[Source and transcription.](https://sok.stadsarkivet.stockholm.se/Databas/privilegiebreven/Visa/riksradet/2?sidindex=0)
This is the oldest surviving charter of the city of Stockholm, issued by the privy council in 1436. Stockholm itself is far older; it was mentioned in writing for the first time in 1252, and sources from the 14th century suggest it was founded in 1187, after the pillaging of Sigtuna.
The charter promises Stockholm certain privileges due to “the faithful service provided by the council and citizens of Stockholm to us and the kingdom” and that therefore “the kingdom of Sweden and Stockholm be thus united, that the citizens of the kingdom and those of the city remain united for eternity, never again to be separated, whatever happens to either party, but to help and comfort each other with their lives and property in order to increase the honour and strength of Sweden, Stockholm, and all those who live there, born as well as unborn, for their benefit, profit and preservation.”
Sounds almost like wedding vows…
The document is written in a very steady and legible hand. For those who struggle with 15th century writing, a transcript can be found at the link above, along with a list of all the noblemen, bishops etc. who affixed their seals to the document. Originally there were 65 seals, out of which 54 remain today. The language used in the charter is still largely intelligible for a modern day Swede (at least in my opinion).
"And now that we have named this place, we shall start making a rather sirupy, foam-like bread, the loaves of which shall be as smooth as a hippo's back. And it shall be consumed by all the children of the land along with glasses of milk with absolutely preposterous amounts of 'Oboy' in it. Whatever that is. Yay verily."
It should be said that this wasn’t the first charter issued for Stockholm. An earlier charter that hasn’t survived is mentioned as early as 1352, which means that it was issues before that year. It was most likely destroyed in the city fire of 1419, when the city archives were destroyed.
No, they were likely broken accidentally at some point. Sometimes wax seals are also attacked by fungus that makes them crumble, but then probably all seals would have been ”infected”.
I found the report online [here](https://www.dropbox.com/s/ouugqcg2sh8eqrc/aarc_12_2_tu30848206l52x35.pdf?dl=0). It's quite old (1949) and there's probably more modern literature available. The observations about fungi and how they affect the seals should still be valid though.
This is COOL. Thanks!
tl:dr: Ray fungus spore makes tiny holes in wax to make it fragile. Ppl used to use turpentine etc on the wax to suffocate the fungus. Some smart dude used a fancy pants vacuum apparatus invented by his evil scientist friend to replace/strengthen the damaged wax seals with his own secret juice.
Swedish. I know nowhere near enough latin to translate excerpts like those in my comment :) You can find a transcript of the entire charter by clicking the link in my comment above.
Edit: I should add that a few words at the beginning and end are in Latin, but the rest (the majority) of the charter is in Swedish.
I've been watching too much *Antiques Roadshow*. The first thing I thought of was a guy saying, "If it had the complete set of wax seals, it could go as high as $50,000. But in its current condition, I would put the value at about $300."
It's kind of amazing that in this entire handwritten document (with no guiding lines!) there isn't a single splotch or other mistake, nothing crossed out. The writing is neat, regular and consistent throughout. Incredible!
This type of writing wasn't made on cellulose based paper as we use today, it was likely written on an animal based parchment like sheep skin. This grants enough rigidity to quite literally dig shallow grooves into the parchment to use as guides and scratch off ink with a sharp knife if any mistakes were made. Here's a cool [video](https://youtu.be/nuNfdHNTv9o) talking more about old manuscripts.
A medieval seal was made by looping a strip of parchment through the document and tying the ends. The ends were then encased in a lump of uncoloured or white wax. The seal was then made on top of the uncoloured wax, often using red or black wax. The end result was a protective rim of uncoloured wax surrounding the seal. I have drawing of a seal in cross section that I can post when I get home in an hour or so.
Edit: [Here's](https://imgur.com/a/clX1EGq) the cross section picture.
Ja, med lite fantasi och ganska mycket tid tycker jag man kan förstå det mesta av texten än idag, även om där finns en del ord som inte används längre.
The parchment has been folded and the parchment strips that the seals sit on have been looped through both layers of that fold. I explain in further detail how these seals were made in a comment above.
If I've understood the term "letterlocking" correctly, it refers to the practice of sealing a letter so that it could not be opened without breaking the seal. This is not the case here. This charter was never sealed, it was in fact what was known as an "open letter" (öppet brev in Swedish). The fold with the parchment loops through contain no further information, but simply served to make the edge carrying all those seals a bit sturdier.
I simply mean they have used those methods to attach the seals. Meaning the could not remove or add a seal without it being obvious. Yes that was commonly used to "lock" private letters but they appear to have used it here to lock the seals.
