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of skálholt20 and Björn Þorleifsson’s father Þorleifur jónsson, who was
provost at oddi.21 Prior to becoming bishop of Hólar in 1697, Björn
Þorleifsson lived at oddi, which is where he probably received the two
volumes. Desmond slay notes that little is known about the commissioner
of Gks 1002–1003 fol., jón eyjólfsson of eyvindarmúli, and the scribe,
Páll sveinsson. It is nonetheless clear that jón eyjólfsson’s family was
closely connected with the farm Múli (eyvindarmúli) in the Rangárvellir
district and that he came from a distinguished and wealthy family with
prominent ancestors.22
the sagas in Gks 1002 fol. comprise Karlamagnúss saga (fols. 1v–27r);
Grettis saga, which is followed by a poem beginning with the words “sterkan
nefndu báls börk” (fols. 27v–60v); Mágus saga (fols. 61r–79r); Hrólfs saga
kraka (fols. 79v–93r); Flóres saga ok Leó (fols. 93r–112v); Sigrgarðs saga
frækna (fols. 113r–119v); Hektors saga (fols. 120r–135r); Sigurðar saga þögla
(fols. 135r–161v); and Önundar þáttr tréfóts (fols. 161v–166v), which is intro-
duced with the words “Þetta er upphaf á Grettirs sögu og vantar við þá sem
í þessare bók skrifuð er” [This is the beginning of Grettirs saga and it is missing
from the one that is written in this book]. Gks 1003 fol. contains Hrólfs saga
Gautrekssonar (fols. 1v–24v), Göngu-Hrólfs saga (fols. 25r–48v), Þorsteins
saga Víkingssonar (fols. 49r–63v), Njáls saga (fols. 65r–110v), Finnboga saga
ramma (fols. 110v–124r), Þórðar saga hreðu (fols. 124v–132v), Kjalnesinga
saga (fols. 133r–139v), Jökuls þáttr Búasonar (fols. 139r–141r), and Orms
þáttr Stórólfssonar (fols. 141r–144r). the two volumes thus contain a total of
18 texts (17 if Önundar þáttr tréfóts is considered part of Grettis saga). All of
20 Brynjólfur sveinsson was the grandson of Páll jónsson of svalbarð and his wife Helga
Aradóttir (see fn. 13).
21 It is impossible to ascertain who the “other pious men” may have been, but the apparent
close connection of Gks 1002–1003 fol. with the Rangárvellir district suggests that the
men referred to must have been prominent figures in the south of Iceland. Considering
Brynjólfur sveinsson’s importance as a bishop and collector of manuscripts and Björn
Þorleifsson’s involvement in the manuscripts’ history, it is likely that Bishop Brynjólfur and
Björn Þorleifsson’s father Þorleifur jónsson, whose name appears in at least one medieval
manuscript (AM 466 4to, Oddabók) as one of its owners, were among the men for whom
the manuscripts were written.
22 for a more detailed summary of jón eyjólfsson’s family history, see Ibid., 145–146. the fact
that jón eyjólfsson is a direct descendant of Bishop jón Arason can be seen as an indication
of the involvement in manuscript production and distribution of descendants of the three
prominent Icelandic families highlighted in the introduction above.
tHe IMPoRtAnCe of MARItAL AnD MAteRnAL tIes