The Cracow catalogue of the benefactors of the Bernardine Order (1453–1602). From the history of monasterial book collections

Abstract

The author describes the Cracow catalogue of benefactors of the Bernardine Order for the years 1453-1602, stored in the manuscript collection of the Archive of the Bernardines' Province in Cracow. She proves that the catalogue is a valuable source for studying the process of establishing and developing the book collection of the Bernardines in Cracow, as well as the people related to them. Although a part of donated books had poor meritorious value, the importance of library legacies increased because of the benefactors - mostly the figures of scientific life in Cracow - professors, rectors, and other scholars.