Although paper came already in the fifteenth century to Iceland, we do not know where it was produced or who sold it. In our research project “Paper Trails” we aim to fill these gaps in our knowledge of paper in Iceland.
Paper came in the fifteenth century to Iceland but was used sparingly in the beginning, it seems, as there are only very few extant paper manuscripts or documents from that century. The oldest document is, to my knowledge, AM Fasc 10,6, a deed of real estate purchase, dated 13 September 1437 and signed by Þorvarður Loptsson (d. 1446) at Möðruvellir in Northern Iceland. Paper was used mostly for ephemeral and unimportant texts, such as drafts and letters, until people were certain of its durability, which took a while: paper supplanted parchment in the late sixteenth century, judging from numbers of extant paper manuscripts in comparison to extant parchment manuscripts.
Paper had to be imported, though, because there were no paper mills in Iceland. We do not know where it was produced nor how it came to Iceland. In our research project “Paper Trails” we aim to fill these gaps in our knowledge of paper in Iceland.
A well-known method of identifying the place and time pf paper production is the analysis of watermarks. While watermarks are today mostly known to the public in banknotes as measurements to impede counterfeiting it has been used as a sign of origin – and quality – in papermaking since the late thirteenth century. The oldest watermark in paper is dated to 1282, produced in the famous Italian papermaking town of Fabriano.
To create a watermark, a thin wire is bent into the desired shape and then fixed onto the mould. The paper is thinner where the wire was and when we hold the paper against a source of light, we can see the image of the wire, ie. the watermark. These watermarks can be used to identify the time and place of paper production for various reasons. First, the individual wire designs were made by hand and differ in details. Second, the moulds, including the wire designs, had a rather short life span due to the high mechanical stress of paper making. And third, paper was expensive and people tended to use it soon after buying it, usually within a few years. So when we find a dated paper document or manuscript, we have a fairly certain terminus ad quem for the paper production. Watermark motifs were furthermore often regional, local or even individual, which is why the place of production can be ascertained in many cases, too.
Once we know more about the place and date of paper production, we can turn towards the trade of paper. We aim to analyse the various trade routes, networks and practices of buying and selling paper. One questions that is of particular interest to us is if officials and private citizens acquired paper from the same sources or if they used different merchants and traders. Archival material will supply us with information, specifically official documents, historical and biographical information and information on trade.
We hope that you enjoyed the introduction to this part of our research project on post-medieval Icelandic manuscripts and books. Stay tuned for updates and check out our twitter account, too!
Further Reading:
Arna Björk Stefánsdóttir. "Um upptöku pappírs á Íslandi á sextándu og sautjándu öld." Sagnir 30 (2013): 226-236.
Bernstein: Memory of paper. www.memoryofpaper.eu.
Tschudin, Peter F. Grundzüge der Papiergeschichte. 2nd edition. Bibliothek des Buchwesens. Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 2012.
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