Copy-book of Nydala monastery

Sweden, Nydala kloster, 16th century, first quarter

Parchment

55 leaves

270 × 200–210 mm

Latin, Swedish

1 (ff. 2r–55v) Copies of letters from Nydala monastery

Note: The majority of the letters are edited in DS 1 and a sellection in a modern edition in Gejrot (1994), which also presents a survey of the copy-book and editions of the different letters (seeGejrot (1994), pp. 183–196).

1.1 (ff. 2r–13v) Vrigstad parish

Rubric: Litere super wrixsthadha soken

Note: 50 letters.

1.2 (ff. 14r–23v) Svenarum parish

Rubric: Litere super swenarwm soken

Note: 47 letters.

1.3 (ff. 24r–33v) Fryele parish

Rubric: Litere super frøale soken

Note: 45 letters.

1.4 (ff. 34r–38r) Hagshult parish

Rubric: Litere super haxhwulth soken

Note: 19 letters.

1.5 (ff. 38v–45v) Värnamo parish

Rubric: Litere super wernamo soken

Note: 30 letters.

1.6 (ff. 46v–50v) Tofteryd parish

Rubric: Litere super thofftharydh soken

Note: 20 letters.

1.7 (ff. 51r–51v) Annerstad parish

Note: 2 letters.

1.8 (ff. 52r–54r) Ödestugu parish

Rubric: Litere super ødhastwe soken

Note: 11 letters.

1.9 (ff. 54r–55v) Malmbäck parish

Rubric: Litere super parochiam malbech

Note: 7 letters.

Physical Description

Support

Binding/Endleaves

Locus: LCI, RCI

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 270 × 210 mm

Textblock

Locus: ff. 1–55

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 270 × 200 mm

Foliation

Modern foliation in pencil.

ff. 2–55: contemporary pagination in the top margin, 1-190.Items numbered with letters and Roman numerals in the outer margin in red ink. Each parish is assigned a letter (a-i), and each letter a Roman numeral.

Collation

Formula: 1(4, lacks 2-4), 2(8), 3(10, lacks 4, 6-10), 4(8, lacks 1-4), 5(10, lacks 5, 8), 6(10, lacks 4, 8), 7(8, lacks 3-4), 8(8), 9(8, lacks 6-8), 10(8, lacks 6-8)

Note: VisColl collation. ff. S56–S84: several missing quires at the end, stubs visible. Eriksson (1937), pp. 217–218 presents a different analysis of the quire structure. Eriksson's collation is presented in this VisColl collation.

Condition

Textblock

Parchment worn and stained. More than half of all original leaves missing. The older pagination indicates 95 leaves, currently 55 full leaves and stubs. See Collation for more information. f. 1: a 60mm long slash through the middle of the page.

Layout

Columns: 1

Ruled lines: 34

Written area: 200 × 150 mm

Note: Guidelines and ruling in ink.

Script

Textblock

Hand 1

Hybrida.

Additions

Binding/Endleaves

(LCI) Top left corner, in ink by a modern hand: ‘A 134 a.’, written over ‘NKS 1432. Fol.’, which is written in pencil; centre page, National Library stamp; bottom left coner: National Library book label with current signum; lower part of page, in brown ink by a medieval hand: ‘ombris adde modis modus est x[--- 4 chars ---] ’.

(RCI) Various partially legible phrases by different medieval hands, e.g. top left corner, in ink by a medieval hand: a skull; below: two lines of text beginning with ‘Decembris mensis facti est peragendum sine pactis?’.

Textblock

(f. 1r) 4 notes by a medieval hand. Note 2 concerns events after the Stockholm Bloodbath and begins ‘Anno domini 1521 Martirizatus et submersus fuit venerabilis pater abbas Arwidus’; note 3 begins: ‘Anno domini 1524 dominica’; note 4 begins: ‘Anno 1526’. The notes are transcribed in DS 1, pp. xii–xiii.

(f. 1v) Top of page, in black ink by an early modern hand: 5 lines of text beginning with ‘liber preciosus monasterii Nydalensis’.

(ff. 2r–51r) Dates from the main text written in Arabic numerals in the margin by an early modern or modern hand.

Decorations

Textblock

Description:

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

Initials:

(ff. 2r–55v): plain initials over 2-3 lines in red.

Binding

Description:

Medieval binding. Brown leather over wooden boards. 5 double raised bands and endbands. Originally, 2 clasps. Corner and centre pieces with bosses. Spine, in ink: ‘A 134a’.

Binding dimensions: 285 × 230 × 65 mm

Condition: Leather worn and colour almost completely worn off on Spine and LCO. Clasps missing. Endband exposed at bottom and missing at top. LCO, wo deep cuts close to the spine.

Contemporary: Yes

History

Origin

Sweden, Nydala kloster, 16th century, first quarter. Eriksson (1937), p. 221 argues a date between 1506–1508.

Provenance

Early provenance unknown.

The manuscript was given by bishop Jacob Serenius to Jacob Langebek at some point during the second half of the 18th century., seeEriksson (1943), pp. 78–80. The manuscript was then bought from Langebek's estate by the book collector Peter Suhm in 1777. Then, in 1796 the manuscript was acquired from him by the Royal Danish Library, Ilsøe (2007), pp. 178–179, 224.

At the library the manuscript was assigned the shelf mark ‘NKS 1432 Fol.’, which can be faintly seen on LCI.

Acquisition

Transferred from the Royal Danish Library to the National Library in 1929 as a part of the Swedish-Danish archival exchange program (svensk-danska arkivalieutbytet).