Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1965, Síða 296

tion about the genealogical line of the Norman Dukes and the English
Kings, as well as the fights between King Edmund, Cnut the Great, and
Saint Olaf.
Storm’s determination of the relations between the Historia Norvegia
and the surveys recorded in the Liber de le gibus, however, is hardly
correct. A comparison between the information about the Norman Dukes
and the English Kings given in the Historia Norvegiæ with the corre-
sponding Communications in Icelandic literature (printed in the Ap-
pendix) clearly shows that the presentment in the Norwegian chronicle
is closely related to the one given in the Icelandic works. The most
reasonable explanation of this seems to be that the Historia Norvegiæ is
based on a West Norse source, which must also be supposed to underlie
Snorri Sturluson’s special Olaf s saga, the Heimskringla and the Knyt-
linga saga. It should, however, be kept in mind that the same works
show a relationship with the Royal Chronicle in IIeiSreks saga, as shown
in Chapter II, and furthermore it is remarkable that the genealogical
list of English Kings in the Historia Norvegiæ stops at Henry I., thus
at the same time as the list of the Swedish Kings in HeiSreks saga.
Therefore it seems justifiable to identify the source common to the
Historia Norvegiæ and the Icelandic works mentioned with Ari Porgils-
son’s bok. That this work included a mention of English Kings was cor-
roborated by Snorri Sturluson in the Prologue to the Heimskringla.
A comparison between the mention in the Historia Norvegiæ of Cnut
the Great’s and Saint Olaf’s fights in England with the parallel passages
in Icelandic literature leads to the same result. Both the Legendary Saga
of Saint Olaf, Saint Olaf’s Saga in the Flateyjarbok (Styrmir), the addi-
tion to the Jomsvikinga pdttr in the Flateyjarbok and the Knytlinga saga
show a doser connexion with the presentment in the Liber de legibus
than does the Historia Norvegiæ. Consequently the relationship of the
Icelandic works with the English survey cannot be due to their having
used the Historia Norvegiæ as a source. On the other hånd, it is possible
to derive all the information in the Historia Norvegiæ which shows a
connexion with the Liber de legibus, from the Icelandic works men-
tioned. In this case, too, the most reasonable conclusion therefore seems
to be that Ari’s bok was the common basis of all West Norse accounts.
The idea that the author of the Historia Norvegiæ utilized an English
source thus must be abandoned, whereas a new connexion has been
found between Ari borgilsson and English historiography.
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