An Important Medieval Middle Low German Law Manuscript Which Ended up on the Banks of the Volga: Was it an Inexplicable Accident?

A previously unidentified medieval manuscript, believed to be the Bardewik codex—a significant 1294 Middle Low German legal text from Lübeck—was discovered in a regional museum in Yuryevets, Russia. The finding challenges assumptions about its provenance, as it had no clear path from its original archives in Lübeck to its current location on the Volga River. While earlier hypotheses suggested ties to Vladimir G. Shishlov, new evidence links the manuscript to Vitaliy F. Gruzdev, a resident of Ivanovo who donated manuscripts to local institutions. This connection is supported by geographical proximity and Gruzdev's known involvement with Hanseatic manuscripts, suggesting a more plausible explanation for its unexpected journey.

Portnykh, V. (2024). An Important Medieval Middle Low German Law Manuscript Which Ended up on the Banks of the Volga: Was it an Inexplicable Accident? Средние Века, 85(4), 176. https://doi.org/10.7868/s0131878024040081