Gripla - 20.12.2011, Page 69

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abbreviations). The manuscript leaf is reproduced in figure 1 with the
kind permission of the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum
in Reykjavík, which I wish to thank here.
[AM 673 a II 4to, fol. 9v:] [0] regnboga [e]r[o þ]rir liter. az oc breɴosteinſloga
|2 oc ælldz [þ]at miɴer o a [a]t ottaſc þrefallda |3 r[e]iþe gu[þ]ſ þa er kømr
[ẏ]fer heimiɴ . Vatn |4 kom í noa floþe . Breɴosteinſloge . kom ẏer |5
ſodomam oc gomorram . Eldr mon ganga ẏer |6 allan heim fẏrer domſdag
. Þeer ener ſomo litir |7 a [0000]boga . mer[ki]a þrefalda fẏrgefning ſẏn-
THE RAINBOW ALLEGORY
1: [0] Only confused traces in fading red ink are preserved of the initial capital, too slight to
determine whether it was a J (as an ornamented form of I) or an A; Kölbing apparently could
read A, as no hint is given of uncertain reading, but Larsson judged the letter “unleserlich”;
Hamre restores in Icelandic as [Í]; Marchand prints as [A]. [e]r[o þ]rir: [e], [o] and [þ]
are only partly preserved due to parchment laceration caused by adjoining holes (the damage
extends to a couple of lines underneath), but the letters are still readable; Kölbing read plainly
ero þrir, Larsson er[o þ]rir. az unabbreviated form for ethymological vatns (gen. sing. of
vatn) is current in the oldest manuscripts. 2: [þ]at is also Kölbing’s and Larsson’s reading;
now only the lower rounded part of þ is preserved. [a]t Kölbing read at, Larsson [a]t; now
only faint traces of ink, but no certain stroke, remain of the vowel. 3: r[e]iþe The first e is
damaged but still readable. gu[þ]s The upper part of þ is lost. [ẏ]fer Both Kölbing and
Larsson have [y]fer, from either partial reading or conjectural restoration; today no hint of y
remains because of the torn parchment. Vatn Small capital with well-preserved inline stroke
in red-pink (traces of red-pink are found in all the other small capitals of the page as well). 4:
í Kölbing marked no accent. Breⲛosteinſloge . Kölbing omitted the punctus. ẏer The
typical Latin abbreviation sign for -er is used consistently in the text. 5: gomorram
Abbreviation mark for -m hardly visible for heavily faded and expanded ink. mon is still
readable but fading, because of a darkening of the parchment which extends to three more lines
underneath. 6: Þeer Kölbing read þesser, Larsson correctly Þesser (the first letter is
certainly a small capital with traces of red ink). ſomo Kölbing erroneusly read somu, but
the final -o is clear. 7: a [0000]boga . Reconstruct a [regn]boga . Kölbing has [a regn]
boga, Larsson [** regn]boga ·, but an a is clear at the beginning of the line before the gap of
four letters, due to loss of parchment (this is the upper edge of the largest hole in the page, which
extends to seven more lines underneath); the reconstruction [regn]boga is certain and graphi-
cally confirmed by available writing space on the line and parallel alignment of letters in the
opening of l. 1. The punctus after the word is not read by Kölbing. mer[ki]a Both Kölbing
and Larsson read merk[i]a; now only a hint of the upper part of i remains, and the right-hand
strokes of k are also lost in the same small parchment hole. ſẏn- There is a clear mark of
syllabic division at the end of the line, which is neglected by Kölbing. 8: [. e]in Kölbing read