Skráningarfærsla handrits

Parchment.

The manuscript is foliated 1-94 (incl. 32bis and 32ter).

The manuscript once consisted of 14 gatherings of 8 leaves each.

• I-IV: fols 1-32..
• V: only the conjoint leaves, 32bis and 32ter, are extant.
• VI: fols 33-36; four leaves are missing; one at the beginning and one at the end of the quire, respectively.
• VII-XI: fols 37-76.
• XII: fols 77-79 and 80-82 (77+82, 78+81 and 79+ 80).
• XIII: fols 83-90.
• XIV: fols 91-94 (91+94 and 92+93).

Written in double colums except the hymn on fol. 94r, which is written in long lines with 33 to 34 lines per page. Majuscules, now largely effaced, in red and green. Remains of rubrics in red.

The lower part of fol. 1 is torn away. Fols 32bis and 32ter have been used as binding and the upper lines have been excised. Fols 34, 38 and 43 are also damaged by excision, and Árni Magnússon has filled in some effaced letters. The manuscript is defective in several places.

Written in an Icelandic Gothic bookhand.

• On fol. 1rb:20-29 after the prologue, the remainder of a major initial (H), a littera florissa, can be found. Most of it is torn out.
• On fol. 43va:15-22 the column has been damaged through excision, but the outer side of a major initial K can be found.

On fol. 6ra:12-20 after The Danish and Norwegian Boy there is a major initial. Inside the initial a lamb gambols inside a spiral of branches and foliage. The initial extends down the left margin ending in another spiral of branches with leaves.

• Fol. 1r is covered in probationes pennae and other scribblings, including a letter formula: þeim godum monnum sem þetta bref sia eda heyra senda repeated a number of times.
• Fol. 1r, bottom margin has a few stanzas of the saga's verse 6 (partly torn away): langt bar ut | þiod ugde ser
• Fol. 1r, right-hand side has a religious poem: a Christum Jhesum Eg | kalla vil kom þu minna | Efna til Lat þu Ecke | langt a bil Lægning lækningar G|iora mier nockur | skil Ratad hef Eg i | Rauna gil Lijknar réttum | veignum fra Leistu | mig fra langri þra | min lausnara Jhesus him |num a gudin |
• On fol. 1r below the verse the remainder of a name (?) is written: undur sigur
• On fol. 94r below the hymn to Maria Magdalene the following notes are found: latina firi, the alphabet has been written out, Effter kongleg Mayestatis | Missive Nu Auglystu a Næ |sta Auxararþynge Ahrærande þær | Gomlu Historiur fra Isslande hef | eg Vnderskrivadur medtekit þessa | Historiubok aff Ehrl. Arna | Gudmundssyne | S | til merckis Wndersk | 1692 25 july Thorfe Jonsson
• Fol. 94v: Dadi Biarna son a | þessa olafs sogu

An AM-slip is pasted on the originally blank fol. 1r. It reads: Allra fyrsta sidan | var aud, inspexi | fyrr enn eg limde | pappirenn þar ä. | Um bokena var | utlendsk band, enn | ad visu eige Jis-|lendskt. Between fols 35 and 36 an AM-slip was pasted in. It reads: Hier vantar 2. bld | innani qvered. A slip pasted between fols 92 and 93 reads: hier vantar eitt blad and hier vantar 1. blad, | sem hefr vered þad | sidarsta af Sgunne.

The manuscript was written in Iceland. Kristian Kålund has dated it to the second half of the fourteenth century ( KatalogIs. 554), whereas Jonna Louis-Jensen ( To håndskrifter fra det nordvestlige Island s. 219) has dated it to the first quarter of the fourteenth century.

• The first known owner of the codex is Daði Bjarnason of Skarð in Skarðströnd, an ancestor of Árni Gúðmundsson (from Hóll) in Bíldudalur. A marginal note on fol. 94v reads: Dadi Biarna son a | þessa olafs sogu.
• Árni Magnússon also noted in AM 435 a 4to, fol. 42v, that the manuscript belonged to Árni Gúðmundsson from Bíldudalur and his ancestors: er komin fra Arna Gudmundzsyne | i Billdudal hvers langfedga eign | hun hafde vered.
• Árni Gúðmundsson gave it to Jón Erlendsson who at that time lived in Garpsdalur and later at Kambur in Króksfjörður (Barðaströnd).
• The next owner was the Danish prefect Christian Müller of Bessastaðir (in Iceland 1688-1703, ✝ 1720). Torfi Jónsson of Flatey acted as an intermediary who tricked the book from Jón Erlendsson by promising him money for it, which he never paid.

According to one of the AM-slips and AM 435 a, 4to; fols 35-36 once belonged to Christian Müller at Þingeyrar who gave it to the priest Ólafur Eiríksson of Hjaltastaður who in his turn gave it to Pétur Björnsson yngri, a son of Björn Péturson of Burstarfell.

