Discovering Our "Kan" Collection: What Canonists Read and Left Behind
A small label on an old spine can open an entire world. In his blog post Alte Drucke mit der Signatur Kan, Christoph H. F. Meyer uncovers how early modern scholars learned to read, cite, and govern with church law.
Drawing on sources that bridge Roman law, canon law, and theology, he shows how dense abbreviations and study aids shaped ideas of normativity. Turning to our institute library, Meyer maps what canonists collected, what they left aside, and how the “Kan” holdings have expanded from 2,000 to nearly 4,800 titles. The result is a window onto forgotten knowledge of ecclesiastical normativity and a reminder of how collections themselves shape legal history.