Editiones Arnamagnæanæ. Series A - 01.10.2003, Blaðsíða 138

116*
G(AM 309 4to)
script’s age (ca 1500) e g ‘kongs' 1.12; this applies also to ‘herkewgr’ 1.26.
The very heavy abbreviation of the manuscript is illustrated by the fact
that the first thousand letters (were the words to be spelt out) in (randomly
selected) chapter 2 correspond to only 683 full-sized characters of manu-
script. The scribe’s scheme of abbreviations is utilized in varying and un-
predictable ways, e g ‘h«sf/-e(yia)’ 18.149, ‘husf(reyiu)’ 18.150, and on f.
38v ‘hra[u]nz'íf 26.40, ‘hrau/zid’ 26.41.
2. ORTHOGRAPHY
Voxvels in stressed syllables (representation by single vowels is for the most
part ignored):
<a> and <aa> both occur as spellings for 01 á, the latter being almost uni-
versal for the word á, whether preposition, noun or verb. There is a gradual
tendency towards increased use of <aa>: if examples of á as a whole word
are excluded, the occurrences leaf by leaf from f. 34 (which is little more
than a column) to the end of f. 38 are: 0, 5, 9, 12, 18. Also excluded from
these figures are 11 examples of <aa> being used for short a: ‘aad’ 17.34,
19.25, 20.14, 24.77, ‘baad’ (verb) 25.35, ‘jbaadz'í’ 26.75, ‘bædit’ 26.78,
‘dæg’ 26.95, ‘sæt’ (verb) 19.37, ‘saatz’ (adj.) 17.65, ‘staadar’ 18.38. at and
bað are elsewhere spelt with single <a>.
The diphthongal development é to ie is amply evidenced in G: ‘Hier’ 1.1
- ‘hiellt’ 27.21 (x ca 190); ct <e>, on an extrapolated basis from a 20% sam-
ple, x 65. But there is considerable variation according to the word being
written. Many of the <ie> occurrences are accounted for by the pronouns
‘mier’, ‘sier’, ‘þier’; all usually have the ‘er’ abbreviated. The spellings
‘het’, ‘hiet’ are fairly evenly divided (6:5), ‘fell’, ‘fiell’ rather less so (4:7),
while ‘fe’ occurs x 11 but ‘fie’ not at all.
OI í is written <ij> only once ‘sijdzz/-’ 18.120.
OI ó is always expressed by <o> except for ‘skoo’ 9.14.
For both vocalic and consonantal u/v the scribe has used either form of
the letter, not according to any ascertainable principle. This text uses <u> or
<v> as seems closest to the scribal graph, but it is not certain that any actual
distinction was being followed.
<w> may be used for ú ‘bws’ 24.53, ‘wlfud’ 24.58, ‘hwzzs’ 26.61, ‘hwder’
26.77, ‘hws’ 24.74, ‘wr’ 26.81, 27.11 (all). Additionally, <w> seems to be
the first letter in ‘w[er]' 26.70, while an irregularly formed <w> appears to
be present in ‘da/gwar' 18.134.
Front mutation of á (OI æ) usually appears as <æ> ‘aagætzz/-’ 1.2 - ‘uæ/7’
27.31 (x ca 145), as well as <§> ‘u?gd’ 17.94 (verse), ‘m§tti’ 20.16, ‘kost
ggfer' 24.43 (all), but not as <e>.