Saga af Victor ok Blavus: A Fifteenth Century Icelandic Lygisaga. An English Edition and Translation 3111001164, 9783111001166

Table of contents :
Preface 7
Introduction 11
I. Methods of Abbreviation in AM 593b, 4to 17
II. Phonology 22
III. "Saga af Viktor ok Blavus": Text and Translation 36
List of Proper and Place Names 110
Bibliography 111
Index 115

Citation preview

SAGA AF VIKTOR OK BLA VU S

JANUA LINGUARUM STUDIA MEMORIAE N I C O L A I VAN W I J K D E D I C A T A edenda curai

C.H. YAN S C H O O N E V E L D INDIANA

UNIVERSITY

SERIES PRACTICA 88

1972

MOUTON THE H A G U E • PARIS

SAGA AF VIKTOR OK BLAVUS

A FIFTEENTH CENTURY ICELANDIC LYGISAGA AN ENGLISH EDITION A N D TRANSLATION

by

A L L E N H. CHAPPEL

1972

MOUTON THE H A G U E ' PARIS

© Copyright 1972 in The Netherlands. Mouton & Co. N.V., Publishers, The Hague. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 73-173386

Printed in The Netherlands by Mouton & Co., Printers, The Hague.

For my parents

PREFACE

The present edition of Saga af Viktor ok Blavus, AM 593b, 4to, is the first edition of this saga based upon this manuscript, and the third edition of the saga ever made. It is the first complete translation into English of this saga. The translation has been made with the intent to preserve as much of the Icelandic syntax as possible. Only in places where close adherence to the Icelandic would have made comprehension difficult, ambiguous or impossible, has the syntax of the original been changed in favor of clearer English. The critical part of this edition is concerned mainly with palaeography, especially with respect to the system of abbreviations used, with the phonology and orthography, and with the translation. It is concerning these points that the majority of notes have been made to the text and the translation. The literary motifs have been only briefly noted. These have been studied in detail by Professor E. 0. Sveinsson in the edition of this saga by Jonas Kristjansson. This edition came about from a suggestion of Professor John G. Kunstmann with whose help the first photostats of the manuscript were acquired from the Special Collections of the University of Chicago Library. Through the aid of the Smith Fund of the University of North Carolina, further photostats and microfilms were bought. As a result there were fifteen manuscripts available for the preparation of the present edition. I am grateful to the Arnamagnean Institute in Copenhagen, to Professor Jon Helgason for some helpful suggestions concerning the annotation of the text and translation, and to Miss Agnete Loth, Amanuensis of the Institute, for the attention given to my requests for photostats and microfilm. I am most grateful to Professor George S.Lane whose generous and valuable assistance and whose frequent words of encouragement have made this edition possible, and to Professor John G. Kunstmann who, aside from aiding in the aquiring of the photostats mentioned above, has always been most generous with his time and his counsel on questions concerning the editing and the collating of the manuscripts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface Introduction I. II. III.

