Teaching Paleography at Lviv University during Soviet Period: Contribution to Development of Special (Auxiliary) Historical Disciplines in Ukraine in the Second Half of the 1940s – the First Half of the 1980s

The purpose of the study is review and analysis of the body of work of those lectures of Lviv University who in the Soviet era taught Paleography and related disciplines. Scientific novelty: for the first time in domestic historiography, the process of teaching Paleographic courses in the Soviet era at Lviv University is analyzed, and their filling and content, information on some unpublished educational publications on special (auxiliary) historical disciplines are provided. Conclusions: the practice of teaching Paleographic courses at Lviv University has had a long tradition, and from the last third of the 19th century was of a stable nature. They were added to the educational programs because of the need for professional training of researchers of the history of the Middle Ages and early modern times and the employees of archival and museum institutions. Until 1939, most Paleographic courses were taught by Polish scholars, and the object of their close attention was Latin Paleography. Separate courses in Cyrillic Paleography, which could be attended by students of Lviv University, were given at that time by Ukrainians M. Hrushevskyi and I. Svientsitskyi. After the beginning of the Sovietization of this higher educational institution, the teaching of special (auxiliary) historical disciplines and, in particular, Paleography, was stopped for a while, and was resumed only in the second half of the 1940s. A number of Ukrainian researchers played a decisive role in that (Ye. Yatskevych, I. Starchuk, Ya. Kis), who finished secondary schools and graduated from higher educational institutions before 1939 or, under the supervision of Polish and Ukrainian professors in the first years of its Sovietization. Until the middle of the 1980s, Paleography, both Latin and Cyrillic, was taught according to the scheme traditional for previous times, in which the main attention was paid to the formation of practical skills in reading ancient writing, and the theoretical part was shortened to brief information on its history and brachygraphy. Over time, Ya. Kis enhanced the content of the course with information about other special (auxiliary) historical disciplines, first of all, Diplomatics. Due to the absence of Ukrainian Paleography textbooks, Lviv University lecturers tried to prepare a number of their own publications. However, only one of them appeared in print, and the rest remained in drafts.