The giving and receiving of patronage is a subject of renewed attention in the study of sixteenth-century Ottoman literary life. Thus far the focus has fallen on the patronage of Süleyman I, whose reign is virtually synonymous with the golden age of Ottoman poetry. Less attention, however, has been given to the activities of high-ranking officials, especially for the period preceding Süleyman I’s reign. One prominent patron at that time was the chief military magistrate Müeyyedzade. Praised for his learning and generosity to poets, he also was an avid collector of books and amassed a private library of around 7000 volumes. This paper examines the patronage of Müeyyedzade in the context of his book collection, a partial inventory of which has survived. A key question is whether a coherence of criteria informed the choices Müeyyedzade made as a patron and a collector. I argue that his choices reflected competing interests and emphases that were current at the beginning of the sixteenth century.