National Library of Sweden, A 50
Breviary
Sweden, Uppsala, 1485
431 leaves
210 × 145 mm
2 units
Latin
Unit 1
This calendar is almost identical to the one in Breviarium Upsalense (printed 1496). Feasts in A 50 but not in Breviarium 1496 are: St Alban, the Seven sleepers and the Octave of St Michael; 27 March is marked as Resurrection day. Feasts in Breviarium Upsalense 1496 not in A 50 are: St Ansgar, St Thomas of Aquino, Compassion of Virgin Mary (6 May), Division of Apostles, St Katarina of Sweden, St Brynolf, St Helen of Constantinople and the Octave of All saints. Notable feasts:
f. 1r: St Henrik (19 Jan.);
f. 1r: Translation of St Erik (24 Jan.);
f. 1v: St Sigfrid (15 Feb.);
f. 3r: St Erik (18 May);
f. 3v: St Eskil (12 June);
f. 3v: St Botulf (17 June);
f. 4r: St Botvid (28 July);
f. 4r: St Olof (29 July);
f. 4r: St Elin (30 July);
f. 5r: Feast of the relics (23 Sep.):
f. 5v: St Birgitta (7 Oct.).
Unit 2
The temporale begins with the first Sunday of Advent and ends with the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity. Two larger rubrics denote subsections:
f. 200ra: rubric in red: ‘Sequitur vigilia sancte trinitatis Ad vesperas super omnia laudate Antiphone’;
f. 237ra: underlined in red: ‘Incipiunt capitula et ewangelia Dominicalia cum suis omeliis [...] Dominica 2a post trinitatis Capitulum’.
The sanctorale begins with the vigil for St Andrew and ends with a commemoration for St Linus. Notable feasts:
ff. 264rb–266ra: St Henrik, ‘Gaude coetus fidelium’ AH 26, no. 32;
ff. 280vb–283ra: St Sigfrid, ‘Celebremus carissimi’ Nilsson (2010);
f. 300ra: St Erik (rubric with instructions);
ff. 301vb–303vb: St Eskil, ‘Iam dies adest’ AH 43, no. 219;
ff. 319rb–322ra: The patron saints of Sweden, ‘Iocundare mater ecclesia’ Lundén (1933);
ff. 322ra–322rb: St David (collect and reading);
ff. 326va–327rb: St Botvid (collect and reading);
ff. 329rb–331ra: St Elin, (begins with reading and hymn ‘Felix parens’) ‘Salve decus patriae’ AH 26, no. 31;
ff. 370ra–372rb: St Birgitta, ‘Birgittae matris inclitae’ AH 25, no. 58, Undhagen (1960).
ff. 421ra–423rb: Common for apostles;
ff. 423rb–424va: Common for evangelists;
ff. 424va–425vb: Common for a martyr;
ff. 425vb–427rb: Common for many martyrs;
ff. 427rb–428va: Common for a confessor and bishop;
f. 428va: Common for a confessor not bishop, imperfect, ends in the second nocturn.
One leaf has been torn out between f. 428 and f. 429; ff. 429–431 torn out leaving only the upper inner corners intact.
Support
Unit 1
Watermark 1
ff. 1r–7r,Watermark 2
ff. 8r–18r,Watermark 3
ff. 19r–30r,Watermark 4
ff. 31r–78r,Unit 2
Support 2
ff. 80r–85v, 88r–93v, 95r–250v, 252r–257v, 260r–431vWatermark 1
ff. 80r–85v/88r–93v/95r–118v/252r–257v/260r–265r/267r–278v,Watermark 2
ff. 119r–154v/279r–302v/387r–420v,Watermark 3
ff. 155r–166v,Watermark 5
ff. 183r–228v,Watermark 6
ff. 229r–250v/303r–370v,Foliation
Collation
Condition
Layout
Script
Unit 1
Semi-hybrida consistently using unlooped ascenders on ‘l’, ‘h’ and ‘b’, looped ascenders on ‘d’. For ‘r’ both r rotunda and the figure 4-abbreviation are used.
Unit 2
Semi-hybrida consistently using unlooped ascenders on ‘l’, ‘h’ and ‘b’, looped ascenders on ‘d’. For ‘r’ both r rotunda and the figure 4-abbreviation are used.
Decorations
Unit 1
Plain 2-line initials in red, litterae notabiliores in red or touched in red. Black rubrics underlined in red.
Unit 2
Plain 2-line initials in red, litterae notabiliores in red or touched in red. Black rubrics underlined in red.
(f. 250v) Simple drawing in red ink of a balding man's face.
Binding
Medieval binding. Brown leather over wooden boards. 4 double raised bands and 2 endbands. 2 hooked clasps. Spine in brown ink: ‘230’; in black ink on a white label and again stamped in gold underneath: ‘A 50’. Former librarian Sten G. Lindberg identified the binding as the work of Archbishop Jakob Ulvsson's bookbinder, active in Uppsala in the 1490s, see The National Library of Sweden, Sten G. Lindbergs arkiv, B 13c ‘Jakob Ulfssons bokbinderi’. He is possibly identical to Hans bokabinder, citizen in Uppsala, SDHK, no. 33208; Collijn U 387:22, ‘Bokbindare i Sverige, 1400-talet’; Dahlbäck (1991), p. 370.
Paste-downs are made up of fragments from at least two manuscripts. One is an ordinal (12th/13th century) covering one fourth of the LCI and half of the RCI. The text on the LCI is from the Common of confessors and virgins, that on the RCI is probably the end of the feast of Catherine and the beginning of the Common of apostles. The other two fragments cover three fourths of the LCI and half of the RCI. The texts are un-identified but both may be from the same manuscript. The text on the left cover is a list of various terms, e.g. annosus, amor, hospes, barba, all with explanations in hexameter(?).
3-line blind tooling. Double frames at top and bottom, single frame on sides. Two rectangular panels in the centre square separated by a gutter, also blind tooled: a foliaged staff (LCO) and birds (RCO). The panels are blind stamped with circles arranged in corresponding pairs. The motifs, same on both front and back, from top to bottom, left to right are: lion - falconer, pelican - lion with cub, rose - rose, lion with cub - pelican, stag - lion.
Origin
Provenance
Acquisition
- Hedlund (1977), p. 41.
- Haapanen 1927, p. 58.
- Hedlund (1980), plate 114.
- Helander (2001), pp. 217–218.
- Moberg (1947), vol. 1, pp. 91–92, 213–233 (Hymn texts).