7 11

Methods of Abbreviation in AM 593b, 4to

17

Phonology

22

Saga af Viktor ok Blavus: Text and Translation

36

List of Proper and Place Names

110

Bibliography

Ill

Index

115

F A C S I M I L E O F A M 593b, 4to: leaf 21 recto

INTRODUCTION

The Saga af Viktor ok Blavus is one of a type of saga which began to appear in Iceland about 1300. It is a type of lygisaga or 'fictitious tale' which clearly shows the influence of the foreign romance. The genre of lygisaga has a two-fold origin. It arises both from the stories concerned with indigenous Icelandic material, and from the chivalric material from southern Europe. 1 The process of the transmission of this chivalric material to the given Icelandic saga is in every instance not clear at all.2 Belonging to the former group are the fornaldarsögur nordrlanda.3 The lygisaga nordrlanda bears the same relationship to these fornaldarsögur norörlanda, it seems, as the lygisaga sudrlanda bears to the riddarasaga or, as they have been called, fornsögur sudrlanda.4 The terms lygisaga nordrlanda and lygisaga sudrlanda used by Mogk, 5 divide the genre according to the content as well as to time, the lygisaga sudrlanda being necessarily of later origin than the lygisaga nordrlanda, since the former presupposes the establishment of the chivalric tales, the riddarasögur, in Iceland. 6 The term riddarasaga on the other hand is used, it seems, both for the earliest tales of chivalry which appear in Iceland and for the general category of lygisaga which began to appear during the middle of the 14th century which show progressively greater influence of the foreign romance upon this type.7 It is this definition which is found for the term riddarasaga in Cleasby-Vigfusson, An Icelandic-English Dictionary.8 The Saga af Viktor ok Blavus would then be more specifically defined as a lygisaga 1

Stef&n Einarsson, A History of Icelandic Literature (New York, 1957), p. 163. Cf. Note 3, in "Notes to the text". 8 Fornaldarsögur Nordrlanda, ed. Valdimar Äsmundarson (3 vols.; Reykjavik, 1891). These have been recently re-edited by Guöni Jönsson as Fornaldar Sögur Nordrlanda (4 vols.; Reykjavik, 1951). 4 Fornsögur Sudrlanda, ed. Gustaf Cederschiöld (Lund, 1884). 6 Eugen Mogk, "Norwegisch-isländische Literatur", in Grundriss der germanischen Philologie, ed. H.Paul (2nd ed.; Strassburg, 1901-1909), II, Part 1, 845 and 879. • Riddarasögur, ed. Eugen Kolbing (Strassburg, 1872). ' A.Le Roy Andrews, "The Old Icelandic Lygisögur", Publications of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (Urbana, 1914-1915), II, 255-263. 8 Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson, An Icelandic-English Dictionary, with a supplement by William A.Craigie, 2nd ed. (Oxford, 1957), p. 497. s

