Traveller scholar. Libraries and books in the itinerary and reality of Old Polish peregrinations of the 17th century

Abstract

The main aim of the work is the analysis of the role of books and book collections during educational peregrinations in the 17th century. Books constituted an integral element of studies, both at home and abroad. Textbooks of history, rhetoric, philosophy, mathematics and military architecture played an essential role in the process of academic education. Polish students of the time travelling to get knowledge and skills became authors of printed dissertations, which crowned their academic studies. The book, which in Baroque constituted a valuable and in many cases main source of knowledge about the world, arose interest in book collections and their maintenance. Libraries were included in the itinerary of many peregrinations. Church and town libraries, public and private, were frequently visited. Their characteristic feature was a predilection for depicting all interesting exhibits. This tendency determined the length and accuracy of descriptions of library collections. The passion (typical of Baroque) to acquire knowledge about rare and unusual works of art, technical inventions, animals and things also involved visiting libraries., which very often came down to watching unusual exhibits and, in fact, became a kind of entertainment.