Duchess Wilhelmine of Sagan’s Book Catalog: Historical Context and Values of Enlightenment

The catalog of the library owned by Duchess Wilhelmine of Sagan (1781–1839), compiled in the early years of the 19th century, is one of the few surviving registers of books that belonged to the last ruling family of the Duchy of Courland (now Kurzeme). Its oldest editions are published in the mid-17th century and, by the predominance of French books, the catalog shows that the owner’s interests were leaning towards the French cultural space. The present study, which is at the intersection of the history of ideas and micro-history, looks at the historical events affecting the Duchy of Courland and also seeks to shed light on the presence and role of Enlightenment ideas in the said library.