The Scriptorium

This room with its vaulted ceiling was the castle scribe’s working area during the Middle Ages. The scribe was one of the most important and best paid officials in the castle. The scribe’s tasks included bookkeeping of taxes as well as taking care of the castle’s funds and properties. The scribe was also responsible for the correspondence of the Lord and Lady of the castle. The scribe wrote down all financial affairs with a quill on pages made of parchment, which were then bound into thick ledgers. The ledgers were stored in wall recesses, and some of them were sent to Stockholm to be inspected. Information regarding repair work done on the castle repairs as well as about the use of the fataburs (storage rooms), were also recorded in the ledgers.

In addition to the castle scribes, several other scribes worked in the castle, too. In 1559, the castle had 15 scribes in total. Some of the types of scribes needed in the castle were ship, spice, silk, mint, cloth, herb, kitchen, property, and chamber scribes.