Sigismund of Lamberg, the First Bishop of Ljubljana: A Borrower’s Note from 1478 and a Deed of Donation from 1484

Abstract

Fifteen years after having received the episcopal insignia, Sigismund of Lamberg, the first Bishop of Ljubljana, borrowed 56 book units from the chapter. When he donated them six years later, the deed of donation contained a note saying that, for the most part, these books were his personal property from his student years or commissioned from copyists. There are 56 book unit listed in these deeds; these are systematically selected volumes that were required for performing episcopal tasks. Their titles are generalized and frequently lack authors’ names; consequently, the paper at hand focuses on the identifi cation of book units and on the question of if these are contemporary writings, as well as on the contemplation on the expressions of the early humanist thought.