A newly discovered manuscript of Magnús Ólafsson’s Edda
Private collection, London.
This 8vo manuscript, purchased in Denmark a few years ago, was probably written in Iceland in thelate 18th or early nineteenth century. It is written on paper, apparently by a single hand (with theminor exceptions noted below), in black ink, with some coloured (red and green or blue) decoration
to the lettering of the title page. The binding is certainly more modern; it has marbled boards and acloth spine without any lettering. The binder has cut the bottom of the leaves very close, in a few
cases taking off part of the last line of writing (e.g. on page 142). The spine has become vey dry andbrittle and the volume has suffered from much use. The name written on the front Mlyleaf in adifferent and probably much later hand than the text is difMicult to decipher, but may read‘Þórarinsson’. This un-Icelandic use of the patronymic alone, without the owner’s Mirst name,suggests that this Þórarinsson, who is of course unidentiMiable, had emigrated from Iceland to
Denmark, perhaps in the second half of the 19th century, and had there used his patronymic as asurname in the Danish fashion. If so, this emigrant presumably brought the manuscript from
Iceland to his new home with him.
The title on the title page reads ‘Edda . . . med Vidbætir’, and this corresponds well with the contentsof the volume, which is an interpolated and re-arranged version of Magnús Ólafsson’s Edda with anappendix containing material about Icelandic runes. Magnús Ólafsson’s Edda was itself a rearrangement of Snorra Edda (the Prose or Younger Edda), a treatise on poetry compiled in the Mirst
half of the 13th century by the Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Sturluson. Snorra Edda contained
a Prologue about the origin of Norse religion, Gylfaginning (mythological narratives from theCreation down to Ragnarökkr, the Twilight of the gods), Skáldskaparmál (a discussion of thekennings and heiti, or poetical terms, of Old Norse poetry, including stories explaining the origins ofsome of these),1 and Háttatal, a poem by Snorri Sturluson with commentary in praise of King Hákon
Hákonarson and Earl Skúli in 102 stanzas exemplifying a wide variety of verse forms that could be
used in Old Norse poetry.
Magnús Ólafsson’s Edda was compiled by the Icelandic priest and poet Magnús Ólafsson (c. 1573–
1636) in the early years of the 17th century.2 Magnús later (1622) became minister at Laufás innorthern Iceland, and hence his Edda has come to be referred to as the Laufás Edda. His work
survives in two versions, known as the X version, parts of which survive in his own hand as well as
in three manuscript copies, and the Y version (of which the X version is an abbreviation). Of thelatter we have nothing in Magnús’s hand, though it survives in whole or in part in over 100
manuscripts dating from the 17th to 20th centuries, and more are still turning up from time to time,of which the present version is an example.
Magnús Óláfsson re-arranged Snorri’s text, so that the Prologue was followed by 67‘Dæmisögur’ (mythological narratives from Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál), and then Annarr
Partur (a list in alphabetical order of their signiMications of kennings and heiti based mostly on
Skáldskaparmál, begining with Nöfn Asanna). Háttatal is not included.
Magnús Ólafsson’s Edda was far more popular than Snorri Sturluson’s Edda in post-medieval times;
the latter survives in comparatively few manuscripts, while the former was not only frequently
copied down to modern times (often with many additions and expansions of Magnús’s original),
even after the publication of Resen’s Edda, but also became the basis of several other
1 Snorri Sturluson. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Edited by Anthony Faulkes. London: Viking Society for Northern Research

1998.
2 Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). Edited by Anthony Faulkes. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar 1979.

[Abbreviated EMÓ. References to the Introduction to this volume are to paragraph numbers, those to the texts are to
page numbers.]

rearrangements and adaptations as well as being used as the foundation of the Mirst printed editionof the Prose Edda, that of P. H. Resen (Copenhagen 1665). There exist also translations into Danish
and Latin. It is clear that Magnús’s version was found more useful as a textbook for poets andreaders of Icelandic poems than Snorri’s.
