The Collectarium of Ląd, a medieval Cistercian manuscript once held by the Archdiocesan Archive in Poznań, was formally handed over during a ceremony at Yale, attended by Polish Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska and library officials.
“We are witnessing the return of another priceless cultural treasure,” Cienkowska said. “It is a moment of restored historical continuity.”
The manuscript disappeared during the Nazi occupation of Poland in 1939, when the Poznań archive’s holdings were looted and dispersed. For decades, the Collectarium was considered lost, last documented in Poland in 1937. It resurfaced in the 1990s on the London rare book market and was later cataloged at Yale as Beinecke MS 883.
Following a formal restitution request filed in May 2024, Yale researchers and Polish officials confirmed the manuscript had been taken illegally during the war. The university acknowledged the broader context of systematic Nazi looting of Polish cultural heritage and agreed to return the manuscript.
“The understanding and integrity shown by Yale University and the Beinecke Library set an example,” Cienkowska said, expressing gratitude to library director Michelle Light, the FBI’s Art Crime Team, and other collaborators.
The return concludes a three-year effort initiated by Dr. Paweł Figurski, who first alerted Polish authorities to the manuscript’s presence in Yale’s holdings. It was part of a larger recovery program: in 2025 alone, Poland finalized 25 restitution cases and is pursuing nearly 200 more in 18 countries.
“This manuscript is returning home, where it belongs,” Cienkowska said.
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Source: PAP