Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1990, Page 128

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
- Skjalasafn fornlcifarannsóknar í Viðey, ýmsar greiningar. Árbæjarsafn.
- Kristín Huld Sigurðardóttir: Skýrsla um viðgerð á vaxtöflum send Árbæjarsafni 1988.
- Bréf frá dr. Ellen Marie Mageroy, sent Margréti Hallgrímsdóttur, Árbæjarsafni, dags.
4. apríl 1991.
Munnlegar heimildir:
- Stefán Karlsson, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar.
- Prófessor Jón Steffensen.
Summary
During the past four years an extensive archaeological excavation has taken place at the
monastic site on the island Viðey outside Reykjavík. Some ruins of a medieval farm of
passage type have been investigatcd. Thc island was likely settled in the llth to 12th cen-
tury and in thc ycar 1226 a monastery was founded there which was activc until the year
1539. During the 18th century the fiscal governor of Iceland settled on Viðey and built
a large stonc house in front of the turf house ruins.
Many interesting finds havc bcen discovered on the site and among the most important
are five well preserved wax tablets with religious texts from the 15th century. On the
wax tablets are texts in Icelandic, Dutch and Latin and on two of thc tablets a hymn in
Dutch was prescrved. That could point to some exchange of communication between the
monastery on Viðey and the Dutch bishop Gozewijn Comhaer who was the bishop of
Skálholt in the 15th ccntury. He travelled extcnsively in south Iceland during the pcriod
1437-1444 and possibly brought the wax tablets to Viðey at some time during that pcriod.
The wax tablets werc found in medieval ruins that arc bclievcd to belong to the monastic
farm. The tablets were found in a leather container on which was preserved a pattcrn of
leaves. The same type of pattern has been found on some Dutch leather work which
supports the theory of Dutch origin. This finding of 15th century wax tablets is among
the strongest evidence that the ruins belong to the monastic settlement on Viðey which
cxisted during thc 13th-16th century.