The Contents of the Edda Manuscript
T.p.: ‘Edda. Samanskrifad af Snorra Sturlusÿne á Reikholti. Anno–MCCXV. med Vidbætir.’Rev. of t.p.: Magnús Óláfsson’s preface (EMÓ 189).
Pp. I–XIX: ‘Formáli.’ = Preface II (see EMÓ §§ 29.2, 43, 104, 108, 115, 117, 118, 121, 122, 124, 126,
129, 130, 131, 149, 150, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, [172], 173, 174, 185; p. 463). This preface,which is not by Magnús Ólafsson, is thus found in a wide variety of manuscripts and already existed
in the second half of the 17th century.
Pp. 1–110: ‘Gilfaginning. Firsta Dæmisaga–XLVII. Dæmisaga’ = Dæmisögur 1–49, EMÓ 189–233 (Yversion). Dæmisaga 11 is rather garbled, possibly some words inserted not in EMÓ from anothersource with a text more similar to that of the Codex Regius. Some words added in the last sentence
similar to the text of the Codex Regius. A sentence is added at end of Dæmisaga 18. Addition at theend of Dæmisaga 21. Dæmisaga 33 (unnumbered) is after Dæmisaga 34 (numbered 33), thenDæmisaga 35 (unnumbered). Dæmisaga 36, 37, 38, 39 etc are numbered 34, 35, 36, 37 etc. (to theend of Gylfaginning). Various small items omitted and some interpolated, probably mostly scribal
additions or comments, but some words from the Codex Regius omitted by Magnús Ólafsson are
included, cf. EMÓ § 43. At the end of Gylfaginning, where X1 has ‘Hier til Härslye, Bragarædr fylga
eptir’ (EMÓ 234) is written: ‘Hér endar Hars-lýgi, Minst ok getiþ, at þar haMi GilMi heirt þulin Háva-mál
sem annarstaðar standa i frædi’. Cf. Thott 1494 4to, EMÓ § 45.
Pp. 110–147: ‘Braga=rædr. (: edr Braga-lýgi:). XLVIII Dæmisaga–LX Dæmisaga’ = Dæmisögur 50–62,
EMÓ 234–246 (Y version). Again, some minor additions, often comments at the end of stories.
Pp. 147–181: ‘Vidbætir edr vidrauki nokkra Frásagna. LXI Dæmisaga–LXV. Dæmisaga’ = ‘Vidur auki
nockra fräsagna’, Dæmisögur 63–67 in the X version manuscript Thott 1494 4to (the story ofOtrgjöld and the Gjúkungar, Skáldskaparmál 45/3–50/21, derived ultimately from the Codex Regius
but omitted from Magnús’s original Edda as they were from Magnús’s main source, Codex
Wormianus (cf. EMÓ 249/13–17, 250 line 21–251 line 5 and § 43) and also interpolated in Sth.
Papp 4to nr 10, another manuscript of the X version, and Resen’s edition, Dæmisögur 68–78).
Added at the end is ‘Hedann kennist grjót grand Sörla og Hamdijs enn hlifar þeirra herklædi og
annad soddan’, cf. EMÓ 251 line 5. This is followed by ‘LXVI Dæmisaga Hvi Gull kallast Fródamjöl’ =EMÓ Dæmisaga 66, ‘vm Fröda Feniu og Meniu’ (text again corresponding to Thott 1494 4to, not to
the Y version; also not in the original Codex Wormianus); ‘LXVII. dæmisaga Hvi gull er kallat Kraka
sád’ = EMÓ Dæmisögur 63 ‘AP(OLOGUS) vm ägæti Hrölfs kraka’ and 64 ‘APOL(OGUS) Wm fræknleik
Hrölfs kraka’; ‘LXVIII. Dæmisaga, vm Holga kóng’ = EMÓ Dæmisaga 65; and ‘LXIX. Dæmisaga, um
Högna og Hildi dóttr hans’ = EMÓ Dæmisaga 67. At the end of this last Dæmisaga in this section,
there is an additional passage also found in Thott 1494 4to, cf. EMÓ 250, note to line 20. But thepassages ‘Vm Erp Sorla og Hamder’, EMÓ 250–251 (see above), ‘Epilogus partis. prioris,’ EMÓ 251
and ‘Þoku menn’, EMÓ 252 (derived from the Fourth Grammatical Treatise) are omitted. The orderof the narratives in this part of the manuscript is thus very similar to that of the Codex Regius, anddifferent from that of EMÓ (and Resen’s Edda).
