''Teiknibók'' (

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, 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 Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. 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 Iceland received the manuscript on 2 June 1991, which is in too poor a condition to be displayed permanently. 21 leaves and a fragment of the manuscript survive. The leaves measure between 170–180 mm by 127–135 mm. The condition of the manuscript is poor, affected by patches of rot and decay which has left holes in its pages. The illustrations themselves are faded and worn, and a number have been altered and others have been scribbled over. Four artists worked on the manuscript: Artist A (1330-1360) illustrated 15 sheets; Artist B (1360-1390) worked on 2 pages; Artist C (1450-1475) has left work on 22 pages; Artist D (c. 1500) is found on 8 pages. Battista suggests that the monastery at

Þingeyrar Þingeyrar (Thingøre in some older texts) is a farm in Iceland's Northwestern Region. It lies adjacent to the sandy coastal plain of Þingeyrasandur (or Thingøresand), between the Skagi and Vatnsnes peninsulas and just northeast of lake Hóp. ...

is a likely source for the manuscript. Artist A also illuminated other Þingeyrar manuscripts including

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 ...

( Stjórn). The iconographic imagery of Teiknibók and the Þingeyrar manuscripts AM 227 fol. and AM 249 e fol. shows influence from fourteenth century

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

n manuscript illustration.

History and description

References

Further reading