Ný saga - 01.01.1987, Page 102

Helgi Skúli Kjartansson
SAGAN BEINT í ÆÐ. HUGLEIÐING UM
MINNINGABÆKUR
(HOOKED ON HISTORY. A
REFLECTION ON BIOGRPHIES)
Memoirs constitute a large amount of what is being
written on Icelandic 20th century history, and this
article deals with 13 such books published in 1986. The
author describes methods which have become the
norm in writing memoirs and classifies the books
according to narrative form and use of sources. In
Helgi Skúli Kjartansson's opinion, a good memoir
must use the narrator's experience as a primary
source and other sources for interpretation.
Ólafur Halldórsson
AF UPPRUNA FLATEYJARBÓKAR
(ON THE ORIGINS OF FLATEYJARBÓK)
This article, written to commemorate the six
hundredth anniversary of the manuscript Flateyjar-
bók, attempts to throw light on the manuscript's
origins. Flateyjarbók deals above all with the sagas of
the two Olafs: Olaf Tryggvason and St. Olaf Haralds-
son. The author suggests that the manuscript was
originally intended as a gift for king Olaf Hákonarson
(b. 1371), the third Olaf, who, according to
contemporary report, had been named after the saint.
His premature death — disapperance some sources
say — in 1387, however, meant that the work remained
in Iceland until the 17th century — it was returned in
1971 — which, the author suggests, ironically ensured
its survival.
Helgi Þorláksson
mAÐ VITA SANN Á SÖGUNUM"
(TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE
SAGAS)
This article surveys the recent developments in re-
search on the history of the Icelandic commonwealth
prior to 1200. The author believes that foreign scholars
have established prominence in this field, especially
scholars who like to look at the sagas from a novel per-
spective and use anthropological methods in their
interpretations. Despite this, one cannot, in the au-
thor's opinion, talk of a new school of thought, as the
scholars stem from all over the world.
Höfundar efnis
Anna Agnarsdóttir, f. 1947. Sagnfræðingur og stunda-
kennari í sögu við HÍ.
Björn S. Stefánsson, f. 1937. Þjóðfélagsfræðingur og
lausamaður við rannsóknir og kennslu.
Guðjón Friðriksson, f. 1945. Sagnfræðingur og rit-
stjóri.
Guðmundur Jónsson, f. 1955. Sagnfræðingur og
menntaskólakennari.
Gunnar Þór Bjarnason, f. 1957. Sagnfræðingur.
Gunnar Karlsson, f. 1939. Prófessor í sögu við Hí.
Heimir Þorleifsson, f. 1936. Sagnfræðingur og mennta-
skólakennari.
Helgi Skúli Kjartansson, f. 1949. Lektor í sögu við KHl.
Helgi Þorláksson, f. 1945. Sagnfræðingur og starfs-
maður við Stofnun Árna Magnússonar.
Indriði G. Þorsteinsson, f. 1926. Rithöfundur og rit-
stjóri.
Kirsten Hastrup, f. 1948. Prófessor í mannfræði við
Árósaháskóla.
Már Jónsson, f. 1959. Sagnfræðingur og fréttai löur.
Ólafur Ásgeirsson, f. 1956. Sagnfræðingur.
Ólafur Halldórsson, f. 1920. Handritafræðingur á
Stofnun Árna Magnússonar.
Ragnheiður Mósesdóttir, f. 1953. Sagnfræðingur og
framhaldsskólakennari.
Þórunn Valdimarsdóttir, f. 1954. Sagnfræðingur og
rithöfundur.
Myndaskrá
Bls. 4. Thomas Reynolds. Úr: Thomas Reynolds Jr.:
The Life of Thomas Reynolds, 2. bindi, London 1839,
innri kápumynd. Myndin er birt með leyfi British
Library, London.
Bls. 5. Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (1769-
1822). Olíumálverk eftir Lucas. Úr: The Congress of
Vienna. An Eyewitness Account, Philadelphia 1968, (á
10. myndasíðu, án bls. tals).
Bls. 5. Vínarfundurinn 1814. Myndin er gerð 1819 af
Jean Godefrey eftir frummynd Jean Baptiste Isabey
sem varðveitt er í British Museum, London. Úr: The
Congress of Vienna..., (á annarri myndasíðu án bls.
tals).