Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.10.1967, Qupperneq 296

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.Ton (5lafsson of Grunnavik (1705-79) makes a number of references to a
work he read in MS which he ealls Philosophia naturalis. It was in Latin and
divided into two books, the first “de geniis, umbris, spectris, larvis et mon-
stris montanis”, the second about “anthropodæmones, semihomines” and
“essentias subterraneas” (these names were the author’s expressions for
ålfar). The work was divided into chapters and the first chapter is described as
“geniorum seu umbrarum examen”. Several narratives were contained in
the work. There is no known work which this description fits exactly but
certain things about it could point to De geniis et spectris.
Poråur Porlåksson (1637-97), the later bishop of Skålholt, remarks in
1669 in Copenhagen that the previous summer he had received from a friend
in Iceland an “opusculum de spectris” by Siguråur Stefånsson, head-master
of the school in Skålholt, who was drowned c. 1595. Nothing is known about
this opusculum but in several works from the first half of the 18th century
reference is made to a legend that SigurSur Stefånsson incurred the wrath
of the elves by writing about them and that they took their revenge on him
by drowning him. P. Syv’s Historia geniorum was anonymous. P. H. Resen
says in his description of Iceland and in the catalogue from 1685 that the
author of De geniis et spectris was Magister Gisli Vigfåsson (c. 1637-73).
This piece of information may have been contained in the MS. Åmi Mag-
nåsson, who identified Historia geniorum and De geniis et spectris, also
ascribed the work to Gisli Vigfåsson and comments, with reference to Påråur
Porlåksson’s remark, that opusculum de spectris must have been this work,
whereas SigurSur Stefånsson had written a “Historia dæmonum” that was
not known by Borå ur Borlåksson (Fr. Burg gives good reasons for doubting
that Åmi Magnusson was justified in his opinion of opusculum de spectris).
Påll Vidalin is in doubt as to whether the author of De geniis et spectris is
Siguråur Stefånsson or Gisli Vigfåsson and claims that there are those who
assert that the latter ascribed to himself a work that was in faet written by
Siguråur Stefånsson. J6n Borkelsson wavers between Siguråur Stefånsson—-
whose lifetime he places wrongly in the 17th century—and Vigfås Gisla-
son (Gisli Vigfåsson’s father, 1608-47, whom he would seem to have confused
with the son). An examination of the quotations in P. H. Resen reveals that
some of them best fit the period at which Siguråur Stefånsson was alive,
others that at which Gisli Vigfåsson lived, but conclusive evidence is not to
be found. It is possible that Gisli Vigfåsson revised or expanded a work
written by Siguråur Stefånsson, who was the brother of his grandmother.
Jon (5lafsson names Siguråur Stefånsson as the author of Philosophia natu-
ralis but this is probably only a guess.
5. Islands Beskrivelse i danske Rim. A work of this nature is named several
times in lists of MSS, first by the Danish historian A. S. Vedel (f 1616):
“En krønicke om Island paa Riim Poffuel Stigsøns ut putant”. Poul Stigsen
was the Danish governor of Iceland from 1559 and he died there in 1566.
Åmi Magnåsson is known to have owned at least two copies of a rhymed