Árni Magnúson wrote the following in AM 435 a 4to: [42v] Olafs Saga Helga. 4to. | vantar mikid ï. hana hefi eg | feinged af Amtmanni Muller. | er komin fra. Arna Gudmundzsyne | i Billdudal, hvers langfedga eign | hun hafde vered. [46r] Imò ita est. | NB. vera kann ad þesse | Olafs saga hafi storum | skerdst ä Bessastdum | medan hun þar lä | adur enn eg hana | eignadizt. þvi tv | bld ur henni voru | utanum prentada bök innbundna | sem Amtmann Müller lie-|de mier; hver eg þar | utanaf tök. Kann | eins um fleire far-|ed hafa. | Nockur bld þarur feck eg af | Amtmanni 1704. ä Alþinge. [46v] Tv bld ur þessarre smu Olafs | sgu Helga, fieck eg 1706. af Petre | yngra Birnssyni (fra Bustar-|felle) hver hann feinged hafde | hiä Sera Olafe ä Hialltastad, ä | þeim fyrstu ärum sem Sera | Olafur var ä Hialltastad.| Þau munu slædst hafa frä | Amptmanne til Þingeyra, | og þar komid til Sera Olafs | nempe istarum rerum ne-|gligens vir ita codicem | tractavit. [43r] Olafs Sgu Helga 4to. | feck Jon Erlendzson ä Kam-|be i Kroksfirde (Garps-|dal) af Arna Gudmundz-|syne i Billdudal. Og | fra Jone kom hun til Amt-|manns Müllers. | Þegar eg hana feck af | Mülle, vantadi mikid | i hana, liet eg Arna | epterspyria hvert ecki | neitt visse til þess er i | hana vantadi, svaradi hann | ad þad sem i hana vant|adi, hefdi vantad so leingi [43v] sem hann hefdi tilvitad | (þad hefur vered ad skilia, | ad i sinne veru hefdi | eckert ur henne fargast, | enn hvert mikid i hana | vantad hafe, þä hun fra Arna för, hefur hann vel | ecki vitad, lïtt lærdur madur) | þad er annars vïst ad bok-|in hefur i Amtmanns | hndum skierdst, og bld | ur henne tapast, vide alibi, | enn hvrt hun hafe heil | vered, þä hun vid Arna | skilde, er öhægt til [44r] ad gieta. [45r] Olafs saga Helga 4to | var heil, þä Jon Erlendzson | hana af hndum liet, | firi utan 4. bld sem voru | med hende Sera Jons Olafs-|sonar, er hann þar i hafde | skrifad. Bokina feck | Jon af Arna Gudmundz-|syne i Billdudal. | Torfi Jonsson gantadi bok-|ina af Jone Erlendzsyne, | lofadi honum betalinge fra | Amtmanni, enn hann feck | eckert. | Jon Erlendzson coram.

Árni Magnússon did not succeed in gathering all the leaves that existed. Two conjoint leaves (32bis and 32ter) seem to have been kept on Iceland, but were taken to Copenhagen by the student Högni Einarsson who matriculated at the University of Copenhagen in 1828. He gave them to another Icelandic student, Þorsteinn Helgason, who at that time was working on the edition of Fornmanna sögur. On fol. 32bisr the following is written: Mig foræret af Studios. Hogni Einarsson. 1828. Th. Helgason and deinde possessor St. Th. The history of the conjoint leaves fol. 32bis and 32ter remained unknown until the death of Konráð Gíslason, when his collection of manuscripts was transferred to The Arnamagnæan Collection.

Árni Magnússon got the codex from different places:

• The majority of the manuscript comes from the Prefect Christian Müller, and Árni notes in AM 345 a 4to, fol. 42v, that a large part is missing: Olafs Saga Helga. 4to. | vantar mikid ï. hana hefi eg | feinged af Amtmanni Muller. He also acquired some leaves from the prefect at the Alþing in 1704 (fol. 46r): Nockur bld þarur feck eg af | Amtmanni 1704. ä Alþinge.
• Two years later, in 1706, he acquired fols 35-36 from the son of Björn Pétursson of Burstarfell, Pétur Björnsson (fol. 46v): Tv bld ur þessarre smu Olafs | sgu Helga, fieck eg 1706. af Petre | yngra Birnssyni (fra Bustar-|felle). A similar account is found on one of the AM-slips: Þesse 2. bld feck eg | 1706. af syne Birns | Peturssonar ä Bustar-|felle, enn honum hafde | þau feinged Sera Olafr | Eiriksson ä Hiallta|stad.
• Fols 32bis and 32ter were transferred to The Arnamagnæan Collection from The Konráð Gíslason Collection.

• 70 mm, 70mm 41, s.d.
• Colour diapositives from May 1984 or 1985.
• Black and white prints from september 1965.