P. 181: ‘Sidari partur Snorra Eddu um Kenningarnar’ = ‘Annar partur Eddu vmm kiennyngar’, EMÓ
328 (Y version).
Pp. 181–182: Preface to Annar partur = EMÓ 328.
P. 182: ‘Nöfn Asanna’ = EMÓ 328.
Pp. 182–188: ‘Nöfn-Óðins’ = ‘Nofn Odinz’ (omitting lines 55, 60–68, 80–84, 91–110), EMÓ 328–332.

Pp. 188: ‘Synir=Ódíns’ = EMÓ 332.
Pp. 188–189: ‘Þór heitir í kenningum’ = EMÓ 332 ‘Þor heiter ad kiennyngu’ (some names omitted).
P. 189–196: ‘Baldr. kiennist’; ‘Njördr’; ‘Freyr’; ‘Heimdallr’ (here is added ‘Heimdallarhöfut –mjótuðs’, cf. Skáldskaparmál 19/11–13); ‘Tyr’; ‘Bragi’; ‘Vidar’; ‘Vali’, ‘Hauður’; ‘Ullr; ‘Hænir’; ‘Loki’;‘Merk’; ‘Nöfn Asynja’ (expanded from þulur in Skáldskaparmál 114–115, cf. EMÓ §111); ‘Höfud
Asinjur kennast svo’; ‘Frigg’; ‘Freya’ (expanded with a couplet attributed to Arnórr, ‘Sæll er syr
hallar. Seida brynreiðar’, see EMÓ § 117; this too corresponds to AM 742 4to); ‘Sif’; ‘Jdun’;‘Regla’ (added: ‘merk: til allra qvenna ásanna skal konur kenna.’) = EMÓ 333–337.
Pp. 196–217: ‘Nú eptir Milgja Heiti og Kenningar ymislegra hluta eptir Stafrofs-ordu. Ar-heiti’;‘Arvatn heitir’ (omits lines 12–14); ‘Arnar=heiti’; ‘Boga heiti’; ‘Bjarnar=heiti’; ‘Brynja=heitir’;‘Dverga. Kènníngar’; ‘Dags=Kènníngar’; ‘Díra=heiti’ (attribution of Minal stanza to Haustlöng [96]added, together with four extra lines, ‘Hveða skal hróðr fyrir hriðar | hræblaksindum særar. | drikkr
var durnis rekkum | dókkr ljósari nókkvi.’); ‘Daggar og drifu keningar’; ‘Eya heiti’; ‘Elds-kenningar’;‘Fugla=kenningar’; ‘Fiska heiti nokkor’; ‘Fót má kalla’ (verse attributed to Eyjólfr Brúnason added,
cf. X2, EMÓ 269–270); ‘Gras kallast’ (reference to Arnórr jarlaskáld added, cf. *X4, EMÓ 272 n.);‘Gata=heitir’ (added: ‘jardar og hennar heiti’); ‘Geit kallast’; ‘Gölltr-heitir’; ‘Gullsheiti og
kenníngar’ (at EMÓ 346 line 19 adds ‘Grátr dalneidar látra’, cf. Skáldskaparmál verse 145/4; omitsline 21; at EMÓ 346 line 27 adds Eigill’s verse, ‘Gladdist Mlotna Mjöl’, cf. Skáldskaparmál v. 184; atEMÓ 349 line 108 adds ‘Riett er at kalla gulls at handar sæfar og ása’; and there are various
occasional omissions and minor additions throughout) = EMÓ 337–349.
