Medeltida pergamentomslag
-
1.
National Archives of Sweden
- 2. Swedish National Archives
Description
This dataset (Medeltida pergamentomslag, often shortened MPO) documents a collection of approximately 23,000 medieval manuscript fragments preserved at the National Archives of Sweden and in other institutions in northern Europe. The fragments, dating from the 11th to 16th centuries, were often repurposed as protective covers for Swedish administrative account books between the 1530s and circa 1630.
Following the Swedish Reformation, books from medieval churches and monasteries became obsolete. Concurrently, the bailiffs of King Gustav Vasa and the kings that followed him required durable covers for tax records and account books, leading to the systematic reuse of parchment leaves from medieval manuscripts. Most fragments held at the National Archives of Sweden remain attached to their original 16th-century account books.
Cataloguing History
Cataloguing occurred in two phases:
- Pre-1995: Half of the fragments were documented in the card catalogue Catalogus Codicum Mutilorum (CCM)
- 1995-2004: The Medeltida PergamentOmslag (MPO) project systematically catalogued the second half of the fragments and entered all descriptions to date in the database
The MPO database is written in German and provided as is. Only the IIIF-manifests and links to the image viewer were added in 2025 in preparation for this publication. A dedicated search service for the MPO-database is available online.
Table of contents (English)
The following table briefly describes the available columns:
| signatur | MPO identifier |
| bildbetrachter | link to the image viewer (Universal Viewer) |
| institution | holding institution |
| inst2 | managing institution |
| ranr | archive reference in the Swedish National Archives, this often refers to book in which the fragment was used as binding |
| ccmsignum | CCM identifier |
| bestandsbezeichnung | archive/collection, this often refers to archival fond in which the book the fragment was used as binding is part of |
| bestandssignatur | usage year / volume, this often refers to the date of the book in which the fragment was used as binding |
| buchschmuck | decoration |
| beschreibstoff | material |
| blattzahl | number of pages |
| spaltenzahl | number of columns |
| zeilenzahl1 | number of rows in the main text |
| zeilenzahl2 | number of rows in the secondary text |
| format | size of whole fragment |
| schriftraum1 | size of written area (main text) |
| schriftraum2 | size of written area (secondary text) |
| schäden | description of damages |
| lagenanmerkungen | codicological information relating to foliation |
| schrift | writing style |
| rubrizierung | heading type |
| notation | type of musical notation |
| notenlinien | number of lines of musical notation |
| anmerkungen | miscellaneous remarks |
| sachtitel | designation name |
| sachgruppe | main content category |
| titel | title of work |
| autor1 | author of main text |
| autor2 | author of secondary text |
| entstehungsort | place of origin |
| anwendungsort | place of usage |
| datierung | dating information |
| codex | internal codex reference id, the id refers to a reconstructed codex in which the fragment was a part |
| literatur | related literature |
| inhalt | contents |
| iiif_manifest | link to a IIIF manifest |
Files
mpo.csv
Files
(9.9 MB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:bac851653aa9b0816208a13430154cfb
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9.9 MB | Preview Download |
Additional details
Related works
- Describes
- Book: 1402-4705 (ISSN)
Funding
Dates
- Available
-
2025-10
- Created
-
2004