Classical and humanist works in the libraries of early modern Finland between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries

This article examines the presence of classical, humanist and neo‐humanist works in the libraries of the Magnus Ducatus of Finland between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. In this period, Sweden went from being a member of a Scandinavian union dominated by Denmark to an imperial power administering large areas of north‐central Europe, only to be subsequently demoted to the role of a regional player increasingly tossed about by her neighbours, especially Russia. Despite economic, political, religious and cultural turbulence, international trends seem to have reached the Magnus Ducatus Finlandiae , both through Finns studying at key centres of learning and culture, and through reading books purchased or borrowed. The establishment of the Academia Aboensis in 1640 ensured continuous contact with the rest of the Res publica litterarum. Members of the nobility, the officer class, the clergy and merchants gained access to older and more recent literature on a great variety of subjects, including work by ancient and humanist authors and scholars. Due to the rise of neo‐humanism, the Classics formed the back‐bone of school and university curricula until well into the nineteenth century, and seem to have been strongly represented in the standard stock of private libraries, if not in the original languages, then in French, German or Swedish translations.