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Kirkjubæjarbók
Kirkjubæjarbók (Codex AM 429 12mo) is an Icelandic manuscript produced in around 1500 containing female saints' sagas. It is notable for being the only extant Old-Norse Icelandic legendary which exclusively deals with female saints and for being the only extant text which contains Old Norse-Icelandic prose and poetic accounts of St Dorothy. The book takes its name from the convent of Kirkjubær, which likely held the codex until King Christian III of Denmark dissolved the Icelandic monasteries in the mid sixteenth century. Contents The codex contains material in Old-Norse Icelandic and Latin relating to eight saints' legends: St Margaret of Antioch, St Catherine of Alexandria, St Cecilia, St Dorothea of Caesara, St Agnes, St Agatha, St Barbara, and Sts Fides, Spes and Caritas. Apart from the prose and poetry relating to St Dorothy, the legends all exist in other manuscripts written before 1500, though it is the only text which preserves the legend of St Cecilia in i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dórótheu Saga
''Dórótheu saga'' is an Old Norse-Icelandic saints' saga that recounts the legend of St Dorothy of Caesarea. It is preserved only in the manuscript ''Kirkjubæjarbók'' (AM 429 12mo), a codex containing lives of female saints written in Iceland around 1500. This manuscript also contains the only Old Norse-Icelandic poetry written about St Dorothy before 1500 and a Latin prayer to the saint not known from elsewhere in medieval Scandinavia. The text of the saga is a very close translation of the Latin text BHL 2324, with occasional differences, some of which are found in BHL 2325d. Dorothy also appears in three medieval and early modern Icelandic poems: ''Dórótheudiktur'' (ca. 1400–1500), which follows ''Dórótheu saga'' in ''Kirkjubæjarbók''; ''Dórótheukvæði I'', attributed to Ólafur Jónsson (1560-1672); ''Dórótheukvæði II'' (17th century), a rendering of the Danish ballad ''Den hellige Dorothea''. Bibliography A comprehensive bibliography can be found in W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agnesar Saga
''Agnesar saga'' is an Old Norse-Icelandic saints' saga that recounts the legend of St Agnes of Rome. It survives in three versions, all based on Pseudo-Ambrose's passion, ''BHL''156. ''Agnesar saga I'' omits the epilogue and is somewhat abridged. It follows the source text more closely than ''Agnesar saga II''. ''Agnesar saga III'' is significantly abridged and is different from the first two versions. Background Agnes's feast day of 21 January was adopted as Holy Day of Obligation in Iceland in 1179 under Þorlákr Þórhallsson. This was prompted by a vision of St Agnes which appeared to Guðmundr kárhöfði. There was an image of St Agnes at the Kirkjubær convent dating to the second half of the fourteenth century. The nun Jórunn Hauksdóttir of Kirkjubær took the name Agnes in 1344 when she became abbess. ''Agnesar saga I'' is preserved in ''Kirkjubæjarbók'' (AM 429 12mo), a codex containing lives of female saints kept at the convent. Agnes also appears in three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecilíu Saga
''Cecilíu saga'' is an Old Norse-Icelandic saints' saga that recounts the legend of St Cecilia. It is preserved in three manuscripts, but is only complete in Kirkjubæjarbók. The version of the saga preserved in Stock. Perg. fol no. 2 includes two Icelandic miracles of St Cecilia. These are notable for being one of the very few examples of miracles performed by non-native saints, and as an example of early hagiographic composition in Iceland rather than translations from Latin exemplars. Cormack notes that while these miracles may be late compositions, "they give the impression of being genuine records of an early ''cultus''". Cecilia's feast day November 22 was adopted as Holy Day of Obligation in Iceland in 1179 under Þorlákr Þórhallsson. The saga also includes an account of the passions of Sts Tiburtius and Valerian. Cecilia appears in three Old Norse-Icelandic poems: ''Vísur Cecilíu'' (ca. 1300-1500); ''Cecilíudiktur'' (ca. 1400-1550); and the fourteenth-century ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katrínar Saga
''Katrínar saga'' is an Old Norse-Icelandic saints' saga that tells the story of St Catherine of Alexandria. It survives in four manuscripts from the 14th to 15th centuries, but is only extant in full in Stock. Perg. fol. 2. Cormack notes that the cult of Catherine came to Iceland relatively late, was not firmly established until the thirteenth century, and was most popular in south-west Iceland. A text called Katrinar Saga is preserved in the manuscript AM 180b fol. This however, is not the legend of St Catherine but instead a translation of ''Sanctae Catharinae Virginis et Martyris Translatio et Miracula Rotomagensia'' which is an account of the translation of Catherine's relics and the associated miracles in eleventh century Rouen. Catherine also appears in two fourteenth century Old Norse-Icelandic poems: ''Kátrínardrápa'' by Kálfr Hallson and ''Heilagra meyja drápa'' (stanzas 22-24). Bibliography A comprehensive bibliography can be found in Wolf's ''The Legends of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saints' Sagas
Saints' sagas (Old Norse ''heilagra manna sögur'') are a genre of Old Norse sagas comprising the prose hagiography of medieval western Scandinavia. The corpus of such sagas and their manuscript attestations was surveyed by Ole Widding, Hans Bekker-Nielsen, L. K. Shook in 1963. Their work revealed over 100 different saints' lives, mostly based on Latin sources. Few are of Icelandic saints, with only Jón Ögmundarson (d. 1121), Þorlákr Þórhallsson (d. 1193), and Guðmundr Arason (d. 1237) being candidates. In the words of Jonas Wellendorf: While the sagas of the Icelanders might be the unique contribution to world literature that clearly demarcates Old Norse-Icelandic literature from other literary traditions in the Middle Ages, and indeed other periods as well, the lives of saints connect the very same literature with the rest of Western Europe. These sagas are preserved in many medieval manuscripts. Two notable collections are Kirkjubæjarbók, which is exclusively concer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margrétar Saga
