The purpose of this paper is to present a new semi-diplomatic edition with textual notes and an overall analysis of a short allegorical sermon fragment on the rainbow preserved in the 'Physiologus manuscript' AM 673 a II, 4to, fol. 9 v. Tthis homiletic text, which has been almost completely ignored by scholars, concerns a trichromatic description and tropological explanation of the rainbow, based on the biblical episode of Nnoah's flood (esp. Gen. 9, 13-16). two variant versions of it exist, which are found in Hauksbók and in the so-called Rímbegla, and they are also taken into account here, together with Christian references to the rainbow within the whole Old Icelandic literary corpus. The Icelandic Old rainbow allegory is examined against the Latin-Christian background of exegetical literature concerning both Old general colour-imagery and specific symbolical interpretations of the rainbow, in order to verify possible sources. Ssome analogues both in German biblical epic poetry Old and in the Irish and Continental Hiberno-Latin homiletic production are also investigated. - [Abstract]

Language: English

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