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This single-column paper manuscript is dated December 20, 1453 (f. 163r). The Liber officiorum was written by a main hand, which also added the red marginalia throughout the manuscript. A second hand is responsible for the interlinear glosses, other marginalia and red manicules. Chapter headings and lombards were kept in red throughout. The three parts of the work are each introduced by an initial containing a figure (f. 1r, 69r, 112v). Fol. 1r was additionally decorated with a frame of plant ornaments. The ex-libris on the front pastedown names Georg Alfred Kappeler (1839-1916, theologian and pastor) from Frauenfeld as the owner of the paper manuscript. The Kappeler family is proven to have lived in Frauenfeld since 1443. Due to their influential activities as governors, teachers and pastors, in the 19th century the Kappeler family was part of the educated middle class, to which Georg Alfred Kappeler also belonged. His legacy lives on today through several valuable manuscripts and prints still held by the Cantonal Library of Thurgau.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This late 15th century manuscript is one of the earliest works in the holdings of the Carthusian Library in Ittingen. Jacobus Saurer von Blaubeuren (died 1514) is considered the scribe of the manuscript (with the exception of ff. 179r-180v): […] Jacobum Sënger alias Säurer propria ipsius manu conscriptus. The two-column paper manuscript contains the Tractatus super epistolas dominicales by the French scholastic Johannes Algrinus de Abbatisvilla as well as his entries on the Gospels for Pentecost. The text is written very evenly in a careful “Kurrent”. The brown wood-leather binding with clasps is contemporary and features decorative lines and ornamental stamps (stars and leaf ornaments).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This breviary, created in the second half of the 15th century, contains texts for the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours. The owner of the manuscript is Niklaus Hass (Primissarius in Allenbach): Iste liber pertinent Nicolao Hass primissario in Allenspach (f. 1r). This paper manuscript probably came to Kreuzlingen because of the good relations of Kreuzlingen Abbey to chapter of Constance. The two-column breviary was written by six different hands, of which that of Nikolaus Marschalk (died 1448, custos and canon of the monastery of St. Johann in Constance, see entry on f. 1r) can be named as the main hand (ff. 33ra-287vb, 290ra-303ra, 310ra-340rb and 342r). A second hand is responsible for the calendar and the beginning of the breviary (ff. 1r-8r, 12r-28vb and 309r-309v). Further entries are by four additional hands (third hand: ff. 28vb-32ra, fourth hand: ff. 288r-289v, fifth hand: ff. 303ra-304rb, sixth hand: ff. 305ra-308rb). The manuscript was written in a “Kurrent”. The contemporary wood-leather binding with a clasp and brass bosses is striking. The Kreuzlingen coat of arms was only subsequently engraved on the front as supralibros.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This manuscript contains the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. The Samaritan community, an Israelite community that still lives in the West Bank and the Israeli city of Holon, recognizes only these five books as holy scripture. The Hebrew text is written in Samaritan characters and features various cryptograms. One of them contains the name of the copyist, Ya'akov ben Yossef ben Meshalma, who completed his work in the year 901 of the Hegira (1495 AD) in Damascus. Some pages of this neat manuscript have stains (e.g., f. 132r, 170r), which were caused by a special ritual during which the parchment is touched with bare hand. The origin of this manuscript is partly unknown: it was sold in Cairo in 1902 and not until 2000 did it reappear in a private collection, whereupon the Cantonal Library of Fribourg acquired it.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This composite manuscript consists of four parts, the oldest of which is dated 1416 (Part 2). It contains sermons and other short texts related to pastoral care. Parts 3 and 4 originally belonged to the Strasbourg monk Johannes Rüeffel, who wrote them during his studies in England and in 1446 in his home town. They include introductions to scholastic philosophy and quaestiones. Part 1 with French-Latin translation exercises and other school texts probably originated around the middle of the 15th century in the area around Fribourg i. Ue. The volume was probably compiled by Jean Joly, guardian of the Franciscan monastery of Fribourg.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This small-format manuscript with a limp binding falls into the category of "livres de besace": mainly it contains a compilation of medical texts (Guy de Chauliac, Jean Le Lièvre, Jean Jacme, Guillaume de Saliceto, anonymous herbaria), most of which have been translated into Middle French, as well as calendars and songs. The main hand wrote in a script from the second half of the 15th century; there are also notes from the 16th and 17th centuries. The first known owner (mentioned on f. 9r) is Jehan Farcy, who is attested as a barber in Lausanne in 1484 and 1496. Pen trials and coats of arms (Valangin and Aarberg, f. 57v) also indicate a regional context. Likewise the parchment from which the binding was made is a reused notarial document prepared in Vaud on April 25, 1448. With the support of private foundations, the Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire - Lausanne acquired this manuscript in 2006.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
