Skráningarfærsla handrits

Parchment.

The manuscript is written in double columns with 44 lines per column. Fol. 37rb is exceptional with 45 lines; and where columns have fewer than 44 lines, they mostly close with a natural ending of a chapter (fols 9vb, 34ra, 41va, 51ra) of a letter (fol. 79vb), or of a saga (fol. 73rb). We find only 43 lines on fols 38ra and b, 51vb, and 66ra and b.

Spaces have been left empty for initials and headings, but these have not been filled in. Several of the words abbreviated by the scribe have later been underlined in red chalk.

Fols 1-73 are well preserved with the following exceptions:

• a lacuna of one page between fols 26 and 27;
• fol. 7 cut crosswise;
• fol. 27 considerably worn;
• fol. 72 only the lower half is preserved;
• fols 74-81 fragmentary leaves that bear traces of their former use as a cover.

The manuscript was written by two different hands, very similar in style. Hand 1 wrote fols 1 to 61 in an Icelandic Gothic bookhand.

Hand 2 wrote fols 62 to 81, also in an Icelandic Gothic bookhand. Hand 2 looks more novice-like, less skillfull than Hand 1 in keeping lines an even length, more prone to influence from his exemplar and readier to introduce orthographic modernisms.

Seventeenth century marginalia occur in the manuscipt, mostly they comprise of names:

• Fol. 3r Jon Wÿgfusson. This man could be either Jón Vigfússon eldri (c. 1638-81), sýslumaður, at school in Skálholt 1649-56; Jón Vígfusson (c. 1635-1714), sýslumaður, in service with Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson at Skálholt 1655-57; or Bishop Jón Vigfússon yngri (1643-90), at school in Skálholt for two years, probably 1661-63.
• Fol. 9r Þorlakur Eyriksson (?) . If the patronymic is correctly read, this could be Þorlákur Eiríksson, who at times between 1647 and 1654 was in service with Bishop Brynjólfur; by the end of that period he was probably at school in Skálholt. He was ordained in 1666 and died c. 1695.
• Fol. 14v, written in large letters between the columns: Þórmóður Thórfason med eigenhende hefur þetta skrifad, most probably this is Þormóður Thórfason (Thorfæus) who described the manuscript to Árni Magnússon (see below). Thorfæus was at school in Skálholt 1646-54.
• Fol. 27r: Gunnar Eyreksson. A Gunnar Eiríksson ( c. 1678-1707), was at school in Skálholt in the 1690s.
• Fol. 30v: Oddur Joonsson Egh. Oddur Jónsson (c. 1653-99) was at school in Skálholt before 1670; after working for Bishop Þórður Þorláksson (Thorlacius), he was appointed teacher at the Skálholt school in 1680 and then served as resident priest of the cathedral church 1683-88.
• Fol. 76r: Aüsger Jonsson; and in the same hand: Mynn Goodj Vyn ave vive vale. This was presumably addressed to Þormóður Torfason's well-known amanuensis, Ásgeir Jónsson ( c. 1657-1707) who graduated from the Skálholt-school in 1679.
• Fol. 80v: geirmundur i skulld Jons tungu This Geirmundur is unidentified.
• Fol. 81v: Jon Erlingsson and Arne Torvaldsson. Árni Torvaldsson is unidentified, but the first name could represent Jón Erlingsson (1668-1707) who became parson at Ólafsvellir in 1692.
• Fol. 65v, between the columns in a large book-hand: Guds son kallaʀ komid til mÿn sem kuÿdid vid ÿdar Andar pÿn og syndir Jafnann / særa menn kuinnur Alldradir og Bórn ÿdur vil eg vera nädargearn og Alla Endurnæra. This is the beginning of a hymn first found in Ein ny Psalma Bok (1589), clxxij-clxxxiiij.
• Fol. 66va in the lines beside lines 30-34 in a cursive hand: Hinn heylæge Augustinus seiger (what follows has been erased); and beside lines 38-42 in the same hand: Vier lofumm / þann Gud / sem leyst he/fur oss wr / vanda. The line is supposedly from a ballad that has come to Iceland from the Faroe Islands some time before the reformation.

There are five slips (a-e) bound together with the manuscript. The first two of them are written for Árni Magnússon, the last three are written in Árni's own hand.

