The collection of the great library of the Jesuit College in Braunsberg, or Braniewo, now a part of Poland, was among the spoils taken by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years’ War. Most of the collection was transferred to the University Library in Uppsala.


The hand-painted introductory page of the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX. The book, an incunable, was printed in Venice in 1482 and belonged to the Jesuit library in Braunsberg [Ink. 35:148].

The books belonging to the Jesuit College were seized in 1626 and transported to Sweden. The collection was not kept as a unit but was integrated, on the basis of subject matter, into the existing holdings of Uppsala University Library.

The work of reconstituting this rich collection of books in catalogue form took a long time. Józef Trypucko (1910-1983), professor of Slavic languages at Uppsala University, was occupied with the project for many years. Following his death, it was continued by other researchers, in recent years primarily by Michał Spandowski and Sławomir Szyller at the National Library in Warsaw.

The project was concluded in 2007, and a catalogue of the books from the Jesuit College that are now in the holdings of Uppsala University Library was published. That portion of the great Jesuit library’s collection that was brought to Uppsala has accordingly been reconstituted as a single collection of books – albeit strictly in catalogue form.

The library of the Jesuit College consisted primarily of printed works from the 16th and 17th centuries, but also contained manuscripts and incunables (texts printed no later than 1500). The collection in Uppsala currently encompasses just over 2,000 printed works, 335 incunables and 63 manuscripts.

Catalogue

The catalogue, consisting of three volumes, was published as item number 41 of the Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis series.

• Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, The catalogue of the book collection of the Jesuit College in Braniewo held in the University Library in Uppsala. Vol. 1, Introduction; Manuscripts; Incunabula / Katalog księgozbioru Kolegium Jezuitów w Braniewie zachowanego w Bibliotece Uniwersyteckiej w Uppsali. Vol. 1, Wstęp; Rękopisy; Inkunabuły / Józef Trypućko; uzupełnił Michał Spandowski; opracowali Michał Spandowski, Sławomir Szyller, Biblioteka Narodowa, Warszawa, 2007.
  
  
• Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, The catalogue of the book collection of the Jesuit College in Braniewo held in the University Library in Uppsala. Vol. 2, The 16th and 17th century books / Katalog księgozbioru Kolegium Jezuitów w Braniewie zachowanego w Bibliotece Uniwersyteckiej w Uppsali. Vol. 2, Druki XVI-XVII w. / Józef Trypućko; uzupełnił Michał Spandowski; opracowali Michał Spandowski, Sławomir Szyller, Biblioteka Narodowa, Warszawa, 2007.
  
  
• Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, The catalogue of the book collection of the Jesuit College in Braniewo held in the University Library in Uppsala. Vol. 3, Indexes / Katalog księgozbioru Kolegium Jezuitów w Braniewie zachowanego w Bibliotece Uniwersyteckiej w Uppsali. Vol. 3, Indexy / Józef Trypućko; uzupełnił Michał Spandowski; opracowali Michał Spandowski, Sławomir Szyller, Biblioteka Narodowa, Warszawa, 2007.

The catalogue can be ordered via Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis or purchased at the Carolina Rediviva reception desk (tel. +46-18-471 39 00).