Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.2003, Blaðsíða 180
166
Forrest S. Scott
174.8 is written with the ur sign (but apparently corrected?). The us
sign is very rare e g ‘huzfreigia’ 89.6, written ‘h9-’ (as (z) is commoner
than (s) towards the end of a word it might be expanded uz). An irregu-
larity shared with other scribes is on occasion to use an ar symbol also
for ra and occasionally for ara.
Hånd ii uses the abbreviations for ar and ur in a more orthodox man-
ner - superscript <r> for ar, superscript (go) for ra. It often employs the
‘Tironian note’ for og, which is absent from Hånd i.
In the second half of the transcript the abbreviation for er (usually
<'-)) is replaced by a similar, but distinet, form, resembling <y>. As it
was usual at this period to place two dots over a <y> the double dot very
often irrationally appears above the er sign. Examples are ‘Jtier’ 150.12,
‘yfer’1 163.5, ‘yfer’1 163.6, ‘Poter’ 183.23, and there are many others.
Punctuation The main vehicle of punetuation is the colon; the single
point seldom occurs. A pair of colons often surrounds an abbreviation,
e g :g: may = ‘godi’, :s: ‘seiger’ or ‘sagdi’. As a mark of suspension the
bar or ‘curl’ is also occasionally used. The virgule is also used, rather
patchily, eg at the end of some verse-lines, such as vv. 21, 22. Adouble
virgule (//) occasionally occurs e g before v. 21, after v. 22 (chapter 31),
after ‘obigda’ 86.8.
In addition to marking pauses colons are used for indicating numbers
(usually on each side) and names (at either end or both). Between a
name and its title a single colon is usual e g :h:k: ‘H(aralldz) k(ongs)’
2.15. In Hånd ii the punctuation is very similar to that in Hånd i, except
that the presumed teacher employs the virgule more frequently.
Orthography The spelling of Z, particularly of Hånd i, is individual
and seems often to represent speech rather than traditional orthography.
Consonants that had become silent are sometimes omitted e g ‘stæstu’
(stærstu) 2.13, ‘norst’ (norskt) 5.18, ‘myrblåan’ (myrkblåari) 27.6,
‘austfiskur’ (austfirdskr) 113.5, ‘hordi’ (horfåi) 130.4, ‘filldar’ (fylgd-
ar) 116.2, ‘{turtu’ (Jrurftu) 174.12, ‘krisne’ (kristni) 184.19. This usu-
ally involves the reduction of three or four consecutive consonants to
two or three. Some unusual forms, however, probably represent
scribal errors or inaccurate interpretation of an exemplar: ‘motlalaus’
(motlaus) 7.41, ‘sitstur’ (systur) 11.5, ‘gamlni’ (gamli) 18.6, ‘Gir-’
(in the name Geirridur) 34.4, ‘Raded’ (ridid) 36.11, ‘sparrar’ (sparn)
56.19, ‘Dyflunnar’ (Dyflinnar) 85.15-16, 160.5, 209.2, ‘Jonz’ (in the
nameJoms-) 90.9, ‘Palmatoke’ (Pålnatoki) 90.9, ‘afl Rauna(r)’ (pre-