Pp. 218–235: ‘Himins kènníngar’; ‘Herklæði’ (here there are some additions similar to
Skáldskparmál 67/17–69/14; cf. also ‘Skjöldr heitir’, pp. 315–317, EMÓ 396–397); ‘Hjálmr=heitir’;‘HvalMiska nöfn nokkr’ (with additions corresponding to Skáldskaparmál 63/9–10 and 13–14; cf. pp.
280–281, EMÓ 378, ‘Kuenna heite’ 122–127); ‘Hrafna=heiti’; ‘Hesta-heiti’ (2 lines, ‘tvenna Mjóra |tród sá fætur’, added at the end of Kálfs-vísur, cf. EMÓ § 111); ‘Höfuðs=kenningar’ (some minor
additions); ‘Auga’ (here two quotations from Kormákr’s verse added, as in X4; cf. EMÓ 276, note toline 11); ‘Brár’; ‘Grát’; ‘Eyru’ (with a brief addition corresponding to Skáldskaparmál 108/14);‘Munnr’ (4 words added at end); ‘Tunga’; ‘Nef’; ‘Skegg’; Tennr’ (4 words added at end); ‘Hár’ (somewords added, EMÓ 356 lines 70–72 omitted); ‘Hjarta’ (last 2 lines replaced by ‘og sæ nu land og lád’,cf. ‘Brjóst’ below); ‘Hugr’ (added at end: ‘edr ein hvörs fugls heitis til Ódins kenningar’);‘Brjóst’ (transposed from ‘Hjarta’ above); ‘Hönd-kallast’ (order changed and some expansion);‘Hundr heitir’ (4 words inserted at beginning and some elsewhere); ‘Húd uxa’; ‘Hríngr’; ‘Hús’ (3words inserted at beginning; Mirst couplet in Minal verse omitted, cf. EMÓ 280 note to line 7; and EMÓ
358 line 18 also omitted); ‘Hrútr–heitir’; ‘Hafr heitir’ = EMÓ 349–358.
EMÓ 358 ‘Js heite kiennist’ omitted.
Pp. 235–284: ‘Jørd-heitir’; ‘Jötna-heiti’ (names put into alphabetical order, some added); ‘Kónga
heiti og Kenningar’ (couplet added from Skáldskaparmál 101/5–7 before Minal sentence); ‘Uppruni
nokkra Kónga–heita’ (‘hinn gamli’ added in Mirst line; some additions in the list of the second ninesons of Halfdan; Skáldskaparmál 104/20 inserted after EMÓ 362 line 2; in EMÓ 362 line 41 afurther deMinition of skattkonungar is given; the last line of this article omitted, as in AM 743 4to);‘Kristr’; ‘Kallmanna–Kènníngar’ (etymologies of skáld and greppr inserted; EMÓ 366 lines 10–11
expanded, and a reference to Fossverjar in Víglundar saga is included; addition (‘Skeggjar’) at EMÓ
367 line 22; various other changes and additions in these lists, e.g. at EMÓ 372 line 1); ‘Kvenna heiti
og kenningar’ (EMÓ 374 lines 7–10 are here more like Skáldskaparmál 107/29–33 and there aresome items added or changed in this passage; Items added after EMÓ 375/37, 376/66); ‘Kilfa er
kend i þessari visu’; ‘Kúa-heití’ (expansion at the end) = EMÓ 358–380.
Pp. 284–317: ‘Læti og um þær kenningar’; ‘Lif’; ‘Leggja-heiti’ (two verse quotations added, one
attributed to Bjarni and also in AM 742 4to, see Jón Helgason 1966, 178–179,3 and one to Sturla