12

INTRODUCTION

sudrlanda, and it belongs generally to the category of the riddarasaga. It is mentioned by Finnur Jonsson in his history of Old Norse and Icelandic literature where he writes, "Sagaen er yngre end Klärüssaga og hidr0rer snarest fra slutning af der 14 ärh." 9 Mentioned in this same volume, p. 56, are 8 rimur which are based on the saga, and which are edited by F. Jonsson. 10 These rimur take the story up to the point of Viktor's return to France after his combats with giants and berserkers (cf. leaf 17 recto, line 23, below). The rimur are from the first half or quarter of the 15th century. In his monograph The Maiden King in Iceland, Erik Wahlgren has given a summary of the plot of Saga af Viktor ok Blavus.11 Henry G. Leach quotes in translation the first four lines of the saga in his book Angevin Britain and Scandinavia.12 Eugen Mogk wrote in Pauls Grundriss, "Dasselbe Motiv von der stolzen Königstochter, die alle Werber höhnisch zurückweist, ist in der Victors saga ok Blavus verwertet, einer Saga, in der die verschiedensten Geschichten zusammengewürfelt sind." 18 Otto L. Jiriczek quoted passages from the Saga af Viktor ok Blavus in an article on Middle Icelandic folklore and made the following reference to the saga, "Besonders charakteristisch ist die unten zugeweise mitgeteilte Zwergengeschichte aus der Saga af Victor ok Blavus, einer Riddarasaga, wie das Proömium ausdrücklich besagt. Dass diese Saga noch nicht herausgegeben ist, ist, sehr zu bedauern; sie ist eine der älteren und wertvolleren dieser Litteraturrichtungen." 14 In the introduction to his edition of Drei Lygisggur, Ake Lagerholm wrote, "Sagas wie Flöres s. ok sona hans, Viktors S. ok Blaus, Valdimars s., Gibbons s., Siguröar s. l>Qgla und Vilhjälms s. sjöös, um nur einige von den besseren zu nennen, können doch einerseits infolge ihrer deutlichen Abhängigheit von kontinentaler (bes. französischer) mittelalterlichen Dichtung dazu beitragen, ein Licht auf diese zu werfen, andererseits sind diese und mehrere andere Sagas auch für die isländische Literaturgeschichte keineswegs wertlos, da eine Literatur nicht gerecht beurteilt und richtig verstanden werden kann, wenn man nicht ALLE ihre Perioden, auch die Verfallsperiode, gründlich kennt. Auch vom stilistischen und lexikographischen Standpunkte haben diese Sagas ihre Bedeutung, und ausserdem muss speziell betont werden, dass sie für die Folkloristik von nicht geringem Interesse sind." 15 These indications of interest in the lygisaga and in the Saga af Viktor ok Blavus specifically have, nevertheless not brought about many editions of this type of saga since the time when these articles were written. The text of Saga af Viktor ok Blavus was edited and published for the first time by Agnete Loth in Late Medieval Icelandic Romances,16 Miss Loth has used Cod. holm. Isl., perg. folio, no. 7. Jonas Kristjans* Finnur Jonsson, Den oldnorske og oldislandske Litteraturs Historie (Kabenhavn, 1924), III, 109. 10 Finnur Jonsson, Rimnasafn: Sammling afde xldste islandske Rimer, 2 vols. (K0benhavn, 1913-1922). 11 Erik Wahlgren, The Maiden King in Iceland, Diss. (Chicago, 1938), pp. 9-10. 12 Henry G. Leach, Angevin Britain and Scandinavia (Cambridge, Mass., 1921), p. 265. 18 Mogk, op. cit., II, Part 1, 881. 14 Otto L. Jiriczek, "Zur mittelisländischen Volkskunde", Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie, XXVI (1894), llfF. 16 Drei Lygisggur, ed. Ake Lagerholm in Altnordische Saga-Bibliothek (Halle/Saale, 1927), XVII, xv. " Late Medieval Icelandic Romances, ed. Agnete Loth, Vol. I, in Editiones Arnamagnaeanae, Series B, Vol. XX (Copenhagen, 1962).

INTRODUCTION

13

son's edition has used this same MS as the basis for his edition.17 The following are the available MSS of Saga af Viktor ok Blavus: University Library in Copenhagen (Arnamagnaean Institute) 1. AM 593b, 4to, perg. 15th c. (AM Kat. Vol. I, p. 762)18 2. AM 471, 4to, perg. 15th c. (AM Kat. Vol. I, p. 655-656). This MS lacks the last page. 3. AM 567, 4to, perg. (fragment of 1 and a half leaves) ca. 1500 (AM Kat. Vol. I, p. 723) 4. AM 118d, 8vo, paper, 17th c. (AM Kat. Vol. II, p. 401) 5. AM 125b, 8vo, paper, 17th c. (AM Kat. Vol. II, p. 404) Royal Library in Stockholm 6. Cod. holm. isl. chart., 4to, no. 17 7. Cod. holm. isl. chart., 4to, no. 16 8. Cod. holm. isl. perg., folio, no. 7 (Listed by Loth as second half of the 15th c., p. ix). 9. Cod. holm. isl. chart., folio, no. 46 National Library in Reykjavik 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

19

LBS 155, 4to, paper, ca. 1800 (Skrä, Vol. I, p. 162, no. 503)20 LBS 229, 8vo, paper, ca. 1860 (Skrä, Vol. II, p. 54, no. 2601) IB21 185, 8vo, paper, ca. 1770 (Skrä, Vol. Ill, Part I, p. 45, no. 6850) JS22 27 folio, paper, 1670 (Skrä, Vol. II, p. 458, no. 4752) JS 36, 4to, paper, ca. 1798 (Skrä, Vol. II, p. 496, no. 4929) British Museum

