Add MS 4866

BANKS COLLECTION. Vol. X (ff. 107). 'Edda Saemundar Hins Froda', and 'Edda Snorra Sturlusonar'. 'No. 17' according to a note on f. 3b. Extracts from the two works, which are often respectively known as the Elder (or Poetical) Edda, and the Younger (or Prose) Edda; together with commentaries, chiefly by Einar Eyjólfsson; 18th cent. Viz.:-

(1) Essay on the account, given in the Preface (Formáli) of the Prose Edda, of the descendants of Skjöldr (son of Odin), the first King of Denmark (according to the myths of the royal line called Skjöldúngar), with remarks on the application of 'Skjöldúngr' as a general name for king, and on the character of the strophes called 'Skjöldúnga visur', by Björn Jónsson, of Skarðsá, the Annalist (b. 1574, d. 1655). The Prose Edda is here called the Edda of Saemundr the Wise; and to this an allusion is made by Árni Magnússon in his Life of Saemundr (prefixed to the Arna-Magnaean edition of the Poetical Edda):-

'Eddam illam Prosaicam, quae vulgo Snorra-Edda, Saemundo fróda tribuit Biorno de Skardzá in Commentario suo in Aenigmata Gesti Caeci in Heidriks-Saga; 1641 scripto, item eodem modo in Commentario in Skiölldungavisir (carmina de Skiöldungis)'. See Edda Saemundar, Pars i, Copenhagen, 1787, p. xv. For the 'Aenigmata' here mentioned see below, art. 3. ff. 4-7b.

(2) Commentary on 171 of the strophes in Ólafs saga Tryggvasonar (the saga which was enlarged from the Latin work of Gunnlaugr the monk): probably by Einar Eyjólfsson. ff. 7b-53b.

(3) 'Getspeki Heiðrekskonungs'. Riddles of Gestr the Blind and answers of King Heiðrekr, in 66 strophes, with a short prose Introduction; from Hervarar saga. ff. 53b-58.

(4) 'VafÞruðnismál'. Dialogue, on questions of mythical lore, between Odin and the Giant VafÞrúðnir, from the poetical Edda; with a running gloss. ff. 58-63b.

(5) 'Metaphrasis'. A commentary on VafÞrúðnismál. Another copy of VafÞrúðnismál, with the same gloss and followed by the same commentary, occurs in Add. MS. 11173, f. 61; and in the Catalogue written by Finn Magnusen (Add. MS. 11251) the gloss and commentary are attributed to Einar Eyjólfsson. f. 63b-69.

(6) 'Vegtamskviða', or 'Baldrs Draumar': from the Poetical Edda. With a running gloss. This Lay is the original of Gray's Descent of Odin. ff. 69-71.

(7) 'Compendium Commentariorum'. A commentary on Vegtamskviða. ff. 71-72b.

(8) 'Eyjar Heiti'. A list of Norwegian and other islands, followed by figurative names given to the sea as encircling these islands, with four strophes by the Skáld, Einarr Skúlason (12th cent.); the whole being an extract from the second Part of the Prose Edda, called Skáldskaparmál. This appears also as a separate passage in the Laufás Edda (Arna- Magnaean MS. Quarto, 743). See P. A. Munch's note in Annaler for Nordisk Oldkyndighed, Copenhagen, 1846, p. 366. It had been previously printed by Resenius, in Kenningar, under 'Eyar heite'. ff. 72b- 73b.

(9) 'Annar Partr Eddu um Kenningar'. Second Part of the Prose Edda, as arranged by Magnús Ólafsson of Laufás and edited by P. J. Resenius, containing the poetical appellations of the gods, followed by others of every kind in alphabetical order, only omitting 'Eyjar Heiti' (see preceding art.). ff. 73b-1 06b.

(10) 'Ljúflings Ljóð'. Lullaby sung by an elf, 'ljuflingr' (darling) being an ordinary euphemism for an elf. Followed by a few rhymes on the names given in Völuspá to the ages that will precede the end of the world. 'Ljúflings ljóð' has been printed, but from a different version, under the name of 'Ljúflings mál', in the collection of legends by M. Grimsson and Jón Arnason, Íslenzk Aefintyri, Reykjavik, 1852, p. 103. ff. 106b- 107.

Poetry Icelandic: Extracts from the Elder Edda, etc.: 18th cent.

includes:

• ff. 4-7b Björn Jónsson, d 1655 of Skardsá: Essay on the Skjöldungar: 18th cent.: Icelandic.
• ff. 4-7b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: Essay on the Skjöldungar: 18th cent.
• ff. 7b-53b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: Extract of the Saga of King Olafr Tryggvason, with commentary: 18th cent.
• ff. 7b-53b, 58-69 Einar Eyjólfsson, d 1695 Chief justice of north and east Iceland: Commentaries on parts of the Eddas, etc.: 18th cent.: Icelandic.
• ff. 53b-58 Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Getspeki Heidrekskonungs': 18th cent.
• ff. 58, 63b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Vaf_rudnismál', with commentary: 18th cent.
• ff. 69-72b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Vegtamskvida' or 'Baldrs Draumar', with commentary: 18th cent.
• ff. 72b-73b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Eyjar heiti': 18th cent.
• ff. 73b-106b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Annar Partr Eddu um kenningar': 18th cent.
• f. 106b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Ljúflings Ljód': 18th cent.