The Beromünster cantatorium contains the solo sung parts of the mass with notation, and some tropes added during the 14th century. Among these are the Kyrie tropes Kyrie fons bonitatis and Cunctipotens. The examples of conductus are interesting. The codex is bound in a wooden case with two ivory panels from the 8th-9th century. (ber)

The Epistolary is the oldest manuscript in the library at Beromunster; according to local tradition it was presented by a member of the patron family of Lenzburg, Count Ulrich († before 1050). The front cover, added later, is an ivory panel dating from the second half of, perhaps the end of, the 13th century. (ber)

This manuscript contains the statutes of the community of Bever from 1558 (ff. 1r-5v). After 1560, these were used as the basis for developing new statutes; in the course of this, the articles were sometimes supplemented and crossed out after having been copied, but without any loss of text. The draft of the new statutes was continued on blank pages; a fair copy of this text has not survived. (dar)

This manuscript contains the statutes and the respective lists of land appraisals from 1584 (ff. 1-30), 1589 (ff. 33-58), 1593 (ff. 60-85), 1597 (ff. 88-115) and 1601 (ff. 117-146), occasionally with additional decisions made by the community. These are followed by appraisals for the years 1613, 1617, 1625, 1629, 1637, 1641, 1645, 1649, 1653, 1657 and 1661 (ff.155-186), which provide an overview of the development of the community's financial circumstances over 70 years. (dar)

The Eidgenössische Chronik by Werner Schodoler (1490-1541) is the last of the illustrated Swiss chronicles of the late Middle Ages. It was written on private initiative between 1510 and 1535 and took as its primary models the Official Bernese Chronicle - Amtliche Berner Chronik - by Diebold Schilling and the Chronicle - Kronica - by Petermann Etterlin. This volume, the second of the three volumes of the chronicle, consists primarily of an account of the Old Zurich War and is illustrated with 130 colored pen sketches. Today the three volumes are held in different libraries: the first volume is in the Leopold-Sophien-Bibliothek in Überlingen, the second in the City Archive in Bremgarten, and the third in the Cantonal Library of Aargau. (ber)

Composite manuscript of liturgical texts, containing the prayers of the breviary of the Carthusian Order (1r Capitula, 18r Temporale, 35v Sanctorale, 49v Commune Sanctorum und 51v Usus communis). This small prayer book was probably produced in a Carthusian monastery in Burgundy in the 13th century. Certainly it was used from the 13th to about the 15th century in one of the Carthusian monasteries in present-day Western Switzerland, such as La Valsainte, La Part-Dieu or La Lance. The text is written on parchment and is decorated with blue and red paragraph initials. There are notes and drawings in the margins. (def)

This small liturgical book was used in the Monastery of San Michele di Campagna near Verona during the 15th century. The work contains the rite of the profession of faith and of the consecration practiced on the occasion of the investiture of a Benedictine nun. It is valuable evidence of a ritual for women who take their vows. (def)

The Ordo iudiciarius is a work of canon law written at the beginning of the 13th century by Tancred of Bologna (ca. 1185-ca. 1236): f. 60r Explicit ordo iudiciaris magistri Tancreti. Tancred was archdeacon and professor at the University of Bologna. (def)

The first 14 pages of this urbarium consist of various notes regarding oaths and contracts. Page 15 constitutes the frontispiece of the register as such: ‟Ici commence mon rentier domestique, cet assavoir de moÿ Joannes Castella, bourgeois de Frÿbourg et chastellain de la ville de Gruÿere, le 3me janvier 1681”. This booklet lists all of Jean Castella's expenditures (ordinary expenses such as saddle girths, wages paid to a midwife, purchase of wood, etc., as well as less ordinary expenses) along with receipts and, in particular, details regarding his income from lands. The author also notes down judgments in which he participated as a jury member or as guarantor for the authorities. In addition he mentions gifts that he received or gave. The register lists costs of and earnings from his official function as well as expenditures and income from his private activities. This is nothing less than a historical summary of the everyday life of a notable Gruyère citizen from the late 17th century. (def)

Inventory of property, prepared by the notary Michel d'Enney on behalf of Peter of Gruyère, Prior of Broc, and written between November 17, 1565 and November 20, 1566. The register consists of records of the properties of Broc Priory, organized by location. Originally Broc Priory was a dependency of the one at Lutry; in 1577 it was annexed to the Cathedral Chapter of St. Nicholas in Fribourg. (def)

Carrying on p. 3 the title “Variarum”, this is an undated autograph from the hand of the antistes (head) of the reformed church of Zurich, Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575). The description “Bullingeri Autographon”on p. 3 comes unequivocally from a second, later hand. In keeping with the title, the contents consist of a collection of notes on various theological themes or loci related to the fifteen headings found in the manuscript. (hil)

This martirologio-inventario (annal) was written in 1554 at the request of the vicini (the original members of the municipal corporate body) of Castro and Marolta in the Blenio Valley (Ticino) in order to replace an older one that was destroyed in a fire. It contains the list of obligations toward the parish and toward the community for bequests and anniversaries of deaths. The first page is decorated with an illuminated initial and has in its bottom margin a painting of the coat of arms of the canton of Uri. At the time, the Blenio Valley was governed ruled by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden. (ber)

