Sub-project: Treasures from small collections
January 2013 - December 2020
Status: Completed
Financed by: swissuniversities
Description: The majority of Swiss manuscripts is held in larger collections, mostly in public and ecclesiastical institutions. It is easy to forget that some of the most important sources shaping the identity of Switzerland are found in collections that hold only a few manuscripts. e-codices has taken it upon itself to provide digital access to these important treasures from small collections, the originals of which are often not available to the general public.
All Libraries and Collections
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 booklet, with notes and decorated with three initials, contains the texts for the Office of the Dead, the seven penitential psalms, and prayers for a deceased Dominican nun, probably in the convent in Colmar. Judging by the script, it is from the first half of the 15th century. The book belonged to Sister Martha Gosslerin. In 1782 it was acquired by Philipp Jakob Steyrer, Abbot of St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest; through him, the booklet came to Mariastein Abbey.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This composite manuscript from the middle of the 15th century is from the Augustinian hermitage in Basel. Since 1470, several brothers there cared for the pilgrimage site Mariastein. This volume was probably left there and was found by the monks from Beinwil, when they took over the pilgrimage site in 1636. It contains, among others, sacred (S. Bonaventura), profane (Cicero, Sallust), historical (Piccolomini/Pius II.) and rhetorical (Laurentius de Aquileja) texts. The second part of the volume, containing the Rhetorica , was written in 1465/66 by the Augustinian Matthias Glaser from Breisach in Basel. A fragment glued to the interior of the front cover gives information regarding the content of the volume.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
Copy of the privilege that changed certain taxes, which were to be paid by the Jewish community of Tudela, and that increased the incomes bestowed upon various knights and royal officials, among them Juan Sanz de Berrozpe. Written by King Juan II in Zaragoza and dated the 17th of December 1475. This copy was written on February 23rd 1478 by the Prothonotary Juan Ortiz, confirmed by Princess Donna Leonor and validated by the Court Notary Juan de Ara.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
This work by brother Alonso de Oropesa OSH († 1469) must be considered in the context of the attacks on converted Jews in Spain (and above all in Toledo), the so-called conversos. As a general of the Order of the Hieronymites (since 1457), but also as a close confidant and adviser of King Henry IV of Castile (1454-1474), Alonso advocated a tolerant attitude towards converted Jews. In 1450, he began writing the 'Lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloria plebis Dei Israel' - De unitate fidei et de concordia et pacifica equalitate fidelium (f. 1-203, Tabula 204-207); in 1465, he dedicated the completed book of 52 chapters to the Archbishop Alfonso Carrillo of Toledo (1410-1485). The announced second part of the work apparently was never written.In 1979, Luis A. Diaz y Diaz prepared a Spanish translation based on the three manuscripts then known. The present manuscript has not yet been acknowledged in research; it thus constitutes the fourth manuscript known so far. It was certainly written still in the 15th century and is made up of parchment and paper leaves. Despite its significance, no Latin text edition of the work has yet been prepared.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
Fragment of a copy of Gregory the Great’s Homilies on the Gospels, created around 800. Two excerpts remain: the first section of text, consisting of parts of chapter 17 (17.16-17.18), is a commentary on Luke 10, 1-9, i.e. the verses concerning the sending out of the seventy-two disciples. The second section of text, containing parts of chapter 18 (18.2-18.3), refers to John 8.46-59. These verses are a commentary on a dispute between Jesus and “the” Jews as well as the high priests; it concerns the identity of Jesus or rather his claim of identity, his message and the rejection thereof.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This breviary, which contains only the winter part, is dated to the first half of the 14th century. It is from the diocese of Besançon (with which Porrentruy was also affiliated), as indicated by certain saints that appear in the litanies, such as St. Ferreolus or St. Germanus, the responsories for the Sundays of Advent, as well as the Holy Triduum.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Obituary of the Parish of SS. Pietro e Paolo of Quinto (Ticino), written by the priest Ambrogio Rossi of Chironico, who copied an older obituary that was probably damaged or had no more space. The Ambrosian type calendar lists the stipends for annual masses or for anniversaries, the solemnities, the indulgences and notes regarding the pledges to the parish and to the entire valley. On December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the commemoration of the Battle of Giornico (Battaglia dei Sassi Grossi, 1479) is recorded.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
