Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1985, Qupperneq 242
234
176 8vo. The “Calendarium edur Rijmstockur” in AM 471 12mo was
believed by Årni Magnusson to be the work of PS - see Kålund’s
Katalog. Jon Olafsson of Grunnavik refers to PS in his dictionary:
birna f. ursa. Stoora birna, et litla Birna, ursa major et ursa minor, sidera
scilicet cælestia borealis mundi plagæ sic Islandicé reddidit Dfius Thordus
Svenonius, Pastor olim Eyr. Vestfiord. et mathematicus insignis, in versione
sua super Systema Copernici, Islandica, qvam ego possedi propria interpretis
manu exaratam, sed inclemens Neptunus una cum aliis libris, naufragio mihi
abstulit 1727. Versatur tamen adhuc in manibus aliqvot doctiorum computus
ejus, in qvo varia satis subtiliter explicantur, et qvædam apud alios computi-
stas non facile obvia occurrunt. inter qvæ ejusdem Seculum magnum Allda
moodir (mater Seculorum) ut ipse vocat.14
This refers to the “Computus Ecclesiasticus” and to the translation
of Hans Nansen’s work, the first part of which is “ura himininn, solina,
tunglid, plåneturnar og hinar svonefndu ‘hofudskepnur’,” according
to Hannes Porsteinsson, Ævir lærdra manna, 61, f. 122v.
It is very likely that in British Library Add. 11153 we have a copy of
Pordur Sveinsson’s translation of Carion referred to by Halfdan Ein-
arsson. This quarto manuscript of 263 leaves is, as its title page States,
a miscellany assembled by Magnus Jonsson (1637-1702) of Vigur, an
island in Isafjardardjup four to five kilometers from Ogur, where
Pordur supposedly made his translation.
Add. 11153 was copied by one of Magnus’ scribes, Jon Pordarson,15
except for the title page, table of contents, and folios 260v-263r, which
were written by Magnus Ketilsson,16 and folio 181, which is probably
in Magnus Jonsson’s dwn hånd.17 Ff. 3r-94r contain “Vr Cronicu Jo-
hannis Carjonis. Nockud med fæstum ordum saman skrifad wr dønsku.”
A note at the end of this text States that it was copied in 1692. The
manuscript also contains the Odda-Annålar (ff. 94v-117r, not to be
14 AM 433 fol., Vol. II, s.v. “Bjørn.” Earlier in the same volume, s.v. “bera,” Jon
mentions that “circa 1660” P>S used the words “Stoora bera, ursa major, et minni beran,
ursa minor.”
15 Jon Helgason, Kvædabok ur Vigur: AM 148, 8vo (Copenhagen 1955), p. 9.
16 Agnete Loth, “Om håndskrifter fra Vigur i Magnus J6nssons tid,” Opuscula III,
Bibi. Arn. XXIX (Copenhagen 1967), p. 98.
17 According to Jon Helgason’s Catalogue of Icelandic Manuscripts in the British
Library (Bibi. Arn. XXXIX, at the press).