The Ablai-kit Materials of F. Adelung in the Collection of the Russian National Library

Among the archival collections of the Russian National Library, the materials (Coll. 7) of the well- known historian, archaeographer, and linguist Friedrich von Adelung (1768–1843) hold significant importance. The main part of Adelung’s collection (183 items out of 218) consists of manuscripts and printed materials that he gathered while compiling his Übersicht aller bekannten Sprachen und ihrer Dialekte (“Overview of All Known Languages and Their Dialects”). Assembled over thirty-five years, the collection includes samples from 200 languages from around the world, with varying degrees of completeness. It also features materials on the Tibetan language (Coll. 7. Item 149), among which two important documents were identified that relate to the discovery of Tibetan and Mongolian manuscripts at the Oirat monastery of Ablai-kit in the early 18th century. Additionally, Tibetan manuscripts previously stored in the Pavlovsk Palace and cataloged by Adelung are now preserved in the Russian National Library. One of these manuscripts was identified by Adelung as originating from Ablai-kit. This article presents the results of an analysis of these unique materials, which are directly related to the history of the Tibetan-Mongolian collections in Russia

Data collection · National library · National museum · Russian language · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Linguistics and Cultural Studies