''Vatnshyrna'' was a major Icelandic saga codex destroyed in the

Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of 23 October. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (measured by cou ...

. It was copied between 1391 and 1395 by Magnús Þórhallsson for Jón Hákonarson in northern

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 ...

. The codex was first called ''Vatnshyrna'' by Arngrímur Jónsson in his 1609 work, '' Crymogaea'', possibly because it was located at that time at Stóra Vatnshorn. Arngrímur refers to the codex containing the texts of '' Kjalnesinga saga'', '' Þórðar saga hreðu'', and ''

Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss ''Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss'' (14th c. Middle Icelandic: ; Modern Icelandic: ) or ''Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss ok Gests'' is a late saga of the Icelanders with legendary elements. It falls into two sections, one about Bárðr and the other ab ...

''. A large part of the manuscript subsequently became part of Peder Resen's manuscript collection, and in 1675 this portion of the codex passed to

Copenhagen University Library The Copenhagen University Library ( Danish: Københavns Universitetsbibliotek) in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the main research library of the University of Copenhagen. Founded in 1482, it is the oldest library in Denmark. The old main building of th ...

. At this point the manuscript contained the following texts: * ''

Flóamanna saga ''Flóamanna saga'' ( 'the saga of the men of Flói'), also known as ''Þorgils saga Ørrabeinsstjúps'' ('the saga of Þorgils, foster-son of Ørrabeinn') is one of the sagas of Icelanders. The saga has been especially noted for the realistic dep ...

'' * '' Laxdæla saga'' * '' Hænsna-Þóris saga'' * ''

Vatnsdæla saga ''Vatnsdæla saga'' ( Icelandic: ; ; Old Norse: ''Vatnsdœla saga'') is one of the sagas of Icelanders. The saga remains in manuscriptsAM 559 4to an138 fol ''Vatnsdæla Saga'' is essentially a family chronicle probably written just after the m ...

'' * '' Eyrbyggja saga'' * '' Kjalnesinga saga'' * ''

Króka-Refs saga ''Króka-Refs saga'' () or the ''Saga of Ref the Sly'' is one of the Icelanders' sagas. Written in the 14th century the saga relates the adventures of Ref Steinsson, whose unpromising origins lead him to greatness in both combat and subterfuge. ...

'' * '' Stjörnu-Odda draumr'' * ''

Bergbúa þáttr ''Bergbúa þáttr'' ('The Tale of the Mountain-Dweller') is a short medieval Icelandic tale (þáttr). It tells of Þórðr and his companion who get lost on their way to church one winter and take refuge in a cave. Once inside, after they have s ...

'' * '' Kumlbúa þáttr'' * '' Draumr Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar'' Although destroyed in the fire, copies of all these texts, apart from ''Króka-Refs'' ''saga'', had been made 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 ...

and Ásgeir Jónsson.

Margaret Clunies Ross Margaret Beryl Clunies Ross (born 24 April 1942) is a medievalist who was until her retirement in 2009 the McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Syd ...

has suggested that the manuscript's contents represent the compiler's "taste for the marvellous and the supernatural". A related codex, ''Pseudo-Vatnshyrna'', which was compiled in the same area and at the same time (c. 1390) as ''Vatnshyrna'' survives as fragments in AM 445b 4to, AM 445c 4to and AM 564a 4to. It contained at least the following texts: * ''

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and ove ...

'' ('' Melabók'' text) * ''

'' * ''

'' * '' Eyrbyggja saga'' * ''

'' * '' Þórðar saga hreðu'' * ''

'' * '' Kumlbúa þáttr'' * '' Draumr Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar'' * ''

Gísla saga ''Gísla saga Súrssonar'' (, ''The saga of Gísli the Outlaw'') is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It tells the story of Gísli, a tragic hero who must kill one of his brothers-in-law to avenge another brother-in-law. Gisli is forced to stay on th ...

'' * ''

Víga-Glúms saga ''Víga-Glúms saga'' () is one of the Sagas of Icelanders. It takes place mostly in and around Eyjafjörður in North Iceland, and recounts the life and fall of Glúmr Eyjólfsson, a powerful man whose nickname, ''Víga'', refers to his propensit ...

'' * ''

Harðar saga ok Hólmverja Harðar saga ok Hólmverja or Harðar saga og Hólmverja () is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It is preserved in two medieval, vellum manuscripts, Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, AM 556a 4to ff. 70r-88r (from c. 1475), and the fragment AM ...

References

External links

* {{Cite web, title = The Saga Heritage: Árni Magnússon and the Collecting of Icelandic Manuscripts., url = http://web.uvic.ca/~becktrus/assets/text/jonsson_02.php, website = web.uvic.ca, accessdate = 2015-06-14, archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140118081440/http://web.uvic.ca/~becktrus/assets/text/jonsson_02.php, archivedate = 2014-01-18 14th-century books Icelandic manuscripts