Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.2005, Page 22
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Jon Helgason
28.3 Knarames 560 (= M K), Kialames 463 (and likewise W, so
the 560 reading is perhaps a scribal emendatiori).
31.3 ondudust flest vng, {taug attu son 560 (almost the same in 8),
øndudust flest, vnnz [>au attu son 463.
50,28 300 560 (= M K W), vic 463.
51,16 Elfradur 560 (= M, Elfrodr K, AlfraSr W), Adalsteinn 463.
52,2 Skotta 560 (Skota- M K), om. 463.
57,57 logdu 560 (= M W), lau 463.
57,72 xij 560 (= M K W), ij 463.
It is thus evident that both manuscripts were copied from an exemplar
that is now lost, but as might be expected the text of this exemplar was
faulty in places. The strophes in particular are hopelessly corrupt and
some of them have been omitted altogether. The following strophes [as
numbered in EgEA I] are wanting in both manuscripts: 16, 21, 25, 27-
29, 43, 52-55, 57, 60, and in 560 also 3-5, 13 (except for the first line),
14, 20, 23, 24, 26, 34, 36, 38, 42, 45-49, 56, and 58.9 The parts of the
saga in which strs. 1 and 6-12 occur are missing in 560, so we cannot
know whether they were originally in this book. Linguistic modemisms
occur sporadically, e.g. EgEA I, ch. 54,10-11 sagdi, huøria skickun
hann villdi hafa, hann skickadifyrst synafylking, and 55,47 Rykte suerdi
sijnu. The immediate [lost] ancestor of 463/560 was accordingly in all
probability a seventeenth-century manuscript.
It is obvious at first glance that the text is close to that of W, but as it
frequently agrees with other manuscripts against W it clearly cannot de-
scend from the latter. Here are some examples to prove this point:
21,13 maki (= M K y 8), ma6r W.
22,8 huast (= M y 8), om. W.
25,68 epter honum (= M K y 8), om. W.
25,89-90 og høfdu mikinn kost (peir hof6u mikinn skipakost ok goSan M, peir attu mikin skipa k6st 8, hofSo peir mikinn kost y), om. W (and K).
32,4-5 Biøm var farmadur mikill (=MK8 Q, om. W.
32,33 føruneyti (= M 8 Q, fararefni W.
33,29-30 allur kunnugleiki ai ætt hanz (allr kunnleiki a Bryniolfi M 8, kunnugleike a B. K), oli kunnig ætt hans W.
9 [Also included in Jon Helgason’s enumeration of missing strophes is EgFJ str. 51, which
is the opening strophe of Arinbjarnarkvida supplied by Finnur Jonsson. This strophe is
not actually present in any redaction of the saga.]