Stockholm, National Archives, Kopiesamling I (f.d. Avskriftsamling, 11a), vol. 17. Ture Pedersson Bielke's och Gustav Fincke's copybook, 1555–1557 Cataloguer Ville Walta Finnish Literature Society (SKS) Codices Fennici Creative Commons BY 4.0 Stockholm National Archives Kopiesamling I, vol. 17 f.d. Avskriftsamling, 11a 1555–1557, Finland, Savonlinna(?) Two sets of copybooks and other documents concerning the affairs of Ture Pedersson Bielke and Gustav Fincke.

I:

Fols. 1r–104v, 121r–132v, 133r–134r: Copies of letters, instructions to Ture Pedersson Bielke and Gustav Fincke, and their responses from 1555–1557. The letters proceed in rough chronological order, with certain administrative documents (charters, inventories) placed among them. For a large number of documents, there are duplicates found in other copybooks (Stockholm, National Archives, Kopiesamling I, vol. 18; Stockholm, National Archives, E8685). Many documents have been edited in Arwidsson 1846–1858, vols. 3, 4 and 8. Some quires have at some point been misplaced so that a part belonging between fols. 68 and 69 has been entered as fols. 121–132.

[1r] Denne effterscreffne Book lyder och inneholler wisse wthskreffter och Copier aff the breff Instructioner och befalninger som Jagh Ture person till Sallstad, sampt med Erligh och welbordigh Mann Göstaff fincke til porkale och höffwitz mann på Nyslat samfelt och enskylt bekommet och wndfänget haffwe, wthaff stormectigh förste och herre her Gustaff Swerigis Götis och wendis etc. konung wor wor(!) Nådigh here, sedan det Jagh her på Nyslat bleff förordineret I slotzloffwen med förbenembde Göstaff fincke, Samaledig wisse Copier och wthskreffter aff de breff och suar som wy bode tilhope eller hwar för segh haffwe skreffuit högbemelte konungliga majestetten till Igen, Teslickes wisse wthskreffter aff de wordendeste breff som wy aff alle andre gode män samfele eller synnerligh wndfonget och Igen wthskreffuet haffwe. Och so medfoliande ett register åm den ärlige tänthe, Tesligit åm the affwelä gorder, Strömfiske och alle andre legenheter som her wti nyslåtz lään ransaketh, besedt och förfaret haffwe, och I lyke mate giffuet högbemelte konungliga majesteten swar och besked ther opå Anno etc. 1555. (First letter) Frå Twre Persson och Göstaff fincke Till konungliga majestet med amund kart. Storctigeste konung aller nådhigaste herre ... [11v] (A letter in Finnish, reportedly written personally by Ture Pedersson Bielke) ... [68v] ... thenn iche hel- [121r] ler neke kunne ... [125v] ... Min höge Nod- [127v] torfft och wall så till ... vdi sin befalning ther [126r] emoth Norbåthn I Saulax ... (from the end of 127r the text jumps to the beginning of 128r). [132v] ... her faders och var [69r] hengisteridere skitter ... [73v] ... Abo then 15 Januari Anno 57.

[73v-98r] (the accounts of Savonlinna (Nyslott) län from 1555); (fol. 98v is blank) [99r–101r] (An account of distances and staging posts on Ture Pedersson Bielke’s trip from Savonlinna to Sweden in February and March of 1557) Minn Ture Perssons färdh och Natte Lägre från Nyslått thenn 28 februarij Anno etc. 1557 och medh Gudh hem til Suerige försh. 4. från Nyslått till putkilax konungs gårdh 4 Mil Natte lägre ... [101r] ... then 15 martij, Anno 1557. Laus deo in aeternum (fols. 101v–104v are blank).

Fols. 133r–134r contain duplicates of letters from 1555 and should presumably be placed somewhere within the copybook.

II:

Fols. 105r–119r: Another copybook ascribed solely to Ture Pedersson Bielke, with a similar prologue to that found on fol. 1r. Contains several duplicates to those found on fols. 1–104, 121–139.

(fols. 112v, 119v–120v are blank).

