Localizing Scribal Practices and Language in Fourteenth Century Northern Iceland

Fundamentally, this project involves the analysis and comparison of paleographic and orthographic features of several Icelandic manuscripts from the fourteenth century, namely Reynistaðarbók AM 764 4to, AM 573 4to, Holm. Perg 8vo nr. 10 IX, Hauksbók AM 544 4to, and Möðruvallabók AM 132 fol.

These manuscripts contain much of the same material, namely, similar religious, didactic, and heraldic texts. Additionally, with the exception of AM 544 4to, each of the manuscripts is thought to originate from one of the two centres of manuscript production in Northern Iceland, Þingeyrar and Möðruvellir. While common scribal hands have been suggested in the past, a thorough comparative analysis of these manuscripts has yet to be undertaken.

Using digital transcriptions to the MENOTA standard and a subsequently constructed database, this project will attempt to identify common scribal hands across the manuscripts, and subsequently map paleographic and orthographic trends that may have reflected the local language in Þingeyrar or Möðruvellir. Some early findings suggest that these scribal communities may have had unique dialects (consistently reflected in the orthography of multiple scribes), which in turn may have retained ‘Norwegianisms’ almost half a century beyond the decline of Norwegian cultural and linguistic influence in the region (when the Black Death reached Norway).

Guests and interested parties are welcome!