AM 524 4to is a copy of this manuscript; when it was more complete than now.
„þenna mann robert mællti opt hofum vit reynt med ockr “
„milldr uerk þettu er hier getr eigi “
Zitzelsberger, Konráðs saga keisarasonar Ed. B
nu lykr hier þetta saugu:
NKS 267 fol. has a transcript of this saga.
„A Wllum godum monnum ok rettruavnndum er þenna bækling heiraundum ok yfer lesaundum. sender broder arne laurencii eilifa | heilsv kuediu j drottni uorvm jhesu christo.“
„þui feick hann j þessum mala ferlum sæmd ok heidr enn hans ouiner suiuird | uliga fyrer litning ok makliga hneyking.“
Fell, Dunstanus saga s. 1-30
Guðbrandur Vigfússon, Hakonar saga, and a Fragment of Magnus Saga with Appendices 385–408 Appendix A
Amen sínem habemus:
„..sug guds … katrinia. epter sem tepa hennar pist bokar uottar “
„huerr er med fodr ok helgum anda lifer ok … ker per omnia secula seculorum Amen:“
„A Daugum alexandri paua. red bæringr hertoge:“
„j efstu tid heimsins med o|þrotnanlígum fagnadi ok dyrd utan enda … :“
Cederschiöld, Fornsögur Suðrlanda s. 85-123 Ed. C
To independent copies of this saga from the seventeenth century, when the saga was much more complete than now, survive. These transcripts are: AM 1005 4to and GKS 1006 fol..
The order of the two parts of Knýtlinga saga in the manuscript is confusing. There is no doubt about the chronological order as the second fragment covers the period 1047-80 but the first part starts where Canute the Holy is sent to the throne in 1080. The peculiar order of events, however, is not due to the leaves being mixed up; the second part ends on fol. 34r:6 where Vitus saga begins and the first part ends on fol. 19v:9 where Bærings saga fagra ends. Presumably be that the copyist did not have a complete text of Knýtlinga saga when he started his work and when he got hold of a more complete source text he added the remaining as a supplement.
„Þa er haralldr konungr“
„med miclum fagnadi “
af Petersens og Olson, Sǫgur Danakonunga s. 72:19-206:11 Ed. B
„um sumarít foro þeiʀ magnus ok haralldr “
„uard hann sott dauduʀ:“
af Petersens og Olson, Sǫgur Danakonunga s. 59:13-72:17 Ed. B
„A dogum díoclecíaní ok maxímíaní heídenna konunga giorde heílagr sueínn uítus margar jartegner j herade“
„suo at eínkis kyns kvíkuennde þorde nær at koma þessum heilau|gum líkomum.“
Unger, Heilagra Manna Søgur II s. 327-334
Laurentius saga Hólabiskups blev afskrevet i AM 404 4to for Hólar-biskoppen Þorlákur Skúlason ca. 1640.
Guðbrandur Vigfússon, Biskupa sögur I s. 878-914 Bl. 42r:18-52v
„ÞAnn tima er almenneligri kristne“
„at þeir sem ecki“
Guðbrandur Vigfússon, Biskupa sögur I s. 798-799:6 Ed. B
Arne Björnsson, Laurentius saga biskups s. 1:13-15:18 Bottom text, Ed. B
„Giordi hakon kongr þa erkibiskupínn “
„ hafdi hann j morgum jslandz“
Guðbrandur Vigfússon, Biskupa sögur I s. 803:2-848:25 Ed. B
Arne Björnsson, Laurentius saga biskups s. 19:22-101 Bottom text, Ed. B
„færdí Laurencio biskupí eítt brebl.“
„j hinne hægri hendi heila| gz “
Guðbrandur Vigfússon, Biskupa sögur I s. 858:20-874:17 Ed. B
Arne Björnsson, Laurentius saga biskups s. 111:23-137 Bottom text, Ed. B
Parchment.
Foliated by Kristian Kålund in the upper right-hand corners of the rectos.
The manuscript consists of seven quires. The first four quires are complete and each consists of eight conjoint leaves. There are catchwords at the end of each quire with the exception of fols 38 and 46.
Written in one column and the number of lines varies from 37 to 45 lines per page. Red, green and blue chapter initials occur. In many cases, however, the colour is significantly faded or has vanished.
The manuscript consists of two fragments; the first consists of fols 1-32 and the second fols 33-52. It is badly damaged: leaves have gone missing and the writing is faded or almost illegible on many of the extant leaves.
At several places corners or margins are cut off, both with and without loss of text. The middle part of the conjoint leaves 2 and 7 was cut away, leaving only the seven and nine top lines and between thirteen and fifteen of the bottom lines.
Towards the end of the manuscript at least two leaves, containing the end of Laurentius saga, are missing.
It is difficult to determine whether the manuscript is written by one or more hands. The writing is larger at some parts of the manuscript than at other parts but the difference of letter sizing, does not necessarily mean a change of hands. There are not many significant differences in the orthography so even if the manuscript was written by two different scribes they were, in all probability, contemporary and belonged to the samme scribal school.
The script is Icelandic Gothic bookhand. The text is carelessly written; it exhibits various scribal errors, more apparent than most other Icelandic manuscripts from the same period, and on almost each page significant words have been left out.
The manuscript is written in Iceland. The dating of it has been debated:
On fol. 11v, a monogram consisting of the letters G and Þ is written in the upper margin four times. According to Kålund ( KKKat ) this is the monogram of the bishop of Hólar Guðbrandur Þorláksson. Ólafur Halldórsson ( Rit37 s. 83, footnote 17 ) however, finds that the initials belong to Gísli Þórðarson.
Árni Magnússon acquired the book AM 180 a fol./AM 180 b fol. of owners in Northern Iceland. According to fols 139v-140r in his catalogue of Icelandic parchment manuscripts, AM 435 a fol., the codex was divided while it resided in Northern Iceland. Árni mentions that he acquired one part from Skúli Ólafsson and another part from Magnús Jónsson of Leirá. The following account comprises both AM 180a fol and 180b fol.: Karla Magnuss Saga, vantar framanvid og | vida i Miduna. | Aptanaf Konradz Sỏgu Keisarasonar. | Dunstani Saga (authore fratre Arnone Laurentii f.) vantar i. | Katrinar Saga, vantar i. Bærings Saga fagra. | Ur Knytlinga Sỏgu, um Knut helga, Olaf, | Eirik goda, og Nikulas. Vantar vid endan. | um Svein Ulfsson og Haralld Hein (ur | Knytlinga Sỏgu) vantar upphafed. | Vitus Saga Pislarvottz. vantar i. | Laurentius Saga Hola biskups. vantar i. | folio majore. | Þesse bok var komin i marga parta | nordur i lande, og hefi eg hana feinged | af ymsum. Nockurn part þar af hiä Skula Olafssyne, nockurn part fra Magnuse Jonssyne | ä leyrá, enn Magnus hafde sitt feinged i ym-|sum stỏdum. Nockra smägeira og mutilerud | blỏd hefi eg feinged a Islande epter 1702. | sitt ur hverium stad.
Catalogued 29. mars 2000 by EW-J
The manuscript was lent to Handritastofnun Íslands; now Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi in Reykjavík from 15 July 1965 to 20 February 1970 in order to photograph fols 36r-52vin uv-light.
Lent to the manuscript department of the National Library of Iceland, Handritadeild, Landsbókasafn Íslands in Reykjavík .