Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1960, Side 59

51
Salmabok of 1589 (cf. Påll Eggert Olason: Upptok sdlma og sdlma-
laga i luther skum sid d tslandi, p. 108). In the top left corner of 53
red,o there is written: ‘Jietr bundu fosturlag IPorgnmw horkiell
Vesteiim ok Gijslij’, and further down: ‘Arj’ and elsewhere on this
page are names from Gisla saga Surssonar which follows Grettis-
færsla in the manuscript. It is clear that these names are written in
an older hånd than that which wrote the name of f>orleifur Mag-
nusson (he was born ‘about 1581’, according to Påll Eggert Olason
in Islenzkar æviskrar, and died in 1652), and they may be from the
latter part of the sixteenth century. No other information is to be
had about when the poem was erased—perhaps it was done soon
after the manuscript was written. The history of the manuscript
itself cannot be traced further back than to the lawman Eggert
Hannesson (bom shortly before 1520, died c. 1583). If he inherited
it, he may have done so through his mother, Gubrun, the daughter
of Bjorn Gubnason of Ogur.
Gubbrandur Vigfusson refers to Grettisfærsla in an article in
N-i) félagsrit, 1861, pp. 125-6. He was able to read the beginning of
the poem on 52 redo, line 11, and printed it as follows: ‘Karl nam
at bua / beint må Jo vi lysa’. After this on the same line1 he read:
‘i afdali’. The word l'fjsa is printed in italics, doubtless to indicate
that the reading is uncertain. Of these readings I have been able
to confirm only the first words: Karil nam at bua beint maa \nd...
About two years ago I placed these pages under ultra-violet light,
and quickly saw that nothing could be made of 52 redo, but that
on the other pages it was possible to read a surprising amount. I
was able to distinguish many letters and a few complete words, but
little sense could be made of it. I therefore asked Mr J. A. Jensen
of the Copenhagen police, who does photography for the Arna-
magnean Institute, to see what he could do with these pages. His
photographs came out very well, and from them I have now read
considerable portions of the poem. The fragments are liere printed
letter for letter as I read them, but the reading is in many places
very doubtful, especially in the case of isolated words which are
not supported by any context. Abbreviations in the manuscript are
expanded in italics. Illegible letters are indicated by small noughts.
1 In the letter quoted on the preceding page: the following line.