Add MS 4869

BANKS COLLECTION. Vol. XIII (ff. i + 235). Book of Sagas, copied in 1679-1680 by Jón Thórðarson for Magnús Jónsson of Vigr, containingone historical and four romantic sagas. 'No. 34' according to a note on f. i. Viz.:-

(1) 'Trójumanna Saga'. Story of the Trojans, telling how the mighty town of Troy is won and taken by the Greeks. A translation of the Danish work, Bellum Trojanum, historiske Beskrivelse om den trojanske krig, udsaet paa Danske af Christopher Sivendsøn Glimagrio, Copenhagen, 1623. See Rasmus Nyerup, Almindelig Morskabslaesning, Copenhagen, 1816, pp. 32-39, for an account of this work, which is an abridgement of the Historia destructionis Troiae by Guido delle Colonne. ff. 2-66.

(2) 'Sagann af Maguse Jarle og Þeim Asmunda sonumm': in two parts, the first containing 25 and the second 27 chapters. A romance compounded of the Quatre fils Aymon and other stories, under a name

derived from Maugis d'Aigremont. Part 1 tells how the wife of the Emperor of Saxland bears him a son, and then introduces Amunde, his four sons and Magus. Part 2 begins with an account of King Heinrekur of England and his son Laais. The adventures of Vilhialmur, son of Laais and pupil of Magus, follow, together with those of Gyrarð, son of Vilhialmur. The story concludes with the adventures of Vilhialmur, son of Gyrarð. This saga was edited by Gunnlaugr Thórðarson, in 79 chapters, under the title of Bragða-Mágús Saga, Copenhagen, 1858, but some of the names in the printed edition differ from those in the present manuscript. Part 1 agrees more closely with the Magus Saga Jarls, in 22 chapters, ed. G. Cederschiöld, in Fornsögur Suðrlanda, published in Acta Universitatis Lundensis, xiii, Lund, 1876-1877. ff. 67-101 b.

(3) 'Orkneyinga Þáttur': in 113 chapters. History of the Earls of Orkney from Thorfinnr Sigurðarsson to the accession of Jón Haraldsson, ending with a chapter on the burning of Bishop Adam in Caithness. Printed at Copenhagen in 1780 in Orkneyinga Saga, ed. Jón Jónsson, and again at Oslo in 1862 as a Þáttr of the Saga of King Ólafr the Saint in Flateyjarbók, ii, pp. 404-530. It is divided differently from the copy in Flateyjarbók, and does not contain the verses entitled 'Noreghs Kon(un)ga Tal' (see Flateyjarbók, ii, pp. 520-528). At the end of chapter 36 (f. 117) is a note, written in a later hand, mentioning the date (1110) assigned to the death of Earl Magnús the Saint by Thormóðr Torfason in his Orcades, Copenhagen, 1697. ff. 102-160.

(4) 'Sagann af Octaviano Keysara': in 54 chapters. Story of the Emperor Octavianus of Rome, telling of the adventures of his queen and of their two sons, Floris and Leo. This is a version of the French romance, 'L'histoire de Florent et Lyon'. See J. G. T. Grässe, Lehrbuch einer Literärgeschichte der berühmtesten Völker des Mittelalters, iii, Dresden and Leipzig, 1842, pp. 279-281. ff. 161-205b.

(5) 'Addonius Saga': in 75 chapters. The story tells how Marcilius, King of Syria, intrigues with the daughter of his vassal, Constantius, Duke of Damascus, and how at the same time Constantius is intriguing with the Queen of Syria. Addonius is the offspring of the first intrigue and Constantius the Younger the offspring of the second. The story then describes how Constantius the Elder kills Marcillus and marries the Queen, after which his daughter flees with Addonius to Spain. The rest of the story is occupied with the endeavours of Constantius to recover his grandson, Addonius, followed by the triumph of Addonius and his reconciliation with the younger Constantius. ff. 206-235b.

Jón Thórdarson: Copied: in 1679-1680.

Magnús Jónsson, of Vigr: Collections of sagas made for: 1667-1697.: Icelandic.

includes:

• ff.2-66 Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Trójumanna Saga': 1679.
• ff.67-101b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Sagann af Maguse Jarle og _eim Asmunda Sonumm': 1679.
• ff. 102-160 Earls of Orkney; family: History of: 1008-1231, 1679.: Icelandic.
• ff.102-160 Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Orkneyinga _áttur': 1679.
• ff. 161-205b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Sagann af Octaviano Keysara': 1680.
• ff.206-235b Icelandic MSS Collection of sagas, annals, legal codes, etc. in Icelandic as follows:: 'Addonius Saga': 1680.