• a. (in folio): Þetta eru Fragmenta ur | Hieronÿmi vitis patrum og | Thomas Sgu Erkibiskups | Hafa einhverntima fẏlgt þvi volumini | Skalholtensi sem inneheldur | Antonii Sgu. | Päls Sgu Postula. | Mariu Sogu etc: | Eg hefe þeße Fragmenta feinged ä Islande | post annum 1702.
• b. (in folio): Þetta volumen inneheldur | Antonii Sgu cui principium deest. | Päls Sgu postula. | Mariu Sgu. | + Iöns Sogu Hölabiskups. | + Augustini Sgu | Fẏrrum hafa öefad i þessu sama volumine vered | Hieronymi vitas patrum, ut vocant, og | Thomas Saga Erkibiskups | Hefe eg ur þessum tvennum Sgum feinged nockur | fragmenta ä Islande, og er audsied af forminu, kil|gtunum og skriftarlaginu, ad þessar Sgur hafa | nefndu volumini fẏlgt. Þad sem nu vantar framan vid þetta volumen | sẏnest ecke mune verid hafa nema eitt kver (ark) | og hefur þad þä vered upphafed ä Antonii Sgu. Þad er audsied af kppunum framan til /: og enn | betur sä eg þad, þä eg rakte ur kppunum þrädinn | til af ad festa inn hid fẏrsta kvered sem laust var ordid/: | ad ecke hafa þessar Sgur /:vitæ patrum og Thomas | Saga/: vered þar framan vid festar, þvi þar hefur | ecke framanvid vered nema eitt kver, sem ädur | er sagt, og ad vïsu ecke meira enn tv, ef þad so | skẏllde vera; og hafa þä þessar Sgur vered aptann | vid volumen. | verte Ad vitæ patrum og Thomas Saga hafe ver|id aptan vid þetta volumen gietur ecki helldur | stadist, þvi ad kapparner sẏna þar, eins og fram-|an vid, ad þær hafa þar ecki rum feingid. Er so | lïkast til ad gieta ad bökin hafe ä nẏ uppbundin | verid og þessar tvær Sgur þä fräskildar. Enn | vïst er þad, sem ädur er sagt, ad þær hafa einhvern|tïma i þessu volumine verid. Framan ä vitis patrum er su fẏrsta sid-|an aud, hvar af rädast kann ad til hefur ætlad | vered þad hun skẏllde standa fẏrst i volumine. | Annars hefur Þormödur Torfason umm þetta | volumen mier sagt ad þad hafe til forna | /:eg true þegar hann var i Sköla, helldur enn sïdar | þä hann ä Islande var/: vered hier um þverhandar | þẏckt, og mẏnner mig hann legdi þad til, ad umm | þad leite hefde Skölapilltar og kannskie adrer, kẏpt | ur þ vi bldum til ad hafa utan um bækur. | Kannskie hann hafe og sagt, ad þad hafe vered initio | mutilum þad fẏrsta hann þad sä, þö man eg þad eige | glgt. Sie þetta ecki misminne umm þẏcktena, þä hefur þetta volumen sidan verid | uppbundid, og þær tvær Sgur frä þvi skilldar, iafnvel þött kialar umm -|buningurinn sẏnest ad vera elldre enn i vorri tïd. Þegar eg var hia Bartholino, nockrum ärum | fẏrer hanns dauda, hafdi hann þetta volumen til läns | frä Mag. Þordi Þorlakssẏne. Las eg þad þä i giegn-|um og excerperade ur llum Sgunum sem þar | inne standa, vetustiores et rariores voculas. Þä var | Augustini Saga heil, og vantade ecke i. Nu sïd-|ar, þä eg fieck bökina til läns fra Skälhollte, og | hun i annad sinn för til Danmerkur, þä vantade | eitt blad i Augustini Sgu, sem þess ä mille | hafde ur henne rifid vered ä Islande. α) [α) Smuleidis hafde ur bokinne burtkomid, mille þeß ad | Bartholin hana til läns hafde, til þeß eg hana sidan | i hendur fieck eitt blad ur Antonii Sgu og eitt | (helldur enn tv) bld ur Päls Sgu postula. Eignad-|est eg þeße tv bld /:og annad þar af i tveimur prt-|um/: ä Islande post annum 1702. og Conjungerade | þau med bökinne.] Þar | epter barst mier i hendur helftin af þessu bladi, | sem er nedre parturinn, enn efre helmingurenn var af-|skorinn og burtu. Þennann helming hefe eg lagt i sinn | Stad innan i bökina. Og til allrar lucku er þesse | hin sama Augustini Saga heil i drum Codice Skal-|holtensi i Litlu Folio, hvadan þeßar lacunæ kunna ad | heilu ad fẏllast, og hefe eg in altero illo codice annoterad | in margine hvar þessar Lacunæ eru i þeßum codice. | AM.
• c. concerns Páls saga postola: þesse Pals Saga er eins og | su sem Eyolfur hefur | skrifad ur Skardz bok-|inne störu: nema hvad | ordum mismunar her | og hvar, og er þat til ad | reikna libertati skrif-|arans.
• d. concerns Maríu saga: þesse Mariu Saga, er eins | og su i litlu 4to. sem | ritud er med Knytlinga | sgu hendi. Miracula | eru her nockud druvis. | Sagan er her heil, og | vantar eckert i.
• e concerns fol. 74: þetta fragmentum feck eg | 1724. fra Capitain Mag-|nuse Arasyne, fra Islande.
• There is also a note ad AM 234 fol. from a bookbinder, discovered during the cataloguing of the archive belonging to The Arnamagnæan Commission on 12. febrúar 1982, that reads: Desse blade maa fölge löse med Numme-|ret, som de ære. | No. 234.

