del Dottorato” in Palazzo Murena, Perugia, Italy

In order to ensure the proper conservation of the book heritage, the hygrothermal conditions of the rooms where the books are stored must respect precise ranges of temperature and relative humidity. The paper deals with the study and the optimization of the conservation conditions of the book heritage in historic buildings by a case stud y, namely “Sala del Dottorato”. This room is one of the University of Perugia most exquisite rooms, because of its decorations and the presence of rare and ancient books (27 incunabula; the oldest piece of the collection is an edition of St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, printed in 1470). The room is located on the first floor of Palazzo Murena and it was originally the monastery library. From the Sixties and up to a few years ago, the room hosted the discussions of PhD final thesis, while now is used to host the most representative meetings of the University. This involves the presence of a significant number of people for a brief period of time, causing the alteration of the environmental parameters. The present study was carried out by an experimental campaign (temperature, relative humidity, CO2) aimed to understand the microclimatic critical issues in order to develop a permanent monitoring system; this system should notify when the microclimatic conditions are out of the range for conservation and people comfort, giving information about the possible actions to restore the correct environmental conditions.

Una Biblia manuscrita de la Cartuja de Portaceli en la Hispanic Society of America

Dans ce travail nous voulons faire connaître un exemplaire de la Bible sacra en un seul volume, conservée dans la Hispanic Society of America de New York (ms. HC 397/344), provenant de l'ancienne bibliothèque de la Cartuja de Portaceli, près de la ville de Valencia. Son intérêt n’est pas tellement artistique, sinon documentaire, puisque dans le premier folio apparaît une inscription caligrafiée datant du XVIIè siècle, qui spécifie qu'elle fut donnée en cadeau par le Pape schismatique Bénédict XIII à Bonifacio Ferrer, général de la Chartreuse et frère de Saint Vincent. Personnages singuliers, tous deux, dans le panorama politique contemporain de la Couronne d' Aragon, et intéressants promoteurs artistiques. Pedro de Luna (Bénédict XIII) maintint un scriptorium actif dans la forteresse de Peñíscola jusqu’à 1413. La Bible de Portaceli se détacherait des fonds de la Chartreuse immédiatement après la désamortisation et vente publique des biens monastiques. Elle a subi le même sort que d'autres exemplaires originaires de ce monastère: nous faisons allusion à la Bible valencienne et à la deuxième partie des Annales de la Cartuja de Portaceli (ms. 81141), ocuvres gardées ensemble dans la Hispanic Society of America.

COLLECTION OF BOOKS OF THE CYRILLIC FONT OF THE XVII – EARLY XX CENTURE IN THE IRKUTSK REGIONAL STATE UNIVERSAL SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY NAMED AFTER I. I. MOLCHANOV-SIBIRSKY: THE EXPERIENCE OF STUDYING AND CATALOGIZATION

The article is devoted to the thematic collection of books of the Cyrillic font of the XVII – early XX century, stored in the Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Irkutsk Regional Library named after I. I. MolchanovSibirsky. The library staff formed this collection by means of identifying books from the general book storage, donations and purchases from private individuals in the period from 1976 to 2018. It presents data about the history of the collection formation, the main sources and stages of books receipt, the characteristic of its current state: number, analysis by year, place and type of publication. Particular attention is paid to books acquired at the end of XIX – early XX century. Circumstances of the pre-revolutionary library stock formation (until 1920 – the Irkutsk City Public Library) and books of the Cyrillic font purchased during this period are considered. Books accepted according to the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of 1918 «On the order of requisition of libraries, book warehouse and books in general» are analyzed. On the example of books belonging to the library of the Irkutsk Ascension Monastery, the role of preserved ownership and dedicatory inscriptions in the study of the history of this library and the history of the individual specimens is considered. Descriptions of the four versions of the monastery library bookplates and some inscriptions with notes about the receipt history of books are provided. Inscriptions on four editions of the XVIII century are examined in detail as examples of books with the unique history. Texts of inscriptions are reproduced in the original orthography (excepting obsolete letters). All books are associated with famous personalities in the history of the region and Russia as a whole. Among them: the Bishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk, Saint Sophronius (Kristalevsky; 1703–1771), Hieromonk Herman, etc. The article is an interim result of a two-year study and description of the collection. The result of the work will be the release of a printed catalog.

