In addition to various Formulae epistolarum, this manuscript contains the Summa dictaminis by Johannes Wrantz (ff. 1r-126r), excerpts from the Viaticus dictandi by Nicolaus of Dybin (ff. 138v-140r) and a song, partly with musical notation, in Middle High German perhaps by Neidhart of Reuental (ff. 144v-145r), one of the best known German minnesingers. At an unknown later time, probably at the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century, the manuscript became part of the Cantonal und University Library of Fribourg (BCU/KUB).
Online Since: 03/19/2015
The Liber ordinarius is a liturgical text that describes the ceremonies for every day and for holidays for a certain cathedral or for a certain collegiate or monastery church. In this case it is a Liber for Augustinian Hermits; according to a note on f. 63v-64r, it was written by Brother Georius Vituli from the Convent of the Augustinian Heremits in Freiburg in Breisgau. It contains various sermons, instructions and a treatise on the Ten Commandments in German. At some unknown time, the text passed from Freiburg in Breisgau to the Augustinian Convent of Fribourg (Switzerland).
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This voluminous paper manuscript contains the sermons de tempore and de sanctis for the summer part, several hagiographic texts and exempla. The manuscript might have originally been from Zurich and was the property of the library of the Augustinian Hermits in Fribourg before it came to the Cantonal Library of Fribourg in 1848.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
This Cistercian manuscript, datable to the first half of the 13th century, contains only a part of the Old Testament, that is, the Books Isaiah to and including Malachi. This book must have changed libraries for historical reasons. After being held in the Cistercian Abbey Frienisberg in the Canton of Bern, it reached Hauterive when the Bernese Monastery was dissolved during the Protestant Reformation. The last Abbot of Frienisberg, Urs Hirsinger, is said to have arrived at the Fribourg Abbey with a handful of manuscripts.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
The work „Die vierundzwanzig Alten“ constitutes a sort of guide to Christian life, and, at the time of its composition, the author, Otto von Passau, belonged to the Franciscan convent of Basel. This copy was written in the second half of the 15th century in a dialect used in the upper Rhine region. Unfortunately, the spaces for illustrations at the beginning of the 24 speeches have been left blank.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This document contains the cartulary and the tribute register of the Cluniac priory of Rüeggisberg in the canton of Bern, which was the first Cluniac priory in the German-speaking area and probably the oldest monastery in the Bernese area. The manuscript consists of two different parts, which were probably joined together in Bern at the beginning of the 16th century, or in 1484, when the priory was abolished and its assets were incorporated into the newly founded St. Vincent monastery of Bern. The first part (ff. 1-200 and 261-267) contains transcriptions made between 1425-1428 of various documents and bulls, and of the priory's register of tributes, which in turn had been copied from even older cartularies. The second part (ff. 201-260) contains documents copied from the collegiate monastery of St. Vincent in Bern.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
A composite codex of paper produced at Fribourg in the first half of the 15th century. In the first part, in addition to some short texts in German, it contains the Cycle de la belle dame sans mercy by Alain de Chartier, Baudet Herenc and Achille Caulier, a French poem in octaves on courtly love written ca. 1424. The second part has a copy of another verse poem by Chartier: Le Livre des quatre dames.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This paper manuscript contains the Fribourg chronicle of the Burgundian Wars in German, inspired by the Kleiner Burgunderkrieg by Diebold Schilling (1477), but from the perspective of Fribourg. This chronicle, which for a long time had been forgotten, is attributed to Peter von Molsheim from Bern, who is to have written it at the behest of the Council of Fribourg. The initials and illustrations were not executed.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
Master manuscript of the "Freiburger Perikopen". German language plenary with scripture selections for Mass in German, glosses and additional texts for Sunday and important holy days.
Online Since: 07/31/2007
This composite manuscript was compiled by Konrad von Sulzbach in 1364, when he was a student in Strasbourg. After the first part of the collection containing the commentary by Gregory of Rimini OESA was lost, the manuscript was rebound in the last decade of the 14th century in Fribourg (Switzerland) with 37 Quaestiones determinatae (f. 1r-110v), with other questions (110v-119v and 153v-167r), and with the summary of the Sentenzen by Johannes de Fonte (f. 120r-153r). The 37 Quaestiones, which reveal the influence of the English Franciscan School, are found only in this manuscript.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
German-Latin and Latin-German dictionary by the cleric Fritsche Closener; in 1384 Friedrich von Amberg (guardian in Fribourg, † 1432) had the scribe Gregorius copy this lexicon (colophon f. 101v). This is an important, alphabetically-arranged dictionary with brief translations of words, with additions and supplements by Friedrich von Amberg. The 14th/15th century binding with wooden boards and formerly with a chain was completely restored by Father Otho Raymann in 1998 (see ms. 139 regarding the original binding). The originally loose parts of the manuscript (f. B, ff. I-XX) are now securely bound.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
Cicero's De officiis of is a political work on ethics, used throughout the Middle Ages, from Augustine, to the compilers of his moral sequences, to Christine de Pizan in her Chemin de long estude. Numerous commentaries have been written on this work, as attested by this 15th century paper manuscript. On the last double page (f. 120v-121r) the ethical theme of the Ciceronian text is continued as a schema of virtues. This manuscript was in the possession of the regent of the Collège de Genève, Hugues Lejeune (1634-1707), who donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
This manuscript, copied in the years 1460-1480, contains De regimine principum by Aegidius Romanus, decorated with a miniature in which the author (Aegidius Romanus) dedicates the book to the king of France. The last leaves contain the Life of Aesop and his Fables, translated into Latin by Rinuccio di Arezzo. The manuscript was owned by François Bonivard († 1570), who was prior of the Cluniac Priory of St. Victor in Geneva.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This manuscript is dated to 1461; it contains a version of Jacobus de Teramo's Belial in High Alemannic. It is listend in the register of books of Hermetschwil Abbey.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript was written at an unknown date by Johannes Künlin. It contains the Latin incipits of each Sunday's Gospel reading along with sermons in German. In the middle there is the Dekalogerklärung by Marquard of Lindau.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This book of hours belonged to Johannes Huber (†1500), chaplain at the Grossmünster in Zurich. It contains parts of prayers related to the Liturgy of the Hours for the daily routine of clerics.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This book of hours contains primarily the Office of the Dead and the Office of the Virgin. The initials are clearly set off from one another by color and enliven the text.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This voluminous breviary is dated 4 August 1491. The writer is Heinrich Schlosser, parish priest at Zufikon, who wrote it for nearby Hermetschwil Abbey.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This monastic breviary was used at Hermetschwil Abbey. The rubrics are primarily in German. The binding is from the workshop of dominus Valentinus.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript contains hymns and canticles for choral prayers in monasteries. Presumably it was originally created for Muri Abbey; later it was used at Hermetschwil Abbey.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This gradual contains the most important chants for the Mass throughout the liturgical year and for the saints. They are in Hufnagel notation. The graphic relation of text to melody is not always clear.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
Jakok Strub from Aarau, deceased in 1506, wrote this volume in 1456 for his relation Agnes Trüllerey, mother superior at Hermetschwil. It contains the St. Georgener Prediger.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript contains a collection of prayers and texts for contemplation. Some pages are torn. Entire quires have been ripped out.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This prayer book was probably written by a nun. The texts relate to the Communion. They serve as preparation before and thanksgiving after receiving Communion.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript contains the summer portion of a monastic antiphonary. The chants for the Liturgy of the Hours are given in square notation on four lines. Later additions by various hands from the 15th-17th century confirm that the manuscript was in use for a long period.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript has not survived intact: the beginning, the end, and several quires from the middle are missing. The Latin texts for prayers and instructions for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours occasionally are accompanied by rubrics in German that refer to local customs.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This Dominican-type breviary is from Zurich. It contains texts on the saints' days and on the Commune of saints. Thomas Aquinas is especially emphasized (2r has an initial stretching over 10 lines with a pen drawing of the saint).
