Flateyjarbók

See Vrbo.com slash trust for details.

INTRODUCTION the wineland history of the flatey book the flatey book is the most extensive and most perfect of icelandic manuscripts it is in itself a comprehensive historical library of the era with which it deals in so considerable are its contents that they fill upwards of seventeen hundred large octavo pages of printed text on the title-page of the manuscript we are informed that it belonged originally to john hawkinson for whom it was written by the priests john tordson and magnus torhalsson we have no information concerning the date when the book was commenced by john tordson but the most important portion of the work appears to have been completed in the year thirteen eighty seven although additions were made to the body of the work by one of the original scribes and the annals appended to the books brought them down to the year thirteen ninety four toward the close of the fifteenth century the then owner of the book whose name is unknown inserted three quaternions of additional historical matter in the manuscript to fill a hiatus in the historical sequence of the work not however in that part of the manuscript which treats of wineland it has been conjectured that the manuscript was written in the north of iceland but according to the editors of the printed text the facts are that the manuscript was owned in the west of iceland as far back as we possess any knowledge of it and there is no positive evidence where it was written we have indeed no further particulars concerning the manuscript before the seventeenth century when we find that it was in the possession of john finson who dwelt in flatey in bradyfirth as had his father and his father's father before him that the book had been a family heirloom is evident from an entry made in the manuscript by the same john finson this book i john finson own the gift of my deceased father's father john bjarnson c from john finson the book descended to his nephew john torfassen from whom that worthy bibliophile bishop breniolf of skalholt sought in vain to purchase it as is related in an anecdote in the bishop's biography farmer john of flatey son of the rev torfi finsson owned a large and massive parchment book in ancient manacal writing containing sagas of the kings of norway and many others and it is therefore calmly called flatey book This, Bishop Brynjolf endeavored to purchase, first for money, and then for five hundreds of land.

But he nevertheless failed to obtain it.

However, when John bore him company as he was leaving the island, he presented him the book.

And it is said that the bishop rewarded him liberally for it.

the flatey book was among a collection of vellum manuscripts entrusted to the care of tormod torfaius in sixteen sixty two as a present from bishop bryniulf to king frederick the third of denmark and thus luckily escaped the fate of others of the bishop's literary treasures in the royal library of copenhagen it has ever since remained where it is known as number one thousand five folio of the old royal collection interpolated in the saga of olaf tryggvason in the flatey book are two minor historical narratives the first of these in the order in which they appear in the manuscript is called a short story of eric the red the second a short story of the greenlanders although these short histories are not connected in any way in the manuscript being indeed separated by over fifty columns of extraneous historical matter they form if brought together what may be called the floddy book version of history of the wine-land discovery a version which varies materially from the accounts of the discovery as they have been preserved elsewhere before considering these points of difference it may be stated that as we have no certain knowledge where the flatey book was written neither have we any definite information concerning the original material from which the transcripts of these two narratives were made the original manuscripts of these narratives would appear to have shared a common fate with the other original forms from which the scribes of the flatey book compiled their work all of this vast congeries of early manuscripts has entirely disappeared.

This is the conclusion reached by that eminent authority, the late Dr. Vigfusen, whose profound knowledge of the written literature of the North was supplemented in the present instance by that close acquaintance which he had gained with the Flottie book, by reason of his having transcribed the entire manuscript for publication.

this total disappearance of all trace of the archetypes of the flatey book although it is by no means the only case of the kind in the history of icelandic paleography is especially to be deplored in connection with the wine-land narrative since it leaves us without a clue which might aid us in arriving at a solution of certain enigmas which this narrative presents in the flaughty book version of the discovery it is stated that biarni herjulfsson during a voyage from iceland to greenland having been driven to the southward out of his course came upon unknown lands that following upon this and as the direct result of biarni's reports of his discoveries leif ericsson was moved to go in search of the strange lands which biarni had seen but not explored that he found these in due course first that land which biarni had seen last and finally the southernmost land to which after its products he gave the name of wineland This account differs entirely from the history contained in the other manuscripts which deal with this subject, all of which agree in describing the discovery to Leif Erikson, and unite in the statement that he found Wineland accidentally during a voyage from Norway to Greenland, which he had undertaken at the instance of King Olaf Tryggvason for the purpose of introducing Christianity to his fellow countrymen in Greenland.

