Manuscript Notes as Egodocuments: Evidence from 16th- and 17th-Century Early Printed Books Held in Polish Libraries

Abstract

This article examines the theoretical and practical application of the concept of the egodocument to handwritten annotations preserved in early printed books. Building on the approaches developed by Jacques Presser and further expanded by Winfried Schulze, it argues that expressions of the author’s ‘ego’ can be identified in a wide range of written traces, including marginalia, glosses, and ownership inscriptions. These annotations, while often overlooked or treated merely as auxiliary bibliographic data, constitute a rich and still underexplored body of sources for the study of personal experience, mentality, and subjective perception in the early modern period.

The study situates books firmly within the sphere of private life. In early modern Europe, books functioned not only as carriers of textual content but also as everyday objects embedded in social practices, personal relationships, and domestic environments. They were stored alongside personal belongings, exchanged as gifts, and used collectively within families or scholarly communities. As such, they became natural spaces for recording individual experiences, reflections, and emotions. Handwritten notes – which were accessible to both wealthy and modest owners – offered a particularly democratic medium of self-expression.

The article identifies and analyzes several categories of annotations that may be interpreted as egodocuments. These include ownership inscriptions, which often go beyond simple declarations of possession to include information about purchase, price, circumstances of acquisition, or interpersonal relations. In some cases, such entries incorporate emotional language, revealing attachment, memory, or respect for others. Authorial dedications, though sometimes formulaic, can also reflect social bonds and hierarchies. Other types of notes – such as prayers, curses against book thieves, records of personal grievances, or comments on contemporary events – offer direct insight into the beliefs, fears, and emotional states of their authors.

Particular attention is given to the role of books as sites of ideological engagement. Marginal annotations could serve as tools of polemic, especially in the context of the Counter-Reformation, where readers actively modified texts to align them with their confessional positions. Similarly, censorial interventions demonstrate that even institutional practices could bear traces of individual agency and worldview.

Methodologically, the article highlights the potential of egodocument analysis to complement traditional approaches in the history of the book and intellectual history. It emphasizes that even brief, seemingly insig­nificant notes can provide valuable evidence, particularly in the case of individuals who left no other written records. By expanding the range of sources considered as egodocuments, the study opens new perspectives for investigating both individual personalities and broader social attitudes.