Gripla - 2022, Page 350

GRIPLA348
Appendix: A Transcription of the Two Sethskvæði
in AM 100 8vo
An example of a codicological unit that was altered by Árni Magnússon
can be found in the manuscript used for the following transcriptions
of Sethskvæði, AM 100 8vo.74 The manuscript includes two Sethskvæði,
followed by a fragment of Krossdrápa. The first poem 1r–13v, was taken
from a larger manuscript that belonged to Jón Vídalín, which is indicated
on the flyleaf just inside AM 100 8vo, written in Árni Magnússon’s
hand. It is tempting to speculate that Árni assembled these three poems
together because they share a similar theme, but in practice it is impossible
to know his reasoning. The two Sethskvæði poems are in different hands
and scripts, but are dated to the same period, c. 1700–25.75 Beyond their
differences in appearance and origin, the contents also deviate from one
another. The first poem, 1r–13v, includes fifty stanzas, while the second,
15r–21r, contains only forty. There is some variation amongst the order of
the verses, as well as their contents. Below, I have transcribed both poems
using the first, longer poem as a foundation and lining up the verses of
the second poem side by side with the first for comparison. For the most
part, the second poem follows the verse order of the first, although several
verses are skipped along the way. A notable exception is found in the
second poem’s verse 6, which is only preserved in part and corresponds to
verse 26 in the first poem. Additionally, verse 4 in poem two does not cor-
respond to any verses in poem one. Sethskvæði has never been published in
full; what follows is but a snippet of the great variation found within the
poem in the extant sixty-one manuscripts.
Emendations
This is a semi-diplomatic transcription, as I have chosen to expand all
abbreviations. The first poem does not include numbering of verses; I
have added them for ease of reading. I have kept the scribe’s method of
marking vowels.
74 In older literature, this manuscript is often referred to as AM 99 c 8vo.
75 Kristian Kålund (ed.), Katalog over Den Arnamagnæanske Håndskriftsamling, vol. II
(Copenhagen: Kommisionen for det Arnamagnæanske Legat & Gyldendal, 1894), 390–91.