The collection of manuscripts at the Cistercian library in Szczyrzyc amounts to 100
volumes, including four medieval codices dated between 1460–1494; 12 manuscript
books dated to the 17
th
century; 57 dated to the 18
th
century, and 27 manuscripts dated
to the 19
th
century. Most of them are textbooks, copies of theological, philosophical
and legal treatises, works on rhetoric, liturgy, world history, mathematics and herbal
medicine, as well as books of homilies for special occasions and feasts. The collection
of manuscripts at the monastery in Szczyrzyc is mostly a
functional one –
it was used
by the monks to study and broaden their philosophical, theological, legal and liturgical
knowledge. Several codices contain the texts of homilies delivered at various churches
on feast days and solemnities, written down by the monks of Szczyrzyc. The surviving
codices are bound in simple covers made of damaged folios taken out from liturgical
codices, including antiphonaries and graduals. Considering the small number of
surviving books, it is difficult to discuss the interests or influences of particular authors
and their works on the intellectual level of the religious community of Szczyrzyc
