AM 227 fol.
AM 227 fol. is a fourteenth century Icelandic illuminated manuscript.[1] It contains a version of Stjórn, an Old Norse biblical compilation, and is one of three independent witnesses to this work.[2] It is lavishly illustrated and is one of the most impressive manuscripts collected by Árni Magnússon.[3]
Description and history
The codex now measures 35x27 cm but was originally larger, having been trimmed, probably during the late seventeenth century when it was bound.[4] In its current form the manuscript has 128 leaves, but may originally have comprised 150.[3] Five leaves of the manuscript were obtained by Árni Magnússon after he had collected the codex itself.[4] Árni Magnússon received the codex Bishop Jón Víldalín in 1699; it had previously belonged to Skálholt Cathedral.[5] AM 227 fol. was at Skálholt in 1588 and is likely to be the 'Bible in Icelandic' mentioned in an inventory of 1548.[6]
Strjórn exists in three parts. Only AM 226 fol. contains all three but originally contained parts I and III, with part II added in the fifteenth century. AM 227 fol. contains Stjórn I and III. However, the last leaf of gathering 10 and the first of gathering 11 were left blank. This gap may have been left for Stjórn II.[7]
Scribes and illuminator
The manuscript was written by two scribes, known as A and B. These scribes also produced another Stjórn text, AM 229 fol.[3] They also appear together in AM 657 a-b (which includes Klári saga).[3] Hand B is also represented in the Stjórn fragment NRA 60A and copied part of Rómverja saga in AM 595 a-b 4to.[3][8] Hand A is best known from Codex Wormianus (AM 242 fol.) but also worked on AM 127 4to (Jónsbók), GKS 3269 a 4to (Jónsbók), AM 162 a fol β (Egils saga), AM 240 fol IV (Maríu saga), AM 667 4to IX (Jóns saga baptista), NRA 62 (Karlamagnús saga) and AM 554 40, fols. 20r-21r (Völuspá in Hauksbók).[9]
The manuscript was illuminated by the main illustrator from Þingeyrar, who was also responsible for the earliest part of Teiknibók.[10] The iconographic imagery of the Þingeyrar manuscripts Teiknibók, AM 227 fol. and AM 249 e fol. shows influence from fourteenth century East Anglian manuscript illustration.[11]
References
- ^ "Stjórn | Manuscript | Handrit.is". handrit.is. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
- ^ Benediktsson, Jakob (2004). "Some Observations on Stjórn and the Manuscript AM 227 fol". Gripla. 15: 43.
- ^ a b c d e Bernharðsson, Haraldur (2015). "Stjórn, the Old Testament in Old Norse". In Driscoll, Matthew James; Óskarsdóttir, Svanhildur (eds.). 66 Manuscripts from the Arnamagnæan Collection. Copenhagen and Reykjavík: The Arnamagnaean Institute, Department of Nordic Research, University of Copenhagen; The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies; Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen. p. 158. ISBN 978-87-635-4264-7.
- ^ a b Benediktsson, Jakob (2004). "Some Observations on Stjórn and the Manuscript AM 227 fol". Gripla. 15: 8.
- ^ Benediktsson, Jakob (2004). "Some Observations on Stjórn and the Manuscript AM 227 fol". Gripla. 15: 11.
- ^ Benediktsson, Jakob (2004). "Some Observations on Stjórn and the Manuscript AM 227 fol". Gripla. 15: 12.
- ^ Benediktsson, Jakob (2004). "Some Observations on Stjórn and the Manuscript AM 227 fol". Gripla. 15: 24.
- ^ Benediktsson, Jakob (2004). "Some Observations on Stjórn and the Manuscript AM 227 fol". Gripla. 15: 16.
- ^ Benediktsson, Jakob (2004). "Some Observations on Stjórn and the Manuscript AM 227 fol". Gripla. 15: 17.
- ^ Drechsler, Stefan Andreas (2017). Making Manuscripts at Helgafell in the Fourteenth Century. University of Aberdeen (unpublished PhD thesis). p. 43.
- ^ Drechsler, Stefan Andreas (2017). Making Manuscripts at Helgafell in the Fourteenth Century. University of Aberdeen (unpublished PhD thesis). p. 227.