Several chapters in the 268-page field book were written prior to the Battle of Poltava in the spring of 1709. The book also contains detailed illustrations in the form of drawings, figures and troop formations.
The unique find was made by chance by Antoaneta Granber, associate professor and senior lecturer in Slavic languages at the University of Gothenburg. It was while searching for writings of interest in her research area that she found the field book in the Hvitfeld Collection, which was donated to the university library in 1967.
"My first reaction was that this is probably well known - I'm probably the only one who doesn't know about it. But the field book is completely unknown, and no one knew it existed," she tells GP.
The book is bound in a worn leather binding, decorated with gilded writing on the spine, and spans from the summer of 1707 to the autumn of 1717, the year before Charles XII's death.
Some chapters - but not all - are signed by the king himself with the signature “Carolus,” sometimes just “LS,” which stands for Locco Sigilli, that is, “instead of seal.” Others who signed some chapters are Carl Piper, the king’s closest advisor, and the baron and military man Samuel Åkerhielm, who was responsible for the king’s office.