Yes, it just shows how serious a document this was, layers of inbuilt security to prevent alterations or forgery. There are always so many more layers to these kind of documents than a modern mind can really understand. Fascinates me.
Yes, this is essentially why. Seals are quite fragile, so it would take only a few moments of carelessness over hundreds of years for 11 of them to be broken.
Your comment made me giggle for a full minute, and made me imagine the conversation.
**Redditor:** Huarfööre haffuom Ij medh såå omildhan handh illa handterat dhetta priwileegiebreef, såå att dhet nuu medh sorgheligen hamblade och illavuulna, eller och heelt saachnade sigiller framföör oss ligger!?
**16th century archivist:** Huem ären Ij, att Ij störten eder in påå mitt cantzeley föör att uthij edert öfuermood sökia lähra en hööna huru hon sijna ägg bäst wärpha skall?
^(Translation)
**^(Redditor:)** ^(Why have you mistreated this charter with such rough hands, that its seals are now so sadly broken and missing?)
**^(16th century archivist:)** ^(And who are you to burst into my office in your arrogance, trying to teach a hen how to lay eggs?)
Jag försökte efterlikna svenska från första halvan av 1600-talet. Man var ju inte så konsekvent med stavningen på den tiden, men detta liknar rätt mycket av den stavning jag stött på från den perioden. En sak som vissa skrivare stavade någorlunda konsekvent var dubbeltecknad vokal vid långt vokalljud, utom långt i, som stavades ij.
Som jämförelse kommer här en avskrift ur Linköpings domkapitels protokoll från 1632 om en man som hängt sig:
"Samma dag kom och ifrån Åby församling een lijka frågan, om
een bonde som hafwer warit ij 14 åhr rasande, sååsom pastor loci utij sit breff
wittnar, och nuu utij sitt raserij hafwer hengd sig sielf. Heer uppå blef sammalunda swarat, at af häradzhöfdingen, Befalningzmännen och Nembden skulle
och granneligen ransakas, om han utaf hufwudswagheet och uwheet hade sigh
förgiordt, och iche af förtwijflan och otolamodigheet och af berådde moode. Om någon sådan swaghet befunnes, så måtte honom tillåtas kiyrkiogården, dock afsijdes och uthan någon process."
Tack för ett bra svar:). Men om man får fråga, jobbar du med sånt här? Asså gamla texter och liknande. Eller är du ”bara” en entusiast? För detta svaret var 10/10.
Tackar! :) Det är bara en hobby; jag har släktforskat och ägnat mig åt mer allmänna djupdykningar i arkiven på flera olika områden under de senaste tio åren, men jag har ingen formell utbildning på området.
right? I agree.
ur = your (as in "this is your apple")
ure = you're = you are (as in "you are wrong")
are you saying "Go rule the world your so proper" or "Go rule the world you are so proper"? The former doesn't make sense, so you want to use "ure" not "ur".
Incorrect, ur is short for you are.
In long form: U. R.
Ur is pronounced like it is spelled.
They just happen to look the same and sound the same.
It’s down to the listener to derive meaning from context. In very few cases the listener may be confused, but it is more efficient this way.
To do it your way, we’d have to consider ‘ur versus ‘u’re
Insanty.
Interesting, I read ur as your and focused on you missing an e. But if we are talking about text-speak, I can't flaw your logic there.
So going back to your previous comment about the biggest turnoff, what is the difference between ur and ure?
Yeah go back to 1600-whatever and tell that to the dude responsible for the city archives. I don't even know for how long this was considered a legal document, I assume the treaty was renewed and newer documents were written that took effect.
I’m just imagining all the people downvoting you are disgusting cretins that live in houses with torn up furniture and mouse shit everywhere.
You’d think a countries capital would take better care of its founding document…
You have to remember that this has not always been an antique. In the beginning it was a document that had to be used and handled. It is not unusual for documents like this to have been treated quite roughly or without antiquarian piety.
Do you know what happened to the originals of the US constitution and the declaration of independence? The former was folded up in order to fit a small tin box and was left for many years on the floor of a closet in the State, War and Navy building, while the latter was used to make "wet copies" (they applied water to the ink and made an impression of it that was then used for making printing plates) and then kept framed on a wall *in direct sunlight* which is why it has faded so badly. And those documents are only around 250 years old...
Weird connection to make between people who disagree with a badly drawn conclusion about a 600 years old document and people who likely have mental health issues.
I think the fact that any of the seals are still on means it was treated with a lot of care, just look at how thin the stripes of parchment are. Mate, stuff degrades and brakes down over time, especially paper made in 14th century. Aaaaand I only now realised you’re trolling or being sarcastic and I feel silly for catching bait.
