Rare discovery at a high school in Bergen caught the attention of UIB researchers
Remnants of medieval books were coincidentally discovered at Bergen Cathedral School - a high school located in the city center of Bergen. The findings will now be documented and analyzed by the international research project CODICUM.
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鈥淚t was quite a special experience to stumble across these findings. I believe the library at Bergen Cathedral School is a treasure trove,鈥� says Espen Kutschera, educator at the Bergen City Museum ("Bymuseet i Bergen").
He visited the Cathedral School鈥檚 historic library together with his colleague Baard Skogrand in April. They made some remarkable discoveries.
鈥淲e were there to borrow some books from the 1500s and 1600s for an exhibition we're working with. We were astonished when we saw reinforcements made from medieval manuscript pages inside several of the books we looked through. And not only that鈥攎any of the books also had covers made from medieval parchment,鈥� says Kutschera.
Parchment is typically made from the processed skin of calves, and was the primary writing material in medieval Europe prior to the widespread adoption of paper.
Kutschera and聽Skogrand knew that such remnants of medieval books are rare in the Nordic countries, and immediately realized they had found something extraordinary.
Reached out to UIB Professor
The findings were reported to the school staff, who immediately contacted Professor at the University of Bergen (UiB).
鈥淭hese discoveries are incredibly exciting. And the timing was absolutely perfect,鈥� says Ommundsen.
She works at the Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic 大象传媒 at the UiB and has been researching medieval Latin manuscript materials for over 20 years. She now leads the international research project CODICUM, which includes six Nordic partners. The project explores medieval book culture and was awarded a prestigious ERC grant of 鈧�13 million last year.
鈥淎n important part of our project involves collecting and cataloguing both known and unknown medieval book fragments. These remnants offer insight into how knowledge was transmitted, how people stayed informed, and how Europe was connected in the Middle Ages,鈥� she says.
鈥淚t's easy to overlook smaller book collections鈥�
Jan St酶ren has worked at the Bergen Cathedral School鈥檚 library since 2013. He鈥檚 pleased that the books will now be included in the international research project.
鈥淚 believe we have far more books from the 1500s and 1600s than most people realize. Altogether, we have nearly 500 books from that period. Several of them are bound in parchment, but it鈥檚 rare to see signs of earlier use. Such traces are hard to spot unless the binding is partially or completely damaged,鈥� he explains.
The medieval book fragments from the school's library are now being registered as part of the source material for the CODICUM project. The Nordic database currently includes around 50,000 Latin book fragments preserved in libraries and archives across the region. It's one of Europe鈥檚 largest source collections on medieval book culture.
鈥淔rom now on, we鈥檒l register any reused medieval manuscript fragments we find, but I鈥檓 glad these fragments will also become part of a broader Nordic overview,鈥� says St酶ren.
is one of the researchers of the CODICUM project, and was warmly welcomed by St酶ren when he visited the library in June.
鈥淎s researchers, we often focus on the large and well-known collections, such as those in the National Archives, the National Library, and the universities. It鈥檚 easy to overlook other collections that scattered around Norway and beyond. In the CODICUM project, we aim to uncover these hidden and forgotten collections to gain a better and more complete picture of Nordic book culture in the Middle Ages,鈥� he says.
This book was one of several rare finds from the Cathedral School鈥檚 library. "It appears that the cover of this book contains liturgy for funerals from a late medieval manuscript," says Professor Ommundsen.
Hoping to hear of more medieval book fragments
鈥淲e're happy that we were informed of these findings. It allows us to place the fragments in a broader context,鈥� says Ommundsen.
Lorenz is looking forward to continuing the collection work.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to work with book collections that are hidden in plain sight, like the one at the Bergen Cathedral School. How many fragments are out there, and what kinds of texts do they contain? These are questions we hope to answer,鈥� he says.
The researchers hope more people will get in touch if they come across medieval books or manuscript fragments.
鈥淲e encourage librarians,聽 researchers, students, and others who handle old materials from the Nordic region to reach out if they come across books or book fragments they believe may be medieval. Our contact information is available on the CODICUM website,鈥� says Ommundsen.
Kutschera is eager to learn more about the hidden stories that may be tucked away in old book bindings.
鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to seeing what the CODICUM team will discover,鈥� he says.
Facts
Most medieval books from the Nordic countries were destroyed or lost after the Reformation.
Less than 10% of Europe鈥檚 medieval books have survived. An even smaller proportion has been preserved in the Nordic region.
Pages from medieval books were often reused as binding material for administrative documents or printed books. Thousands of medieval books were saved this way鈥攂y chance.
The CODICUM project uses modern techniques to trace the geographical origin of the calfskin used to make the books.
Book fragments can provide insights into medieval trade and craftsmanship, as well as the religious, social, and scholarly networks that connected Europe.
Have you found something you think might be a fragment from a medieval book? Get in touch with the research team here:
CODICUM
Project title:聽"The Medieval Book and Networks of Northern Europe c. 1000-1500: Texts, Crafts, Fragments"
About the project: CODICUM explores how medieval book culture and literary networks shaped Northern Europe, combining methods from the natural sciences and the humanities. The project aims to digitally reunite medieval book fragments, uncover their origins, and trace the networks of scribes and scholars who produced and shared them.
The project website:
