"It may be called the greatest worldly curtesy and lordship to give a good treat to friends on their riding

away.

"It is a good old custom, worthy of the name of noblemindedness, to maintain friendship in the path of wisdom throughout all days."

2. On the first blank leaf of the first gathering is written, in the handwriting of Thormod Torfason (Torfæus, the antiquarian and historian) :—

Thomas Skinna

kallaz pi (þessi) bok.

i.e. This book is called Thomas Skinna.

3. On fol. 2, recto, is written, at the foot :

þssa Bok a Eg Arne Ottz s mz Riettu
Oc hna selldi mi' Mats Skrifve,=

þessa bók á eg, Árni Oddsson, ok hana

selldi mier Mats skrifare; i.e.

Of this book am I, Arne Oddsson, the rightful owner, and it was sold to me by Mats (Mads) the Secretary.

4. On fol. 10, verso, at the foot, is this monogram:

Th

5. On fol. 29, verso, at the top, not in Arni Oddsons hand-Arne Odds son A þessa Bok mz Riettu þar kan Eingin at seigia J móti, i.e. Arne Oddsson is a rightful owner of this book, that no one can gainsay. 6. On fol. 30 recto :—

Fromum Eruverdugum Dugandismañe mynū Astkiæra faudr Sira Joni Jonssyni kkiu presti a Myrcka J hörgardal J eyjafirdi=Frómum æruverðugum dugandismanne mínum ástkæra föðr síra Jóni Jónssyni kirkjupresti á Myrká í Hörgárdal í Eyjafirði, i.e., to the pious, reverend, worthy man, my beloved father, Sira Jon Jonsson, the church priest of Myrka in Horgardal within Eyjafjord.

7. Fol. 30, verso, at the foot boustrophedon :

Æruverdvgum fromũ Dygdarykum Heidursömum o© Halærðu Höfðings mañi Sera Arngryme Jonssyne a Ökrum j blaundu hlyd = Æruverðugum frómum dygðaríkum heiðursömum ok hálærðum höfðings manni Síra Arngríme Jónssyni á Ökrum í Blönduhlíð, i.e., to the reverend, pious, virtuous, honourable, and most learned gentleman, Sira Arngrim Jonsson at Akrar in Blönduhlid.

These two last entries have been blotted out imperfectly.

8. Fol. 36, recto, at the top :-pordr Ein's Rosa Arnadottor pórdr Einarsson, Rósa Arnadóttir.

=

9. Fol. 38, recto, in the same hand as entry 5 :—anno 1609 á tveggia postula messu, i.e., on the mass of St. Philip and St. James, (May 1st) 1609.

10. Fol. 39, verso, margin: Gudmor Arnason = Guðmundr Árnason.

11. Fol. 48, verso, margin :- Rafn Jon son=Rafn Jónsson.

=

12. Fol. 49, verso, at the foot, written longitudinally up the page:-Bokin heyrir til mz riettu fromu Dands Mañe Dada Arna syne godum vin bókin heyrir til með riettu frómum dandis manni Daða Arnasyni goðum vin, i.e., the book belongs rightfully to the pious good man Daði Arnason (my) good friend.

13. Fol. 64, recto, margin, in the handwriting of Torfi Jonsson (entry 14):-Margriet Dada dotter A bokina med riettu en eingiñ añar = Margriet Daðadótter á bókina með riettu enn einginn annar, i.e., Margret Dadi's daughter is rightful owner of the book, but none beside.

14. Fol. 67, recto, margin :-Torfi Jonsson med eigin hndi = T. Jónsson með eigin hendi, i.e., T. J. with his own hand.

15. Fol. 86, recto, at the foot, up the page longitu

dinally:-Arne Dada son á Bokina z hans samarfar, i.e., the book belongs to Arni Dadis son and his co-heirs.

16. Fol. 165, verso (on the fly-leaf at the end of cod.): -Arne Dadason a þessa sogu Bok Anno 1631; and below: þessa Bok Eiga Erfingiar Dada heitins saluga Arnasonar Arne Daðason á þessa sögu-bók, i.e., Arni Daði's son owns this story-book-this book is owned by the heirs of the late departed Dadi Arni's son.

=

On entries 4 and 11 we can offer no remarks throwing any certain light at all upon the history of the MS. The monogram may, perhaps, stand for Jón Thorlacius (a latinized patronymic for the vernacular Þorláksson), but that brings us no nearer to the identification of the person signified by it. Nothing either, beyond entry 11, is known of a Rafn Jónsson that might serve to link his name with the volume.