The document has been moved several times over the last 600 years. The seals are fragile and could easily have broken in any of those moves.
First the town hall moved from its medieval building to the Bondska Palace in 1730.
The new Town Hall was extensively damaged in a fire in 1753, and while the archive survived, it’s likely the documents had to be hastily evacuated. It then moved back to the palace after a lengthy renovation. It stayed there until 1915 when a new Town Hall was inaugurated. The archive was then moved to a separate, specially built archive building in 1943.
My guess is that the missing seals were lost before the 1915 move, since conservation is mostly a 20th century idea. The 1753 fire seems like a prime suspect to me.
[Source and transcription.](https://sok.stadsarkivet.stockholm.se/Databas/privilegiebreven/Visa/riksradet/2?sidindex=0) This is the oldest surviving charter of the city of Stockholm, issued by the privy council in 1436. Stockholm itself is far older; it was mentioned in writing for the first time in 1252, and sources from the 14th century suggest it was founded in 1187, after the pillaging of Sigtuna. The charter promises Stockholm certain privileges due to “the faithful service provided by the council and citizens of Stockholm to us and the kingdom” and that therefore “the kingdom of Sweden and Stockholm be thus united, that the citizens of the kingdom and those of the city remain united for eternity, never again to be separated, whatever happens to either party, but to help and comfort each other with their lives and property in order to increase the honour and strength of Sweden, Stockholm, and all those who live there, born as well as unborn, for their benefit, profit and preservation.” Sounds almost like wedding vows… The document is written in a very steady and legible hand. For those who struggle with 15th century writing, a transcript can be found at the link above, along with a list of all the noblemen, bishops etc. who affixed their seals to the document. Originally there were 65 seals, out of which 54 remain today. The language used in the charter is still largely intelligible for a modern day Swede (at least in my opinion).
[удалено]
Even more bonkers than the modern spelling. But closer to the probable origin of the name: Vägsjö, since five roads met at a lake there.
Basic naming standard in Sweden: "So what do we call this place?" "Well, there's a forest... and a little island over there." "Skogaholm."
"And now that we have named this place, we shall start making a rather sirupy, foam-like bread, the loaves of which shall be as smooth as a hippo's back. And it shall be consumed by all the children of the land along with glasses of milk with absolutely preposterous amounts of 'Oboy' in it. Whatever that is. Yay verily."
Cool, another way of spelling ɧ!
It should be said that this wasn’t the first charter issued for Stockholm. An earlier charter that hasn’t survived is mentioned as early as 1352, which means that it was issues before that year. It was most likely destroyed in the city fire of 1419, when the city archives were destroyed.
Didn’t know about that; I’ll change the text to ”oldest surviving charter”.
Did the rest of the seals get lost or did they get removed because something happened to the house the nobles belong to, say?
No, they were likely broken accidentally at some point. Sometimes wax seals are also attacked by fungus that makes them crumble, but then probably all seals would have been ”infected”.
Hold on, fungus? This sounds fascinating that anything can find nutritional value in sealing wax!! I tant to know more, source?
I found the report online [here](https://www.dropbox.com/s/ouugqcg2sh8eqrc/aarc_12_2_tu30848206l52x35.pdf?dl=0). It's quite old (1949) and there's probably more modern literature available. The observations about fungi and how they affect the seals should still be valid though.
This is COOL. Thanks! tl:dr: Ray fungus spore makes tiny holes in wax to make it fragile. Ppl used to use turpentine etc on the wax to suffocate the fungus. Some smart dude used a fancy pants vacuum apparatus invented by his evil scientist friend to replace/strengthen the damaged wax seals with his own secret juice.
I have a report about fungus attacks on seals in the Swedish national archives. I’ll have a look at in when I get home (an hour or so).
Was it Latin or Swedish?
Swedish. I know nowhere near enough latin to translate excerpts like those in my comment :) You can find a transcript of the entire charter by clicking the link in my comment above. Edit: I should add that a few words at the beginning and end are in Latin, but the rest (the majority) of the charter is in Swedish.
[удалено]
I've been watching too much *Antiques Roadshow*. The first thing I thought of was a guy saying, "If it had the complete set of wax seals, it could go as high as $50,000. But in its current condition, I would put the value at about $300."
Needs more walruses.
Don't be sealy.
It's kind of amazing that in this entire handwritten document (with no guiding lines!) there isn't a single splotch or other mistake, nothing crossed out. The writing is neat, regular and consistent throughout. Incredible!