The manuscript was written in Iceland. Kristian Kålund ( Katalog I s. 194 ) dated the manuscript to the first half of the fourteenth century, whereas Tveitane ( Tveitane 1968 s. 27 ) and Foote ( Foote 2003 s. 51* ) has dated it c. 1340.

Names of owners are found on fols 3, 9, 27, 30v, 76 and 81. According to Árni Magnússon's account in his catalogue of Icelandic parchment manuscripts, now AM 435 a 4to, fol. 7v, and the two AM-slips, the manuscript is a fragment of a once very large codex that belonged to the Cathedral of Skálholt. According to the oral report of Torfæus, the codex was once more than twice as large (either during his time at the school or later when he lived in Iceland), but even then the pupils would sometimes steal leaves from the codex to use as covers for their exercise books. A little later, apparently, Vitæ Patrum and Thómas saga erkibiskups were seperated from the codex and by then most of the leaves had gone missing, with the exception of a few leaves which were later rediscovered.

The rest of the codex, bound separately, was lent by Bishop Þórður Þorláksson (Thorlacius) to Thomas Bartholin, while he and Árni Magnússon were working together. This part of the manuscript has survived longer, however with some defects due to pupils stealing pages, Árni then excerpted the parts of the codex vetustiores et rariores voculas, hence the underlining in red chalk. By that time Ágústínus saga was supposed to have been complete. Bartholin returned the codex to Þórður Þorláksson, and several years later Árni borrowed it from the Cathedral of Skálholt. During that time Águstinus saga, and possibly some other sagas, had become defective.

Árni Magnússon wrote the following on fol. 7v in AM 435 a 4to: Antonii Saga (translata ex opere Athanasii) vantar upphafed. Pals postula Saga. Mariu Saga. Jons Saga Hola biskups. Augustini Saga. Folio magno, bandlaus. Þesse bok hefur heyrt Skalholltz kirkiu til, fyrer laungu, og vered svo smám saman rifin i sundur. Eg hefi mrg bld ur henne feinged ur mrgum stdum á Islande, ur ymsum landzhornum. Kålund ( Katalog I s. 195 ) finds this account temlig vidtløftig (rather rambling).

Árni Magnússon's comments indicate that he acquired most of the codex from the Cathedral of Skálholt; he acquired the fragmentary parts from various places in Iceland after 1702; fol. 74 he acquired from Captain Magnús Arason in 1724.

The following surrogates are kept at The Arnamagnæan Collection:

• Microfilm (master), G.neg.43, s.d.
• Microfilm (archive), G.pos.52, s.d.
• 70 mm, 70mm 52, s.d.
• Black and white prints from mars 1989 (prints from 70mm 52).
• Microfilm (master), Neg. 984, from 4. desember 1996 (supplementary photographs of the bookbinder's note. It is uncertain whether the note belongs to AM 234 fol. or AM 234 4to).
• Microfilm (archive), Pos. 882, from 4. desember 1996 (supplementary photographs of the bookbinder's note. It is uncertain whether the note belongs to AM 234 fol. or AM 234 4to).
• Black and white prints,s.d. (prints of fols 7 and 8v-81v).