THE PRIVATE LIBRARY OF ERASMUS SIXTUS

Abstract

This article provides the first comprehensive analysis of the private library of Erasmus Sixtus – the largest among the known private book collections in Lviv during the first half of the 17th century. The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the composition of the library and determine its place within the intellectual environment of the early modern city. The objectives include examining the thematic, chronological, and geographical structure of the collection, as well as comparing it with other libraries of Lviv‟s patricians. The methodological basis consists of approaches from historical reconstruction, intellectual history, and the history

of book culture; source analysis, comparative, and statistical methods were also used. The findings reveal that Sixtus‟s library had a distinct professional profile, with a predominance of medical and natural science literature, demonstrating a broad geography of authors and a high degree of academic integration into the European book space. Prospects for further research are linked to the analysis of similar private collections in Central and Eastern Europe. The practical significance of the study lies in its contribution to the study of the his- tory of education, scholarly communication, and intellectual networks in early modern Lviv, which can influence contemporary perceptions of the city‟s cultural heritage and the formation of local historical narratives.