The Manuscripts of Iceland

by Gísli Sigurðsson, Vésteinn Ólason (Editor)

A comprehensive and profusely illustrated accompaniment to the exhibition The Manuscripts of Iceland, which was organised by the Arni Magnusson Institute and opened in the Culture House in Reykjavik on October 5, 2002. In this collection of articles scholars present the story of Icelandic manuscripts, their medieval origins, the literature they contain and its influence up to the present day. The meeting of written Christian and classical culture with the rich oral traditions in Iceland brought forth a remarkable literary flowering, an eloquent source of information about pagan Scandinavian culture and thought. In time this literature came to inspire the sense of national character in the Nordic countries and exerted notable influence in the German- and English- speaking worlds. This book is a tribute to the central role that medieval Icelandic literature played in forging national identities in Northern Europe.

195 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

Reviews

[Meike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manuscript collection is basically ten Mona Lisas, artist and writer Jón Gnarr explained to our podcast crew when we met at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík. Denmark, the colonial power, had long held the national treasure captive, storing historical documents containing sagas and eddas in Copenhagen, until finally, in 1971 (so more than 25 years after Icelandic independence), large parts of the collection were brought home. These texts are a huge part of Iceland's national identity, contemporary authors like Sjón, Jón Kalman Stefánsson, and Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir strongly rely on their shared cultural foundation.

The editor Gísli Sigurðsson, a research professor at the University of Iceland and specialist on medieval literature, gave us an interview and had the most interesting stories to tell about the role these documents have played and continue to play. In The Manuscripts of Iceland, he and his colleagues have assembled foundational scientific texts on the production and reception of the manuscripts first collected by scholar Árni Magnússon, including a chapter on absurd "Germanic" takes (a.k.a. the Nazis, Richard Wagner, etc. pp).

You can listen to our special episode on Icelandic literature, feat. Gísli Sigurðsson, Jón Gnarr and Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, here (in German with English soundbites).

Btw: The manuscripts are currently getting a new museum, which is set to open in the summer!

[Clouds · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be clear - I have not actually read this book.
I am using this as a placeholder for an unpublished manuscript (Black Hand) that I beta read.

[Anna C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an expensive book. As in, the book itself was $35, but while trying to get this book I bumped our rental car against a pole on the narrow Reykjavik streets, and that dent ended up costing way more than $35.

So since I spent so much money on this (and because the Reykjavik Culture House didn't have nearly as many manuscripts on display as I'd been led to believe) I felt obligated to pore over this collection guide with so much attention you'd think I was its copy-editor. So I've read all the academic essays on different facets of Icelandic manuscript culture, and I've also used it as a scribal workbook and filled 10 sheets with calligraphy copied from this book.

Overall it's a nice book. Worth $35 if the proceeds go directly to aiding conservation. Not worth a dented rental car under any circumstances. Would have gotten the full five stars if there had been more full-page photos of manuscripts in the Arni Magnusson collection.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to know about the physical manuscripts of Iceland this is the book to read. You will learn about the vellum and the ink and the history of these books. The last few essays tell of their immense influence on the modern world. The essays are a little on the dry side. On a positive note the photographs of these relicts are spectacular.