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been suggested that the additions were commissioned by captain of the
king’s men (hirðstjóri) Þorleifur Björnsson of Reykhólar, the son of Björn
Þorleifsson riddari and his wife ólöf ríka Loftsdóttir.41 It is known that
Þorleifur’s grandfather Þorleifur Árnason42 bought half of the property
of víðidalstunga from Guðný jónsdóttir (DI 4, 245–247), the daughter
of jón Hákonarson.43 It has been argued that Þorleifur Árnason may
have received Flateyjarbók from Guðný jónsdóttir as part of the contract
to buy property at víðidalstunga,44 which is supported by the fact that
the manuscript stayed in the possession of Þorleifur’s descendants until
jón finnsson of flatey gave the codex to Bishop Brynjólfur sveinsson
in 1647, who presented it to king frederick III of Denmark in 1656
(Fig. 2).45 the manuscript’s history is therefore closely tied to descend-
ants of Björn Þorleifsson riddari and his wife ólöf ríka Loftsdóttir, and a
woman, Guðný jónsdóttir, appears to have been one of the first owners
of Flateyjarbók (or at least in a legal position to sell the manuscript as part
41 finnur jónsson, “Introduction,” [4]; jonna Louis-jensen, “Den yngre del af flateyjarbók,”
Afmælisrit Jóns Helgasonar, 30. júní 1969, eds. jakob Benediktsson et al. (Reykjavík:
Heimskringla, 1969), 245; Rowe, The Development of Flateyjarbók, 13, 405. Þorleifur
Björnsson appears to have been highly learned and literarily active, as his association with
the so-called Læknabók Þorleifs Björnssonar 1 shows. see, e.g. Örn Bjarnason, “Læknabók
Þorleifs Björnssonar 1,” Læknablaðið 90:4 (2004): 335–338.
42 see fn. 13.
43 not much information exists about Guðný or why she sold half of the property to
Þorleifur Árnason. elizabeth Ashman Rowe points out that Guðný and her husband
sveinn Bergþórsson also sold the farm Ásgeirsár in víðidalur to Loftur ríki Guttormsson
(Rowe, The Development of Flateyjarbók, 404), which is evidenced by a letter written at
Möðruvellir in eyjafjörður on september 8–9, 1424 (DI 4, 317–319). Rowe suggests that
the couple may have had to sell the properties of Ásgeirsár and víðidalstunga (and perhaps
also Flateyjarbók) due to a lack of frugality (Rowe, The Development of Flateyjarbók, 404).
44 sigurður nordal, “formáli,” xiv; Rowe, The Development of Flateyjarbók, 13, 405, 405
fn. 3. earlier scholars, such as finnur jónsson and ejnar Munksgaard, argued that
Þorleifur Árnason received Flateyjarbók from his mother, who they assumed was a
sister of jón Hákonarson by the name of Guðný. finnur jónsson, “Introduction,” [3];
ejnar Munksgaard, Om Flatøbogen og dens historie (Copenhagen: Levin & Munksgaard,
1930), 16. sigurður nordal, however, has shown that there is no evidence for this ass-
umption. sigurður nordal, “formáli,” xii. for a brief summary of this dispute, see jonna
Louis-jensen, “Den yngre del af flateyjarbók,” 235–236, and Rowe, The Development of
Flateyjarbók, 405 fn. 3.
45 see e.g. finnur jónsson, “Introduction,” [3]; sigurður nordal, “formáli,” xii–xviii; Rowe,
The Development of Flateyjarbók, 405.
tHe IMPoRtAnCe of MARItAL AnD MAteRnAL tIes