Gripla - 2019, Blaðsíða 74

GRIPLA74
að Eiríks saga víðfǫrla hefur verið skráð í miðaldahandritin fimm og henni valinn
staður í inngangi þeirra – flestra ef ekki allra – til þess að fella það, sem á eftir
kemur, inn í ramma hjálpræðissögunnar.
S U M M A R Y
Eiríks saga víðfǫrla in Medieval Manuscripts
Keywords: textual criticism, codicology, epilogue to Eiríks saga víðfǫrla in Flat-
eyjarbók, salvation history, initial sagas in medieval codices
Eiríks saga víðfǫrla tells the story of the norwegian kingʼs son Eiríkr, who sets out
into the world to seek Paradise. The saga is preserved in four different versions,
A, B, C and D, in some 60 manuscripts. Of these, the A and B versions are
from the Middle Ages; the C version, which is preserved only in 17th-century
manuscripts, dates also from that era, while the D version is a hybrid, probably
from the 17th century. From the Middle Ages there are only five Eiríks saga
version A and B manuscripts which have been preserved: Version A: 1. GKS
1005 fol., Flateyjarbók, from 1387 (the entire saga); 2. AM 720 a VIII 4to, from
the first half of the 15th century (just over one-third of the saga); 3. AM 557 4to,
Skálholtsbók, from around 1420 (almost half the saga). Version B: 4. AM 657 c
4to, from 1340–1390 (the entire saga); 5. GKS 2845 4to from around 1420–1450
(just over half the saga).
This article examines why Eiríks saga víðfǫrla was recorded in the five medieval
manuscripts and why it was placed in its position in these works. In Flateyjarbók,
the scribe/compiler says in an epilogue to the saga that he had placed this saga at
the beginning of the book to remind people that “there is no true trust except in
God,” and that this is the key to eternal life. From this it can be concluded that,
just as Eiríks saga víðfǫrla is a story of the search for Paradise, every saga – a history
of Norway like Flateyjarbók or any other history – is the story of the search
for Paradise, i.e. a story of salvation. Eiríks saga víðfǫrla was therefore placed
foremost in Flateyjarbók to remind people of the salvation history. – AM 720 a
VIII 4to is a fragment of two originally connected leaves, the former containing
the conclusion of a Mary miracle story and the beginning of Eiríks saga víðfǫrla,
and the latter a fragment of Lilja. The manuscript probably originally began with
the Mary miracle and Eiríks saga víðfǫrla, which were typical introductions to
medieval books. – In AM 557 4to, Skálholtsbók, Eiríks saga víðfǫrla now follows
directly after Hróa þáttr heimska, at the beginning of the eighth and final quire
of the manuscript. It has been argued that the eighth quire was originally at the
beginning of the manuscript and was written earlier than the sagas which are
now foremost. In this case, Eiríks saga víðfǫrla was originally near or almost at the
beginning of the manuscript. – In AM 657 c 4to Guðmundar saga byskups follows
immediately after the manuscriptʼs initial sagas, Mikjáls saga hǫfuðengils, Maríu