Northern Textualis

The parchment was coloured black to obscure the text on it. The smooth surface quality of the colourant suggests it is a paint or varnish rather than dye. The letters of the text are slightly raised. This resulted in the black paint rubbing off where the letters are, sometimes with the original ink, leaving a negative behind.

Red initials peek through the black ink.

The host volume belonged to Herlufsholm Skole, a private Latin school located in Næstved, Sealand founded in 1565 on the grounds of a secularised Benedictine monastery, St Peders Kloster. The old library of Herlufsholm was transferred to the University Library of Southern Denmark in 1968-69.

This book is part of a tranche of books acquired by Peder Pedersen Hie, who was rector of Herlufsholm between 1610-13. It bears a spine label with the letters BVH for Bibliotheca Vetus Hienniae, as well as an inscription on the title page reading Hic liber in usum Scholæ Herlovianæ acquisitus est Rectore Petro Petrejo Hiennio, most likely added later by a librarian.

The binding is a simple laced-case binding with three single endbands. At some point it had a set of laces to hold the book block closed, but these are no longer there. It was restored by bookbinder Axel Pedersen (A.P. Kons) in 1976 according to a stamp on the back endleaf.