Dalla Collectio Amploniana alla Collectio Collegii Portae Caeli. Caratteri e problemi di una collezione in trasformazione

Between 1433 and 1816, the library of the Collegium Portae Caeli played a pivotal role in the academic life of Erfurt. Resulting from the legacy of Amplonius Rating de Bercka (c. 1363-1435), the library continued to evolve afterwards. If modern scholarship has devoted much interest to Amplonius and his collecting activity, the history of the library of the Collegium Portae Caeli still waits to be written. This article aims to offer some suggestions for further research on the history of the library of the Collegium and its main characteristics. It will focus on elements (bindings, marks of ownership, and shelf-marks) exemplifying the processes of acquisition and classification of books. A section is devoted to the development of the section De medicina, with the aim to shed light on the boundaries between Amplonius’ collecting activity and the development of the collection after the establishment of the Collegium.