The fragments found in Norwegian collections come from both imported and locally made books. Many books were brought in from medieval England, but some were also imported from France, Germany and other Nordic countries, such as Denmark or Iceland. The indicated origin is not always certain, and sometimes more than one option has been suggested.
England Flanders France NorwayOrigin:
Norway (Trondheim?), second half of the 12th century
The feast for the English saint Alphegus is one of the unusual features of a fragmentary missal from the 12th century. Alphegus (or Ælfheah) was the archbishop of Canterbury and was taken hostage by the Danes in 1012. When he refused to pay ransom, they made him a martyr. Saint Alphegus had very modest appeal outside England, and this missal is the only known reference to him in Norway.
The Saint Alphegus missal is pieced together from 41 small to medium size fragments in the National Archives of Norway. The content includes parts of Christmas, Lent and Easter. The liturgist Lilli Gjerløw registered a number of fragments from the missal in her files as Mi 75. The fragments were used to bind accounts from Trondheim, and it is in this case not unlikely that the missal was also written and used in Trondheim.
There are three different scribes present in the transmitted fragments. The music and the coloured initials are very distinct and recognizable. One of the characteristics of the manuscripts is the relaxed manner in which the scribes related to the ruling, the lines and the measurements. It is a useful reminder that codicology is far more than an ‘art of measurement’.
Origin:
Norway (Trondheim?), first half of the 12th century
This missal is a curious one, since it is very diverse and variable in style and content. The different units, registered as three different missals by the liturgist Lilli Gjerløw (Mi 24, Mi 25 and Mi 64), are connected by some ‘awkward’ secondary rubrics. The current state of the manuscript would suggest that it was not finished with rubrics and initials. These have in some places been supplied more or less randomly or as needed. The original manuscript was ca. 28 x 20 cm.
One of the characteristics of the manuscript is the English Saint Edward, whose feast day was celebrated 18 March. Edward became king of England when he was thirteen, and was murdered already as a sixteen-year-old by his enemies. Although he did not die for his faith, he got status as martyr. As far as we know, Edward the martyr was not generally worshipped in Norway. Neither was the French Saint Symphorian of Autun (22 August), who is also celebrated in this missal. In both style and content the influence is certainly ‘Anglo-French’.
There seem to be five different scribes, and two different rubricators in the manuscripts. One of the rubricators seems to have added at least some of the initials. The fragments were used to bind accounts from either Vardøhus or Trondheim, and it is not unnatural to connect also the making of the manuscript with Trondheim in this case.
