Stjórn is the name given to a collection of
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
translations of
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
historical material dating from the 14th century, which together cover
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...
from
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
through to
II Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...
. Despite the collective title, Stjórn is not a homogeneous work. Rather, it consists of three separate works which vary in date and context, labelled Stjórn I, II and III by scholar I.J. Kirby.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: ]University of Lausanne
The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...
, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 51
Stjórn I covers Genesis to
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* E ...
18 with much additional material from
Peter Comestor and Vincent Beauvais.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII pp. 52-3] Stjórn II completes the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
; it is based closely on the text of the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
but is significantly abbreviated.
Stjórn III treats
Joshua
Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
to the
Exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
with some abbreviation and expansion and uses both the Vulgate and Comestor's ''Historia scholastica'' as the source of its translation.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII pp. 60-1]
These texts were edited under the title Stjórn by
C. R. Unger in 1862. This, as well as the existence of many manuscripts which contain the three works, contributed to the perception of Stjórn as a unitary work.
Title
The name Stjórn, which in
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
means 'guidance' or 'governance', was first recorded by
Árni Magnússon
Árni Magnússon (13 November 1663 – 7 January 1730) was a scholar and collector of manuscripts from Iceland who assembled the Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection.
Life
Árni was born in 1663 at Kvennabrekka in Dalasýsla, in western Iceland, ...
in 1670 in reference to AM folios 226 and 228.
[Astås, R (1991) An Old Norse Biblical Compilation: Studies in Stjórn, New York: Peter Lang p. 5] He reported that AM 228fol., which was at the farm Hliðarendi, was called ''Minnir Stiorn'' (the minor Stjórn) and AM 226 fol. was called ''Stærri Stiorn'' (the major Stjórn).
A number of theories have been put forward as to why it should have come to be the title of these works..
Henderson (1818) considered that it referred to the
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish
theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy origina ...
, whereas Unger thought that it referred to God's guidance of the Jewish people.
[Astås, R (1991) An Old Norse Biblical Compilation: Studies in Stjórn, New York: Peter Lang p. 6] However, Astås argues that because Stjórn places very little emphasis on the fact the Jews were the people of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
, it is more likely that ''stjórn'' refers to “God’s moral upbringing of man.”
[Astås, R (1991) An Old Norse Biblical Compilation: Studies in Stjórn, New York: Peter Lang pp. 6-7] This is based on the use of the verb ''stjórna'' in the preface which refers to God's reign over the world, and that ''stjórna'' has moral connotations in 13th century religious texts.
Storm (1886) thought it was a translation of ''regnum'', thus meaning royal history or reign.
In a similar vein Jónsson (1923) considered it possible that it was a translation of ''liber regnum'', and thus referring to the books of the
Kings in the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
.
Kirby thinks that the title stems from a misreading of ''uaar konungr. Sa sem stiornar…''.
Manuscripts
The Stjórn texts are preserved in many manuscripts but only three early manuscripts are considered to have independent value: AM 226 fol.,
AM 227 fol.
AM 227 fol. is a fourteenth century Icelandic illuminated manuscript. It contains a version of ''Stjórn'', an Old Norse biblical compilation, and is one of three independent witnesses to this work. It is lavishly illustrated and is one of the mo ...
and AM 228 fol..
Of these only AM 226 fol. contains Stjórn I, II, and III.
The earliest of these manuscripts is AM 228 fol., which is traditionally dated to first quarter of the 14th century; it contains only Stjórn III.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 51-2] AM 227 fol. dated to c. 1350 contains Stjórn I and III.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 52] AM 226 fol. originally contained Stjórn I and III, as evidenced by AM 225 fol. which is a copy of AM 226 fol. dating from c. 1440.
After AM 225 fol. was copied from it, the
gathering
Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to:
Anthropology and sociology
* Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods
*Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a s ...
in AM 226 fol. containing the end of Stjórn I and beginning of Stjórn III was cut and Stjórn II inserted, written in a much later hand.
AM 226 fol. and many later paper copies also contain, after Stjórn, ''
Rómverja saga'', ''
Alexanders saga
''Alexanders saga'' is an Old Norse translation of ''Alexandreis'', an epic Latin poem about the life of Alexander the Great written by Walter of Châtillon, which was itself based on Quintus Curtius Rufus's ''Historia Alexandri Magni''. It is at ...
'' and ''
Gyðinga saga
''Gyðinga saga'' (Saga of the Jews) is an Old Norse account of Jewish history compiled from translations of a number of Latin texts. Beginning with an account of Alexander the Great, Alexander the Great's conquests, it proceeds to cover around 220 ...
''.
Some Stjórn manuscripts are beautifully illustrated and AM 227 fol. has been called one of the greatest achievements of medieval
Icelandic bookmaking.
[Óskarsdóttir, S (2004) pp. 13-24]
History
The preface to Stjórn records that king
Hákon Magnússon of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
commissioned a compilation of
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
material to be read aloud for the benefit of those at his court who could not understand
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.
[Kirby, I. J. (1993) "Stjórn" in Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia ed. Puliano, P. and Wolf, K. pp. 611-12] The veracity of this is, however, uncertain.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 53] The compiler states that he makes use of extra-Biblical texts, such as Peter Comestor's ''Historia scholastica'' and Vincent of Beauvais's S''peculum historiale''.
However, this can apply only to Stjórn I, as the others do not display the wide-ranging compilation of sources evidenced in Stjórn I.
