''Necrologium Lundense'' (Lund, UB Mh 6) is a 12th-century

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

probably made in

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

(then part of Denmark, today part of Sweden) to serve as a book of rules for the canons of

Lund Cathedral Lund Cathedral ( sv, Lunds domkyrka) is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Sweden in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Lund and the main church of the Diocese of Lund. It was built as the Catholic cathedral of the archiepi ...

, with texts used by them in their daily life. Its oldest parts date from around 1123, and it is considered the oldest still intact manuscript written in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. It is preserved in a late medieval binding and the text is partially adorned with decorated

initial In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...

s, including one which displays influences from

Viking art Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th centuries ...

. The book is today kept in the University Library of

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

to serve the canons of

in their daily life as a so-called capitulary book. The book consists of different parts which were written at slightly different times. The oldest part of the manuscript is also the main text: the Aachen Rule of canons. The rule regulates the lives of the canons of the cathedral, similarly to

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

rules such as the

Rule of Saint Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

. It was probably finished in time for the consecration of the crypt of the cathedral in 1123. Sometime later, perhaps in the 1130s, customary rules (''Consuetudines canonice'') for the canons of the cathedral were added; they are statutes for the community serving as a complement to the Rule of Aachen. The customary rules are furthermore complemented by a number of short texts in the same vein as the Rule of Aachen. The customary rules and the complementary texts appears to have been conceived as a manuscript of its own before being merged with the slightly older text. It may have been written by

Hermann of Schleswig Hermann of Schleswig (died 16 January 1151), also known as Hermann of Klosterrath, was a titular bishop of Schleswig, canon and possibly also scribe at Lund Cathedral. He entered the monastery of Rolduc at an early age, and after failing to becom ...

, a deposed

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

who ended his days as a canon, and possibly

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

, at Lund Cathedral. The customary rules from the ''Necrologium Lundense'' are the only preserved statutes for a religious community from the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

in Scandinavia. A third part of the book, though placed first in the manuscript, is a copy of a

deed of gift A deed of gift is a signed legal document that voluntarily and without recompense transfers ownership of real, personal, or intellectual property – such as a gift of materials – from one person or institution to another. It should include a ...

from

Canute IV of Denmark Canute IV ( – 10 July 1086), later known as Canute the Holy ( da, Knud IV den Hellige) or Saint Canute (''Sankt Knud''), was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy ...

. Written in 1085, it details the donation of means for the construction of the cathedral as well as the establishment of the community of canons. Apart from these texts regulating the lives of the canons, the book also contains a

martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

and a list of deceased canons from the cathedral and benefactors, listed according to the day on which they died. This is the second principal part of the book and sometimes referred to by its Latin description as ''Memoriale fratrum''. Like the Rule of Aachen, it was finished by 1123 but is based on an earlier martyrology, now lost but probably written for the cathedral at the end of the 11th century. It also contains lists of kings, bishops and monasteries and religious communities which were connected to Lund, and has served as an important source for historians,

etymologists Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...

and

philologists Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

. The book is regarded as the oldest still intact manuscript written in

. It has been known by its

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name since the 18th century, when Danish historian

Jakob Langebek Jakob Langebek (23 January 1710 - 16 August 1775) was a Danish historian, linguist, lexicographer, and archivist. Langebek, Jacob, 1710-75 ''Danish biographical Lexikon'' Retrieved December 1, 2020 Biography He was born at Skjoldborg Parish in ...

first referred to the manuscript as ''Necrologium Lundense''. The canons of the cathedral used the book on a daily basis. Sections from it would be read when they gathered in their chapter house. A suitable part from the rules would be read aloud, and then the names of the martyrs, saints and deceased brethren relevant for that day would be announced as part of the preparations for the daily prayers. ''Necrologium Lundense'' was in use for a short period of time. The cathedral had been under construction since before the consecration of the crypt in 1123, but in 1145 the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

was inaugurated and from then on the canons could start using it instead of the chapter house for their recitals. This coincided with a shift in liturgical practice, which meant that instead of the capitulary book, a new martyrology ''( Liber daticus vetustior)'' was used for their daily readings. For a while entries were still made in the ''Necrologium'', but these were copied from the martyrology and eventually ceased altogether. It was owned by the chapter of the cathedral until 1671, when all its books were transferred to the newly established library of

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion The size of the book is by , and it contains 183

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

s (leaves). It is bound in a later, probably 15th-century, medieval brown goatskin binding, decorated with blind tooling, partially preserved metal reinforcements at the corners and a clasp to keep the book tightly shut when closed (originally there were two). The binding was restored in the 19th century. Many scribes have been involved in the production of the book, and there are added notes from as late as the 16th century. Three main types of

scripts Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

have been used: King Canute's deed of gift is written in protogothic documentary script (an early form of Gothic script), the Rule of Aachen is written in

Carolingian minuscule Carolingian minuscule or Caroline minuscule is a script which developed as a calligraphic standard in the medieval European period so that the Latin alphabet of Jerome's Vulgate Bible could be easily recognized by the literate class from one reg ...

s and most of the rest of the book has been written with either minuscules with protogothic characteristics, or Scandinavian early protogothic script. Some of the pages of the manuscript are decorated with inhabited or decorated

s. A large inhabited

uncial Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one ...

initial A is on folio 5 verso, and on folio 58 verso there is another inhabited initial, a Q. The two initials appear to have been made by different artists; the A has several features typical for Scandinavian art, some derived from

, while the Q is typically German Romanesque in style. There are also 15 smaller, decorated initials throughout the manuscript. A

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

edition was published in 1960.

References

Works cited

* * * *

External links

*
Complete digitalisation of the book, together with annotations
{{Books 12th-century illuminated manuscripts Lund University Christian illuminated manuscripts Swedish books