Flateyjarbók

The Flateyjarbók is the most extensive collection of manuscripts of the Icelandic early days. This consists of a total of 225 folio leaves, where 202 leaves from the period of the 14th century and originate in the 15th century 23 leaves were added. The manuscript collection contains some poems and some more extensive prose texts, including legends of the saints ( in Icelandic sagas also called ) and Icelandic sagas.

Content

The manuscript collection contains the following sagas:

• Eirik's saga viðförla
• Færeyinga saga
• Fóstbrœðra saga
• Grænlendinga saga
• Hallfreðar saga
• Past the Håkonar saga Hákonarsonar
• Játvarða saga helga.
• Jómsvíkinga saga
• Saga Magnús konungs og Harald konungs
• Olaf's saga helga hins
• Olaf's saga Tryggvasonar
• Orkney Inga Saga
• Sverris saga

The two OlafS sagas contain a number of other stories that are only included in this manuscript. If at least probably existed a part of the shorter texts already in a manuscript collection, yet up to 44 different manuscripts may have been used.

History

The Flateyjarbók was made ​​1387-1390 for Jón Hákonarson, a wealthy farmer. It is believed that it was originally intended as a gift for King Olaf Hákonarson. Thereafter, only the two OlafS should be included sagas, but more detailed than in all templates by the author from the templates available information was gathered. In addition, the Eirik's saga viðförla to have been taken over.

Author

It was written possibly in Reynistaðaklaustur in Skagafjordur or in its vicinity, possibly also in Víðitalstunga in the district Vestur - Húnavatnssýsla, a farm, to the big farmer Jón Hákonarson ( 1390 - 1398-1416 ) had acquired in 1385. Also the monastery Þingeyrar is mentioned as a possible location of the transcript. Anyway, the book must have originated in or close to a monastery with an extensive library.

A writer endorsement on the back of the first sheet has Jón Þórðarson as the first author. He wrote " fra Eiríki viðførla ok Ólafssögurnar Badar ". Jón is mentioned in a letter of 1384, written in Víðitalstunga as a witness. 1394 recorded the annals of Flateyarbók a return Jón's from Norway to six -year stay there, can be found from which he has traveled to Norway in 1388.

When King Olaf had died in 1388, the work was temporarily interrupted. The rest except the 25 inserted leaves wrote in 1389 on the basis of a new objective of the priest Magnús Þórhallsson. He also painted all illuminations and initial. Magnús also wrote the preface and the first 10 columns on the three laws precede the text with bows. As in his preface the capture of Albrecht III. mention of Mecklenburg, he can have these sheets inserted at the earliest in 1389.

Later supplement

That were added in the 15th century arches contain " Magnús saga hins Goda " ( Magnus the Good ) and " Harald Hardrada " and various poems ( Þættir ). You must have been written before 1498, since part of it has been taken over in a 1498 authored another work. The later addition of these texts is attributed to the fact that they had the original client already in a different handwriting, but not the later owner of the 15th century. He is identified with the feudal lord ( Hirðstjóri ) Þorleifur Björnsson ( term of office 1481-1484 ), who lived in Skarð á Skarðsströnd ( Skarð on Skarðstrand district Dalasysla ), but in 1480 inherited after the death of his mother Flatey. His grandson Jón Björnsson, the Flatey belonged, gave the book to his grandson Jón Finnson. At the inserted leaves several writers have worked with different orthography and different illuminations.

The way in the Royal Library in Copenhagen

The Flateyjarbók had been given by Jón Sveinsson Brynjólfur Finnsson Bishop of Skálholt and was 1656 by this the Danish King Frederick III. given. In Copenhagen, the book of the Royal Library " Det Kongelige Library " was passed. There it was known as " Eq. royal sml. 1005 fol. I-II. " In the 18th century the manuscript was bound in two large volumes. It was loaned to for only a few years after Norway to the historian Þormóður Torfason (1636-1719), who used it for his 1711 published history of Norway. He translated the Flateyjarbók in Danish. This translation is still in Copenhagen. Flateyarbók but was soon considered the greatest treasure of the library, so that it was not borrowed from safety to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, although the United States offered the safest warship for transportation.

Source value

The Flateyjarbók had not ever experienced this high esteem. It was long regarded as unreliable source lesser value. Presented as the first of the Árni Magnússon manuscript collector (1663-1730) a number of historical inaccuracies fixed. He wrote on September 4, 1690 Þormóður that Flateyarbók is full of nonsense, false traditions and chatter. This judgment was then a recognized authority who took this view in other letters also to their counterparts Páll Vídalín (1667-1727), the reputation of the font diminished considerably.

Edition

The manuscript collection Flateyjarbók was often published, and Finnur Jónsson (1858-1934) has a great essay on it written, in which he examined the contents especially those passages of text that were otherwise not known. But none of the spending was satisfactory with regard to the text philology.

The return to Iceland

This manuscript was based on the Danish Act dansk lov nr. 194 of May 26, 1965 § 2 and the Treaty between Denmark and Iceland July 1, 1965 on July 21, 1971, along with other manuscripts of the Icelandic State for storage in the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar ( Arni Magnusson Institute ) handed over to the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.

Today's appreciation

The Flateyjarbók was written in the heyday of the Icelandic art of writing. It was placed on the aesthetics of the signature and the arrangement of text on each sheet of special value.