The rest of the entries, with the exception of 6, 7, and 9, all point to relations of kindred, which show that for a long time the MS. must have remained in one family, and enable us to connect genealogically together the first and the last owner, mentioned as such, in Iceland, in the following manner :

Árni Oddsson.

Guðmundr (10) Daði (12) Rósa (8).

Margret (13) Árni (15, 16).

Arni Oddsson, whose autograph we have in entry 3, is undoubtedly the person of that name who in Icelandic records figures generally as Arni of Miðgarðar, a homestead in the neighbourhood of Snæfells jökull, within the bailiwick of Thorsnes (Þórsnessþing). We first met with him in the capacity of henchman to Marteinn Einarsson, bishop of Skalholt, 1549-1556, in whose suit

Matz, the Secretary, the first known owner.

he made a voyage to Denmark in 1554, and married, in
the course of the winter, "Dorothea the German,"
(Espolin, IV., 107). Through the bishop's interest, no
doubt, he obtained, during the sojourn in Denmark, the
bailiwick of Thorsnes; for in that jurisdiction he does
duty as bailiff in 1555 (Espolin, IV., 112). In 1563, on
the 27th of September, he took part in an important
enactment at Bessastaðir (Espolin, IV., 133). He was
still alive as late as 1593 (Espolin, V., 74).

According to entry 3, Arni bought the book from one
Matz, a "secretary." Matz is the older spelling of the
common Danish name Mads. For one so-called, and
occupying the post of a "secretary," we need go to no
other place in Iceland than Bessastadir, which at this
time was the seat of the government of the country.
In Matz, therefore, we have the secretary to the Gover-
nor, possibly his deputy. Just about this time, it would
seem, it was etiquette to address and to speak of the
Governor's principal clerk as NN. "secretary." Such
was the case with that ill-fated Kristian Skrifari (Mr.
Secretary Christian), whom the Icelanders slew at
Midnes, 1551, in revenge for the execution of bishop
Jon Arason and his sons. However, excepting Mads,
Kristian seems to be the only historically known person so
entituled, and it must remain an open question, whether
the title descended from him to Mads, or the reverse,
(though the former is more probable), as there is no posi-
tive evidence to show, at what time Mads was discharg-
ing the functions of a secretary. But from Bessastaðir,
we take it, the book came into Arni's hands.

Nothing is known of the history of our codex previous to its becoming the property of Mads, and we can only indulge in uncertain, though not improbable, guesses, as to its earlier fate. First, the question suggests itself: how did the volume come into the hands of Mads, the Dane, by purchase or otherwise? It does not seem very probable that he should have cared to

secure it by purchase. Mads, a Dane, though he might have had some knowledge of the spoken idiom of the day, could not be supposed to have been so familiar with the language in which it was written, as to have been able to understand it, for then, as now, to understand Icelandic a Dane must study it as a dead language. For such a study there existed as yet not one single auxiliary. Evidently, the contents of the volume could have had but little attraction for one acting under a government the chief aim of which was to root out popery, and to establish a radically anti-popish protestantism. Lastly, the very handwriting, which is anything but easily legible, would to a Dane have made the reading of the MS. simply impossible. Mads's selling of the MS. to Arni Oddsson would seem to indicate that the seller's interest in it was one of lucre chiefly. Forsooth, it might be surmised, that for that very reason he might have obtained it by purchase. But even that is not very probable. He could not have known the market-value in Iceland of an article he himself knew nothing about, and in which, therefore, he could not reasonably be supposed to have speculated. There could be no question of any other market; for, as yet, foreign, i.e., Scandinavian, interest in Icelandic literature was not awake, and when it was roused, Icelanders, not Danes, were employed to secure the literary treasures of Iceland for private collectors and public libraries (Finnr Jónsson, Hist. Eccl. Isl., IV., Preface).

probably

order of

tery.

The volume itself seems to supply evidence of The MS. having been copied to the order of a monastic authority, copied to the since it contains the sagas of the two most popular some monassaints in Iceland, St. Thomas and St. Olaf. The reason for putting together into one volume the personal history of the Cantuarian saint and the pragmatic history of the reign of St. Olaf could not have been a historical, but only a religious. The prologue to Thomas saga shows clearly, that the edition was intended to serve as a