AM 561 4to Ljósvetninga Saga

Abstract

This article deals with the manuscript AM 561 4to and with sagas which it contains: Reykdæla saga, Gull-Þóris saga (Þorskfirðinga saga) and Ljósvetninga saga. Owing to the absence of many leaves in the manuscript and the fact that some pages have been scraped into illegibility, these sagas have many lacunae. In addition, the first half of Reykdæla saga is missing. All of the last part of Ljósvetninga saga is missing in this manuscript, and there are three lacunae in the first part. This saga is also preserved in AM 162 C fol, which is part of a large manuscript containing sagas, and in many paper manuscripts. All of the paper manuscripts which have been examined are thought to derive from AM 162 C; this version of the saga is called the C-version. The saga as preserved in AM 561 is called the A-version. There is a considerable difference between these two versions. First of all, Sörla þáttur, Ófeigs þáttur, Vöðu-Brands þáttur and Þórarins þáttur ofsa do not appear in AM 561, and there is also a considerable difference in that the first chapters after the three þættir in the C-version. By means of a study of the divisions among the gatherings in AM 561 4to, the article attempts to estimate how much of Ljósvetninga saga is missing, concluding that the þættir were never part of the saga in the manuscript. This accords with the view of Guðmundur Þorláksson (Ljósv. 1880). The study of the gatherings also makes it evident that it is very unlikely that the last part of the saga was in this manuscript. The passage on the death of Guðmundur ríki of Möðruvellir was most probably the final chapter of the saga in this manuscript. The story of the dealings of Eyjólfr of Möðruvellir with the men of Ljósavatn, as well as Þórarins þáttur, were never a part of the manuscript. Since AM 561 4to is the only representative of the A-version there is no way of knowing whether the last part of the saga was lacking in the archetype (or in other, lost manuscripts) of this version.