Bibliotekar/The Librarian

Books of the National Library of Serbia in the Chester Beatty Collection

Books of the National Library of Serbia in the Chester Beatty Collection

Authors

  • Bogdan Trifunović

    Čačak Public Library, Serbia

Keywords:
John Barnicot, Vladimir Mošin, archival materials, manuscripts, Praznični minej (Festal Menaion), Nikolje Gospel, Chester Beatty
Abstract

This paper is based on archival research at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin and a research of relevant literature concerning the manner and time of acquisition of four Serbian-Slavonic books by Sir Chester Beatty after the First World War. Preserved correspondence reveals that Slavist Vladimir Mošin learned as early as 1961 that Chester Beatty possessed books believed lost from the National Library in Belgrade’s collection during the turmoil of the First World War, including the renowned Nikolje Gospel. However, he was prevented from publishing this discovery due to Beatty’s concern that Yugoslavia would demand the return of the books. Only after Chester Beatty’s death in 1968 did Mošin publish this finding in the journal Bibliotekar (The Librarian). The paper proposes two hypotheses regarding the time and manner of the books’ acquisition during the 1919–1926 period.

References

1. „Bibliografija o Nikoljskom jevanđelju”, Biblioteka Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Novom Sadu (Nikoljsko jevanđelje, 2008) https://www.ff.uns.ac.rs/sr/biblioteka/o-biblioteci/izlozbe/dan-slovenske-pismenosti/nikoljsko-jevandjelje-2008/bibliografija-o-nikoljskom-jevandjelju (pristupljeno 1. 8. 2025) (на ћирилици).

2. Bjelić, Novak. Кazivanja o Trepči 1303–2018. Beograd: Službeni glasnik, 2019.

3. Bogojević, Milan. Rade Pašić: enigma jednog vremena, Novi Sad Prometej, 2024. (на ћирилици).

4. Daničić, Đ[ura]. Nikoljsko jevanđeljе. Beograd: Državna štamparija, 1864. (на ћирилици).

5. Dobrašinović, Golub. „Vukova prepiska s Đurom Daničićem”, Кovčežić: prilozi i građa o Dositeju i Vuku, knj. 13 (1975): 94–132 (на ћирилици).

6. Durković-Jakšić, Ljubomir. „Prilog poznavanju stradanja Narodne biblioteke u Beogradu za vreme Prvog svetskog rata”, Arheografski prilozi br. 14 (1992): 163–192 (на ћирилици).

7. Hayes, R. J. “Contemporary Collectors XVIII: The Chester Beatty Library”, The Book Collector (Autumn 1958): 253–264.

8. Horton, Charles “’No Duds!’ The Manuscript Trading of Alfred Chester Beatty”, The Book Collector,Volume 65, No 2 (Summer 2016).

9. Jerković, Vera. „Hval Кrstjanin i Nikoljsko jevanđelje”, Zbornik Matice srpske za filologiju i lingvistiku god. XXXII, br. 1 (1989): 67–72. (на ћирилици).

10. Jerković, Vera „O Nikoljskom jevanđelju“, Zbornik Matice srpske za filologiju i lingvistiku god. XXXIV, br. 1 (1991): 21–31. (на ћирилици).

11. Кennedy, Brian P. Alfred Chester Beatty and Ireland 1950-1968: A Study in Cultural Politics. Dublin: The Glendale Press, 1988.

12. Cleminson Ralph M., “The serbian manuscript heritage in the British isles”, Zbornik Matice srpske za književnost i jezik knj. 46, sv. 1/3 (1998): 25–39.

13. Medaković, Dejan. „Vraćanje srpskih srednjovekovnih rukopisa iz Nemačke”, Bibliotekar god. 22, br. 4 (1970): 309–311. (на ћирилици).

14. Maksimović, Jovanka. Srpske srednjovekovne minijature, Beograd: Prosveta, 1983. (на ћирилици).

15. Mirčov, Svetlana i Borjanka Trajković. „Sudbina nestalih srpskih srednjevekovnih rukopisa iz zbirke Narodne biblioteke u Beogradu”, Кnjiževne novine (januar 2004): 8–9 (на ћирилици).

16. Mitrović, Andrej Jugoslavija na Кonferenciji mira: 1919-1920, Novi Sad: Prometej; Beograd: Radio televizija Srbije, 2019. (на ћирилици).

17. Mošin, Vladimir „Rukopisi bivše Beogradske Narodne biblioteke u Dablinu i u Zagrebu”, Bibliotekar god. XX, br. 5 (1968): 349–359, [14] str. s tablama. (на ћирилици)

18. Nedeljković, Jasmina i Jovana Stanojlović, Put knjiga 1914/1915–2015: sudbina srpskih srednjovekovnih rukopisa Narodne biblioteke nestalih u Velikom ratu: katalog izložbe. Beograd: Narodna biblioteka Srbije, 2015.

19. Nikola Pašić – predsedniku vlade: strogo poverljivo, lično Pariz: Pašićeva pisma sa Кonferencije mira, 1919–1920. [priredili] Miladin Milošević i Bora Dimitrijević. Zaječar: Zadužbina „Nikola Pašić”: Opština, 2005. (на ћирилици).

20. Otašević, Danica. „Nikoljsko jevanđelje: od originala do digitalne kopije”, Glas biblioteke: časopis za bibliotekarstvo br. 12 (2005): 33–46.

21. Petrović, Rodoljub. „Sudbina Nikoljskog jevanđelja”, Glas biblioteke br. 2/3 (1991): 22–25.

22. Ristić, Dejan. Кuća nesagorivih reči: Narodna biblioteka Srbije 1833–1941. Beograd: „Vizantija” 2019.

23. Stojanović, Ljub[omir]. Кatalog Narodne biblioteke u Beogradu. Кnj. 4, Rukopisi i stare štampane knjige. Beograd: Кralj.-srpska državna štamparija, 1903. (на ћирилици).

24. Стефановић Караџић, Вук. „Почетак описанија српских намастира”, Даница (1826): 1–40.

25. Trifunović, Đorđe. „Vukomanovićev opis Nikoljskog jevanđelja”, Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklore knj. XLII, sv. 1/4 (1976): 45–51.

26. Wilson, Arthur J. The Life and Times of Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. London: Cadogan Publications Limited, 1985.

Архивска грађа

1. Chester Beatty, Archival material, CBP/B/05/08, Correspondence with John Barnicot, 14 Oct 1958 – 30 Jun 1961.

2. Chester Beatty, CBP/A/01/4/02, Biographical notes, 16 Dec 1902 – Dec 1930.

Cover Image
Downloads
Published
2026-02-13
Issue
Vol. 67 No. 2 (2025): Библиотекар: часопис за теорију и праксу библиотекарства
Section
Theme
License

Copyright (c) 2026 The Librarian: The Journal of Theory and Practice of Librarianship

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Books of the National Library of Serbia in the Chester Beatty Collection: Books of the National Library of Serbia in the Chester Beatty Collection. (2026). Bibliotekar (The Librarian): The Journal of Theory and Practice of Librarianship, 67(2), 9-31. https://bibliotekar.bds.rs/index.php/1/article/view/265

Similar Articles

1-10 of 28

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)