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This book of hours of Savoyard or western Swiss origin, produced in about 1490, was originally the property of the Bern patrician Thomas Schöni and his wife Jeanne d'Arbignon. The miniatures were ascribed to the Meister of the breviary of Jost von Silenen.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This volume contains prayers for the parts of the Liturgy of the Hours to be recited during the day. It also contains texts dedicated to the veneration of the saints. The book has suffered some losses (lost pages in the beginning and at the end, strips of parchment cut away in the lower margin). The volume comes from a convent of Dominican nuns, possibly from Zurich.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This small-format book contains parts of the Liturgy of the Hours for a Convent of the Poor Clares. It contains primarily texts for personal prayer, with a focus on the cult of the dead. The volume was given to Barbara Seiler († 1624), sister at Hermetschwil Convent, by Melchior Roth, parish priest of Erlinsbach.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
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
This prayer book is either from the Cologne area, as indicated by the selection of prayer texts and calendars, or from the “Stift Münstereifel”, as the saints Daria and Chrysanthus, who are venerated there, are explicitly mentioned on 218r and 219r. Via Catharina von Wrede (front paste-down), the prayer book reached the Bibliothèque des Cèdres, which became part of the holdings of the Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire - Lausanne in 1966. This small-format volume, illustrated with 18 miniatures, contains a cycle of prayers on the life and passion of Christ, prayers on the truths of the faith, and on various saints. The miniatures and the beginnings of the texts are surrounded by borders with leaf scroll and interlace ornamentation; additional decoration consists of 35 initials in gold, as well as pen flourishes and blue, red and gold Lombard initials in the margins.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
This chronicle, completed in 1513, tells the early history of Lucerne and, beginning with the Battle of Sempach (1386), it tells the history of the Swiss Confederation from the point of view of followers of the Holy Roman Emperor. The 450 illustrations by two different hands, due to their vividness and to the richness of their subjects and details, constitute a unique source of information about late medieval life.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This volume contains St. Bonaventure's Legenda maior of St. Francis, the Vita beati Antonii and two documents regarding the Portiuncula indulgence. The manuscript was written by Elisabeth von Amberg (ff. 1-127) and Katherina von Purchausen (ff. 129-176) in the year 1337. It is decorated with an initial portraying St. Francis as a knight (f. 4r) and a vignette showing the bestowal of the Stigmata (f. 77v). The appearance of the name of St. Clara in the text suggests that the codex was written in a cloister of the Poor Clares, perhaps the Paradise. It came into the posession of the Capuchin cloister in Frauenfeld at the beginning of the 17th century and has been held in the provincial archive of the Capuchins in Lucerne since 1848.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
The Sworn Letter (“Geschworener Brief”), drawn up for the first time in 1252, consists mainly of provisions of criminal law for the sake of maintaining internal peace. It soon attained the status of a social contract that was periodically revised, and the town assembly was sworn into office each year with an oath on this document. COD 1075 presents the last version in a special form: The text was elaborately arranged in calligraphy by chancery clerk Josef Corneli Mahler; the articles are introduced by artistic initials and are accompanied by figures (which bear no reference to the themes of the text). For the binding, the wooden boards are covered in blue and white velvet and have protective book corners, clasps and bosses made of silver.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
In 1433 town clerk Egloff Etterlin compiled a cartulary with copies of documents relevant to the laws of Lucerne, including translations of Latin texts. The volume permitted the council quick access to these texts; thus it served as a finding aid for the originals stored in the water tower (« Wasserturm »). These copies of 150 documents (with 21 translations) do not render the originals in chronological order, but are instead ordered by topic. They were written by various scribes of the Lucerne chancery and go up to the year 1492. This volume receives its name from the magnificent 1505 cover of velvet and taffeta over wooden boards, decorated with silver bosses and clasps with the coat of arms of Lucerne.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Strictly speaking, this manuscript (COD 3655) is a “Stadtbuch” (city register). In addition to the lists of new citizens up to 1441 (actually the oldest register of citizens written by town clerk Werner Hofmeier fol. 1r-53v), it contains statutes, copies of documents, notes regarding the administration (including a catalog of the treasure of St. Peter's Chapel, fol. 19r, and an instruction manual for the new clock in the “Graggenturm”, fol. 24r), as well as chronicled notes. Worth mentioning among the latter are notes about the battles of Sempach (fol. 22r), Näfels (fol. 22r) and Arbedo (fol. 49r). The binding of wooden boards covered in pigskin, on which is painted the coat of arms of Lucerne, dates from the second half of the 16th century.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
This second Register of Citizens contains the list of new citizens for Lucerne from 1479 until 1572. The volume ist valuable as a source regarding immigration to Lucerne, since the individual entries give not only the names of the new citizens, but also their exact origins. At the same time it shows the gradual isolation of the citizenry of Lucerne over the course of the 16th century, as fewer and fewer newcomers were able to enjoy the rights of citizenship. In addition to the original register, which is ordered by first names, the imposing leather-bound volume also contains an index by the municipal archivist Joseph Schneller († 1879).