De vita solitaria is one of the Latin works by the famous Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374), who wrote it in 1346 and revised it several times in the course of the following years. Two books praise the secluded, solitary life dedicated to study and meditation. This paper manuscript shows a certain elegance, in the page layout as well as in the two gold initials (p. 7, 103). Its origin is unknown, but before 1892, when it was acquired by the library, it was owned by the canons of Lausanne and a family of notaries from Muraz (Valais). The binding originally consisted of a series of 14th century paper fragments, which were joined together in numerous layers and were later detached and restored. Some of these fragments are papal privileges addressed to members of various French dioceses, others are in Italian from the area of Tuscany, and one contains Hebrew text.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
Document in two parts. The first part is by François Jacques Joseph Chariatte (1700-1765), provost of Moutier-Grandval Abbey, and tells the history of Moutier-Grandval Abbey from its founding in the 7th century until 1764 (pp. 1-139). The manuscript was completed in 1814 by the canon Jean Germain Fidèle Bajol, Chariatte's nephew (pp. 147-162).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
Contains copies of regulations and agreements signed between the Priory of Moutier-Grandval and various regions of French-speaking Switzerland.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This manuscript, written in French, tells the story of Moutier-Grandval Abbey: "où sont rapportés les événements les plus remarquables qui sont arrivés dans l'Evêché de Bâle depuis l'origine et fondation du monastère de M.G.V. jusqu'à nos jours". This is followed by a Latin print, "Pièces justificatives" (pp. 103-220). It contains an index (pp. N1-N4), and, at the end of the volume, four pages titled: "Mémoire des liaisons helvétiques du chapitre de Moutier-Grand-Val" (pp. N5-N8). The document was most likely written by Jean Germain Fidèle Bajol, who was largely inspired by the Latin manuscript Historicum insigni ecclesiae collegiatae Monasterii Grandis-Vallis by François Jacques Joseph Chariatte (see A2445).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
A collection of rights, revenues and customs of Moutier-Grandval Abbey, introduced by a table of contents (p. V1-V2), occupies the first part of this manuscript (pp. V1-1_0135). This is followed by an "Extrait des protocoles du chapitre de Moutier Grand Val depuis l'an 1500 jusqu'en l'an 1788" (p. 1_0138).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This manuscript contains a topographical description of the region of Moutier-Grandval, decrees tracing the political history of Moutier-Grandval Abbey, and isolated articles on the role of the Priory of Saint-Ursanne. The text was written in Latin and translated into French in the second column.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
The Statutes of Valais or Landrecht of 23 May 1571 (Statuta et decreta inclitae patriae Vallesii noviter sedulo recognita, multis in loci aucta et in subsequentem ordinem redacta), written under the episcopate of Hildebrand I von Riedmatten, represent the codification of old customs as well as a new law for Valais, with Roman influence and valid from then on for the entire territory of the diocese of Sion. According to Jean Graven, a leading expert on ancient law, these statutes are “par leur valeur intrinsèque et par leur aspect, la pièce royale, l'honneur et le couronnement de notre législation valaisanne.” After it was written, the document received numerous supplements, additions and commentaries, which were officially confirmed by the Diet of Valais in its final report. A comprehensive revision was not carried out until 1780. This “cantonal” law remained in force for 200 years, until the difficult phase during the transition from the 18th to the 19th century, a sign of its unusual permanence. The Statutes of Valais contain aspects that are purely legal (procedures, organization of the judiciary, position of notaries) as well as criminal (offenses against the state, against faith, against individuals; punishments and penalties) and civil (relations between individuals, family law, obligations, property, inheritance). The nine wax seals, which are kept in metal boxes, are the symbols of authority of the seven Zenden (‘tithings,’ districts of the County of Valais), the bishop, and the Cathedral Chapter of Sion.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This impressive gradual contains the sanctorale, the Commune Sanctorum, votive masses and a Kyriale. The registered feasts for the two saints Francis of Assisi and Anthony of Padua, the most important saints of the Franciscans, prove that it is intended for the use of the Friars Minor. The first of the eight decorated initials (f. 1r, 7v, 29r, 32r, 34v, 43r, 46v, 121v) also confirms the Franciscan use: the D(ominus secus mare) contains the name of Jesus in the form of the trigram "yhs" surrounded by rays of sunlight, which is the attribute of the Franciscan preacher, St. Bernard of Siena (1388-1440). The beautiful initials on a gold ground extend into the borders with leaves, multicolored flowers and gold dots arranged in a fan shape, some of which even contain birds and butterflies (f. 1r, 34v, 46v). The origin of the manuscript is completely unknown. At best it can be compared with another manuscript from the State Archives of Valais, the Franciscan Antiphonary AVL 507, since both works were bound in the same workshop in the 18th century, an indication that their common origin is probable. The binding has since been restored by Andrea Giovannini (1989).