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Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol., c.1330–1370) was presumably writ-
ten in northern Iceland.25 It appears to have remained in the north of
Iceland until 1684, when it was brought to Copenhagen and presented
to thomas Bartholin by Björn Magnússon, the son of the lawman (lög-
maður) Magnús Björnsson of Munkaþverá, one of the manuscripts own-
ers. Árni Magnússon received AM 132 fol. after Bartholin’s death in 1691.
Magnús Björnsson’s name appears in a marginal note in the manuscript,
stating “Magnus Biornnsson Med eigin h[ende] Anno 1628 a krossmesu
sialfa wm vorid huor ed var saa 3 Maij Manadar j storu Badstofunne aa
Modruvollum.” [Magnús Björnsson, with his own hand, in the year 1628, on
the Holy-Rood day itself which was on the 3rd of May, in the large sitting-room
at Möðruvellir.]26 According to einar ól. sveinsson and sigurjón Páll
ísaksson, it is impossible to tell whether Magnús Björnsson is referring to
Möðruvellir in eyjafjörður or Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur.27 nonetheless,
einar ól. sveinsson believes that the manuscript may well have been the
“hereditary property” of Magnús’ family,28 and sigurjón Páll ísaksson
argues that even though Möðruvallabók was conceivably written in a
monastery or cloister, it was likely made for a secular chieftain, potentially
eiríkur auðgi Magnússon,29 grandfather of Loftur ríki Guttormsson and
maternal ancestor of Magnús Björnsson. Claudia Müller maintains that
the family of eiríkur auðgi Magnússon or that of Þorsteinn eyjólfsson,
in the Arnamagnæan Collection in the University Library of Copenhagen, Corpus Codicum
Islandicorum Medii Aevi 5, (Copenhagen: Levin & Munksgaard, 1933), 21.
25 According to einar ól. sveinsson, Möðruvallabók was written in the skagafjörður or
eyjafjörður district. He argues, however, that the manuscript was not produced in the
vicinity of the cloister at Munkaþverá due to a mistake that the scribe makes in a place
name (Ibid., 21, en. 3). sigurjón Páll ísaksson suggests that the manuscript was writ-
ten at Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur, cf. sigurjón Páll ísaksson, “Magnús Björnsson og
Möðruvallabók,” 118, 124.
26 translation by einar ól. sveinsson, “Introduction,” 22.
27 einar ól. sveinsson points out that while the marginal note may refer to either farm,
Möðruvellir in eyjafjörður was the home estate of Björn Magnússon and his family and
thus the more feasible location (Ibid., 22). sigurjón Páll ísaksson, on the other hand, argues
that Björn Magnússon is more likely referring to Möðruvellir in Hörgárdalur. Both, how-
ever, admit that a definite answer is impossible. sigurjón Páll ísaksson, “Magnús Björnsson
og Möðruvallabók,” 130–136.
28 einar ól sveinsson, “Introduction,” 23.
29 sigurjón Páll ísaksson, “Magnús Björnsson og Möðruvallabók,” 120. for more details on
eiríkur auðgi Magnússon, as well as his and his descendants’ involvement in manuscript
production, see Ibid., 120–125.
tHe IMPoRtAnCe of MARItAL AnD MAteRnAL tIes