Sigurdrífumál og eyðan í Konungsbók Eddukvæða

Um varðveislu Sigurdrífumála í yngri handritum og útgáfu síðustu vísnanna

Abstract

Sigurdrífumál is one of the eddic poems preserved in the manuscript GKS 2365 4to (Codex Regius) from the second half of the thirteenth century. The poem is defective in Codex Regius due to a lacuna, with one quire missing from the manuscript. In printed editions Sigurdrífumál consists of 37 verses but in Codex Regius the lacuna starts at the second line of the 29th verse. Fortunately, the remaining verses have been preserved in younger paper manuscripts and it is thus clear that the poem was transcribed before the quire was lost. Sophus Bugge and Jón Helgason researched the preservation of the final verses of Sigurdrífumál for their eddic poetry editions, but neither scholar took account of the manuscripts in the National Library of Iceland, and thus failed to make use of Lbs 1199 4to. In fact this manuscript preserves details which seem to derive directly from Codex Regius and may thus be the oldest manuscript that includes the last verses in Sigurdrífumál. Thus, it is suggested that the witness of Lbs 1199 4to should be taken into account in future editions of Sigurdrífumál.