Oriental studies in Lviv and Cracow : two academic centers and their relationships

Bibliogr.

Over the centuries, the interest in languages of the Middle and Far East varied in dimensions. At the beginning, the oriental languages were taught at the Faculty of Theology, with the aim of improving the understanding of the Holy Bible. It was only in the 20th century that the role of the oriental studies began to be fully appreciated as a separate area of study, not affiliated with theo­logy. A bit earlier, the so-called “Dragoman school” was founded, where the oriental languages were taught for diplomatic and translation needs. After the recovery of independence by Poland, the Chairs of Oriental Studies were founded in Cracow, Lviv and Warsaw. In this paper I present the development of oriental studies in Cracow and Lviv. I pay a particular attention to the relationship between those two universities and to people associated with both these academic centers. I compare the development of the Oriental Studies in Lviv and Cracow up to 1939 and emphasize the contribution of the orientalists from Lviv to the creation of the Oriental Studies in Cracow.