Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1970, Síða 348

322
order in which they appear in the reconstruction in 10.1, below).
6.3. Since all four leaves of the Gisla saga fragment have lost their
top and bottom edges, the only way of working out how high on
the pages the holes originally were is to compare these leaves with
f.l, which retains its full height. Of the other four leaves, f.5 has
lost the bottom of its blocks of text, and all have lost the top
of the text. We can thus best place the original tops and bot-
toms of these leaves by laying the bottom of the blocks of text
of ff. 1,2,3,4 together, and when this is done, f.l projects respec-
tively 17, 11 and 12 mm. above the present tops of ff.2,3,4 and
40, 34 and 35 mm. below the bottom edge. Since ff .2 + 5 (and 3 +
4) are conjugate, the relative position of f.5 must have been ap-
proximately the same as that of f.2. In fig. 1, I have placed
the original top edges of ff.2,3,4,5 all 12 mm. above the present
ones, this being based on f.4. The number of lines per side seems
to have varied between about 43 and 4936, so the columns probably
varied in height: fig. 1 can thus only be approximate.
This difficulty may be resolved by taking the distances between
apparently corresponding holes on each leaf as a standard, and
regarding the sum of the measurements between the two outermost
pairs of holes and the tops and bottoms of the leaves as giving one
figure between them, since any error at one end ought to be cancel-
led by an equal and opposite one at the other. Since the top and
bottom edges of AM 445c,I, ff.2-5 are lost, the holes corresponding
to the two outside pairs on the AM 564a leaves do not now appear
on AM 445c,I, and these pairs must therefore be disregarded in
comparing the two fragments.
6.4. Beginning with the distance between the two holes of the
second pair on AM 564a (the first on AM 445c,I), the following
figures (in millimetres) appear. Doubtful measurements, produced
by damage or distortion of the leaves, are followed by the sign?.
AM 564a AM 445c,I
2nd pr. 10?-17? 13-18
2nd-3rd 56?-65? 57-63
3rd pr. 12-17 15-16
3rd-4th 61-63? 60-62
4th pr. 7-11 12-14
Both Ends 96-115? 95?-104?
36 Jon Helgason, op. cit., p. 6. The leaves are discussed individually on pp. 21,
35, 41, 51, 60.