Nothing certain is known of the history of the Stjórn translations before 1670. However, a “biblia j norænu’’ is mentioned as belonging to the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
of
Hólar
Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland.
Location
Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...
in 1525, which some have argued to be a Stjórn work.
[Astås, R (1991) An Old Norse Biblical Compilation: Studies in Stjórn, New York: Peter Lang p. 162] A similar, possible sighting of ‘Stjórn’ comes from c. 1580 when
Peder Claussøn Friis
Peder Claussøn Friis (1 April 1545 – 15 October 1614) was a Norwegian clergyman, author and historian. He is most associated with his translation of ''Snorre Sturlessøns Norske Kongers Chronica''.
Peder Claussen Friis grew up in Audnedal i ...
,
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of
Audnedal
Audnedal is a former municipality in the old Vest-Agder county, Norway. It was located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Konsmo. Other villages in Audnedal include Byrem ...
in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
reports in his ''Om Iisland'' that a “well-born Norwegian man, named Erik Brockenhus” had seen an illuminated manuscript containing the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
in Icelandic, in “around 1567”.
[Astås, R (1991) An Old Norse Biblical Compilation: Studies in Stjórn, New York: Peter Lang pp. 7, 162]
Early Critical Reception
The first person to inform the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an public of Stjórn was
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
Ludvig Harboe in his 1746 ''Kurze Nachricht von der Isländischen Bibel-Historie''.
[Astås, R (1991) An Old Norse Biblical Compilation: Studies in Stjórn, New York: Peter Lang p. 7]
In 1818
Ebenezer Henderson
Ebenezer Henderson (17 November 178417 May 1858) was a Scotland, Scottish minister and missionary. He spent the early part of his life in Scandinavia, was an accomplished linguist and translator.
Life
Born at the Linn near Dunfermline, Henders ...
, a
Scottish minister, pointed to the similarities between Stjórn and ''Konungs Skuggsjá'' (the King's Mirror), which has been an important aspect in the discussion of Stjórn since.
The first edited publication was by Unger in 1862 as ''Stjorn: Gammelnorsk Bibelhistorie''; he attempted to provide a text as close to that used by the original compiler as possible.
[Astås, R (1991) An Old Norse Biblical Compilation: Studies in Stjórn, New York: Peter Lang p. 8]
In 1866 Keyser questioned the authenticity of a note in AM 226 fol. which suggested that the Icelandic
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
Brandr Jónsson was the author of Stjórn. This paved the way for arguments for a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
provenance of the work: a topic which was hotly debated.
Contents
Stjórn I
Stjórn I covers the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
material from
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
to
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* E ...
18
and is considered by Kirby to be the youngest of the three sections.
It is not a simple translation of the relevant
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
texts, but rather a compilation based on the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
which is augmented with information from various sources, principally from Vincent of Beauvis and Comestor's Historica scholastica.
The additional material is either in the form of commentaries on the Biblical text or as discrete information.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 54] The latter is mainly derived from Vincent of Beavis, including a treatise on geography, tales of the legendary love affairs of
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
and
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
. Additionally, there are also two
homilies
A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...
on
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
.
There are a number of similarities of vocabulary and style between Stjórn I and Stjórn III.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 55] Kirby accounts for this by stating that the author of Stjórn I translated from the above-mentioned sources, but made reference to the text of Stjórn III while doing so.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 55-6]
Stjórn II
Stjórn II completes the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 56] and is considered by Kirby to be the earliest of the three sections.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 73] It is different in style from Stjórn I and III in that it is translated from the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
with very little additional material.
Although it closely follows the text of the Vulgate, it omits significant sections, many of which concern information mentioned earlier in the text.
The text of Stjórn II in AM 226 fol. is a copy of an earlier version, as can be seen from a number of scribal features.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII pp. 56-7] Seip (1952) argues that the AM 226 fol text is a copy of a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
text dating to the late 14th century.
Kirby believes that the scribe was copying an
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic exemplar dating to no later than the first quarter of the 13th century.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 57-8]
Stjórn III
Stjórn III covers the
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
text from
Joshua
Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
to the end of
II Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...
, although it uses information from the books of
Chronicles
Chronicles may refer to:
* ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible
* Chronicle, chronological histories
* ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis
* ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed
* ''The Idhu ...
to augment the text.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 60] Kirby thinks it likely that this text was composed by Brandr Jónsson, the translator of ''
Gyðinga saga
''Gyðinga saga'' (Saga of the Jews) is an Old Norse account of Jewish history compiled from translations of a number of Latin texts. Beginning with an account of Alexander the Great, Alexander the Great's conquests, it proceeds to cover around 220 ...
''.
The text closely follows the
Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
text with omission and summary like Stjórn II, but unlike that section makes considerable use of extra-Biblical material, though not to the same extent as Stjórn I.
The relationship between Stjórn III and ''Konungs Skuggsjá'' has been noted since 1818. It has traditionally been assumed that ''Konungs Skuggsjá'' borrowed from Stjórn III. That the opposite was true has been argued by Hofmann (1973) and Bagge (1979); Kirby (1986) argues in favour of the traditional view in his study ''Bible Translation in Old Norse''.
[Kirby, I. J. (1986) Bible Translation in Old Norse, Genève: Université de Lausanne, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres XXVII p. 64]
Notes
References
External links
Stjórn at Heimskringla.noFacsimile of Unger’s edition at septentrionalia.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stjorn
Icelandic literature
Icelandic manuscripts
Old Norse literature