SVETLANA KUJUMDZIEVA The Graeco-Slavic contacts in hymnography: the case of metropolitan Serafim of Bosnia

The paper presents unknown or not sufficiently known materials related to the Metropolitan Serafim of Bosnia, who became known in the Orthodox music history in connection with the co-called Yale-fragment. The focus of the Authors study is a musical manuscript from the library of Rila monastery (Bulgaria), which contains two inscriptions with the name of the Metropolitan Serafim. The analyse of the manuscript testified about the close contacts between Slavs and Greeks on the Balkans in music and respectively, in hymnography.

Библиотека Спасо-Преображенского монастыря в Каргополе

Библиотека Спасо-Преображенского монастыря в Каргополе

A Russian triodion sticherarion from the late 12th century - MS Hilandar 307

MS Hilandar 307, a triodion sticherarion from the late 12th century, is one of the oldest Slavonic manuscripts kept at Hilandar. The manuscript has not survived in its entirety - it is missing the first part which contained stichera of the Lenten cycle; the extant part contains the pentecostarion cycle of stichera. It was written in the Russian recension. The manuscript has probably been kept at the monastery ever since its establishment and could have been even procured by St. Sava at the time of the formation of the monastery library. Its presence at the Serbian monastery confirms that there were no linguistic or practical liturgical obstacles to its use in religious services. Since the Serbian manuscript heritage does not include surviving sticheraria as a type of liturgical book, its content is highly interesting. This paper explores the interrelationship between the sticherarion and corresponding services in the oldest Serbian triodion, copied in the first half of the 13th century and now kept in the National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg (F. ?. I. 68). Two services were selected as examples - the service for the Mid-Pentecost (Midfeast) and the service to the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council. An initial careful comparison already revealed the appearance of different translations of the texts shared by both manuscripts. Also, it was found that only a part of stichera in the sticherarion appear in full triodion services, in which stichera make up just one segment of the service as a complex hymnographic ensemble.

Biblioteka klasztoru paulinów w Oporowie w świetle zachowanych katalogów z XVIII wieku

From the very beginning of its existence, the Pauline Order paid attention to the need to educate and develop the intellectual life of its members. This resulted from the adoption of St. Augustine’s rule by the community, which in addition to the principles governing the common life also emphasized the intellectual formation of the friars by providing them with access to books. The fulfilment of the obligations resulting from the rule and the subsequent legislation of the convent meant that every Pauline monastery was equipped with a larger or smaller library. It was no different in the case of St. Martin's convent in Oporów, which had existed since 1453 thanks to the foundation of the brothers Piotr and Władysław from the powerful Oporowski family, with the Sulima coat of arms. The monastery library was probably established soon after the foundation of the monastery. It was used primarily by preachers, who prepared Sunday and Christmas sermons, as well as by other monks, if they were authorized to do so. The beginnings of the library are unknown due to the lack of sources from that period. Only the eighteenth-century catalogues of books shed light on the functioning of the library, albeit in a limited period of time 1711-1753. To this day, 13 library inventories have survived, providing welcome information about the intellectual life of the local Pauline monks, titles of books along with the names of the authors and the division of bibliographic material into various thematic categories. The image of the Oporów library is complemented by 47 old prints of Oporów provenience, which are now the property of the University Library in Warsaw. Although their number is insignificant and constitutes only a fraction of the former assets of the library, nevertheless it turns out to be helpful in the analysis of the resources of the Pauline library and the development of intellectual horizons of its users. The analysis of the preserved archival materials is the first attempt to restore the library of the Oporów monastery in the century preceding its irretrievable disappearance in the course of the convent’s annulment.