3 Jón Helgason, ‘Verse aus der Laufás-Edda’, Festschrift Walther Baetke (Weimar 1966, pp. 175–180).

Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 35/1–4); ‘Logns-heiti’; ‘Mál-heitir’, ‘Nótt-heitir’ (3 additional terms
inserted after verse); ‘Naut-heitir’; ‘Orusta-heitir’; ‘Øxa-heiti og kenningar’; ‘Orma-heiti’ (someadditions at the end); ‘Ørfa-heiti’; ‘Sólar-heiti og kenníngar’ (2 words added before Mirst verse; EMÓ386 lines 25–28 omitted); ‘Sækónga-heiti’ (some names omitted); ‘Sjóar heiti og
Kenníngar’ (additions after EMÓ 387/4; order of material changed in some places; verses added atend, see Skáldskaparmál 38/16–29, 63/9–10, 14, including a verse attributed to Þórðr Særeksson
otherwise only known from AM 742 4to, see EMÓ § 111 and footnote on p. 107); ‘Sauðar-heiti’;‘Svín-heitir’; ‘Sverdaheite og kenníngar’ (the list of names put into alphabetical order and some
added; EMÓ 391 line 22 ‘sem Kormakur quad’ omitted, replaced by ‘máni Valhallar og Ódins’;
several names for spear added after EMÓ 391 line 25, cf. Skáldskaparmál verse 464); ‘Sárheitir’ (with addition of last line of Fóstbrœðra saga verse 40 (Íslensk fornrit VI 275) and a couplet
attributed to Skáld-Helgi, ‘megut járn ei fet fyrnast’, cf. EMÓ § 111); ‘Sumar kennist’; ‘Skógarheiti’ (the names put into alphabetical order); ‘Skipa-heiti’ (inserted at the beginning is the list of
ship-names from the end of the article in EMÓ 395 in alphabetical order, followed by‘Græðisvagn’ (EMÓ 395, line 81) and a little further on ‘geitis mar’ from Skáldskaparmál 74/14, also
added in AM 743 4to, see note to EMÓ 392 line 3 on p. 393, while the reference to HornkloMi isomitted); ‘Skáldskapr-heitir’ (preceded by a list of simplex terms for poetry, cf. Skáldskaparmál
83/14–15, and some other additions, in some cases perhaps arising from misunderstandings andmuddled re-ordering); ‘Skjöldr heitir’ (some shortening and paraphrase of EMÓ 397, lines 20–30,
and some omissions; ‘hallarþak Ódins’ inserted) = EMÓ 380–397.
EMÓ 397–398 ‘Spiota heite og kiennyngar’ omitted.
Pp. 317–326 ‘Steirn-heitir’ (‘borg og bær’ added before ‘dverga’ line 6; omits the verse attributed toÞjóðólfr and the reference to Arnórr in EMÓ 398, line 22, as well as EMÓ 399, line 27, which is
replaced by ‘etc:’, but adds ‘Fjörgýnjar hjarta’ at the end like AM 743 4to, cf. EMÓ 399, note to line27); ‘Trøllkvenna-heiti’ (omitting EMÓ 399 line 2; 63 names (plus 3 added) put into alphabeticalorder; at the end is added ‘hingad er hugr kendr og ögxer’, cf. EMÓ 356, ‘Hugur’ line 6, and 384 ‘Øxa
heite’ line 7 = p. 231 and 290, Skáldskaparmál 108/28 and 67/25); ‘Vopna-heiti’ (a list of 9 words
for kinds of weapons inserted at beginning; EMÓ 400 last 8 words of lines 3–4 omitted; some words
inserted, e.g. ‘þvi þau smjúga’ after ‘orma’, at EMÓ 400, line 5; plus a reference to Guttormr skáld for‘balla spjót’ and at the end ‘knifurin er kalladr vargr, eda jötun Magaskógsins’); ‘Vetr heitir i
Kènníngum’ (omits ‘þui þad heiter ørmur’ at EMÓ 400, ‘Vetur heiter j kienningum’ line 3; inserts
before Ásgrímr’s verse st. 83/1–2 and 5–6 of Snorri Sturluson’s Háttatal, attributed to ‘Snorri
lögmaðr’); ‘Vindr-heitir’ (some words for wind inserted at the beginning and some kennings
towards the end); ‘Vidr-heitir’ (adds ‘item má hann kalla jardar þöngla’ and Ynglinga saga, Íslensk
fornrit XXVI 61, verse 22/9–12 and Njála, Íslensk fornrit XII 354, verse 17/3–4; both verses also in
AM 742 4to, see EMÓ § 111); ‘Vargr-heitir’; ‘Vit heitir’ (some words omitted); ‘Undirhiggja-heitir’;‘Uxi-heitir’ (some words omitted, some added; expansion of last 4 words in EMÓ 402 withreferences to Haustlöng 5 and an unknown verse of Skúli Þorsteinsson, cf. EMÓ 279, note to ‘Hvd’
and Jón Helgason 1966, 179; and a list of further kennings is added); ‘Þáng og þari kènnist’ (further
kennings added) = EMÓ 398–402.
