Sancta Birgitta, Revelationes 5-8, Sermo Angelicus

Sweden, Vadstena, 15th century, middle of

parchment

i, 311, i' leaves

240 × 160–170 mm

2 units

Latin

Unit 1

1 (ff. 2r–31v) Birgitta Birgersdotter, Revelations, Book 5

Rubric: prologus libri questionum qui est quintus liber celestium revelacionum beate Birgitte

Incipit: Incipit Quintus liber celestium revelacionum Christi ad beatam Birgittam de regno Swecie

Explicit: Ergo qui ad ista loca uenerit mundus cum bona et perfecta uoluntate habebit uidere et gustare quam dulcis et suauis sum ego deus Itaque cum ueneris ad ista loca ostendam tibi plura et cetera

Final rubric: Explicit quintus liber questionum

Edition: Bergh (1971), pp. 97–175.

2 (ff. 31v–144v) Birgitta Birgersdotter, Revelations, Book 6

Rubric: Incipit sextus liber revelacionum celestium beate Birgitte de regno Swecie rubrica primi capituli. Verba matris dei ad sponsam narrancia pulchritudinem Christi et qualiter frequenter iudei in aliquo agone cordis positi ibant ad inspiciendum vultum eius et consolabantur Capitulum primum

Incipit: Mater dei loquabatur ad sponsam dicens Ego sum regina celi

Explicit: Alioquin labor suus superuacuus et oracio sua erunt ei minus in coronam [mut.]

Edition: Bergh (1991), pp. 59–270.

3 (ff. 144v–191v) Birgitta Birgersdotter, Revelations, Book 7

Rubric: Incipit septimus liber celestium Reuelacionum Beate Birgitte de regno Swecie Rubrica primi capituli. Reuelacio quam habuit domina Brigitta in Roma post annum Iubilei in qua uirgo Maria pronunciat ei que itura esset in iherusalem et bethleem quando placuerit deo promittens ei tunc ostendere sibi modum quomodo ipsa peperit filium suum benedictum

Incipit: Cum esset in Roma Beata birgitta sponsa christi et quadam uice oracioni

Explicit: Dicta uero missa et sacramentis perceptis cum maxima deuocione et reuerencia inter manus predictarum personarum emisit spiritum

Final rubric: Explicit septimus liber celestis reuelacionum christi ad sponsam beatam Birgittam

Edition: Bergh (1967), pp. 113–215.

4 (ff. 191v–211v) Alfonso Pecha, Epistola solitarii ad reges

Rubric: Incipit epistola solitarii ad Reges. Reprehendit (!) hic illi qui ex abrupto et improuiso nullo examine precedente approbant aut reprobant personas se asserentes habere uisiones et reuelationes diuinas

Incipit: O Serenissimi Reges vtinam veri reges in christo

Explicit: ut ex omnibus supradictis patet breuiter ex dictis omnium doctorum et sanctorum patrum super hac materia multipharie diffuse loquencium

Final rubric: Explicit prologus domini Alphonsi

Edition: Hans Aili (2002), pp. 48–81.

5 (ff. 211v–212v) Birgitta Birgersdotter, Prologue to Book 8

Rubric: Incipit prologus libri celestis imperatoris ad reges in quo continetur modus compilacionis eius Et admonentur reges et principes quod recipiant hunc librum deuote et humiliter de manu dei et cum corde et opere sequantur hanc doctrinam frequenter. Capitulum viii

Incipit: Ad presentis quippe libri nunc iam materiam descendendo Sciendum est quod iste liber infrascriptus intitulatur Celestis imperatoris ad reges

Explicit: Qui rex est regum ac dominus dominancium in secula seculorum Amen

Edition: Hans Aili (2002).

6 (ff. 212v–293r) Birgitta Birgersdotter, Revelations, Book 8

Rubric: Incipit octauus liber celestis Imperatoris ad reges reuelacionum diuinitus Beate brigitte de regno Swecie Rubrika primi capituli. / Summus imperator Christi per sponsam loquitur ad reges ostendens se esse uerum omnium creatorem et regem in trinitate et vnitate regnantem Et dicit qualiter mundum ordinauit regendum duplici potestate scilicet ecclesiastica et laycali qui (!) in apostolis petro et paulo principaliter designantur Capitulum primum

Incipit: Vidi pallacium grande incomprehensibile magnitudine simile celo sereno

Explicit: Excutite graue iugum dyaboli a uobis et recordemini caritatis mee et uidebitis in consciencia uestra quod ego sum suauis et mitis

Final rubric: Explicit liber octauus celestis imperatoris ad reges et cetera

Note: f. 293v: blank

Edition: Hans Aili (2002), pp. 84–224.

Unit 2

1 (ff. 294r–312v) Sermo Angelicus

Rubric: Incipit sermo angelicus de excelencia beate marie virginis quem ipse angelus dictauit beate birgitte ex precepto dei Et ipsa ex eodem precepto deuote conscripsit Capitulum primum etc

Incipit: Verbum de quo ewangelista Iohannes in ewangelio suo facit mencionem ab eterno erat cum patre et spiritu sancto vnus deus

Explicit: qui cum patre et spiritu sancto vivit et regnat per infinita secula seculorum Amen

Final rubric: Explicit sermo angelicus de excellencia beate marie virginis gloriose

Note: f. 312v: ruled, no text

Edition: Eklund (1972), pp. 75–137.

