Gripla - 01.01.1975, Page 150

146
GRIPLA
And the only two passages in the samtíðarsögur which give any de-
tails state that, if one does not swear upon the Bible (íslendinga Saga,
ch. 129) it should be on the Holy Rood (ibidem, ch. 156).
One further point: it concems the names of the days of the week
and of the months of the year. If we are to tmst Jóns Saga Helga I,
ch. 24, Bishop Jón Ögmundarson would be the man who tried to
substitute for the pagan names of the days of the week, such new
names as annarr dagr viku, þriðjudagr and so on. We must confess
that he succeeded in a remarkable way whereas, elsewhere in Europe,
the efforts of for instance Bede the Venerable, or Isidore of Sevilla
were a failure.15 We find once Týsdagr (íslendinga Saga, ch. 124) and
once Þórsdagr (Þorláks Saga Byskups, ch. 18) in the whole bulk of
our texts and most often even sunnudagr is replaced by dróttinsdagr.
The same applies to the names of the months. Alongside einmánaðr,
we find two instances of gói (íslendinga Saga, ch. 43, and Konungs
Annáll for year 1276). No mention of þorri, frermánaðr, hrútmánaðr
or the others. The silence of the texts (latin expressions are in fact
generally used for preference) is here particularly eloquent.
We now come to instances where reconstmctions or importations
are highly probable. I am here concerned with two different phenom-
enons: certain features in the íslendingasögur or similar texts, do not
appear in the samtíðarsögur, and must therefore be deliberate recon-
stmctions in the former, whatever their sources; on the other hand,
there are many elements in the samtíðarsögur which are strongly re-
miniscent of details extant in European sources and which must there-
fore have been adapted to Icelandic conditions.
We can take place names as an example of the first phenomenon:
the discrepancies between samtiðarsögur and Islendingasögur (and
Landnáma) are here very striking. A great number of toponyms wit-
nessing the presence of a cult place has been listed by specialists.16
They are generally simply missing in the samtíðarsögur where we can
find only about a score of them in all.17 No Blótbjörk, no Goðafoss,
15 See Bede: De Temporibus, in Migne P. L., vol. XC, col. 281, or Isidore in
Migne P. L., vol. LXXXII, col. 181.
10 For instance Ó. Briem: Heiðinn siður á íslandi, Reykjavík, 1945, pp. 75-85
and 134-137.
17 That is: Helgafell, Heljardalsheiðr, Hofshöfði, Surtshellir, Þórsmörk, Þórsnes