Online Since: 03/22/2017
As part of a great lawsuit against necromancers and treasure seekers, the Lucerne authorities in 1718 confiscated this meticulous copy of the Schlüssel Salomos, a book of spells that had evidently been widely read in certain quarters and of which various versions had been in circulation. Through the rituals for conjuring spirits described in the book, people around the priest Hans Kaspar Giger hoped to become wealthy. The volume was labeled “superstitious” by the authorities, was sealed and placed in the archives.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
The oldest necrology of the Franciscan Monastery of Lucerne has not survived; KF 80 is the second necrology and includes parts of the lost first volume; the entries go up to 1734. Two important donor families, who were particularly close to the monastery, were remembered specifically in a separate section with their family coats of arms: the Martin family (fol. 17v) and the Sonnenberg family (fol. 62-63v). After the dissolution of the monastery, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives in 1838.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Together with the “Schwarzbuch” (KU 4b), this urbarium offers a comprehensive overview of the rights and possessions of the Cistercian Abbey, which reached its economic peak in the second half of the 15th century. Copies of documents and compilations of rights and dues, organized according to geographic criteria, demonstrate the size of the abbey's possessions. The “Weissbuch” covers the core of St. Urban's manorial power around Pfaffnau and Roggliswil and in the Bernese Upper Aargau region. After the dissolution of the monastery, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives in 1848.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Together with the “Weissbuch” (KU 4a), this urbarium offers a comprehensive overview of the rights and possessions of the Cistercian Abbey, which reached its economic peak in the second half of the 15th century. Copies of documents and compilations of rights and dues, organized according to geographic criteria, demonstrate the size of the abbey's possessions. The “Schwarzbuch” contains sources regarding possessions in the administrative area of Zofingen and Sursee, which reached into the Canton of Solothurn and the Basel area. After the dissolution of the monastery, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives in 1848.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
On the occasion of the 1517 rebuilding of St. Urban's Abbey, which had burned down in 1513, the Cistercian monk Sebastian Seemann (1492-1551), abbot of St. Urban's beginning in 1535, wrote a history of the monastery, embedded in the history of the Swiss confederation and in general church history. The burning of the monastery and the peasant revolt of 1513 are described in detail. This same volume contains an accounts book for all of the monastery's various offices. After the dissolution of the monastery in 1848, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
The oldest necrology of St. Urban's Abbey, in a 16th century binding with wooden boards, has unfortunately survived only in fragments. The first part (fol. 3-14v) consist of the abbey's necrology; the second part contains the incomplete Liber anniversariorum benefactorum (only Jan. 1-12, May 1 - Sept. 1, Sept. 4-7, Sept. 22 - Dec. 31) with supplements; the third part comprises the Officium defunctorum, a litany and supplements with a register of members of the abbey's lay brotherhood. After the dissolution of the monastery, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives in 1848.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
The precarious condition of this volume (missing its binding and several quires, with the sewing dissolved and with discoloration caused by various substances) indicates that it was intensively used for a long period of time. The recipes from different areas (human and veterinary medicine, kitchen) are from the 15th-17th century. This manuscript was deposited in the state archives along with the archives of the patrician family Balthasar from Lucerne.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Hans Salat (1498-1561) from Sursee was secretary to the Lucerne court of justice from 1531-1540; during this time he wrote his chronicle of the Reformation from a Catholic point of view. This manuscript, purchased from a private collection in 2004 by the State Archives of Lucerne, is an autograph by Salat and was dedicated to the government of Lucerne.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This small-format volume was donated to the State Archives in 1988. An ownership note on the flyleaf suggests that it originated in the area of Southern Germany. The little book, written in an unskilled script, contains recipes and instructions, some of which border on magic.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
The exact origin of this manuscript is unknown; the script and the language suggest that it was created in the Southern Alemannic region. The contents covering astrology, grafting trees, bleeding, advice regarding health, urology and recipes for the most part are taken from well-known sources and mostly correspond to Codex 102b of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich. The author probably did not come from an academic background, but must rather have been a medical practitioner. In this sense, the volume can be characterized as a “house book of folk medicine”, probably the oldest of its kind. It is also considered the oldest source for the so-called “iatromathematical corpus”.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
By his own account, Hans von Hinwil, lord of Elgg castle (1498-1544), wrote his family book in the year 1541. An introduction to the history of the family is followed by the coats of arms of his ancestors in chronological order. This manuscript can be compared with other well-known family books such as those of the lords of Eptingen or the lords of Hallwyl; however, for Eastern Switzerland it constitutes a unique example among the nobility of the formation of tradition in words and in images.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
The Liber vitae is the oldest surviving martyrology from the Benedictine abbey or collegiate church of St. Leodegar in Lucerne. It was begun in 1445 by the conventual Johannes Sittinger, who made use of an older, now-lost necrology. The entries go up to 1691, the leather binding is from 1620.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
In addition to sermons and sermon-related material pertaining to Sundays, saints' days and feast-days dedicated to Mary, the manuscript contains part of S. Bonaventure's (1221-1274) commentary on the four books of the Sentences of Peter Lombard, and the treatise De arca Noe by Marquard of Lindau (d. 1392).
