Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1943, Page 22

XX
His colleague at Skålholt, Bishop Brynjålfur Sveinsson1, was a
man of quite a different mould. Having finished his studies at the
University in 1629 he did not succeed in getting a headmastership
in his native country though already then Bishop borlåkur expressed
as his opinion (in a letter to Ole Worm) that he was worthy to be
a bishop. He therefore retumed to Copenhagen, took an M.A. degree,
and was for a number of years a teacher at the Cathedral School
at Roskilde. During these years he acquired the highest learning of
the age in classical languages and philosophy and was undoubtedly,
when he was appointed bishop of Skålholt in 1639, the most learned
Icelander of his time. In the first years of his office he entertained
plans for various literary works which, so to speak without exception,
were wrecked on practical difficulties and the increasing duties of his
office. Among these was the publication of ancient Icelandic writ-
ings in Icelandic and Latin, as also investigations on Icelandic anti-
quities. Among the latter are the Conjectanea to Saxo which are
mentioned several times in the present paper (see below pp. 2314,
242, 2511, 28®, 345'6). These Conjectanea must not be confounded
with the comments on Saxo’s first books embodied in Stephanius’
Notæ uberiores to Saxo. Those comments which Stephanius had
received from Bishop Brynjolfur while he was writing his work are
indeed also mentioned in Notæ uberiores as Conjectanea, but the
references in our treatise show that they are not the same.
From Stephanius’ correspondence with Ole Worm it appears
that Bishop Brynjolfur sent Stephanius his comments on Saxo’s Præ-
fatio and the first two books in the autumn of 16412, and already
while Brynjolfur was staying in Denmark he had been in com-
munication with Stephanius and presented him with Icelandic manu-
scripts. Stephanius’ preparations for the edition of Saxo no doubt
made Brynjolfur occupy himself with Saxo and his relation to the
ancient Icelandic writings, and a number of his notes on this subject
have been embodied by Stephanius in his commentary. Now it ap-
pears from the remarks of Bishop Brynjålfur in the present treatise
1 As to his life see Jon Halldorsson, Biskupasogur I (1903-10) 222-308, II
331-82; a selection of his copy letter-books with an introduction and notes in
Safn Frædafélagsins XII (1942).
2 Wormii Epistolae I 222-223.