Stories for all time: The Icelandic Fornaldarsögur

Manuscripts:

AM 12 c fol.

AM 12 c fol. (1600-1699, Iceland)
Den Arnamagnæanske Samling, Copenhagen
1. (1r-15v) Hrólfs saga krakaIcelandicHER BIRIAST SAGann af Hrölfi Kongi KrókuMadur er nefndr Hälfdän, enn annar Fröde, þeir voru bbrædrog könga synerog stÿrdú synu rike hvor þeirraog nockrum vopn hiá hvorjum og Endar her Sogu hrolfs kongs kraka og kappa hanz.Derived from AM 109a II 8vo, but probably not an exact copy of it.Note: Used to be part of a larger book.

CodexPaperii, 15, iNote: The first flyleaf is part of the binding, whereas the second is glued to fol. 8, which is the last fol. in the first gathering.280mm x 183mm possibly two different watermarks. In the first gathering, some characters, i.e. letters or numbers can be traced. In the second gathering there is large, circular shaped watermark with ornaments on top, writing inside the two-lined frame and a figure or ornament at the centre.Note: The leaves all have a small, circular hole in the same place.Later foliation: Traces of red ink foliation by Kålund in the upper right hand corner. Recent foliation in pencil in the upper right hand corner. Foliation in dark black ink in the lower right hand corner: "100" on fol. 1r and "114" on fol. 15r.Good: The manuscript is in excellent condition250mm x 146mmThere are no catchwords, with the exception of 3r.Þórður ÞórðarsonSemihybridaSole

Moderate

Initial: Large ornamental "M" on fol. 1r reaching over one third of height and half or the width of the written area. It consists of two faces, one below the other, surrounded by five circle-shaped flower ornaments. The upper head is half human, but has animal ears. The lower face is human, presumably a warrior. The animal face is probably Hrolf's champion Biarki, who takes on the shape of a bear in the story. The face below is either Biarki in his human shape or his fellow champion Hialti. The lower face may also represent king Hrolf, but it is unlikely considering his lower position on the image.
Paratext: There is a rather large, flat, curly ornament at the end of the text.

Low

Some words are marked with a horizontal or vertical line in the border, sometimes also underlined in the text. The marks are in brown ink, probably of an older date. The interest seems to be philological, the text may even have been collated with other exemplars. Some of the underlines words are:

"vidrudu", 1r
"geizlunga", 1r
"skal egi med lausleyti", 1v
"skotta", 1r

A strip of paper containing erased writing is glued to the binding at the back.

Decorative (contemporary)

Brown leather binding with ornamental flower frames and two clasps that have been lost; remains of copper nails are visible. The date 1705 flipped vertical is part of the binding imprint and appears at several places. The spine has been changed, perhaps when the binding was reused. The binding is lined with thick paper with A watermark of a postal horn and a royal crown. "De Erven Dk. Blauw" The binding dimensions are: 295 x 195 x 15 mm.

1600-1699Iceland

Guðmundur Jónsson: OwnerÁrni Magnússon: OwnerThe original codex was owned by rev. Guðmundur Jónsson of Helgafell, who then handed it over to Árni Magnússon.

Last update: 2013-08-16

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