Online Since: 06/09/2011
The first part of this manuscript contains works by and about the mystic Elisabeth von Schönau (d. 1164) as translated into Alemannic: Liber visionum, Prophetia Elisabethae, Adiuratio conscriptoris, Liber viarum Dei, Liber revelationum de sacro exercitu virginum Coloniensium, Epistolae, Visio Egberti de Ursula, Epistola Eckeberti ad cognatas suas de obitu dominae Elisabeth. The second part contains the mystical tract by Mechthild von Magdeburg (d. 1282), Das Liecht der Gotheit in an Alemannic re-translation from the Latin. This is the only known textual witness of this version.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This Book of Hours belonged to the town clerk and alderman of Solothurn, Franz Haffner (1609-1671). It is set up for use in the Archdiocese of Bamberg and is written in northern Bavarian dialect, but it belongs to a group of devotional books that were produced in Paris and then exported to Nuremberg for sale.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This manuscript contains books 17–24 of the history of the world by the French Dominican monk Vincent of Beauvais († 1264) in the version of Douai in 32 books.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
Texts in German, written in the middle of the 15th century, for use in the nuns' convent of Maria Magdalena in den Steinen in Basel. Later the book belonged to Olsberg Abbey. It contains spiritual texts by various authors, also sermons for Sundays and holidays, as well as legends of the saints. Mariastein Abbey acquired the book at a Basel auction around 1820. The sermon for the Assumption of Mary on Fol. 194r-198v can be found in a printed version in ZSKG 4, 1910, pp. 205-212 or 207-212, based on a copy therefrom by P. Anselm Dietler of Mariastein (died 1864).
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This booklet, written by a single hand around the middle of the 15th century, was used for the prayer of the little hours at the Schönsteinbach Convent of Dominican nuns in Upper Alsace. It contains the texts of the Proprium de tempore and of the Commune Sanctorum. The last part contains the Ordinarium, but it is incomplete. Philipp Jakob Steyrer, Abbot of St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest, purchased the book in 1781; through him, it came to Mariastein Abbey.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This small work contains suggestions for receiving Holy Communion with devotion. They are imbued with the spirit of German mysticism and thus have as their goal the union with God.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This paper manuscript from 1509 is written in a late Gothic minuscule with initials executed in red. The ritual for the profession was adopted by another Benedictine monastery. It contains all elements of the ceremony, such as the formula for profession, the litany of saints and the orations. The rubrics (instructions) are in German, while the prayers are in Latin.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This 15th century devotional book consists of 27 leaves. It contains texts for the Liturgy of the Hours. These are followed by the Litany of the Saints titled "Letania in der Vasten", which lists almost one hundred saints. Next there are intercessory prayers for the poor, for prisoners, for the sick, for pilgrims, for the deceased and others. Finally, there are prayers of praise and supplication, as well as a prayer for the veneration of the Holy Cross.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Urbarium of the Holy Blood, compiled in 1460 by Hans Rabustan, chaplain of St. Maria, for sacristan Anna Planta (abbess 1464-1477). It lists all donations to the relic of the Holy Blood. Altogether there are 33 clearly described fields, as well as the names of the tenants at the time.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This manuscript on paper, bound in parchment, is composed of 82 leaves, separated into 12 quires that are sewn together, some of them incomplete. Blaise Hory, pastor from Gléresse, wrote the religiously inspired texts in French, Latin and German. They include prayers, expressions of thanks and poems. The manuscript was owned by the Marval family, who donated it to the Neuchâtel library in May 1842.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
This manuscript contains a systematic collection of 45 sermons, each of which consists of six to seventeen pages. In the beginning, there are 20 sermons in Lower Engadine (pp. 1-281), followed by a sermon in German (pp. 282-297). The remaining 24 sermons are in Upper Engadine (pp. 298-570). The book concludes with a “Register Dels Texts trattos in quaist Cudesch” (Register of [Biblical] texts treated in this book) (not pag., pp. 571-574). The latter takes up the passages from the Bible cited as topic at the beginning of each sermon. The number 33 was skipped, therefore the total number is 46. Two bookmarks (p. 399-s1.2 and p. 475s1.2) identify “Herr Präses Ulrich Vital Sins” (= Johann Ulrich Gosch Vital, Sent; 1781-1868) as the owner of this manuscript. A comparison with an autographic letter, as well as with the orthography of his published works, shows that he was the scribe and author of the texts as well.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, datable to around 1300. In the 15th century, a part containing the Ordo Missae was added, preceded by a Crucifixion miniature. The binding was restored in 1992 and replaces the unpreserved original binding.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This codex consists of various fragments: the Speculum perfectionis attributed to Leon of Assisi, various legends of St. Polycarp, St. Thecla, St. Maria Romana, St. Radegund, and a part of the legend of St. Elizabeth of Hungary by Dietrich of Apolda, all of which are taken from the the same Dutch manuscript. Before this manuscript reached Porrentruy, it was the property of Canon Nicolas-Antoine Labbey de Billy, vicar general in Langres († 1825).
Online Since: 03/17/2016
This manuscript contains a treatise on penitence in German. It is dated April 25th 1453 (f. 72r). The guardleaves consist of fragments from the Prima collectio decretalium Innocentii III by Rainerius of Pomposa.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
The treatise on the passion Do der minnenclich got contained in this manuscript was written or commissioned in 1428 by Joan of Mörsberg; she was a member of the Gnadenthal Convent of Poor Clares near Basel and from 1430 on a penitent in the Convent of Sankt Maria Magdalena an den Steinen, also near Basel.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
Described by Gustave Amweg as the Mémoires d'un Jurassien, this paper manuscript belonged to the cantonal school of Porrentruy. It contains two distinct parts. The first contains accounts in German, divided according to month, running from 1670 to 1672 (pp. 1-177). The second part (pp. 181-358), written in French, is the diary of a man – not otherwise identified – written in first person, which reports his daily activities (time passed in study, copies of letters, poems, etc.), as well as, among other things, the account of a trip from France to Italy.
Online Since: 12/14/2022
This manuscript, also called “Cartulaire de Lucelle no 2”, is the second volume of a collection of documents containing the transcriptions of the titles of goods and temporal privileges of the Abbey of Lucelle. The texts are in Latin and German.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
This manuscript, entitled “Protocol 3”, contains election documents, credentials and other documents by Louis, Abbot of Lucelle: “Protocol 3, anno 1473 super varia instrumenta electioni chartas visitatorias, litteras commendatitias credentiales, coeteraque formularia à Ludovico abbate Lucellensi”. It comprises an index (ff. 159r-162v) and an ex-libris dated 1630 on the flyleaf (V1r).
