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A Survey of the Latin Manuscript Fragments in Danish Collections with Special Consideration given the Gospel Books of the Archdiocese of Lund


Type

Thesis

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Authors

Rossel, Sven 

Abstract

This thesis offers a modern re-evaluation of the medieval fragmentary manuscript material kept in the two major collections in Denmark at the Danish National Archives and the Royal Library. The introduction offers an overview of the fragment collections in order to assess the Danish collections in Copenhagen and the unique challenges they pose. Next, Chapter One discusses various palaeographical difficulties of working with de-contextualised Pregothic script samples is discussed. This is followed by an examination of methodologies that are necessary and which are applied in order to work with the body of fragmentary manuscript material and achieve valid results. Chapter Two demonstrates the potential of the Danish fragment collections by investigating the fragments attributed to Scribe A, working at the Scandinavian archdiocese of Lund in the first half of the twelfth century. Following this scribe’s career, a model of his scribal hand development is constructed with a number of fragmentary manuscripts, pieces of which can be found across the various Scandinavian manuscript fragment collections, revealing a web of interconnected scribes working at Lund. Chapter Three concerns the gospel books associated with Lund. It is demonstrated that the manuscript Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ludwig II 3 (83.MB.67) was written by two Lund scribes, one of whom is Scribe A, the other being the main scribe of the gospel book KB, Thott 21 4to, Scribe T. A detailed study of the corrections of Thott 21 proves that Ludwig II 3 served for the most part as that manuscript’s exemplar. Chapter Four discusses the picture of scribal activity and interconnectivity at Lund in the first half of the twelfth century resulting from the close studies of the scribal hands involved in the writing of the manuscripts. In the conclusion, the findings are contextualised and further implications discussed, especially regarding the confraternal relationship between the archdiocese of Lund and the abbey of Helmarshausen in Germany. Finally, various other fragments are highlighted in order to demonstrate the further potential of Danish fragment scholarship, as well as which steps must be taken in the future in order to progress the field.

Description

Date

2020-09-12

Advisors

Rowe, Elizabeth

Keywords

Manuscript, Fragments, Lund, Gospel Book, Palaeography, Helmarshausen, Thott 21, Thott 22, Ludwig II 3, C 83

Qualification

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Awarding Institution

University of Cambridge