In a friendly circle:(in)formal associations and societies and developmentof special (auxiliary) historical disciplines in Lviv in the second half of the 19th - 20th centuries

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to study the formation peculiarities and functioning of the scholars’ environment who conducted lectures on special (auxiliary) historical disciplines in Lviv in the second half of the 19th and 20th centuries. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that information on the activity of scientific and public societies of Lviv, related to the development of special (auxiliary) historical disciplines, has been systematized and analyzed comprehensively, and patterns of their development have been elucidated for the first time. The Methodology of the Research. General scientific methods of empirical research, theoretical research, methods of historiographical analysis have been applied. The Conclusions. Despite a long tradition of teaching special (auxiliary) historical disciplines in Lviv, the activities of the renowned Ukrainian and Polish scholars led to the establishment of the first professional societies at the beginning of the 20th century. The Heraldic Society was organized in the city, and an informal group of local members of Krakow Numismatic and Archaeological Society functioned at the time. The activities of these associations proved the overcoming of a certain atomization in this environment, transition to more organized forms of activity, involvement of not only professional historians, but also amateurs. When Lviv branch of the Polish Heraldic Society operated in the city, and the Union of Lviv Numismatists was founded, the traditions of such work carried on during the interwar period. The result of their work was the growth of interest in Numismatics, Heraldry, Sphragistics and Genealogy, the emergence of publications on the pages of the local periodicals, and the publication of new professional journals. There was a certain, noticeable decline in the activity of such professional associations in the 1930s, due to financial issues, activity of a number of other professional historical associations in the city, and a narrow national character of their composition. The experience of these societies, as well as T. Shevchenko Scientific Society, was shared during the organization of the Theoretical Seminar on Source Studies and Special (Auxiliary) Historical Disciplines in 1961, which operated for two decades at the Historical Archive in Lviv. The Theoretical Seminar not only became a continuation of those formal and informal associations of scholars, who worked in the city until September of 1939, but also formed a new generation of the Ukrainian professionals in special (auxiliary) historical disciplines.