The Royal Library in Copenhagen enters into an agreement with the National Library of Norway for the long-term loan of five key manuscripts from Norwegian medieval history. The edition of Magnus Lagabøte's law of the land will thus remain in Norway. In addition, four new documents will be transferred to the National Library and made available to the public.
The National Library of Norway has been working for many years to bring these documents to Norway. This is part of a large-scale initiative to disseminate Norwegian medieval history. Some of the most important documents showing culture and tradition in Norway during the Middle Ages are held exclusively in Danish institutions and are therefore not available to a Norwegian audience.
- "This is a major breakthrough for the dissemination of Norwegian medieval history. We are delighted that the Royal Library is now giving us the opportunity to make several manuscripts available to the public for the first time," says National Librarian Aslak Sira Myhre. "The documents are peripheral to Danish history, but central to Norwegian. Our experience with the National Act shows that there is enormous interest in this type of material.
The formal request for lending was made by Minister of Culture and Equality Abid Raja in August.
- "I am incredibly pleased with the positive response from the Royal Library," says Minister of Culture and Equality Abid Raja. "I myself have been to Copenhagen and inspected relevant historical documents, and I can already say that it will be great to have these exhibited in Norway. I believe and hope that the exhibition will create new interest in our important Norwegian medieval history.
The manuscripts will be given a central place in a permanent medieval exhibition, which is currently being planned at the National Library of Norway. The documents are also being actively researched in Norway, at the moment through a major project linked to Magnus Lagabøte's Act of Parliament.
All of these documents were in Norway during the Middle Ages, and now many of them are returning to Norway for the first time in 500 years.
These manuscripts are loaned to the National Library of Norway from the Royal Library:
Codex Hardenbergianus and Codex Tunsbergensis
Codex Hardenbergianus is a magnificent manuscript of the Land Act of 1274. NKS 1642 4°, Codex Tunsbergensis, ca. 1325, is an everyday manuscript, but also contains an almost complete collection of Norwegian law in the High Middle Ages. Together, the two manuscripts showcase the national law both as an expression of authority and as an object of use. Landsloven was one of only four national law books produced in Europe during the High Middle Ages.
Codex Hardenbergianus is already on loan to the National Library of Norway, where it is part of the permanent exhibition Illuminated. Glimpses of a cultural history.
E Don Var 137 4to, ca. 1250-1300, often called the Rantzau Book
This is a manuscript of the older Gulatingsloven, and is the oldest completely preserved Norwegian legal manuscript. The Rantzau Book provides a unique insight into civil society in western Norway before the emergence of a strong royal and ecclesiastical power. At the time, the Norwegian Constitution of 1814 was seen as a continuation of the court tradition, as described in the older Gulatingsloven. It is difficult to find scientific evidence for such a claim, but it shows how important the medieval tradition was for the establishment of modern Norway in 1814.
GKS 1606 4°, Kristin Håkonsdatter's psalter
A collection of hymns that was probably owned by Princess Kristina, who was married in Castile in 1258 and later died there. The manuscript was not produced in Norway, but it is the best-preserved example of Christian life and written culture at the Norwegian court in the Middle Ages. It is also a unique manuscript because it can serve as an introduction to parts of the history of women in Norway in the High Middle Ages.
Nidarosantifonariet MS Add. 47 fol
A music manuscript from around 1250-1275, which provides a unique insight into the life and culture of the Archbishopric of Nidaros in the Middle Ages.
The loan request concerns a total of twelve medieval manuscripts located in Denmark. In addition to the five that have now been confirmed to be on loan from the Royal Library, a response is awaited regarding seven documents from the Arnamagnæan Collection.
