Matas Grubliauskas

Vilnius University Library

Vade mecum: Between Commonplace Compendium and Egodocument

The content-based analysis of the notebooks, commonly referred to as Vade mecum, serves several purposes. First, it allows for the reconstruction of the predominant topics within these notebooks, thereby facilitating the recognition of Vade mecum as a distinct genre. Second, it reveals how the attributes of these notebooks are influenced by their owners. The primary content of Vade mecum notebooks consists of inscriptions and records of commonplace knowledge, which were intended to aid in the memorization of relevant and useful information for both professional and everyday life. The universal themes addressed in these notebooks suggest that they may have had multiple owners and could have been passed from one individual to another, resulting in an expansion of their content. Furthermore, the inscriptions left by their owners provide insights into their identities as individuals, representatives of their social strata, and members of a political community. Consequently, Vade mecum notebooks can be regarded as egodocuments from which one can reconstruct biographical details of their owners, including their interests and perspectives in various fields such as profession, politics, and philosophy.