Olaus Magnus' Picture of the Corn Harvest in the Nordic Countries Gosta Berg

Berg, Gosta 1984: Olaus Magnus' Picture of the Corn Harvest in the Nordic Countries. Ethnologia Europaea XIV : 177-180.

The picture on the cover of this journal is taken from the Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus ofOlaus Magnus, printed in Rome in 1555. The author was the exiled last Catholic Archbishop of Sweden . The picture illustrates Book 13, Chap­ ter 8: On Various Ways of Harvesting . Many years ago the author of this paper noticed that the picture, laterally rever­ sed, is closely similar to one by Hans Holbein the younger in his I cones veteris tes­ tamenti, printed in Leiden in 1538. The paper analyses departures made from the prototype in order to give the content a more Scandinavian character. It is shown how Olaus Magnus builds wholly or partly on Holbein's Bible il­ lustrations in other cases too. Finally, some reflections are made on the value the former Archbishop attached to the pictorial material. Not least because of this material, his work became the oldest source of major significance for knowledge of Scandinavian folklife at the beginning of the modern era.

Professor, fil.dr. Gosta Berg, Ludvigsbergsgatan 16, S-117 26 Stockholm .

The picture which adorns the cover of this jour­ picted as left-handed, it is already clear that nal is taken from Olaus Magnus' famous work the picture is a mirror image and must thus Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, which have had an original. Some time in 1926 or was printed in Rome in 1555. The author was 1927, I observed by chance that this original the last Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sweden was to be found among Hans Holbein the (1490-1557) and was then living in exile. 1 younger's illustrations to the Old Testament, This picture (Fig. 1) illustrates Chapter 8 in Jeanes ueteris testamenti, executed in 1529-30 Book 13 and is entitled "De diversitate mes­ and printed at Leyden in 1538. A few years la­ sium colligendarum". On the left, there is a ter, I presented my observations in an article man with a sickle and a woman picking up the in Swedish in Fataburen (Berg, 1934) .2 corn stalks after him to bind them into In Holbein's book, the picture (Fig. 2) shows sheaves. On the right, there stands a man (the Ruth gleaning ears of corn in Boaz' field (Ruth, foreman?) and beside him the farmer holding a Chapter 2). It is, of course, of great interest to

'- drinking vessel in his hand, ready to refresh compare the original with Olaus' picture. In his labourers with good ale. K. R. V. Wikman the latter, Boaz no longer appears wearing a thinks that the latter is the main motif in the Jewish cap and carrying a stick in his hand . He picture and refers to Olaus Magnus's state­ has been changed into a Swedish farmer in a ment at the end of the chapter about the subse­ jacket and a casquet. The foreman wears a be­ quent harvest feast and its importance in con­ ret with a feather in it and Ruth's large chaplet nection with the institution of marriage (Wik­ (of the kind which was customarily worn in the man, 1939:26 f.). However, it should be pointed Alpine countries) has been exchanged for a out that the surrounding chapters all deal with simple head-scarf with hanging ends (cf. Ge­ farming techniques and do not dwell on social ramb, 1931:117). questions. The wide folds in the seat of the trousers of From the fact that all the figures are de- the man who is cutting the corn also seem

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} Fig. 1. Harvesting Scene. Fig. 2 Olaus Magnus' Historia Ruth, de gentibus septentriona­ Holbe libus 13:8. Rome 1555. nes LeydE

