Ms 65 Norgis Loug 1

This manuscript, dated to around 1598, is important because it records on the title page that it is the law according to the orders of King Fredrik II and that it has been Richteligen sammensat och for danskett (“correctly compiled and translated to Danish”). In the mid to late 16th century, there were a number of orders sent from the court in Copenhagen to Norway to produce a state-sponsered translation. The Danish translations had grown numerous by this point, and since the translations could have differences between each other, the Norwegian legal system was slowly beginning to fracture. Different law men and judges were understanding the law differently, and applying it differently too, and an increasing number of cases were ending up in front of the king for resolution. In an attempt to counter this, the kings repeatedly ordered the legal officials in Norway to work on an authoratative translation. Most of these orders were likely ignored, and we have no evidence any work was carried out to synthethise the Danish translations available. However, when one such order came from King Fredrik in 1572 it does seem to have had an impact, and this law book (plus AM 92 4to) both state in their introductions that they represent Fredrik II’s law. These are both copies of NB Ms.4o 553 (Nasjonalbibliotek, Norway), which does not, however, contain the title. This book is thus perhaps a unique reaction to the orders coming from Copenhagen in the 16th century.