The so-called ''Heart Book'' (''Hjertebog'', Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek, Thott 1510, 4º) is a 16th-century Danish manuscript (Thott 1510 4^o), now kept in

Det Kongelige Bibliotek The Royal Library () in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the academic library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries. In 2017, it merged with the ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. It is a collection of 83 Danish love

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, collected in the 1550s at the court of king

Christian III Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

. It is the oldest known Danish ballad manuscript. A peculiarity of the manuscript is that the entire book is

heart shape The heart symbol is an ideograph used to express the idea of the "heart" in its metaphorical or symbolic sense. Represented by an anatomically inaccurate shape, the heart symbol is often used to represent the center of emotion, including affecti ...

d - one of the earliest examples of the heart shape being used to signify

romantic love Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a Interpersonal attraction, strong attraction towards another person, and the Courtship, courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant ...

References

*S. Grundtvig, ''Preve paa en ny udgave af Danmarks gamle folkeviser'', 2. udg. 1847, S. 42, No. 3 *V. A. Pedersen, ''Dansk litteraturs historie: 1100-1800'', Volume 1, p. 148f.

External links

Treasures in the Royal Library, The ''Heart Book''
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907033357/http://wayback.kb.dk:8080/wayback-1.4.2/wayback/20100107153228/http://www2.kb.dk/elib/mss/treasures/mss/thott_1510.htm , date=2013-09-07 (kb.dk)
Contents list
1550s books Ballads Cordiform manuscripts Danish poetry Love poems

See also

References

External links