This manuscript contains the poems La satyre megere, a poem about the reconciliation of King Louis XII with Emperor Maximilian I, Les quatres eages passees, followed by a Ballade and three Rondeaux, and at the end Le portail du temple, inspired by an incomplete treatise by Boccaccio. This artificial composite manuscript consists of three original manuscripts entitled "Satyre Megere, poème d'Antitus dédié à Aymon de Montfacon, evesque de Lausanne, l'an de grâce mille cinq cens". The author Antitus Faure was chaplain to the Dukes of Burgundy and Savoy and, beginning in 1499, to the Prince-Bishop Aymon de Montfaucon († 1517) of Lausanne, to whom he dedicated these three works. This illuminated manuscript was bought by the state archive of the canton of Vaud in 1920. (cou)

This Book of Hours following the liturgical custom of Paris contains a large number of private prayers in Latin and French, most of them unpublished. As indicated in the colophon on page 193r, the book was produced in 1421 in Paris in the workshop of the bookseller Jacquet Lescuier. It was commissioned, or perhaps only bought, by Jean II de Gingins, born around 1385 and died either at the end of 1461 or the beginning of 1462; he had his coat of arms painted on p. 193v. The miniatures were executed by several illuminators, among them the “Guise Master,” the “Bedford Master” and a student associated with the “Boucicaut Master.” The last representative of the Gingin-La Sarraz family left the castle to her brother-in-law, Henri de Mandrot, who in turn gave this manuscript and the family archive to the state archive of the canton of Vaud in 1920. (cou)

Second innermost bifolium of a quire whose innermost bifolium is preserved in Steinhausen, Archiv der Waldgenossenschaft B WG Steinhausen. It is the remainder of a Fulda manuscript from the 2nd third of the 9th century with the so-called Collectio Veronensis of the acts of the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431. The codex was obviously used as waste paper in modern times in Switzerland. When and by what route it reached Switzerland from Fulda cannot be determined; however, it may have arrived there, like a number of other Fulda manuscripts, in the first half of the 16th century as a potential text source for prints by Basel print shops. For a virtual combination of the two fragments see [sine loco], codices restituti, Cod. 6, Concilium Ephesinum. (stb)

Obituary of the Parish of S. Ambrogio of Chironico (Ticino), written by the priest Ambrogio Rossi of Chironico, who copied an older obituary that was probably damaged or had no more space. The Ambrosian type calendar lists the stipends for annual masses or for anniversaries, the solemnities, the indulgences and notes regarding the pledges to the parish and to the entire valley. On December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the commemoration of the Battle of Giornico (Battaglia dei Sassi Grossi, 1479) is recorded. (ber)

This manuscript contains the translation into Puter (the dialect of the Upper Engadine) of the drama “Die zehn Alter dieser Welt.“ As of now, it is the oldest known manuscript of a Romansh drama. At the end, it contains a translation of song number 85 by Durich Chiampel[l]; although the original was not published until 1562, the song is written here after the date at the end of the piece (43r-46r). At the end of the manuscript, barely legible, there is a Decalogue (46v). The scribe signed as bartolomeus ulderici zauarit (42v). (dec)

This manuscript contains the translation into Puter (the dialect of the Upper Engadine) of the Federal Charter of 11 November 1544 (German, StAGR A I/01 Nr. 109), written by Fadry Salis (very probably Friedrich von Salis-Samedan, 1512-1570). It was probably written shortly after the original, and thus it is the oldest Romansh document preserved in the original. The alliance of 1544 is a renewal of the alliance between the Grey League, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and the League of God's House of 23 September 1524, which is generally considered the founding act of the Free State of the Three Leagues. The dating of the manuscript is uncertain since the date 11 November 1544 refers to the German document, which, however, does not bear the signature of Friedrich von Salis. According to the note of confirmation of 8 February 1605, the manuscript must at least have been written prior to this date. (dec)

This manuscript contains three different texts: The German Lucidarius (1r-32v), a didactic dialogue between master and student, is a Middle High German prose work written around 1190, which presents the contemporary theological and scientific knowledge of its time. The Constance World Chronicle (Konstanzer Weltchronik) (117r-150v) is a brief universal historical compendium, probably written in Konstanz in the 14th century. The Zurich Chronicle (Zürcher Chronik) (153r-191r), the oldest version of which dates from the 14th century, belongs to the genre of late medieval German city chronicles. The manuscript was written in the area of the diocese of Constance. The original owner was the not further identified Hans von Endiner. In the 18th century, the manuscript was owned by Georg Litzel, theologian and philologist from Ulm. How it found its way to Chur is unknown. (dec)

This martirologio-calendario (obituary) of the Parish of Claro has no cover, and its initial pages are quite badly damaged. Each page is laid out to contain five to seven days of the week; names of the deceased whose death anniversaries were to be celebrated are listed in spaces especially intended for this purpose. It is almost certain that this annal replaces an older register. Individual entries were updated later and, as can be deduced from notes in the margins, were transferred to a new book. As a rule, the entries are not dated, but mention of several testaments and local customs allows for placing it in the period after the middle of the 15th century. (ber)