Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.2007, Page 139

5.4 Activity in Sweden: the College of Antiquities 109
widely read, even abroad. It was knowledge of the Norse kings’ sagas
which during the seventeenth century would do most to undermine
the authority of Johannes Magnus.
Johannes Messenius (c. 1579-1636) wrote a long work of history,
Scondia illustrata, while held prisoner at Kajaneborg in Finland from
1616 on. He used several sources, among them the edition of Mattis
Størssøn’s translation of Heimskringla from 1594 (Schiick 1932—44:
I, 101). Messenius’s historical thinking was initially modelled on that
of Johannes Magnus, but gradually he saw that on many points this
account could not be backed up. It could not be reconciled with Yngl-
inga saga and came into conflict with other sources in many places.
From having considered Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque
regibus as one of his most important sources, Messenius eventually
abandoned its account as quite irredeemable. He realised that several
older works of history did not stand up to critical scrutiny either, and in
the later part of Scondia illustrata, which he called Censura, he made a
sharp criticism of his predecessors, both Swedish and Danish (Schiick
1932-44:1,109-112).
Messenius especially, but also his contemporary Johannes Bureus
(1568—1652), took an interest in Old Norse writings as sources for the
history of their people. What Swedish scholars could extract from of
these sources, however, was still very limited. There were not many
manuscripts in Swedish ownership, nor were there many who could
read them. Of the Old Norse manuscripts they had, the one put to
best use was the important manuscript of Pidreks saga, Holm.perg. 4
fol. It had come to Sweden from Bergen in the middle of the fifteenth
century and parts of it had been translated. Together with Pidreks saga
and others, the Separate Saga ofOlafr helgi had also come to Sweden in
the good and important vellum Holm.perg. 2 4to, as had a manuscript
containing Hirdskra (Holm. perg.34 4to), which was likewise translated
and published in 1648 (see Godel 1897: 37, 67—68). There was also
a corrupt excerpt of Historia Norwegia in Sweden (Godel 1897: 49).