15. BM, Sloane 4860, folio (Listed as Joseph Banks no. 6, by Jon f>orkelsson.)23 The text for the present edition and translation has been based chiefly upon photostats of AM 593b, 4to with variant readings from selected MSS of the 15 listed above. In illegible places the text has been supplied in parentheses from photostats of AM 471, 4to. Leaf 26vl which is not contained in AM 471, 4to has been supplied by Miss Loth's edition of the Stockholm MS, no. 7. On leaf 1 recto of AM 593b, 4to there is an illegible inscription, however the AM Kat. reads, "Pä lr findes en notits ang. bogens brug til laeseevelser."24 The inscription is designated by the AM Kat. as 17th 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Viktors Saga ok Bldvus, ed. Jönas Kristjänsson, Vol. II, in Riddarasdgur (Reykjavik, 1964). Katalog over den Arnamagnxanske Handskriftsamling (2 vols.; Kebenhavn, 1888-1892). Landsbökasafn. Skrä um Handritasöfn Landsbökasaftisins (3 vols, and 2 supplements; Reykjavik, 1918-1959). Islenzk Bökmentafjilag. Jons Safn Sigurössonar. J6n f>orkelsson, "Islenzk Kappakvaeöi", Arkiv for nordisk Filologi, III (1886), 366-384. Katalog over den Arnamagnxanske Handskriftsamling, 2 vols. (Kebenhavn, 1888-1892), I, 762

14

INTRODUCTION

century. The Saga af Viktor ok Blavus is contained on the leaves 1 verso through 26 verso. It is followed in the same codex by the Sneglu-Halla jjattr from 27 recto through 31 verso. AM 593b, 4to is preceded in the codex by AM 593a, 4to which contains on leaves 1 recto to 33 recto, the Mirmants Saga; on leaves 33 recto to 107 the Adonis Saga. The AM Kat. quotes Arne Magnusson from AM 435a, 4to, leaf 104, where he gives the origin of the codex: "in octavo Bokina hefi eg 1702 feingid af Mag. Jone Uorkelss. Wid." 25

ORTHOGRAPHY A N D TRANSCRIPTION

General Remarks For ease of reference, page and line of the transcription and of the manuscript are kept in complete agreement. There are from 22 to 26 lines to each page of manuscript. Although the saga is not divided strictly into chapters, there are 15 spaces left for enlarged capital letters. These spaces are all blank except for the very first capital M. Opposite eight of these spaces in the left hand margin a lightly written small letter corresponds to the missing capital. Proper nouns are capitalized throughout the transcription even though capital letters are rarely and never consistently used in the manuscript. Punctuation The period or point is used sometimes to separate clauses, sometimes to separate sentences. Points occur also before and after abbreviations by initial letter, as well as before and after Roman numerals. The first letter abbreviations are expanded without reproducing the point in transcription. There is no other mark of punctuation used in AM 593b, 4to. The letter r The varieties of form of the letter r are not reflected in the transcription. Small capital r26 is written initially 0t with three exceptions: reka 19vl8, rota 20vl9, and radvm 9v8, where the r is the minuscule short-stemmed r written r. Otherwise the short-stemmed r occurs only medially, and only in 11 places: yztre 8r6, traustz 8rl2, fultrua 9r8, skeert 9vl0, tryllizt 16v4, daetrvm 17vl5, agaetr 20vl, stride 16vl9, truir 21rl2, abyrgi 22vl5, vetrvm 23vll. In all other instances, that is, medially and finally the letter r is written Z.27 26

Ibid. ' George T. Flom, "The Use of Small Capitals in Medial and Final Position in the Earliest Old Norwegian Manuscripts", Festskrift: Hugo Pipping (Helsingfors, 1924), p. lOOff. 27 Didrik A.Seip, Patieografi, Vol. XXVIII:B, in Nordisk Kultur (Uppsala, 1954), p. 18. 2