rather un-Swedish. But the composition of the complete pictures. There is an example of this whole scene, the arrangement of the figures in the vignette to the next chapter (13:9), in and the ornamental details down to the stone which the man with the scythe and the woman des< on the ground are the ame LI,both pictw·es. It picking up the stalks recur in connection with mat only remains to observe that the wood-carver a description of"how the little children are pro­ (Gr: was a particularly poor dilettante in compru·­ tected from snakes by hanging them up in bas­ H ison with the excellent artist who engraved the kets in the trees". In the above-mentioned pa­ sou: biblical scene. per , I presented several such cases, in which tho, In addition, there is the peculiar fact that Holbein's illu trntions had been used in mak­ trat here, as Sigurd Erixon has pointed out, it is ing the vignettes. doc men who are wielding the sickle, whereas, "in Later on, John Granlund, in his great com­ ma the whole of Sweden, as well as in the greater mentary , made a critical examination ofmy in­ poil part of the rest of northern and eastern Eu­ formation and added some further cases. He cre1 rope, this wa the women's task" (Erixon, calculated that altogether 21 pictures could be in 1931:199 f.). It al o looks as if the wood-carver traced, in varying amounts of detail, back to 19L wished to copy the toothed sickles in Holbein · Holbein's work. It was also of the greatest in­ det picture. Such sickles did not , as far a is terest to note that he was able to show that I known, occur in Sweden in modern times. Only Olaus, with remarkable rapidity, used one of lys one find, dating from prehistoric times, is the biblical illustrations for the Carta marina, tm known in Sweden. On the other hand, this type which he published in 1539, i.e. the year after be, is not uncommon in Norway (Myrdal, 1982:25; !cones veteris testamenti (Granlund 1951:596). ta1 Petersen, 1951:130 ). The illustrations in Carta marina, which are 01: Naturally , l was anxious, after this chance also distinguished by their very high, artistic fa< observation of mine, to examine the rest of quality, came to be the most important source 19 Olaus Magnrni's pictures , in order to see if any for the il1ustr1;1tions in the historical work. ab more parallels could be demonstrated. How­ Granlund estimates the number at 124 and Be ever, the picture in question seems to be the this includes many of those that are the most re, only one in which the wood-carver copied the interesting from the culture-historical point of sc' original so fully. On the other hand, he made view. The wood-cuts with culture-historical lis use, in a fairly large number of cases, of parts contents, for which it has not been possible to G1 and details which he later enlarged to form demonstrate any original and which Granlund co

178 1e. Fig. 2. Harvesting Scene. ·ia Ruth, Chapter 2. Hans .a- Holbein the Younger, Ico­ nes veteris testamenti . ., Leyden 1528.

lis in ill described as "Olaus Magnus' own", were esti­ suggested that we should compile a record of th mated to number 228 in the commentary what has happened since in this field. ·o­ (Granlund, 1951:594 ff.). Obviously, particular value attaches to those Ls­ However, Granlund also knew of other pictures from which it is possible to obtain in­ ,a­ sources for the illustration of the history, formation which goes beyond what is given in ch though this concerned to a large extent illus­ the text. The vignette to 19:28 (repeated in k- trations that were of less importance from the 2: 118) has long been noted; in it, we see "the documentary point of view. As regards the ani­ crane carrying a candle to bed", a reflection of n­ mal pictures, Hjalmar Grape had already a current popular belief in southern Sweden n- pointed out a certain connection with Dyalogus (von Sydow, 1916). A few cases of a similar :le creaturarum moralizatus (printed in Swedish kind may certainly be observed on closer anal­ be in 1483) or one of its originals (Grape, ysis of the pictures. Such an analysis should to 1942:328). This fact was analysed in greater also be concentrated on Olaus Magnus' method .n­ detail by John Bernstrom (1958) . of presenting them. In his Postscript, Gran­ at Down the years, several authors have ana­ lund expresses himself as follows on this point: of I lysed Olaus Magnus' illustrations from the fac­ "Probably it was only a few main facts which ~ ia, tual point of view. Their results have generally Olaus Magnus was anxious to illustrate by ;er been recorded in Granlund's great commen­ means of pictures and for these he apparently ). tary. Later, there appeared, inter alia, Martin made the sketches himself, whereas he left it ire Olsson's analysis of Olaus Magnus' (unsatis­ to the wood-carver to compose freely the orna­ tic factory) picture of Kalmar Castle (Olsson, mental details or the background, which may ·ce 1983:43 f.; cf. note 58 on a manuscript work therefore seem strange or stereotyped" (Gran­ :k. about Olaus Magnus' pictures by Dr. Ragnhild lund, 1951:595). Also details from pictures nd Bostrom). However, further observations of di­ with completely different motifs can, to a cer­ >st rect originals have also been made by several tain extent, be compared with Olaus' abundant <;>f scholars. In the Michaelis Society, which pub­ quotations from classical and later literature, ~al lished the Swedish translation, as well as which have been explained with such learning to Granlund's commentary and several minor by Granlund. To have recourse in this way to nd contributions to Olaus' biography, it has been already existing material and thus to save one-