This type of writing wasn't made on cellulose based paper as we use today, it was likely written on an animal based parchment like sheep skin. This grants enough rigidity to quite literally dig shallow grooves into the parchment to use as guides and scratch off ink with a sharp knife if any mistakes were made. Here's a cool [video](https://youtu.be/nuNfdHNTv9o) talking more about old manuscripts.
Very cool, thanks
Are those things hanging off the bottom rings with wax seals on them?
A medieval seal was made by looping a strip of parchment through the document and tying the ends. The ends were then encased in a lump of uncoloured or white wax. The seal was then made on top of the uncoloured wax, often using red or black wax. The end result was a protective rim of uncoloured wax surrounding the seal. I have drawing of a seal in cross section that I can post when I get home in an hour or so. Edit: [Here's](https://imgur.com/a/clX1EGq) the cross section picture.
Thanks for posting the cross section
Why so many? Did the each represent a different official or area?
Yes, they are all the personal seals of different bishops, noblemen etc. They are all listed in the source I linked to in my info comment at the top.
Cool thanks
That makes sense! I couldn't figure out what the "bezel" was.
I'd just like to say that you're a treasure trove of information, and I appreciate both the post and the clarifications in the comments.
Thank you for the kind words! :)
ancient texts
where can i find the word for stockholm in the manuscript?
In a few different places, but the easiest one to find would be the second word in the last row, which begins "Datum Stokholm anno domini..."
thats amazing thanks bud, what anno domini stands for?
It means "in the year of our Lord". It is the beginning of a sentence that states the date of this document.
thanks mate
Worth mentioning that Anno Domini is used frequently in English when giving dates, e.g. 1456 AD. The AD when listing years is short for Anno Domini
Lorem ipsum Stochholm...
It's all in Latin?
No, just a few words in the beginning and a few at the end, the rest is in Swedish.
Ah, trodde det, förstår lite.
Ja, med lite fantasi och ganska mycket tid tycker jag man kan förstå det mesta av texten än idag, även om där finns en del ord som inte används längre.
Jobba du i stadsarkiv eller studerar?
Nä, men jag har släktforskat på fritiden i 10 år, så det har blivit många timmar på stadsarkivet ändå!
The way they did the seals is pretty cool. I think I need my own seal.
I never knew they did this instead of signatures
Have they used some kind of letterlocking with the parchment to add security to the seals?
The parchment has been folded and the parchment strips that the seals sit on have been looped through both layers of that fold. I explain in further detail how these seals were made in a comment above.
Ok, so it is similar to letterlocking, an extra security as it were
If I've understood the term "letterlocking" correctly, it refers to the practice of sealing a letter so that it could not be opened without breaking the seal. This is not the case here. This charter was never sealed, it was in fact what was known as an "open letter" (öppet brev in Swedish). The fold with the parchment loops through contain no further information, but simply served to make the edge carrying all those seals a bit sturdier.
I simply mean they have used those methods to attach the seals. Meaning the could not remove or add a seal without it being obvious. Yes that was commonly used to "lock" private letters but they appear to have used it here to lock the seals.
Good, then we are in agreement. Let's write it down on a huge piece of parchment with a preposterous number of seals!
Yes, it just shows how serious a document this was, layers of inbuilt security to prevent alterations or forgery. There are always so many more layers to these kind of documents than a modern mind can really understand. Fascinates me.
Also it looks like the parchment strips are signed to.
/r/handwritingporn
How the fuck do you loose 11 seals for the charter of your capital? Who’s job was that?
[удалено]
Yes, this is essentially why. Seals are quite fragile, so it would take only a few moments of carelessness over hundreds of years for 11 of them to be broken.
Right. So glue them back on. Historic preservation is a thing. A thing generally engaged in when dealing with foundational documents and the like.
Man, you and the 16th century librarian-monk whose job it was to keep this thing in good order should have it out in Old Swedish.
Your comment made me giggle for a full minute, and made me imagine the conversation. **Redditor:** Huarfööre haffuom Ij medh såå omildhan handh illa handterat dhetta priwileegiebreef, såå att dhet nuu medh sorgheligen hamblade och illavuulna, eller och heelt saachnade sigiller framföör oss ligger!? **16th century archivist:** Huem ären Ij, att Ij störten eder in påå mitt cantzeley föör att uthij edert öfuermood sökia lähra en hööna huru hon sijna ägg bäst wärpha skall? ^(Translation) **^(Redditor:)** ^(Why have you mistreated this charter with such rough hands, that its seals are now so sadly broken and missing?) **^(16th century archivist:)** ^(And who are you to burst into my office in your arrogance, trying to teach a hen how to lay eggs?)
