Gripla - 2022, Page 383

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rímur and might, moreover, provide a justification for the multiple names
which appear in discussions of this work’s authorship.
Some seeming errors in the three earliest witnesses might contribute
to clearing up the question of precedence. For example, in AM 615 f 4to
(four-fitt version), when Gribba’s daughters are first listed, we are told of
Skrafsa the fourth daughter, then Strunsa whose number in the sequence is
not explicitly given, then Órækja the fifth daughter and Himpa the seventh
daughter (III:18–21). It appears that Strunsa is the sixth daughter who has
somehow got out of order, and this is confirmed later. When Gribba gives
her individual advice to the daughters the order is Skrafsa (fourth), Órækja
(fifth), Strunsa (sixth) and Himpa (seventh).52 The correct order appears in
both the list and individual advice in the text as it appears in AM 149 8vo
(ff. 12r–12v for the list), while AM 436 12mo, as we know, does not have
the list at all. Yet another inconsistency with the list of daughters found in
AM 615 f 4to presents an even greater problem. This arises when Gelgja
is said to be the second daughter and Skondra the third (III:16–17). When
we get to Gribba’s actual advice to the daughters, however, Skondra is the
second to be counselled (III:32–38) and Gelgja is the third (III:39–49). In
this case AM 149 8vo (ff. 13r–13v) shares the confusion found in AM 615
f 4to. This inconsistency found in the two earliest witnesses of the four-
fitt version could lead us to assume that the additional verses found there
in which the daughters are listed is not original: these verses were added
when the three-fitt version was expanded, but a lapse of attention led to
the names of the daughters being inverted from the order in which they
appear in the body of the fitt. Although this is not definitive, it is worth
taking seriously the possibility that the three-fitt version is more original
and that the four-fitt version represents a reworking of Grobbians rímur.
Source and intertextual references
In entertaining the possibility of the three-fitt version’s precedence, we
must reckon with the fact that it would be closest to the foreign source
material, thus a comparison between these two works is in order. Previous
discussions of the source are restricted to the bare statement made by
Finnur Sigmundsson that “mun fyrirmyndin sótt í þýzkt rit, sem prentað
52 The verses which deal with these four sisters are, respectively, III:50–65, IV:10–22,
IV:23–35 and IV:36–40.
GROTESQUE ADVICE