Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1943, Side 21

XIX
here indicated are merely possibilities. Unfortunately the correspon-
dence of the Danish Chancellery with Iceland from the years 1643-
47 is lost. The only thing that is certain is that no economic ad-
vantages accrued from these replies, any more than from Gisli Mag-
nusson’s sulphur monopoly and his reform proposal.
II
THE AUTHORS AND THEIR SOURCES
The two bishops to whom Otte Krag applied dif fered widely
in character and training, as is plainly evidenced in the present trea-
tises. borlåkur Skulason1 had had the education that was normal to
Icelandic ecclesiastics of better-class families. After a stay at the
University of Copenhagen from 1616-19 he became headmaster of
the grammar school at Holar. Thirty years old he was appointed
bishop of Holar (1627), his youth being probably offset by the faet
that he was the grandson of his predecessor. While an undergraduate
borlåkur had made the acquaintance of Professor Ole Worm in
Copenhagen and later faithfully kept up a correspondence with him
till his death. Bishop borlåkur has not left any special proofs of learn-
ing or scientific leanings, but he took an interest in the history and
ancient literature of his country and encouraged others to occupy
themselves with them,—though only within certain limits and as
long as it did not encroach too mueh on his own interests. He caused
old manuscripts to be copied for his own use, but he does not seem
to have thought of publishing them; perhaps he did not consider
it necessary. At any rate, he never had a single work of this kind
printed in the only printing press of the country of which he had
sole control2. His interest in early Icelandic literature seems to have
been unaffeeted by the new movements of the time; apparently he
was content to study it in the way that had been done in Iceland
for centuries before his time.
1 See Jon Halldorsson, Biskupasogur II (1911-15) 80-107.
2 Of the disputes with Bishop Brynjolfur Sveinsson to which this led him,
see Halldor Hermannsson, Islandica XIV pp. VI-VII; Safn FræSafélagsins XII
151-53-
2*