Database of medieval book fragments (Medeltida PergamentOmslag, MPO)

The Swedish National Archives houses a collection of many thousand medieval book fragments. The fragments were used as wrappers for the accounts of the Swedish adminstration from the 1530s until around 1630. The books came from medieval churches and monasteries and became useless after the Reformation. At the same time the bailiffs of King Gustav Vasa needed strong wrappers for their tax records, and for that purpose the leaves of the medieval books were suitable. The number of the medieval book fragments amount to c 23,000, most of which are still placed as wrappers for the same accounts as in the 16th century.

The fragments are the remains of around 11,000 different books. The oldest date to the 11th century, the youngest to the 16th century. Many of the books have come to Sweden from abroad, others have been produced here. Most of them are service-books, but there are also leaves from theological and law manuscripts.

The collection was catalogued in the years 1995-2004 in a project called the MPO (Medeltida PergamentOmslag) project. Half of the fragments hade been catalogued earlier in a card catalogue called the Catalogus Codicum Mutilorum (CCM). The text of the database is mainly written in German as German guidelines of manuscript description were followed. The database contains a description of each fragment and, in most cases, also a scanned picture of the fragment.

Pictures of fragments for research or publication may be ordered through the web-site of the National Archives, at "Övriga frågor" or contact us via e-mail at riksarkivet[at]riksarkivet.se. When ordering them please give the number of the fragment in the database. Other questions concerning the fragments may also be sent by "Övriga frågor".

Most collections containing medieval book fragments demands a special permission to look at them in the original. Therefore you should contact us some time in advance before you plan a visit to the National Archives. Most of the fragments are preserved in the National Archives at Marieberg, but there are also fragments located in other archives and libraries. Where a certain fragment is preserved is noticed in the database.

Information for users of the MPO database.

Terminology for the Database of medieval book fragments.

Literature
More about the fragment collection and the database is found in the archival guide From Manuscripts to Wrappers. Medieval Book Fragments in the Swedish National Archives, by Jan Brunius, 2013.

Two other books in this field have been published by the National Archives :

- Helgerånet. Från mässböcker till munkepärmar, red. Kerstin Abukhanfusa, Jan Brunius and Solbritt Benneth, 1993.
- Stympade böcker. Märkvärdiga blad ur svensk bokhistoria, by Kerstin Abukhanfusa, 2004 (this book also available in an English translation: Mutilated Books. Wondrous leaves from Swedish bibliographical history).

Contact
Johan Gåsste, e-mail: johan.gasste[at]riksarkivet.se