The Library of Varlaam Shyshatsky in the Context of a ‘Reading Revolution’ in the Ukrainian Lands (Second Half of the 18th – Early 19th Centuries)

Abstract

Varlaam Shyshatsky (1750-1821) was a prominent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church. In this article, the author’s focus is on his personal library – one of the most substantial book collections in Eastern Europe in the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries, which has never been analyzed before. The article not only analyzes the composition of Varlaam Shyshatsky’s library, but also compares this collection with the personal libraries of other figures belonging to the same social group. The analysis is grounded in the broad context of the history of reading and book culture in Europe. Based on a number of criteria, it is concluded that significant changes in the culture of reading took place in the Ukrainian lands of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 18th century – first and foremost the emergence of ‘extensive’ reading and development of a number of new cultural practices among the ‘enlightened elite’. The composition of the library of Varlaam Shyshatsky also attests to the cultural uniqueness of the region and argues in favor of the thesis about the existence of a ‘Ukrainian Enlightenment’ as a phenomenon with national and regional specifics of its own.