Ex libris prohibitis: запрещенные книги в иезуитских коллегиях средней и западной Литвы

ENJesuit colleges have a significant role in the history of Lithuanian education. The Jesuit order considered libraries dedicated to the professorship and the reinforcement of the faith of the order members as essential in higher education institutions. The Jesuit college library stock was accumulated by Jesuits themselves and, of course, was formed according to their preferences and needs. However, the accumulated books in these libraries often surpassed the collegeís educational goals. In addition to the books purchased or otherwise acquired for college educational activities, the library contained collections of books personally donated by Jesuits, noblemen, and church hierarchs. These books covered much wider topics, such as history, law, theology, geography, cartography, travelling, etc. There could have been between a few hundred and a few thousand books in the college library. It is important to note that not only monks and college professors could read books in the college library, but laymen and locals were also given this privilege. The largest libraries in the middle and western Lithuania were in Jesuit colleges of Kražiai, Kaunas and Pašiaušė. The prefect in charge of the library had to take care of the security of the library and the accumulation of the stock, the issuing and returning of books, the order of the library premises, etc. Recent research on the library stock of the same type of educational institutions, based on surviving copies of books stored in Kaunas and Vilnius libraries, has confirmed the existence of book censorship and special storages in the mentioned Jesuit libraries.Special stocks were formed according to the list of prohibited books Index librorum prohibitorum that was declared in the 16th century by the Pope of Rome. The books on this list were isolated and available only with special permission. Libraries also carried out ìpurificationî (expurgation) of books, which was not only aimed at the books stored in the library but also at the books owned by private individuals. Key words: prohibited books, Jesuit libraries, Kaunas Jesuit College, Kražiai Jesuit College, Pašiaušė Jesuit College. [From the publication]

• Komunikacija / Communication
• Istorija / History