Paper 134 + 3 folios (an unnumbered slip entered between fols. 10 and 11, a loose paper slip between fols. 17 and 18; at the end of the book, one unfoliated flyleaf) 21,5 33 16 26,5 Fols. 1–104: contemporary foliation with arabic numerals in the upper right margin of the recto side. Fols. 105–118: independent contemporary foliation, which skips a few leaves, from 1–12. These leaves, as well as fols. 119–134, have been separately foliated with a pencil to follow the foliation of the first section. 24II96 + IV104; 4II120; 3II132 + I134 + i The first three quires have quire signatures using the alphabet in the lower margin of the first leaf of a quire (A–C). Catchwords in lower margin of each page.

The order of quires has been confused in certain places. The letter starting on fol. 68v (June 1556) continues on fol. 121r. The text beginning on fol. 132v ends on fol. 69r (October 1556). The inner bifolium of the the quire with fols. 125–128 has, at some point, been folded in the wrong direction: the text continues from fol. 125v to 127v and from there to 126r, from 126v it jumps to 128r.

The manuscript is in good overall condition. There is, however, some fraying along the edges and the ink has faded in several places. On fol. 37r several large ink stains, which render parts of the text illegible.

 Mostly one column with vertical and horizontal bounding lines; fols. 94r–98r (inventory) in two columns; number of lines varies (c. 32–40).

On fols. 1–134: at least two main hands writing a cursive script of saec. XVI, I: fols. 1r–31v; II: 31v–101r, 121r–134r. Hand II also appears in the smaller copybook (part II) writing fols. 105v–108v; fols. 109r–119r are by another hand. The same hands do not seem to appear in the other copybook by Gustav Fincke and Ture Pedersson Bielke (Stockholm, National Archives, Kopiesamling, vol. 18 (f.d. Avskriftssamling 11B)), which contains several duplicates.

A few additional hands write shorter sections. A modern hand has marked which letters and documents have been edited and where.

Pen-drawn initials at the beginnings of letters; occasionally with simple decoration. Fol. 4r: a drawn map of Jeskis (Jääski) with captions. Another such map is placed on a separate slip entered between fols. 10 and 11; and another on fol. 39v. Intitulations or ingresses of the letters often written in a slightly more formal script.

Renewed binding of red leather over pasteboard; white leather at the edges and on the spine (possibly from the original binding?). Paper pastedowns; the covers are only a little bit larger than the folia. National Archives's old shelf-mark and a title are written on the spine.

The manuscript is one of two copybooks (the other one is Stockholm, National Archives, Kopiesamling I, vol. 18) containing outgoing and incoming correspondence related to the administrative tasks of Ture Pedersson Bielke (d. 1577) and Gustav Fincke (d. 1566), who were responsible for organizing the Finnish military efforts in the war against Russia 1555–1557. Both copybooks were probably made contemporaneously with the writing and receiving of the documents. In addition to letters, there are copies of royal decrees and tax accounts. Two scribes were mainly responsible for the work; possibly they were from the Savonlinna castle. Some copies of the same documents are also found in Gustav Fincke’s personal copybook (Stockholm, National Archives, E 8685).

This copybook contains, in fact, two different copybooks. The smaller copybook (fols. 105–119) contains several duplicates of documents in the large one, and was intended to contain only Ture Pedersson Bielke’s correspondence. The close relation of these two books is suggested by the fact that one scribe appears in both of them.

At some point, possibly as the book was rebound, the order of some quires became confused, and several belonging between fols. 68 and 69 were moved to the end of the book. Possibly the second copybook was also combined into the larger one at the same time.

This volume is likely the one once shelf-marked ‘EE’, according to a note on the cover of Stockholm, Riksarkivet, Kopiesamling, vol. 18.

Apparently the copybooks were kept at the manor of Kankas from where they were likely taken to the Swedish National Archives in 1706 together with the copybooks of Gustav Fincke's son, Gödik Fincke. Old shelf-mark ‘Avskriftsamling 11a’ on the spine.

Adolf Iwar Arwidsson, Handlingar till upplysning af Finlands häfder, 1–10, Stockholm 1846–1858, 8, III–IV. Encoding added