While therefore it is altogether probable that this voyage was made after the year 1003, it does not appear to be possible, for the reasons presented, that it could have taken place before that year.

Problems suggested by the text of another version of the history of the discovery and exploration, namely that contained in the Flatey Book, are considered elsewhere, as are also points of difference between that narrative and the history as set forth in the Saga of Eric the Red.

It remains to be said that the text of this saga does not present such difficulties as those which are suggested by a critical examination of the narrative of the Flatey Book.

This version of the history of the discovery does contain, however, one statement which is not altogether intelligible, and which is not susceptible of very satisfactory explanation, namely that there came no snow in the land which the Wineland explorers had found.

This assertion does not agree with our present knowledge of the winter climate of the eastern coast of that portion of North America situated within the latitude which was probably reached by the explorers.

For more information, visit jameshardy.com slash hardybacker.

INTRODUCTION the wineland history of the flatey book the flatey book is the most extensive and most perfect of icelandic manuscripts it is in itself a comprehensive historical library of the era with which it deals in so considerable are its contents that they fill upwards of seventeen hundred large octavo pages of printed text on the title-page of the manuscript we are informed that it belonged originally to john hawkinson for whom it was written by the priests john tordson and magnus thorhalsson we have no information concerning the date when the book was commenced by john tordson but the most important portion of the work appears to have been completed in the year thirteen eighty seven although additions were made to the body of the work by one of the original scribes and the annals appended to the books brought them down to the year thirteen ninety four toward the close of the fifteenth century the then owner of the book whose name is unknown inserted three quaternions of additional historical matter in the manuscript to fill a hiatus in the historical sequence of the work not however in that part of the manuscript which treats of wineland it has been conjectured that the manuscript was written in the north of iceland but according to the editors of the printed text the facts are that the manuscript was owned in the west of iceland as far back as we possess any knowledge of it and there is no positive evidence where it was written we have indeed no further particulars concerning the manuscript before the seventeenth century when we find that it was in the possession of john finson who dwelt in flatey in bradyfirth as had his father and his father's father before him that the book had been a family heirloom is evident from an entry made in the manuscript by the same john finson this book i john finson own the gift of my deceased father's father john bjarnson c from john finson the book descended to his nephew john torfassen from whom that worthy bibliophile bishop breniolf of skalholt sought in vain to purchase it as is related in an anecdote in the bishop's biography farmer john of flatey son of the rev torfi finsson owned a large and massive parchment book in ancient manacal writing containing sagas of the kings of norway and many others and it is therefore calmly called flatey book This, Bishop Brynjolf endeavored to purchase, first for money, and then for five hundreds of land.

But he nevertheless failed to obtain it.

However, when John bore him company as he was leaving the island, he presented him the book.

And it is said that the bishop rewarded him liberally for it.

the flahti book was among a collection of vellum manuscripts entrusted to the care of tormod torfaius in sixteen sixty two as a present from bishop bryniulf to king frederick the third of denmark and thus luckily escaped the fate of others of the bishop's literary treasures in the royal library of copenhagen it has ever since remained where it is known as number one thousand five folio of the old royal collection interpolated in the saga of olaf tryggvason in the flatey book are two minor historical narratives the first of these in the order in which they appear in the manuscript is called a short story of eric the red the second a short story of the greenlanders although these short histories are not connected in any way in the manuscript being indeed separated by over fifty columns of extraneous historical matter they form if brought together what may be called the floddy book version of history of the wine-land discovery a version which varies materially from the accounts of the discovery as they have been preserved elsewhere before considering these points of difference it may be stated that as we have no certain knowledge where the flatey book was written neither have we any definite information concerning the original material from which the transcripts of these two narratives were made the original manuscripts of these narratives would appear to have shared a common fate with the other original forms from which the scribes of the flatey book compiled their work all of this vast congeries of early manuscripts has entirely disappeared.

This is the conclusion reached by that eminent authority, the late Dr. Vigfusen, whose profound knowledge of the written literature of the North was supplemented in the present instance by that close acquaintance which he had gained with the Flottie book by reason of his having transcribed the entire manuscript for publication.

This total disappearance of all trace of the archetypes of the Flottie book, although it is by no means the only case of the kind in the history of Icelandic paleography, is especially to be deplored in connection with the Wineland narrative, since it leaves us without a clue which might aid us in arriving at a solution of certain enigmas which this narrative presents.