Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1970, Side 328
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3.2. The heading of Hardar saga in 564a is in a separate hånd, which is
fairly certainly identioal with the hånd in three original letters dating from
the years 1407 and 1408. These were probably written by the priest Hoskuldr
Håkonarson in Miklabær (Skagafjordur), who is named in various soirrces
between 1393 and 1409. On this basis, it seems probable that 564a was
written in the first deoades of the 15th century.
3.3. Even if 564a were from the same book as AM 445b and c I 4to, as
McKinnell believes it is (cf. his article just following), at least part of 564a
might be somewhat younger than other parts of that book.
4.0. Gudbrandur Vigfusson reekoned that Vatnshyma was written for
Jon Håkonarson in Vididalstunga, the first owner of Flateyjarbok. That
cannot apply to 564a, but probably does either to Vatnshyma or to its
original (see § 2, above).
4.1. Flateyjarbok was written by the priests Jon Fordarson and Magnus
Forhallsson, whose scribal habits ean be compared with the orthography
in the texts which Årni Magmisson may be supposed to have copied direct
from Vatnshyma.
4.2. The relevant copies are AM 5551i 4to (H), AM 564c 4to (C) and parts
of AM 448 4to (El and Eli). II and C were written in 1686, El probably
in 1687 or 1688, and Eli later.
4.3. Those of Arni Magnusson’s copies of membranes dated to the years
1686-88 which can be compared with their originals are almost literally
exact, and the abbreviations of the originals can be seen to be reasonably
well reproduced. In his copies of Vatnshyma, both the orthography and
the abbreviations (apart from Eli, which is almost unabbreviated) are in
very close agreement with the scribal habits of Magnus Forhallsson.
4.4. Åmi Magnusson’s few departures from the orthography of Magnus
Fdrhallsson can nearly all be explained as conscious or unconscious devia-
tions from the orthography of his original, and the large number of common
features makes it highly probable that his exemplar was written by Magnus
Forhallsson—whereas Jdn Fordarson may be excluded as writer of it.
Åsgeir Jdnsson’s copies of Vatnshyma, which were carried out for Åmi
Magmisson, belong to a group of manuscripts which apparently reflect the
orthography of their exemplars to a greater extent than Åsgeir’s other
copies do, and here the orthography is in all major respects in such close
agreement with that in Ami’s own copies of Vatnshyma that it may be
considered probable that the whole of Vatnshyma was in Magnus Forhalls-
son’s hånd.
5.1. Most of Magnus Forhallsson’s part of Flateyjarbok was probably
written in 1387, columns 1-10 and the Flateyjarannall as far as 1390 about
that year, and the annåll for the years 1391-94 in the following years.
5.2. Since certain features of Årni Magnusson’s Vatnshyma orthography
are repeated only or mainly in the latest parts of Flateyjarbok, Vatnshyma