Online Since: 10/08/2020
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
Begun in 1620 by Jean Henri Vest when he was living in Freiburg-im-Breisgau (p. 1), this collection was originally conceived as a Stammbuch (family book) recording the genealogy and the marriages of the Vest family, with corresponding coats of arms. The enlarged coat of arms granted honorifically by Emperor Rudolph II in 1582 to the Count Palatine Jean Vest, father of Jean Henri, is repeated many times. Humbert Henri Vest brought the collection to Porrentruy in 1667; after the marriage of his daughter, Marie Hélène Vest (1693-1761), the last member of the local branch of the family, to Fréderic François Ignace Xavier Grandvillers (1690-1727) in 1716, the collection passed into the hands of the Grandvillers family. The Grandvillers added their coat of arms and those of related families (pp. 51-85 and 138-139, etc.). Born and died in Delémont, the lawyer Conrad de Grandvillers (1813-1880), great-great-grandson of Marie Hélène Vest, and the last to carry the name, was the last of his family to possess this volume, as the signature “de Grandvillers avocat” indicates (p. 1). Perhaps he is the one who, in the nineteenth century, added some other coats of arms without a family connection (pp. 277-281), possibly with the idea of transforming the volume into a liber amicorum or, more broadly, into an Armorial jurassien, as stated in the title added on the binding, probably in the nineteenth century. The fact that some coats-of-arms connected to the Vest family have been cut out and glued on other pages (pp. 89-95) suggests a major working of the volume at an unknown date.
Online Since: 09/06/2023
This volume contains copies of various documents, which were meticulously collected by the pastor of Tavannes, Théophile Rémy Frêne (1727-1804), over a period of several decades, but especially in the last third of the 18th century. It thus gathers memories, correspondence, numerous documents and even lists which reveal the pastor's diverse scholarly activities, especially in the areas of history, geography and politics. The collection allows us to grasp his most personal interests. These writings, organized in thematic series, focus mainly on the Principality of Basel and the region of Neuchâtel. The volume thus would attest an extensive project describing the Principality of Basel, which in the end Frêne did not publish - some of the information the pastor gathered have been included by Charles-Ferdinand Morel in his Abrégé de l'histoire et de la statistique du ci-devant Evêché de Bâle (Strasbourg, 1813). It also reflects the fundamental role that pastors held in the second half of the 18th century as promoters of regional knowledge.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
This Officium parvum BMV was written by Johannes Höfflin and is dated to June 9, 1478.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
This work of Dominican provenance contains psalms and hymns. The incipits are given in Latin, followed by the complete German translation. The first scribe gives the date of March 26, 1480. The main scribe is called Wendelin Fräger.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
This Book of Hours is from a Bavarian Franciscan nuns' convent. It contains the Office of the Virgin, the Penitential Psalms and the Office of the Dead. Its presence in Muri has been attested since 1790.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
This small 12th century prayer book, the oldest in the German language, was written for a woman. It contains various prayers in German and Latin, including the famous "Mary Sequence of Muri" ("Mariensequenz aus Muri"), the oldest known German language version of the Latin sequence model, the Ave preclara maris stella. During the 19th century the manuscript was linked to Queen Agnes (ca. 1281-1364), who had lived in the Cloister of Königsfeld. It is listed in the manuscript catalog of the monastery of Muri as of 1790.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
The "White Book of Sarnen" was assembled by the Obwalden Chancellery Clerk Hans Schriber (1436-1478). It is called the “White Book” because it was originally bound in a white pigskin cover. It contains copies of privileges, alliances, and important decisions by the courts of arbitration and the Landesgemeinden beginning in 1316, and was written for the most part in the years 1470/1471. It is the most important cartulary from the Obwalden Chancellery during the late Middle Ages and, as such, is still part of the city archives today. However, this book is famous above all because it contains the oldest version of the story of the founding of the Swiss Confederation on a mere 25 pages (pp. 441–465). The volume also includes the story of William Tell and the famous shooting of the apple: (“Weisses Buch”, p. 447: Nu was der Tall gar ein güt Schütz er hat oüch hübsche kind die beschigt der herre zü imm / vnd twang den Tallen mit sinen knechten / das der Tall eim sim kind ein öpfel ab dem höupt müst schiessen …).
Online Since: 03/22/2012
This unremarkable paper manuscript in a green cardboard cover contains various excerpts selected by Johann Conrad Fischer (1773-1854) himself from his Austrian travel journals. Here the entrepreneur and metallurgist Fischer from Schaffhausen describes his encounters with Archduke John of Austria (1782-1859), which took place between 4 February 1826 [p. 1] and 25 June 1842 [p. 125]. The travel journals themselves, from which these excepts were taken, have not survived. After Archduke John had read Johann Fischer's English travel journals, he wished to get to know the author personally and sent Johann Conrad Fischer an invitation through Fischer's son [p. 3]. After the first meeting in February 1826, six more meetings occurred in the space of five years: 13 September 1826 [p. 15], 24. June 1827 [p. 21], 5 October 1828 [p. 50], 17 September 1829 [p. 58], 18 September 1829 [p. 77] and 17 September 1830 [p. 87]. After a hiatus of ten years, there were three last meetings: 25 June 1840 [p. 101], 24 June 1842 [p. 124] and 25 June 1842 [p. 125]. On 136 pages Fischer essentially recaps the conversations between the two men. These accounts allow us to understand Fischer's commercial interests and his activities in Austria. The content of the conversations as well as the circumstances of his visits afford us a glimpse of their common world in the context of the tensions between Switzerland and Austria, between old political orders and economic modernization. The entries are in chronological order and are followed by fourteen blank pages at the end. The page numbering is from when the album was created. The little book was discovered by accident in a farmhouse in Löhningen (SH) in October 2019. Today it is held in the company archives of the Georg Fischer AG in Schaffhausen
Online Since: 12/12/2019
