The Duchy of Schleswig is the most northern district of Germany, and since 1920 has been divided between Denmark and Germany. In 1510 a man with the interesting name of Gottschalk von Ahlefeldt (1475-1541) became bishop of Schleswig. The Ahlefeldt family were originally of the Danish nobility, but by this time was settled in Germany. Ahledfeldt seems to have been a clever and competent man, who set about restoring his bankrupt diocese, even mortgaging part of his own income to satisfy the creditors. Sadly all his efforts were swept away by the rise of Lutheranism in the 1520s, which offered both moral and financial incentives to the local nobility to convert, and he was the last Catholic bishop. His biography in Danish records that, shortly before his death, he advised the nobility of Holstein not to “lightly let the old doctrine go.”
Soon after his election, in 1512, he commissioned the creation of new service books for his diocese. Two of these, a Liber Agendarum, and a Breviarium, were printed in Paris that year. Two copies of the Breviarium Slesvicense are held in the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen (KB København, LN 033 8° copy 1, and copy 2), and catalogued on the Hungarian Usuarium liturgical texts site, here and here.
Here’s the title page of the Breviarium Slesvicense, from KB København, LN 033 8° copy 2:
A single page introduction explains why the work was commissioned.
I.e.
Reuerendus in Christo pater et dominus: dominus Godschalcus de Ahleuelde: dei et apostolice sedis gratia episcopus ecclesiae Sleszuicensis. Attendens in sua diocesi librorum breviariorum paucitatem: et ex hoc clericis iuxta ordinarium dicte diocesis horas canonicas legere debentibus oriri turbationem et defectum. Quibus pastorali cura inederi cupiens hec breviaria sanctorum ordinarium prefate sue ecclesie et diocesis correcta et impressa auctoritate ordinaria approbauit et confirmauit. Ac omnibus et singulis Christi fidelibus confessis et contritis ex eisdem libris horas canonicas communiter aut diuisim deo omnipotenti per suam diocesim rite quantum poterint persoluentibus totiens quotiens de omnipotentis dei misericordia: ac beatorum petri et pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisus quadraginta dies indulgeniarum de iniunctis ipsis et cuilibet ipsorum penitentiis misericorditer in domino relaxavit. Anno domini Mdillensimo quingenesimo duodecimo.
The Reverend Father and Lord in Christ, Lord Godschalk of Ahlefeldt, by the grace of God and the Apostolic See, Bishop of the Church of Schleswig, observing the scarcity of breviary books in his diocese and the resulting confusion and deficiency among the clergy who are obliged to recite the canonical hours according to the ordinate of the said diocese, desiring to provide for these matters with pastoral care, has approved and confirmed, by his ordinary authority, these corrected and printed breviaries of the saints according to the ordinate of his aforesaid church and diocese. Moreover, trusting in the authority of Almighty God and the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, he has mercifully granted in the Lord, to each and every one of Christ’s faithful who, being confessed and contrite, duly recite the canonical hours either together or separately from these books throughout his diocese as best they can, forty days of indulgence from the penances enjoined upon them and upon each of them, as often as they do so. In the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and twelve. (DeepSeek)
The volume ends with a lengthy colophon.
This tells us who did the work of compiling it:
Expresis venerabilis virorum dominorum et magistrorum Johannis tetens sacre theologie baccalarii formati lectoris ordinarii: ac Andree Frederici prepositi Wyda i dicta ecclesia canonicorum ibidem necnon providi wesseli goltsme des incole husemen. Cura per vigili domini Seszeconis beszeconis presbyteri medullitus prospectu, ac per venerabilis viros et magistros wilhelmum mercator et Thomas Kees civem in urbe Parisiensi.
Which DeepSeek, slightly cleaned up, renders as:
Produced by the venerable men, the lords and masters, Johannes Tetens, Bachelor of Sacred Theology,[1] and ordinary reader; and Andreas Fredericus, provost of Wida and canon of the said church there, as well as the prudent Wessel Goltsme, resident of Husemen. Carefully overseen with deep insight by the vigilant lord Seszeconis Beszeconis, priest, and by the venerable men and masters, Wilhelm Mercator and Thomas Kees, citizens in the city of Paris.
Guilliemus Marchand and Thomas Kees were the printers. The work was completed on 16 July 1512.
There is a useful table of contents on the page for copy 1 here, and part of the Breviarium is the “sanctoral offices.” Each office includes an abbreviated life of the saint.
On folio 347 of copy 1, or 344 of copy 2 (page 704 of the PDFs in both cases) begins the office of St Botolph, and the “Life” is over the page, broken up into 6 readings or lectiones. This “Life” was copied into the Acta Sanctorum, not very accurately, and is assigned the reference number BHL 1430.
But more about this in the next post.
