Valuable Ukrainian printed books from the 16th – 17th century in Bulgaria

Abstract

During research work in the central Bulgarian libraries and archives our attention was drawn to the presence of early Ukrainian printed books from the end of the 16th century. Our interest in them increased during field expeditions to provincial museums and churches, where among the liturgical books we found later Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra editions. In this report, we share our observations of these valuable collections. We offer systematized and updated information about the distribution of Ukrainian printed books from the 16th-17th century in Bulgaria. We pay close attention to the five copies of the Ostroh Bible from 1581 preserved in our country and we discuss some rare early editions from Lviv and Kyiv found in our libraries. We trace the ways of dissemination of these publications in the Bulgarian lands, their long-term use and significance.