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This antiphonary (winter part of the temporale), copied by a single hand, has a number of gaps in the text (for example, the beginning is missing). The chants in square notation are separated either by simple alternating blue and red initials, or by larger initials, in part with pen flourishes. In addition, the manuscript is decorated with four historiated initials, from which extend elegant, straight and ringed shafts with gold dots, ending in long, colored leaves that curl and uncurl (f. 54v, 89v, 108v, 210r). In terms of color and style, they are close to late 13th century production in Emilia. Instead of the traditional iconography of King David praying before God, the initial introducing the chant "Domine ne in ira" (f. 108v) depicts a cleric with tonsure – St. Francis or a Franciscan? –, which probably refers to the fact that the manuscript was intended for the use by the Minorites. Both the monastery for which the manuscript was originally intended and its later provenance history are unknown. This copy can at most be associated with one other manuscript from the State Archives of Valais, the Franciscan gradual AVL 506; both works were bound in the same workshop in the 18th century, which likely is an indication of their common origin. The binding has since been restored by R. Bommer in Basel (1998).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
The Chanson de la Reine Sebile or Macaire is a work from the end of the 12th century that belongs to the medieval French epics, more precisely to the epics that refer to the "poetic biography of Charlemagne": Macaire, who is in love with Queen Sebile, wife of Charlemagne, conspires so that she is unjustly accused of adultery, cast out, and sent into exile, to be rehabilitated in the end. More than 200 alexandrines from this heroic epic are known. They come from five different fragments that were not part of the same original manuscript and are today held in Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium (ms. II 139, ff. 3r-4r: 2 13th century fragments), in Sheffield, University Library (ms 137: 2 13th century fragments), and in Sion, State Archive of Valais. The fragment from Sion was discovered in 1925 by Leo Meyer, cantonal librarian and state archivist, in an old binding and removed. It was then edited by Paul Aebischer (1950), who dated it to around 1300. The fragment, which has a hole in one place, contains 168 verses in two columns. Its only decoration are red initials at the beginning of the verses.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This Missale speciale from the second half of the 13th century is for the use of the Franciscan Order and contains the mass formularies for the most important feasts of the liturgical year, for votive masses, and for some rituals. Thanks to its small format, it could easily be taken along on journeys. Leisibach places its origins in the Savoy region, as the barely visible coats of arms of the de Sales family seem to confirm (f. 59v). The missal came into the possession of Charles Emmanuel de Rivaz (1753-1830), an important politician in the Valais. On the fly leaf, a note in his hand can be found, which lists the contents of the missal (f. A1r-v). His library was donated to the Valais State Archives by his descendants in 1978.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This book of hours is from the workshop of the Master of Gold Scrolls, which was probably located in Bruges and specialized in the production of books of hours. It was likely made for someone in Flanders in the middle of the 15th century. Contrary to the usual sequence of texts, this book of hours features the Office of the Virgin after those of the Cross and of the Holy Spirit. When this book of hours was rebound, a series of cut-out historiated initials were inserted that pick up on the themes of the miniatures. In 1615 the bibliophile St. Gallen merchant Jakob Studer donated this book of hours to the municipal library.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
The family register of the Feldkirch student Jakob Hygel, which was established in Dillingen in 1598, was later continued at Lake Constance and in Grisons. The entries contain colored coats of arms with inscriptions in poetry and prose, some of them full-page miniatures. Between 1622 and 1645 entries were made for the Ragaz parish priest Petrus Higelius, a relative (brother?) of Jakob Hygel. Locally this family register is considered a first-rate cultural-historical showpiece (“erstrangiges kulturgeschichtliches Schaustück”) (Burmeister).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This codex contains the Gospel of Matthew with the Monarchian prologue (Stegmüller, Repertorium Biblicum, No. 590; pp. 1-4), an anonymous prologue (Stegmüller, RB 589; pp. 2-3, margin), the Glossa ordinaria, and further glosses (among others Stegmüller, RB 10451 [2]). The manuscript, bound in a Romanesque binding, was probably written towards the end of the 12th century, possibly also at the beginning of the 13th century. It is unclear whether it was written in St. Gall, but the ownership note Liber sancti Galli from the 13th century (flyleaf) indicates that it was already in the monastery of St. Gall at that time.
Online Since: 12/10/2020