Mirator

Image and Memory in Medieval Germany

Jesús Rodríguez Viejo — 2025-03-13

This article explores the decoration, perception, and function of the Sigebert Sacramentary (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS. Theol. lat. fol. 2) one of the largest and most luxurious, yet overlooked manuscripts ever created in medieval Central Europe and manufactured at the Abbey of St Gallen in the 1020s as part of a group of eight liturgical manuscripts. The contribution analyses in particular the ecclesiastical symbolism of the unique scenes in this manuscript and offers a contextualisation for its commission by the ambitious bishop Sigebert of Minden (1022-1036).

Revealing Medieval Books’ Dirty Little Secrets

Tuomas Heikkilä — 2025-03-13

This article examines the liturgical books used in the Turku diocese in the late 15th century, focusing on a Breviary printed by Anton Koberger in 1485. It argues that, based on the significant number of surviving copies in the Turku diocese, Koberger’s Breviary—not the 1488 Missale Aboense—marked the initial step towards liturgical harmonisation in the region through the use of printed books.

The article introduces a novel method for quantifying the intensity of use of individual pages by assessing their levels of accumulated dirt. Applied to Koberger’s Breviary, this method offers new insights into the most frequently consulted sections, thereby illuminating the practices surrounding the celebration of the liturgical office in Turku during this period.

Skúli Þórðarson Thorlacius on Historical Nordic Wrestling

Antti Ijäs — 2025-03-13

Skúli Þórðarson (Skulius Theodori) Thorlacius’s (1741–1815) monograph on the marriage rites of the ancient Nordics (Borealium veterum matrimonia, Copenhagen 1785) includes an excursus into spectacles that includes a section on wrestling (glíma). Thorlacius discusses the topic with references to contemporary traditions, saga literature, and comparisons with ancient athletics. Thorlacius’s treatise is one of the earliest scholarly treatments of historical Nordic wrestling, predating the Viking revival of the nineteenth century. For the benefit of recent surge in the interest in the study of historical martial cultures, this article makes Thorlacius’s text accessible both in its Latin original and an English translation with a commentary focusing on his sources. The edition and translation are followed by a critical appraisal of Thorlacius’s conclusions, with additional notes on the history and meaning of lausa-tök, a wrestling term attested from the early eighteenth century onwards.

Jyrki Nissi: Kuolema keskiajalla – Hyvä kuolema mustan surman ajan Euroopassa

Janika Aho — 2025-03-14

A book review.

Preservation – Renewal – Change

Sanna Supponen — 2025-03-13

Introduction to a special issue.