Ritmennt - 01.01.2000, Page 134

GOTTSKALK JENSSON
RITMENNT
most important literary-historical studies from
the 18th century.
Under the first subheading, About Recensus,
the time and circumstances of composition for
that text are discussed. In a letter from 1722, Páll
Vídalín, then lawman of the southern and east-
ern quarters of the island, claims that "more
than 20 years ago" he compiled in Latin a
biographical register of about 200 poets and writ-
ers. The title of the register confirms the time of
composition, since the 17th century is there
referred to as "this" (huius) century. The date of
composition gains further support by evidence
that the lost manuscript was in the hand of
Vídalín's amanuensis, a former student during
his tenure as principal of the cathedral school at
Skálholt (1690-97), who had left his service in
1700 or 1701. Before the manuscript was lost,
probably in the 1760s, Hálfdan Einarsson, princi-
pal of the cathedral school at Hólar from 1755 to
1785, made his excerpt, which lists only 101
poets and writers, while Rev. Þorsteinn Péturs-
son made his translation using the same manu-
script sometime between 1773 and 1778. The
translation contains entries for 134 Icelandic
poets and writers, and yet it claims to leave no-
thing out, which casts doubt upon the author's
claim that there were 200 entries in the original
MS, which has not surfaced since.
The next section, under the subheading In-
formation about Vídalín in Sciagraphia, gives a
synopsis of 13 places in Einarsson's literary his-
tory, where Vídalín and his writings are discus-
sed under the rubrics of philology, poetry, natur-
al sciences and the law. From here the study pro-
ceeds to investigate four loci, wheré Einarsson's
literary history cites Vídalín's register directly,
viz. in passages about the narrative poet Sigurð-
ur blindur (ca. 1470-1545) [p. 87], the latin poet-
ry of Bishop Jón Vídalín (1666-1720) [p. 91] and
Rev. Þorsteinn Björnsson of Setberg (1612-75) [p.
93], and finally in a comment concerning the
calendar computations of Oddur Oddsson of
Reynivellir (ca. 1565-1649) [p. 175-6]. But Ein-
arsson also seems to tone down Vídalín's often
harsh criticism and is less intolerant of religious
deviancy. Einarsson also reduces the rather
hyperbolic praise lavished by Vídalín on the Lat-
in poetry of his kinsman and former colleague at
the cathedral school, Jón Vídalín.
Under the subheading, Other uses of
Recensus by Einarsson, the article discusses Ein-
arsson's unacknowledged borrowings from
Vídalín's worlt and the results of a computerised
research into the matter are presented. Such bor-
rowings, usually no more than a word, plirase or
biographical or bibliographical detail, are found
in Einarsson's discussion of 21 poets and writers,
which is considerable given the fact tliat the
number of individuals occurring in both texts is
no more than 44. Einarsson probably borrows
wording and comments from Vídalín because
the latter wrote elegant Latin and sometimes
delivers memorable critical judgments, críseis,
about persons and literary works.
The article concludes by citing a short
biographical entry in Einarsson's Sciagraphia
about Vídalín and summing up the important
differences between the two works, one a tra-
ditional register of poets and writers who lived
over a certain period of time, organized alphabet-
ically by name, the other a more ambitious and
rnodern literary history, organized into six disci-
plines (philology, poetry, history, philosophy,
law and theology) and divided into the periods
before and after the Reformation. Some prob-
lems Einarsson seems to have had with this new
form are mentioned, such as where to find room
for occasional biographical data and the pressing
need for a good index to make it possible for the
reader to searcli for information about specific
poets and writers.
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