Physical Description

Secundo folio

audiam cum eis

Support

Binding/Endleaves

Locus: ff. LCI, 1r–1v, 313r–313v, RCI

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 240 × 160/165 mm

Unit 1

Locus: ff. 2r–293v

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 240 × 170 mm

Unit 2

Locus: ff. 294r–312v

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 240 × 170 mm

Foliation

Modern foliation in pencil.

Unit 1

Running titles in red ink (occasionally also in green).

Collation

Note: VisColl collation

Formula: 1-6(10), 7(12, lacks 5, 9), 8(14, lacks 5, 9), 9(14, lacks 5, 9), 10-13(12), 14(10), 15(12, lacks 3, 11), 16(12, lacks 5, 9), 17(10), 18(12, lacks 3, 11), 19-26(10), 27(12, lacks 5, 9), 28(10), 29(12), 30(10, lacks 8-10)

Signatures: Quire signatures in red ink.

Catchwords: Catchwords in black ink.

Condition

Unit 1

Holes in the parchment throughout the manuscript, but no loss of text. Some of the holes are circled with red ink, e.g. on f. 226. Text legible. Several leaves have been cut out (see collation), but this has been done before the text was written. There is no loss of text.

Unit 2

f. 312: water (?) damage, affecting ff. 298–312.

Layout

Unit 1

Locus: ff. 2r–293v

Columns: 1

Written lines: 26–35

Written area: 140/175 × 120/130 mm

Note: Pricking in the outer margins.

Unit 2

Locus: ff. 294r–312v

Columns: 2

Ruled lines: 32

Written area: 180 × 125 mm

Note: Guidelines and ruling in ink.

Script

Unit 1

Hand 1

Hybrida

Unit 2

Hand 2

Gothic cursive

Additions

Binding/Endleaves

(LCI) Top right corner: National Library modern ex libris. Lower part of page in brown ink: ‘247’.

(f. 1r) Top of page in black ink by a medieval hand: ‘F 2o 10us’ (shelfmark from the Vadstena library).

(f. 1v) Entire page in brown ink by 18th/19th(?) century hand: table of content.

(RCI) Middle of page in black ink by a medieval hand: scattered words and letters (probbaly pen-trial).

Unit 1

(ff. 2v–293r) Marginal additions and corrections by a contemporary hand in the form of letters, single words, short phrases, and manicules.

Unit 2

(ff. 294v–311r) Occasional additions and corrections in the margins by a contemporary hand in the form of letters, single words, short phrases, and manicules.

Decorations

Unit 1

Description:

Main text in black ink, capitals touched in red, rubrics in red. (f. 138r): final rubric in green speech scroll.

Initials:

(f. 2r), (f. 13r), penwork initial I over 8-9 lines in green with red flourishing. (f. 32r): penwork inital M in red over 6 lines. (f. 145r): inhabited initial C in red and green over 10 lines. Counter space filled with a ram and hound drawn in black ink, as well as vegetative ornamnets in red and green ink. Inital placed in red frame with flourishing and vegetative ornaments in green and black. (f. 192r): knotwork inital O over 10 lines, outlined in black ink, then filled with vegetative ornamnets in red and green. Inital placed in black and red frame with flourishing and vegtative ornaments in green and black. (f. 213r): vinestem inital V over 7 lines in black ink. This inital has not been filled in with colours. (ff. 2r–31v): plain initials over 3-4 lines in green with red flourishing or red with green flourishing.  (ff. 2v–10v) : plain initials in black with red flourishing over 2-3 lines. (ff. 32r–293v): plain Initials over 2-4 lined in green or red.

Unit 2

Description:

Main text in black ink, capitals touched in red, rubrics in red.

Initials:

(f. 294r): opening plain initial V over 4 lines in red. (ff. 294v–311): plain initials over 2-4 lines in red.

Binding

Description:

Contemporary binding from Vadstena Monastery. Brown leather over wooden boards. 4 double bands and endbands. 2 hook-clasps with long clasps and short leather straps. Spine, in brown ink: ‘CC’; in black ink: ‘131’; stamped in gold: ‘A 32’; brown ink on torn label: ‘32’.

Binding probably by Niels Bookbinder, active in Vadstena at the end of the 15th century; see  Collijn (1903), pp. 144–145. Several examples of stamps used by Niels are found in Sten G. Lindberg’s archive, Kungliga Biblioteket, Band 10:4 Niels–band och andra gnidebilder, Acc. 2005/28.

Binding dimensions: 240 × 170 × 100 mm

Tooling:

Blind-tooling. LCO: Double frame filled with stamps of fleur-de-lis and roses. Panel blind stamped with large lozenges filled with vegetative shapes. RCO: Multi-line frame. Diamond pattern panel filled with multiple stamps of fleur-de-lis and roses. Head, Tail, and Fore-edge: Blind-tooling also found on the edges of the cover.

Condition: Covers torn and cracked in places. Endbands and one of the raised bands exposed.

History

Origin

Sweden, Vadstena, 15th century, middle of

Provenance

The manuscript belonged to the library in Vadstena. In 1620 the manuscript was transferred to the National Archives by Johannes Bureus, see Gödel (1916), pp. 283–286Appendix 2 and 3.

Later the manuscript was transferred to the Antiquities Archive and is listed in its inventories and catalogues. There are 3 unique signa on the Spine, two of which have been identified. The older, 131, is found in the inventory from 1720 (U 90:2, f. 12v) and the current signum, ‘A 32’, was first established in Helin’s catalogue from the 1720s (U 91:2:2).

Also mentioned in the following catalogues and inventories: U 90:1, ‘MSS in folio, nr. 145’; U 90:4, p. 58, ‘nr 131’; U 91:1, ‘nr. I 131’.