''Margrétar saga'' is an Old Norse-Icelandic saints' saga that tells the story of St Margaret of Antioch. There are three versions of the saga based on at least two translations, and it is extant in more medieval and post-reformation copies than any other saint's legend. Its popularity appears in part to be due to the text's use in childbirth contexts, which was a uniquely Icelandic development of a popular European tradition. The date of the legend's first translation into Old-Norse Icelandic is unknown, but based on the dating of its earliest manuscripts it is taken to have occurred some time before 1300. There is no date or location for the origin for the veneration of Margaret in Iceland. However, Cormack notes that the first Icelander named Margrét is recorded in Landnámabók as dying in 1216, and that images of Margaret in the diocese of Hólar pre-date the dedications to Margaret in Skálholt. Bibliography A comprehensive bibliography can be found in Wolf's ''The Legen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teiknibók
''Teiknibók'' (Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, AM 673 a III 4to) is an Icelandic manuscript of drawings used as models for manuscript illumination, painting, carving and metalwork. It is remarkable for being one of only three dozen books of its type which survive from Western Europe and the only example extant from medieval Scandinavia. The manuscript was produced over a period of over 150 years by four anonymous artists, beginning in around 1330. The illustrations in ''Teiknibók'' resemble those in '' Kirkjubæjarbók'', and it may have served as a model for them. In the words of the manuscript's most recent editor Guðbjörg Kristjánsdóttir, "The diverse subjects of the drawings prove that Icelandic art flourished to a far greater degree than surviving works of art would indicate." History and description The manuscript was given to Árni Magnússon along with two leaves from the '' Icelandic Physiologus'' dating to around 1200. The Árni Magnússon Institute in Ic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkjubæjar Abbey
Kirkjubæjar Abbey (Icelandic: ''Kirkjubæjarklaustur''), in operation from 1186 until the Icelandic Reformation, was a monastery in Iceland of nuns of the Order of St. Benedict. It was located at Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Iceland had nine religious communities before the Reformation, two of which were monasteries of nuns, of which this is the first and oldest. In contrast to the other women's monastery in Iceland, Reynistaðarklaustur (1295–1563), which was placed under the authority of the Bishop of Hólar, at Kirkjubæjar Abbey the Abbess was left in full authority over the community, free of Bishop, episcopal oversight. History The Abbey was founded in 1186. The first abbess was Halldóra Eyjólfsdóttir, who died in 1210. The abbey was regarded as a center of culture and literature. In the mid-14th-century, the abbey was given a name of being in opposition to the Pope. A nun named Karin or Kristin held what was heretic sermons in the convent. She was put on trial on charges of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mýrdalssandur
Mýrdalssandur () is an outwash plain on the south coast of Iceland. Location and description The outwash plain is located between the rivers of Kúðafljót in the east and Múlakvísl in the west. Both rivers carry water from the Mýrdalsjökull glacier to the sea. Mýrdalssandur has a -long coast line, including Kötlutangi , the southernmost point of the island of Iceland. The Ring Road crosses this flat surface on . Development The outwash plain was built by the numerous jökulhlaups of the Mýrdalsjökull. The last large jökulhlaup was due to an explosive eruption of the Katla volcano under the glacier in 1918, and the water volume at the peak of the jökulhlaup was estimated to be around 200,000 - 300,000 m³/s. History of settlements South of the road rises Hjörleifshöfði to a height of . The mountain is named after Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson. He was the first settler to come to Iceland with Ingólfr Arnarson. In the Middle Ages there was a fishing lake called ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Árni Magnússon
Árni Magnússon (; 13 November 1663 – 7 January 1730) was an Icelandic scholar and collector of manuscripts who assembled the Arnamagnæan Manuscript Collection. Early life and education Árni was born in 1663 at Kvennabrekka in Dalasýsla, in western Iceland, where his father Magnús Jónsson was the minister (and later prosecutor and sheriff). His mother was Guðrún Ketilsdóttir, daughter of archdeacon Ketill Jörundarson of Hvammur.Sigurgeir Steingrímsson, tr. Bernhard Scudder, rni Magnússon (1663–1730) - live and work The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. He was raised by his grandparents and uncle. At 17 he entered the Cathedral School in Skálholt, then three years later, in 1683, went to Denmark (with his father, who was part of a trade lobbying contingent) to study at the University of Copenhagen. There he earned the degree of ''attestus theologiæ'' after two years, and also became an assistant to the Royal Antiquarian, Thomas Bartholin, hel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga Af Fides, Spes Og Karitas
Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between Icelandic families. However, sagas' subject matter is diverse, including pre-Christian Scandinavian legends; saints and bishops both from Scandinavia and elsewhere; Scandinavian kings and contemporary Icelandic politics; and chivalric romances either translated from Continental European languages or composed locally. Sagas originated in the Middle Ages, but continued to be composed in the ensuing centuries. Whereas the dominant language of history-writing in medieval Europe was Latin, sagas were composed in the vernacular: Old Norse and its later descendants, primarily Icelandic. While sagas are written in prose, they share some similarities with epic poetry, and often include stanzas or whole poems in alliterative verse embedded in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
