English

Útdráttur

Based on quantitative data, this article investigates the use of legal iconography in Icelandic law manuscripts produced in c. 1330–1600, focusing primarily on manuscripts of two important vernacular legal codes: Jónsbók from 1281 and Kristinréttr Árna Þorlákssonar from 1275. The article is divided into three sections: the first section provides a short historical introduction to the establishment of the vernacular Icelandic law codes in the Middle Ages. Based on this textual background, the second section describes the appearance of text-related book painting that accompanies these law codes in the manuscripts. The third section concludes the article and elaborates further on the intentions behind the use of text-related book painting.