Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.2010, Page 238

228
Anne Mette Hansen
ville gøre skindet nogen skade, ikke fik lov. Finnur Jonsson gjorde det
nu alligevel: “og gerøi jeg J>a3 J>å au3vita3 samt i leyni”.23 Denne gang
var metoden tilsyneladende resultatløs, for i en note til Egils lausavtsur,
strofe 43, i Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning, indrømmer Finnur
Jonsson at han “på grund af omstændighederne — bibliotekarens for-
bud mod at anvende vand — ikke så mig istand til at læse verset med
sikkerhed”, og derfor til denne strofe har benyttet afskriften i am 461
4to.24
I Corpvs Poeticvm Boreale, vol. 1, giver GuSbrandur Vigfusson
følgende brugsanvisning på vandmetoden:
I never used any Chemical reagents, but only pure water poured
into a saucer, wherein the leaves were put. A sheet of paper was
ready at hånd, with all the lines of the vellum marked down, so
that one could put in with a pencil in its right place every word
or phrase as soon as read. When the very dim writing cannot
be read through the thin sheet of water, one has to move the
leaf out of the water on to the edge of the saucer, and there let
it dry, waiting patiently (never rub or touch it) till at a certain
degree of the drying process the writing will come out, faint,
yet perceptible to the naked eye, and after a moment (a few
seconds) vanish again like a fleeting shadow. The soft light of
the afternoon is hest; time (many days) and patience do the
rest. An accurate acquaintance with the Icelandic palæography,
abbreviations, etc., is more helpful than sharp eyesight. In this
way I was able to read pages where nothing but black, sooty,
grimy parchment was visible to the naked eye.25
GuSbrandur Vigfusson slutter med en forsikring om at skriften
ikke tager skade, hvilket han har testet ved at afprøve metoden på
det samme blad to gange med to års mellemrum. Heri er nutidige
23 Finnur Jonsson 1936, s. 84—85. Jf. Bjarni Einarsson og Chesnutt 2001, s. xxxi.
24 Finnur Jonsson 1912, s. 59.
25 GuSbrandur Vigfusson og F. York Powell 1883, s. 543, note 1.