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position, Lutheran theology had not fully superseded Catholic theology in
everyday religious practice in Iceland.
the general division of the Hljómi raustin barna best’s textual witnesses
into two groups, based on length of the hymn, is highlighted by the dif-
ference in meaning of the first three stanzas and the remaining stanzas
subsequently added to the hymn.
4. the Icelandic manuscripts
the 27 preserved texts of Hljómi raustin barna best fall into two distinct
groups: a shorter and a longer version. the former is a translation of the
Latin hymn, albeit containing only three of the originally four verses, as
mentioned above (ÍBr 7 8vo, JS 141 8vo, JS 385 8vo, JS 386 8vo, JS 643
4to, Lbs 847 4to, Lbs 1192 8vo, thott 473 4to). Its best-known example is
written by Bjarni gissurarson (1621–1712) and preserved in the autograph
manuscript thott 473 4to. the hymn’s longer version is represented in a
larger number of manuscripts than the shorter one, and varies in length,
comprising either fifteen21 or sixteen22 stanzas. the version of the Christmas
hymn best known among Icelandic scholars today is the one ascribed to
Hallgrímur Pétursson, first printed in Andlegir sálmar og kvæði at Hólar in
1773.
Based on criteria such as the length of the hymn, the date and place of
origin, scribes, provenance and variant readings, these manuscripts can be
further divided into four groups.23 We will discuss these groups of manu-
scripts in relation to variant readings. A manuscript’s scribe(s), date and
place of origin are often difficult to determine with certainty. nevertheless,
of the manuscripts we have studied, scribal and/or geographical informa-
tion has been obtained for thirteen manuscripts, 50% of the total number.
21 JS 439 8vo, Lbs 194 8vo, Lbs 1422 8vo, Lbs 1485 8vo, Lbs 1530 8vo, Lbs 1536 8vo.
22 EDL a and b 8vo, ÍB 380 8vo, ÍBr 104 8vo, JS 138 8vo, JS 208 8vo, JS 272 II 4to, JS 509
8vo, Lbs 238 b 8vo, Lbs 506 8vo, Lbs 1568 8vo, Lbs 1724 8vo, MS Boreal 113.
23 see appendix for detailed information on length, date and place of origin, scribes and prov-
enance.
An ICELAnDIC CHrIStMAS HYMn