The first liturgical library of the nuns of Fille-Dieu, which today is dispersed across all of Europe, has great significance for the history of the Cistercian Order. The booklet FiD 1 (French musical notation) contains the oldest offices of St. Bernard and of the Trinity, which were introduced into the order in 1175 or shortly thereafter. The flyleaves are remarkable as well. Together with FiD 2, they represent relics of antiphonaries that were copied around 1136/1140 and contain the original Cistercian liturgy, which was copied shortly after 1108 in Metz by monks sent by Abbot Stephen Harding. This liturgy was corrected within the framework of the reforms of Bernard of Clairvaux. The existence of Bernardine drafts had until now been known through antiphonary 12A-B from Westmalle Abbey (Belgium) and through the one from Tamié Abbey 6 (Savoy). Codicological analysis of the flyleaves of FiD 1 and of the fragments of FiD 2 reveals that all pieces come from the Swiss Abbey of Fille-Dieu; they share identical status and common characteristics, irrespective of current holding sites. The same hands and correcting hands can be recognized, the same types of ornamentation and the same later touch-ups, which were done at the earliest in the 16th century, probably by the nuns or by the monks of Hautcrêt Abbey (Oron, VD), which was the mother house of Fille-Dieu until 1536.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
These antiphonary fragments, which were copied around 1136/1140 and were scraped and corrected around 1140/1143, constitute a blank cover. Doubtlessly the parchment pieces of various sizes were glued together by the nuns of Fille-Dieu in order to cover a now lost liturgical formulary. Together, FiD 1 and FiD 2 constitute relics of antiphonaries that contained the primitive Cistercian liturgy. This was defined by Fr. Kovacs (“Fragments du chant cistercien primitif“, ASOC 6 [1950], pp. 140–150) and Chr. Waddell (The Primitive Cistercian Breviary, Fribourg, 2007 [Spicilegium Friburgense 44]) as the liturgy reformed by Stephen Harding shortly after 1108. During this reform, the abbot of Cîteaux forced the order to adopt the antiphonary of Metz, which was in use by the order until the time of the second reform under Bernard of Clairvaux. This second reform was completed in the early 1140s. The existence of Bernardine drafts had until now been known through antiphonary 12A-B from Westmalle Abbey (Belgium) and through the one from Tamié Abbey 6 (Savoy). Codicological analysis of the flyleaves of FiD 1 and of the fragments of FiD 2 reveals that all pieces come from the Swiss Abbey of Fille-Dieu; they share identical status and common characteristics, irrespective of current holding sites. The same hands and correcting hands can be recognized, the same types of ornamentation and the same later touch-ups, which were done at the earliest in the 16th century, probably by the nuns or by the monks of Hautcrêt Abbey (Oron, VD), which was the mother house of Fille-Dieu until 1536.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This complete Gradual (square notation) contains the temporal (f. 1r-70v), the sanctoral and the Commune Sanctorum (f. 70v–103v), votive masses (f. 103v-107v), the Kyriale and litanies (f. 107v–111v), antiphons and processional responsories (f. 112r–113v), the tropes of the Kyrie Cunctipotens and Fons bonitatis (f. 113v–115r) and several additions from the 14th century (f. 115r-127v). According to the analysis of the calendar, this copy could date back to the middle of the 13th century, between 1246 (mention of Saint Lambert by the first hand, f. 100r) and 1255 (no mention of the mass for Saint Dominic on August 5th, f. 95r). Contrary to what is suggested by the labels (back and inside cover), this codex was copied before the end of the 1260s, since the mass of Saint Anthony (f. 75v) was noted by a second hand. In addition, f. 98v contains no mention of an octave of St. Bernard, which is usually included in all Cistercian books from 1295 on. A study of the musical and liturgical content shows that manuscript FiD 5, which is a faithful copy of the older Gradual of the order (Abbazia Tre Fontane 47, around 1140/1143), probably originated in Hautcrêt Abbey (Oron VD), which was the motherhouse of Fille-Dieu until 1536.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
Manuscript FiD 7 (square notation; rubrics in Latin and Old French) begins with the chapters (short readings) and the collects of the sanctorale (folio 1r begins abruptly in the middle of the chapter of the Terce for the birth of John the Baptist). It then contains various rites, among them the Office of the Dead (with musical notation on folios 40r-46v), as well as the one for religious profession and for the investiture of nuns (f. 24v-26r). The vow Ego soror ill. promitto (f. 24v) could indicate that it was meant for Fille-Dieu. However, elsewhere the book contains rubrics and prayers that are written in masculine form by the original hand, and which are adapted to the feminine form through interlinear annotations by a hand contemporaneous with the book (f. 20r, 27v, 30v-39v). Therefore, FiD 7 probably originated in a scriptorium of monks, presumably from the Cistercians of Hautcrêt (Oron, VD) or of Hauterive (FR).