INTRODUCTION

15

Acute Sign In AM 593b, 4to the acute sign occurs over both long and short i and over every j. These have been transcribed without the acute sign, i.e., simply as i and j, since this sign does not appear to have had any phonetic value. The preposition ä is written predominantly as the ligature m or aa both with and without a double acute sign. (Cf. 'Phonology', Parag. I, below). The acute sign was used in both the earliest Norwegian and Icelandic MSS. It is not clear for what specific purpose the sign was used however; i.e. whether as an accent mark or as a sign of length. Use of the sign in either of these functions was not consistent. 28 Seip has written, "Det er sikkert sä at aksenttegn blir brukt mer over lange vokaler enn over korte; men som for blir det aldri gjennomfört ä sette aksenttegn over lange vokaler, og aksenttegn har enda som for mange andre funksjoner." 29 The use of the acute sign over i occurs in the oldest Icelandic MSS where it is merely a diacritical mark. 30 The double acute sign occurs for the first time only after 1300, over the letters a, aa, e and i.31 The Superior Point In AM 593b, 4to the superior point is used quite consistently over the long vowels and consonants, thus presumably being a sign of length. These have been transcribed in the case of the vowels as ä, ö, ü (v), e and ie with the acute sign (cf. 'Phonology'). The consonants with the superior points have been spelled double with the supplied consonant underlined in the transcription (cf. 'Abbreviation', below). The superior point was apparently not used in Norwegian MSS before 1225. Seip makes no mention of this as an abbreviation sign. In Norwegian MSS 1225-1300 the superior point occurs 'av og til' apparently as a sign of consonant length. 32 The superior point does occur in the oldest Icelandic MSS. "Forslaget i 1. gram, avhandling om prikk over vokal til ä betegne nasalitet er ikke kjent fra noe skrift. AM 325 II, 4° brukker prikk over vokaler (oftest korte, men stundom ogsä over lange), men meningen med prikken er ikke klar." 33 In the period 1225-1300 the superior point is used in Icelandic MSS "ikke bare over konsonanter, men ogsä over vokaler." 34 According to Spehr the method of writing long consonants in Iceland is something peculiar to Iceland. "Es ist eine auf Island entstandene Neuerung, die weder in der lat. Minuskel noch in der ags. oder norw. Schrift eine Entsprechung hat. Bei einzelnen " Ibid., p. 33, 61, 83; cf. also, G.Lindblad, "Det isländska accenttecknet", Lunds ärsskrift, NF, XLVII (Lund, 1952), Part 1,1. " Seip, op. cit., p. 104. 30 Seip, op. cit., p. 61. 31 Seip, op. cit., p. 145. 32 Seip, op. cit., p. 82. 33 Seip, op. cit., p. 61. 31 Seip, op. cit., p. 102.

universitets

16

INTRODUCTION

Fällen, in denen diese Bezeichnungsweise auch in norw. Hss. auftritt, ist meist der isl. Einfluss leicht nachweisbar."35 He mentions three ways used to write long consonants: (1) writing the consonant double, (2) using a capital, (3) using a superior point, all of which were used in Iceland. We presume that the "auf Island entstandene Neuerung" that he mentions is either no. 2 or no. 3 or both. The origin of the point over the letter is traced by Spehr to Irish MSS, as far back as 9th century St. Gall glosses, where the spirants ch, th, ph are occasionally written c, t, p with a Greek aspirate sign over them. From this sign the point is presumed to have arisen.36

35

Harald Spehr, Der Ursprung der isländischen Schrift und ihre Weiterbildung bis zur Mitte des 13. Jhs (Halle a.S., 1929), p. 146. ae Cf. Rudolf Thurneysen, Handbuch des alt-irischen (Heidelberg, 1909), pp. 19, 31.

I

METHODS OF ABBREVIATION IN AM 593b, 4tox

A.

