Gripla - 20.12.2013, Page 255

255
made several trips to Hólar, for example on 19 november 1813: “fór eg
upp ad Bjarna stödum og heim ad Hólum” [I went to Bjarnastaðir and to
Hólar].82 After 1819 the visits were less frequent, but he was regularly at
neðri-Ás between 1823 and 1839, for example on 7 november 1838 – just
a few days before the Rev. Gísli died: “fór eg ad nedrási” [I went to neði-
Ás].83 for the years 1835–38 there is one entry for each year concerning
written communication between the two men.84 there are admittedly
not countless notes concerning the Rev. Gísli in Gunnlaugur’s diary, but
he nevertheless mentions him more frequently than other learned men.
It is most likely that he used several manuscripts written or owned by
the Rev. Gísli as exemplars for his annals, as an exemplary comparison
of weather entries for the year 1652 proves. the manuscript Lbs 3724
4to, written by the Rev. Gísli, seems to be a conflation of several ann-
als covering the years from Iceland’s settlement until 1729, including
excerpts of Vatnsfjarðarannáll yngri, followed by some sentences from
Sjávarborgarannáll.85 the manuscript Lbs 1210 4to, written by the Rev.
Gísli, contains several annals, among them the so-called Vallholtsannáll by
the Rev. Gunnlaugur Þorsteinsson (1601–74) from Vallholt. this annal
describes the weather for the year 1652 such: “Vetr gódr, þó Vindasamr,
og frostamikill, Vor gott og sumar, einkum nordanlands, enn sydra og
Vestra mióg Votsamt, svo ad ej nýttust hey og elldividr” [Good winter,
though windy and very frosty, good spring and summer, especially in the
north, but in the south and West very wet, so that no good use could be
made of hey and fire-wood].86 Gunnlaugur describes it in this way: “Vetur
gódr – vor gott – þó votsamt. nýttist illa eldividur” [Good winter, good
82 Lbs 1588 8vo, fol. 109r:16–18.
83 Lbs 1588 8vo, fol. 319r:9–10.
84 on 21 february 1837, for example, Gunnlaugur received a letter from the Rev. Gísli: “fjekk
eg bref frá sjra Gisla” [I received a letter from the Rev. Gísli], Lbs 1588 8vo, fol. 304v:25–
26.
85 see Lbs 3724 4to, pp. 524:12–525:14. for Vatnsfjarðarannáll yngri, Lbs 3724 4to was com-
pared with Hannes Þorsteinsson, jón jóhannesson, Þórhallur Vilmundarson, and Guðrún
Ása Grímsdóttir, eds., Annálar 1400–1800, 8 vols. (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka bókmennta-
félag, 1922–2002), 3:129–30, which is based on íB 15 fol. and supplied with Rask 49. for
Sjávarborgarannáll, the manuscript was compared with Hannes Þorsteinsson et al., Annálar
1400–1800, 4:290–91, which is based on Lbs 290 fol.
86 Lbs 1210 4to, p. 12:26–13:1.
GunnLAuGuR jónsson fRoM skuGGABjÖRG