Editiones Arnamagnæanæ. Series A - 01.06.2003, Page 48
10*
INTRODUCTION
(1) Fols. *l-2 + 1-6.
(2) Fols. 7-14.
(3) Fols. 15-22.
(4) Fols. 23-26+ *1 +27-29.
(5) Fols. 30-37.
(6) Fols. 38-45.
(7) Fols. 46-53.
(8) Fols. 54-61.
(9) Fols. 62 (Hand B begins) - 69.
(10) Fols. 70-73 (Augustinus saga ends 73r; 73v blank).
(11) The Vitae Patrum remnants are reasonably assigned to
one gathering, thus: fols. 74-75 (74r blank, Vitae patrum
start 74v) + * 1 + 76 + *1 + 77 + * 1 +78. This agrees neat-
ly with an assessment of the quantity of text lost by com-
parison with the version of Vitae patrum printed from AM
225 fol. in Hms. II, 335-488.
III. The original plan.
(i) Evidence drawn from the codex in its present shape. Fols. 1-73,
with the loss of a single leaf between fols. 26 and 27, represent continu-
ous text. Hand A writes fols. 1-61 v. Hand B begins 62ra, a new gather-
ing, completing the last word of the preceding column, left unfinished
by Hand A (‘hei/ti’), and ends 73rb25, leaving the rest of that leaf, rec-
to and verso, empty. Hand A is also found on fols. 79-81, Thómas
saga\ Hand B is on 74-78, Vitae patrum. Guide-letters and titles in the
extreme outer margins appear to be in a third hand (cf. p. 22*).
The work on the texts represented in AM 234 fol. was evidently
planned and executed as a unity. All the undamaged leaves are much
the same size and quality and have apparently undergone the same
preparation. The two hands are very similar in style, but Hand B looks
more novice-like, less skilful than Hand A in keeping lines an even
length, more prone to influence from his exemplar and readier to in-
troduce orthographic modemisms. Both usually affect a more angular
style and write roman letter forms in Latin quotations (cf. pp. 19*-20*).
With the rarest exceptions columns are of 44 lines throughout. 37vb is
exceptional with 45 lines. Where columns have fewer than 44 lines,
they mostly close with a natural ending, of a chapter 9vb, 34ra, 41va,
51ra, of a letter 79vb, of a saga, 73rb. We find only 43 lines in 38ra