179 self the trouble of describing the course of 1972 . A Swedish translation was published in events oneself was, as Granlund has finely four volumes between 1909 and 1925, and John sketched in his English introduction to the edi­ Granlund published a one-volume commentary r on it in 1951. This edition wa reprinted (in a tion publi hed in Denm ark, part of the contem­ smaller format) in 1976 . An English translation is A porary method of preparing an account of the in prepar ation for inclusion in th e publications of step concerned here . A valuable , all-round il­ th e Hakluyt Society. E, lustration of Olau Magnu ' back ground and 2. I learn ed afterwards that other scholar s had also made the same observation , amongst them Carl outlook has been given by Kurt Johannesson , Anton Ossbahr , the Keeper of the Royal Armoury Th in his recently published book Gotisk rends­ (1859- 1925; conrmunica lion from Rudolf Ceder­ fer sans (1982) . strom) and possibly also Kristofer Visted, the nOJ Olaus Magnus' Historia has been called a N rwegia n museologist (1873-1 949; communica ­ SOI "superb cultural history - the first w01·k tion from Nils Lid). Moreover Ali,hur Sjogren, t-he artist, had observed that also Augus t Strind ­ Th worthy of such a name to appe ar in Europ e" berg had mention ed, in a lette r to Han s Hilde­ ica (Copenhagen edition, 1972). At any rate, it is brand, the Chief Custodian of Nat ional Antiqui­ nc, ties, date d 21 December 1881, a drawing by Hol­ the oldest source of any importance of pictures ha illustrating manners and customs in the Nor­ bein as Lhe ori1:,•in al of th e pictur e in Olaus Magn.us's book (Sjogren 1941:24). St rindb erg's att dic countries at the beginning of the modern letter has now been p1:inted (Strindb rg, 1950:334 Pe era. When Olaus adorned his great work with ff.). Cf. Granlund 1951:595 . t Di all these pictures deriving from the life of the ve Scandinavian peoples, he was guided by the References ge idea which he himself expressed in his preface: gr , "Presentation by means of pictures is not only Berg, G. 1934: Olaus Magnus bilder ur de nordiska ah plea ing in itself and affords particularly great folkens !iv. In : Fatabur en. Bernstro m, J. 1958: Art. Dyalogus creatur arum otl amu sement but also has the faculty of retai­ moralizatu s. In: Kulturhi storiskt lexikon for nor­ ning past events in th e memory and of con­ disk medeltid 3. stantly representing them to our sight". But it Erixon , S. 1931 : Lantmannens latta redskap. In: H is difficult to imagine that, when he put the Svenska kulturbilder 10. Stockholm. In Geramb, V. and K. Mautner 1932: St eirisches Trach­ book to press in the Brigittine monastery in m, tenbuch 1, Graz . Rome, he himself can have understood the im­ Granlund, J . 1951: Olaus Magnus historia 5. Kom­ St porta nce that the illustr at ions would come to mentar. Stockholm. of have and how frequently they would be used. Grap e, Hj. 1942: Studier i Olai Magni forfattarskap. th Their importance and status justify a careful Uppsala . in examination of the context and history of the Joh annesson, K. 1982: Gotisk ren<'i.ssans. Joh annes och Olrtus Ma.gnus som politiker och historiker. ki individual figures, which, it is to be hoped, will Stockholm . th be accomplished both now and in the future. Myrdal, J . 1982: Jordbruksredskap av jarn fore iir pl Translation: Neil Tomkinson. 1000. In : Fornv<'i.nnen. fl1 Pete rsen, J . 1951: Vik irigetidens redskaper. Oslo. tli Sjogren, A. 1941: Oppet brev till bibliotekarien Carl e, Bjorkbom. In: Grafiskt Fomm . Strindb erg, A. 1950: Au gust Strindb ergs breu 2. pl Notes Stockholm . pl von Sydow, C. W. 1916: Tranan bar ljus i sang. In: w 1. This work appeared in a large number of different Folkminnen och Folktankar . editions in variou s lan guages. The original edi­ Wikman, K. R. V. 1939: Ur festbrukens m6nsterbok. tion in Latin was reprinted in Copenhagen in In: Budkavlen. pc d1 di CE d1 w tl p

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