Online Since: 03/22/2018
An extraordinary testimony of the great witch hunt that took place in 17th century Europe, this volume contains a collection of 67 witch trials that were conducted and judged on the Montagne de Diesse in the Bernese Jura between 1611 and 1667. The confessions of 56 women and 11 men, set down in definitive form by the clerks of the court, were read back to the accused at sentencing so that the accused would confess them publicly.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
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 is the oldest surviving copy of Gian Travers’ epic verse report about the events of the Musso War of 1525/1526, written in 1527. This report is the oldest known Romansh (bünderromanische) text. Johan Schucan from Zuoz signed as scribe; at the time of this copy, he was Protestant pastor in Zernez.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This is the oldest copy of Gian Travers’ drama “Joseph”, performed in Zuoz in 1534. The manuscript was produced three years after the death of Travers and makes use of spellings that were no longer in use at the time the copy was made. The scribe is Conradin Planta, probably a relative: Gian Travers was married to Anna Planta. The manuscript is bound incorrectly: the text begins with ff. 9-13, then there is a leaf missing, f. 14, f. 1, f. 5, f. 3, f. 4, f. 6, f. 2, f. 15, a missing leaf, f. 7, f. 16. Folio 8r, originally the final page, contains a cautionary poem; f. 8v was left blank. The front flyleaves are made of a large parchment sheet, originally from a 12th century parchment manuscript with a text by Constantine the African, De febribus, chap. 3-5.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This manuscript contains the text of a Lower Engadine version of a drama about Joseph (ff. 1-74), which is based on the play “Ein hüpsch nüwes Spil von Josephen (…)”, attributed to Jacob Ruf and printed in Zurich in 1540. Converging indicators, such as the statements by Chiampell (Placidus Plattner, Ulrici Campelli Historia raetica, Basel, Schneider, T. 2 1890, 353), as well as the orthography and the language of the transcriptions suggest that this is the only surviving copy of the Joseph-drama by Chiampell himself, which was performed in Susch in 1564. At the end of the manuscript, there is a conversation between a Protestant pastor and a sick person (ff. 75-77), as well as several prayers (ff. 78-80), which were translated from the German by the scribe of the text, Baltasar Valantin.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
The manuscript first contains the translation of the Latin statutes of the district of Upper Engadine from 1563, with additions until 1618 in the first hand (ff. 1-245a). A second hand incorporated or added later the supplements from 1624-1654 (ff. 245b-254a). This is followed by translations from the German of other important legal texts in the first hand: the Charta de la Lia from 1524 (ff. 262-267), the Articles of Chur from 1523, later of Ilanz in 1524 (ff. 268-271), Artichels da cumoenas Trais Lias from 1527 (ff. 272-278), a contact between the League of God's House cun l's sett chantuns Schwizers from 1498 (ff. 279-282) and the 1518 “Erbeinigungsvertrag” (testamentary agreement) concerning the Engadin between Emperor Maximilian and the Bishop of Chur (ff. 283-289). Next comes an index of the statutes (ff. 291-295) in the first hand, and an index to the supplements (f. 296) in the second hand. The manuscript was commissioned by Peider Curtin, Ladmman of the district Sur Funtauna Merla in the Upper Engadine 1619-1620. Acording to a statement on the title page, the statutes were copied by the well-known protestant pastor and notary Lücy Papa.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
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