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crossed-out text can be partially read. It begins with parts of two family
trees written side by side in two columns, the first entitled “Ætt Magnúsar
jónssonar í Ögri frá Lofti Ríka” [Family of Magnús Jónsson of Ögur (of the
Svalbarð family) from Loftur ríki (Guttormsson)] and the second bearing the
name “Ætt frá Birni Þorleifssyni Ríka sem átti ólöfu Loftsdóttur” [Family
of Björn Þorleifsson ríki who married Ólöf Loftsdóttir]. What is remarkable
about these two family trees is the number of women mentioned. of eight-
een individuals mentioned (some of whom are mentioned more than once)
six are female (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5). In fact, two of these women, Ragnheiður
Magnúsdóttir and her daughter kristín einarsdóttir,74 appear at the ends
of both family trees, which illustrates their ties to Magnús jónsson and
Loftur ríki Guttormson, as well as to Björn Þorleifsson riddari and ólöf
ríka Loftsdóttir. the fact that kristín einarsdóttir is the final name in both
family trees suggests that the crossed-out texts in AM 125 fol. (the two
genealogies and an unfinished family history of Björn Þorleifsson riddari
and eggert Hannesson) were written with kristín einarsdóttir in mind,
and that a manuscript may have specifically been prepared for her (as a
gift) or in her honor (after her death in 1673).75 the emphasis on women
in the family trees in AM 125 fol. furthers the argument that maternal ties
played an important role in Icelandic family dynamics.
summary and Conclusion
It is clear that major centers of manuscript production in Iceland lay in the
north, west, and south of the country. the productivity of these centers
fluctuated over time. the north of Iceland produced manuscripts particu-
larly during the fourteenth through the fifteenth century. Later, the centers
in the west (Dalasýsla and Westfjords, fifteenth through seventeenth cen-
74 It is unclear where the manuscript was written, but kristín einarsdóttir and her husband
Magnús snæbjörnsson lived in the Rangárvellir district of southern Iceland, and this is also
where Árni Magnússon received the codex which contained AM 125 fol., suggesting a clear
connection to the south of Iceland.
75 kristín and Markús had eight daughters, of whom three (Gróa, Anna, and Guðrún) married
men with distinguished ancestry (descendants of Bishop jón Arason and the svalbarð fam-
ily), highlighting again how marriage was used to further the wealth and power of Iceland’s
elite. these daughters’ extensive offspring include important figures, such as Bishop jón
teitsson.
tHe IMPoRtAnCe of MARItAL AnD MAteRnAL tIes