Jansenist and Jansenism-Related Books in the Library of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Jasov

Tüskés, Anna (2022) Jansenist and Jansenism-Related Books in the Library of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Jasov. KNIHA. pp. 306-320. ISSN 1336-5436

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Abstract

On the basis of the data recorded in the two book catalogues of 1787 and 1897, and of the current collection of 17th and 18th century books held by the Premonstratensian provostship in Jasov, it can be stated that the monks, who were well-acquainted with the culture of the age, were not left untouched by the Jansenist current. While in the hitherto unknown inventory of the abolition of 1787 we were able to identify the work of only one prominent Jansenist author, Antoine Arnauld’s Logica sive Ars cogitandi, the 1897 catalogue includes several works primarily related to Jansenism: three by Pasquier Quesnel, two by Isaac Le Maistre de Sacy and one by Blaise Pascal. The investigation indicates that Jansenist spirituality, theological Jansenism, the critique of Jansenist views and Jesuit hostility rooted in Jansenism were all present in the books held at Jasov. The active participation of the Premonstratensian monks in the controversy surrounding the doctrine of mercy is remarkable. The basic feature of the library collection according to the 1787 inventory is the dominance of Latin-language works: four-fifths of the works are in Latin, the rest being mainly in German, with a relatively small number of works in Hungarian and French. The linguistic distribution of the books is closely related to the origins and language skills of the monks. The main themes of the works are theology, church history, ecclesiastical law, preaching, meditation, natural sciences and school textbooks, but we also find Fénelon’s Telemachus, the literary bestseller of the age, among the books. Works existing in more than one copy show the intensity of monastic use. Due to the abbreviated descriptions, the Bible editions cannot be precisely identified: there were monolingual Hebrew, Latin and Hungarian editions, as well as bilingual Hebrew-Latin and Latin-German editions. The books helped the Premonstratensians to carry out their daily duties in the fields of spiritual care, education and the economic affairs of the monastery

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