Skráningarfærsla handrits

Parchment.

The manuscript is paginated 1-98 by Árni Magnússon, including the fragmentary leaves. He inserted three blank paper leaves in the first gathering, corresponding to the 3 fragemntary, and paginated them 0 to 5, assuming that f. 1r originally was blank. The first entire extant page is then p. 6.

The MS consists of 7 gatherings:

• I. this gathering, once consisting of 8 leaves: 3 fragments + 5 leaves
• II. consists of 11 leaves; 5 conjoint leaves but the ninth leaf is a single leaf.
• III. 6 extant leaves (the innermost bifolia is lost)
• IV. 8 leaves
• V. 8 leaves
• VI. 8 leaves
• VII. 7 leaves (the eight leaf was torn out).

Written in one column with 26 lines to each page. The written areas measures 195-198 mm x 115 mm. Majuscules and rubrics in red ink.

The first three leaves were torn out, leaving small fragments and only a few words are preserved. There is a lacuna consisting of two leaves between ff. 19 and 20, and the last leaves of the MS were lost. What is left is, however, in good condition: the writing is clear and easily readable and the vellum unstained.

pp. 1-98, Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar, is written in one hand. It is an Icelandic Gothic bookhand, obviously that of a professional scribe.

p. 99 (Tíu laga-orð Guðs and Tíu undr Egiptalands) is written by a later hand. It is an Icelandic Gothic bookhand with very few abbreviations.

Marginal notes, commenting on the content of the saga, occur in a hand that has been identified as Jón Símonsson's (1512-1575). The majority of the marginalia have, however, been trimmed off.

There are 4 AM slips: a-d.

• The a and b-slips are conjoint. Here Árni Magnússon comments on the defects of the manuscript
• The c and d-slip are copies of the Ten Commandments etc., written for Árni Magnússon. Yet the first 6-7 lines on the recto of the c-slip is in Árni's hand: Ex codice membraneo in 4to in bibliotheca Wilh. Wormii, ad calcem historiae Olai Tryggvonii quam una cum S. Olai historia continent (codicem illum nunc possidet A. Magnæus. A copy of the text on the fragmentary leaves has been made too.

The manuscript is written in Iceland. It was by most scholars supposed written in Norway until 1978 when Stefán Karlsson identified the manuscript as belonging to a group of manuscripts written in the monastery of Þingeyrar ( Stefán Karlsson 197887-95). In this article he also dates the manuscript to c. 1250-75.

Nothing is known of the history of the codex until the sixteenth century when Jón Simonsen, Lawman of Adger in Southern Norway (1512-1575) wrote some notes in Latin and Norwegian were written in the margins of some of the pages.

The next known owner was the Danish scholar Ole Worm who had it in his possession from 1633-34, and it was inherited by his son, Villum Worm, and grandson, The Bishop Christian Worm.

Árni Magnússon acquired the manuscript from Christian Worm in 1706. At that time it was bound together with AM 68 fol. Árni separated the two manuscripts and had AM 310 4to rebound. Fol. 40v in AM 435 a 4to reads: Olafs Saga Tryggvasonar auctore Oddo monacho. Olafs saga Helga. 4to. Þennan Codicem feck eg 1706 af Domino christiano Wormio . til eignar.On f. 42r he adds:Þesse bok er nu skild ad, og sin sagan i hveriu Volumine, med þvi þær og voru med miỏg ölikum hỏndum. Framan ä bokina stöd Doct Olufs Worms hỏnd, og hefr hann (qvod certum est) bokina ätt.

• 70 mm no 54, s.d.
• Plate no 105 II, s.d. (supplementary photographs of p. 91).
• Diapositives from 1984.
• Black and white prints from júlí 1963.
• Black and white prints from 1970 (Supplementary photographs of the old binding, a sea chart, etc.).