ABBREVIATION WITH FIXED VALUE

(1)

NASALS

A superscript line indicates the omission of a following single or double nasal : kvaeilig for kvaemilig 21vl7 naf for naf« 3r8 veda for venda lv4 v for vm 13rl0

ma for mann 23vl5 mikin for mikinw lv21 eyiana for eyian/ia 7rl9

A superscript line may also indicate the omission of a following syllable ending in a nasal: kom for kominn 4rl hardfgi for hardfengi 10vl8 kom for komiw 20r4 indi for mundi 6v6 ggr for gengr llr3 drottnguna for drottn/nguna 20rl9 mklife for mwnklife 22rl 1 A superscript line indicates in one instance omission of a preceding syllable with nasal: skiollddn for skiolldd/nn 13r3 (2)

SYLLABLES WITH R

(a) the superscript sign ^ derives from the zigzag sign ^ . It often resembles an Arabic 7 in some MSS. It is used in AM 593b, 4to for the omission of -er, -ir, -r.2 Examples: b»V r for ben 3vl6, si A r for sierr 3v22, yf A for yTer 3vl9, e 1 for er 3vl6, kras^ for kras/r 3vl2, h v l so for hverso 3v23, J>v seg^ for JDV seg/r 14vl. In inflectional endings and in unaccented syllables the abbreviation has been expanded to -ir in transcription even though some alternation occurs in the use of i/e (cf. 'Phonology', Parag. 7). 1

Omission of letters in abbreviation is indicated by italicizing the letters restored. Spehr, op. cit., p. 139; cf. also, Palseografisk Atlas: Ny Serie: Oldnorsk-Islandske Skriftprever c. 1300-1700, ed. Kr.Kàlund (K0benhavn-Kristiania, 1907), p. VIII.

2

18

METHODS OF ABBREVIATION IN AM 5 9 3 b , 4tO

(b) The superscript abbreviation z derives from a Tironian sign, and was originally an abbreviation for -tur. 3 In AM 593b, 4to, it resembles a superscript z and indicates the syllable -ur. Examples: allheimskz for allheimskt/r 6vl5, nockzv for nockwv 8rl9, f z du for furdu 9rl. (c) The superscript abbreviation "V" is used predominantly for the syllable -ar (but cf. Parag. II, 8 and IV, 3 below), and the superscript n for the syllable -ra. Examples: v 0 " for var lvl5. kapp0"" for kappar 6r20; cyst" eystra 6r3, f^cklande for Fracklande lvl3. Kalund has noted that the sign was equal to -ra but was also used for -ar. "Oprindelig er det et abent, u-lignende karolingisk a... Abningen kan lukkes ved en tvaerstreg foroven, som skasrer tegnet." 4 These two superscript abbreviations derive apparently from the same Tironian sign. It resembles a Greek omega in the 2nd half of the 12th century when it is used for -ra in AM 655 IX, 4to. "For stavelserne ar (og ra) hadde de tironiske systemer forskjellige tegn som dels minte om gresk omega dels kunne fa noen likhet med overskrevet a. Fra dette tironiske tegn stammer forkortning for ar el. ra i eng. og norks." 5 "I RB (Biskop Eysteins Jordebog, Den r0de Bog, 1388-1401) er brukt (v)o

vä > (v)o

hvor (for hvärr 'each') 6vl7 fevonir 5vl4 vöpn 6v22 hvötum 11 vi 2 so 10r23

so (for svä) 13v6 hvorgi llr9 hfigi 3v6 (for hvärgi) hvke 8rl8 (for hvärki) s° 15rll (svo for svä)

There is no indication by the spelling in AM 593b, 4to of the development of [a:] to the diphthong [au]. There is, on the other hand, every indication of the change va > vo. Whether the vacillation in spelling between vo and vo indicates anything about the pronunciation or not, cannot be determined. The predominance of the spelling so for sva would seem to indicate the pronunciation of the vowel [o] as in Modern Icelandic. Bandle believes that this spelling for a after v is an indication