This paper manuscript contains copies, drafts and lists of the French, English and German business correspondence of Johann Conrad Fischer (1773-1854) of Schaffhausen, covering the years 1811-1817 in mostly chronological order. About the first fifty pages cover the time period from 1811 until 1815 and contain primarily drafts of letters - recognizable by regularly occurring corrections in the text - to business partners in Romandy and in the French Jura. Pages 58 to 165 contain lists of correspondence covering the years 1816 and 1817 to recipients in Germany, Austria, England, France and Switzerland. Three other leaves are glued in at the end of the manuscript containing further drafts.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
This leather-bound album contains about 35 dedications and drawings by people with whom the coppersmith and wine merchant Christoph Fischer (1691-1770) from Schaffhausen was in touch during his lifetime. Based on the entries in Latin, German, French and English, it is possible to reconstruct two trips that Fisher took to London, during which most of the dedications occurred: 1747-1750 via Geneva, Lyon, Paris to London and 1758 via Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam to London. Several entries are by members of the Schalch family of Schaffhausen, who were relatives of Fischer; among these is an undated watercolor by the artist Johann Jakob Schalch (1723-1789) (p. 122), who lived in London and Den Haag from 1754-1773. After Fischer's death, the album was continued: entries from 1773 (p. 65) and 1820 (p. 215). Several pages of parchment (pp. 1-2, 19-20, 47-48, 115-116, 181-182) are bound into the paper manuscript, and several pages of paper were added later (pp. 39a-b, 55a-b, 147a-b) or were covered with pasted-on illustrations (p. 43, p. 125, p. 127). The entries are not in chronological order and alternate with numerous blank pages.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This leather-bound paper manuscript with gold embossing (digits of the year 1791 in each of the four corners of the book) is the memory album of Johann Conrad Fischer (1773-1854), coppersmith, metallurgist, entrepreneur and politician from Schaffhausen. His cast steel factory, founded in 1802, developed into the current Georg Fischer Ltd. The album contains dedications and illustrations by about 70 people with whom Fischer was in touch during his lifetime, among them his math teacher Melchior Hurter (1735-1811) (p. 1), Professor Johann Georg Müller (1759-1819) (p. 49), the physician Johann Balthasar Zwingli from Zurich (1764-1817) (p. 164), the writer Heinrich Zschokke (1771-1848) (p. 175), Fischer's great–uncle Lorenz Spengler (1720-1807), head of the Royal Art Chamber in Copenhagen (p. 43), and his son Johann Conrad Spengler (1767-1839) (p. 105). The majority of the entries are in German, French, English and Danish and date from his years of travel as a journeyman coppersmith in 1792-1795, when he traveled via Frankfurt, Chemnitz, Dresden to Copenhagen and on to London. Occasional further entries continue until 1841. The entries are not in chronological order and alternate with pasted-in pages (pp. 3a-b, 48a, 111a-d) and numerous blank pages. The numbering of the pages is from the time of the creation of the album.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This paper manuscript bound in green leather is the memory album of Eduard Fischer (1801-1859) of Schaffhausen; it contains notes from family and friends. Eduard Fischer was the son of the metallurgist and entrepreneur Johann Conrad Fischer (1773-1854) of Schaffhausen. The book contains entries from 1818 until 1920. The very first entry is from the hand of his father, Johann Conrad Fischer: „Experientia est optima Magistra! […] Zum Andenken von deinem dich liebenden Vatter Johann Conrad Fischer, Oberst Lieut: der Art: und Mitglied der helv: Gesellschaft für die gesamten Naturwissenschaften. Schaffhausen, dem 21ten Märtz 1819.“ [p. 3]. Further entries in German, Latin and Ancient Greek are concentrated on pages 13-91 with many blank pages in between. Among the entries are notes by his brothers Georg Fischer (1804-1888) [p. 44] and Berthold Fischer (1807-1879) [p. 73], as well as by his sister C. Fischer [p. 59]. The entries are not in chronological order. Pages 92 to 175 are blank.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
This codex, assembled in 1467, is the central portion of a miscellany including the Lucidarius (Zürich, Zentralbibliothek C 215) and the Schaffhauser Weltgerichtsspiel (Zürich, Zentralbibliothek C 216). The Book of Founders, written by Johannes Trechsel, contains legendary tales of the lives and works of the 12th century Counts of Nellenburg who founded the monastery of Allerheiligen. It also contains stories about the successful reform of the cloister.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
This fragment contains two passages from Barlaam und Josaphat by Rudolph von Ems. This double leaf was removed from the front cover of the account record of All Saints'Abbey with income for 1545-46 (Allerheiligen AA 1/1545-1546). Rudolf von Ems used a Latin model as the basis for his romance Barlaam und Josaphat, which consisted of 16,244 verses. Composed in about 1225 for a courtly audience, the work enjoyed great popularity during the late Middle Ages.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
The "Richtebrief", written in or about 1300 is the oldest codex in the collection that was written outside the monastery. It contains laws protecting individuals and regulating business and trade, a series of regulations for ensuring the independence of the city, and laws for the constitution of Schaffhausen. It is likely that the creation of this "Richtebrief" is a result of the political alliances Schaffhausen had built with Zurich, Constance and St. Gall. Thus, the first part of the manuscript follows the model of a document from Constance, while the second follows a model from Zurich.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
This large-format manuscript from the 14th century contains the oldest version of an illustrated copy of the so-called Klosterneuburger Evangelienwerk, a German prose translation of the Gospels, together with the Lives of the Apostles and various Apocrypha from the New Testament. Over 400 pen and ink wash drawings, irregularly interspersed throughout the manuscript, accompany and illustrate the text.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
This handy paper manuscript contains the Franciscan Marquard of Lindau's Eucharist treatise. On f. 137r, the copyist, from the second quarter of the fifteenth century, identifies himself as Nicolaus Sinister. The name could be the Latinized version of the contemporary Nikolaus Linck, who served as a priest in Owingen and Urnau on the northern shore of Lake Constance. On the originally blank leaves of the first and last gatherings a later hand has added mystical texts, including a sermon that has only survived in this manuscript and was formerly ascribed to Meister Eckhard (ff. 1v-6v), a spiritual song by Heinrich Laufenberg from the Friends of God (ff. 6v-7v), and the rhyme-legend “Das zwölfjährige Mönchlein” (ff. 139r-148r). The cursive bookhand is adorned with two- to three-line red lombards at the beginnings of chapters. Eichenberger dates the later hand A to the third quarter of the fifteenth century; she recognizes similarities between the later hand B and the manuscript Colmar, Bibliothèque de la ville, Ms. 305, which came from the workshop of Diebold Lauber and can be dated to 1459.
