Stockholm, National Library, B 96. <hi rend="italic">Kristofer kuninkaan maanlaki, Herra Martin suomeksi kääntämänä</hi> Cataloguer Ville Walta Finnish Literature Society (SKS) Codices Fennici Creative Commons BY 4.0 Stockholm National Library B 96 Saec. XVI med. (around 1548?), Finland(?) A Finnish translation of Kristoffer’s <hi rend="italic">Landslag</hi>

Fol. 1r: in a hand of saec. XIX ‘Landslagen på Finska’ (1v–5r blank)

Fol. 5v: A mnemonic tool for the different chapters of the law in Latin and Swedish (ed. Airila – Harmas 1930, XI).

[5v] 1. Lex sacra 2. Rex 3. sponsans 4. hæres ... 14. med wåda, 15. tiwffuer j gadga.

Fols. 6r–72v: A Finnish translation of Kristoffer’s <hi rend="italic" >Landslag</hi>. Apart from the Konungabalk, the different sections begin with a listing of the chapters. Ed. Setälä and Nyholm 1905, 1–182.

[6r] Rotzin ualdacunda ombi pacanaitten olemusest yhten tullut ... [14r] Naimisen kaari ... [18r] Perimisen kaari ... [22r] Maan kaari ... [27v] Rakennoxen kaari ... [43r] Kaupan asian kaari ... [45v] Käreiän asian kaari ... [51r] Wala sackoin kaari ... [56r] Corkeimbain syidhen kaari ... [58r] Tachto tapon kaari ... [62v] Tapaturman tappoin kaari ... [64v] Tachto haauain sackoin kaari ... [67r] Tapaturmain haauain sackoin kaari ... [68r] Varkaudhen kaari ... [72v] ... nytt näissä asiois toisin tehdän ia tuomitan.

(Fols. 73r–185v are blank.)

Fols. 186r–190r: <hi rend="italic">Arbor consanguinitatis</hi> in Latin and Swedish with translations of the terms in Finnish. Cf. Setälä and Nyholm 1905, 183–189.

[186r] Vocabula arboris Consanguinitatis ascendendo et descendendo. Pater Isä Fadher, Mater äiti Modher ... [187v] ... Patrinus Patrini Gutzeinsett Gutzewer. [189r–190r] A drawing of the Arbor consanguinitatis on folded sheets.

(Fols. 191–196 are blank.)

 Paper 196 folios. 19,5 31 14,5-15 17,5-18,5 (c. 14,5–15 × 17,5–18,5) Modern foliation in pencil in the upper right margin. The binding is extremely tight and difficult to collate, but it seems predominantly to consist of sexterns. Foliation for the first half of the quire in the lower margin in ink on fols. 6–12 (A1–A7), 18–24 (B1–B7), 30–37 (C1–C8), 44–49 (D1–D6), 56–61 (E5). In the upper margin in ink a number referring to the law text found on the respective folia (from 2 to 15, since the Church law, which would be 1, is not included). Catchwords are supplied on every verso page in the lower margin. The manuscript is in good general condition. There are no lacunae or damaged sections. Number of lines varies between 40 and 50; one column, no ruling.

One main hand writing a cursive of saec. XVI. Another hand writes a short section on fol. 9r–v, and there are other hands (up to 14 according to Airila – Harmas 1930, XII–XIII) writing short stints. Marginal annotations on the contents or making reference to other sections of the book by a few contemporary hands.

The headings of the laws and chapters are written in larger letters, all in black ink. Otherwise the only decorative feature is the use of majuscule letters.

Wooden boards covered with light-brown calf. Blind-stamped panel formed by a roll-frame featuring vines and busts. In the central panel on the front cover a stamped depiction of Christ slaying the devil (also interpreted as St George slaying the dragon) with the text ‘ero mors t[ua]’; in the central panel on the back cover a badly faded depiction of a man in armour with a sword and another man fallen at his feet; a year ‘1548’ and the name ‘iosua’ are included. There are two brass hook-clasps attached to the edge of the front cover; both the clasps and catches have been decorated with simple incised lines. The boards are bevelled towards the edges. Pastedowns of early-modern paper.

The large number of empty leaves suggests that additional texts were planned for the manuscript, which, for some reason, were never included. Pajula (1955) notes by the number of errors that the manuscript was not made with any great care. Airila and Harmas (1930, XXIII) speculate on the possibility that the copy was dictated. Based on the language, Finland seems a likely place of origin, but since the translation in all likelihood originated from Stockholm (Airila – Harmas 1930, VIII), Sweden is not out of the question. The year 1548 on the back cover should provide at least some indication of the date, especially since there are several empty leaves, which seem to suggest that the manuscript was bound early on and any additional texts were intended to be written into the ready-bound codex.

It is not known how the manuscript ended up in the National Library of Sweden; the inside of the front cover has the shelf-mark and ownership markings of the library. There is also a note on the manuscript’s having been lent to Helsinki in 1849–1853 ([Wilhelm Gabriel] Lagus) and 1863–1866.

 E. N. Setälä – M. Nyholm, Kristoffer kuninkaan maanlaki herra Martin suomeksi kääntämä. 1. Tukholman Codex B 96, Helsinki 1905. M. Airila – H. Harmas, Kristoffer kuninkaan maanlaki herra Martin suomeksi kääntämä. 2. Toisintotekstit verrattuina Tukholman Codexiin B 96, Helsinki 1930. Paavo Pajula, Ensimmäinen lainsuomennos. Lisiä suomalaisen lakikielen varhaishistoriaan, Helsinki 1955, 58–61. Encoding added