(15.Mar.2018) On this somewhat windy and really bitingly cold early spring afternoon I managed to find shelter in one of the friendly cafés leaning on the Copenhagen City Hall Square.
I’m planning to write just a few words about my today’s excesses at the permanent dutch book sale a few blocks from here.
I settled on 6 books and as the per item price today is 40 DKK (just about $6) it adds up to a total of 240 DKK (or around $35) – from this month’s already rather exhausted book account. So what have we got?
(warning – all books are in Danish language, consequently samples will likewise be cited in Danish)
1. VALDEMAR DEN ANDENS JYDSKE LOV – EFTER DEN FLENSBORGSKE CODEX – TILLIGEMED DEN 1590 FORANSTALTEDE NY UDGAVE AF LOVEN OG DEN AF EKENBERGER 1593 BESÖRGEDE PLATTYSKE OVERSÆTTELSE AF SAMME, UDGIVNE IFØLGE FORANSTALTNING AF DET KGL. MINISTERIUM FOR HERTUGDÖMMET SLESVIG – ved P.G.THORSEN. Kjøbenhavn 1853. 306 pages. Bound in plain half calf, somewhat worn and foxed inside, otherwise with a nice typeface.
What’s curious about this edition of our venerable Jutish Law, that is supposed to have found its written form in the early 13th century, is that in one handy vol. in 8vo you have the law in three different languages in parallel text; i.e. the original old Danish version from the first half of the 13th century, then also a version from the reign of king Christian 4. (1590), with a Low German translation to boot.
Here is a sample from p.58, about buying and selling land (translating law-text is of course fraught with difficulties and peril, whence also this specimen is cited in the original). First the Danish version from abt. 1590, after that the early Danish from the early 1200’s, whereas I skip the Low Germen for shortness:
“HUOR JORD SKAL SKIØDIS. Paa Tinge skal mand Jord skiøde, oc ey anderstedz, det er, paa det Herritzsing som Jorden udi ligger, eller paa Sysselting, eller paa Landsting, eller for Konningen: fordi at Tingsvidne er saa sterckt, at imod Tingsvidne skal ingen Low giffuis.”
“HWARÆ IORTH SKAL KØPÆS. A thingi skvlæ mæn iord skøtæ oc æi andærstæt, thet ær a hærætz thing thær ior i liggær, æth a sylæ thing, æth a lanz thing, æth for kvnung, for thy at things witnæ ær swa starct at gen things wittnæ skal æi løgh givæs.”
A great buy for 6 bucks.
2. DET STORE AARHUNDREDE. Af Jacques Boulenger. Oversat af Paul Læssøe Müller. København 1925, Henrik Koppels Forlag, 422 p. Very nicely bound in light coloured half calf.
Off hand I know nothing about the author, Mr. Boulenger, although everything seem to indicate a careful, knowledable work. It’s ofcourse the Sun-King’s century we’re dealing with, i.e. from Louis XIII to Louis XIV.
As an aside here is a curious item of gossip about the Sun-King. The rumor was that a Danish officer, Josias Rantzau, born 1609 and who made it to Marechal de France, might reasonably be regarded as the father of Louis 14.
The Danish genealogist Tycho de Hoffman, who wrote in the 18th century, relates from a german book issued in the 1600’s, that Richelieu arranged for Rantzau to be close, even intimate with the queen, Anna of Austria.
She was said to be much enchanted by Rantzau, who was then by many regarded as the most handsome officer and chevalier of his time.
At any rate I regard this volume as another great buy for 6 bucks, so as to supplement my small collection of books in and about the French, and I don’t think I have seen it before.
2. D.I.JUVENAL’S OTTENDE, TRETTENDE OG FJORTENDE SATIRE. Fordanskede og med en Commentair oplyste af professor Oluf Worm. Kjøbenhavn 1801. 223 p. Bound in plain half calf, a bit worn. But inside almost like new, without even the faintest foxing, although with a slight stain in the upper left corner of some pages.
This is the first Danish edition of this famous volume. Interesting even today on account of it’s parallel text in Latin and Danish and it’s scholarly notes by Prof. Worm.
Obviously a great buy for 6 bucks.
4. DE TO BARONESSER. Af H(ans) C(hristian) Andersen. Roman i tre dele. Kjøbenhavn, C.A.Reitzel, 1849. Somewhat shabbily preserved, bound in contemporary half calf with many signs of use. Foxed throughout and also somewhat stained.
But this is the original, complete edition in three parts of this novel by our famous story teller Hans Christian Andersen, and I hope someone will like it as a present (as I don’t read fiction myself).
5. This item is two (very) small volumes or booklets, stored together in a somewhat tattered cassette.
– Æ BINDSTOUW. By St.St. Blicer. Reprint from the original edition issued in Randers 1842. 50 p. Softcover.
– BLICHERS BINDESTUE. By Søren Holm. Rosenkilde og Bagger, København 1968, 63 p. Softcover.
Søren Holm is, I presume, the well known Copenhagen University professor in philosophy (now deceased). Being born and raised in a remote corner of Jutland, he seems to have taken a special interest in the well known Danish (or rather Jutish) author Blicher.
Søren Holm’s writings about (the history of) philosophy are all very attractive, as far as I know them at least. He seems to have the best traits of the Jutes: Clear eyes and a modest, unassuming demeanour with a lot of down to earth common sense.
6. Lastly a double volume with more Jutish lore:
– SKIZZER af N. Hancke. Aalborg, 1880, 159 p., and
– NORD FOR LIMFJORDEN. SKITSER af N. Hancke. 2.ed. Kjøbenhavn, Hauberg og Co, 1880. 167 p.
Bound together in a nicely preserved, though somewhat frugal half cloth.
The author was born and raised abt. 100 km (slightly more than 60 miles) east of my own birthplace just north of the Limfjord, and I happen to know the rural town closest to his home farm quite well. The two volumes have 6 and 9 small novels respectively, all with local colour.
I happened to secure the 3rd (and last) volume of his tales *) yesterday, and thus consider today’s buy a lucky strike.
***************
*) PENNETEGNINGER, Aarhus, 1893
Thanks to Vangsgaard’s on Kultorvet here in downtown Copenhagen for the above nice buys and also thanks to this Baresso Café for letting me undisturbed for a couple of hours while writing the blog update.
Of course I regret that the real nice Danish litterature blog-website litteratursiden.dk has now obviously been disrupted by the DeepState and rendered virtually useless for bloggers. The DeepState really hate and fear any and all competition for Facebook – don’t they?
***************
To be cross posted on www.gamleboeger.dk and blocnotesimma.wordpress.com
Tweets on twitter.com/gamleboeger