Fragments of medieval manuscripts preserved at the Department of Auxiliary Sciences of History and Source Studies at the Jagiellonian University : introductory remarks

Bibliogr. s.: 415-416

In this article, the author presents the achievements of a new palaeographic discipline known as fragmentology. Its object of study are manuscript fragments that have survived either as loose sheets or were incorporated into the bindings of other manuscripts. Discussing the history of fragmentological research in the European context (while also acknowledging - albeit modest - contributions by Polish historians), the author focuses on a collection of medieval manuscript fragments preserved at the Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Source Studies of the Jagiellonian University. He offers brief descriptions of several (from over one hundred) of the oldest fragments, dated between the 8th and 12th centuries, which contain texts of written monuments that significantly enhance our current understanding of the history of the book in the state of the early Piasts.