[Anonymous], An Actual Report of the Origin of the Disputes in Religious Matters between the Protestant Churches (in German); RATRAMNUS OF CORBIE, On the Body and Blood of the Lord (in German translation); and other texts; manuscript on parchment, in German by [Anonymous], An Actual Report of the Origin of the Disputes in Religious Matters between the Protestant Churches

A CALLIGRAPHIC MASTERPIECE, THIS COLLECTION OF REFORMATION TEXTS WAS COPIED BY ANDRE WECHELN, THE FIRST POSTMASTER-GENERAL OF SWEDEN. Manuscript on parchment, in German, Stockholm, Sweden, 1636-1637. Dimensions (binding) 115 x 80 mm., (book block) 108 x 70 mm. 178 leaves, written in one hand, black penwork in FOLIATE DESIGNS USED FOR FULL TITLE PAGES, a GREEK CROSS, CALENDRICAL ROUNDELS, COMPASS FOR DESCRIBING WIND DIRECTION, two-, three-, and four-line black penwork initials throughout. BINDING: Gold-tooled 17th century binding of black cordovan leather, with the remnant of a form of ribbon tie on the back cover, sewn on three cords with blue and yellow silk endbands (the Swedish colors), gilt edges, contemporary marbled paper pastedowns, gold-tooled leaf spiral and flower filigree design with central and corner panels in a double frame common on mid-17th c. Swedish bindings, possibly the work of Georg Hornbein (fl. 1624-49), a German who had emigrated to Sweden in 1617 and ran the largest bookbindery in Stockholm. TEXT: This manuscript unites four copies of printed, though rare, Protestant texts: a devotional work on the Eucharist with a Prayer Book, a historical work on the origins of the confessional conflict accompanied by Martin Luther's sermon for Good Friday 1522, a German translation of a Eucharistic treatise by the Carolingian theologian Ratramnus of Corbie, and a guide to reading the Bible during the calendar year. The scribe, Andre Wecheln, was a German in Swedish royal service during the Thirty Years War and the first Postmaster-General of Sweden. PROVENANCE: The scribe names himself on four occasions as Andre Wecheln, writing in Stockholm in 1636-37. It was later in a European Continental Collection. CONDITION: In excellent condition. Full description and pictures available. (TM 514)