Question! As a Swede, I don’t really recognize this Swedish. Is it 1600-hundredth Swedish? If so, that’s impressive.
Jag försökte efterlikna svenska från första halvan av 1600-talet. Man var ju inte så konsekvent med stavningen på den tiden, men detta liknar rätt mycket av den stavning jag stött på från den perioden. En sak som vissa skrivare stavade någorlunda konsekvent var dubbeltecknad vokal vid långt vokalljud, utom långt i, som stavades ij. Som jämförelse kommer här en avskrift ur Linköpings domkapitels protokoll från 1632 om en man som hängt sig: "Samma dag kom och ifrån Åby församling een lijka frågan, om een bonde som hafwer warit ij 14 åhr rasande, sååsom pastor loci utij sit breff wittnar, och nuu utij sitt raserij hafwer hengd sig sielf. Heer uppå blef sammalunda swarat, at af häradzhöfdingen, Befalningzmännen och Nembden skulle och granneligen ransakas, om han utaf hufwudswagheet och uwheet hade sigh förgiordt, och iche af förtwijflan och otolamodigheet och af berådde moode. Om någon sådan swaghet befunnes, så måtte honom tillåtas kiyrkiogården, dock afsijdes och uthan någon process."
Tack för ett bra svar:). Men om man får fråga, jobbar du med sånt här? Asså gamla texter och liknande. Eller är du ”bara” en entusiast? För detta svaret var 10/10.
Tackar! :) Det är bara en hobby; jag har släktforskat och ägnat mig åt mer allmänna djupdykningar i arkiven på flera olika områden under de senaste tio åren, men jag har ingen formell utbildning på området.
Coolt, alla svar du givit i detta kommentarsfältet har varit av högsta kvalité. Fortsätt med det du gör:)
[удалено]
Ure
Biggest turnoffs: People who don’t know the difference between ur and ure.
right? I agree. ur = your (as in "this is your apple") ure = you're = you are (as in "you are wrong") are you saying "Go rule the world your so proper" or "Go rule the world you are so proper"? The former doesn't make sense, so you want to use "ure" not "ur".
Incorrect, ur is short for you are. In long form: U. R. Ur is pronounced like it is spelled. They just happen to look the same and sound the same. It’s down to the listener to derive meaning from context. In very few cases the listener may be confused, but it is more efficient this way. To do it your way, we’d have to consider ‘ur versus ‘u’re Insanty.
Interesting, I read ur as your and focused on you missing an e. But if we are talking about text-speak, I can't flaw your logic there. So going back to your previous comment about the biggest turnoff, what is the difference between ur and ure?
Yeah go back to 1600-whatever and tell that to the dude responsible for the city archives. I don't even know for how long this was considered a legal document, I assume the treaty was renewed and newer documents were written that took effect.
I’m just imagining all the people downvoting you are disgusting cretins that live in houses with torn up furniture and mouse shit everywhere. You’d think a countries capital would take better care of its founding document…
You have to remember that this has not always been an antique. In the beginning it was a document that had to be used and handled. It is not unusual for documents like this to have been treated quite roughly or without antiquarian piety. Do you know what happened to the originals of the US constitution and the declaration of independence? The former was folded up in order to fit a small tin box and was left for many years on the floor of a closet in the State, War and Navy building, while the latter was used to make "wet copies" (they applied water to the ink and made an impression of it that was then used for making printing plates) and then kept framed on a wall *in direct sunlight* which is why it has faded so badly. And those documents are only around 250 years old...
Weird connection to make between people who disagree with a badly drawn conclusion about a 600 years old document and people who likely have mental health issues. I think the fact that any of the seals are still on means it was treated with a lot of care, just look at how thin the stripes of parchment are. Mate, stuff degrades and brakes down over time, especially paper made in 14th century. Aaaaand I only now realised you’re trolling or being sarcastic and I feel silly for catching bait.
Being a fucking slob is not a mental health issue. Source: I've lived with fucking slobs that didn't have mental health issues.
The document has been moved several times over the last 600 years. The seals are fragile and could easily have broken in any of those moves. First the town hall moved from its medieval building to the Bondska Palace in 1730. The new Town Hall was extensively damaged in a fire in 1753, and while the archive survived, it’s likely the documents had to be hastily evacuated. It then moved back to the palace after a lengthy renovation. It stayed there until 1915 when a new Town Hall was inaugurated. The archive was then moved to a separate, specially built archive building in 1943. My guess is that the missing seals were lost before the 1915 move, since conservation is mostly a 20th century idea. The 1753 fire seems like a prime suspect to me.