Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1968, Qupperneq 48
the third quarter of the 15th century, is found in a chronicle which was
composed shortly after 1600 (Safn til sogu Islands I pp. 57-58). It is
told that he lived at Holl in Bolungarvik and was the hest scribe in the
Western Fiords, and Bishop Gisli Jonsson (f 1587) is quoted as an
authority who says that he wrote most “Mass-books” for that district
and especially for Skar?) on SkarcSsstrond. When he was dead, three
fingers on his right hånd did not become stiff; he was then given a pen
and wrote the words: “gratia plena, dominus tecum”.
To determine the writing of Jon Porlåksson a leaf in AM 80, 8vo
(facsimile in Aarbøger for nordisk Oldkyndighed 1899) serves as a start-
ing point. Here the scribe gives his name and the year 1473 and tells
that “this book” (the book to which this leaf once belonged) was pre-
sented to the church at Munkapverå (in northern Iceland). By com-
paring the writing with two vellum leaves in AM 266, 4to, Magnus Mår
Lårusson stated that they are in the same hånd (KirkjuritiS 24, Reykja-
vik 1958, pp. 203 ff, reprinted in the author’s book FrocSleiksgreinar,
Reykjavik 1967). According to Årni Magnusson these leaves were taken
from a mutilated “Saungbook i storu folio” which he acquired from
Gufudalur in 1703.
There can hardly be any doubt that a great part of the Icelandic MSS
used in the present work was written by Jon Porlåksson. This applies
to the sources which in the preceding were called a, b, f (AM 241 b,
fol., IV), h, 1, m, and p.
Since Jon Porlåksson is described as a prolific scribe, it would seem
likely that the remaining leaves in his hånd originally belonged to dif-
ferent books. It is impossible to enter into this question here, but atten-
tion is drawn to the faet that the number of text-lines on pages with
musical notes varies:
12 lines: Acc. 7a/?, “Codex J” (p).
13 lines: Nat. Mus. 30 (a).
13 and 14 lines: Lbs. 46 (b), recto and verso.
(14 lines: AM 241 b, fol., III; in the same hånd, but not used in the
present work).
15 lines: Acc. 7aa (h), ff. 17-24, 30-40, 47, 49-52, 55. Acc. 7a£,
“Codex E” (m), and also “Codex F” and “Codex G” (not used in
the present work).
16 lines: Acc. 7aa (h), ff. l-15r, 25-29, 41-46, 48, 53, 54. Acc. 7a/?,
XLVI