Online Since: 12/14/2022
This large-format paper manuscript containg the German rendition of the Franciscan Nicholas of Lyra's commentary on the Psalter (Postilla super Psalterium) was given to the Stadbibliothek in 1646 by Sebastian Grübel (note of donation, f. 2r). Contrary to what has long been assumed, Heinrich von Mügeln was not responsible for the translation, but rather an anonymous person known to the scientific community as the “Österreichischer Bibelübersetzer” [“Austrian Bible-translator”], who is also deemed the author of the “Klosterneuburger Evangelienwerk” (cf. Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen, Gen. 8). The manuscript, written in northeastern High Alemannic, was copied in a book cursive by at least two hands, probably in southwestern Germany in the third quarter of the fifteenth century. Ornamentation is limited to red lombards, some of which are pen-flourished (f. 178v) and a five-line green leaf and flower initial (fol. 2r).
Online Since: 12/14/2022
This manuscript of 182 leaves can be dated to the last quarter of the 15th century and can be placed in the area between Ulm and Memmingen (linguistically Swabian). The binding, made of wooden boards covered in leather and featuring a clasp, was made by a bookbinder who was active in Memmingen. The three treatises in the manuscript are from the field of pharmacology/medical science: the “Büchlein der Ordnung der Pestilenz” (2r-47v) by Heinrich Steinhöwel, the Ulmer Wundarznei (50r-144r) and “Von den gebrannten Wässern” by Michael Puff (147r-179v). The text is augmented with drawings of instruments (96v, 97r, 98v, 99r, 148v). Magnus Bengger (who names himself on 179v) should be considered the scribe; he also copied manuscript Schaffhausen Gen. 9, which likewise contains medical works. He uses a cursiva libraria. In several places, drolleries in the shape of faces spread from individual letters, always in the first line (e.g., 45v, 50r). The chapter titles, the (decorated) initials at the beginning of a chapter, dots at half-height, as well as individual, usually Latin words in the text generally are rubricated. Sentence-initial lexemes, however, are marked by Lombard initials in red. In keeping with the character of a medical housebook, to which one can add one's own recipes, there are additions by four other hands (mostly between or after the treatises, such as 48r, 145r, 180r).
Online Since: 10/04/2018
Mss 12 is a collected manuscript produced by several hands between the years 1553 and 1653. Mss 12,1, the first and most extensive section (pp. 1-147), details the mining regulations put in place in Lower Austria during the mid-16th century. It is a handwritten copy made from the official printed 'Bergk Ordnung', which was written at the court of the Archduke of Austria and printed by Hans Syngriener (Johann Singriener the Younger [? - 1562]) in Vienna in 1553 (Iron Library exemplar: EM/Cr 48). In a note after the index at the end of the manuscript Syngriener is mentioned by name (p. 147). Mss 12,1 begins with a statement establishing the authority of Ferdinand von Habsburg [1503-1564], who was then Archduke of Austria (pp. 1-2). There follows a series of 208 numbered articles which take into account a broad number of factors, from the manner in which mine pits and shafts were to be established, to the way in which older tunnels were to be treated and the employment of skilled labor (pp. 2-133). This section of the manuscript concludes with a closing statement (pp. 133-134) and a complete index of articles (pp. 135-147). Mss 12,2, the second section of the collected manuscript, provides a case study, describing the history and operation of iron mining and production in Upper Styria. The addendum to this report has marginalia produced in a distinctly different hand, providing supplementary comments. The manuscript was purchased in Vienna in 1956.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
This patent manuscript contains the details of the regulations put in place to manage the mining and forestry operations in the region of Carinthia in the year 1553. It begins with a statement establishing the authority of Ferdinand von Habsburg [1503-1564], who ruled over the Archduchy of Austria and ordered these regulations to be drawn together (fol. 1r-2v). There follows a series of 208 numbered articles. These take into account a broad number of factors concerning the manner in which mines were to be established, but also include the rights for fishing and hunting on lands designated for mining and forestry (fol. 4v), as well as arrangements for the processing of highly valuable mining products such as silver (fol. 81r). This section of the manuscript concludes with a closing statement (fol. 85v) and a complete reference list of articles (fol. 86r-91v). The manuscript was purchased in Rome in 1952.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
This manuscript is a collection of notes, which were compiled by Hermann Wedding (1834-1908), later professor of ferrous metallurgy at the Bergakademie Berlin (mining academy), during his visits to the smelteries in Freiberg (Saxony) in 1856/57. The notes were taken while he was a student at the Freiberg mining academy and include his own observations of the procedures at the various silver and lead smelteries around Freiberg. The notes also contain copies of relevant scientific publications about metallurgical procedures that were used in Freiberg.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This travel journal was kept by Hermann Wedding (1834-1908), later a professor of ferrous metallurgy, during his study tour in August and September of 1858. At this time, he was a student at the mining academy of Freiberg and Berlin. The objective of the trip was to visit the centers of the German mining industry that were emerging in the middle of the 19th century, especially in the region of the Saar and the Ruhr. Wedding's daily entries document his visits to coal mines, smelteries and metal processing companies. He describes the operating facilities and production processes of the plants he visited. The journal reveals his deep scientific interest in the geological conditions in which the plants he describes are embedded.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This manuscript documents several trips by Hermann Wedding (1834-1908), later a professor of ferrous metallurgy, to Great Britain in the years 1860 and 1862. Wedding undertook these trips as a referendary for the Prussian mining administration. On his way to Great Britain via Belgium, he noted his observations regarding operating facilities and production processes at smelteries and mining operations in daily entries. Among the plants he described are the ironworks at Seraing (Belgium), the metallurgical works in South Wales that were considered especially advanced in the middle of the 19th century, and the first steelworks that made use of the Bessemer process. The journal entries also reveal Wedding's connections with contemporary specialists in his field.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
Produced either by the hand or name of Johann Nikolaus Freiherr von Grandmont [?-1689] (p. 11) in 1661, this manuscript summarizes the regulations that had been put in place for iron mining operations in Fricktal, between the Rhine and Jura mountains, then a part of Further Austria (Canton Aargau in present day). It describes the form and scope of the operation of a highly specialized industrial economic activity in an area that had been devastated in the preceding decades during the Thirty Years War. The document focuses upon eight regulations, put in place between 1629 and 1649, and also refers to regulations dating from July 1653. Included is a summary list of the regulations with their dates of implementation (pp. 27-28). The manuscript was donated to the Iron Library by Prof. Dr. K. Schib (Schaffhausen) in 1952.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