P. 326 ‘Endir’ = EMÓ 402 ‘Finis Eddæ’.
P. 327 ‘Stuttr Vidbætir Eddu. Innihald. 1. Innihald Eddu. 2. Rúnir. 3. Bundnar málrunir. 4. Þyding
málruna.’
Pp. 328–338 ‘Innihald Eddu.’ Comprises headings and page numbers of the whole contents of thevolume.
Pp. 338–340: ‘Rúnir. 1. Málrúnir blasnar og stúngnar’, ‘2. Adal Rúnir’, ‘3. Torkenníngar’, ‘4. Alfarún’, ‘5Óbreittar málrúnir’. Lists Mive runic alphabets. (On no. 3 cf. http://www.sunnyway.com/
GaldrastaMir/runiru.htm. On late runic alphabets in general, see http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/
get/diva2:381128/FULLTEXT01.)
Pp. 340–341: ‘Bundnar Málrúnir og þyding þeirra.’Pp. 341–349: ‘Þídíngin’ (cf. Lbs 1116 4to, ff. 200v–202r, http://handrit.is/is/manuscript/imaging/
is/Lbs04-1116/200v-202r#0200v).
At the end of the text of p. 349 (the end of the manuscript) a later hand has written ‘Hart’ (?)(perhaps a pen trial).
Evaluation
A great deal of the manuscript corresponds not to the Y version of Magnús Óláfsson’s Edda, but tothe X version manuscript Thott 1494 4to, or to AM 742 4to,4 as well as in some cases to the Codex
Regius of Snorra Edda. No evidence has been found of the inMluence of Resen’s Edda. On the other
hand there is also a quite large number of scribal additions and changes (re-ordering, paraphrase,
explanatory phrases, expansions).
Many items in Annar partur are confused or corrupt, and many kennings misunderstood. But there
is also much conscious re-ordering and re-arrangement, and there are additions from other sources
or scribal expansions. The scribe, or perhaps one of his predecessors, has not only made a
conscientious copy of his exemplar, with very little shortening, but has also added to the material in
it and become engaged with his work, so that many of his changes are positive ‘improvements’.
So although this late manuscript contains very little that is not found in earlier manuscripts, andprobably preserves very little in the way of superior readings to those found elsewhere, it may beunique in its combination of what is basically the longer (Y) version of Magnús Ólafsson’s Edda withitems from the shorter (X) version and other recensions such as that in AM 742 4to, which may
have been made by the well-known scholar Björn Jónsson of Skarðsá (1574–1655) in the Mirst halfof the seventeenth century; and also with elements going back to the Codex Regius of Snorra Edda
(probably via one of the copies made of this before it left Iceland in 1662). It bears witness to thecontinuing intelligent interest in Norse skaldic poetry into the nineteenth century, and if the above
guess that it was taken from Iceland by an emigrant to Denmark in the nineteenth century iscorrect, it also shows that some such emigrants wished to preserve the memory of the culture of
their land of origin in their new homeland, even the more esoteric and difMicult aspects of its early
culture that had been brought to Iceland from Norway in the early Middle Ages.
Anthony Faulkes
August 2013

4 There may be some similarity too with MS Island. 6 in University College London (see EMÓ § 117), which I have notrecently had an opportunity to see.