Stockholm, National Library, B 127. Magnus Eriksson’s <hi rend="italic" >Stadslag</hi> Cataloguer Ville Walta Finnish Literature Society (SKS) Codices Fennici Creative Commons BY 4.0 Stockholm National Library B 127 Saec. XIV 4/4 Sweden (Finland) Magnus Eriksson, <hi rend="italic" >Stadslag</hi>

Fol. 1r: An index of the book, mnemonic tools for memorizing the chapters (see Beckman 1917, 182–183), ownership note (see below).

Fol. 1v–74v: Magnus Eriksson, <hi rend="italic">Stadslag</hi>. The chapters begin with an index. Konunga balk 26 and Edsöres balk 27 were left out, but the latter has been inserted after Högmelis balk. A missing leaf creates a lacuna in Köpmala balk 17–21. Ed. Schlyter 1865, 3–400.

[1v] Konungs balk. (Index) Huru borghamestare ok rathmen skulu welias ... [2r] Nw scal man borhamestare ok rathmen welia ... [9r] ... ganga ofuer alt swerikes rike. (Gifta balk) (Index) Huilkom lundom man scal ... [2v] Uil man sik kumi buthia eller festa ... [14v] ... agher til rekenscaps ganga. Ärfua balk. (Index) Vm byiaman dör huru ... [15r] Dör byuaman eller hustru hans ... [19r] ... theth barneth dør. Jordha balker. (Index) Huru ärfdha godz sculu ... [19v] Nw wil nakar selia tompt ... [23v] ... ok weria huat the hørdho. Bygninga balker. (Index) Twe sculu the wara j huariom ... [24r] Twe sculu the wara j huariom stadh ... [30v] ... j stokholme wari lagh samu. (Köpmala balker) (Index) Um løsøra køp ... [31r] Alt theth man køper ... [34v] (köpmala balk 17) ... twegia manna witne, eller | [35r] (köpmala balk 21) ... wil hona bort föra ... [39v] ... fore konunge ok stathenom. Skipmala balker. (Index) Huru man scal sit godz ... [40r] Hwilken man til stadzsens hampn komber ... [43r] ... twe a huars thera weghna. Rastuwo balker. (index) huru mang mal man maa ... [44r] Ey ma en man flere mal kiära ... [52r] ... eller j stadzsens gömo sätia. (Edsöres balker) (index) nu rither man eller ganger hem ... [53r] Ryther man hem at athrom eller ganger ... [58r] ... scal han mista høghra sina handh. [58v] Höghmelis balker. Vm man myrdher man ... Myrther man annan eller kona man ... [60v] ... scal ganga konungz hempd ok wredhe. [61r] Drap meth wilia. (Index) Vm the drap man gör ... Nw dreper man annan wtan thrang ... [63r] ..dher man ther drepin wari i twebøte. Drap meth watha. (Index) huru mang hug til watha ... [63v] Nw hugger madher at manne ok warthar ... [65v] ... til eller wari sik sieluer trithi. (Saramal meth wilia) (Index) Nw wil man annan til sara binda ... [66r] Nw wil man annan til sara binda ... [69v] ... gøra ok kan thera nather fa. (Saramal meth watha). (Index) Um man hugger annan ... Hugger man at athrom ok annar ... [70v] ... ethen ok orkar ey botum. (Thiufua balker). (Index) Nw kan man thiufuat ... [71r] Uarther then thiufnather nakrom j handom ... [74v] ... thre marker konunge ok stathenom til thweskiptis AMEN.

(Followed by 22 added paper leaves, which are blank)

 Parchment and paper Parchment 74 folios, and paper 4 + 22 folios. Four loose paper leaves in the front and 22 paper leaves added in the back. 20 25,5 14,5 18 Modern foliation in the upper right margin in ink. The foliation ignores the paper leaves added to the beginning and end of the manuscript. iiii; V10 + 3IV34 + (III+2-1)41 + IV49 + (III+2)57 + IV65 + (IV+1)74; xxii The beginning of a new quire has been marked with a sign drawn with red crayon in the lower margin.

A leaf is missing before fol. 35. Fols. 36 and 39, 53 and 54 are singletons. One extra leaf has been added to the end of the last quire.

The manuscript is in good overall condition. There are some holes and tears, often marked with red. A piece of parchment has been pasted to fol. 41 so as to cover a hole.

 One lead ruled column with 26–28 lines.

Probably only one main hand writing a gothic book-cursive from saec. XIV 4/4 or possibly from saec. XV 1/4 (the script features a two-compartment a, which fell out of use in vernacular cursive around the end of saec. XIV). A few additional hands contribute sparse additions.

On fol. 74v is ‘trahit sua quemque voluptas, huariom dragher sijn wellusta tijdh, som han haffuer syn flijt och ijdh’ (saec. XVI). According to Beckman (1917, 183) the linguistic features point towards Finland.

Each balk begins with simple lombards in alternating red and green. Usually three lines high. On fol. 2r an initial with both colours. Chapter marks with red and green, balk–numeration in red. Chapter headings in red in the upper margin.

Dark brown calf over wooden boards. Blind-tooled frames with pictures of the evangelists, portraits of soldiers, and other figures and fleurons. On the outer front cover is tooled ‘E IST D’ and the year ‘1592’, possibly indicating an owner (or binder) and the year the book was rebound. The blind-toolings suggest that the binding was possibly done by a follower of Hans Düsterbach; the most likely candidates are Michel Han and Herman Sulke, both active in Stockholm in the 1590s (Carlsson 1925, 353; Hedberg 1949, 37–41, 44–47). There are remnants of two hook-clasps with catches on the edge of the front cover. There are paper pastedowns on both covers. Below them, another set of pastedowns from a German(?) printed volume are visible. The binding over-hangs the text-block. The front cover is loose.

A manuscript is a rather carefully written copy of Magnus Eriksson’s <hi rend="italic">Stadslag</hi>. To judge by its script, it was written at saec. XIV 4/4. According to Beckman (1917, 185), writing likely took place in the Östergötland area. The year on the front cover suggest the manuscript was rebound in 1592 and paper quires were, in all likelihood, added to the beginning and end of the manuscript at this point.

By 1540 the manuscript had reached Finland and was purchased by Bishop Mikael Agricola (d. 1557) from a merchant who, to judge by his name, Michil Paljaspää, was also Finnish. Fol. 1r: (probably in Agricola’s own hand) ‘Liber Michaelis Agricole a Torsby in Pernå aureo vngarico emptus, a quodam mercatore dicto Michil paliaspä Anno domini 1540 decembris 7’.

The codex belonged to the library of Fredrik Ridderstolpe (1783-1852) in Tidö, Vestmanland. From there it was donated to the National Library of Sweden in 1857 by Johan Otto Blomstedt (1815-1890); see inner front cover: ‘N: 47, 51’, ‘B. 127’. ‘No 266 I Tidö bibliotheket, skänt af J. O. Blomstedt till Kongl. bibliotheket i Juli 1857’.

 Natanael Beckman, Studier i outgivna fornsvenska handskrifter, Stockholm 1917, 182–190. A. B. Carlsson, “Rester av Michael Agricolas boksamling i svenska bibliotek”, Bok-och bibliotekshistoriska studier tillägnade Isak Collijn på hans 50-årsdag, Uppsala 1925, 351–353. Arvid Hedberg, Stockholms bokbindare 1460–1880. Band I, tiden från 1460 till omkring 1700, Stockholm 1949. C. J. Schlyter, Konung Magnus Erikssons Stadslag, Corpus iuris Sueo-Gotorum Antiqui, vol. 11, Lund 1865, V–VI. Encoding added