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
Fragmentary missal without beginning, missing the beginning of the Temporale, the entire Sanctorale - which could provide information about the location - as well as several pages. The elegant and careful Gothic script suggests that the manuscript was produced in the scriptorium of the Sion Chapter.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
Chancellery register of the Cathedral Chapter of Sion on parchment, pertaining to Vercorin and the Val d'Anniviers and comprising about 2,300 records from the years 1285-1314. The register is paginated from 1-402, but it contains the pages 96bis, ter, quater and quinque, 296bis and 297bis. (408 pages).
Online Since: 12/13/2013
Missal preceded by a calendar of the Diocese of Sion. The decoration consists of pen-flourish initials at the beginning of the most important holidays (e.g. 8r, 14v, 82r, 92r) and an image of the crucifix in the Canon of the Mass (101r). Thomas Züren of Unterwassern, one of the three copyists, explains in the colophon (193vb) that the volume was produced on the order of Clemens of Ulrichen for the altar of the Virgin in Aragno (Ernen).
Online Since: 10/13/2016
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 original parts of the calendar indicate that this missal was meant for use in the Diocese of Lausanne, whereas the later entries attest to its presence and use in the celebration of the Mass in the Diocese of Sion at the latest since 1300. Three special sequences suggest that the missal originated in the Abbey of St. Maurice (188v: sequence of Theodulf Collaudetur rex virtutum; 190r: sequence of Augustine Augustino laude demus and 189r: sequence of Maurice Pangat Syon dulce melos). The Canon of the Mass is decorated with an illuminated initial, with the Vere dignum, and with a frame showing the crucifixion, the Virgin and St. John (97v). The most important holidays are introduced with decorated initials on a gold background (4v, 13rb, 17ra, 18ra etc.). In 1981, the Valais State Archives purchased this codex on the antiquarian book market.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
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 manuscript of Six âges du monde, created in France at the end of the 14th century or at the very beginning of the 15th century, appears towards the end of the Middle Ages in the library of the Supersaxo family, one of the most important libraries of Valais, which today is held in the Médiathèque Valais-Sion and (this manuscript) in the State Archives of Valais in Sion. The work is remarkable in more ways than one: first, it was created in the rarely-used scroll format, a format reserved for, among others, universal chronicles, a genre to which this manuscript belongs. Second, a complex family tree, showing the descendants of Adam until the birth of Christ, runs the entire length (eight meters) of the manuscript. The columns of text of this impressive graphic document are accompanied by numerous drawings that resemble the style of Parisian works. Finally, this exemplar is not unique, since the municipal library of Reims owns a similar scroll (ms. 61), which certainly was illustrated by the same master.
Online Since: 03/22/2017