The author of this manuscript gives his name at the outset (p. 3): Wok Pňovsky von Eulenberg (Czech: Vok Pňovický ze Sovince) comes from the Moravian noble family von Eulenberg (Czech: ze Sovince), whose coat of arms is depicted in the manuscript (p. 130). Wok is documented between 1499-1531; from 1518-1525 he held the position of chief justice of Moravia. In 1526 with this manuscript he produced an early exemplar of a “Probierbuch” (assay book), which treats several procedures for analyzing and further processing various ores and metals. The first part of the manuscript is divided into 40 chapters (pp. 4-130); in the second part of the manuscript, the sections are not numbered (pp. 133-420). Added at the end is a later (17th century?) table of contents (pp. 429-444), which offers short summaries of the chapters. Assaying was of great importance to the practice of early modern mining and metallurgy. Near Eulenburg castle (Czech: hrad Sovinec), the ancestral home of the family in Northern Moravia, Wok himself was engaged in the mining of precious metals (Papajík 2005, pp. 198-200). In Wok, therefore, the mining entrepreneur and the assayer coincided in one person. Before 1924 the manuscript was part of the holdings of the library of the museum of the ‘Gymnasium' or preparatory school (Czech: Knihovna gymnazijního muzea) in Troppau (Czech: Opava), a predecessor institution of the present library of the Silesian Museum (Czech: Knihovna Slezského zemského muzea). The manuscript has been lost since 1924. After a devastating fire in the spring of 1945, in which all accession books were destroyed, no documentation about the manuscript exists in the museum library today (information from 07-16-2015). David Papajík summarizes the current state of Czech research: “Vok also addresses theoretical aspects of mining. In 1526 he authored an extensive German language work of 420 pages on the topic, which, while it survived until the recent past and was held in the library of the museum of Opava, it was lost by 1924. We only know a description from 1881, produced by Josef Zukal. It is a great pity that this unique document about the understanding of mining of that time, has not survived into the present” (Papajík 2005, p. 200). The above-mentioned description from 1881 offers the following additional information “«Ms. chart. sec. XVI. Kl. Oct. bound in black leather without decoration, 420 pages […]. Mining flourished in the area of Eulenburg in the 15th and 16th century; thus the present work owes its creation to practical need. Without doubt it is Wok's original manuscript and offers an interesting insight into the state of metallurgy of the time. The index in a different hand was added at a much later time; this fact as well as the great wear indicate that the book was in use for a long time (Zukal 1881, p. 15 f.). The manuscript was purchased in New York in 1955.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
At once a travel memoir and a geography book, the Voyages by John Mandeville, probably written around 1355-1357, were a great success in the Middle Ages. Numerous handwritten copies make it possible to distinguish three different versions of the French text, which gave rise to translations into Latin and into the vernacular languages. The oldest German translation, going back to about 1393-1399, is by Michel Velser, a member of the von Völs family (Völs, South Tyrol). This copy, S 94 from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georges (ca. 1450-1529), contains numerous ornamental initials, some zoomorphic or anthropomorphic. The endpapers are parchment. Based on the language, the manuscript should be from Northern Switzerland. An ownership note on f. 120v mentions an uncle “G”, which may suggest Georges Supersaxo himself. In the binding, there was a fragment of a papal document that can without doubt be dated to the middle of the 13th century, from a Pope Innocent and addressed to the Abbot of Kempten. Ms. S 94 can be compared to another manuscript from the Supersaxo library, namely with S 99, which contains a French version of the Voyages.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This manuscript from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georg (ca. 1450-1529) is bound in a piece of parchment and is divided into several parts. The main part (ff. 2r-43r) is devoted to the statutes of Valais (Statuten der Landschaft Wallis). They are preceded by a table of contents in a version that is similar to the statutes (Landrecht) of 1511-1514 by the Bishop of Sion and Cardinal Mathieu Schiner, but with a different order of the articles and with important modifications and additions. On ff. 65r-69v, the same scribe copied the statutes (Kürzerung des Rechten) promulgated in 1525, notably by Georg Supersaxo, and confirmed in 1550. This manuscript from the Supersaxo library therefore is merely a preliminary version of the Statuta of 1571. Only the manuscript from 1571, which is in the State Archives of Valais (AV 62/4) and which also exists in a German and a French version, became the normative base reference up until the promulgation of the Civil Code of Valais in 1852. Between these two versions of the statutes, on ff. 51r-54v, is the testament of Johannes Grölin (Groely), citizen and former castellan of Sion (civis et olim castellani dominorum civium Sedunensium); the document is written by the notary Martin Guntern (1538-1588) on 8 January 1585 in Sion. Various notes from the years 1557-1590 are found at the beginning and end of the manuscript (on the front pastedown and f. 1; on ff. 70v-77v and on the back pastedown). They are fragments of accounts and of jobs in several hands, among them that of Martin Guntern, together with notes relating to the birth of the children of Bartholomäus Supersaxo (†1591), the grandson of Georg Supersaxo. Martin Guntern was not only a notary, he was also an important political figure (especially state secretary from 1570 until his death), who played an important role in the writing and translation of the Statutes of Valais of 1571. Bartholomäus Supersaxo, who in 1565 left behind a note of ownership on the front pastedown of S 95, was governor of Monthey (1565-1567), chaplain of Sion (1574) and Vize-Vogt - vice-reeve - (1579-1585); in 1573, he married his second wife, Juliana, daughter of Johannes Groely.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This German language composite manuscript probably was created at the Oetenbach Convent of Dominican nuns in Zurich in the beginning of the 15th century. In addition to the liturgical Psalter (for the monastic Liturgy of the Hours, Psalterium feriatum), it also contains the Cantica of the breviary and the Litany of the Saints in German, as well as a prayer. At least since the 17th century, the manuscript has been in the possession of the collegiate church of St. Ursus in Solothurn.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
This spiritual handbook contains assorted German texts: a translation of the Gospel of Nicodemus and a communion devotion together with Dominican funeral rites and mystic texts about Christ's Passion. The manuscript originated in the third quarter of the 15th century in the area of the Upper Rhine and was originally the property of the Dominican convent in Bern (Inselkloster St. Michael). After the Reformation, at the end of the 16th century, the manuscript was acquired by the Solothurn City Library (Bibliotheca civitatis).
Online Since: 12/21/2009