Oedipus Industrius Aenigmatum Islandicorum

Útdráttur

In this article a text and translation of Björn Jónsson á Skarðsá’s (1574–1655) commentary to the riddles from Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks is presented. Björn was one of the most respected scholars of his day, and his works were commissioned by leading scholars and churchmen. Such may also be the case with his idiosyncratic commentary on the ‘Gátur Gestumblinda’, which soon after its completion in 1641 was sent to Ole Worm in Copenhagen. In the introduction to the text an analysis of their various witnesses is presented, resulting in a stemma (filling out certain ambiguities left over from Jón Helgason’s work on Hervarar saga). A discussion of the circumstances of production is then given, followed by an assessment of the techniques adopted within the commentary. Of particular interest is Björn’s penchant for locating etymological connections and identifying sound symbolism in the choice of lexis used, an interpretative approach to medieval Icelandic poetry which remains for the most part unconsidered today