PHONOLOGY

23

that the va never did become vö in pronunciation, but rather that the vä developed a long open pronunciation which was later shortened, and then fell together in pronunciation with the old o. 1 According to him, if the [va:] had become [vo:] by 1600, then the 6 element would have developed into the diphthong [ou] by this time. 2 Thus the short or long open pronunciation of ä as [o] or [o:] must have developed before the diphthongization of the 6 to [ou]. 3 (2)

O L D ICELANDIC SHORT O (MODERN ICELANDIC O [O])

The usual spelling in AM 593b, 4to, is o. Examples sorg 2r22, stollte 3v22, komit 3v6. It also appears as d with a superior hook in könur, 17vl3. In MSS there was thus a confusion in the spelling of o and ö (ö, 9).4 (3)

O L D ICELANDIC LONG Ö (MODERN ICELANDIC Ö [ o u ] )

The usual spelling in AM 593b, 4to, is o, with a superior point. It appears also without this sign of length. The transcription uses the acute sign. Examples: J>otti 8rl6, tök 3r7, hröp lv8, but also sott lv20, noregs lv2, storann 2vl6. 5 In the pronoun hön, Modern Icelandic hün, long ö is written u whenever the word is spelled out (18vl0, 19v20, 26r6). Otherwise the pronound hön is abbreviated h° and transcribed ho«.6 The preposition, Old Icelandic or, or, yr, yr, ür, ur < *uz appears always as vr. The lack of R umlaut is partly due to dialectal differences and partly due to weak stress.7 Short u and o > ü, 0 before tautosyllabic r < R < *z.8 The form ür gained preference over or only in the seond half of the 15th century. 9 The negative prefix ü or 0 appears always in AM 593b, 4to, as 0 or as o without the sign of length. Examples: ovinur 23v8, ovidrkaemilig 21vl7, ovaettur 23r23, ösaemd 20r9, öforsiäl 6vl6, öfrödr lvl2, ömegdar 9rl 1, öeydiligt 7r22, öiafnadarsamr 25vl6. The negative prefix ti- or 0- corresponds to Gothic, English and German un-, Danish and Swedish Ü-. P. No. ü became ö in Icelandic at a very early date for the 1

Oskar Bandle, Die Sprache der Gudbrandsbiblia (Kopenhagen, 1956), pp. 36 ff. Björn K.i>6r61fsson, Um islendskar ordmyndir ä 14. og 15. öld og breytingar peirra ür fornmälinu, meövidauka um nyjungar i ordmyndum ä 16. öld og sidar (Reykjavik, 1925), p. xii. 3 Marius Hasgstad, Vestnorske Maalfore fyre 1350. II Sudvestlandsk. 2. Indre sudvestlandsk. Fxroymaal. Islandsk. Tridje bolkett. Skrifter utgitt av det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo 1941: Historisk-Filosofisk Klasse I, No. 1 (Oslo, 1942), p. 40, pp. 40-90. 4 Palxografisk Atlas: Ny Serie: Oldnorsk-lslandske Skriftprever c. 1300-1700, ed. Kr.Kälund (K0benhavn-Kristiania, 1907), p. V. 5 Adolph Noreen, Altnordische Grammatik I, Altisländische und Altnorwegische Grammatik (Halle a.S., 1923), Parag. 127,3, for noregs. • Noreen, op. cit., Parag. 151,5 (ö > ö, o, u). ' Noreen, op. cit., Parag. 72. 8 Noreen, op. cit., Parag. 126. 9 Bandle, op. cit., pp. 63-64. 2

24

PHONOLOGY

best vellums use o. In later vellums ü and 6 are used interchangeably. Until about the time of the union with Norway (1262) the ü prevailed and is chiefly used in vellums of the 14th century; but in the 15th the ö again took its old place and has been retained ever since, in agreement with the usual pronunciation. The change of spelling in the MSS about this time cannot have been due to any change in pronunciation, but was simply a Norwegianism.10 (4) (a) Old Icelandic open 0 from ? before u or w; Old Icelandic close 0 from o before i or j ; and Old Icelandic