Gripla - 20.12.2014, Qupperneq 217

217An ICELAnDIC CHrIStMAS HYMn
or other elements of page design whatsoever. only the rubric of the hymn,
barely perceptible, is centered, breaking the monotony of the text block
to a small degree. Even new stanzas fall into line with the previous ones,
separated only by white space.
All the manuscripts were designed as books of utility, and their use
has left traces: leaves are missing and the paper is soiled, sometimes worn
with heavily tattered edges, which have occasionally been restored with
paper. the signs of use are also apparent in Lbs 1192 8vo, a fragmentary
manuscript remarkable for its page design. this manuscript is replete with
beautiful illuminations that use elements of medieval book painting, albeit
here in a late pre-modern context (see plate 1).61 It transmits the shorter ver-
sion of the hymn and is one of the oldest manuscripts to preserve this work.
It is also one of the smallest manuscripts, measuring ca. 13 cm in height;62
a normal text page only comprises 16 lines. every page of the 41 preserved
leaves of this manuscript is illuminated – at the very least with coloured
paragraph initials. the rubrics are written in red ink, and every hymn opens
with a distinct initial skillfully imitating romanesque style, using luminous
colours in red, blue and yellow. the <h> of “Hliöme raustenn barna best” is
nine lines high, in a red minuscule with white branching scrolls on a blue
background. Moreover, the manuscript provides coloured ornamentation at
the end of the hymns, filling the space in order to allow the following hymn
to begin on a new page. other manuscripts of the hymn are also decorated
with ornamentation or coloured or ornamented initials, but to a far lesser
extent.63 this type of decoration appears to be a variable feature of the
manuscripts and is probably commensurate with the scribe’s skills or the
commissioner’s request. there is nothing to suggest that the type and extent
of decoration is connected with specific textual variants of the hymn.
this conclusion does not apply to the manuscripts js 208 8vo and
Lbs 1724 8vo, which refer to Lífsins alla líkn og náð as the melody and
whose variants are closely connected to each other. they also share a page
61 Digitized images are available on Handrit.is, http://handrit.is/is/manuscript/imaging/is/
Lbs08-1192#0000r-FB (accessed April 1, 2014).
62 the height is not given in the entry of Handrit.is, but it can be assumed from the digitized
photograph, which includes a measuring tape.
63 JS 141 8vo, JS 208 8vo, JS 385 8vo, Lbs 1568 8vo, Lbs 1724 8vo, Lbs 194 8vo, Lbs 506 8vo,
Lbs 847 4to.