The fragmentary roll was not known to Jean Dufour, Recueil des rouleaux des morts (VIII^e siècle-vers 1536), 5 vols. (Paris: de Boccard, 2005-2013). The institution which sent out the mortuary roll cannot directly be identied, but it is presumably a Flemish institution, as the same letter is included in a letter collection known as the Codex Dunensis after the Abbey of the Dunes, in whose historical library in which it was kept (Joseph Marie Bruno Constantin Kervyn de Lettenhove (ed.), Codex Dunensis sive diplomatum et chartarum Medii Aevi amplissima collectio (Bruxelles, 1875), p. 405-406, no. CCLXXVI). This probably means that the letter was presented to the community at the Dunes at some point, where the text was then copied as an example of such a document. Alternatively, it is possible that the letter was composed in the abbey itself.

The two pieces of parchment which make up the fragment have been attached using a strip of parchment pasted onto the dorse of the fragments, but there is text missing between the two parts. The first fragment only has the top part of the final line, which does not match the lower part of the first line visible on the second document. In between these two there is also a full line of text completely missing.