Gripla - 2021, Blaðsíða 180

GRIPLA178
Skinnastaðabók features a unique version of Jónsbók, which consists of
a core text of the I-redaction as found in AM 169 4to from c. 1300–50.25
Nevertheless, further textual models were also used, which stem from as
yet unidentified sources.26 In Skinnastaðabók, all revisions to Jónsbók as
listed in the three named Réttarbœtr were added to the law text. The addi-
tion of these revisions is itself particular, as this is barely found in earlier
manuscripts of the same redaction, and may be explained by a thorough
expertise in the matter on the part of the reviser.27 As shown in Table 1, the
text of Skinnastaðabók separates secular and ecclesiastical topics, similar
to what is the case with the textual content of Skarðsbók.28 For example,
Jónsbók is followed by two of the three general Réttarbœtr for Iceland as
individual texts and Búalǫg, which is a collection of laws related to farming
and domestic trade, dated to c. 1400.29 In contrast, the following sections
of Skinnastaðabók indicate a clerical perspective, a thematic separation
which is indeed known from Skarðsbók as well.30 In general, clerical texts
featured in Skinnastaðabók refer to common topics of contemporary me-
dieval Church politics, yet they signify an experienced compiler. This is
exemplified by the featured thirteenth-century Icelandic ecclesiastical law
Kristinréttr Árna Þorlákssonar, which is separated into interspersed sections
that include a number of statutes regulating various issues concerning the
work and private life of priests. Although the content of the ecclesiastical
part in Skinnastaðabók seems vast, it follows a coherent structure. For ex-
ample, ff. 131v10–133r12 features Skipan Magnús byskups Gizurarsonar from
25 For the dating of the production unit of AM 169 4to that features Jónsbók, see Kristian
Kålund, Katalog, I, 445, and Peter Foote pers. 1988.
26 Ólafur Halldórsson, Introduction to Jónsbók, xlvi.
27 Ólafur Halldórsson, Introduction to Jónsbók, xlvi–xlii. A manuscript example, where not all
revisions were added to the main text, is the earliest known example from the II-redaction,
AM 343 fol. (Svalbarðsbók). Instead, in Svalbarðsbók some sections of the Réttarbœtr were
added in the margins by later users. The omission of these amendments to Jónsbók does not
indicate they were compiled less meticulously. On the contrary, often they appear to have
been designed for specific use which does not need the inclusion of all Réttarbœtr. This is
seen in the way the selection of further texts is organised and written.
28 For the textual content of AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), see the references given in note 19
above.
29 Búalög: Verðlag á Íslandi á 12–19. öld, ed by Arnór Sigurjónsson. Reykjavík: Framleiðsluráð
1966.
30 For the textual content and structure of AM 350 fol. (Skarðsbók), see the references given
in Footnote 13.